Meerkat Taking Pictures

Brooke is twenty-six months old and changing everyday.  She seems to go from weeks of learning physical things like jumping off of things and dancing to weeks of incredible change in her sentance structure and vocabulary.  Watching a toddler learn and grow is so fascitinating and FUN. 

This month she has been concentrating on saying complete sentences (I can just watch those little wheels turning!).  She figured out the words: "I need a" and has been using it a lot.  It started off as "I need a swing" when she wanted to swing at the playground, but lately it has been used for everything under the sun.  For instance, at lunch she said, "I need a carrot, please, Mama".  I'm excited for her!

Another very enjoyable development is her sense of humor.  She loves to laugh about silly things, especially her brother.  When he chews on things she thinks he is the funniest thing ever.  When I tell Oliver, "What are you doing Oliver?  Don't chew on my shoe!" she breaks into laughter!

Here's a little story from tonight that Kent and I had to laugh about.  Brooke was playing on the bed and bumped her head.  Started to cry and hugged Daddy and Mommy.  In her sobbing voice she asked to see animal pictures.  Don't you ask to see animal pictures to make you feel better?  So over to the computer to see some animals. 

We looked at monkeys, chickens and geese.  Then we google "meerkats".  She spots a photo she just had to see closer: a meerkat using a camera.  She runs to get her camera (a musical tuner) and laughs and laughs at the photo on the computer screen.

Meerkat Taking Pictures :)

My favorite quote from the video was Brooke asking Kent, "Kind [of] pictures you like, Daddy?"  He didn't hear it but it was pretty cool that she asked him a question!  He felt bad later when he realized he didn't hear her.  That's why we have video cameras, I guess!

So now the new joke around our house is, "meerkat taking pictures!".  (I guess you had to be there!)

Thank You!

Thank you Grandpa Bing and Grandma Britta for these fun stuffed animals!  We love them!

6 Months

It's so much easier to tell our two kids apart now!

Oliver: Six Months Old

Oliver has been such a wonderful addition to our lives for the past half year!  His personality is charming, he has a huge smile and so many warm cuddles.  He's loud, bouncy, and definitely a boy.

When people hold him they have to be careful to really hold on.  He bounces with his legs and really moves his weight around!  He can be quite the handful... or should I say "armful" to carry around and keep occupied.

Oliver is practicing his "bah" and "duh" sounds but is especially good at blowing bubbles.  I often wake up feeling like the sprinklers have turned on near my face.  He really wants to crawl but he just kicks and waves his arms like he's swimming.  He rolls easily both ways and pivots on his belly.

It's nice to have a bedtime so we can have a few hours to relax!  He goes to bed around 7:30pm and gets up around 6:30am but wakes up quite a few times in between.  Hopefully this will improve soon.  At least when he wakes up he just grunts until I get him and then eats and falls right back to sleep.  No huge fussy times with this easy-going guy.

We love Oliver!

Thursday

Brooke has been practicing her Halloween costumes for the last week.  She can choose between the hunny pot and the cow.  So far they are equally enjoyed.  To complete the outfit she runs to her room and puts on her pink sandals that are a few sizes to big.

 We need to start calling this little boy Mr. Personality!

Caitlin is in Las Vegas and Palm Springs for a week so we are watching Maisy.  Maisy loves kids as you can see!

Tomorrow I'll try and get Oliver's 6 month photos done.  It was a crazy day around here!  We're really glad it's Friday tomorrow.  Brooke, Oliver and Kent has nasty colds.  I have been wiping Brooke's little nose every minute of the day!

Beautiful Fall Colors

My parents visited Cashmere for a few days on their way down to Palm Springs.  This was the second time my dad had seen Oliver.  He was so excited to see him!  Dad could not get enough of Oliver's big grin!  Brooke also loved to see Grandpa John.  She gave him big hugs and took him up on his promise on taking her to the playground.

Dad helped to carry Oliver on our mini hike.  He kept on passing Oliver off on us because he said he was too heavy!

We had fun seeing all the beautiful Fall colors.  There were some really HUGE leaves!

With fresh snow on the Cascade's, bright yellow trees and the sun peaking out it was a picture perfect day.  This is why I love to live in Central Washington.  It's gorgeous!

Dad and Brooke walking to the library!

My parents bought us this box of pears for $10 so we can get the dehydrator going again!  Dried pears are delicious!

Name That Tune

Bouncy Boy!

Brooke was an early walker and was already balancing pretty well at six months.  This little guy is the complete opposite.  He loves tummy time and bouncing!  I have a feeling he'll be a very good crawler!

My Very LOUD Boy

"AUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Okay, usually I adore every little stage my children go through.  The only exceptions are the "no!" phase and now the yelling phase!  Oliver is normally such a happy baby.  For the last few days he has been yelling "AUGH!" almost all the time.  It's very close to driving me crazy.  Seriously.

I'm trying to figure this little guy out and his very LOUD noises.  I'm guessing his yelling is a combination of the following factors:

1. Teething (He's close to six months which is the point that Brooke got her first tooth)
2. Not feeling well (he has a runny nose along with his big sister)
3. He loves the sound of his voice.
4. He is singing (it seemed to get louder during the singing in church on Sunday.)
5. It is his only way of expressing frustration, excitement, and boredom.
   
   OH!  And thanks to Emily... this could most likely be a BOY thing!  I'm just not used to it!  Duh!

Bubbles!

Out and About

I glanced at the calendar and couldn't believe it.  Three weeks until I fly down to California!  I realized I am going to wear a swimsuit soon and this baby weight is not coming off as quick as I had imagined it would.  So load up the kids and get out!  (Really, only Oliver is sleeping here... and in about 2 minutes after this photo he was awake with Brooke saying, "Oliver wake up!")

It was a very crisp morning.  This was Oliver's second walk for the day.  I have been so tired in the morning that Kent has taken Oliver on his morning dog walk (5:30am).  But, I'm starting to feel a little guilty about how cold it is getting so soon I'll be getting up VERY early too. :(

I have fallen in love with my walks through the orchards.  It's so pleasant and in a way reminds me of Alaska because there are lots of similarities between harvest apples and harvesting fish (one smells much better though).  This is my third day jogging and I think I'll take a break tomorrow.  I have only been taking short little jogs during the kids baths at night.  It feels great and makes me feel healthier, eat better and be a better mom.  I need to keep it up!

The light was bright and shining through the trees.  Glorious day!

We stopped by the playground on the way home and let Brooke get some energy out.

She didn't want to wear a coat, but it was rather chilly in the shadows so I convinced her to put on one for a while.

On the way home she insisted, "Los-a-sue!  Los-a-sue!"  I had my hands full with Oliver in the front pack, the double stroller and Brooke walking and couldn't figure out what she was saying.  Finally (about 4 minutes later) I looked down and noticed she had NO shoe on!  "LOST A SHOE!"  Awe!  So we hopped back to the swings where her pink shoe was waiting.  I felt pretty bad and wonder what all those drivers were thinking when they saw me dragging her along with a dirty wet sock!

Skiing

Brooke recently started "skiing" down the slide.  Kent says he had no influence on this, but I'm not sure if I believe him!  Enjoy this video of Brooke's wild side... and silly side too!  Also, not on video...  Brooke's favorite song to sing right now?  "Daisy, Daisy"  She sings it out loud and strong!  Where does she get this stuff from?  Probably her parents...

Our Busy Weekend

Brooke was super excited for her Kettle Falls Grandparents to arrive.  She met them at the gate and gave them big hugs!  We had fun the last couple days with them.  They got to babysit both kids Friday night so I could have a chance to watch the symphony practice.  They got to see the symphony concert on Sunday night too.

One cute Brooke moment this weekend... She was stacking her banana slices and told her Grandma, "Look! Banana stairs!"

Auntie Caitlin has this way of making my kids laugh!

Riley had her second birthday party on Saturday.  The theme was Mickey Mouse as you can see by the great looking cake!

Riley opened her presents and even let Brooke "help"!

I made a designed a Minnie Mouse hat for Riley.  It turned out pretty cute... I may have to make one for Brooke too!  Although Caitlin wants one for Halloween too, so by then I think I'll be pretty tired of that black yarn!

Brooke's Phrases

Caitlin and Brooke on their way for some ice cream at the grocery store...
Caitlin: "Brooke what should we buy at the store?"
Brooke: "WAFFLES!"

As we were reading those old (and sometimes very odd) nursery rhymes out of a library book...
Annie: "Where do they come up with this stuff?"
Brooke: "The library."

October Camping

Our last camping trip of the year!  We headed away from the 100% chance of rain at Lake Wenatchee to the only 60% chance of Lake Chelan.  We have such bad luck when it comes to camping and weather.  Next year we plan on camping in the SUN!!!  

We had muffins for breakfast on morning number one.  Brooke lined up Pooh and Piglet ("Pigot") to watch her as she ate.

Oliver sat on the table watching everything and practiced sticking out his tongue (his new trick).

Every once in a while we'd here a BANG!  There were many walnut trees surrounding the campground.  Luckily there were no walnut related fatalities.  The squirrels were so much fun to watch.  They would run into the street, smell the nuts, choose the best one and run it to their stash.  There were also a group of quail who ventured into the street and a group of robins too.  Lots of entertainment from our camper windows.

On Saturday, our friends loaded up WAY to early in the morning and headed over to meet us at the park.  For a few years I have been keeping up with their growing family via facebook and was so excited to meet three of them for the first time.  Dawn was a music major with Kent and I at U of Idaho.  We are both adventuresome, outdoorsy and have kids the same age!

The weather was a bit soggy but the kids didn't seem to mind wet feet.  They became good friends very quickly!

Can you get any cuter than Kai?!

Little stick, big stick!  Kai and Brooke were born within a week of each other!

Dawn and I were non-stop photo taking on this trip!

 Here we are with our little ones!  Niko is 3 months and Oliver is now 5 months.  Oliver was very "needy" on this trip.  I think he would have liked dry grass to roll around in... but instead we held him constantly and he was pretty whiny.  He also didn't sleep during the day.  Too much going on, I guess.  As soon as we got home Kent and Oliver slept for 2 1/2 hours!

Saturday night it was pouring down rain so we built a fire in the covered area.  It was so much fun!  The kids ran around in the pitch black and we found them by flashing our flashlights.  

Here was our camping spot!  It was so much fun, but next time I think we deserve a RAIN FREE camping experience!

Fall in Cashmere

My camera batteries ran out, so I didn't get the best photos.  On Sunday all the Sunday school kids helped bring pumpkins from the garden to the church.  They planted the seeds for them in the Spring.

Here is just PART of our church garden.

Again, happy Oliver!

The leaves are so beautiful in Cashmere right now!

Brooke is an excellent walker.  We walk every day.  If we don't... she doesn't fall asleep at nap time!  She walks at least one mile!  It's a special time that we share.





I wish I was this photogenic!

Heather Lake Hike

On our way up to the trail head we saw two dogsled teams!

All smiles from Oliver!

Here we go!

This hike was more of a west-side hike... more wet stuff.  Mushrooms, moss, etc.

 Kent at the trail head with all the fall colors!

Brooke tried on her daddy's hat!

Reflections in the water.



I got to carry all of Oliver's 18-19 pounds up the trail!  A really good exercise!  As we hiked up the trail Kent and I used a "Dora sequence" (an educational tool that we got from the Dora the Explorer shows) to get Brooke through a slightly grumpy time.  We repeated, "Stream, hill, Heather Lake!" so she understood the sequence of events and knew what to look forward to.  Brooke said right back, "Daddy's car, Mommy's house, WATCH DORA!"  What a funny little girl!

We had a yummy lunch on the warm rocks by the lake.

Brooke thought it would be fun to try the outdoor potty... so she pulled her pants down!  Nothing happened, as usual!

Brooke said this was a "tiny" mushroom.  We'll have to work on that!  Brooke had the best time playing in the woods at the lake.  There were so many nice flat areas to run around and explore.

Kent and Brooke checked out the log jam.

Oliver and Kent taking a short break before heading back on the trail.

Our family!