Merry Christmas Santa

Paul and I thought this would be the year that we might have trouble with Brooke and Santa. She actually loves to talk about him and find him in books and ads, and even enjoys his presence ..... from a distance. We attended a Christmas Party on Saturday night and Santa made a visit with an early gift for each girl and boy. Brooke was happy to take her present from an arm's length away, but was NOT interested in sitting on his lap or standing any closer for a photo. OH WELL!! Thanks to Greg, Tina, and Gregory for a really fun time!

"Look at the pretty snow, its beautiful"

That's what Brooke said when we took her to the window this morning to see what had fallen after she headed off to bed. We were able to get her to wait to break out the sled until AFTER church. Brooke, Daddy, and Storm had lots of fun playing in the yard. Brooke repeatedly told Daddy "hurry, hurry, hurry" I guess he wasn't going quite fast enough with that sled!

The Reading Room

Brooke decided to take a few minutes the other day to review the Target Holiday Toy Catalog. Already she is a multi-tasker. Don't you love the snow boots with her PJs?

The last few weeks ......

Brooke continues to have great success on the potty and loves to work on Mommy's 'puter. We all got flu shots last weekend and she was VERY brave. She was rewarded with a trip to Wendy's for chicken nuggets and mandarian oranges (she always chooses the oranges over the fries)

Don't forget to Vote

I left to vote about 10:20 this morning and for the first time ever I was not able to find a parking spot in the lot and the line extended outside the building. The poll workers said that the line formed at 5:30 am and has not really stopped. It is exciting to see such interest. Perhaps this is the silver lining in the plummets on Wall Street - generating voter enthusiasm.

So, bring the newspaper to read while you wait - but Don't forget to VOTE!

Happy Halloween

Brooke had a costume for school and one for "formal" trick or treating in the evening. She was a cat at school and a Dalmatian at night. She seriously is NOT a morning person and was not in the mood to pose for a picture before heading off to daycare.
She had a great day at school carving pumpkins, having special snacks and getting a big bag full of treats! She was excited to put on her doggie costume and we started the rounds. This year was our first real Trick or Treating door to door in a neighborhood. We met our friend, Heather, and spent over an hour on the streets. Brooke and Heather went to each door, Brooke exclaimed "Trick or Treater" and then ended her visit with "Thanks, See ya later, Take care" It was a HOOT!

Our Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Last Sunday we packed up the car, including Auntie Robin and headed off to Buttonwood Farm. In the fall they offer a hayride around the grounds ending at the makeshift pumpkin patch. If you don't live around here - they are well known for their delicious (and expensive) ice cream. We met our friends Tina & Gregory there, Gregory is just a little younger than Brooke. After our hayride -complete with a stop to feed the cows we disembarked in the pumpkin area. If you had a hayride ticket you were entitled to a pumkin so we all picked out our favorite. Brooke was most interested in the bottoms of the pumpkins, many of which she remarked "its gross" after taking a peek.

Seasoned Traveler

In the middle of September, Brooke and I travelled to PA to visit with Uncle David before he finishes his college career. We went with several other family members (enough to require 3 hotel rooms) and really had a great time.

Brooke has been on several trips and is quite accustomed to staying in hotels. She particularly enjoyed the flat screen TV in this hotel.

The words you don't ever want to hear from daycare....

I generally call daycare every day, mid morning to check on our Princess. When I called on Thursday I was horrified to hear "Brooke bit Thomas on the cheek" .... I swear I almost dropped the phone. While Brooke is one tough cookie, a "biter" she is not.
As you might imagine she had a time out when this occurred and then apologized to Thomas and his Daddy. When I told Paul about it he shared that same deer in the headlight look that I had when I heard. He then asked "Did it leave a mark?" and "Are we going to get sued?" Yes, it left a little mark and no calls from lawyers yet.

Brooke's First Haircut

On September 24, Brooke went for her first haircut. She walked into the salon like she owned the place and was happy to take a seat in the booster in the big chair. Then much to the amazement of all, she sat right there and never moved. It really wasn't a haircut, it was just a trim. It is still curly and looks adorable in pigtails. She looks scared, but she really was quite interested in the whole process. Here's a video of the finished product.

Pee-Pee on the Potty !!!!

Since late July, we've been working on potty training. We have potty DVDs, books, and a little potty in the kitchen, family room, upstairs bathroom AND a portable potty seat to take with us when we are out and about. In other words, we are WELL equipped. All that being said, she will NOT go to the potty for Paul or I or anyone else really but Carol (Brooke's daycare teacher). In the beginning we fought with her to "try" and over the last few weeks she has been a more willing participant - but still NOTHING in the potty. WELL that all changed tonight! I started the usual routine "Please try to go potty before you eat dinner", she went to her potty and sat and within in a minute I SWORE I heard something .... but wait, can it really be? Brooke looked at me with a big smile and said "Pee-Pee on the potty Mommy, all done" Maybe we reached a turning point???? I am going to pretend for at least tonight that we have!

Who doesn't love a cowgirl????

Where the deer come to eat and play ......

We routinely see deer in the yard at dusk. They gather under the pear and apple trees to feast on the fallen fruit. Brooke has come to expect them and yells "Come back, come back" when they start to run off.

We made it through Tropical Storm Hanna

Well as luck would have it the day we had planned to hold Brooke's birthday party Tropical Storm Hanna was predicted to make landfall. So much for the outside party enjoying our beautiful yard. We took advantage of the front porch, turned on every fan and opened every window. We set up tables and chairs in the garage (thanks Robin & Bob) and while we all could have been cooler - we lived through it. The heavy rain and winds came, but not til the party was well underway. All the really good pictures of Brooke in her cowgirl outfit and blowing out her candles are on Gigi's(pronounced Gig-e) camera so we'll post those later. Here she is trying out her new black cowboy boots ....... don't you wear your cowboy boots with your denim shorts and tie-dyed tee shirt????

Don't Blink, just like that Brooke's TWO years old .......

Its official - today we are the parents of a TWO YEAR OLD. We barely remember when she was that tiny and really enjoy watching her grow and develop. She has such a great personality and fills our house with laughter and love. She is definitely like her parents and not particularly fond of mornings as evidenced in the photo below from before she left for school today.

You might be a Redneck .........

Memorial Day - 2008

Paul & I are creatures of habit - we like structure and we like routine. On Memorial Day we go to the Parade in Norwich. Last year Brooke could have cared less. This year, she sat on the curb and waved wildly as the bands and firetrucks streamed by. The picture is from "before" we let her loose from the confines of her stroller. Once she is set free, there is little time to take any photos. Storm - well he just barked and barked and barked.



After the parade, we visit the cemetary. First we stopped to visit Grampa (Paul's Dad) and then Paul's Grandparents, Frank & Dominika. Brooke was interested in the flag at Grampa's grave and then bent to give him a kiss. When we got to her Great- Grandparents' grave she was more interested in the little cherubs on the headstone behind it.

Blog - What's a Blog?

According to dictionary.com, a Blog is an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page.

It seems like we never have enough time around here to keep up with the "Things to Do" lists - Laundry, Dinner, Breathing Treatments, Baths, and oh yeah, sending out pictures of all the things that Brooke has been doing or we have done with her......

Maybe this online journal is a way to keep up with that one aspect? There is no way it will get updated every day, I wasn't particularly good at writing in my little diary when I was 12 either.

Here's my first(and perhaps last) attempt.