Birdie and Brooks

This is the kind of fun that happens when Birdie is in town:

17 months old

Brooks-man is 17 months old...and counting. So much is changing and he is officially turning into a little boy. I think I say that every month, but every month he does something that looks more and more like a little boy and less like a baby. While in Denver I definitely noticed a difference between Brooks and his girlfriend, Tenley. Brooks is so loud and doesn't really sit still...unless he is reading a book. He is constantly running around the house like a crazy guy screaming and throwing his body into pieces of furniture. There are also few moments when he isn't babbling/talking. In the car, in the grocery store, eating dinner...noises are always coming out of his mouth. Some of the things we hear him say the most:
Dada
Momma
Scoop
"Papa" for "Grandpa"
"Gaga" for Gammy
Pops
Birdie
Bobo
"nack" is what he says for "snack"
yes
book
ball
"wawa" for "water"
"milk" which is usually followed by him going to the fridge
apple
moon
home
"octpu" for "octopus"
duck and quack, quack
dog and woof, woof
He seems to be catching onto words a lot more lately. Sometimes we'll say something and he'll try his hardest to repeat it. If he can't say the sounds he at least tries to copy the speech pattern...it's pretty cute. When we're reading books (which is ALL the time) he can point and find almost everything on the page. He has his favorites, of course, but most of the time he just grabs a book to sit and read. He now thinks he's a big kid by climbing up on the rocking chair in his room to room books. He can even nicely turn the pages to read paperback books...

...And, my favorite, he brings a book and plops himself down in my lap for me to read to him. The kid LOVES books. This age is so fun because there is so much understanding and communication between us. Unfortunately, with the age also comes discipline. I am not a big fan of discipline. I do it. But I don't like it. The new thing I'm trying is to put him in a corner when he is fussing for no reason or when he does something he's not supposed to. It took some practice, but now I just say, "Go sit in your corner!" He stops fussing almost immediately and goes and puts his back up against the wall and slides his butt down in the corner. I let him sit there for a minute and then go over to him and say, "You all done? Now come give mommy a hug and say sorry." He'll run over and give me a hug and then he gets to go play. It's actually really funny to watch. Overall he is a very sweet boy who loves to give hugs. Right now I am trying to soak up every "momma" and every time he runs into my arms. I feel like I'm just going to turn around one day and he's going to be walking into kindergarten or playing in his first t-ball game. 17 months came too fast and I'm worried it's going to pass by just as fast.

Things about Colorado that I love...

...The Hill Family. Being with them this weekend has been so wonderful. I have laughed so hard watching the kids play together and I love my time with Kristen (and Nate, Tenley, and Tessa of course). When I was in the hospital prior to Brooks, Kristen came and saw me almost everyday. Her husband was out in the woods doing wilderness training for the duration of my hospital stay, and she lived a couple of block away. She would bring Tenley (Brooks' girlfriend) up and they would hang out at the hospital for hours. She has always been a great resource for me as a parent (since she has 4 months on me). One night, Brooks busted his lip pretty good on the tile floor, and he had a good amount of blood in his mouth. Kristen very calmly washed out his mouth, told me it was alright if I wanted to cry, and calmed both of us down. I miss my Kristen when I'm in Texas.

...The snow. It snowed Friday night and again on Sunday. Sunday it snowed a whole lot. We dressed the kids and let them go wild outside. Tenley was all decked out in her Columbia snow gear, and poor Brooks was wearing the only "winter" jacket that he has with some windpants from Children's place, and some yarn mittens from Target. Despite the lack of appropriate gear - Brooks absolutely LOVED the snow. Brooks and Tenley spent the first 5 minutes just eating the snow. And Brooks spent the next 5 minutes picking up snow and throwing it up in the air above his head. He ran back and forth on the sidewalk a little bit, and it wasn't until he starting exploring "stomping" in the snow that he got cold. And then he was done.

...Ski racks. I forgot what it's like to be driving around and seeing ski racks on everyone's cars. It just reminds me of the mountains, and the mountains make me happy. Chad finally took our ski rack off the top of our car...now it's just a regular car in Texas.
...The mountains. They were kind of hidden all weekend with the snow clouds. But I knew they were there.
...Charles Hay. On Friday morning I went up to my old school to visit the teachers and students. It was such a strange feeling being in that building and just being a visitor. I got to see tons of my old kids. One of my students from last year said, "Mrs. Hoffman! It's me - Ethan! Do you remember me?!" So cute! I miss those hallways and everyone who occupies them.
..."Brooks and Tenley sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." I miss watching Brooks and Tenley playing together. This is actually the first time that they have been on the "same page" as far as their mobility. There are 4 months inbetween them which has always been just enough so that when Brooks when learn how to do something, Tenley would learn something new and better. For example, once Brooks learned how to crawl, Tenley learned how to walk. Well this time, they were pretty much evenly matched. They were so much fun to watch...probably because they LOVE each other. They were meant to be from the very beginning. This time they had fun finger painting, playing in the snow, running around the house, jumping on the bed, tickling each other, bathing together, screaming together, and dancing together. Okay, so dancing is one thing that Tenley still has on Brooks. She is quite the expert dancer. Take a look for yourself...

I know this picture is slightly blurry...but it is still SO cute!

First Train Ride

There's a park close to our house where we go play tennis. There's a jogging path, a small lake, a playground, and tons of playing fields for sports. There is also a small kiddie train. I've been wanting to take Brooks on the train, and what better time than with Gammy. My Mom and I were like contestants on the Amazing Race trying to run and catch the train. We were the last ones on before hearing "All Aboard!" I don't really think Brooks knew what to do on the train. He wasn't upset, but as you'll see in the pictures, he wasn't really excited either. He just kind of sat there with a blank look on his face. Not really sure what was going through his head.

Bobo and Brooks

Brodie is Brooks' cousin. Brodie sounds a lot like Birdie (Brooks' Grandma). So, since we are getting to spend so much time with our family now, we wanted Brooks to be able to communicate without being confused. So - we nicknamed Brodie: Bobo. Brooks caught on instantly! Brooks and Bobo had so much fun over Halloween. They are really good buddies, and I know that their bond is only going to grow with time. When Jill (Brodie's mom/my sister-in-law) tells Brodie they are coming to visit us, she said that that's all he talks about for the week. This time, on his way down, he told his mom, "Mom - I'm going to put my arm around Brooks and smile real good for pictures." How cute is he? He is so sweet to Brooks. He pushed him around in the small car...He got him extra candy while trick-or-treating...And he did put his arm around him and smile "real good" for pictures.



This last one is my favorite! Jill and I got the afternoon to go shopping at the Round Rock outlets while the boys stayed home with Chad. Children's Place was having a MAJOR sale! We got these shirts for $1.99 each. I also got Brooks a pair of shoes for $.99 and a bunch of other shirts and stuff. Jill got some girls hats for birthday presents for $.19!!! Ridiculous! We had so much fun shopping and couldn't resist the matching shirts.


Since Bobo and Aunt Jill's last visit, Brooks finds Brodie's picture all over the house and says, "Bobo!". Being away from the mountains and cool, crisp air of Colorado is hard...but it's times like these past weekends that make living in Texas THE BEST!

THE FIREMAN

Brooks was a fireman for Halloween...so I can't resist...

"Well they call me the fireman, that's my name.
Making my rounds all over town, putting out old flames.
Well everybody'd like to have a what I got.
I can cool 'em down when they're smold'ring hot.
I'm the fireman, that's my name."
- George Strait

"First" Halloween

Aunt Jill and Brodie came down to spend Halloween weekend with us. We had a birthday party on Saturday morning: My vice-principal lives behind us, and her daughter was having a birthday party. The party was so adorable! The kids all dressed up and there were tons of games, food, and fun. There was a cookie decorating station with bowls of sprinkles and frosting. Brooks kept trying to eat the spoonfuls of sprinkles. He needed a little bit of help.

There was a bowl of water and spider rings. The kids used straws to "fish" out the spider rings. Brodie did really well. Brooks just kept dipping in his straw and taking it out and putting it in his mouth. He needed a bit of help. But did I mention that Brodie did really well?

Since it was Halloween, they thought they would let the kids practice trick-or-treating. They built houses out of cardboard boxes: There was Dora's Casa, Bevo's Barn, and Stripe's Den. The kids went around knocking on the doors and getting prizes. Brooks just kind of followed the crowd. He needed a bit of help.

After lots of treats, we took the boys home for some lunch and a nap.

After nap time it was hot dog time at the Halloweenie Roast that our neighborhood hosted. The neighbors all got together for a cook-out. The kids ran around and played and had a blast!

We also took some time to knock on some doors for trick-or-treating. Brooks and Brodie made sure to collect lots of candy (starting with the bucket outside of our house).


Last Halloween didn't really count since Brooks didn't really know what was going...so I'd like to consider this his "first" Halloween.