The big ONE!!!

I just cannot believe Brooke has turned one year old!! I'm just so proud that Jason and I made it thru the year as a family of 5! Look at this girl. She was so happy to see all the family that came to celebrate.....Nana, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Chris and Aunt Jenifer, and cousin Kyle. And of course, her big brothers. Her cake was as big as her!
My mom made this same cake for me when I was one, so she did the same for Brooke. She worked a long time on it and it was so pretty. I'll have to keep the directions and make it for my grand-daughter :)
The proud parents!
She poked around at the cake for a while and then I pulled off a leg and gave it to her.

Now she has the idea! She ate the whole piece!

Nana and Papa gave her this little house that you crawl thru, ring the doorbell, play music....she is just delighted with it. She loves to open and close the door over and over again.

The boys were all over her and her new toys. Why is it that the older kids want to play with the baby toys?

The pink rocking horse was from G-ma and G-pa. It is so cute and the perfect size for her. She likes to get on it, but hasn't gotten the confidence yet to really make him go. I think she'll get the hang of it in no time!

Brooke has brought our family so much joy that I didn't even know we were missing! It's amazing how quickly time passes. She seems to be a smart and fiesty little girl...from what you can tell from a 1 year old. She is so happy and is a social butterfly. I couldn't have asked for a better little girl. We love you Brookie!

'Tis the BIRTHDAY Season!!!

From Dec. 5 to Jan. 10th, our family has 3 kids birthdays, Christmas, and New Year's.....do you know how CARZY that is? Well, we kicked off our party season with our sweet Drew turning 6! His birthday morning started off with his first basketball game at 8 a.m.!!!
Then, off to the Lego education center in Southlake to start the party! Garrett and Peyton were the first party guests...Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa were there too!
In the party roon, in front of a lego giraffe.
Drew was the King and he had to "knight" all his friends before they entered the party room.
Here he is "knighting" Jackson. I was just happy that he didn't knight his head with his sword. It would have been a great excuse :)
All the boys had to build lego weapons to slay the dragons. Here they are after they had captured them and build a trap for them.
Look at this cute king.
I had to get a picture of the cake. If you can't tell, they are 2 big legos. I made rectangular cakes and then cut cupcakes in half and put them on the top. I was pleased with how it turned out.
At the end of the party, the boys got to pick bricks from the lego wall. This took careful deliberation to pick just the right ones.
Finally, Drew gets to do his favorite thing.....build legos! He's building a big city right now. He will spend hours out there working and working. It's really the only time he is quiet!
Drew always keeps us laughing and has great thoughts and questions. He is always thinking of others and loves deeply. He wears his feelings on his sleeve and is the best cuddler. What a blessing he is to our family!

Giving Thanks in KC!

We started out our visit to the College Basketball Experience in downtown KC. It was awesome! The boys loved everything there and did just about everything they had to offer. Check out these shoe sizes of some pro basketball players....The biggest food was Shaq's and it is a size 23!!
The were having a mini dispute over who was going to get to be KU....Jackson won.
They had this ESPN sports desk that you can sit at and pretend that you are the sportscaster...Jason's dream come true! There are many options that you can choose to narrarate, so here they are checking them out.
The KU championship game is the one that they picked and look how enthusiastic Jason is! Did his sons even get a chance to speak? Yes, they both did many times and were just as excited as their dad :)
Another day, we went ice skating at this little outdoor rink. It was a beautiful day outside, so it was perfect! Dad and Brooke hanging rinkside....
My dad and I went out there with the boys and we were both sore the next day. Drew did really great for his first time and by the end, he could go a little on his own without holding on to the wall. So, Jackson has found another passion....ice skating! He was soaking wet from falling down in the puddles that were forming on the ice, but he would not quit! We all traded in our skates after an hour and sat on the side and watched him shuffle like an old man across the ice. It was hilarious.
Afterwards, we stopped in a toy shop and Dad buried Brooke in this chair surrounded by doll friends. It reminds me of ET when he's in the closet with all those stuffed animals.
Mom and Brooke hang on the side waving to all of us.
Check out "Miss Flashdance"...my sister joined Jackson for a lap around the rink.
At the end of the day, there's nothing like a shoulder ride on your big brother's shoulders.
I am thankful for our families and for all the times that we have together to make memories. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

SERIOUSLY?!?!?

Dancing Queen!

Random Weekend

This was the first weekend in a LONG time that we didn't have a sporting event to attend, so we took it easy. We woke up on Saturday morning to the boys who had built this "fort" in the middle of the family room. We were told to go in it and look at the menu that they had made and order food in it all day. I enjoyed goldfish and water at their "snackbar". Very nice.
Later in the day, we found Drew outside trying to sell an old scooter. He had made a sign and was selling it for $5. He sat on it for about 30 minutes and then gave up. Now, he wants to give it to a friend for their birthday. Don't worry everyone, you won't be getting an old, used scooter for your birthday.
We decided to get our Christmas decorations out now and have them up and ready for our big December. Brooke immediately crawled right over to the fireplace, crawled up on it, and is checking out the snowman.
I think she likes it! This is her new funny face that she's been making lately. She squints her eyes and scrunches up her nose....I don't know why. If you'll notice, she is getting all 4 top teeth! I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture, but how weird is that? She doesn't have any of her bottom teeth. Just those top ones. I guess she just has to do it diffently than her brothers.

Bottoms Up!

I look forward to my cup of coffee in the morning. It's comforting, warm, and I can drink a steaming cup of it on a 100 degree day. I don't know why, but I love it!
It looks as though my daughter may be a future coffee drinker! After the boys leave, I sit on the floor with her and finish my coffee while she plays. She's always interested in my cup when I set it down. Now she knows what to do with things when she gets a hold of them....when she gets a brush, she puts it up to her head, when she gets sunglasses, she attempts to put them on her face, and when she gets the mug, she drinks it! OK, there's never anything in the cup, but one day, one day.......

Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! He requested his favorite meal of chicken and noodles (a grandma Sigrid dish) and Million Dollar Pie (chocolate chips, oatmeal....so good!)

Here is the little cheetah making her debut at our annual Halloween party! She didn't seem to mind her costume or her whiskers. She was so cute!
Now, here are the Mario Bros.!! Mario and Luigi!! The boys had this idea months ago, we found the costumes, and wa-la.....here they are!
The boys are just itching to get going....
Jason's parents were visiting this weekend and here is Grandma with Brooke. Grandma and I stayed back and answered the door while the boys went around the neighborhood.
Grandpa Maupin with all the kiddo by our ghost blow up. After about 3 weeks of having it in our yard, Brooke will finally let you take her close to it. She is cautiosly touching it. After this picture, Mario and Luigi were off.......Jason said they ran from house to house. They came home exhausted, sweaty, and happy!

Hilarious!!

Check this video out that my sister made for us......

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What's happenin'?

We have a lot of "stuff" happening in our household. We've had lots of visitors and lots of fun things going on. First off is Miss Brooke. Nana and Papa were here this weekend and I just had to take a picture of her in her new outfit. So cute....
We went to the Dallas arboretum this weekend and it was absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect and the grounds were so pretty. Here's the kids sitting on a pile of pumpkins.
The only downside to the weekend was getting swarmed by hundreds of bees! They had a rootbeer float stand and we should have known when we walked up and there were bees hovering around the stand. Little did we know that they would follow us all over the park for the rest of our visit! They really love rootbeer! We had some good laughs about that one after a few screaming and running episodes. The boys were sloshing their drinks all over the place as they were running away from the bees. We were downing the floats so fast, I didn't even get to enjoy and savor the extra calories. I was drinking for my life!!
We're getting ready for Halloween around here. It was finally cold enough to break out the skeleton pj's and snap a picture with all the kids. The best part is that they glow in the dark.
Finally, look who's into EVERYTHING!! I can't even unload the dishwasher without my little helper climbing up on the door and helping me out! How does she get over to the dishwasher so quickly? It's like she has some radar for everytime I open the dishwasher.....she's so proud of herself up there :)

American Girl

After almost 8 years of being a mother to boys only, I ventured into the world of American Girls this weekend and I LOVED it!! My cousin and his family came to visit us this weekend and Brooke and I went to eat with Angie(cousin's wife) and Alyssa (her daughter)to celebrate Alyss'as birthday. Alyssa was kind enough to bring her bitty baby for Brooke to take to lunch with her.
Here are Brooke and Alyssa getting ready to head up to the bistro....
Here are Brooke and I enjoying some "girl time" We had chocolate fondue and milkshakes.....it's tough being a girl!
Brooke chats with her bitty baby about girl stuff. I think I'm gonna like this American Girl craze! I wanted all the dolls, furniture, clothes......they've come a long way from when I used to use a kleenex box for my Barbie's bed. I can't wait until Brooke is old enough to get into this stuff...I'll be ready to play!
Happy Birthday Alyssa!!!

Fun Run

Today was the boys fun run at school. They have been getting pledges all week and today was the day. Last year, it was outside but this year, the field was too muddy, so they moved it inside. So, here is Drew in the cafeteria running his laps. The most you can run is 35, but he's pretty sure that he ran more.
Jackson was next and they were set up in the gym. He ran 46 laps and was sweating like crazy! I don't have video of him, but I will post pictures later.

That Stinker!

As Aunt Paula would say..."That stinker!" I turn my head for a moment and Brooke is having a great time pulling all the wipes out of the box! Look at that smile--she is so proud of herself!

Serious Reading....

This is how I found Jackson the other night....in his sleeping bag on his bed with this book in his hands. He had fallen asleep while reading "How to Deal With a Scorpion".....boys are the best :)

Four Generations

This weekend, we had 4 generations of family all together! Jason's grandparents came from Idaho, Jason's parents came from KC, and Jason's brother also was able to come and visit on his way to moving to San Diego. Jason's grandparents had not met Brooke, so this was their first meeting.
The boys love Uncle Josh. He always has something crazy and wild to say or do. This time, he brought a helium tank and balloons for the boys, so they decided to blow up a bunch of ballons and send them to the moon.
They tied notes to the string, bread for the birds, and plastic army men......who knows?? Anyways, we all went outside to see the launch. The boys were delighted!
We are a game family. We love to play games! I taught the boys this game that my grandma taught me called "Marbles" Here are the boys teaching their great grandparents how to play.
Finally, all the men went golfing on their last day here. Grandpa Burns is an avid golfer so it was a treat for the boys to be able to go with him and they had a great time!