We LOVE snow!!!!!

No worries - we were only outside for a few minutes in the 20 degree weather yesterday...but we had to go out and sled down the hill in the front yard. Brooke wasn't all that thrilled but Mommy & Daddy had fun! :-)

She's 1!!!

One year ago today I woke up convinced I was going to have my baby! And sure enough at 10:00 that night, she was here! What a year it's been. I never dreamt I would be so in love with her! As I remember holding her in my arms and staring into her beautiful little face that night, I am amazed at how much change has happened in her little life in just 1 year. She communicates with us, she crawled (only for a short while), she pulled up on things (her daddy's hairy legs), she took a few steps and now she runs all over the place! The best thing in the world is to walk into a room when she hasn't seen me for a little bit and her face lights up and she runs to me with her little arms straight up in the air reaching for me.
This morning I was reading a little book to her about baby Jesus' birth and tears came to my eyes as I thought of the awesome responsibility we hold as her parents to teach her about our Lord and Saviour. My daily prayer is for her salvation. What a precious bundle of joy the Lord sent our way!!!
Happy Birthday, Brooke, we love you!!!

Funny Brooke

Just a few of the funny things Brooke did this past week!

One morning I found her lounging in her living room toy box...swinging her legs, singing a little tune and picking out toys one by one.


She's been eating real food forever now, but got to feed herself spaghetti for the first time on Friday night. She loved it...of course she was hamming it up because Aunt Rosa was eating with us! :-) Those 2 are like 2 peas in a pod, but man, do they love each other! :-)

Happy Halloween

Last night was Brooke's first Halloween. So we dressed her as a Care Bear and hit the streets in search of lots and lots of candy for Mommy & Daddy! :-) She did great considering all we put her through. We started at Aunt Rosa's house, then hit the houses in our neighborhood, then went to some friends house, then it was off to church and finally one last friends house. Whew, it was crazy!!!!
Daddy got to put Brooke in her costume!
Isn't she the cutest little Care Bear you've ever seen?
Knocking on our very first door...who was there, AUNT ROSA!!!!! Brooke was the most excited about this house! I think she knew she was going to get spoiled here! :-)

Aunt Rosa gave her the purple Care Bear (Share Bear) and a whole bag of Teddy Grahams!

Mommy & Brooke in the front yard of some of our neighbors...they were really into Halloween!

Petting Zoo

Aunt Rosa told us that Tree of Life bookstore was having a free petting zoo today and if Brooke wore her Halloween outfit we got 10% off our purchases...so Mommy jumped at that! :-)
Brooke loves animals right now so we knew this would be a lot of fun!

Isn't she the cutest little Care Bear you've ever seen?

Look at that face! I think she just got a goat kiss!!!

Brooke knows all about zebras...they live in her jungle room with her!

She loved those mini goats...and they loved her!

Brooke's friend, Hannah, came home from college for the weekend and met us at the petting zoo...the new boyfriend came home to meet the family as well! Tim, you're a brave man!

Pumpkins

Last night we took Brooke to pick out her first pumpkin. I think Daddy thought it was a bit cheesy but we went anyways. :-) She certainly did not like the hay but enjoyed smacking the pumpkins. We can't wait 'till Halloween - she's going to be a Care Bear!

Fall in downtown LS

We stopped yesterday at a pretty fountain area in downtown Lee's Summit. There were a ton of these gorgeous yellow and orange mums planted around the fountain. Brooke was more into the putting her hands in the water than getting her pix taken. Not surprising! But we still got a couple keepers!

Photog blog

In a shameless plug for myself... :-)
I now have another blog for my photography business...check it out at www.photographybytuckdesigns.blogspot.com.
I will update it everytime I have a new shoot!

New jammies!

Yesterday Nana stopped in for a few hours and brought new pajamas for Brooke. She wore one of them last night so I caught a couple cute shots in them this morning!

Thanks to Judy B. for this adorable giraffe chair in Brooke's room!
Love the dramatic lighting!

SHE WALKS!!!! Well, pretty close. She still crawls a lot of the time, but will walk from one side of a room to the other. We've really enjoyed watching her learn to walk and gain her balance!

Showing everyone her giraffe chair...she loves it!
Longing to be outside? The weather is finally beautiful here and we're airing out Brooke's room!

10 months

Brooke is now 10 months old so we took fun bubble pictures! She is doing some many new, exciting things and we are having a blast watching her learn new things every day!
She is soooo close to walking everywhere. 8 steps is about her max right now but you can tell she really wants just RUN!

Aunt Rosa's riding the MS 150 right now!!!!

As I am typing this, Aunt Rosa is approximately at the 65 mile marker on her quest to ride 150 miles this weekend in the MS 150. We saw her off this morning (very early) and went to see her at lunch time and cheer her off as she hit the road again. We are so proud of her and can't wait to see her at the finish line tomorrow afternoon! Way to go, Aunt Rosa!!!!

M.I.Z!!!!Z.O.U.!!!!

Since Nana & Pops are moving to MU country, we took Brooke to get her pics taken in her Missouri outfit. Doesn't it look like she's roaring like a Tiger? GO MU!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

A major praise! We have been praying ever since my parents moved to Indianapolis that one day they would be able to move closer to home. Today that prayer was answered. My dad accepted a job as the 3rd shift supervisor at a company in Fulton, MO which is just outside Columbia. It is exactly 2 hours from his plant to our house! I stand in awe tonight of God's amazing timing!

Yet another trip to Indy!

I have been reprimanded that I did not get these pictures posted quick enough. :-) Last week we flew to Indy to visit Nana & Pops and drove down to Lexington, KY to see Joel's Grandpa and his wife Cookie. We stopped in Louisville on the way to Grandpa's to tour the Louisville Slugger museum. It was an awesome trip - one of the best yet.
Nana & Pops - thanks for the wonderful hospitality and playing with Brooke so much. We miss you guys and are praying about the interview!!!
Grandpa & Cookie - it was wonderful to see you both again. We miss you already! Thanks for the fishing gear!!!!

Shoe Fetish!

Last night Brooke was playing in her room and I walked in to find her pulling all of her shoes out of their basket!!! Never underestimate a girl and her shoes!!! :-)
This morning, Brooke was playing in the bathroom with a toy...I walked out and walked back in to find her ripping apart a kleenex she had found. When she saw me she threw it all up in the air and looked up at me with a totally innocent face!!!

8 months old

Yesterday Brooke turned 8 months old. We had family here and took some pics at Unity Village!

Ian's baseball game

This summer we have spent several evenings at Legacy Park watching our friend Ian Simpkin's play baseball. Brooke is a BIG fan. Last night was Ian's last game, so I took the camera and caught some cool shots. Ian even got to pitch part of one inning! Good job, Ian, we're proud of you!