Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween!

Cookie Monster says "Give me more cookies!!".... err....... "Trick or Treat!" We all had a wonderful first Halloween with Brock this year!

First we celebrated with our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers group I belong to) last Wednesday. Brock and I both came dressed up! Since we were told to come dressed up somewhat last minute (and only a quarter of the moms did), I chose a costume I've owned for awhile. I wore my Queen of Hearts costume, made for me many years ago which includes a dress donated by my Aunt Beverly. Unfortunately you can't quite see it in this picture, but that's okay because it needs a little TLC - the hearts are starting to peel off (I'm waiting patiently for my mother to come sew it because I didn't listen to her and never learned to do it). :)
After our MOPS class, all the kids went "trick or treating" in the gym. Brock had a good time taking all his loot out of his pumpkin bucket.

On Halloween Day, Brent was able to leave work a little early so could take Brock and Diesel trick or treating. I think Diesel was more excited than Brock! Diesel wore his new pumpkin costume!
The group managed to hit 3 houses this year before Brock had enough. I think that's pretty good - there's a lot of candy in his bucket for only 3 houses! :) It's a good start - we'll shoot for a few more next year. :) 
Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Cabela's

Brent needed to prepare for his annual elk hunting trip this year, so the family headed down to Cabela's to do some shopping! The "local" Cabela's is about an hour south, but it's a really scenic drive (after you pass Tacoma). Right in the middle of every store (says Brent, I've only been to this one, so I have nothing to compare) is a huge display of all different animals. It really is a sight to see! Ours has several species of deer, elk, wolves, moose, as well as some non-local animals like the antelope, sea lion, and polar bears. Brock was in awe!
Love this look they are giving each other!
You can even walk through the big display and inside the make-shift mountain is an aquarium of local fish. Brock LOVES watching the fish now.


So enamored by the fish
After Brent got all of his shopping done, we went upstairs and had a quick bite to eat at the cafeteria. Right next to that they have another display of African animals. I guess you can stock up here for your safaris too!
Finally we checked out and headed out for the drive home. It was especially awesome for me because I was able to drive my new car! Yup, had to upgrade for our growing family. Don't get any ideas - just meaning that with two large dogs and a growing Brock, we need more room to fit comfortably. We purchased a brand new 2013 Toyota Highlander and after eight years with a white car, I am so happy with a little color!!
Color is technically called "Magnetic Gray Metallic" :)

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Dance Class

Brock and I signed up for "Baby and Me Dance" at the Renton Community Center (right down the street from our house). The class was four weeks (one day a week) and we both had so much fun! It was hilarious watching Brock watch all these other babies and toddlers and their moms crawling/walking/dancing/singing. We'd sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and he'd look up at me with this face like "These people know this song TOO??" :) He loved when the big rubber balls were brought out to play!
That little boy better not come and take my hula hoop!
Face of pure joy!
And he loved the hula hoop! This was the first time the teacher brought these out to play and they were a huge hit!!

Below is a video from Brock's dance class - he was playing so nicely with the ball, but unfortunately some older kid came up and grabbed it.... poor Brock. It's interesting to see them interact though! (although I think Brock is just observing). We will be signing up for the new class in January!

Friday, October 18, 2013

TWO milestones!!

Folks, this is my 100th post! Can you believe it? Wow! Here's to 100 more posts of our wonderful and happy family! It's been a fun road and so excited for more!!

I mean, really - how can I not have fun with this face??
Or this face??
Silly scowling Brock
Or these faces??
Brock & Brent (Before Brent's surgery - he went in for LASIK this week)

Ah, but you're asking... what is this second milestone you're talking about?

We have a crawler!!!!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Issaquah Salmon Days

The Issaquah Salmon Days are here again! We were so happy the sun decided to come out and give us a wonderful weekend in the high 60's for the Salmon Days Festival!
Brent's happy face
We had a really nice time, even though there were TONS of people there! We got some lovely fried food, then walked down to a fabulous kids area where they had all sorts of things to see! "Human hamster balls" (blow up balls that you actually get in to), crafts for the kids, and the Puget Sound DockDogs were on display (think of Animal Planet where the dogs jump for a toy into a pool and they measure the distance) - really cool to see in person! They also had an "Extreme Air Show" - yeah, I don't think you see this in North Carolina!!

Yes, those are skis!
Finally we made our way over to the Hatchery to see the fish. It amazes me how big these fish really are!

Unfortunately for the Husky, we decided it would be best to leave the dogs home. Just too many people - and to wade through with a stroller....ugh! Hopefully we will bring them next year to see the salmon swim!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

A cold can't stop us!

So Baby Brock had his first cold this week. To see him during the day, you wouldn't think anything was wrong except for maybe a little runny nose; at night was a different story.

After Daddy left for work, Brock came in our bed to finish sleeping
He was so pitiful at night. One night I opted to sleep in the twin bed in his room because he continued to wake up unable to breath and just cried. I brought him in the bed with me and it seemed like he was finally resting. I'm sure he understood it was a special thing because at one point he reached his little arm out and touched my mouth and made the cutest, quietest little happy noise, but then went right back to sleep. A wonderful moment that I'll cherish, but I can't imagine having him sleep in the same bed as us all the time - just not for our family.

But even though he was sick, we had made a commitment to model at Zulily.... and hey, the show must go on! (Sidenote, obviously if he was really sick that day, I would have canceled. Don't want bad mom complaint emails!!)
 He was so cute! Started off on the chair and then did some shots on the rug. I'm looking forward to getting the extra shots they email me in a few weeks - he was totally on point for this photo shoot and took some really good ones! :)