Leah would cry just about every day when I'd comb her hair, but insisted that she wanted it long. I negotiated with her several times but never could get her to agree to go to the salon. Finally, Aunt Anna came to the rescue and offered to come along. This made it more of an outing or girl's night. Another friend suggested donating her hair since it's so long. I told her she could help someone else and explained how a wig works, a new concept for a four year old.
She was so quiet and serious during the haircut. We went to Starbucks afterwards for some chocolate milk! It turned out really cute and is much easier to take care of. No more crying when I brush it. She still gets bed head and we wet it down in the morning, but it combs right through and is much faster. The barrettes stay in now too b/c it's not so heavy.
We threw a party with friends and family to celebrate Brooks turning 1. The Rookery is a park about 15 mins away from our house and they have a really nice lodge with a stone fireplace. This worked out perfectly since we needed to be indoors. It had a lot of room to spread out, dance, play and run around. There were probably close to 30 kids. I think the adults were outnumbered. Needless to say, hosting at our house was not an option in the wintertime.
Here's Brooks with his cake, made by our friend Laura. She's the best!
Feeding so many people was a little nerve racking, but I made about 10 lbs of meatballs the week before and froze them. Then the day before I roasted sausage, peppers and onions. My mother in law boiled all the pasta. We borrowed many electric roasters. The grandmas and Aunt Anna made salads. With all the help, the food turned out great. We had way too much, but people went home with leftovers happy to not have to cook the next day!
Aunt Anna and our good friend Debbie with newborn Colin in the Bjorn...he's a little Irishman, their first son with 3 older sisters.
Bridget, Carter, Molly, Leah and Trent
Amy with the twins, Emma and Riley
Uncle John with Brooks
My brother Matt helped us create a playlist and the kids had a blast dancing. It was so much fun!
We hired a juggler, who was really funny. He kept messing up though, which was also kind of funny. The kids loved his show and even came up unexpectedly and gave him a big group hug at one point. Here's Carter volunteering for one of the stunts. They all balanced peakock feathers on their hands before he later balanced an ironing board on his head. Getting the kids involved in the act kept their attention. All but Elliot, he kept swinging the feather at Elizabeth, trying to get her attention.
G-ma holding the birthday boy.
I posted a slideshow with a lot more pics. The ones of Brooks eating his cake are the best. He was slow about it at first, but eventually he dove in face first! All went well till the clean up crew arrived. Then he had a meltdown. It was a great party, a lot of work to put together but well worth it.
Now that he's one, it's like he's one of the gang. Brooks is joining in with the other kids. While they run around, he chases them crawling. He smiles at them and gives them hugs and waves to them when he goes down for his naps. They look out for him too. Last night, we had a babysitter and he cried quite a bit when we left. But Maddy said on the phone that she loved the way the other kids worked so hard to help settle him down. Don't get me wrong they all fight at times, but it's heartwarming to see them look out for eachother, even the littlest one who can't really play with them or bring much to their entertainment. They want to sit with him and talk to him. When we tell stories at night, even though he's asleep in the other room, they make sure I mention Brooks as one of the characters because at one he's a big part of the fam! We love you Brooks. Thanks for being our sweet little boy!
Monday, January 24th Brooks turned 1. What a special day!!! Here are few pics....
Brooks and Leah in the car
Stats from the Dr's visit on Tuesday: Weight - 18 lbs 15 oz (5th percentile). Height - 31" (75th percentile). He's maintained those growth curves the whole year, so my attempt to beef him up has not been successful. Nonetheless, he is a healthy tall baby! Dr. Hertz said he's great and coming along fine. No new milestones since last month, but he is beginning to walk more holding our fingers. G-ma and Pop-pop gave him a push toy for his birthday and he's been walking with that a bit too.
Wow, now that I've replayed this video, I'm somewhat sorry I uploaded it. No future vocalists in the family! Pretty painful to listen to.
We sang to him and then he started crying b/c Dad couldn't get that cupcake in front of him fast enough!
Yum. For a kid with a chocolate cupcake, he was not so thrilled about the whole experience. We had run errands in the morning to get ready for his party this weekend and skipping the morning nap wasn't really what he had in mind. Hopefully Saturday will be more fun for him!!
After a bath, he opened his present.
Happy Birthday Brooks!!!! Your first year has gone fast. You are such a special part of our family. We love you to pieces!!
We have so few pictures from Christmas this year. I took pictures Christmas morning and then as we loaded the car for church I couldn't find the camera. We searched that night and pretty much every day following. This included opening every garbage bag and milling through the trash just in case it was pitched by mistake. Finally, we took one last look the following weekend after all Christmas decorations were put away. We even ripped apart the furniture and I dug down into our big cushion chair near the fireplace, I felt a string, pulled it out and sure enough it was the camera! I must have slipped it under the cushion and it worked it's way into the chair. So although we missed out on all the Christmas pics from Christmas day and beyond, the good news is we now have the camera back. So, here are the ones from Christmas morning....
We did things a little differently this year. Since the kids are getting a little older, we wanted to spend Christmas morning at home. So, Jeremy's parents, sister Kelly and Grandma came over to watch the kids open gifts. It was really fun. We had coffee and coffee cake and Pop-pop manned the screwdriver for all toy assembly!
Carter got a metal excavator that he could build himself with real tools. Somehow he ate toast instead and Pop-pop did a lot of the building. Carter sorted parts. He and Jeremy are going to finish it sometime soon....it's more of a project than Santa realized!
Leah got a new doll stroller...AGAIN! She keeps asking for one each year and this is now her third one. Her brothers use them like a truck and somehow the first two have broken. I'm hoping this one holds up.
Brooks got a new alligator.
Elliot helped Pop-pop work on the excavator too.
Brooks got a rocking horse and Carter's favorite gift, a cowboy rifle and pistol. He calls them his "gun shooters".
Here's Aunt Kelly trying to feed Brooks, who was more interested in playing with toys than eating breakfast.
It was a really nice morning at home. We went to 11am mass, which was beautiful and much less crowded than the Christmas Eve masses. I didn't like the music as well though. I kind of missed the traditional Christmas songs. From there, we spent the afternoon at my parents' house. My brothers came in from out of town so it was the first year we were all together on Christmas in forever!
The day after Christmas, we went to Jeremy's parents and had a "Christmas morning" with his side of the family. We at brunch, which was delicious and did a gift exchange. The kids played in the snow for a good portion of the day and we went to Jeremy's uncle's house that night for dinner.
It was a much easier pace this year and I enjoyed getting to visit more with the family without rushing around. We spread out the festivities and it worked great! Jeremy had a lot of v/c left so he was off most of the last two weeks of the year. Since the kids were off school too, we did a lot of fun things as a family. We took Carter and Leah skiing for the first time ever. They did so great and aside from a few meltdowns on the slope, it was really fun. David gave us a ski harness for the kids. It worked well and helped give Leah the confidence she needed right away. It also saved my back b/c there's a handle to pick them up with when they fall. We're looking forward to getting back out there again...just need to find a cheap way to take four kids skiing.
New Years was uneventful, went to bed before midnight....we're getting old!! We were supposed to go to a party with the kids but it didn't start till 8, which meant a really late bedtime for them, so we scrapped it and stayed home. It was still nice and we weren't exhausted the whole next day. So, we're getting kind of lame I guess! Happy New Year!
Now we're on to 2011... looking forward to a great year!
Brooks was 11 months old on Christmas Eve. It's hard to believe in just a few short weeks, he will be one! With Christmas and New Year's keeping us busy the last few months have flown by and suddenly I'm frantically planning his first birthday party!!
Brooks is doing great, let's see, recent updates.....
- he has six teeth - crawls super fast - pulls up on furniture and can balance with one hand - furniture walks, especially on the hearth (we had to move all decorations) - says "mama, dada, eat, indy" he's trying to say Carter, but it's a little tricky. - points - finger walks, but would much rather crawl - loves to splash in the bathtub - gets really mad when you change his diaper - suddenly not thrilled with the car seat either. I think we're getting close to transferring him to upright seat - eating everything but honey. we started peanut butter early and he's going crazy for it! - I beef up his bottles with one extra scoop of formula each time. He only drinks about 4 oz at a time so this way I can get some extra calories into him....seems to be working - He loves Daddy and books it for the door when he gets home from work. Jeremy picks him up first and he looks down at the other kids as if to say, "Beat Ya!"...really cute. - Brooks is taking two naps per day, sometimes one if I'm out running errands during pre-school. He's somewhat flexible as long as he gets the afternoon nap and several morning naps each week. No longer will he sleep in the car seat. - Favorite toys: race-car (old toy of Carter's) He can crawl while he pushes it since it's easy to grab, plastic balls, activity table, vacuum cleaner cord unfortunately! - he unplugs it every time I'm vacuuming., the Christmas tree was a huge hit too - I could not wait to take it down this year! - he sucks his index and middle fingers to go to sleep, similar to Leah, but different fingers. - Brooks has a few nicknames including: Brooksie, Brookster, Brooksandrus (all one word), Brooksie Baby...kind of reminds me of the SNL skit in the copy room.
This was taken Christmas morning. Brooks, wearing his new mud boots and riding the pony from Santa.
Here he is playing at the activity table with a big smile
Another favorite activity is spitting to make Carter and Leah laugh. he sucks his top lip and spits everywhere (shown below), funny the first time, then not good especially in the middle of church.
This was a recent video of him standing at the table....also shows the other kids playing hide-n-seek with Jer. They play hide-n-seek all the time. Another favorite game is "Brooksie Monster". Jeremy carries Brooks around like he's flying and chases the kids. Brooks howls laughing and the kids think it's hillarious to run away from him!
Elliot and his two cousins Paul and Oliver all are in two year old class. The teachers are still trying to figure out our family tree, but were kind enough to put them all in a row together....so nice for pictures.
from left...Elliot (black overalls holding his ear), Oliver, Paul
Here's Leah with her best buddy and classmate in the 4's class, Trenton (also her cousin!)
Hugs after the show
The three boys....love how Elliot sucks his thumb at the end.
Leah, in the black sweater staring down the camera. She rolls her eyes at the end, as if to say, "Mom stop filming!!"
Love Elliot's shout-out and little dance at the end! He's in the front row. Leah's towards the back left.
Carter had his Christmas music program earlier in December. We had the best time watching him sing with his class. The Kindergarten and 1st grade did a smaller program with coreography and Carter even had his own line! "I said the dove from the rafters high!". He did great and sang all the words . Then, the 2nd and 3rd graders put on a show that was a bit more involved while the K&1st grade sang back-up below the stage. It was impressive, lots of coreography and characters. Back in the day, we just stood in the rafters and sang Christmas carols, which would have also been nice. But, it was cute to see a little show on top of some nice music. I think the grandparents and Aunt Maggie had fun too! Jer's dad and sister, Maggie as well as my mom joined us. Carter loved showing us his room and the tree he made to decorate the hall (shown below). He looked so grown up wearing his first neck tie, new dress pants and a black belt to match the shoes. What a dude!!!
Carter and Aunt Maggie home from The University of Cincinatti
Pop-pop with Carter after the show.
Grandma and Carter
Here we are back at the house afterwards.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any still pics during the show as I was videotaping with the camcorder. I'll do more of that next time.
There's several feet of snow outside at the moment. School was cancelled for the second Monday in a row! Last Monday Carter was almost in tears when I told him he didn't have school, which kind of broke my heart. I remember how much we used to love snow days as a kid and hearing he'd rather go to school bummed me out. However, we had spent most of the weekend at home so it was understandable that he was in need of a change in scenery Monday morning. Today was a bit different. He seemed excited to be home for the day and we've had a lot of fun hanging out playing games. Carter and Leah even cleaned the basement (without being asked!). There is hope!!
I spent some time finally downloading pictures from the past month and a half and found all these fun pics from a November rain storm we had.....I don't know why I get such a kick out of them getting muddy. It just seems like good pure fun and the way they laugh doing it is a joy to listen to.
So, rather than post about snow I'm posting mud pictures where you can actually still see the grass in our yard, a reminder that the warm weather will eventually return!
Carter lost his first tooth on 10/22/10, one month after he turned 6. His big milestone was topped off with a visit from the Tooth Fairy. She brought him one dollar and a blow-pop...He also somehow found a ball in the morning that he already owned (probably near his bed) and he said that was from her too. Glad to know we can re-gift in this house...it will make Christmas a lot easier. :-) Congratulations Carter!
She was so quiet and serious during the haircut. We went to Starbucks afterwards for some chocolate milk!
Feeding so many people was a little nerve racking, but I made about 10 lbs of meatballs the week before and froze them. Then the day before I roasted sausage, peppers and onions. My mother in law boiled all the pasta. We borrowed many electric roasters. The grandmas and Aunt Anna made salads. With all the help, the food turned out great. We had way too much, but people went home with leftovers happy to not have to cook the next day!
Bridget, Carter, Molly, Leah and Trent
Amy with the twins, Emma and Riley
Uncle John with Brooks
My brother Matt helped us create a playlist and the kids had a blast dancing. It was so much fun!
We hired a juggler, who was really funny. He kept messing up though, which was also kind of funny. The kids loved his show and even came up unexpectedly and gave him a big group hug at one point. Here's Carter volunteering for one of the stunts.
They all balanced peakock feathers on their hands before he later balanced an ironing board on his head. Getting the kids involved in the act kept their attention. All but Elliot, he kept swinging the feather at Elizabeth, trying to get her attention.
G-ma holding the birthday boy.
I posted a slideshow with a lot more pics. The ones of Brooks eating his cake are the best. He was slow about it at first, but eventually he dove in face first! All went well till the clean up crew arrived. Then he had a meltdown. It was a great party, a lot of work to put together but well worth it. 
Yum. For a kid with a chocolate cupcake, he was not so thrilled about the whole experience. We had run errands in the morning to get ready for his party this weekend and skipping the morning nap wasn't really what he had in mind. Hopefully Saturday will be more fun for him!!
After a bath, he opened his present.
Happy Birthday Brooks!!!!
We did things a little differently this year. Since the kids are getting a little older, we wanted to spend Christmas morning at home. So, Jeremy's parents, sister Kelly and Grandma came over to watch the kids open gifts. It was really fun. We had coffee and coffee cake and Pop-pop manned the screwdriver for all toy assembly!
Leah got a new doll stroller...AGAIN! She keeps asking for one each year and this is now her third one. Her brothers use them like a truck and somehow the first two have broken. I'm hoping this one holds up.
Brooks got a new alligator.
Elliot helped Pop-pop work on the excavator too.
Brooks got a rocking horse and Carter's favorite gift, a cowboy rifle and pistol. He calls them his "gun shooters".
Here's Aunt Kelly trying to feed Brooks, who was more interested in playing with toys than eating breakfast.
It was a really nice morning at home. We went to 11am mass, which was beautiful and much less crowded than the Christmas Eve masses. I didn't like the music as well though. I kind of missed the traditional Christmas songs. From there, we spent the afternoon at my parents' house. My brothers came in from out of town so it was the first year we were all together on Christmas in forever! 
Here he is playing at the activity table with a big smile
Another favorite activity is spitting to make Carter and Leah laugh. he sucks his top lip and spits everywhere (shown below), funny the first time, then not good especially in the middle of church.
This was a recent video of him standing at the table....also shows the other kids playing hide-n-seek with Jer. They play hide-n-seek all the time. Another favorite game is "Brooksie Monster". Jeremy carries Brooks around like he's flying and chases the kids. Brooks howls laughing and the kids think it's hillarious to run away from him!
Here's Leah with her best buddy and classmate in the 4's class, Trenton (also her cousin!)
The three boys....love how Elliot sucks his thumb at the end.
Pop-pop with Carter after the show.
Grandma and Carter
Here we are back at the house afterwards.
