halloween fun

Halloween festivities started on Wednesday at our ward Trunk-or-Treat. We were a little lame this year and didn't do a family costume, but I wasn't sure if I would still be pregnant and if we would even be participating in the ward activity.  I did at least register for a little caterpillar costume (which we got) for our baby boy in case he was here by Halloween.  Since he wasn't, we made our way to the party :)  My mom had given Brooke that cute tutu and wings, so we decided that she would be a fairy this year.  I ordered that leotard from a dance supplier, and the flower wreath from amazon.  I thought she looked pretty darn adorable.

She was not too interested in going trick-or-treating, but she loved passing out the candy, and running around like a maniac with Harvey the dinosaur and Carter (Ironman).

Like I mentioned, Mom flew in on Halloween around noon, and Brooke was excited to see her Nay Nay.

I made the roasted vegetable soup that has been the tradition the last three years, and then we camped out on the porch to pass out candy.  I grossly underestimated how much candy we needed this year!  Last year, I overbought, and I really didn't want extra candy around my house.  This year, I bought a huge bag of chocolate candy from Costco, a giant bag of Dum Dum suckers, and a few other smaller bags of candy.  We went through it ALL!  Then I rummaged through the pantry for whatever I could find, which included leftover lollipops from Brooke's birthday party and a bag of peppermints, haha.  We were pretty desperate.  When we were down to the last few mints, we turned out our lights and went over to the Hawkins house to trick-or-treat.  

It was a super fun evening filled with laughs and a lots of lollipops for Brooke.

final weeks

These pictures feel ancient, but I want to keep things chronological, so here we go.  We went on an evening boat ride when I was 37 weeks pregnant.  As the sun was setting, Kevin wanted to take my profile picture.  I felt really stupid in the moment, but its a fun and somewhat unique picture, so I like it.  And then I didn't make Kevin take my picture on Sunday, haha, so it was a win for everyone.

I finally bought a few more tops because nothing was fitting and I just wanted to feel semi-cute.  I loved this shirt from H & M, but buying maternity pants from them was so depressing.  I think I wrote about that previously.   These pictures were at 38 weeks.

Brooke and I were matching, but, you guessed it, she refused to take a decent picture with me. But we did get a darling picture of her kissing my belly, so we called it good.  

That night, I was commenting to Kevin about how crazy it is that my body had changed so much. Thankfully, I didn't get stretch marks, but you could see all the little veins under my skin that are hard at work.  Pregnancy is pretty amazing when you stop and think that a baby lives in there.  Brooke just came by the computer as I type this, and said, "That's when baby Colby was in your tummy" :) Yes, ma'am!

When I showed up to church at 39 weeks, people kept saying "I can't believe you are here", or "You're still pregnant."  The RS President told me that it made her nervous that I was at church, haha. I wasn't having any contractions, so I'm not sure why she was so concerned.  Maybe it was my ginormous belly that alarmed her!

Brooke was rocking her new dress, so I snapped a picture on the way in, and Kevin snapped one on the way out.  

And here I am at almost 40 weeks!  My mom flew in on Halloween around noon, which was great :)  It was fun to celebrate the evening together, her birthday on November 1st, and then it was time for our baby to make his appearance.

Seemed a bit surreal at the time!  My mom told me that I didn't look nearly uncomfortable enough to be having a baby within a few days, but I was feeling pretty ready.  Or maybe just anxious.  Besides the back pain, I was doing pretty good and felt like I was able to keep up with Brooke just fine.

october iphone gems

I finally took Brooke to the public library in October.  She really loved that she could sit at a table and flip through tons of books that she had never seen. I had to keep reminding her to be quiet, but it was a fun outing.  I need to do better at taking her there to borrow books, and maybe even go to story time.

She loves to watch movies in "mama's comfy bed", which is the perfect time for me to shower and get ready for the day.  I also think she looks so grown up when I put her hair in a top knot.

Finally finished the car seat canopy for our little guy. I love how it turned out and I only spent like $8 on the fabric, which was a steal. I used the one Bev made Brooke as a pattern, which worked out perfectly.

Bev gave Brooke a cute Halloween plate, cup, and silverware.  As soon as we got home from their house she wanted to use it.  And of course she wanted pineapple.  That was her favorite fruit all summer long.

We ran into Brooke's little friend Isa one evening at the park.  She is 4, but so sweet to Brooke.  And they are practically the same size, haha.  Brooke saw Isa playing hide and seek with her mom, and since then, Brooke wants to play hide and seek quite frequently. She will tell me to be the "hider" or the "seeker".  My favorite part is that she totally tells me where she is when I am pretending that I can't find her.

Surprise, we went to the pet store again, haha.  I at least switch it up and go to different pet stores to try and expose her to different animals.

I love this picture of the play group kids. Whit, Brooks, Marlie Jo, Brooke, Elias, and Mattie.

We were both pretty excited when Costco put out all their Christmas decorations.  I am super excited for this Christmas season because Brooke seems so excited about everything!

We had some beautiful weather in October, so we took advantage and went on a few boat outings. I love to see the bond between Brooke and Kevin.  They love each other so much, and I adore them.

Such a perfect evening watching the sun set while Kevin does his thing!  If I remember correctly, we also had a picnic that evening with Jerry and Bev.

We went on a family date to In-N-Out, and tiny baby came along as well.  Brooke still loves "froobies", aka chocolate milkshakes.  Smart girl :)

Another favorite is the dinosaur park over at the Shops in Cedar Hill.  We had also stopped by the cookie store, so Brooke has some leftover chocolate all over her mouth.  Miraculously, she didn't get any on her white shirt.

She loves her Strider bike, but she doesn't last very long on it.  I am still undecided about my opinion of balance bikes.  I think she understands the concept of balancing, but she can't go very fast, and she definitely doesn't lift up her feet and "glide".  Her friend Isa has a tricycle, and Brooke noticed her pedals right away.  Now, whenever she rides her bike, she comments, "I don't have pedals, but Isa has pedals."

We finally made it to story time, which was not what I was expecting at all.  We showed up right on time, and we walked in to find a variety of small rugs placed around the room.  Each rug had a different activity, and a sign for tips on how to interact and play with your child using those particular toys.  I assumed we would play for maybe 15 minutes and then story time would start.  But after what felt like forever, I asked a lady, and she said that the play time would be one hour, and then they would begin story time.  I really didn't think we would make it that long because a lot of the toys were for babies...but then Brooke zeroed in on the play-doh and was hooked.  When story time finally started, they read one book, did one finger play, sang one song, and that was it! It was all monster-themed, which was cute...but just super short.  I guess the library partners with the YMCA to help parents be more involved with their kids.  So, it is a good program, but I probably won't be going back any time soon.

Hand washing has turned into dish washing as well, which is really not a bad habit to start, haha.  I am all about kids doing chores :)  She insisted that she was "mixing, not washing".

We had some flash rains one morning, which called for some puddle jumping. She ran up and down the sidewalks splashing through the puddles.  We also had a zillion long worms wriggling on our driveway and she was intrigued.  She finally touched one, and squealed when it flopped around, haha.  She kept telling me to touch it, too.  I declined :)

More afternoons at the park...we were trying to enjoy the beautiful weather before the cold front moved in.

She is the happiest when she is running and playing outside.  I hope she stays that way forever!  Finding simple joy in her little life.

One evening, I had just changed her diaper and was talking to her about how Daddy would be home soon.  She ran straight to the door and kept watch until she saw him pull into the driveway.  She loves her Daddy so much.

I know that I should probably be embarrassed that I still give Brooke a bottle for her milk, but I am not that concerned about it.  We brush her teeth after she drinks it, so it's not like the milk is sitting on her teeth all night.  And it's the perfect opportunity to give her the Miralax morning and night to help soften her stools. Side note: She still loves to rub our ears while she falls asleep.  Sometimes she will rub her own ears, like when she is sleepy in the car, but she prefers ours.

Did I mention that she loves her Daddy?  She calls him her prince whenever she is wearing her dress-up clothes, and I know Kevin loves it.  We are big fans of the new Cinderella movie, and we both sing Lavender's Blue all the time to her.  She especially loves when Daddy will twirl her around.

Kevin is such a fabulous Dad.  I knew he loved Brooke as a baby, but I can see how much fun he has interacting with her now that she is talking and able to express her cute little ideas and thoughts.  He is always willing to play with her and fill his role as "Prince" :)

"my friend scott"

One of Kevin's best friends (Scott Kimball) came to Texas in mid-October.  He was in town for a wedding, but stayed a few extra days to spend time with our family.  I hate to admit it, but when we found out the dates of his trip, I was less-than-thrilled because it was very possible that we would have a baby already.  Since I went into labor 10 days early with Brooke, I wasn't planning on doing anything the two weeks before my due date (which was November 1st).  Kevin assured me that Scott was super low maintenance, which I know, but it still takes extra effort to plan and prepare for guests, and I just wasn't sure that I was up for it.  In the end, it was a great trip, and I feel bad for being so worried.  The day he flew in was also the day of the play group I didn't want to miss (Green Meadows-see previous post), so Bev offered to pick him up and spend the day with him up in Flower Mound.  Kevin drove up that night to pick up Scott and the boat.

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We enjoyed a few days together, and it really went so smoothly.  It's nice to see Kevin with an old friend, and it was nice to have more time as a family as well. Of course we spent most of the time at the lake, but the weather was perfect, so I can't complain.  

The boys had a lot of fun with the GoPro camera, and those of us in the boat had some good laughs as the tube rider was drug through the white water in order to "get a good shot", haha.  Boys and their toys!

Kevin had to go back to work Monday, and since Scott didn't fly out till the afternoon, we went to the mall to get some souvenirs for his boys.  Brooke wanted to ride on the carousel, and kept saying, "There's my friend Scott", and waving.  It was pretty cute.  She even held his hand on the way out to the car, which was super funny to me.  I feel like she takes a while to warm up to people, but she was a big fan of Scott.

boating with the hawkins

We finally had the chance to take the Hawkins out on the boat with us!  Kevin was taking a few days off work (previous post), so we had the Mastercraft at our house.  We met the Hawkins family at Joe Pool Marina one cool, crisp morning in mid-October.  It turned out to be a beautiful day, but a little bit chilly at first.  We sure love this family and were super excited for them to be our neighbors at the end of the month.

I love the way Brooke looks at Ellie.  Ellie is a total sweetheart to Brooke, and is so kind and patient with her.  As you can tell, Brooke adores her.

These sweet girls :)

Kevin was super cute with Carter while trying to coach him on how to ride the surfboard.  Kevin even jumped in the water with Carter after his first few attempts were unsuccessful.  I love seeing how patient Kevin is and how encouraging he is to first-timers.

Brooke was getting sleepy, and my big pregnant belly made for a nice pillow :)  At times I feel like she is growing up so so quickly, but when she snuggles me like this, I feel like she is my little girl again.  I think I will always feel this way, and it makes my mama heart so blissfully full.

green meadows petting farm

It may sound silly, but I was really looking forward to taking Brooke back to the Green Meadows Petting Farm/Pumpkin Patch.  Our play group went last year, and Brooke loved it.  I knew this year would only be better, so I requested that our play group go early in the month in case our little guy came a few weeks early.  I really didn't want to miss it!  The morning we were scheduled to go, I also had a prenatal appointment.  So, my little candy corn made an appearance at the OB/GYN, haha.  My mom bought her that adorable outfit, and it seemed like the perfect thing to wear to a halloween activity.  Everyone at the office thought she was the cutest thing ever.  I was just amazed that she would keep her hat on.  

It was a hot hot day (thanks Texas), but we still had a great time checking out all the animals with friends.  Brooke's favorite was the pig races.   There was so much anticipation, and the race lasted about 15 seconds.  A slight disappointment, but thankfully I took a little video on my phone and Brooke watched that epic race over and over.

Brooke and little Mattie on the hay ride.  (We have to refer to her as "little Mattie" to distinguish her from Aunt Madi.)  We were all grateful for the little breeze as we rode around Lynn Creek Park.

Quite possibly my favorite moment from the whole adventure.  Brooke was IN LOVE with those baby chickens.  My friend Adrienne was so sweet to hold the little chicks up for Brooke, and Brooke kept leaning into them like she was giving them loves.  Her little rosy cheeks let you know how absolutely hot it was, but that didn't phase her one bit.  After all our friends left (again, SO HOT!), we stayed another hour so Brooke could ove on those little chicks, brush the bunnies, and run through the pumpkins.  I figured I was already a sweaty mess, what was a little more...

I am thankful that we had the chance to go again this year, especially since they didn't make me pay for Brooke (her ticket should have been $12!).  I am sure we will go again next year, and I am already looking forward to it.  And next year, we will have an almost one year old who will be experiencing his first Halloween :)