Trick Or Treat

For the fourth (and final!) time in a few days, Brooke got to wear her Halloween costume ... this time for the real deal. We had swimming lessons in the AM, followed by lunch and nap, and then trick-or-treating time. Once again, Brooke was thrilled to put on her costume. It's a bit cool around here today, so we put a sweatshirt on under her costume and were ready to go! She got the hang of it pretty quickly, even picking out her own candy from neighbor's bowls. Pretty funny since she has never had any candy and had no clue what she was picking :) Her biggest issue was getting around (and up and down stairs) while simultaneously keeping her antenna on and pumpkin on her arm. She did her best and ended up with a pretty good stash.

We had a pretty successful Halloween experience. Four uses out of one costume in addition to some yummy treats. Next year I can guarantee she is gonna be a real trick-or-treating pro!

Community Halloween Event!

Our local community had a parade and trick-or-treating at some local businesses. Brooke got to wear her costume, which she was very excited about. Wrigley wore her costume for a few pics too (she was slightly less excited than Brooke was).

We had a wonderful time, and Brooke is definitely a big fan of Halloween! She still has a few more opportunities to wear her costume over the next week and hopefully she has as much fun as she did today.

Pumpkin Patch!

We went to a pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins. Daddy, Mommy & Brooke each got their own!



Brooke tried to pick up a lot of the big pumpkins in the patch, and got very frustrated by her inability to do so. She is actually pretty strong, and had a few of them pretty close to being off the ground before we had to intervene. Finally we guided her to an area that was a bit more appropriate for a 2-year-old. She was pretty happy to get a little pumpkin all of her own, but I'm pretty sure she doesnt know what its for or what to do with it ;) Either way, getting to pick out anything on her own is usually a pretty big deal to her.

Another Absence

Brooke is missing school again today due to a cough. I think she is
actually sick AGAIN instead of it being from last week, because she
has different symptoms with this cold than the one I think she had
last week.

So that makes cold #2, and I'm not even sure cold & flu season has
started yet :)

Car Nap (2 Year Checkup)

Brooke her 2 year checkup today - and the only time I could get it for
was 2pm. She naps from 130-330 ... So obviously this was not ideal :)

She did great, and made it 3/4 of the way home ... But passed out at
330. So, I'm leaving her sleep while I sit in a parking lot. If I go
home and try to transfer her she will either 1) wake up and not go
back to sleep, making one cranky toddler or 2) go to sleep in her bed
for a full nap, not waking up until 530 or 6. That will mess up the
rest of the evening, her bedtime, and likely all of tomorrow.

Oh well, thankfully I have the Internet in my iPhone so I can surf the
web while she dozes!

Height: 36 inches
Weight: 32lbs 8oz
95th percentile for weight, 93rd percentile for height

Hanging at the Farmers Market

With Aunt Jean!

On our way!

2nd day of school ;)

Calling in Sick to School

Today was supposed to be Brooke's second day of school ... And I
already had to call her in sick. She tends to be sick quite a lot,
but she was sick just the week BEFORE school so I thought we would
have a few days of her going before the next cold set in. I was wrong!

She started with a tiny cold over the weekend, it got worse on Monday,
and seemed a bit better today. I was gonna try to medicate her and
drop her off anyway, but checked at the last minute and she has a
fever. So there goes school today!

I'm counting on a stellar day today and tomorrow so that she can go to
school on Friday. Here is to a quick recovery ;)

2nd Birthday Party

Brooke was a little sniffly and coughy yesterday and woke up the same way this morning. Not a big surprise since she tends to be sick all the time, but we were hoping it wouldnt be an issue for the birthday party. It wasnt - she was a trooper!

We started off the morning with a special trip to Starbucks. Ok, it wasnt special. We go every Saturday and Sunday morning. But, she asks to go and was very excited about our trip this morning. After we got home, Daddy ran some errands while Brooke and Mommy got ready for the party. Our family came over and we had lunch, followed by the official unwrapping of presents. I think she has gotten the hang of it - she was pretty excited to open each gift and got better at tearing off the paper with each consecutive item. In addition, she was genuinely thrilled to see each item she unwrapped.


Of course, we also had some cake!


Unfortunately, Brooke woke up from her after party nap with a full blown cold. She has a runny/stuff nose, her nose is all red, and she just feels miserable. We are glad we made it through the birthday weekend without incident, but its hard to see our (big) girl sick again!

The Birthday Weekend Begins

Brooke had a fairly low-key birthday due to the whole first-day-of-school thing. After school she took a nap, then when she woke up she opened presents from Mommy & Daddy and we all went to dinner. That night, Uncle Brad came over to see her and give her a present. It was a good day, but only the beginning of a whole weekend dedicated to Brooke's birthday!

Today we woke up and got an early morning haircut. Then it was time for 2-year-old-pictures. She was in a pretty good mood and looking cute (as always), but insisted on having her tongue sticking out in about 1/2 of the shots. Here are a few we didnt order :)
After pictures, Brooke and Daddy took a special train ride!



We went out to lunch and came home for nap. After nap Brooke got to enjoy a special treat ... a cookie from a cookie bouquet that Uncle Brad sent!


We took it easy for the rest of the evening, in anticipation of her birthday party tomorrow!

1st Day of School

Brooke did great at her first day of school! She was fine when I dropped her off, and three hours later when I came to pick her up ... she wasnt ready to leave! She was still eating lunch, and in fact, was the last kid eating lunch. I guess all the other kids in her class are going through that picky-eater-toddler-phase ;) Not Brooke - she did her best to clear her plate, even sitting at a table for 15 minutes by herself to eat. After she finally did finish, we washed up and then she tried to play with toys on the way out. She was the only kid left and she wasnt ready to leave.

So I think she is gonna handle the school thing pretty well. Here are a few more pics of her the morning of her 1st day at school...

She is TWO!

It's been quite the year for Brooke, with a lot of new experiences. Looking at her today its hard to believe this is the same little girl she was just a year ago, and that only two years ago she came along and created a family.

While a lot has happened this year, it has all really been on her end as she has changed from a baby into a toddler. She started off walking and is now onto running and jumping. She began using silverware and is now working on drinking from a cup. She can now talk in sentences, sing a song, and make a joke. She has been pretty much in control this past year and seems to operate quite well in her role as The Boss. In a few weeks her world will change in a different way, that is beyond her control, as she becomes a Big Sister. I think she will still be The Boss, but she will find that all situations are no longer hers to control. It will be quite an experience for all of us, but for now lets look back on the past year of her life ... one that we can easily say has been all about Brooke :)