Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Lately

Our little girl seems to be changing and discovering new things daily. It is such a fun age because she is learning SO MUCH and developing SUCH a personality! I LOVE IT!!! Here a few pictures I have recently caught.
Lately we have been having some napping issues with little Brooke because she seems to think her crib is a pretty fun place to be! She now loves to play, crawl, and stand in her crib wasting a whole lot of her nap time. I hope this novelty wares off quickly :) This is how I usually find her when I go in to either make her lay down and go back to bed or get her out after she has FINALLY fallen asleep.


And this was Brooke today, we had Echo in because she is IN LOVE with Echo lately. We danced, chased Echo around in her walker, and crawled everywhere. Here are some cute ones I got of Brooke and Echo together. Also under her little bouncy bouncy is one of her FAVORITE places to be lately, silly kid!







P.S. For those of you that are worried about Brooke being so close to our Doberman Pinscher, we do watch them together BUT you seriously have to meet this dog, he is the biggest BABY!!! He is the sweetest most gentle thing. We really do not worry, but we are still smart and keep an eye on them JUST IN CASE!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

PLEASE READ THIS!!!!

If there is ANYTHING you can do and ANY way you can donate PLEASE DO!!! This little boy is only 10 days older than our little Brooke and he needs our help to survive!
I stole this from my friend Katie's blog (thank you Katie) it is very informative and these are also friends of Kip's that he grew up with. Please read on!

I'll start with CHECK THIS OUT!That's the most important part of my post. Read on if you still desire.

I recently heard about some friends from my youth who have a 9 month old son born with a life-threatening disease called Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Herlitz type, and was given less than one year to live. His skin blisters at the slightest touch and it is most often infection from the sores and blisters that cause death. Can you imagine trying to change a diaper? You can read about them HERE. It's a really informative article and gives you insight to some of the details of this trial I hadn't even considered. My heart has ached for these friends ever since I heard the news.

Recently, their son Daylon was chosen to be the first with this specific disease to be part of a clinical trial in hopes to cure him. The clinical trial is in Minnesota and the family (of seven) resides in California.

My good friend Jeanine and her sister Amy are hosting an online auction in their behalf on their blog Serving Pink Lemonade. It began today and runs through Thursday the 29th. People have donated all kinds of items that are up for bid...small items like necklaces and earrings. And big ticket items like facials and photography sessions (including my favorite photographers of all time whose photoblog I stalk). And all kinds of other stuff in between.

It's definitely worth a look...AND worth a bid. Seriously. It's win-win. You get something awesome and this family gets financial help that they really need. SCORE.

And for anyone in southern California, a run/walk and carnival is being held this weekend. Read more here.

You can also learn more or help by going to their site: helpmakeamiracle.org and donate straight to the cause.

And don't forget to spread the word.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Is she REALLY 9 Months Old??? :(

I seriously can't believe that our little baby girl is 9 months old! The thing that freaks me out is that people say that as your kids get older the time seems to fly even faster. I do not like that idea one bit because it is already going by WAY TOO FAST!!!
This has been a BIG month for Brooke, she has changed so much! Brooke is hitting so many milestones right now, it seems daily she discovers something new and exciting! Kip and I are SO, SO, SO, in love with this little person! Brooke is constantly making us laugh with her silly faces and actions, constantly melting our hearts with her cuddles and kisses, constantly making us proud with all the new things she is learning and discovering, and constantly freaking us out by how quickly she is growing and changing.
Let's start with some pictures from her 9 month shoot done by mommy!

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So at the beginning of Brooke's 8th month she was getting around pretty well but backwards. The week Brooke turned 9 months old she decided it was time to start moving forward. Kip and I were SO excited to FINALLY see her crawl in a forward direction. She still has not become too difficult since she has been mobile. I think she has not yet figured out just how much she can do now that she is on the move. We are not in a hurry to show her :) O and her crawl is seriously the cutest little thing, it is so dainty! Well for now.


Brooke has also learned how to pull herself up into a standing position. We regularly find her standing in her crib in the morning, she loves to stand up against our couches, the walls, and her little play table. She also loves to pull herself to her knee's and just hang out on her knee's. She is not yet cruising around along the couches or anything but I am sure that will be coming shortly. We also recently got Brooke a walker that she loves! She figured it out the first day and loves that she can eat snacks while she is on the move.




Brooke has also grown quite a bit more hair these days which makes mommy super excited! We are doing a new style, Mommy loves it! Brooke could care less I am pretty sure!



Brooke also claps, she just learned how to wave "Hi" and "Bye" yesterday, she says Baba every single time she sees her reflection and when she sees a baby on TV (we think she is saying baby?), she says Mama, Dada, Gaga, Rara, etc., and the other day it sounded like she was trying to copy me and say Echo, she just mimics our sounds ALL THE TIME, it's like a game to her. I think right now she is just making sounds and really has only made the connection with Baba being baby.
Brooke is IN LOVE with mirrors, her and her daddy have a blast in front of the mirror together, they play little Daddy/Brooke games there and it is SO CUTE!!! Every time we get out of the bath she searches for the mirror to say "Hi" to the Baba.
We just moved Brooke into her "Big Girl" car seat and the transition went well. We have also done a bunch of baby proofing lately. Still more to do! We also dropped her crib mattress down before she started standing.
Brooke's bed time moved to between 7:30-8pm after the time change! Still sleeps through the night (thank goodness)! Still at 2 naps a day and she is now taking longer naps around 2 hours regularly. Mommy loves this! Also still a routine kid and mommy loves this too!
I know there is more but I am forgetting right now. Maybe I will add to this later for my memory.
Her stats today kinda freaked me out but the Dr. was not worried, Brooke normally sits at about the 50% range, today her stats were:
27.5 inches long 44%
17 lbs. 14 oz. 28%
(Brooke has actually lost weight which blows me away because the kid can eat! I do not know if it was her being sick a lot lately with a cold or if it is that she has recently started crawling? The Dr. was not worried but I am going to crack down on her eating and make sure she is getting in as much food as she needs. I need to be a better mom!)
Ok well that is a good idea of the changes that have happened this month. We love this little lady and the amazing spirit she brings into our home. She brings pure JOY to our lives!

Monday, April 19, 2010

We LOVE the Santa Rosa!

Kip and I LOVE to go on family walks on Sunday! Yesterday the weather was AMAZING and our good friends Todd and Emily had asked if we were interested in taking a trip to the Santa Rosa Plateau. Emily had never been there and had grown up in Lake Elsinore her whole life, how do you not know such an amazing place exists? But now she does and we have another lover of the Santa Rosa!
We have dogs that LOVE to play with one another so this was the perfect opportunity to get them the work out they badly needed. Brooke was fantastic on the hike and all and all we had a great time. The weather made a sudden change from the 80 degrees it was when we left our home to the cold wind and almost rain by the time we were leaving the park. But it was a great time!
Here are some fun pics from yesterday!
Our little family!
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Mommy and Brooke Brooke!
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Daddy and Brooke Brooke!
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Our little Bug!
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The Moran Fam!
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Crazy Em!
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The pups!
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Echo!
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Dodger!
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Jump, Jump Echo!
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HE MADE IT!!!
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Friday, April 16, 2010

Photo Blog

I have just recently updated my photo blog and will be doing more updating in the next few days. Check it out sometime. There is a link to it on the side of this blog called SLR Digital Photography or just click HERE! Thanks for your support!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Mommy

This song I have as my #1 on my play list was playing on my iPod the other day, I really had never heard it before. When I listened to the words I was so touched it made me cry. This song reminds me SO MUCH of my Mommy and the relationship we share.
I am so grateful to have such an amazing mother who I have always known without a doubt in my mind loves me more than anything. I have always known that my mom would do anything for me and would love me no matter what! She has always been there as a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, a word of advice, she is a best friend and a mother! I could not ask for a better example of the woman I want to become!
I hope that some day I can be the woman my mother is! I hope that the relationship I have with my mother will be the relationship I have with my daughters. I listen to this song and this is SO who I want to be to my children and is SO who my mother has always been to me.
So what I am saying it is a cute and inspiring song for me! Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

THE RESULTS ARE IN!



Our first place winner is........

TONY TOLIVER with a weight loss of 36 lbs. at 14.7%

Second place goes to........

MELISSA GARGALIS with a weight loss of 15 lbs.

Third place goes to........

SARAH ROBINSON
with a weight loss of 10 lbs.

Thank you to all who participated and for all of you who routed us on in our efforts to win!!!

Tony you are now $70- richer!!! WAY TO GO!!!

LATE 8 month post

I am SUPER LATE on doing Brooke's 8 month post, considering in 11 days she will be 9 months old, BUT I felt I needed to do a short one just for my own documentation and memory.
Right at 8 months old mommy weighed Brooke and she was exactly 18 lbs. & with mommy's most likely wrong measurement Brooke was aprox 26 inches long. Brooke is still in a size 3-6 month shoe and is not really even close to growing out of them. For pretty much her whole life so far she has been in the exact size clothing for her age. Right now she is in 6-9 or 9 month clothing. She is a petite little one!
Things that Brooke began to do between 7 & 8 months old are:
~Learning to clap, she now claps ALL THE TIME!
~She has also learned to clap her feet and she loves that almost as much as clapping her hands.
~She cut her 2 bottom front teeth, one exactly a week after the other.
~She had a cold or runny nose for almost the entire month.
~She LOVES meat! She eats meat better than everything else!
~She started making new faces, my favorite is her new smile where she crinkles her nose!
~Brooke had her first trip to the San Diego Zoo
~Daddy and Brooke have developed a very sweet relationship. It has been SO SWEET seeing their relationship grow. Brooke does things for daddy and makes faces for daddy that she does not do with anybody else.

It is hard to remember what happened that month vs this month. It is amazing how quickly you forget when everything happens. Now I know why it is important to document things right away.

Well here are a few pictures that I like from her 7 to 8 month period.
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Morning movie time with drink and snacks at hand!
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Daddy time!
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Learning to feed herself her bottle, yes mam it drips!
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Look alike?
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My new favorite face!
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Deep in thought, hmmmmm......
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Brooke making her favorite sound "Brrrrraaaaa...."
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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Easter Weekend

Our Easter weekend was WONDERFUL!!! It was so much fun because we got to spend some serious time with family which of course is always THE BEST!!!
Saturday we spent the day at the Wild Animal Park thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Robinson. We had a great day, it was beautiful outside, besides the strangly cool breeze every once in a while. What wonderful memories that were made. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the day. I know it's picture overload but I LOVE PICTURES so there you go.
Brooke and Hailee ready to start their day with the animals!
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One of the first things we did was hit up the petting zoo which the kids and adults seemed to love.
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Daddy and Brookie had a bunch of fun!
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Mommy and Brookie had a blast too!
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Daddy and Brooke sneaking around in tree trunks.
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And finding Butterflies!
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Daddy always says if Brooke were an animal she would be a Butterfly! I think she makes quite a cute one!
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Brooke having Grandma time!
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The Lions were super close!
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Grandma and Grandpa Robinson on the Tour of Africa ride! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa again for the fun filled day!
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Me, Hailee, and Brooke
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This guy freaked me out more than the roaring LION!!!
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Brooke and Hailee LOVED the ducks!!!
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These little guys are fun!
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We love this little CHICK!
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Getting ready for the ride!
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What a fun family day!

On Easter Sunday we all woke up to the fun treats the Easter Bunny left! Brooke was EXCITED!!!
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After seeing what the Easter Bunny got us we ate breakfast, listened to a little bit of General Confrence, and then headed down to San Diego to hang with the Carlson bunch.
Here are just a few pictures from Easter Sunday with the Carlson side. Amanda and Todd had an Easter egg hunt outside in their backyard that we attended.
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Brooke had a blast swinging with daddy while the kids searched for their eggs!
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This is the best shot we got of all the little ones together in their Easter outfits!
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Grammy time!
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And a NASTY picture of the 3 of us but I figure we gotta post something of the family right?
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Then we had a big traditional dinner at my mom and dad's house and hung out. It was a wonderful day besides the CRAZY Earthquake. It was the biggest Earthquake I have personally ever felt and it got me a bit shook up you could say :) This is how long the dang thing was... I was sitting on the ground in the grandkid room changing Brooke and I started to hear the closet mirror doors begin to shake right next to us, I thought to myself o' wow an earthquake cool and kept doing my thing, then it got harder so I grabbed Brooke off the ground and went and stood in a doorway, STILL GOT STRONGER, so then I began to pannic when I looked on the walls and saw the picture frames shaking and moving, at that point I ran down the hall to the dining room where my Mom, Sister and Makenna were under the kitchen table and jumped under there with them, it felt like it was still going strong for a little while once I got under there. I think we were all a little shook up about it. It was a 7.2 and it was centered in Baja, Mexico. It was quite an experience!
We hope you all had a wonderful Easter and that you took the time to remember the true meaning behind Easter!