11 Months Old

No, no, no...this can't be happening. My little boy is not almost a year old, is he? Please tell me that everyone else out there gets a little crazy when their first child is about to be one. I feel like that at one, there is this magical transformation - and Brooks will no longer be my "little boy" but that everything he'll do will be "big boy" things. Wow! And it is a little crazy to think that he was born in Colorado, and he will be living in Texas on his first birthday. A lot can happen in one year, I guess.
I was going to bore you with the usually accomplishments that I give each month, but my friend inspired me to try something different. My friend (that's you Jenn) talked on her blog about the responsibility of being a mother. That everything we do is something that our kids will learn from. But we can turn that around, and learn some things from our kids as well. I haven't stopped thinking about that since I read her blog. And all day, I kept looking at Brooks and thinking about all the things he has taught me this last 11 months:
* Brooks has taught me that miracles do happen in this day in age, everyday I look at him is proof.
* I have always been told that I'm a patient person, but it is only now that I've been really tested. Nothing tests your patience better than a crying baby.
* Brooks has taught me to be happy with what I have. He never complains about his toys and talks about all the bigger and better toys that his friends have. He is content.
* On that same note, Brooks has taught me to make the best of what I have. You don't have to have fancy things to be happy, all you need is a remote control, or some newspaper, or even an old shoe. He is constantly playing with whatever happens to be around at that moment.
* Sometimes you just need to scream.
* Life is meant to be fun. Brooks has fun in life and smiles at everything and everyone...that makes me smile (even when I'm having a rough day).
* He has helped me learn that what's in the past is in the past. I can tell him "No" one second. He'll cry because he totally knows what that means. And then a second later he is reaching for me to give me a hug. Forgiveness can be easy.
* Brooks has reminded me that there is never a bad time to pick up a book and read. He LOVES reading and turning the pages in his books. Maybe I should try that more instead of watching TV or getting on the computer.
* Brooks has taught me to love my husband more. A healthy family starts with a healthy marriage. And I want Brooks to have the healthiest, happiest family he can.
* Sometimes the best conversation has no words at all. As adults we gush over words and try to make ourselves sound smart by extending our vocabulary so we say things like "myriad" instead of just saying "a lot". Brooks can give me a hug and lay his head on my shoulder and that speaks to me more than words. Sometimes we don't need to say anything at all.


Brooks is 11 months old today and he has already taught me so much. I can't imagine what I'll learn from him in the next 10 or 20 years.

The traditional chair picture:



I think Brooks might get his Daddy's curly hair. See his "wings" on the side:


My little reader:

A New Miracle

How can anyone see a new baby and not believe in God? It's such a miracle that any of us even get pregnant when you look at the science behind that. And then that women can grow an actual human being for 9 months is unbelievable! And after that long agonizing 9 months, out comes that wrinkly little person. It's a miracle every time!
My best friend, Cari, experienced that miracle yesterday. Cari gave birth to a healthy baby boy:
Parker Ferrell was born at 12:54pm on 5.22.09. 7lbs 8oz and 21 inches.

There is something really special about my best friend having a little boy. I am sure there will be many times when we call each other for advice on what to do with a boy and how crazy they can get. And there's something wonderful about being able to say, "Let's take the boys to the zoo today!" or "Want to take the boys swimming?". The boys are 11 months apart, so as they grow up, I think they could be best buds! Here are some adorable pictures of Parker (I 'borrowed' the pictures from a friend's facebook).

Gammy in Town

Gammy, my mom, came in town while Chad is relaxing on the beach in Cancun. It has been great having her around. She has been wonderful company, and has helped a ton with Brooks. They spend every morning together while I go to work. Brooks really loves his Gammy. My mom came in on Saturday and we headed straight down to Colorado Springs. We stopped into the Air Force Academy on our way in and toured the chapel and just walked around a bit. We spent the night in a fabulous little hotel and then headed out to Pikes Peak the following day. We didn't make the 19 mile drive to the top, but we did go 6 miles up. Now, I know 19 miles doesn't sound like it would take a long time, but when you are climbing to 14,000+ feet up a mountain it's a lot of switch backs that end up taking about 2 hours. So, like I said, we only went up 6 miles - it was a fabulous view! This week we've just been hanging out, going to the park, and eating out a lot. Tonight my cousin came over with his girlfriend and we had a fun night of Mexican food, margaritas, and Nuggets basketball. Brooks has been a wonderful little boy through all this excitement and is totally showing off for his Gammy. His new thing is that he has learned how to scream. He's totally happy - but just screams to see how loud he can get. He screams when he eats, he screams while in his stroller, he screams in the bath, he scream a lot. Here are some pics of our week with Gammy:

New Trouble

Brooks is pretty tall, at 9 months he was 29.5 inches tall, so he's probably more than 30 inches now. Sometimes I forget that that means he can reach lots of things...like the toilet paper roll. It's his new favorite toy.

Get ready to laugh...

When we got to the house, Kansas was beyond excited to be in the mountains. He started bouncing around and barking like crazy. Brooks thought it was hilarious! I was in the outhouse (fun times) and I could hear Brooks cracking up inside. I peed as fast as I could to get inside and capture the moment. I missed the real loud laughter (I guess Brooks got tired) but I still think this clip is pretty funny. I watch it a lot just to make me smile.

Grand Lake, CO

For my first Mother's Day, we packed up the family and headed up the mountains to our favorite place...GRAND LAKE! A lady in our church owns a house a "vacation" home there, so we stayed in her house. When we got there the house was FREEZING! The house isn't used much in the winter (only for hunting purposes). Things are a little different out here in Colorado, so let me explain a few things. They turn the water off in the winter so the pipes don't freeze, so we had to bring bottles of water and use the outhouse. They also don't have the heat turned on, and we couldn't light the burner to turn it on, so the house had no heat. Now, you might be saying, "No heat in May?! That's no big deal!" WRONG! At night it got to 20 degrees inside the house! We brought 2 space heaters and kept them in the bedroom. We pretty much just hung out in there because the rest of the house never got warm. We totally bundled up and played with jackets and gloves on in the bedroom. We also forgot the pack-and-play and Brooks' noise maker, so Chad had to move furniture together to make a crib and we found a radio for noise. It was interesting! We hung out by the lake a bit before dinner and then we ate at our favorite restaurant with our favorite margaritas - Pancho and Lefty's. That was pretty much it for the night, and I think Chad and I even got into bed around 9:30. Brooks was sleeping in the warm bedroom, so hanging out anywhere else was too cold to bare. We just headed back to the bedroom and went to sleep. The next day we had a picnic and then went for a hike. Brooks is a great little hiker! The views out there are spectacular! Kansas got to swim in the river, we ran across some moose bones, hiked through some mud, and saw some pretty waterfalls...it was a great day! It's trips like this that make me think about how much I'm going to miss Colorado and the mountains.

Such a little "boy" on Daddy's shoulders:


Mommy and Brooks down by the lake:


What a Look:


The crib:


Watching some Baby Einstein:


Brooks and Daddy:


Our Little Hiker:


Cooling off by the river:


The boys:


Brooks and Mommy being silly:


Brooks and Mommy:

Yummy!

Since Brooks started eating with his fingers a couple of months ago, he is getting more picky about what he eats. He just simply chooses to pick up or not pick up what I put down on his plate. He loves meat, cheese, peaches, pears, sweet potato fries, and will eat some other stuff too. But trying to get him to eat veggies is a tad bit tricky. So, I found this recipe on one of my favorite baby websites:

Brooks would eat these all day if he had a choice. He LOVES them. I tasted one to see how good it was...and then I ate three. Just thought I'd pass on this super-easy/delicious recipe to other moms.