Stop and Smell the Roses

We had a Happy Valentine's Day at our house! Curt surprised Brooklyn and I with flowers, and he got me 2 60-minute massages (which I am sooo looking forward to! Thanks babe!) We were also able to go to dinner (thanks to Nana for babysitting) and it was so nice just to chat about us (we didn't even talk about poop all night :) I am so blessed to have the greatest husband (who also happens to be the sweetest daddy) and to have the cutest, happiest baby girl! I am so in love with both of them!

My sweet Valentines :)

Christmas Catch-up

Here's the quick run down on Christmas 2010! It was WAY fun! Little Miss Brooklyn sure made Christmas even more fun than we imagined! Here's a picture synopsis of our Christmas celebrations!

This cute girl got to sit on Santa's lap 3 different times! And each time she loved it and tried to grab his beard. We know next year probably won't be as enjoyable so we took advantage this year!

Festival of Trees and Davenport Hotel with Uncle Tate..cuties!

Christmas Eve fun full of "Minute to Win It." Brooklyn was a crabby patty on Christmas Eve (tired and overstimulated) but she did enjoy a gingerbread cookie!

Jordan, Tyler and Kylee gave Brooke a Holly Moose Build-a-Bear. It's adorable and she loves it! Thanks cousins!

One of the many "Minute to Win It" pictures. Good looking brothers!

Annual Gingerbread Houses..usually Curt and I make one together..but we couldn't agree on our designs so we did some solo work and we were both happier at the end I do believe :) Brooke enjoyed the sugar high!

Christmas Eve Pajamas!

Annual Christmas Nativity. I was excited actually have a real baby this year, but since she was already asleep, Tate was happy to play the baby part. Quite a large baby if you ask me!

One of the best parts of Christmas was talking to Uncle Troy! He's on his mission in Poland and it was so fun to hear his voice. He is a wonderful missionary!

Brooklyn was spoiled like crazy! She got dolls and all sorts of toys! Thanks grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins!

Our Christmas Quiche breakfast. Delish!

We thought Brooke would LOVE opening presents because she loves paper..well, there were too many things going on so she didn't love it as much as we thought. But she had fun playing with her toys and watching everyone else open presents.

Grandpa was told not to buy this, but as you can see, Brooke LOVES it! She has had lots of fun with her giant teddy bear. Grandma can't wait for us to move out and take it with us ;)

Great-grandma Murphey took good care of Brooke while we played at Albertsons on Christmas day. This is one of the last pictures we have of Great-grandma. She passed away on January 14.

Supermarket Sweet contenders...after 3 rounds, we were beat! We love our Christmas day Albertsons games!

Brooklyn had fun at Albertsons being pushed around in a cart, thanks to great-grandma and Ernie.

We had lots of Christmas fun and are excited to see what the New Year has in store!

It's a good thing I'm not a man...

I thoroughly enjoyed 5 months of work-freeness. But unfortunately, money doesn't grow on trees and our bank account was only going the wrong direction. I began looking more seriously for a job in December. Curt ran across an ad in the newspaper classifieds. And less than 2 weeks later, I had a job offer. I am working at the Good Samaritan Society, a long term care center.
And since Lisa told me I should blog about my job, I am following through. I work part-time (2 days one week, 3 days the next..and so on) from 6am-2:30pm. I have now had 4 days on my own (after 5 days of orientation), and so far, it has gone pretty well. But I really am grateful that Curt is going to school so he can provide for the next, oh 40 years or so.
If Brooklyn didn't have the world's best babysitter, I really don't think I could have gone back to work. I'm so grateful that my mom is willing to watch her so Curt and I can have less debt at the end of his school. It is such a blessing. My parents are sacrificing so much (personal space, food, time, energy..you name it) so Curt and I can have a better future and we are soo grateful to them!! I love that I know that Brooke is in good hands while I'm gone, and I love getting home at 2:30 so I can spend all afternoon and evening with her. It's also nice that my job is 5 minutes away from home..I know that I can be home quick if I need to be. In short, I don't believe I was cut out to work full-time for the rest of my life, but I can do part-time for a few years to keep things running. I definitely love motherhood and it's what I want to do forever! But in the meantime, you can find me at Good Sam's (a couple days a week anyways)!

And where did November go?!

Happy December 1st! Those who know me know Christmas is my MOST favorite time of year ever! But since I haven't really blogged lately, I better catch up from October and November before forgetting all else and focusing solely on Christmas! Here's my attempt to remember what we've been up to recently: WARNING--PICTURE OVERLOAD BELOW!!

Brooklyn learned to roll over in October. She even surprised herself with her skills. She still only rolls from back to stomach, but it's nice that she now enjoys spending time on her tummy!

We had tons of fun dressing Brooke up for Halloween, making mummy hot dogs, and of course, spending time with family! Oh it's fun having a little buddy for each holiday!

Brooke spent lots of time cuddling...with dad, mom, grandma's and grandpa's, aunts and uncles..you name it! She sure is one lucky little girl!

(We went to watch Madi run at State XC in Pasco,.clearly Brooklyn was wiped out!)
Brooklyn learned how to sleep on her tummy in weird positions. We just hope she can breathe with her face smashed against the mattress. She is just like her mommy with her sleeping patterns :)

Brooklyn learned to sit up all by herself! (We just can't go too far away..we don't totally trust her yet.) And of course, she has watched too much TV with grandpa (yes, we are bad parents!)

Grandpa took her to get her ears pierced. She did so well and looks even cuter! Now hopefully people don't confuse her for a boy with her bald head

Brooklyn has gotten lots of grandma cuddle time. Grandma is the master at rocking babies to sleep..she always has been and always will be!

Brooklyn loves stuffed animals. They are especially fun to eat. She loves Mr. Duckie (thanks Sam and Trent!), and also loves playing with her uncles and aunts. We can't wait for aunts, uncles and cousins to come at Christmas..we are SOOO excited!

We have spent lots of time playing with Brooke in the bath. And my oh my does this girl love bath time! I think the only bath she didn't like was her 1st one at home (because we had the water too cold!) She loves sucking the water out of the washcloth and splashing like a crazy girl. I think we have a little fish on our hands...

And let's not forget the time we spent watching football. Brooklyn is a True Blue Cougar Fan, and she especially loves showing her support for BYU by getting messy with blue frosting!

Blog Slacker

I'll admit it..I'm one poor blogger. It's not that we just sit around all day everyday (at least Curt doesn't)..it's that I can't even remember what I did yesterday. And the truth is, our lives really aren't glamorous. Most things we do I don't think of as "blog worthy" but you know what? That is real life! And even though there are days when I don't leave the house, don't shower, or can't even answer Curt's daily question of "What did you do today?," I really am satisfied and happy with my life. Being a mother is SO MUCH FUN!! A lot of hard work? Heavens yes (although it would be a lot harder without so much family so close by). But it really is worth every minute. I live to see Brooklyn's smile, to hear her laugh, and to get the occasional cuddle (it's getting more and more rare!) I love the times when I "disobey" Babywise and rock her to sleep. I love watching her light up when Curt gets home from school. I can't get enough of watching her stare at Grandma or Grandpa until they look at her, and then her jumping and going crazy when they look are her. I love watching her develop more coordination and learn more about the world around her. I wasn't always sure if I was going to be content with being a stay-at-home mom, but I certainly am! Although I know that I will have to work some while Curt is in school, there is no where I'd rather be than playing at home with my kid(s). (Plural meaning that we have decided that we want more than one child..someday!) I am looking forward to many more fun, challenging and rewarding experiences of motherhood.

7 months!

Our little sweetie is 7 months old! Holy cow..where did the time go?! She is at SUCH a fun age! She will smile at pretty much anyone and loves to laugh. She had her dr. appt yesterday and here are her stats:

Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz (44%)
Length: 26 1/4 inches (46%)
Head: 17.5 inches (86%)

She is doing great developmentally and is right where she should be. She has learned some new tricks lately:

• She started rolling almost 2 weeks ago. One time she rolled both ways (must have just gotten lucky!) She showed grandma and grandpa her new trick when they got home from their vacation, but really hasn't done it much since. Then again, when grandma and grandpa are home, she doesn't spend much time on the ground (spoiled girl!) (As exciting as this is, I kinda liked knowing I could leave her on a bed, counter, table, etc and she wouldn't go anywhere..This adds a whole new dimension of safety!)
  
• She is getting really good at reaching for objects. She'll drop her binky and then reach down and pick it up (it usually takes a few tries). It is so fun to watch her make connections and learn new things.
  
• She loves to play with paper. She loves crunching it and of course, sucking on it.
  
• She has started eating rice cereal and is getting good at swallowing it. She always make a funny face the first bite, but then she remembers how much she loves it and usually has her mouth open and tongue sticking out with only half the bite swallowed. I don't think we are going to have a picky eater on our hands! She had her first taste of real food last night (sweet potatoes) and loved it! She didn't even make a funny face for the first bite.
  
• She can sit up independently for a few seconds. I definitely have to be close by for this trick because she is still wobbly, but she is getting so much better at it. It's only a matter of time before she will be Little Miss Independent..

She is the light of our lives and has us laughing and smiling all the time! Pictures coming soon..and lots of them!

Celebration in Montana

My Grandma Murphey celebrated a momentous birthday! She turned 80 years older on 10/10/10! It was a fun weekend spending time with my grandma, as well as Trent, Sam and Tyler who came up from Utah. We finally got a 4 generation picture with Gram, my dad, me and Brooke. We were so glad we got to celebrate with her, and of course, the party included lots of food and cake. Happy 80th gram!

As anyone who looks at our blog can see, I love collages! They save me lots of time, and since I can never decide on only a few pictures, they are good for me! As you can see above, we had lots of fun together! I finally was able to show Curt the cemetery where my grandma and grandma Cooper, uncle Farrell and sister Amanda are buried. It's a beautiful place. We had a fun trip and it's always nice to get away!

Seattle? Yes please!

After much talk of going to a Mariner's baseball game, we were running out of time and games! We finally decided to go to a game in the last series of regular season against the Oakland A's. The M's had no hope of a win by the 2nd inning. Even though it was a 0-9 loss, you can't beat ballpark franks and famous garlic fries! Even Brooklyn enjoyed the game..She should have been napping but that girl doesn't wanna miss out on anything so she took a quick catnap and otherwise was awake the whole game all bright-eyed! And she looked stinkin cute in her snuggly suit. Our cousin Shelby came to the game with us and we had a fun night!! We stayed in hotel in Seattle and then left early the next morning headed to Yakima for Madi's Cross Country Invitational. It was a beautiful day and Madi ran a good race! Overall, it was a fun weekend and a nice little getaway. Hopefully next trip to Seattle involves a little more time (aka shopping :)

Happy Girl

Brooklyn is so happy and smiley..it's contagious! Glad we were able to capture her excitement for life!

For journaling sake, here are some things Brooklyn likes:

• Dogs-Nana and Papa have 2 dogs are Brooklyn watches them and tracks them around the room. Yesterday Nana helped her "pet" the dog and she was SO excited! She was giggling and thought it was great. (Unfortunately, she was a little rough so Millie didn't want to go around her again)
• TV-Call us bad parents but when she rolls on her side and arches her back so she can see the TV, we don't stop her. She hasn't rolled over yet, but I have a feeling either the TV or the dogs will be the motivating factor for her.
  
• Talking-We were at my cousins' soccer game last week and she just talked to herself the entire first half. She has the cutest little voice and it is fun to listen to her "stories"
• Being sung to-She was hungry and mad last week while we were in Montana and Ty was in the back with her. I told him to sing to her (and it has to be a certain song.."I love Brooklyn, She loves me...") She calmed right down when he started singing. If he stopped, she started crying again. If he changed songs, she would cry..So young, and already she knows what she wants! I love her little personality!
• Getting someone's attention-She'll stare at someone until they look at her, and then she will smile when she has their attention. It's really cute! Then sometimes, when someone is trying to get her to look at them, she will look everywhere but at the person. I think we are in for some attitude in the upcoming years..Bring it on!
• Naps-I'm not sure she loves going down for naps, but as soon as she starts rubbing her eyes, we all know it's time to a nap! She almost always goes down really easily. Just wrap her up, put her in her bed, turn on the mobile with music and she's usually out within a few minutes. It's wonderful!
  
• Outside-I'm sad it's getting cold out because Brooklyn loves being outside. The other night she woke up screaming (upset tummy I think), and I tried rocking her, walking with her, but what got her to calm down was walking outside (even though it was COLD!) She also loves looking around and being able to see everything that is going on. She's very observant.
  
• Sitting-up (with help)-She can sit up by herself for a few seconds, but her balance isn't too good yet so she gets a little tipsy. But she loves to sit up and be able to look all around.
• Back-seat buddies-She has been spoiled lately with having someone next to her in the back seat of the car. She loves having a buddy, which also means she doesn't like it when she is alone in the back. She is definitely spoiled!
• Sleeping in our bed-Lately, she hasn't been sleeping the best at night. We have a rule that we don't start her out in bed with us. But if she happens to end up with us in the middle of the night when are both exhausted..that's a different story. So she has ended up in bed with us a few times this past week and she sleeps so good! (But we're not going to make a habit of it..at least I hope not!) She likes herself a cuddle buddy.
  

September In a Nutshell

Once again, another month has flown by! September was a fun month for our little family. Here are some of our highlights:

• Cheering on our BYU Cougars! Brooklyn dressed up so cute for the season opener. We have since told her she needs to cheer louder..they are in need of some serious help!!!
• Eating some delish food at Pig Out in the Park. Brooklyn was so overstimulated by all the people that there was no way she would take a nap. She loves looking around at people and what is going on.
• Lots of playing on the play mat. She has really gone crazy with her hands and loves grabbing at everything and looking in the mirror. That thing can occupy her happily for a nice chunk of time!
• Practicing sitting in the high chair. Since she loves to look around, I figured she would like it and indeed she did! She thought it was great. We won't start feeding her solids for maybe another month or so, but it was good practice for when it will happen.
  
• Went to the fair. We watched the hypnotist, looked at the animals, walked through an old train, ate an elephant ear and funnel cake and had lots of fun with grandma and grandma Murphey! We made sure to keep Brooklyn warm as it was a chilly night.
• Bundled up to stay warm at a CV football game (the Greasy Pig). It was fun to remember the days when I would go to the games with my friends. Brooklyn was liking watching too. She must be my daughter
  

• Playing with creepy Halloween decorations, thanks to Grandpa :P
  
• Lots of smiling and laughing! She really is such a good baby. The other day Curt said something like, "She's happy in the morning and she's happy at night..are we sure she's your baby?"
  
• Celebrating Nana's birthday. (We didn't take any pictures of the cake and candles, but at least we got one with Brooke and Nana together)
• Sleeping in weird positions (arm up in the air, neck bent back really far, hands over eyes, etc)
• Enjoying time with daddy! He quit his job a couple weeks before school started to spend some time with us.
  
• Taking a day trip to Tri-Cities simply to get donuts at the Spudnut Shop. The donuts weren't as good as Curt remembered but it was fun showing him around the neighborhood I grew up in. And it's always fun to have lots of time to talk (even though I was so tired I might have slept more than chatted :)
• Going to lots of sporting events..Alex and Nicole's soccer games and Aunt Madi's cross country meets.
• And let's not forget that this handsome man started his first day of Physical Therapy school! One week down, and many many more to go! (I'm most excited for when he learns massage!)
  

We are currently loving our 70-80 degree weather and hope it stays for a while! Although I like fall, it means winter is coming (and I sure don't like cold), so sunshine, please stay and play for as long as possible!