More Idaho Photos

Thanks to one of Kent's chaperone's we got some more photos from Idaho. Above is a photo of us practicing for the alumni band half time show.

Brooke practiced a little trumpet!

And sat with her mommy during some of the game.

Brooke the Bumblebee

Brooke was the cutest bumblebee at the farm!

This little bumblebee cautiously explored Smallwood's Harvest.

She founds some large pumpkins!

And stood and viewed her surroundings.

Her favorite part was riding the bumblebee swing! She ran over saying, "eeee!" (her version of swing).

I-D-A-H-O!

On Friday Brooke and I headed out on the road with our truck and the Cashmere High School band instrument trailer. We had a great five hour drive over to Lewiston, Idaho where our friends Bob, Emily and Etta live. Brooke and I enjoyed staying with our friends that night before we headed up to Moscow for U of Idaho Homecoming. Brooke and Etta were getting a little snack before we headed out Saturday morning. I got Etta to smile but Brooke was too interested in staring at Etta's Grandpa!

I had my hands full this year! Figuring out how to do everything with a 14 month old around was a challenge! Kent headed to Idaho Saturday morning with his band, so I didn't see him much. Brooke was a happy camper riding on my back during the parade while I played in the alumna band. Brooke enjoyed hearing the bands practice their pregame show. She danced, ran around and pointed to the numbers on the seats.


My camera ran out of batteries so I didn't get many good photos this year. Brooke took a nap during the first quarter of the game. After half-time we loaded into the truck and made the trek home alongside the bus of Cashmere kids. After a dinner stop in Moses Lake Brooke was fast asleep for the rest of the night.

Announcing!

We are so excited to announce that we are expecting baby #2 sometime around May 15, 2010. Kent and I are super excited and can't wait to see Brooke as an older sister. Today I heard the heartbeat which was beating about 160-170 beats per minute. It was a strong healthy sound and we even heard kicking and turning going on in there!

I'm having the baby at the Wenatchee Midwife Center which I'm especially excited about. I am so pleased of the center, the two midwives, and the experience so far. The long hour long appointments, no waiting, and the individualized attention far exceeds my expectations. The system is set up to give pregnant women great care at a fraction of the price of hospitals. When you enter YOU weigh yourself in the bathroom and YOU test your own urine! The midwives to the blood work... there is no need for a nurse in this situation. There is no medication available for the birth. If something isn't going right, you are only a short drive to the hospital.

Conducting 101

From the very first time we noticed Brooke reacting to music, she has always responded to marches with the most enthusiasm. Must be the uptempo beat. Recently she has started to copy her two band director parents with her version of conducting. Enjoy!

Maiden Voyage

Brooke has had hundreds of "firsts" in her first 14 months, but this one was a "first" for all of us! We took our new trailer down the road near Leavenworth for our first trailer camping experience as a family. Everything went so smoothly at the start, we laughed at all the horror stories we heard from people about their first trailer experience... that wouldn't happen to us!

Two of our friends camped in the same campground. We made spaghetti dinner together and pumpkin pancakes with bacon the second day. It was lots of fun to camp with friends.


Brooke was pretty content playing around the campsite. She loved the rocks, hugging Cassy and trying to "help" daddy around the camper.



Here we are before we went out on a hike.




Brooke and Mommy taking a break on the hike. So I was having such a wonderful time at the start of the trip saying this was luxury compared to tent camping! Around 6pm I started to feel cold and told Kent to check things out. We soon realized that the battery was not working. No heat! Luckily we spent most of the evening in our friends' trailer. Once back to our "home" for the night we boiled water to try and heat up the place. We had Brooke sleep in between us with a hat and sweater on to keep her warm. She woke up every two hours screaming (where am I and why is it so darn cold!?!). Finally after rocking her to sleep twice around 2:30am she fell asleep until 7am. We woke up to 40 degrees in our camper. It was a challenging night, but I'm sure the future will be brighter... and warmer!




Near the campsite... I loved the colors!


Here's Brooke's big girl friends! They just LOVE Brooke and are the best at playing and caring for her.

Brooke's First Dentist Visit

Brooke had her first visit to Dr. Cara Schroeder's office today. I was amazed at what specialized children's dentistry looked like! The waiting room had a full toy train set which Brooke loved and a room with a children's sized kitchen in it. What a friendly atmosphere! The examination room that we used had piles of puzzles and toys to keep her occupied as we waited for Dr. Cara to arrive. The photo above will be sent to us as a magnet so Brooke can remember Dr. Cara's face for future visits! As you can see, she was displaying all signs of shyness at the first meeting! (Who is this strange lady giving me a hug?)

Brooke was a great patient at first. She was very curious with the mirror and was fine with the dentist looking at her teeth.

This was the moment before the crying happened. Brooke was not happy with the polish put on her teeth. What a funny taste! Brooke went home with a little toy that distracted her pretty quickly.

Party!

Brooke's friend Riley celebrated her 1st birthday today surrounded by many loving family and friends. The girls were all dressed up in their Sunday dresses, had naps, and were ready to party! Riley's Grandma and Aunt made this cute caterpillar cake.

It was so much fun watching Riley eating her birthday cake!


Here Daddy, have a taste!

Brooke gave Riley a little "tickle, tickle" on her toes!

Friends, toys, and cake... what a fantastic party! Happy 1st birthday Riley!

"Helping Out"

Brooke figured out how to help turn the channels on the television. I guess she likes this channel the best.

She likes to help clean the house too!

Kent had the idea of teaching Brooke to say "one" when asked how old she was. I really didn't think it would be successful, but went along with it. Above is the proof that it actually worked!

Who is the one armed construction worker? Of course, Da-da!

Manners... or Lack Of.

Brooke's communication skills are improving every day. She uses a lot of signs and words to tell us what she wants, but often she reverts to, "aahhh! aahhhh!" as you see in the video above. We are working on giving her age appropriate ways to tell us what she wants other than shrieking. I think it's getting better, but who knows!

I was absolutely amazed the other morning at how well she was communicating with us. She walked right over to where we keep the bread and said, "beh, beh". Then walked to her booster, showing us that she was hungry. After breakfast she walked over to her books, picked one up and said, "boo". Patted the couch and said, "up". I can't believe how much my little girl is changing!

Brooke stopped nursing at 14 months and became attached to sippy cups. If we let her, she would carry it around all day long. Because she loves sitting down in her own sized chair (steps and curbs are the perfect size) I am trying to create a snack zone for her. We are on day three of sitting at the step in the kitchen to drink our milk or have a cracker. Every time she pushes the boundaries, but today she finished her snack and then got up... a small victory!

Kent was so excited to bring home a dump truck for Brooke one afternoon. Because the truck moves on it's own she is scared of it. At least the hard hat is getting some use!

Because I have felt guity about being a bad blogger, here are some bonus photos!

Oh Maisy...

She LOVES her daddy! She always spots his photo on the fridge and I hear, "Dada" all afternoon!