Merry Christmas to All!!!

We went to mommy and daddy's friends house.

I like watching the older kids play

I loved all their toys!

They were all so silly! I had a hard time keeping up

with them all.

This is my cousin Miranda. I had fun hanging out with her.

I got cool toys at Grammy's house!

And more cool toys at Grandpa Lee's house!

Pulling on my Great Uncle Tom's hair was WAY

more fun than opening all those presents!

I got to spend special time with my Great Grandpa.

My Great Aunt Marsha let me have this snowman

that goes in the fridge. I loved listening to it talk to me.

-What a wonderful Christmas break we had! We started off the trip to St. Louis by visiting with family at Grandpa Lee's home. We then went to our friends' (Mandy and Toby) home Thursday night. It was so fun to see Brooks play with the older kids. He loved watching them play around him and sat there taking it all in. By the end of the evening he was reaching for Addison's hand and getting tackled by Nicholas and Vinny. So fun! We then drove to Josh's mom's house the next day. Brooks really enjoyed getting tons of love from his Grammy and PaPa Videmschek. He got to spend time with his Aunt Tracey and Cousin Miranda too. He had a special Christmas morning with them all. All the food was so yummy and it was great to catch up with everyone. Later that day we drove back to Grandpa Lee's home to spend time with Great Grandpa, the Postols and Fairburns. Brooks was spoiled with gifts and plenty of "sugar". He had so much fun pulling Great Uncle Tom's hair, singing the bumble bee song with Great Aunt Marsha, getting slipped money from Great Grandpa, chasing after Great Aunt Chris, thinking Great Uncle Ham was Santa, playing with his second cousins, and giving Grandpa Lee hugs! He was so exhausted from a day full of festivities that he slept 13 hours that evening! Brooks, Josh and I had a wonderful trip into St. Louis and want to thank everyone for all their generosity. We are blessed by wonderful family and wish we got to see them all more often. Merry Christmas to all our family and friends!

I'm ONE!!!

My invitation to my birthday party

(mom blurred out details for posting on blog)

Cupcakes to match

Details....

I love balloons and mommy had TONS there!

Party favors for my friends and family

Bookmark with a cute owl saying and yummy s'more owls

What's a party without a pinata?

Not too sure about this hat

Yuck...this feels weird

Nice! Right in the face and hair

I had icing in my nostrils for days!

PRESENTS!! and all my friends to help me unwrap them

I'm having so much fun!!!

Daddy gave me my first sucker and I got lots of pizza for lunch.

Could this day have gotten any better?

-Well...it's official....our Brooksy is ONE! I woke up feeling a little sad because our baby is no longer a "baby". There are so many changes and transitions coming up and I just want him to stay little!!! He is just getting so big and changing everyday. He is adding new words weekly and his new animal sound is a pig. I love it! My favorite animal sound he makes is an elephant...we worked hard at that one. He is picking up things so quickly and I'm just not ready for it yet. I know Josh is looking forward to the fun toys and games in the year ahead...but I am sad to let go of my bottle/bonding time with my Brooksy. It kills me when he looks at me asking for his "ba ba". We are down to 3 bottles a day with hopes to wean him to 2 in next few weeks or so after transitioning to milk. I am not going to push it too quickly because he is on all table foods and drinks from straw cup. (Can you tell I'm trying to hold on as long as I can?)

-We had his "owl themed" birthday party on Sunday at my parents home. Thanks to everyone who came for making his day so special. He LOVED hanging out with all the kids. He was in heaven with friends, balloons, food, balls and toys. We had pizza/breadsticks, salad, fruit, veggies, chips, cake/cupcakes, and drinks for everyone. He had fun watching the kids take swings at the Owl Pinata and even got to taste a sucker! He was not too sure of the cake and icing. He did not put any to his mouth and was quickly over the sensory overload. I was proud of him for tearing into it at least for a little bit! He then opened presents (or had help opening them) while we played a slideshow video of his first year of life. I'll try to upload it to the blog later. All that followed by the McCarroll Christmas in the evening....wow...I'm exhausted again just writing about it! He slept until 9 the next morning:)

-Again...thanks to EVERYONE for all your love and support this past year. We could not have gotten through it without you all. We have had some ups and downs...but this first year was better than I could have ever imagined. Being a mommy is one of the BEST things in life and so fulfilling. A special thanks to Josh for putting up with me the first 4 months of Brooks' life and to my mom for watching Brooks 3 days a week. I always know he is in the best hands at Grandma's house!

Birthday Surprises and Snow days....

Uh...Who is this hairy bearded guy?

And why are you leaving me with him?

Ho..ho..ho...help me!

Finished product...classic!!

Not as bad with my cousins near by, but I won't

take my eye off of mommy.

My birthday present for mommy

-Today is my 34th birthday...UGH! That sounds old!! I had to work all day in this snowy mess and it did not feel too much like my birthday during the day. But when I got home...Josh cooked me dinner and Brooks decided to take a few steps as my birthday present. I was SO excited. I called Josh in and we were to capture a few steps on video. Later in the evening he was taking up to 4 steps. Looks like he will be waddling around on Christmas. He was so proud of himself. He just makes me so happy;) Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone.

-This past Monday was a snow day and Josh got the day off. We took advantage of it and had Brooks visit Santa. At first he was just staring and even gave him a shy wave. But as soon as I placed him in his lap...he started crying. It was hilarious. It was the classic crying baby. Little does he know that there will be MANY more Santa pictures to come. Growing up, one of the family traditions was to have our picture taken with Santa until we got married. So...sorry Brooks...the tradition will live on!!

One Week Away....

Hootie Hoo....

-Brooks will be turning 1 in one week!!! I can NOT believe where the year went. I was super prego one year ago and anxious to find out what we were having. I could never have imagined I would have been blessed with a son as wonderful as Brooks. Ok...I know I'm being the typical mushy mom...but life really is better with him in our world. I thought at one time I would never get the chance to be a mom. And now my little man is getting so old! He is not going to be my "baby" anymore. We have started weaning down on the bottle and offering less formula in hopes to encourage him to eat more solids. He may be eating plenty...I just don't have anything to compare it to. I always forget his stomach is really small still. When he signs "all done" in the middle of the meal...I just can't believe he is full. He really enjoys food and is trying more and more everyday. Today he had some sliced roast beef (yuck! I know) and pizza (minus the cheese). He LOVED the pizza. He also had his first sandwich yesterday. He ate half of a toasted turkey and avocado on wheat. He did not get all the bread down..but did a good job on the rest. I just need to try different things for breakfast. He is so over the cereal with fruit and puffs. I am so sad that he will be giving up the bottle soon. We plan to tackle the switch to milk and stopping the bottle after the holidays. Why mess up a good thing during a hectic time?? His 12 mo checkup is not until after the first of the year anyways. He is looking so much older too. The posted pix are from our family photo shoot a few weeks ago. He is going to have an owl themed birthday and I just could not pass up the chance to get a few pix of him in this cute hat. Some of the other pix will be on our Christmas card and I'll post more later.

-Brooks had his first sleep over with my sister Tara and her family on Saturday. Josh and I had both our work holiday parties to attend. We had so much fun and it was great to get out. However, the recovery the next day is never easy. I guess Brooks did really well but cried a little when going to bed. I think he was confused as to why he was going to bed in a different place. I feel really lucky to have family close by to help out. Brooks loves them so much and has a blast with his cousins.

Obsession.....

Watch out!!!

-Brooks was introduced to the push toy today. Oh boy...watch out. Here comes trouble! He LOVED it! He was laughing up a storm while running into everything. It took him a few trials to figure out how it works and to get his balance behind it. He wanted to practice...practice..practice! We must have gone up and down the hall 100 times! By the evening time he was figuring out how to turn it and avoid obstacles. He is obsessed with his new toy. Christmas is going to be fun!!!!

Lots to be Thankful for...

I'm thankful for my family

And turkey!!!

And that Mizzou beat KU for Daddy

My first time hunting down our X-Mas tree

Burr...it was cold

Grandpa Lee was there too!

I'm trying to figure out this train thing...

All aboard......

-We had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday. It started with Grandpa Lee coming into town Wednesday. Brooks enjoyed his first Turkey Day at the McCarroll's with the rest of my family. Unfortunately my sister Tara and her family were out of town this time. We missed them! Brooks ate some turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, and pears. He seemed to enjoy it! Grandma always makes the best stuffing and pies! None of that this year for Brooks.

-Friday was so nice!!! I went shopping for 4 hours!!! I have not gotten away like by myself since Brooks was born. It is usually only for a few hours. He had a blast with Grandpa Lee and Daddy.

-Saturday we loaded up the dogs and took Brooks to cut down his first X-Mas tree. We go every year to the Millbrook Tree Farm in Yorktown. It is a fun tradition we have started. This year Grandpa and his dog Kap'em joined us. After several (cold) minutes of tree hunting....we found the perfect tree!! Brooks was taking it all in and thought it was funny that dad was lying on the ground cutting down a tree. He was even more confused when he woke up from his nap to find a tree in his play area!! Then imagine after his second nap, he woke up to a decorated tree with a choo choo train whistling around the tree!! He was a little taken back and pretty scared of the train. He crawled over to me and would not let go. However, gradually he started to think the train was pretty cool. By the third day he would ask for the train by pointing to it, saying "choo choo", and pulling the "air" horn. He is starting to think it is pretty cool! The train is so special because it is 60 years old and belonged to Grandpa Lee when he was 5. I love starting these family traditions with Brooks. This is what family is all about to me. Creating memories and sharing in past memories. It warms my heart to see him sitting in his daddy's lap playing "choo choo".

11 months old!! And He's Off....

Now you see me...

and

now you....

don't!!

Swim time with Daddy

Future Phelps?....ha!

Sorry....have to turn computer sideways. Bad videographer but fun images! Brooks learned to crawl in the shallow water today. It was a big skill that I had hoped he would get by the end of the classes...and he did!!

-Brooks is 11 months old today. He started off the day with his last swim class for this November session. I tried to get some shots of him and Daddy...but our camera did not do them justice. It is so precious to see them together in the pool. I hope Brooks turns out to be a fish like his Daddy. However, he seems to have got some of his mom's sensory issues. He does not like to get his face wet. Josh is now determined to cure him of this over the summer. Brooks learned to kick, splash, lay on back, reach for toys, go under the water, blow bubbles, and even crawl in the water! It was a fun session and we plan to do it again after the holidays.

-We then had his "1 year" pictures at Traders Point Creamery. We had to do them a little early due to the holidays. Having a December Birthday is not going to be easy! He did great and I am excited to see how they turned out.

-Brooks is now up the full flight of stairs and can go down a few with assistance. He stands 3-4 seconds on his own and takes steps with hands held. He points at everything and is soaking it all up. He can locate a dog, owl, train, and ball in a book and is working on locating a bird, eyes, elephant, cat, and tiger. He can find even more in his environment. He has about 8 word approximations. He is such a sponge. He waves "hi and bye" and is starting to use the sign "all done". Ok....can you tell I'm proud of him? He is enjoying food more, but again, would rather be down playing. He eats probably 90-95% table foods. He usually has his fruit and rice cereal in the mornings still. I have started to slowly introduce more wheat and dairy into his diet. He seems to be alright digestively, but still has the wonderful eczema. I hate to see him itch! Poor Guy. But, I know it could be so much worse. He continues to remind me of Josh in many ways...but is becoming his own little man. I can't wait to see what he'll do next!

Dog or Baby????

Meal time!

Vet time!

Play time!

-Ok...so are we raising a baby boy or a third dog? Ha! Brooks seems to fit right in with the dogs and just LOVES hanging out...or rather ON them. He pulls up on Sweet Pea, bangs her tummy, pulls her ears, and then gives her a hug. He is always taking the bone or ball from Brutus and laughing as he chases after it. I have mentioned before that he will not leave the dog bowl alone. He now goes up to it and stops....looks at me...shakes his head "no"....laughs and gives me an mischievous smile...then heads right into the water to play. He is testing us with everything and I love his little spunk. He is really such a delight to be around and makes me laugh all the time. He is such the little problem solver...not sure if that is good or bad at this point! I am a little worried about how we are going to keep him away from the X-Mas tree.....hum....the things I now ponder in my free time. "Free" time...what is that???