Happy Candy Day!

We don't really "celebrate" Halloween and this is what Dustin calls it. Today we headed out to the Outlet mall to get Brooke some clothes from Carters. They were having major sales and if I hadn't been on a budget I could have gone crazy in there! The main purchase was Brooke's Christmas dress and I loved two so much that Dustin let me get them both. You can look forward to pictures of her in them later.

Our big mistake of the day was stopping by the mall to find a sweater and see if any trick or treating was going on. There had to be 500+ kids there! Never again! And unfortunately, by the time we got Brooke in her costume she was cranky so we did not get any good pictures. This is about it.

Chocolate

Ever since her birthday party Brooke has declared herself as a lover of all things chocolate. If she sees someone in the room eating anything that resembles chocolate, she will hurry over to them and proceed to beg for a bite. This girl can hear a chocolate wrapper open across the house! Today we had our first "chocolate tantrum".

As with every year, I dipped into the Halloween stash and opened up some bize size hershey bars. Within seconds Brooke was across the room and climbing my leg to get onto my lap. Being the nice Mommy I am, I allowed her to take a bite and then popped the rest into my mouth. Apparently the world ended at that exact moment because tears flooded Brooke's eyes and she began to scream. She pushed away from me and screamed to the Heavens. If she could speak I imagine it would sound similar to this, "WHY GOD?! WHY DID MOMMY EAT THE LAST BITE OF CHOCOLATE?!"

5 minutes and a hug from Daddy later, all is right with the world. Now how do I eat these last two hershey bars with out her seeing?!

Just so you know...

Brooke told me that the Phillies are going to win the World Series.

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we headed up to a pumpkin patch in Michigan with our friend Matt and Randi, and their little girl Teagan. It was a little cold outside but we still had a great time. There were animals to look at, a corn "ball pit" to play in (basically, a pit filled with corn kernals), a lots of pumpkins to pick from. All Brooke wanted to do was run around so when we tried to pick her up for a picture she cried, but we got a few good ones! Enjoy...

First we went to Brylee's birthday party. Excuse my face but this is the best picture we could get of them together!

She loved sticking her head through these

Running around the pumpkin patch

Checking out the pumpkins



Pumpkins her size

Corn pit!

Birthday Party Fun!

We had Brooke's birthday party back on the 10th and it was a blast! Our closest friends and family joined us that day to celebrate the wonderful year we have had with Brooke.

The birthday girl!

My parents

Dustin's parents



Go Eagles!

Her new car from Mommy and Daddy





She was a mess!

The loot

Brooke's Birthday

Here are a few pictures from her actual birthday. I promise I will post the party pictures soon but there are too many to chose from so it may take some time.

We also went to the Picture People to get some 1 year portraits done.

This time last year...

My water broke sometime around 5am and I woke up Dustin up at 6am to tell him. Since the doctor told me not to run any red lights coming to the hospital we took time getting ready and packing our bags. This time last year I was being admitted to the hospital and probably getting ready to walk the halls with my IV. I would continue to walk the halls until 12:30pm when the nurse would decide to administer Pitocin to jump start my labor. Around 2pm labor would start and I would labor 4 hours before I was completely dilated and ready to push. 2 hours and 17 minutes later a screaming baby girl entered the world weighing in at 7lbs 1oz and measuring 19.5 inches, a good size considering she was 4 weeks early. It took us a full day to pick a name for her but she would finally be named Brooke Lynn.

This morning Brooke woke up around 9am and I went into her room singing Happy Birthday. She was standing up smiling at me and, as usual, she threw her arms up in the air to be picked up. It is amazing how much they grow in one year. She was so small and helpless when she was first born. She could not hold her head up, she had no idea she had arms, hands or fingers. Legs, feet or toes. She slept the day away with a belly full of warm milk. Now she walks on those new found legs, picks things up with those hands she eventually discovered, and even talks every now and then. She plays independently, loves to give hugs and kisses, and likes to chase the dog around the house.

She has grown in so many ways and I will continue to share that through this blog. Today we are headed to Picture People to have first birthday pictures done and then we will have lunch at the mall. Tonight we will have a special birthday dinner. You can expect pictures later!

1 more day!

Sorry for my lack of blogging. We had Brooke's birthday party this past weekend and my parents were in from out of town, so I have been a little busy! I cannot believe that my baby girl is going to be 1 tomorrow. You always hear, "They grow up too fast" but you never truly understand it until you have a child of your own. Tomorrow I will have some posts with pictures and stories and then by this weekend I will have party pictures up.

Wish List Wednesday

I have not done one of these in awhile! With Fall on the way, and my baby weight finally gone, my biggest wishes seem to be in the clothes department.

I just got some grey boots calf high boots recently, but a pair in black would be nice as well. Maybe something like this? Or maybe one just like I have already, but you get the idea.

A new Fall dress coat, seeing as I do not own one. It does not necessarily have to be black, but that color goes with everything!



And because I cannot decide, the whole Fall line at BabyGap for Brooke!

Party Planning

Brooke's birthday is not until the 15th but we will be having her party this upcoming Saturday. I am already stressed out trying to clean the house before my parents arrive and also planning a menu. So far I have managed to clean the refrigerator, the pantry, the bathrooms, and the bedroom. Brooke has managed to destroy two of those in the past hour. The most important room is the main room/kitchen/dining area and that will be getting done Thursday, with another once over on Friday.

We decided to do a pink and brown polka dot theme which has worked out nicely for decorating. Dustin's mom came over last night and helped me make circles with her Cricut and we hung them from various light fixtures. I cannot wait to share pictures!

Since the party is at 12pm we will be doing lunch. We are thinking basic sandwiches, a salad, fruit, chips, dip, and chicken nuggets for the children attending. We will also be making Brookies (half brownie, half cookie) and will have a chocolate fudge cake from Wally World.

Oh, and here are the invites we sent out. This is going to be really blurry due to sizing but you get the idea. :)

Some Pictures

It is about time I posted some pictures. I am finally feeling better except now Brooke has a little cold. I have a feeling we will be rotating the sniffles until next Spring. Notice the one consistent thing about these pictures? It is impossible to get her to sit/stand still for a picture.

I love this outfit, especially the boots

Trying out her new shoes

Notice her puffy eyes, poor girl.

Her favorite TV show!