Dayna & Randy

Spring Break

2011-03-31T21:25:00.005-05:00

After a long February of being cooped up with the cold weather and snow and a flu bug that went through everyone, we were happy to plan a few fun activities for the week when Randy was off for Spring Break. The kids had been wanting to take a train ride, so we took the train to the city one day.

We got a hotel for the night, so that the kids could go swimming.

They loved it and thought we were on vacation.

Grandma & Papa came by and brought us pizza for dinner.

Randy had a paper to work on for a class he is taking, so he took Dallin home to bed and Brooke & Drew & I spent the night.

We did some more swimming the next morning and then packed up!

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-02T20:06:00.006-06:00

This was the view from our front window this morning.

View from the front door.

It was still snowing and the winds were still pretty strong all morning, so we had to wait to head outside. Instead we brought snow in and put it in the kitchen sink and Brooke & Drew used colored water to paint and melt it!

Once it stopped snowing and Randy had dug us out a little, we bundled up to go out to play.

Dallin wouldn't walk in his big snow boots, but was content to sit at the edge of the garage and play with a shovel in the snow.

Drew loves to shovel!

Brooke was pretty excited about the huge piles of snow to climb on.

I'm not sure what happened with this picture, but I guess it's fitting b/c my dad was like the snowblowing ghost - going from house to house and clearing out driveways. He did his driveway and sidewalks and then Debbie's and 2 other neighbors before walking all the way to our house with the snowblower to help do our driveway! Randy has always insisted on not getting a snowblower b/c he insists that he enjoys shoveling, but I think this was even a bit much for him and he was very grateful for the help.

Snowman & Blizzard

2011-02-01T15:33:00.003-06:00

Randy & Brooke made these snowmen a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was fitting to post today since we are currently in the middle of a blizzard!

We will be stuck in the house for the next day or two and I'm sure there will be more pictures to come!

Ice Skating

2011-01-09T16:07:00.003-06:00

Brooke has been begging to go ice skating every day for the past month or so and we finally got around to going!

Brooke taking a break with her cousins. Grandma & Papa also came to watch.

She did awesome for it being her first time!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T22:01:00.003-06:00

Christmas Eve reading Luke 2. Brooke as Mary with her cousins acting out the nativity scene.

Santa stopped by for a visit. Dallin wasn't so sure.

Drew asked for Cars and a choo choo.

Brooke made sure to tell Santa not to forget her Rapunzel dress.

Before we went to bed, the kids put out "Reindeer Food" so that Santa's reindeer would be sure to find our house.

The little bags of food contained oats and glitter so that it sparkled when sprinkled on the snow.

Christmas morning!

Brooke in her Rapunzel dress and wig.

We had a beautiful White Christmas, so we went out to shovel and play. The kids wanted to clean off the cars.

Drew is a good helper when it comes to shoveling.

Dallin enjoys his time in the backpack.

Brooke was teaching Drew how to make snow angels.

It wasn't good packing snow, so we are still waiting to make a good snowman this year!

Dallin's 1st Birthday

2010-12-18T14:43:00.004-06:00

Dallin turned 1!

Happy Birthday Dallin! We love you!

Disney - Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-18T13:55:00.008-06:00

We went to Disney World this year over Thanksgiving.

Drew & Dallin's first airplane ride! Brooke flew with me a lot when she was a baby, but this is probably the first trip she will remember.

We stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Brooke & Drew were very excited about having bunk beds to sleep in.
Dallin did well in his corner in the pack n play.

It's amazing how well the little ones adjust and will sleep anywhere.

Brooke & Drew with Mickey and Minnie

We had such nice weather that we were able to enjoy the pool too.

Dallin finding ways to entertain himself in the hotel.

Our balcony had a view of the Savannah.

Everything was decorated for Christmas and they had this chair in the lobby by the big tree.

Brooke at Cinderella's castle

Brooke & Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora)

Drew & Sleeping Beauty

Brooke & Cinderella

Drew & Cinderella

Brooke & Belle

Drew & Belle

Brooke & Fawn

Brooke & Tinkerbell

Drew was a trooper with all the princesses and had his picture taken with them too, but by the time we got to the fairies, he said forget it. Dallin slept in the stroller through it all, including the long lines of waiting for them.

Brooke & Ariel

Cute!

After a long day at the Magic Kingdom, all 3 crashed on the way back to the hotel.

We spent a day at the pool and wish we had more time for it. Brooke absolutely loved the water slide and went over and over and over. It was a perfect kids size - you can see it there behind her.

Picture of the big Christmas tree and part of the lobby.

There were several overlook areas at the hotel with these big rocking chairs. We were able to sit and watch the zebras, giraffes, ostriches and many other animals.

It was a fun trip with many great memories!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T23:30:00.001-05:00

Brooke & Drew at the Pumpkin Patch

Debbie came with Blake and her niece Breanna.

Jen joined us for the hayride with Jacob & Addison

I feel like Halloween goes on for a week with all the different activities.
Drew - dinosaur, Dallin - chicken, Brooke - fairy

They had a Trunk or Treat at the Park District this year.
The kids and Blake

Chicken Dallin

Here we are at the Trunk or Treat at the church. We brought the ambulance and decorated it for the kids to trick or treat out of. It was the hit of the show!

Then there was trick or treating downtown Glen Ellyn by Papa's office.

Drew, Brooke, Natalie & Tyler

And finally, actual Halloween!

Brooke's Birthday

2010-10-31T22:51:00.008-05:00

Brooke turned 5 in October.

Brooke & Natalie

She wanted butterfly cupcakes (but wanted to include all the stages, so we also had to have cocoon and caterpillar cupcakes!)

Brooke & Lauren
Since Brooke and Lauren both have October birthdays, we usually end up having a combined family party. (Oh yeah my birthday is included in there too)

Brooke got a butterfly garden for her birthday. We sent away for the caterpillars and they arrived in the mail and then we watched them grow and form their cocoons and then become butterflies!

Brooke wanted to take her girl cousins to get their nails done for her party.

Manicures & Pedicures

Then we got ice cream after.

The finished product!

Hope you had a great birthday Brooke - we love you!

Football & Cheerleading

2010-09-27T21:30:00.002-05:00

Well it's football season again and the weather has been so nice that we have been able to get to all of Randy's football games so far. Brooke has really been into cheering at the games, so my mom made her a little cheerleading outfit.

She made one for Natalie too and the girls had a lot of fun cheering at the game.

Rest of Summer

2010-08-30T23:00:00.009-05:00

We've been so busy having fun that I haven't had a chance to post pictures from everything that we've done the second half of this summer. So here it all is!

We always manage to make it to the fair.

Gotta love the corndogs! (Although these faces sure don't look like they are enjoying them - I'm not sure what was going on here.)

Ryan, Blake, Drew, Randy & Brooke

Dallin trying to stay cool in the stroller

Brooke got her face painted like a cat

Drew feeding a camel

Almost every weekend was spent at the Lake.

Brooke & Ghost

Brooke, Ghost & Kobe

We made a stop at the Farm to visit the new kittens.

We made it to the city for a trip to the Shedd Aquarium

and out to a Kane County Cougars game.

Looks like summer has finally come to an end. Brooke started school last week and Drew will start next week. It was a fun summer!

Surgery Day

2010-08-01T12:09:00.007-05:00

Brooke had to have surgery 2 days ago.

She had her tonsils and adenoids removed and had tubes put in her ears.

We had to be at the hospital at 6am, so we got up real early and just went in PJ's.

She was able to bring one of her "guys" to keep with her to comfort her the whole time. She brought her dog, "Old Yeller".
Changed into hospital PJ's...

and hospital socks.

Mommy & Brooke

A little "happy juice" on board...

and she was ready to go.

They wheeled her away at 7:36am and called us at 8:16am saying they were done. It was pretty fast. Everything went really well. She stayed in recovery for another 30 minutes and then they brought her back to the room, so that we could be with her. She had a purple popsicle in recovery, hence the purple lips.

She was pretty wasted and took a good nap and then we got to go home, but not without picking out a couple of prizes first!

Day 2 Post-op
Took a bath and got all cleaned up and then spent a lot of time coloring...

eating ice cream...

& slushies...

laid around and watched TV...

& took some time to play with Dallin. (Drew spent most of the day at Grandma & Papa's and then went to Debbie's for dinner and played with Blake for the evening.)
Toughest part so far has been taking meds. Here Brooke is demonstrating her feelings for her medicine.

It's a battle every time. The usual method of bribing with treats isn't working b/c she really doesn't want to eat anything. So after a lot of convincing, she gets it down.

Day 3 has been pretty quiet. Just laying around watching TV and doing some coloring and painting. Ate pretty good yesterday, but doesn't want to eat too much today. Forcing fluids to prevent getting dehydrated. If you ask her if it hurts, she says no. But then she'll say, "just to swallow." She hasn't complained other than waking in the night saying that her throat hurts (and of course every time she has to take medicine), but if you watch her, you'll see her cringe a little each time she swallows. Poor thing, hope this gets better real fast.

Swim Lessons

2010-07-21T23:17:00.004-05:00

Brooke has been taking swim lesson these last 2 weeks and really enjoys it.

The weather has been perfect!

Drew has been coming along. He is too young this year b/c you have to be 3 yrs old, but he has been content to just watch.
Today Blake came to watch too.

Summer...so far

2010-06-30T22:13:00.005-05:00

Drew in his Lake gear.

Randy & the kids
Dallin in the shade
Brooke with her minnow

Cousins eating lunch

Fishing off the pier. I'm not sure what they like more, the fish or the worms!

Tubing!

Brooke's eyes are closed, but needed to include a cute Dallin pic!

Drew's Party & Brooke's Recital

2010-05-31T21:49:00.006-05:00

We had a fishing party for Drew's birthday and had everyone meet us at the pond.

Drew with his new fishing pole.

The big catch of the day!
Brooke was proud of her catch.

Brooke & Natalie had their dance recital this weekend.

Had to include a few pictures of the little guy too!

Brooke Dallin & Drew

Drew is 2!

2010-05-05T21:39:00.004-05:00

Drew turned 2 last weekend.

Those are not suspenders he's wearing. That is an adjustable high chair that sits up to the table and has a harness because this boy NEVER sits still! He has to be strapped in to stay in one place.

Happy Birthday Drew! We love you so much.

Spring

2010-04-17T22:43:00.009-05:00

Brooke had her first soccer game today!

It sure didn't feel like Spring this morning - it was freezing, but the kids didn't seem to mind too much.

Here she is with 3 of her friends from preschool that are on her team.

Brooke & Natalie had dance pictures the other day. Here they are dressed in their recital costumes.

We got a hotel over Randy's Spring break so that the kids could go swimming.

Brooke & Drew coloring Easter eggs

Easter morning

Baldy brothers!

Brooke & Dallin

Time Flies

2010-03-31T22:25:00.003-05:00

So March has totally gotten away from me, but here are just a few fun pictures.

Drew "hiding" from me one morning when I was trying to get him to do something.

Both Brooke & Drew "hiding"

Dallin is getting big and more active everyday

Drew got his first haircut the other day. Papa did it and yes that is a Flowbee!

This thing is great for cutting the little ones hair. It turned out really good!

Snowman II

2010-02-24T19:38:00.010-06:00

We had a couple of near 40 degree days here, so it felt like spring and Randy took Brooke and her cousin Natalie out to finally make a BIG snowman!

(For those who may have missed the first snowman, see January 2nd post).

I think they actually made her a snow woman. They went in the backyard and collected branches and dried flowers and leaves and even gave her hair!
Drew woke up from his nap and joined them.

Then Randy pulled them around the yard for a little sledding fun.

2 Months

2010-02-09T20:33:00.003-06:00

I can't believe our little guy is already 2 months old.

We went to the doctor today for his 2 month check up and he weighs 11lb 10oz and is 22 3/4 in.

Fun & Family

2010-02-06T23:07:00.013-06:00

Last week I was able to take Brooke to see Disney on Ice.

She is really into all the Disney Princesses right now, so especially loved those parts.

Then Randy's mom and brother Eric came to visit and see baby Dallin.

Brooke & Drew were so proud to show off their new baby brother.

Uncle Eric & Drew

Snowman

2010-01-02T18:06:00.003-06:00

Brooke had been asking to make a snowman for awhile, so we finally made it outside the other day to make one. She brought dried cherries for his eyes, raisins for his mouth and a carrot for his nose.

Don't let the picture fool you though. It was so cold that we had to improvise on the big full sized guy and make a mini!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T03:07:00.001-06:00

He's Home!

2009-12-23T12:36:00.002-06:00

Dallin came home on Monday after spending 12 days in the NICU. It was a long couple of weeks, but we are so grateful that he is doing well and home with us now.

While I spent most of my time up at the hospital, the rest of the family has been sick at home, so they have been keeping their distance from the baby. Brooke is dying to hold her new baby brother, but is doing a great job being a big sister by not getting too close to him yet.
Here's Drew meeting his new baby brother for the first time. This is as close as he wanted to get. He's still a little unsure of this new creature hanging around the house, but if you ask him if he loves him and wants him to stay, he says yes.

After being at the hospital visting Dallin, Brooke would come home and play NICU with her dolls. Drew, however, wasn't allowed in the NICU, so never got to come in and see the baby or anything else that went on in there, but somehow he knew because here's what I caught him doing.

NICU

2009-12-16T16:52:00.003-06:00

Dallin is 1 week old today and is still in the NICU, but should be coming home in a couple of days.

He was jaundice so had to wear the bilirubin blanket.

The blanket wasn't enough, so he had to be put under the light, but his breathing improved enough on Monday morning that he was able to come off CPAP and go onto high flow oxygen through a nasal cannula.
Brooke loves it when her new baby brother holds her hand.

Scrubing to enter the NICU is also one of the highlights of her visit.

He is now off the lights and oxygen and his feeding tube was removed today - with a little help from Dallin - he pulled it out himself!

His room in the NICU - it's quite the setup.

He is eating really well and the plan is to take his IV out today and once he is off everything and eating and gaining weight for 2 days then he can come home. We are shooting for Friday!

He's here!

2009-12-09T20:36:00.004-06:00

Dallin Wardell Ames

12/9/09

8:04am

7lb 11.5oz

19 3/4 inches

He's in the NICU getting a little help breathing, but otherwise doing well.
He's pretty big for being 3 weeks early - definitely biggest guy in the NICU.

Brooke was able to visit with him, but Drew hasn't had a chance to meet him yet because you have to be at lesat 2 yr old to go in the NICU.

Hopefully he will be out soon because we can't wait to hold him.

Shrinky Dinks

2009-12-04T22:08:00.007-06:00

I have been on bed rest for the last couple of weeks and cannot thank my family enough for helping out with the kids - especially Debbie who has taken Drew every morning for me. Being on bed rest has been really tough, not only on me, but also on Brooke and Drew for not having me available to them. So while Drew took a 4 hour nap this afternoon, I got up for a few minutes and Brooke and I did a little Christmas craft together. We made Shrinky Dinks and a Christmas tree to hang them on!

Only a few more days of bed rest. The new baby is scheduled to arrive a little early on Wednesday 12/9/09.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T21:49:00.007-06:00

It was Brooke's idea this year to be the Three Little Pigs for Halloween. When she told me this, I asked her who the pigs were going to be - her, Drew and who else? She said, "And you Mommy! - and Daddy will be the big bad wolf!"

I agreed to dress up for the Halloween party, but convinced her to let her cousin Blake be the 3rd pig for the rest of the time.

4 Year Old Pics

2009-10-20T22:14:00.002-05:00

Debbie took Brooke's 4 year old pictures the other day. Here are some of my favorites.

Next up - Drew's 18mo pics - might be a little more challanging.

Happy Birthday Brooke!

2009-10-12T15:11:00.011-05:00

Brooke turned 4 years old today!

We had her birthday party at My Gym this weekend and had a great time. Here are some pictures from the party.

Brooke & her cousin Lauren

Blake & Drew

Cousins & Friends

Bubbles!

The zip line was a definite hit.

Birthday girl Brooke - they brought her out on a sled w/ a birthday princess crown and feather boa and took her around the circle to give high fives to all her friends!

Then we went to 2Toots today for lunch, so that she could get her cupcake brought out on the train.

Happy Birthday Brooke - we love you so much!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-08T19:49:00.004-05:00

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday.

Big Winner!

2009-09-13T20:32:00.002-05:00

I went to my Chiropractor appointment the other day and won a TV!

For the last couple of months each time you went in for a visit you got to write your name on a ticket for the drawing. They had the drawing over Labor Day weekend and when I went in for my appointment last Friday they surprised me as the winner and loaded the 37" HD LCD flat screen TV into my car!

Firsts

2009-09-05T11:44:00.003-05:00

Brooke started a new gymnastics class last week. Here she is at the new gym waiting for her first class.

She also started another year of preschool.

First day of school - showing off her new backpack.

And Randy's football season officially started again last week.

We were able to make it to the first home game last night.

Weekend Fun

2009-08-16T22:39:00.002-05:00

Brooke and I went to an outdoor movie at Cosley Zoo Friday night. They showed the movie Spirit, which Brooke has seen on video several times, but had no problem watching the whole thing again - although she did keep asking why we were up so late.

You can see the big blowup screen behind her. As soon as it got dark, we had bats flying over us all night!

We have finally had some nice warm summer weather, so we spent Saturday at the Lake.

Brooke & Drew with Kobe

Brooke & Kobe

Drew & my cousin Heather's son, Emmit, playing in the sand.

Drew & his cousin Chelsea

It's a Boy!

2009-08-05T21:31:00.002-05:00

We had the Ultrasound today. Everything looks great and he will be arriving this Christmas.

Now we just have to figure out a name for the little guy.

Michigan

2009-08-03T21:30:00.007-05:00

We had the chance to go to Michigan this last weekend to visit some of Randy's family. We had a really fun trip.

Brooke & her cousin Kristianna riding bikes & Drew playing ball

Brooke & Kristianna

Randy and 2 of his brothers, Howie & Luke, and his friend Joe.

Drew & Uncle Eric
The kids did a great job sleeping at the hotel.

The pool was great for wearing them out before bed.

We finished up our trip with some U-Pick blueberries

Here we are at the blueberry patch.

Drew was just walking along eating blueberries right off the bush the whole time.

The blueberries were definitely a hit!

The Fair!

2009-07-26T21:15:00.006-05:00

We always have a good time when the fair is in town.

Papa & Brooke on the tractor.

Brooke on the Bumper Boats

Every year we see the racing pigs at the fair, but this year they also had racing ducks!
Brooke got to race a duck.

Drew just got to wear the hat.

We usually milk a real cow at the fair, but this was the first year that they didn't have the birthing tent with the cows that were calving. We were pretty disappointed, but they had this fake cow to milk instead.

The kids still enjoyed it!

Brooke's favorite & Drew's first pony ride.

Chelsea & Brooke with the goats

Drew stiff arming a goat

Nothing like ending the day with a bag of Cotton Candy

Splash Park

2009-07-13T16:48:00.003-05:00

Brooke eating her SpongeBob ice cream.

Brooke shooting the giant water gun & Drew trying his best to help.

Drew running away from the water guns.

It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time running around through the water fountains.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T21:49:00.003-05:00

It rained on us all day for the 4th. We did head out to the Lake, but we were stuck inside all day long! We did manage to BBQ outside under the deck. Here are a few pictures of the kids in their 4th of July outfits.

We did have a really nice night the night before and headed over to Lisle to the "Eyes to the Skies" festival.

Drew had his first corn on the cob.
Brooke always enjoys the rides.

Old Yeller

2009-07-02T21:11:00.003-05:00

Brooke found this movie with the DVD's and has been asking to watch it for a while now. I finally let her the other night. These next couple of pictures pretty much tell the story of how it went. Anyone who has seen Old Yeller will understand!

Very sad! She calmed down after we talked about it (all night long) and Old Yeller is now her new favortie movie that she wants to watch everyday.

Summer

2009-06-28T13:10:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to in June.

Brooke eating fresh raspberries at the lake.

Brooke & her cousin Brayden playing at the lake.

They were catching little guppies with a fish net.

Drew enjoys the water and likes climbing from one pool to another.

Brayden & Brooke at the Arboretum

Brooke & Brayden w/ Papa

Brooke and her cousins Lauren, Chelsea & Brayden

Kane County Cougars Game

Finally, some peace & quiet after a long day of playing at the lake!

Another Dance Recital

2009-05-30T17:53:00.003-05:00

Brooke had her 2nd dance recital today for her other tap and ballet class. She has really enjoyed dance and the recital was great!

She caught a glimpse of me in the audience and started blowing kisses.

Brooke & Natalie

Dance Recital

2009-05-17T10:49:00.003-05:00

Brooke had her first dance recital this weekend for one of her tap and ballet classes.
She did a great job!

It was such a cute show with all of these little girls.

Happy 1st Birthday Drew!

2009-05-01T21:17:00.002-05:00

Drew turned 1 today!

His party isn't until next weekend, so we went to "2 Toots" for a birthday cupcake.

Brooke & Drew waiting for the train to bring out the birthday cupcakes!

Drew's real birthday surprise?!?! - He's gonna be a BIG BROTHER!

Silly Girls!

2009-04-25T13:45:00.004-05:00

Brooke & Natalie had pictures in their recital costume for one of their dance classes the other day. Aren't they cute?!

I was able to get them to smile pretty for a couple really good pictures by letting them be silly inbetween.
Here are a few of their silly pictures.

They were cracking me up!

Big Boy Seat

2009-04-19T11:24:00.002-05:00

Well, we finally made the switch from the infant carrier to the big boy carseat.

We have 9am church, so this is how we spend most of it.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:42:00.002-05:00

Visiting the Easter Bunny!

Coloring Easter eggs

Easter morning

Brooke & Drew

Brooke & her cousin Natalie

Cousins

Easter egg hunt

Dora Live!

2009-04-08T21:04:00.003-05:00

A couple of weekends ago we took Brooke to see Dora Live at the Chicago Theater. It was a good day and fun to get back down to the city!

Brooke is a huge Dora fan and has learned quite a bit of spanish from the show. In fact there are even some words that she mostly says in spanish instead of english. So if you're ever talking to her and can't understand what she is saying, it may very well be beccause she is speaking a different language!

"GHOST"

2009-03-30T21:53:00.004-05:00

We have been watching my Uncle Jim's dog, "Ghost" for the past week. We are helping him recover from a kick to the face from a nice horse that he must have gotten too close to out at the farm.

Brooke has made it very clear that she wants Ghost to stay FOREVER!

Ghost is doing really well now, but I think he may be missing his farm life. This city life, on a leash, has been a whole new experience for him. Now if he can just stay away from the horses!

Personality

2009-03-21T21:51:00.004-05:00

I thought this picture was really funny. This is how you will find Brooke most nights around our house. She runs around with her cowboy hat and boots singing Cowgirls Don't Cry. Here she had to stop to get a drink.

So happy to be outside!

Brooke found this shirt hanging in my closet and has since been using it as dress up. She calls it the "married dress". I think she means wedding dress!

10 Months & Walking!

2009-03-10T20:52:00.003-05:00

Drew started walking yesterday! He took about 10 steps 3 seperate times. Here he is with his football - gotta start him early right?

Brooke's preschool class came out as a marching band the other day. Here she is with the hat and drum she made. She insisted on the sunglasses and watch for the picture!

9 Months

2009-02-18T19:34:00.002-06:00

Drew's 9 month pictures. He's such a good sport and so easy to photograph.

He was trying to stand here. He is going to be walking any day now.

Brooke had a beach party at dance class last week.

Dance, Dance, Dance

2009-02-09T20:13:00.005-06:00

Just a few pictures from today of Brooke and her cousins at dance class.

Tyler, Brooke & Natalie
Brooke & Natalie

Brooke had some precious cargo in her wagon today - Baby Drew!

Yee Haw!

2009-02-01T16:26:00.006-06:00

This picture truly captures the moment! Brooke got this rocking horse for her 2nd Birthday and named her Gracie. I think she may be a little big for her now, but she still plays with her all the time. I was trying to get her ready for bed and she asked for her horse riding vest and cowboy hat. She is the master of stalling at bedtime - but this night the laughs were well worth it!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Disney on Ice

2009-01-31T22:22:00.002-06:00

We went to the Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy show today. It was a really good show with Cars, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King & Tinker Bell. We had great seats in the 3rd row thanks to Scott!

Brooke has realized that there is some sort of "Bad Guy" in all of the Disney movies and she makes me fast forward those parts. So she had asked if the bad guys were going to be at the show and I assured her that no, this was a fun show and no bad guys would be there. Well, maybe you can tell by the worried look on her face that I was wrong! She hid her eyes under her hood each time a bad guy came out and would peek out from underneath it.

Winter Fun!

2009-01-22T21:37:00.014-06:00

Ice skating!

Carter, Lauren, Devon (cousins) & Brooke

Randy & Ryan taking Brooke on the ice. She loved it and didn't want to get off, but it's a lot of work if you're the one pulling her around!

Sledding!
Brooke got this new sled for Christmas and was excited to actually go sledding down a hill - usually she just gets pulled around the block. That first trip down was a little much for her - the nose of the sled hit some powder and blasted us in the face.

We had a great time even though it was cold. I asked Brooke if she was cold and she said, "just my cheeks and toes!"

Brooke made me pull her to the car in this baby sled.

A Year In Review

2009-01-19T14:39:00.018-06:00

Well I've finally started a blog, so I thought I'd start off by catching everybody up with a quick recap of this last year.

Baby Drew was born in May!

Summer was spent at the Fair and the Lake.

Brooke discovered her new love for ponies.

Brooke & Natalie (cousin)

Brooke was sharing her ice cream - notice the tongue!

Brooke with Great Grandma & Great Papa on the swing at the lake.

Brooke & Ghost Kittens at the Farm

For Brooke's 3rd Birthday, she wanted a pony party, so we went all out and brought an actual pony home for the party!

Pumpkin Patch

Trick or Treating with cousins

Brooke was TinkerBell for Halloween and Drew was a lion.

Natalie & Brooke

Drew

Brooke & Drew

Drew & Blake

Our nanny brings her dog when she comes to watch the kids and Brooke couldn't be happier about the situation! His name is Gizmo and we got a chance to watch him over Thanksgiving and here Brooke is reading him a book.

Randy, Dayna & Drew - we took the train downtown to the Sears Tower.

Natalie & Brooke at the Sears Tower.

Brooke & Randy checking out the view.

This is how we have spent most of the winter - all bundled up and lots of shoveling.

Randy & Drew

Dayna & Drew

Brooke, Dayna & Drew

Christmas Eve at Scott and Lisa's house - Ella & Brooke

Acting out the nativity scene - Brayden, Brooke & Ella (cousins)

Brooke & Drew Christmas morning

Brooke was pretty excited about her horse truck and trailer and her rocking horse that she named Champ. Baby Drew was just happy to be able to play with a toy for a minute without Brooke interupting and stealing it away.

The weather gave us a short break and we were able to make it to Michigan to have Christmas with Randy's family too. Drew with his cousin Hailey.

Samantha, Luke & Kristianna, Randy & his mom

Cousins Kristianna, Brooke, Riley, Madison & Kohler

Brooke, Uncle Luke & Kristianna