How much is that Brookie in the window?

The things we will do to keep our daughter happy. You can sort of see our view in these photos too! Isn't it pretty here? Its been raining a lot, but thats ok. We're clearly finding things to do to entertain each other. Well, we entertain Brooke which in turn entertains us. She's a lot of fun these days.

Here's a story for you--we just finished baby proofing the apartment and now the cabinets don't open very far AT ALL and.....lets just say there was a lot of screaming and crying and finger pointing going on this morning. If I could understand her baby language, I bet she was doing a lot of swearing....YIKES. Once she accepted the fact that she couldn't open any cabinets anymore, she was playing with her other toys by 10 am.

A new game for Brooke? I think it should be called whiplash. Her father thought of this. Figures.

Kate Lines is the bomb.com

First of all, I've been posting recipes on my food blog like a crazy person and if you didn't know I had a food blog then check it out and become a follower! I'd love to have you! Also, some of my recipes have been showcased on tastykitchen.com and tightwadinutah.com a few times! Its so exciting! Slowly but surely I'm getting my name and website out there!

Moving on-- here are some of the rest of the family photos we got on a disc that our photographer Kate Lines sent to us (we just got it today!) She is amazing and I love them all! Let me know which ones you like! If you live in Idaho, Utah or Arizona, I would highly recommend Kate Lines. She's great and very talented. She also took that new top photo on our blog!

MY FAVORITE ONE OF US :)

I've got 2 things to say

NUMBER 1: The tv being this close to mischievous little hands and dirty little fingers is not good......not good at all.....(she already knows on/off, volume and input-switches it from tv to av, etc.)

NUMBER 2: Check out Brooke's hair! Totally 80's.

Funny girl!

I suppose this is another talent my daughter has acquired.

Also, I forgot to mention in the last post that she knows how to blow kisses! Its pretty adorable.

Brooke at 15 1/2 months

Brooke is turning into quite the little diva. I love her just the same! Here are some milestones or quirks that our daughter has acquired:

-This whole cross eyed thing is a new learned skill. She knows she's being funny so she does it to get us to laugh.

-Brooke can make a clicking noise with her tongue. Its quite the loud noise.

-She also will spin herself in circles to make herself dizzy, too! Its hilarious to watch.

-She has learned to get off of things correctly--ie turning around backwards to lower herself down. We have to watch her closely because she'll try this when I have her sitting on the counter!

-Brooke is very independent and doesn't want help when she thinks she doesn't need it.

-She loves being outside and jumping on Grandma and Grandpa Brennan's trampoline. It took her a few days to warm up to the trampoline idea, but now she waits by the sliding glass door for someone to open it so she can go run around on it. Cute girl!

-She is really interested in climbing/trying to climb anything. She gets frustrated that her foot won't reach to the top of the couch so she can't climb on herself. Also, she was trying to lift her leg over the side of the bathtub tonight to get into the bath. Still a little short, but soon she'll be doing all this stuff herself.

EEWWW!!!

See our nice little kitchen set up here in this corner? WELL, this morning, I was holding Brooke in the kitchen when........

I see a SPIDER fall from the ceiling and land on those two pans on the left (that at the time were upside down in the drain board).

What do I do you ask?

WELL, first I try not to freak out (which if you know me and spiders is a very difficult thing to do) and then I grab a shoe. I try to maneuver the pans so I can get a clear straight shot to KILL HIM.

This doesn't end up happening, but I did however manage to get the little sucker caught between these two pans..........

.....where he awaits his doom......

......when Gordon gets home :)

Gordon needs a son

Our apartment

So, our new apartment is wonderful! We LOVE it a lot. While we still are getting settled and are in the midst of building a few furniture pieces, I thought I'd show you a few photos of our place empty to give you an idea of where we live. This apartment is in a very centralized location. We are 1/2 a block to a park and 4 blocks to the downtown area. It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the beach and about 10 to walk to church. I love it! Our apartment is a 2 bedroom 1 bath place with a dishwasher and a washer and dryer in our unit. All our appliances are energy efficient (to help keep utility costs down) and there are ceiling fans in both bedrooms and over the main living area. Its still pretty small, but a definite upgrade from our last place!

Kitchen:

Brooke's Room:

Our Room:

Main Living Area:

Another angle:

Pretty Pretty Princess

I put a crown on Brooke and she kept it on for at least 20 minutes! Maybe she isn't a tom boy after all!

SUPER CUTE FAMILY PHOTOS

Ok, so we're still internet-less for the time being so I am mooching it at the moment BUT I wanted to do a quick post about the family photos we got done before me moved from Rexburg. We won a contest to get a session for free with this wonderful photographer named Kate Lines. I HIGHLY recommend her.

Go check out our photos HERE !!!!!

I love them all.........a lot.

A Video for Gordon

Brooke misses her Daddy! Here's a fun video of Brooke having a good time with her cousins.