Connor and Brooke

So I thought it'd be nice to update on what Connor has been up to these past few weeks. I weighed him this morning and he came in at a whopping 14 lbs. Funny how kids grow differently. Brooke was 14 lbs. by 6 months!Connor has been sleeping through the nights for the past 3 weeks (or more). I attribute it to him being an avid thumb sucker.Within the last week, he's been able to roll all the way to his tummy. He can't get his arm out from underneath him but he's happy and content. Many times, when's he left to keep himself entertained, you'll find him rolled over onto his side sucking his thumb or eating his fingers. Overall, he's a very easy going, happy baby. I think the easy going definitely comes from Troy. He loves to talk and smile at anybody that's willing to look his way.

Brooke has also been showing signs of growing up. We've been working hard at learning to write out letters. Specifically the ones found in her name since she always asks Troy and I to write it out for her. This was her first attempt at doing it on her own. Not too shabby. She's also finally figured out how to do a somersault. Obviously the wood floor isn't the best place to do it so we moved to cushier ground. And she even did it straight. Yay!!!

Teaching

We like to teach our kids at an early age how to do things. I've been trying to get Connor to be able to sit up "on his own". Here's how it went:"Um, what are you doing, mom?" "Uh oh, I'm falling."

"Mom, why aren't you catching me????"" Well, I guess it's not so bad to be on my side."

We've also been able to get Connor to be able to fall asleep on his own.

He enjoys sleeping and will pretty much sleep wherever whenever.

Brooke found her birthday crown the other day and has been sporting it around the house. She wanted to do a little photo session and these are what became of it. Jumping

And the famous wiggle. If you haven't seen her "dance" click here.

Lastly, we like to teach our kids, while they're young, to listen. I think they both have done well in that area.

An oldie but a goodie, here's Brooke at 3 months.

7 Perfect years

On Saturday Tracie and I celebrated 7 glorious years together. In keeping with tradition we stayed in Colorado since it is the most beautiful state in the union. Usually we escape just the two of us, but with cute kids like this, we had to take them along.

On Friday we headed to Cañon City to see the Royal Gorge. Inside the park the have a Carousel.

It was Brooke's favorite part of the whole place.

The bridge is a mere 1000 feet above the Arkansas River below. This is the view from the Tram that takes you across.

Ironically, walking across the bridge was scarier for Tracie. You could feel the bridge sway a bit, and it took every ounce of courage for Tracie to head to the edge and thrust the camera out to take this picture.

We stayed in Salida, which is a nice town on the Arkansas River. Lots of active folks, lots of rafting and kayaking. It rubbed off on Brooke, who finally settled down to sleep at 9:30. She loved the hotel room!

The next morning we hung around downtown Salida and the river, watching the sleepy town come to life.

Unique and antique shops could only keep Brooke entertained for so long, so we walked to the park.

We adequately wore her out, because she slept the whole way to Leadville.

We took a ride on the Leadville train. We thought Brooke would enjoy a ride on a 'choo-choo' train.

The anticipation was almost too much to bear.

Before we actually left the station, Brooke's favorite part was hanging out one window and seeing Mommy or Daddy hanging out another.

Connor was just happy to be out of his car seat.

Tracie captured Brooke's reaction when they blew the whistle right before we were going to leave.

The skies are bluer at 10,000 feet.

Great views all around.

She loved the train (and the snacks, drinks and free popcorn.)

He enjoyed it (mainly the bottle he had towards the end).

The Ware Family, on the top of the world.

After some great pizza at High Mountain Pies amongst the mountain bikers who had just completed the Leadville 100, we headed back to the hotel in Salida.

They really like each other.

Brooke once again stayed up too late, jumping out of bed to draw on the hotel paper pad.

Seriously, I'm not tired at all! When we left the next morning she cried "I don't want to go home, I want to stay at this home!!!" I think she liked having her own queen bed, the late nights, watching movies, the breakfast in the morning, and generally being spoiled by Mom and Dad.

Both kids did great on the trip, and we're optimistic for future road trips as a family. Thanks for a great seven years Tracie, and the most beautiful family in the world!

Life

In a nutshell:
Brooke loves Connor. Connor is a bit unsure about this but he'll grow to love it as well. Connor is starting to get the hang of his playmat and has begun to bat at the hanging toys.

He also enjoys helping out with the chores around the house.

I think Squishy has adjusted to having Connor around. She's definitely got the summer routine down of snoozing all during the day and playing into the night.

I finished changing Connor's diaper and went to go get his bottle. I came back to this. Apparently it's very, very tiring to be an almost 3 month old.

It rained in the afternoons for 3 days so we didn't feel the need to head up to the garden. When we did, we found these. The yellow squash were out of control!

Brooke loves olives. I don't know if she loves them because she can put them on her fingers or if she truly enjoys eating them. Too bad vegetables don't come that way.

Goings On

Brooke

Brooke went to the pediatrician this week to get her 3 year check up. She was model patient, only tearing up briefly during the shots, but quickly recovering and asking for her treat. She's 28 pounds even (10th percentile) and 36 and 3/4" (50th percentile).

She's also a great older sister, who likes to hold Connor for at most 5 seconds at a time. Her main skills are getting him to smile and putting his pacifier back in.

She's also very camera aware...

...and silly.

I did want to put this in writing before I forget about it.
When we put Brooke down for a nap or to sleep for the night, often times she will yell out, "DAD!", right as I close the door. She then says, "Squishy and Lexie sleeping too?". Seems like she sleeps easier knowing that the cats are sleeping too. Sometimes she'll add her friends, or cousins to the question, especially if she has seen them recently. So wherever you are, know that Brooke is sleeping too.

Connor

I'm getting stronger and more aware of my surroundings. If you hold me I promise I will look you in the eyes, give you big smiles and the occasional coo.

Sometimes Mom and Dad are a little slow in getting me the pacifier, so I have to resort to other measures. Thanks for the tip Big Sister!

I like to dress up for church. All the ladies at church loved my smile and my tie shirt.

Or maybe because I'm growing so much, they loved my bulging muscles threatening to break through my onesie. These biceps can't be contained for much longer in these 0-3 month clothes.