Brookslanding

Excitement

2009-07-01T15:48:00.002-05:00

If you ask Davis what he is doing tomorrow, he will excitedly tell you that he is going to GRANDMA and GRAMPS's house! We are going down to celebrate first, Isaac's 1st birthday! (a little early!) and also the 4th of July. Can it really be almost a year since he entered our lives?! Time has absolutely flown by!!

Rockets and Cream

2009-06-30T15:01:00.004-05:00

Huntsville, Alabama is famous for training all of the American astronauts in their space and rocket center. (that was pretty much all I knew about this town before we moved here!) This past year we've had a membership and have taken advantage of it on several occassions! Saturday, they had an even called Rocket and Cream in which families could come, the kids could build a rocket, shoot it off and then celebrate with some yummy icecream. Our whole family was going to head out, but unfortunately Dan ended up getting sick so he wasn't able to come. Davis was already so excited that I could not disappoint him on this one, so being the crazy mother that I am, I took my boys out to do it during afternoon naptime. :)

I helped Davis build this rocket which would later get an engine put in it! I didn't realize how high tech it would be, I guess I just figured we'd make toilet paper roll rockets or something?!

One of Davis's favorite parts was riding on the bus to the field where we shot off the rockets. No carseat, no seatbelts, he really felt like it was such a treat! And, the staff was AMAZING. Picture me: 2 babies and a big double stroller, during naptime. Davis was definately one of the youngest rocket scientists. :) Several people saw I needed help and just found ways to assist me. I later found out that the main lady who had been helping me was the director of the center. If they ever need some references to how wonderful they are, I could GLOW about them all.

Aaah. Icecream. I'm so glad Mommy's were able to participate in the icecream sundaes also. As for Isaac... he enjoyed his applesauce. :) We assured him that someday he could share in our treat.

Below is a short video of Davis's rocket being shot off. These counselors helping him were just a small example of the kindness we recieved! He was able to push the button that sent his rocket flying at least a couple hundred feet in the air. Not every 2 1/2 year old gets to do that!

All in all, the boys did great, they both fell asleep on the way home, but then I was able to put them to bed for some good naps late in the afternoon. They were superstars!

A Moment We've all Been Waiting for!

2009-06-25T14:37:00.003-05:00

Drum roll........ Isaac is CRAWLING!! Officially! The past few days he has been taking one little crawl and then falling, but today he started to really crawl, for real!! Thankfully, he isn't too quick yet, but I think even this morning he is enjoying his new found freedom of being able to reach a lot more things! I think I am about to become busier...

Great job Isaac! We love you!

Happy Father's Day 2009

2009-06-22T21:24:00.002-05:00

We spent Father's Day weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee! We had such a wonderful time as this was the first time for us to travel on a vacation just as a family since Isaac has been born. We've been to visit lots of wonderful people, but not traveled somewhere just us. I think we are already ready for our next time away -- the boys were super troupers, and we all enjoyed every moment! We did a lot of different things, but I am going to leave some just in pictures for you to see! I couldn't help but post a lot of pics, there were just so many fun ones to show you!

Breakfast in bed father's day morning. We love you dada!!

We took a train ride.. Davis was thrilled!! This is basically the only picture that shows that we were on a train, so here is Davis with Conductor Jeff. He was a lot of fun and took good care of all of his passengers.

Davis couldn't wait to ride the carousel at Coolidge Park.

Isaac absolutely loved the water area. Even when this shot up really tall and we picked him up so fast, he was just giggling away. His personality has just been shining through!!

This weekend wouldn't have been complete without Davis's first taste of a snowcone! He loved his rainbow flavored one, especially after he had just asked for something cold and sweet. :) Walking up, I was thinking that it would be true for the Isaac as it is for lots of 2nd kids, that they would get sweets way earlier then their older sibling, thankfully the nice man was happy to give us some shaved ice with no syrup. Isaac loved it!

Happy Daddy's Day, Dan!

We love you!!!

Football

2009-06-18T14:56:00.002-05:00

Davis and Dan had a great adventure to see the Tennessee Valley Tigers play football. One of Dan's coworkers plays on this womens football team so they headed on out in Dan's "bee" (volkswagon) as Davis calls it. I just love this picture of them! Davis was thrilled to sit up front with Daddy.

However, Davis was very confused. He kept asking if he was going to see Aubie and the marching band. I think we are going to have to take him in the fall for a game in Auburn. He only made it for less then an hour at this game, so that is probably what we could expect in Auburn also!! Maybe we'll have to wait for A-day....

What Joe Brooks Must've Looked Like as a Baby

2009-06-17T21:24:00.003-05:00

File this one under "Disturbingly Cute".

Roomtime

2009-06-10T09:59:00.003-05:00

Each day Davis has some roomtime. It is basically time for him to play alone in his room for awhile and for me to take a shower, or get some chores done around the house. We set a timer and he knows he needs to stay in his room and play. Well, when I went to get him from his room yesterday, this is what I found:

This is our first time he has even tried to color on the wall, but needless to say, he now knows that he is not allowed to do it. Thank you Crayola for washable markers!! It was so easy to get off the wall. :)

Friends!

2009-06-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

Last week we headed to B'ham to visit with some of my very best friends, Ginny and Tricia. We don't see each other too often, but it is always so much fun to reconnect and catch up. This was the first visit we have had with all of our munchkins. It made for tons of activity and fun for us to see our kiddos interacting and having fun together!Davis, Rosie and Evan! (Isaac was peacefully sleeping... thankfully!)
Evan just loved Rosie so much. Here he is giving her a snuggle!

Lunchtime was the most contained we had all of the kids. What fun! While it was great to have the kids together, us girls have a beach trip planned for the fall, so we are looking forward to the break, and time to truly reconnect, kidless! (thanks to Daddy's and Grandparents!)

How Marriage is Like Remodeling a Bathroom

2009-06-03T06:21:00.004-05:00

The Idea: You've finally decided to take the plunge. It's an idea that's been rolling around in your head for awhile now, but it is time for you to commit. Your excitement of what can be overrides your fear of not having a clue of what you are doing.

Demolition: Your excitement continues to grow as you begin to deconstruct the "old" so that you can start over.

Preparation: You accumulate a bunch of stuff that you feel is "required" for your journey. Half of it, you don't really need.

Reality: You are now knee-deep into your commitment. You pause for a second and look around and all you see is utter chaos and destruction. How could you have been so stupid to get yourself into this mess? What were you thinking? You are a sad, lonely human being. Your options: break down and cry, call in a professional to fix your mess, or keep pressing on.

Reconcile: You decide to press on. You must now go out and get more stuff in order to patch up the mistakes that you've made.

Hope: You change your tactics. You realize that the "old way" isn't going to help you through this. You make notes that will help you to refocus yourself (see the "during" picture). You still don't know what you are doing, but things are starting to look better. You begin thinking about random philosophical allegories that would look good on a blog.

Clean Up: The hard work is done (for now). But the remnants of your past trials lay in piles all around you. You must pick up the pieces and move on.

Amazement: You're done! You realize now that the happiness that you had hoped for from the beginning can only come through a lot of hard work. A complex hormone is released in your brain that makes you forget about the "Reality" stage.

Our Wise Little Man

2009-06-02T20:38:00.004-05:00

During Isaac's morning nap, Davis and I were out playing in the backyard.
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We were just kinda splashing in the little pool without "really" getting wet when I asked him. "Davis, what do you want to be when you grow up?" To which he replied, "A wise man."

Davis was given a wonderful book called God's Wisdom for Little Boys which goes through character traits that are very important to have in his life. (and ours!)
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This is the prayer at the end of the book which we pray with Davis:
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Dear God above, for this I pray
To be a godly man someday.
Make me a man who loves You true,
A man of wisdom who pleases You.
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Our 2 1/2 year old little man is such a joy, and is already so obedient and honoring to his parents and everyone that he meets. We know he IS growing up to be a wise man.

When asked this evening during a walk we took as a family, he replied the same. I'm so proud. :)

Sister Time!

2009-06-01T14:23:00.003-05:00

For the past couple months, Anne and I had been planning for some sister time, which happened this past weekend! Even living just a couple hours apart, it is hard to get together unless it is planned out far in advance. Life gets busy fast!

Anne has taken up the hobby of sewing adorable little baby/toddler clothes! She made Davis's first birthday outfit and also a couple others for the boys. So, we decided we'd make the boys matching outfits as our project for the weekend.

Friday we headed to Hobby Lobby to pick out fabric and get started. It was so much fun! I don't think I have the time right now to pick it up as a hobby, but maybe when the kiddos are a little bit older I'll follow in my sister's footsteps!

Davis and Isaac loved having Aunt Annie around, and they both helped out in their own ways. They were both fascinated by the sewing machine and watching the needle go up and down.
Here Isaac is in an outfit Anne made. Davis has a blue striped outfit just like it, so they are now ready for the 4th of July!

It is very hard to get these monkeys to sit still for pictures these days! Here are the finished products of their adorable outfits!
Thanks for coming to visit and for teaching me, Anne!

Random Pics

2009-05-27T21:14:00.003-05:00

I'm realizing this evening that I haven't updated our blog in quite awhile! Here are a few random pics from the last week!

Helping Mommy with the laundry. :)

I.Love.Crackers.

Lunch with Daddy. A Wednesday family tradition.

Sir Topham Hat (from Thomas the Train) was a big hit as the guest storytime reader at the library. Yes, he was just as much fun as he appears!

Beach Week 2009 (tm)

2009-05-19T20:20:00.003-05:00

Every year (or so), my buddies from Pensacola try to get together for a week of goofing off on or near the beach. This was the first Beach Week that I was able to attend in about 13 years, so I was very pumped about going! Some pics:

We stayed at a house on Choctawhatchee Bay, near Destin, FL--which was awesome.

We spent only 15 minutes at the beach--because boating on the bay was simply more fun...and not as hot...and not crowded...and not burning my feet every time I took a step. This picture was taken to prove that we DID go to the beach.

Zack participates in the Beach Week Stunt Spectacular--NOT EASY.

Tommy films the action while Dan drives. (Spiky hair not intentional.)

Does Sand Have Nutritional Value?

2009-05-12T09:51:00.003-05:00

Cheerios and Sand. What a delicacy!

Note: Child and walker were cleaned up after this photo shoot. :)

Isn't there a saying "a little dirt, don't hurt?"

Mothers Day 2009

2009-05-11T14:21:00.002-05:00

This Mothers Day we had my side of our family up for the weekend. It was such a fun time and we enjoyed every minute of it! Here are some highlights!

This is my favorite picture from the weekend. Davis, Rosie (Mom and Dad's new puppy) and Mom hanging out.

Isaac hanging out in the pool. He is pretty easy going and not hard to please!

Most importantly, we had child dedication at church on Sunday. It was a day in which Dan and I publically committed to raise our kids to know Christ and follow him. How special it was to stand up on the stage with about 10 other families from our church and make this commitment! And, what a bonus that it was held on Mother's Day so we had some family there with us!

The gang! (we missed you Laura!!)

Davis was especially thrilled to have everyone to play with! Thanks for all the special time, and especially the time spent with Davis and Isaac. They appreciate every hug, kiss and moment!

Isaac's First Swim!

2009-05-02T13:33:00.004-05:00

This past weekend we had beautiful warm weather, so we took out the kiddie pool for the first time. Davis was incredibly excited even though the water was freezing. This was the first opportunity for Isaac to go swimming! Davis was able to go swimming at a much younger age since we lived in Manila!

Getting pumped up.

What are you doing to me, Mom?!! This water is SO cold!

I guess I like it alright. can it be warmer next time?

I love the pool!!

Playset Makeover "After"

2009-05-01T09:11:00.004-05:00

The finishing touch on the playset was to put about 10 tons of pea gravel underneath to make it safer for kids to play on! Last weekend, was the weekend of work for Dan, Rob, and a couple wonderful friends of ours who helped with the big rock move from our driveway to under the playset! Rob and Dan were hard at work by 6:30am moving the gravel!

Wheelbarrow load, after wheelbarrow load, the piles kept growing!
The mounds! I think they look like giant ant hills, thankfully that is not what they are!

Proud encouragers! Go dada go!

Davis's favorite part of the moving of the rocks was that he was given a Powerade to drink! Thankfully, when it started getting low I could just fill it back up with water and he was just as happy to have his "orange" drink!

The finished product! 3 1/2 inches of pea gravel everywhere. We are open and ready for some active playing!

Thank you everyone for all of your help!!

This Kid TOTALLY Understands Me

2009-04-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Cake... Worth the wait?

2009-04-23T14:19:00.002-05:00

Monday was my 31st birthday. In celebration, Dan brought home a yummy mint chocolate chip icecream cake. (my favorite kind of icecream!) Davis and I had been talking about it all day long and getting really excited about blowing out the candles together.
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Our rule at dinner is that you have to finish your dinner to have dessert, so I gave Davis a couple little pieces of chicken, a small amount of rice and a 2 little green beans, to ensure that he would finish his dinner. Well, dinner arrived and Davis refused to eat any dinner. All he could think about was "happy cake." He had already been reminded of the rule, therefore it had to be enforced. Ugh. I was sadder then he was I think and I shed quite a few tears after putting my little one to bed.
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Fast forward the next 2 days... Tuesday and Wednesday we didn't talk about happy cake, but he didn't finish his dinner either so therefore he didn't recieve any cake...
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Thankfully, Thursday at lunch Davis did an awesome job eating his lunch therefore I surprised him with some "happy cake." Dan and I had been eating on it all week, so we were grateful there was still some left!

The remaining happy cake.

Davis sang happy birthday to me and helped me blow out my candles. (I had refused to blow them out until Davis could do it with me!) It was a fun time!

Happy cake! Yes, it was worth the wait! I also used this time as a lesson for Davis on how to lick his plate clean, just like his mommy likes to do with her icecream cake!

Frank's wedding

2009-04-21T21:14:00.004-05:00

A good buddy of mine, Frank (some of you call him Frankie), tied the knot last weekend in Mobile. Along with a few other Auburn guys and a future brother-in-law, I was asked to be one of the groomsmen. Ellen and I had a fun time seeing some of our old friends while the boys stayed with Grandma and Gramps.

Frank and I went to the same church as kids, were in Boy Scouts together, sang in the church choir, and were roommates together at Auburn. He also sang and played the guitar at my wedding.

Here we are with a good friend Tommy and his wife, Melody.
Some quick trivia: Frank and I were roommates and we both married an "Ellen". Tommy and my brother, Rob, were also roommates, and they both married a "Melody". Huh.

This is what we found when we went to pick up the boys. Apparently Davis played pretty hard at the lake!

Happy Easter! (official)

2009-04-12T09:49:00.001-05:00

He is Risen!
Easter morning we had a great time looking for eggs. We've tried pretty hard to limit candy for Davis, so instead of candy in the eggs we hid little people animals inside of the eggs around the house. Davis had a blast looking for them.

Checking out his eggs.

Even though it was "just" us for Easter, I decided that I wanted to make a special meal. For the first time, I roasted a rack of lamb. It tasted really good, so I had to post a pic of my accomplishment. :)

After lunch we headed outside to plant some flowers in my little garden next to the playset. Davis and Dan were a big help in breaking up the ground. As you can see Davis really got into it!

And our precious Isaac, always the proud encourager. We assured him that next year he'd be right out there with the rest of us!

Well, I guess that just about concludes our Easter celebrations!

Easter Part 3

2009-04-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

Saturday our church held an Easter Egg hunt and other activities for the kids. This was Davis's first egg hunt, so he was pretty much very excited about it! Once we got there he was even more excited that there would be a puppet show. (his favorite!)For the craft they made a cross with a little sign on it that says "He is Risen" Look closely above, this is a cross made by our little 2 year old. :)
Daddy and Davis time! I was with Isaac during the morning and Dan and Davis went around to the craft, facepainting and cookie decorating.

Davis made us laugh at the egg hunt. There were hundreds of eggs for the 2 and 3 year olds scattered in an open field of grass ready to be picked up! When they were able to start, Davis kept walking over dozens of eggs to get the "special" ones. He was after the ones shaped like insects or ones that were sports ball eggs. I think most kids ended up with several dozen, but Davis was perfectly happy and excited with his 6 special ones!

Isaac was ready to go home after the egg hunt! He'd had enough Easter fun for one day!

Passover 2009

2009-04-09T21:16:00.001-05:00

One part of Easter that we have always wanted to celebrate is Passover. This year we were honored to be able to celebrate it with some of our closest friends here in Madison. Sharon and Oren graciously invited all of us over to celebrate with their family. We learned so much about Passover, were able to participate in so many traditions, and we ate some of the most delicious food that I have ever tasted!

Sharon and I often get together for playdates with our kids. They have a precious little boy who Davis (and the rest of us too) absolutely adore. She often helps me keep my sanity and is a listening ear when I haven't had any adults to talk to all day. :) I'm so thankful for her friendship!
During dinner, the kids played a lot and did really well. Dinner is a couple hours long and their are a lot of different parts too it, so we weren't sure how they would do! Here are the cuties at their toy area next to the table!

The whole visit was incredibly kid friendly and Oren's parents (our hosts) were so wonderful with the kids.
Fun times around the Passover table!

One tradition that Davis was able to participate in was the finding of the hidden Matzoh at the end of the meal. He also enjoyed sitting with all of us at the table and raising his glass of grape juice during the appropriate parts. :) Really special memories! Thanks so much Sharon and Oren!

Easter 2009 Part 1

2009-04-07T09:58:00.001-05:00

I am a little behind on all the fun we've had this week, but am going to try to catch up!

It has been a wonderful week, full of lots of friends and activities!

Monday started off with my good friend, Hollie and her kids coming to visit. Hollie and I were roommates for 3 years at Auburn and she happens to live in Huntsville! We wish we lived closer to them, as we are still about a 30 minute drive from their house. Thankfully, we do see each other every once in awhile!

We decorated Easter Eggs together.

Here Jonah and Davis are showing off their creations. I love both of their big smiles! While Hollie was here she taught me a trick. Instead of asking the kids to "smile" for the picture, she has her kids "laugh." This made such a difference and we captured more of the real happiness on their faces!

Rock Wall Climbing

2009-04-06T14:35:00.002-05:00

This past weekend Dan and I worked on our wonderful playset a little bit more! I painted, and Dan attached the rocks for the rock wall! As you can see, Davis is having a blast climbing, now we just need some friends to come over and play on it with us! Thank you Gramps, it is the perfect incline!