It's Sunday night.... already???

I can't believe it is Sunday night already! This weekend FLEW by for us! We had a really nice and relaxing weekend. The kiddos were fairly good, however, with Jack approaching the BIG NUMBER 3, we have been seeing more, "unfriendly" (that's what we'll call them for now...) behaviors... so, Brian and I are trying to remember that he is almost 3, trying to show his independence, definitely showing us he is a BOY (OH BOY!), and that it is something that will pass... when he's about 15, and then we'll have a whole other set of "behaviors" to adjust to ... and we also have to remember, as soon as Jack is outgrowing his 3's, Maggie will be beginning them... so this may need to be our Mantra for a while... :p

We did have a relaxing and nice weekend, that also included seeing some good friends. Saturday evening, our good friends, the Anderson's came for dinner and fun. Their daughter Bailey is 3, and an absolute doll and joy to be around. She and Jack get along great and had so much fun playing together! It was so great to see them all, but sadly, we didn't get any pictures. I guess we were all too busy chatting/catching up, and the kiddos were wild playing with eachother! It was a fun evening, and we are excited to see them again soon!

I also got to see one of my best friends, Kara for a bit on Sunday. She is in her 3rd year of Law School at Willamette University, in Salem. So, even though she isn't far, she is B.U.S.Y.!!!! I love when she happens to be in Portland and we get to catch up, even for just an hour or two. She is such a fabulous friend, and I couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments - and look forward to her future legal career endeavors! She loved seeing Jack and Maggie, as she hadn't seen them in a while, and they absolutely LOVED her. Maggie was showing off, and Jack, of course, wanted to be Kara's best friend and chat her up non-stop! Kara is so great, she just went along with whatever the kiddos wanted. We are all lucky to have her in our lives, and hope after school, she'll be able to find a job in the area, so we'll still get to see her, and hopefully MORE! We ADORE you, Kara! xoxo

Kara and I - Best Friends for almost 12 years... wow, that makes me feel O.L.D.!!! :)

As always, the kiddos love it when Brian is home on the weekends. I seem to be chop liver to them, most of the time on the weekends when he is home. It's all about Daddy time :). Sssshh... I don't really mind it - because it gives me a HUGE break! And, I know how much they miss him during the week, and how much he misses them, as well. As you can see, they think of all sorts of ways to use Brian as a human jungle gym, and this was a game of Jack hiding underneath Brian's shirt, Maggie climbing on top of Brian, Jack not liking that very much, and escaping QUICKLY!

But, it was fun enough, to want to do it again, and again, and again... until Brian could barely move, and had to say no more jungle gym... or I may not be able to get out of bed in the morning for work... heeeeeeeeey.... maybe they thought of that (if we climb all over Daddy, and he can't walk, he'll get to stay home another day, and we can just continue the cycle of Daddy Jungle Gym, and Daddy will NEVER go back to work again)... they are pretty smart little squirts! However, little do they know their plan, wouldn't work out so well after time, as we would not have anywhere to play Daddy Jungle Gym other than the state park - where we would be living... due to lack of housing, as Daddy would not have a job.... ok, that was much to long of a story for a few pictures of the munchkins climbing all over Brian...

And, he's out... making a FAST get away...

This past week, (on Friday) we also had our first MOPS meeting. It is a nation-wide program for Mom's of Preschoolers, but any Mom can be a part of the group, whether you are expecting a baby or have a 10 year old... and it is great. This is my first year of being a part of MOPS, although, I have heard great things about it for a while now. We meet every other Friday, and the kiddos get to play in their own age appropriate classrooms, while I get a break to socialize with other Moms. There is a brunch put on each meeting and a topic that usually includes a speaker - on some type of Mothering or Parenting subject. It is a great group so far, and I know that I am really going to enjoy it, and anticipate making some new great friends. I also know that it will be wonderful for Jack and Maggie, as they will also be socializing with their peers. Here is a picture of them, after the meeting... both ready to go home, but had a GREAT time!!!!

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We also had a great friend of mine, Allison and her darling daughter, Lauren come over one afternoon. Allison and I met at the Hospital Baby Group, when Jack and Lauren were probably around 6 months old..., and have always stayed in touch (she is GREAT at it, THANK YOU, Allison!!!!). We hadn't been able to coordinate schedules since our move here to get together, so when it finally happened it was so FUN! We hadn't seen eachother in over a year, and Lauren had grown so much and she and Jack had a FABULOUS time together. Their two little personalities really meshed well, and they had fun chasing eachother, playing hide and seek, and of course, playing with lots of toys. I loved catching up with Allison, and hope we can get together on a regular basis. They are two fun girls (Allison and Lauren, that is :p)!!!!

Jack and Lauren after running, jumping, chasing, and non stop playing - are resting for a bit with a quick clip of a show... they really do like eachother, this is just a silly picture of Jack zoned out... :) And, seriously, could Lauren not be any cuter??????????

Jack, being a "pirate", however, he is now no longer a pirate; therefore I recommend not discussing or bringing up him being a pirate at one time. He will tell you he is not a pirate, and it may not be in a kind voice... just a warning...

Our week was busy last week, but so fun! As mentioned above, we got to see a great friends, as well as, taking late morning/early afternoon to head OMSI with my good friend, Makenzy and her two munchkins, James and Frankie. The kids all had a GREAT time, and we could have stayed for hours!!! Perfect entertainment for a cold or rainy day, and Maggie enjoyed it just as much as Jack. Jack was playing so much, it was hard to get any pictures of him! Maggie was too, but she isn't quite as quick as her brother... yet....

So, I think there will be many OMSI visits this fall in winter in store for us... c'mon how can you not resist Maggie dressed up as a racoon? :)

 

Maggie LOVED this AWESOME air/ball game. There was air coming out of the cone, so you could put a ball on top of it, and it would stay there, and just spin.... she absolutely was in awe of it, and probably would have been content playing with it the entire time we were there, but we had to jet off to find Jack... again, he was a FAST one that day! :)

She also enjoyed all of the mirrors and checking herself out... what can I say, she is my daughter... :p

 

Having so much fun, but definitely needed to stop and have a little snack! AND, you won't believe this, as you all know Jack, he was having so much fun - not even the mention of snack or lunch could stop the boy! :)

And, he is TUCKERED out... lazy morning after a few days of non-stop, on the go, F.U.N.!!!!

Hoping for a great week ahead... we hear that tomorrow is supposed to be nice, and if so, definitely plan on taking advantage of what could be one of our last nice days for a while - and will probably head to the park! We wish you all a wonderful week ahead, and look forward to hearing how everyone is doing! We'll keep you posted on our outings, or lack thereof...

And for all the Mama's and Daddy's out there, if needed this week, READ THIS below, and you'll remember why you fed one child, but forgot the other, forgot to let the dog out until lunch time.... somehow, looking at this will make you feel better! It will, hopefully remind you that you aren't exhibiting the early onset of Alzheimer's, it's the munchkins... Oh, yes, remember the munchkins!!!!!

And, of course, if that fails you... this always works for me, time and time again...

Love to you all,

Brooke and Crew

xoxo

Living in a house full of sneezes, coughing and runny noses... wanna come over? ;)

We have all been SICK with a bad cold! YUCK! Jack started to not feel well last Thursday, and then it hit us all... no fun, no fun at all. So, our weekend consisted of Brian and me, taking shifts with the kids. When not on "shift", the one "off" was in bed.


We are feeling like we are all on the mend, but noses are still running and coughing and sneezing is still occasionally happening. Now it seems we are all just tired and have that drained feeling after being sick. Poor Maggie seems to still be in the midst of it all :(. But, she is a trooper, when up she is mostly happy and wanting to play, but there have been lots of cuddling, rocking with Mama or Daddy, and LOTS of cuddling with white softy lamb (her absolute favorite stuffed animal, that plays a sweet song) and of course, purple blankie is always a go to!

So, we don't have a lot of news... as we, literally haven't left the house in a few days... lots of stories, coloring, playing trains, laying on the couch and singing songs, laying on the couch and reading books, and just plain laying on the couch resting, and, of course, the occasional movie or two.

Brian did feel well enough to go to work Monday - but, if any of you know Brian, he has to be on his death bed to miss a day of work... unlike myself, who would call in "sick" to hit up the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, only to run into my boss there. Oh, the good old days... HA!

But, will share some fun pictures from the past couple of weeks... Some were literally taken out of boredom... AKA: Maggie wearing a hat, Maggie being silly, etc.... Can you tell some Mama was quite bored after a couple of housebound days?

Jack is still somewhat "camera shy" (hence not so many pics of him were "allowed" to be taken) - AKA: yells "no cheese" - as in "don't make me say cheese"... I think we over did it with him as a baby... Sorry, Buddy, but it's going to continue any chance we can get!



Cute girl in an OWL hat..... Whooo's the cutie?



It's.... MAGGIE!
Hopefully looking out the window, most likely wondering when will I ever get go outside again? HOPEFULLY TOMORROW!!!



Apparently, Maggie felt that she needed to fend for herself while everyone was sick... CAUGHT: going through the fridge, trying to get to the yogurt... ;). At least we know she is self-sufficient!



There it is... found just what I was looking for...

Sweet Jack (NOTE: and George) fast asleep on the couch... less than 10 minutes after he told me he was not sick, or tired, and definitely did NOT need a nap. He didn't move a muscle, when I carried into his room and put him in his bed. Hmmm... Jack, were you surprised to wake up in your bed 3 hours later? ;)

Resting in Mama & Daddy's bed, watching Curious George on the computer... who knew you could rent and/or purchase movies, etc. on Amazon, and watch them instantly? Well, you learn a lot of things when you're in desperation mode... and only have Netflix, which has NO Curious George... serioulsy, Netflix, GET WITH IT!!!

Thank Goodness, we are all on the mend... we are ready to get out of the house! Hoping to make it to storytime tomorrow... c'mon, munchkins, we can do it!

No more monkeys jumping on the bed...

Such a BIG day for us all... (this occurred on Saturday...) Bye, Bye Crib... (it is a 4 in 1, however, since we have moved 12 bazillion times since purchasing this beautiful piece of furniture, we have lost the part that needs to be put on after you take the side off to make it into a toddler bed - without the piece = exposed hardware, which could = BIG ouchies for someone! So, we went for it, and...

In came the BIG BOY BED... aka: Toddler bed

All ready for Jack to try out...

And, he is trying it out... seems to be ok with the concept... so far... BIG HUGS to George, as he will be J's sleeping mate, apparently! :)

NIGHT #1: SUCCESS! Well, after lots of calling for us, and going in and him asking me anything he could think of to not have to go to sleep, such as "Does George have big blue eyes like me?", "No, Jack, he has brown eyes"... all the while trying to muffle hysterics :)

NIGHT #2: SUCCESS!!!!

...

But, Day #3, NO SUCCESS with nap - or the day prior, as we had family over, so nap was skipped, however, YESTERDAY, it was in NO WAY intentionally skipped, but, Jack decided no nap for him! :(

He is in their now... hopefully deciding that taking a nap with his menagerie of animals is a good idea... we shall see...

Let's hope and pray this (no napping business) is NOT a new trend...

Love this bedding, & think it could be a perfect addition to Mr. J's room... we shall see..., but I do find it A-DORABLE! :)

AND... now featuring Jack and George in their first motion picture together...

GREAT Labor Day weekend!

Today is a FUN Monday, because Brian doesn't have to work, and we've had such a great weekend! Usually, Mondays.... well, aren't so much FUN! :)

We had a wonderful weekend with Brian's parents and brother Jeff, sister-in-law Misty, and our nieces Michelle and Ashley, and nephew Chris. And, of course, sweet Jack and Maggie. Brian's parents came on Friday night, and it was just so great to see them. It had been a month, and after living in Gig Harbor, and seeing them nearly every week, going a whole month seems like a long time! So, we were eager to see them. It was Mom's birthday on Saturday, and Jeff had celebrated his birthday a few days prior. We were so happy that Jeff, Misty and the kids were able to make the long drive over from Yakima to celebrate two fun and special birthdays!

Again, we had a great weekend, and much needed time spent with wonderful family!

Brian holding Maggie in her favorite "monkey" position :)


Jack dancing with George!!! Curious George, that is!

Jack and his very tall cousin, Chris!

Chris hanging out with the babes! What a sweet cousin he is!

All ready for our walk after a big dinner to the track - for some walking and running!

Little Miss Cheerleader?

Soaking up the sun in the warm spots!

Ashley was T.I.R.E.D.!!!

Playtime on the field!!!

Maggie and her sweet cousin, Michelle.

Jack can run as fast as Uncle Jeff!!!

Watching on the sidelines...

One of Jack's favorite guys, running around with him!

Here they are again!!! I think they really like hanging out together!

The two youngest girls! COUSINS = LOVE!!!

A Grandma's love for her sweet grandaughter! Maggie loved cuddling with Grandma, and spending lots of time with her!!!

Again, it was just a great weekend.... and icing on the cake... Jack got a big boy bed (AKA a toddler bed, and is sleeping ok in it so far... well, besides nap time... we'll be working on that this week :p)... stay tuned....

ps. Misty was here, I promise... but she is always snapping the photos... and we didn't get any of her... next time it will be MY TOP PRIORITY!!!! I have a feeling that there will be a lot of hiding, squealing and non stop laughing!!!! On both of our parts!