So Smart!

Who needs a fork or spoon anyways?

Isn't she just the cutest in the world? I love that girl to pieces! And, I know I'm just being a proud mama!

Lollipop

This girl has got some personality! This is the first time I gave her a lollipop and she was addicted from the very first lick.

I love a good Thursday!

Even though Gordon is out of town on a 'business trip', Brooke and I are doing surprisingly better then we did when he went to Chicago. Although that was like 2 weeks and this is 3 days....

Anyways, thought I'd share our GREAT day:

1. Even though I stayed up late last night talking to my awesome brother, I woke up bright and early with Brooke at 6:30. I'm not able to run while Gordon is away, but I'm looking at is as a lot of rest before my (gasp!!) 18 miler.

2. Ate breakfast and Brooke ate really well! Usually most of her food ends up on the floor, so I was pleasantly surprised.

3. We watched the end of Madagascar and Brooke actually sat down and paid attention! Usually, she goes and finds toys or something else more interesting.

4. I gave Brooke a bath and she loved it!

5. I showered and Brooke didn't freak out! My showers used to be literally 2 minutes long because Brooke would start to scream and cry and pull the shower curtain back so water went everywhere. What a nice change!

6. We went to the library for story time. I love that the library offers crafts and snacks after the stories and the songs. Its so much fun for Brooke! She loves the musical instruments...I should get some for her!

7. We went to a sports store in town so I could price running belts, camel backs, shoes and more running clothes. I need more gear for summer!

8. I took Brooke out to lunch. We went to Quiznos and DID YOU KNOW that if you buy a meal then the kids meal is FREE? I think I realized that a while ago and forgot but then re-realized it today. So, my salad and Brooke's meal was only $5! Steal of a deal!

9. Brooke has been sleeping for 2+ hours so far for her nap....its kind of nice.

10. I experimented with some Oatmeal Cookies and added in chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanuts. They are mighty tasty. Stay tuned for that recipe on golokitchen.com .

11. When Brooke wakes up, we're going to head over to my in-laws because they have air conditioning! And I was silly and used the oven to make cookies....what whas I thinking.

Overall a good day! Looking forward to Gordon coming home tomorrow!

Favorite Recent Photos

We took these photos yesterday and I love them all for very different reasons:

1. Is it just me or does my baby look all grown up here? I swear, I'm going to blink again and this girl is going to be 12! She is such a sweet heart and so happy!! (most of the time)

2. Lately, Brooke has this fascination with rocks. She loves picking them up, throwing them and yes, occasionally trying to eat them. She's really good at sharing, hence her giving me the rock. I'll post a few videos tomorrow that will show more of this.

3. Again with the grown up Brooke! I love that she is in mid walk. She looks like she's determined or something. I love it! Please note that both fists are full of rocks.

4. I spilled some cheerios on the floor and she just picked them up...with her tongue. I thought this was the funniest thing. Why pick the cheerios up with your hand first when you can just eat them directly off the floor? Even though this is sort of gross, I think she's a smart little cookie!

5. I LOVE this picture because she's totally fixing her hair! She has a lot of it and sometimes it gets in the way, but she knows how to handle it. Hair clip or no hair clip!
Man, we LOVE our Brookie Cookie!

My Little Climber

Yup, she's in the dishwasher....

I feel empowered!

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking about why I run. I can think of a million reasons why NOT to. For instance, today, I ran in the pouring (and I mean pouring!) rain. I was sore, I got a few new blisters and I was away from my family for 3 hours. However, after my run and after I've stretched out and had my protein drink, I feel GREAT. I love working my body and seeing improvement in time and/or distance. I feel proud of myself for reaching small goals during the week to reach the ultimate goal of a race, whether it be a half marathon, marathon or 10k. I also LOVE being able to have one or two days a week where I don't feel guilty for eating anything I want. Running is one of the best forms of exercise and I'm so glad I stuck with it last April when I first started (even though I could barely run 10 minutes on a treadmill). Working towards small goals leads to great things. And having a healthy and fit body makes me a better, more confident person. Anyways, that was something that was just on my mind today that I thought I'd share!

Interesting....

Mormon Mission Biz - CNBC.com

Milestones

My baby is starting to jump and bounce! She loves to take the cushions off the couch and climb up and jump. Its pretty adorable. You can also see in the video that she goes through books on her own, pointing and talking in her own language. When ever I read her books, I point to things and tell her what they are and then let her turn the pages. She's learning! Yay!

Just the other day, I had her sitting on the counter while I was trying to get something done and she started playing with a banana that was on the window sill right next to her. I look away for a few seconds and then next thing I know, she has the banana peeled! Smart cookie.

She is picking up on the sign language and I need to do better about teaching her, but she knows how to sign more, milk, please, thank you, and finished. She also blows kisses, waves bye, gives lots of high fives, knows where her nose, head and belly are and plays hide and go seek.

If you read the post below, she is getting her two bottom molars in and it's been a painful few days. But, she already has her top ones and after these ones are more little ones until she's about 2.

Brooke has pretty much grown out of all her 12 month stuff and is now in 12-18 month or 18 month sized clothes.

Gordon taught her how to play with her bottom lip to make funny noises and so she does it to herself and us at least once a day.

She still isn't talking a whole lot. Well, she is in her own language-- lots of babbling. Sometimes she'll be 'talking' to me and then she gets mad when I don't understand her and then she'll try to tell me again! Its really cute but frustrating for the both of us.

I've started getting her to help me press buttons on things, like the microwave. I get her to open the door, I put the food in, she closes the door and then gets her pointer finger ready for me to move it to the button she's supposed to press. Once the microwave starts buzzing, she gets a big smile on her face like she's accomplished something big. She's so cute.

Brooke loves the song head shoulders knees and toes and will sometimes mimic what we do--not just in that song, but other times too. For instance, Gordon started walking with wide side steps and Brooke followed right along.

Sometimes she'll do things to make us laugh. If we laugh then she keeps doing it--good or bad behaviors. I think she's an extrovert.

Anyways, I wrote this mostly for my records so I can remember everything she did at this age. I love her to pieces and so does Gordon. We feel really blessed to have such a sweet little girl in our home and look forward to more little ones (but not any time soon :) )

Poor Girl!

Her bottom molars are coming in and life here has been not exactly pleasant. Although this picture was taken pre-medicine. Once we got more Motrin and Tylenol in her, life was worth living again.

One good thing about having a sad Brooke is she has become so cuddly and sweet! She fell asleep on me twice the other day! She hasn't done that since she was a newborn. Love my cuddles!

Guilty Pleasure

So, I'll be the first on to admit that I watch the bachelor and bachelorette series. I first started watching last season with Jake because there were other girls in my ward who got together and socialized and had parties every week. I got to know other people, made good friends and got out of the house--sometimes you just need to get out away from your husband and baby. Well, now that all those friends are still in Idaho and I moved to Oregon, I watch it because I like seeing the dates where Ali and whatever guy get cute and giddy and it makes me want to be cute and giddy too. I think about how grateful I am to have found Gordon at such a young age and how wonderful he is and how perfect we are together. I love him......kind of a lot and I'm so glad I didn't get so desperate to have to go on a TV show 'to find love'.

Oh and I'm also glad that I didn't end up dating/marrying someone like Kasey.....what a freak.

It was only a matter of time

.....until Brooke took the toilet paper all across the house.....

Check out those curls!

This video is sort of random. Brooke likes to throw things and so I let her.

But also, she isn't really looking at the camera most of the time, so look at her cute curls in her hair! She is so adorable! I love that girl.

Also, Gordon did bring me ice cream last night, incase you were wondering.

DARN IT.....

Gordon left at 5:45 pm to go help some people move (cause he's nice like that).

He said he'd bring me my favorite ice cream on his way home to make up for his absence.



Its 9:08 and I'm still waiting........

Cinderelly Cinderelly

So this video is kind of boring until the end when she actually does what she's supposed to/usually does anyways. She chooses to clean the floor willingly, by the way!

Kissy Kiss

This is how Brooke kisses. Nice wide open slobbery mouth complete with the "ahhh" sound. If this kissing method keeps up, Brooke is going to scare off some of her boyfriends.

Flying baby

What have I done?

First I did this half marathon: 

And then this one: 

And I am looking forward to run this one:

 

BUT I AGREED TO RUN THIS ONE!! THE BIG ONE, THE MAMMOTH---26.2 miles baby!

WHAT WAS I THINKING? 

I am both nervous and excited......