teeth

Here's a picture of the infamous teeth!  There's four on the top and two on the bottom.  I have suspicion that there's more coming on the bottom, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Playin' in the Snow

So today the sun was shining and the temperature was finally above freezing.  So we strapped on our snowpants and headed outside.  This was Brooks' first time ever playing in the snow.  We were only outside for about 15 minutes, but it was still fun.  Here's some pictures from the big event.

Chris' attempt at a snowman.  It was tough since the snow didn't "pack" well.

Tada!

He actually rolled over in his blue marshmallow suit!  Wow.

We had fun!

Holy Teeth, Batman!

So of course after writing that we haven't hit any new milestones, just yesterday Brooks cut through his 6th tooth.  Yep, that's right, his SIXTH!  And here's the crazy thing.  It's been exactly 5 weeks since his FIRST tooth came in.  So in five weeks, he cut in six teeth.  Whew!  To be honest the first 4 came in with little fuss.  But the last two (the two top middle ones) have been more of a bear.  I think because they're bigger than the rest.  But now they're in and my former "toothless wonder" is now my "toothed wonder".  No more gummed smiles in our house!  Pretty soon he'll be looking like Dr. Teeth over here.  I'll try to snap a picture to show you.  They're still pretty small so they're hard to see on camera.

The Little Things

The last few weeks I've been contemplating what to write on here.  Actually, I've just been waiting for something big to happen so that I could tell you about it.  But in the last two weeks we've taken no big trips, there have been no major milestones, and no big holidays to mention (now that Christmas is over ... even New Years wasn't worth mentioning)  And looking back, it seems that our lives are quite dull.  But I started thinking ... I kinda like it this way.  Too many people we know are so busy and their days are so booked that they hardly have time to sit down.  We work pretty darn hard to keep life simple and uncluttered.  I like spending my evenings at home with my family.  And although it may seem uninteresting to the onlooker, I treasure each moment with my wonderful husband and my handsome little boy.  So here's an ode to all the little things in life...

... to listening to Brooks blow raspberries
... to watching the football game on Sunday afternoon in my sweats (and by watch, I mean sleep through)
... to eating a big breakfast on Saturday mornings
... to watching Brooks beat up on pet the dog and giggle while doing it
... to finally beating my husband in a game of cribbage (only 27 more to go and I'm caught up)
... to singing goofy songs in the kitchen while cooking dinner
... to enjoying a warm bed thanks to our electric blanket
... to washing the dishes and then having the satisfaction of a clean kitchen
... to seeing Brooks splash in the water at bathtime
... to praying with our little boy before bed
... to making it through an entire grocery shopping trip with no fussing or crying (from Brooks, that is)
... to having play dates
... to trying new foods
... to actually having the dog listen when I tell him to do something
... to knowing how cold it is outside and having a warm home to be in
... to reading books about firefighters
... to making a big meal, just for the two of us
... to suprise visits at work from Chris
... to seeing all of Brooks' new teeth when he smiles :o)
... to falling in love with my husband more and more each day
... to spending time with my family whenever I get the chance

So while sometimes I think we should be busier and doing more stuff, I realize that I really like things just the way they are.  What are the simple things in life that you enjoy?

hairy baby

So the weekend before Christmas, Brooks received his third haircut.  Yep, that's right ... his third!  He also received haircuts at 2 and 4 months, each time taking about 1/2 inch off.  I can only imagine what he would look like if we never cut it.  Here's some pics from his last trim.  Look at all that hair ... and he still has some on his head!  What a hairy baby!

 Look at all that hair!  It's all over his back and arms too.

 My handsome little boy with his new haircut!

6 months

I know I'm a bit late on this post, but on Wednesday our little guy turned 6 months old!  I'm starting to understand why parents say "they grow up so fast".  It's true.  What scares me is that in 6 more months he'll be a year old!!!  I'm not ready for a one year old.  But I truley love having a 6 month old in the house.  He is soooo much fun.  Here's an update on what's been going on in our house.

• Brooks starting eating solid foods about a month ago.  Started with rice cereal then moved on to all the homemade baby food I prepared over the last few weeks.  So far we've tried squash and peas(and I say we because I'm always a bit curious about how it tastes).  Squash is a hit!  Peas will take more work.  He's a good little eater.
• He is now fully aware that the dog exists.  He reaches for Charlie and has on a few occasions grabbed his ears or fur.  I was nervous about how the exchange would go, but I'm so proud of our goofy little pooch.  He just walks away when he's being harassed.  Charlie has also taken to licking Brook's fingers - quite funny if you ask me.  What's even funnier is that Brooks has the attitude of "eh, no big deal."  What a laid back kid.
• This is Brook's first Christmas! He helped decorate the tree last week with mom and dad. And by "help" I mean he puts all the Christmas ornaments in his mouth, then we pry them out of his hands to actually put them on the tree. But he loves looking at the lights and the shiny decorations. I'm just glad that since he's not mobile our tree is safe .... for now.
• Brooks loves to explore everything.  I know that's totally normal for his age, but it's so exciting to see him discover the things around him.  For instance, he loves water.  Whether it's a running faucet or spray from the shower, he loves it!  He touches it, then tries to hold it, then tries to eat it (see the following point).
• Brooks puts EVERYTHING in his mouth.  I mean it ... whatever he can hold onto goes straight into his mouth ... toys, fingers, the dog's ear, blankets, his clothes, his feet, the changing table railing ... you name it.  If it's close to his mouth, it's in it.  Which leads me to the next big news ...........
• He has TEETH!!!  My little guy has teeth!  No wonder he's been chewing on everything.  I wasn't sure if I would be happy or sad at his dental progress, but I was giddy with excitement.  He's so cute with those two little teeth poking out of his bottom gums.

So that's Brook's life in a nutshell (which means that's pretty much our life too).  Next week we'll be traveling to Green Bay, WI to spend Christmas with my parents.  I'm so excited about the trip.  I find I need to physically remove myself from the busyness of life before I can relax and enjoy Christmas.  We're going to try driving at night so Brooks will hopefully sleep most of the time.  We'll see how it goes.  Merry Christmas!

Wal-Mart Wellness Center

This morning I made a list of all the things I had to do and it got me thinking. "Grocery shopping" and "make lunch" were on the same list wtih no distinction in difficulty whatsoever. I feel jipped. Making lunch takes no more than 15 minutes. "Grocery shopping", well, it's a bit more work to say the least. Here's what goes into my weekly Wal-Mart trip:

feed baby, immediately pack up baby (time is ticking), dog-proof the house (dumb dog), load up the car, drive into Sioux Falls, find a parking spot, haul car seat into store, hoist car seat into shopping cart, unbundle baby (so he doesn't over-heat), find toys for him to play with and ...

whew ... now we're ready to begin shopping.

shop for household items, shop for groceries (first dairy products, then meats, produce, frozen, and finally box and canned goods - it's very choreographed), proceed to check-out, unload everything out of cart, load everything back into cart, pay for groceries, soothe crying baby (he ALWAYS cries in the check-out line - who knows why), push heavy cart to car, load baby back into car, take all groceries out of cart and load into car (this is now the 4th time I've lifted these groceries), put cart away (I hate people who leave carts in the parking lot), start car and leave.

oh wait, we're not done yet. Brooks at this point may or may not be crying. On a good day, I've managed my time well and he's sleeping or happily looking out the window. On a not so good day, I've taken too long and now he's getting hungry. But before the outing is over I ...

drive home, park the car, bring baby, purse and diaper bag into house, make three more trips out to the car to bring in all the groceries. If Brooks is screaming I break to feed him, then proceed to move all my items yet one more time into their designated space at home. Put car seat away and ... DONE! If you lost count, by the end of my trip I have lifted/moved the same groceries six times. SIX TIMES!! No wonder I'm exhuasted after it all.

So when I say I've been "grocery shopping" please read into it everything I've just explained above. Thank you.