Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday and it was a wonderful day! It started out with Brooks bringing me a card and saying, "Happy Easter Mommy!" (He continues to say "Happy Easter" instead of "Happy Birthday" - I don't know.) He gave me a sweet card from him and the baby. He was so excited. He kept pointing to the kitchen though and kind of crying saying, "Happy Easter Mommy" like he was wondering when I was going to blow out my candles. Remember this is all fresh in his head since he just had his birthday. I spent the morning with my friend, Stefanie, and her little girl, Lilly. I absolutely LOVE hanging out with her. We have so much in common and our kids get along so well. We took the kids swimming and then Stefanie treated me to lunch. My favorite part was when she asked if I wanted to get a milkshake. Brooks and I said goodbye to Stefanie and Lilly and went home to take naps. After nap time Chad and I took Brooks over to Ms. Kelly's house (Brooks' teacher) for her to babysit while we went out. Chad said he had a plan so I was just following his lead. We stopped into Jamba Juice because he said we had about 30 minutes to kill. I assumed that meant we were waiting for a show time at the movie theater next door. He gave me a sweet card and at the bottom it said, "Enjoy your massage." Now, we are going on a mini-vaca next week so I thought he meant a massage at the resort, but he had actually booked an hour long prenatal massage for last night. I was completely surprised and super excited. The massage was WONDERFUL. The only slight downer was that I had to pee so bad about half-way through. I thought I might actually pee on the table. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. Brooks and Chad put a candle in my blue bell and sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Brooks kept blowing out my candle. I think he thought we were singing to him again.

It was truly a wonderful day. Between all the calls, text messages, facebook posts, and cards - I was completely overwhelmed and was reminded how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. Here's to year 29!

Brooks' Prediction

I've asked him about 10 times today and every time I get the same answer even if I switch up the question a bit. Chad tried asking him a couple of times as well and every time he says: "Sister!". Our sonogram is next week...I guess we'll see if Brooks' prediction is correct!

The Little Gym

Since I'm home all summer I've tried to do some research and find some fun things for Brooks and I to do together...turns out you can go to one free class at The Little Gym. I knew they were going to try and get me to sign up, but really...I was just there for the free class. Brooks wasn't really into sitting still and singing songs on the mat, but he was really into the bars. At the beginning of the class he couldn't swing at all but he kept trying. By the end of the class he was leaning forward off of a block and swinging by himself. He was so proud!

Brooks and His Imagination

Brooks has started to really use his imagination to play with his stuffed animals. The other day he told me that Nemo had to go potty. So he went and put Nemo on the little potty and sat and watched him while making a "sssssss" sound (you know, like Nemo was really going potty). After Nemo finished Brooks looked at me with such excitement and said, "Nemo go teetee, Mama!" He was so proud of Nemo! Yesterday I caught him feeding Mickey and snapped a couple of pictures. First he just sat Mickey in the chair, and then we sat with Mickey to help him eat. It's super cute watching Brooks play with his toys!

My Two-Year-Old

Brooks turned 2 this past week! Wednesday was his birthday and we had a wonderful day celebrating together with Gammy & Pops. We decided to take Brooks to his first movie, Toy Story 3:


He did really well for his first movie. We got him a small popcorn and he ate THE WHOLE THING. I think I got a couple of bites, but really Brooks kept digging his little hand in again and again. The only time he got up was when he ran out of popcorn. He walked up and down the stairs a couple of times, and then came and sat back down for the end of the movie.
After lunch and a nap we headed to the pool:



After swimming with Gammy and Pops we ordered some pizza and sang "Happy Birthday" to Brooks:

Yes, I only put one candle in the cupcake, but he didn't seem to mind. I've watched this video a hundred times just because I love seeing Brooks' face. He was so excited!
So, now we have a two-year-old living in our house. And let me tell you - he is a two-year-old! We are having to really crack down on discipline and break the habit of: "No Mommy! Stop!" or "Mine!" or my favorite is when he's upset and he comes up to me and pushes me while saying, "No Mommy! PUSH!" So, needless to say that my little boy is a frequent occupant of the quiet corner. On the flip-side, Brooks has his sweet moments as well. He is starting to really show us his affection. He'll come up to me and kiss my leg or arm or give me a random hug. And the other night at the table he did the sweetest thing so far. He grabbed my neck for a hug and said, "I love you" and kissed my cheek and wouldn't let go. He really is a sweet kid. He is becoming a little boy and really developing a personality. He talks ALL the time! Some of the phrases I hear most are:
"Come on, Mama!"
"I wanna play!"
"Watch this Mommy!"
"Sit here Daddy."
"Night, Night."
"I want Toy Story."
"I love you."
"Please."
"Thank you, Mommy."
And not only that but he is constantly asking, "What's this, Mama?" And really talking rather than mumbling. He tries real hard to put sentences together and he copies what he is learning from us. The other day the three of us we cuddling in bed and this is how the conversation went:
Brooks: "What's this, Mama?" pointing to the pillow.
Me: "That's just a pillow."
Brooks: "Oh!" pause "Daddy, What's this?" pointing to the pillow.
Chad: "I don't know buddy."
Brooks: "That's just a pillow."
He really makes me laugh! I can't wait to see how he continues to grow and learn all about the world around him. And growing he is! Let's compare my little boy:
Brooks Bryan Hoffman
June 23, 2008
4 lbs 15 oz
18 inches long

June 23, 2010
30 lbs (75%)
36.5 inches (95%)

I can't believe that I've had the privilege of watching this little boy grow up for the past two years. I feel so blessed.

Swimming with Gammy

Brooks got a new pair of goggles and was ready to go swimming with Gammy.

Slip and Slide

* Let me start by saying that Brooks had to get "swim pants" for his swim lessons, so those are the speedo looking things he's wearing. They may look a little silly, but it saves me from having to buy reusable swim diapers. Also, I have a pretty bad cold, so that deep voice that you hear in the background is actually me...really. Okay, now to the real post:

Gammy bought Brooks a Slip and Slide. I thought it would be fun, but I never thought it would be THIS much fun. At first Chad pushed him down the slide...

...then Brooks would run down and fall on his bum...

...and then Brooks was plopping himself down, practically diving into the small pool of water at the end...

...and THEN Daddy gave it a try.

"Thank you Gammy for the Slip and Slide!"

Here's a little piece of the action: