Kid Photography

I let my kids play with the camera to see what they would come up with. I thought it turned out pretty funny!

I let my kids play with the camera to see what they would come up with. I thought it turned out pretty cute! It could have been worse....

Project Clean Room: COMPLETED

I am sure that some of you remember my previous post back in August of last year about my "I will get to it later piles" (that post can be found here: http://jmbrooksfam.blogspot.com/2009/08/un-adventures-of-me.html)

I just thought I should update you and let you know that it got a whole lot worse before it got better.

Exhibit A

after I re-arranged the placement of the furniture in the bedroom I decided (for what reason, I really can't remember...) that I should pull out everything that we had in storage and go through it, just to make sure I had everything I was wanting out in accessible reach. So Jake pulled it all out for me and I went through it, slowly but surely, until it was all done. The MANY boxes and rubbermaids that we own invaded our bedroom and there was not even enough walking room to be confident in your foot placement. Not to mention that it crept out into the hallway where you had to turn sideways and inhale to have a chance of squeezing through.

BUT, after a few horrible days of little to no breathing room, I actually completed the project I had set out to accomplish!

Here is the proof:

Yay me! :)

That's my girl!

I am so happy! Taylie got to come with me to her first basketball game!!!! I was wonderful :)

It was the season opener for Uncle Jared (and they won!) and Taylie had such a blast! She cheered whenever a basket was made (for both teams) and thought that the vending machines were the best part. What kid is not facinated by a machine that gives you cookies and pretzels?! We both had fun and she askes every week if we are "gonna go to dat basketball game with Jared?"

Happy 3rd Birthday Taylie! (12/2/2009)

"Tinkerbell" turns 3! Well, we call her Tinkerbell as a joke...i am sure nobody else thinks that is funny. Oh well, when we look back at this we will laugh, that is all that matters ;) Taylie got to choose her own cake this year and she chose "Madagascar"! I am not sure if anybody remembers, but that is the movie that we took her to see before Luke was born for her 2nd birthday. She loves the movie and the animals.

For breakfast, she got to eat a chocolate chip waffle. But you can see that...

Since we were having the party that night with the family we let her open up her presents from us that morning. She was so excited. For weeks, she would ask "Is today my birthday?" When it was Luke's birthday and not hers, that was hard. It kind of works out that they share so well and everything is pretty much community property.

She was spoiled. So much stuff.

She played with her toys during all meal times that day. For her Birthday dinner we made her Taco Salad, because that is her favorite. If you give her a choice of what to eat, she will either choose birthday cake or taco salad. Silly girl!

Cake Time!

Let me add this: you can see why she would think that Birthday Cake would be an option. There is Luke, Her, Megan, and Grandpa who all have birthdays within 4 weeks of each other. So, when you eat cake once a week for a month you can see a pattern fall into place. For her, that time of year is about cake as much a presents.


She ALMOST got them blown out by herself this year...Dad helped a little bit. Shhh! Don't tell ;)

She got more stuff. Spoiled. I could give you an inventory, but it was so much! Pretty much, anything we didn't have before...we do now!

(and you can tell, Luke helped!)


The one that I will tell you about was the game of memory from Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Becca. Yay....72 pieces.... :-P

j/k guys! You know I love you! Although, the silly string was not so much appreciated..... it is called "uncle's privilege". ;)

I think her favorite from the day was the "Woody" doll that she got. If there is one thing she likes more than "Madagascar" it is "Toy Story". Good call Grandma!

It was a very fun day!

Thanksgiving 2009

We spend Thanksgiving the same way every year, at Grandma Nuttal's house. We do this for a few reasons:

1: we are invited

2: I don't cook

Those reasons are pretty much it. It is Jacob's favorite holiday so I am not about to goof that one up by making a yucky dinner. We do get a food assignment every year though. We always get assigned something store bought...because i don't cook. I works out very well for all involved I think. Grandma gets her ingredients early enough to prepare them, I get to say that I "helped out" and nobody's food get ruined. So, for all of these reasons, I need to tell Grandma Nuttall and Linda thank you so much for providing us with a very yummy dinner year after year. Even when I was not apart of the family yet, they still invited me and treated me as if I belonged. I love being able to spend the holiday with all of you!

Now it is so much fun to bring the kids and have them participate in the tradition. Luke, of course is all about having a holiday dedicated to eating food. He pretty much ate the whole day...just like his Dad.

He ran out of whatever he was eating and he knew where to go to find more. Actually, he was probably finding someone who could get it for him.

I know that there are not many pictures of Taylie eating and that is because, well, she is Taylie this is what she was up too:

She ate a few bites of mashed potatoes, 2 rolls, and (I think) some turkey. We let her have a tiny glass of soda in honor of the holiday and then she was out the door to play with her cousin Skylar and the dog Sadie. She would live outside if I let her, I am pretty sure of that. She had a great time playing with Skyler and he has a patients of a SAINT!!! He is so good with her and he told me, "she doesn't listen real well." Poor guy! Trust me man, I know! He was wonderful! Taylie is so lucky to have wonderful cousins :)

The day ended just as any other...goofing off with Dad!

Happy 1st Birthday Luke! (11/19/2009)

I had a hard day when my baby boy turned 1. He has grown SO much it is not even fair. We had such a fun day though. It is a tradition in my family to have a cookie monster cake for the 1st birthday and of course we carried on the tradtion with Luke.

The Birthday Boy!

(swollen lip and all)




The toy he loved the most was actually one that Taylie had picked in Walmart...for herself. That day it became community property. :)

He was so tired from the lack of a nap that he started falling apart about 6pm so we busted out the cake because well, what kid doesn't like cake?

apparently, Luke didn't that night. He wanted to eat the cookies and that was it. It was sort of nice because he stayed so much cleaned than Taylie did. If it wasn't December, I would have taken her out back and hosed her down....

I mean, this is a very managable mess!

He loved the cookies, of course!

Happy Birthday my baby! I love you so much! Part of me hopes that you would stay 1 forever but I am sure we will have even more fun when you get to 2!!!

this never happens....

Taylie and I went out for the morning...back in Novmeber, to get our hair cut and make a run to the craft store. We were only gone for maybe 2 hours. When we got home, about 30 minutes later, we found her like this:

balloon in hand, holding her sippy cup and she was sound asleep! She had fallen asleep sitting up :)

and this is how tired she was:

Jake was able to pick her up and move her back to her bed without her waking up and she didn't budge when he put her down.

It must have been a Christmas Miracle!

war wounds part 2

I know that I am trying to catch up for a few months, so I am working from 3 months ago until now. This is what happened after Luke bit the hole in his lip.

He did it again. The day before his birthday.

He was, again, at Grandma and Grandpa's house and he fell, again, and bit a hole in his lip just a few days after we got his first set of stitches out.

This time he bit into the top of his lip and tore that little piece of skin that attaches your lip the gum. There was SO much more blood and swelling than the first accident. I happened, no joke, about 5 minutes before the close of office hours and it was about 2 hours before I could get him into the after hours clinic. I couldn't bear to show my face in the emergency room, again, with the same kid who had the same injury. Grandma Linda was nice enough to call a family friend who is an ER doc and he let us come up to his house and he checked him out and said that even though it was a HUGE gash it would heal on its own. I was pretty skeptical because this one was so much deeper and his was in so much more pain than the first time. I healed just fine.

The poor kid, Happy Birthday to you Luke!