the fuquays

Brooks is 3

2012-02-02T08:28:00.002-07:00

We had so much fun celebrating the kids birthdays two weekends ago. We had a few of their friends and a few of ours over for an afternoon party, a bike parade, dinner and cake. The weather held out as much as we could hope for - at least no snow! The kids decorated their bikes with balloons and streamers and took off down the sidewalk to the end of the block. We got one group picture and headed back home to eat fruit snacks and get warm!

The strider bikes were very popular and the kids were flying down the sidewalk. Brooks has really taken to his bike since christmas and loves to ride and lift his feet up.

Cupcakes! Hard to see but there are little bike riders on some of these. so cute!

On Brooks's real birthday we took Xander out with us for dinner at Red Robin. This is the boys favorite place and they loved eating burgers and fries together. The waitress even made Brooks a special "allergy free" birthday dessert and brought the boys smoothies!

Our sweet neighbors also gave Brooks this cool construction bathrobe - he could not be cuter in it! Other birthday gifts included Uno Moo- a new family favorite game, floor puzzles, airplanes, stickers, baseballs and the picnic table below. The table has moved into our kitchen and the kids love playing and eating there - even kate who has taken up coloring!

a few other things we want to remember about Brooks as he turns 3:

when we ask him a question, he answers "Yes I Do." so formal
he is learning more and more of his letters and can spell his name
he knows lots of shapes and all his colors
he likes to play "Red Rover" and we think learned it at school. we play in the kitchen and the criteria usually involves what color shirts we are all wearing!
he takes about 6 stuffed animals to bed with him - of course his "puppy," curious george, another monkey, his "brooks" bear, a bear that plays music (usually on) and a turtle that lights up stars on the ceiling - and two blankets and two pillows - all in a toddler bed - very crowded!
he loves reading two books before bed every night. we have learned that books are his "currency" and when they are taken away for bad behavior we usually see a change.
he loves camping and hiking in our basement with daddy - making pretend campfires, bringing his backpack and using tennis rackets to sing "campfire songs."
Brooks is still a little tentative in some situations (jumping, meeting new people) but also seems a little extroverted at times (if someone is asking questions about things he feels confident in - animal sounds, airplanes, construction equipment. Overall his personality is a bit on the shy side right now.
at his 3 year check-up he weighed 35 pounds and was 39" tall

our one year old

2012-01-16T21:34:00.003-07:00

Happy 1st birthday to our sweet little kate! This year has gone by so fast I can't even tell you. To say that kate is one almost sounds like I am making it up. We did a little cupcake for her last night not knowing what time daddy would get home tonight. Kate is a little under the weather (a trend for 1st birthdays at our house) but rallied for some pink icing. She was dainty with the cupcake for a while and then dove in pretty well. Brooks liked singing happy birthday to his sister and is already looking forward to his birthday next week.

At 1 year...
you only want to feed yourself - no more spoons for you - you push away all the baby food and want to use the fork yourself to get the avacado, bananas, pasta, EVERYTHING!

you are cruising around on the furniture and almost pushing your walking toy. you let go of a chair today for just a second. the head bump stage is totally here and you have bruises on your forehead and cheek to show for this weekends falls.

you have had a rough month of sleeping but hopefully we are coming out of it now. we think you had your first night terrors on many occassions (sad!) and might be following in daddy's footsteps of being a crazy sleeper (sleeptalking/walking). somedays you will take two naps but if the morning one is good, the afternoon isn't and the opposite too. you are a funny girl!

you love your sippy cups and decided at christmas that you were done with the bottle. miss independent for sure. we call you the "saucy nugget" and your "spirited" personality might give us a run for our money.

you love your stand up music table, your frog lovie, the little people farm, touch and feel books, "flap books," remote controls, brooks's trains and legos, trying to climb on stools, and pulling up on toilets.

you don't love having your diaper changed (at all!), when we take anything away from you, bumping your forehead on the ground, being taken in and out of the carseat to run errands, sitting still for a book, and when daddy puts you down.

you are totally into your daddy.
and we are all totally into you.

we will get some stats next week at the doctor... stay tuned!

2012-01-15T17:53:00.001-07:00

Brooks and I had a good time this weekend at the National Western Stock Show and rodeo. We didn't get any photos from the stockyards, but getting up close and personal with some very big, very primped up steers was awesome. Then we went to the rodeo which had "crazy horses" and "fast fast horses." The highlight was probably when one of the broncs went to the ground, rolled on his side, and then jumped up and resumed bucking, and the cowboy stayed on the entire time. These dudes are tough.

Less tough are Kate and I - germs continue their winning season at the Fuquay house this winter.

happy new year

2012-01-09T22:27:00.001-07:00

we spent a fun weekend in austin, texas over new year's. the trip was for jay & vanessa's awesome wedding but we also enjoyed sunny days touring austin, a visit to the capital, good mexican food and lots of college football.

brooks touring the capital - he really enjoyed the cannons outside - maybe we have a historian on our hands!

watching the games with daddy. the deacs didn't pull out a win but we had fun watching game after game. brooks kept asking when tebow was going to play - still not quite clear on that!

finally a wedding with no kids! we loved these shades that the couple gave everyone - they made us better dancers for sure!

happy birthday jesus

2011-12-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

merry christmas at the fuquay house. brooks woke up and was thrilled that santa had come to our house and ate his cookies and carrotts. what a wonderful thing to watch!

santa came via atlanta to bring brooks a brand new strider bike like his buddy xander has. what a thrill! we haven't been able to get him off of it for 3 days. it's too snowy and icy to ride it outside, but there are ruts in our hardwoods from riding around the house!

santa didn't forget our sweet kate and brought her a new walker that she loves. she isn't pushing it around on her own yet, but we know it's coming soon.

we loved having nana and papa in town to celebrate christmas. we opened presents all morning with lots of breaks for yummy treats and finished the day with a big turkey dinner and all the trimmings.

we had a wonderful christmas and hope that all you reading did too. we are so blessed by our family and friends and thank you all for making our christmas special with your gifts, cards, calls and thoughts.

christmas eve

2011-12-26T07:33:00.003-07:00

a wonderful christmas eve celebration with early family church service, driving to see christmas lights and a wonderful yummy dinner after the kids went to bed.

kate wore her beautiful christmas dress from richard's aunt dorothy. what a special gift - kate looked like a little present.

couldn't get big brother to pose for too many pictures so this is the best we have of the two. at what age do they start sitting still together!?!

getting ready for church with nana

about to go to bed - brooks left out 4 cookies for santa, carrotts for rudolph and dancer (he said) and soy milk in case santa liked the same milk as brooks. this was so cute and the first year brooks got into the santa thing. gotta soak it in before the years fly by.

11 months

2011-12-26T07:33:00.001-07:00

a little behind and unorganized but here are our 11 month pictures. we have a had a few germ bugs take over our house in the last couple of weeks, and brooks, kate and mommy just keep passing them around.

at 11 months we want to remember:

kate seems like so much more of a big girl now. she is so spirited and sometimes a little high maintenence! that red hair is starting to show a little more somedays
she weighs almost 20 pounds but still prefers all the baby food jars to anything she has to eat herself. (other than puffs which she would eat all day if we let her)
she has 6 full teeth and two more breaking through
she is pulling up on furniture but not really cruising yet. her crawling is getting faster and faster.
she likes playing with the little people and zoo animals and picking up any crumbs off the floor. kate also likes books all of a sudden and points at the ones she wants.
she does not like having her diaper changed or having any toy taken away from her. she also screams when we try to wipe her nose - poor baby has had a runny nose for a week now.
she has started playing at a stand up table with music and lights and seems to like the loud noises. she also dances when she hears music.

at almost 3 brooks is a total big boy. we have had a few tastes of what the 3 year old attitude might be, but on most days he is still a sweet guy. we are definitely entering the time when i need to have a notepad with me all the time to write down the hilarious and sweet things he says. lately he has enjoyed his christmas parties at school, sledding in the front yard and with friends, "camping" in the basement with daddy, and having a "sleepover" with mom when daddy was out of town. (that was more fun for him as mommy got kicked repeatedly in the head throughout the night!)

2011-12-22T17:17:00.001-07:00

I didn't know that a stationary car could slide down a driveway and into the street.

catching up before christmas

2011-12-21T17:34:00.001-07:00

front yard sledding in an early december snowstorm

tebow mania at the fuquay house

decorating the christmas tree

playing with brother's toys all the time

boompa and moompa came to visit

pulling up on everything!

denver zoo lights tour - brrrrr!

showing off her new standing up skills

kate also turned 11months but has been under the weather and we haven't taken our official pictures yet. we promise not to miss a month though - check back soon!

so thankful for thanksgiving

2011-11-27T16:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a great turkey day weekend with the Fuquays in town. We ate tons of good food and enjoyed leftovers for three days, watched more football than one would think possible, played a little mexican train, took walks to the park, and just enjoyed having family in town.

Brooks & Richard prepping the turkey

Kate's first thanksgiving! they even make turkey and vegetable baby food.

so much fun getting out all the china and crystal for a beautiful feast

Brooks made this turkey hat at church last week. we all took a silly picture in the hat. not too flattering, but funny!

The Kathryns

kate looks cuter in the turkey hat - hilarious!

10 months

2011-11-21T17:11:00.001-07:00

kate is just as surprised as we are that she is already 10 months old! it's been another great month, very busy and full of exciting things for the kids and our family.

At 10 months...

kate is crawling - mostly army crawling on her forearms, but even gets up on all fours and moves a bit.
another big tooth entered the picture (5 total) and we started brushing kate's teeth - really kate just started eating her toothbrush, but it counts! teeth have been a much rougher road for baby kate than i remember with brooks. poor baby seems so sad and has trouble sleeping when they are coming in.
we took a trip to florida for aunt kathleen's wedding at the beach. kate was the honorary "flower girl," and i carried her down the aisle with me. brooks was a super ring bearer and walked down all by himself.
Kate is eating everything in sight - richard calls her a hamster because she has a special affinity for paper products and wood chips. we are constantly pulling things out of her mouth and i'm going to have to start keeping a cleaner house!
as kate's hair gets longer we have started putting more bows on her head - she is just getting prettier all the time (not biased we know).
kate's first halloween - she was a monkey and stayed warm and cuddly in her costume.

Brooks continues to be a cute big brother and seems older everyday. his vocabulary is increasing all the time and he is so much easier to understand. he also seems to be coming out of his shell more - dancing to music, saying hi to strangers, and being the center of attention at kathleen's wedding. He is constantly singing his songs he learns at school and puts on quite a show for everyone when he performs. he loves playing with zoo animal figures, tennis rackets (sometimes as guitars), dump trucks and loaders, and anything airplanes.

On the parent front, it has also been an eventful month. Richard wrapped up all of his interviews and has a job lined up following fellowship next summer. After a long search and much deliberation, weighing all the factors and prayer, we have decided to take a job with a great practice in dallas starting next september. it is going to be a great professional fit and we are looking forward to being closer to some of our family. the decision is of course bittersweet as we love being in colorado and the friends (new and old) we have here. everyone in colorado thinks we must be crazy to think of leaving (we might be) but we are already looking forward to many future ski trips back.

happy thanksgiving everyone - we are so thankful for our sweet kiddos and each other this year.

getaway

2011-11-16T10:34:00.001-07:00

Last week we took a trip to florida for Aunt Kathleen's wedding in Palm Beach and added on a few days in Fort Lauderdale with just our family. The kids loved seeing Boompa & Moompa, swimming in the pool, and being a part of all of the wedding festivities.

Brooks was such a cute ring bearer. He proudly wore his tuxedo and commented that he looked "handsome." There will hopefully be some more pictures of the whole tux and kate too but I was a little too busy to take any! B-man was also the hit of the reception dancing and running around the dancefloor chasing all of the colored lights from the DJ. we almost didn't recognize him because his usual shy personality was totally gone!

In Fort Lauderdale, we stayed right on the beach and took the town trolley bus for a tour. The kids were such good travellers and adapted well to sleeping in different places and missing some of their quality naptime.

Congraulations to Aunt Kathleen & Uncle Steven on a great wedding weekend!

We are so happy for you!

welcome winter

2011-11-03T14:06:00.002-06:00

with our second snowstorm in a week, this one dropping 9 inches at our house, i'd say winter is officially here. darn!

but it sure makes for a lot of fun when the sun comes out again. brooks and i built two quick snowmen today while kate was napping. so cute!

trick or treat

2011-11-01T22:22:00.001-06:00

such a fun halloween weekend here in denver! we had beautiful weather and a great time with family and friends. with nana and papa in town we hit the pumpkin patch for a few extra pumpkins on saturday morning, went to a pumpkin carving party at our neighbors house saturday night and had xander, elliott and families over for dinner and trick or treating on monday.

our little monkey - kate was so cute and warm in her costume.

finally a family shot - too bad the kids never look at the camera. isn't brooks the cutest giraffe you've ever seen?!?

trick or treating with friends - kolby, elliott & xander.

happy halloween everyone!

9 months

2011-10-19T21:26:00.000-06:00

hey guys, 9 months here! wow!

i think i realized this week that kate is not a little baby anymore. she is still my baby but getting bigger everyday. she still has her chub but the numbers tell a different story.

18lbs, 4 oz - 39% weight
27 1/2 inches - 49% height
90% head size - almost off the charts the first time - they had to measure twice!

other milestones this month

not totally crawling but scooching around on her belly and getting up on all fours
holding her own bottle
almost moved exclusively to soy formula - we aren't totally sure about a milk allergy but there seems to be some intolerance.
playing with her tongue all the time
mom still thinks she should take two naps but often kate says differently. she is a fan of the 20-30 minute naptime, i prefer 2-3 hours! so far kate is winning.
a two day random fever with no other symptoms ????
really likes eating paper - oops!
loves playing with brooks's trains when he will let him.

this little cutie is totally awesome. she has a lot of personality and a strong will. she will always let you know when she is not happy with a situation - sleeping, changing her diaper, eating peas... she is happiest eating mum mums, chewing on "little people", hanging with the lady at the gym nursery, riding in the shopping cart like a big girl, having her neck and belly kissed, eating fruit, and having her choice of 20 toys to play with.

brooks is doing great too (most of the time) - he loves his class at "school" and is singing ABCs, Old MacDonald, and Wheels on the Bus any chance he gets. he is using the potty all the time (often multiple times an hour!) and has a new love of skittles. he is also every bit of two and a half with bad attitude to go with it during most days. he says he keeps his good attitude in his pocket, but we have to remind him to get it out! he still loves reading, especially the Mr. Magee books and anything about airplanes, and wants to ride his bike everyday. the sweetest thing about brooks these days is how he talks to his sister and tells her "goodnight baby kate, i love you." i want that on tape forever!

pumpkin patch

2011-10-19T21:00:00.000-06:00

richard and brooks hit a huge pumpkin patch last weekend and b-man loved it! unfortunately kate had a fever and the girls had to stay home. brooks rode on a big tractor with a cart behind it, walked through a real pumpkin patch and picked out his own little pumpkin - green & orange. he also enjoyed the ponies and seeing a buffalo at the farm.

happy fall everyone!

Big Boy

2011-10-03T11:36:00.000-06:00

Last week, we went to a last minute Braves game when we arrived in Atlanta. We had promised Brooks a trip to a game when he was totally using the big boy potty, but the Rockies season ended before he was ready. Luckily, the Braves had one more game!

Nana and Papa took us to a game and we had a great time. the free tomahawks were a big hit with both the kids. kate ate hers and chopped everyone near us!

At the end of 9 innings, we were pretty tired and headed home. the game last 13 innings but the Braves couldn't pull out the win.

can't wait for next season!

First Camping "Trip"

2011-09-24T12:04:00.001-06:00

Richard took Brooks "camping" last weekend in the backyard - so cute. First, Brooks said that it was too dark and that he "wanted to go camping when the sun comes up." Then he got a flashlight and loved his big sleeping bag. I thought they would make it about an hour before coming inside, but they made it almost the whole night. When I asked Brooks the next day why they came inside at 5am, he said, "because daddy kept seeing my eyes." love it!

the first of many camping trips to come...

8 months

2011-09-22T15:09:00.004-06:00

happy 2/3 birthday to baby kate last week. she is getting so big and so cute!

highlights from the last month:

kate weighs about 18 pounds and still has all the chub you could dream of!
she got her first two bottom teeth.
we took our first trip as a family of four to dallas and loved seeing family and friends.
while in dallas, kate got her first virus (roseola) and had a fever followed by a rash the whole time we were there.
kate is adding new foods to her diet all the time but still loves sweet stuff the best and can't get enough mum mums!
she is "talking" all the time and brooks says that she is saying "da da" - lucky for richard.
kate spent her first extended time in the nursery at church away from mom during our first MOPS meeting of the year. while she didn't nap like at home, she did find a sweet woman to rock her for two hours!

end of summer

2011-09-12T17:08:00.000-06:00

just a few pics of our end of summer days. brooks started his 2 day a week parents day out last week and also enjoyed doing some painting at home. he is really into airplanes right now and we painted some foam ones together. kate just hangs out happily while her big brother is so active!

baptism weekend

2011-08-23T10:22:00.001-06:00

we had a fun weekend celebrating kate's baptism with mimi, granddaddy, nana and papa. kate wore this sweet dress that mimi made with her monogram (also mimi's monogram).

kate's precious silver baby cup - a gift from the fuquays.

getting ready to go up on stage for the baptism. both kids did great!

watching the next family - there were about 10 little ones getting baptized.

all tuckered out after the service. we never got around to a full family picture.

brooks in his church clothes after playing at the sand table - not the best combination!

we had a fun lunch celebration with family and friends sunday afternoon.

7 months

2011-08-22T20:51:00.000-06:00

a little late, but we celebrated 7 months with our sweet kate last week. we were flying home from canada on the 16th and just got around to taking her pictures this weekend.

highlights from the month:

- started eating more baby foods including sweet potatoes, squash, pears, apples, bananas, peas and prunes. the prunes are not only a necessity but also her favorite! still won't eat the rice cereal or the oatmeal but at least is giving the other foods a try.
- a fun trip to canada to visit great grandma ellen and other family and friends. already kate's third plane trip with four more planned this year! unbelievable!
- more babbling and making lots of cute sounds
- officially taking 2 solid naps on the days we aren't on the go and still sleeping well at night about 8-7.
- loves anything brooks is playing with, especially all of the "little people" and puts everything in her mouth. i keep thinking a tooth is coming in, but so far nothing.
- learned how to "trick" mommy and daddy into letting her get out of bed occassionally and last week we laughed that she just wanted to watch "Friday Night Lights" with us!

brooks is turning into more of a big boy everyday. i love talking with him now that his words are so much clearer and his sentences and stories are so fun. he narrates everything we do and repeats everything i say. he loves reading books, always wants "two books" before bed, and will "read" stories back to me turning the pages on his own. he finally got his cast off last week and has been so steady on his feet. these days brooks is really into his "little people" noah's ark, firetrucks, baseball, golfing in the yard, asking to play with the 7 year old boy who lives next door, tigers, motorcycles and all "things that go." today he spotted two motorcyclists who were actually wearing their helmets (not as common as you would think) and he said, "wearing helmets. I'm so glad." This guy is totally into helmet safety and not "going boom."

It's been a great summer that has really flown by. The kids are still really sweet together and both very happy.

6 months

2011-07-18T21:00:00.000-06:00

month 6 really flew by with all of our travels and vacations - this one snuck up on me big time! happy 1/2 birthday to our sweet little kate! you are the sweetest of all sweetnesses and you get more loveable everyday!

highlights of 6 months...

17lbs 3oz and a head in the 90%

you started sitting up unsupported on july 4th

you stopped eating rice cereal - hopefully we can find out at your dr. appointment tomorrow what's up with that!

you laugh when we play peek-a-boo and tickle your tummy

you watch everything your brother does and think he's pretty cool

you put everything in your mouth! i think a tooth must be coming soon

you eye our food like a hawk and reach for our forks when we are eating

your afternoon nap is getting longer and longer - thank you! you and brooks often give mommy 2 hours of peace and quiet!

as kate turns 6 months, our B-man is turning 2 and a half this week too! wow!

he has really grown up in the last month it seems. two weeks of vacation with grandparents really brought out the big boy in him, and Brooks is talking more and more. even though i am the only one who seems to understand most of what he says, he really is a chatterbox. he has also started to play pretend more - his favorite pretend game is to take a nap and wake up and make breakfast. he also likes to play pretend golf. while we haven't mastered the potty yet, there does seem to be an increased interest in it. last week brooks told me, "mom, want to go to target and buy underwear. want blue ones, not red ones." we did go and buy underwear but he has lost interest since!

these two munchkins are sure bringing a lot of joy to our life. somedays are pretty crazy and a two and half year old offers plenty of frustrating and humbling moments, but overall, i wouldn't trade these days for anything. last saturday we watched as they sat together in a tent in our backyard "talking" to each other and couldn't help but get excited for all the future moments together.

all american & atlantan 4th

2011-07-18T20:31:00.000-06:00

a few fun pics from our 4th of July celebration in Atlanta. we watched the Lenox Square fireworks from a highrise condo, and it was awesome! it rained outside but the show went on and was really cool.

richard and i also ran the Peachtree Road Race on the morning of the 4th - an Atlanta tradition. it's the largest 10k in the world with over 65,000 runners. we knew it was going to be hilly, hot and humid, but we totally underestimated all three. no amount of training in cool Colorado - even running at 9,000 feet altitude in Crested Butte - could have prepared us for that race! i'm proud to say we finished but no times will be recorded here! our next attempt will have to be back home.

first family beach trip

2011-07-18T14:32:00.000-06:00

after our wonderful 4th of July weekend in atlanta with the family, we drove to Gulf Shores, AL with nana and papa for a few days at the beach. richard and i had not been to the beach together since Costa Rica 3 years ago! the florida white sand was a total treat and with lots of sunscreen and breaks from the heat in the condo, we all had a great time.

brooks liked playing in the sand and "building" sand castles with daddy and papa. he said that he prefered the pool though and spent time everyday practicing his jumping and climbing the ladder. brooks also slept in a queen bed (bunk beds) for the first time and really loved it. he fell out once but didn't seem to mind!

kate proved to be a great traveller again - this picture is from the evening we got to the beach. she is sound asleep under a make-shift tent, as happy as can be.

brooks ready to go to the beach - he has become very eager and determined.

brooks's first round of mini-golf. this was the coolest place to be in the middle of the day because the course had so many shade trees. brooks made a hole in one all by himself on one hole and another with some help. now he pretends to play mini golf everywhere and shouts "hole in one!" after every pretend shot.

a little bit of heartbreak when the ball disappears after hole 18 - oops, i forgot that happened! had to whisk him on to something else very quickly.

thanks nana and papa for a great beach trip!

little fishies in atlanta

2011-07-13T14:21:00.000-06:00

we spent a fun weekend in atlanta escaping the heat going from one pool to the next! little kate wore her swimsuit for the first time and seemed to like the float.

brooks has turned into quite a little fish jumping in over and over with no fear, going underwater without help and starting to kick his legs more. we start swimming lessons again this saturday thankfully - hopefully we can instill some respect for the pool to go with his enthusiasm.

fun with moompa and boompa enjoying the pool and lots of special snacks.

5 years - wood?

2011-07-12T10:43:00.002-06:00

while we were in crested butte, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary - wow!

what a great 5 years it has been. we settled in colorado, richard finished his residency and started a fellowship, we bought a house, we had 2 kids (!), we travelled to costa rica and we did a lot of other fun stuff along the way. i don't feel 5 years older in a lot of ways but in some ways i do.

the thing that has surprised me most being married to richard? how much he likes cars and how much he knows about them! i laugh everytime he starts listing stats about random cars on the road - not something that came out while we were dating!

i sure love being married to this guy and am so thankful for the life we have started together. i couldn't really ask for more.

for our anniversary we didn't give each other anything made of wood - we went out for tapas!

what does it mean?

2011-07-12T10:33:00.000-06:00

we saw some cool rainbows in crested butte, but nothing compared to this guy.

http://youtu.be/OQSNhk5ICTI

enjoy the laughs!

crested butte

2011-07-12T10:21:00.000-06:00

Fuquay family vacation 2011 took us to a new spot in Colorado - Crested Butte! After 3 years in Breckenridge we ventured to central Colorado and really enjoyed it. it seemed greener, more open and somehow even more beautiful than the front range.

we enjoyed an easy family hike one day with brooks in his backpack and kate in the snuggli. the kids loved the mountains and even shared a room for the whole week with no trouble. brooks loved riding his trike in the driveway and playing golf in the backyard. we also found a park in town and the house had a play fort with swings.

christmas card?

two nights we made a bonfire in the backyard fire pit and toasted smores. it was brooks's first smores experience, and even though he can't eat the chocolate, he really liked the rest. even kate wanted in on the action - she said "forget rice cereal, i want the good stuff."

maybe we'll be back in 2012 - this place was amazing! thanks mimi and granddaddy for an incredible week.

5 months

2011-06-25T19:24:00.000-06:00

5 months

Kate's highlights:

rolling over both ways and sleeping on her tummy
eating rice cereal (sometimes)
smiling and laughing a lot
first plane flight - to asheville, nc for wake girls reunion
dropped another feeding - now eats 4 times a day and tries cereal 3 times
sleeping about 7:30 to 7:30 unless she wakes up on her tummy and freaks out!
usually takes 2 solid naps during the day and sometimes a cat nap late in the day
started playing in the exersaucer and snuggling with a lovie in her crib

we didn't get an official weight this month but kate continues to be quite the chubster with rolls upon rolls. she is quickly outgrowing 6 month clothes and moving into 9 months sizes. her hair is coming in redder and redder and is so cute. we just can't get enough of her! what we want to always remember about kate right now is how she already seems to have the personality to light up a room and is such a happy girl.

kate and her handsome brother getting ready to go on vacation to the mountains

we love you baby kate! you are quite the cute nugget.

cereal days

2011-06-18T16:29:00.000-06:00

kate is starting the rice cereal this week! while she is still uncertain if she likes it or not, it is doing the trick for the sleeping. after being a great sleeper for many weeks, kate was starting to wake early out of her naps and very early in the morning. after 5 days with this stuff things are back to normal and she is sleeping well again! yeah!

does starting cereal mean these cheeks could get even bigger?!?

summertime

2011-06-18T16:12:00.000-06:00

just a glimpse at the last week or so with nice warm days here in denver.

kate is living in the bumbo these days and seems to really like it

brooks going on a "golf trip" turning his little car into a golf cart in the backyard

b-man excited for a run through the sprinkler

kate happy to watch the sprinkler fun from the porch

brooks and xander having a fun morning at the zoo - checking out the polar bears

kate relaxing after a long summer day

action shot in the sprinkler

10 years and counting

2011-06-09T15:21:00.000-06:00

i can hardly believe it has been 10 years since i graduated from college, but what a great ten years it has been. one of my favorite traditions of these years is getting together with my college girlfriends for our annual memorial day weekend trip. this year we met up in asheville, north carolina for the long weekend and had 7 of the 11 girls and even two new babies. it was one of our more beautiful settings (although all have been pretty awesome!) and we spent the weekend going for walks around the lake, playing mexican train and catching up. i am already looking forward to next year's reunion whether it be east or west, beach or mountain - as long as i am with these girls it will be perfect!

the train!

baby kate playing with charlie rietz

out for mexican food and margaritas

bounce bounce

2011-05-23T18:43:00.000-06:00

like father like son

brooks has taken a new interest in playing tennis with daddy and this weekend we got him his first racket. after seeing it a week ago, brooks talked all week about his "little tennis racket" and kept asking if we could "bring home?" we told him if he was a "nice boy" all week we would go and get it on saturday. he held too it and "bring home" we did!

a star is born!

4 months

2011-05-18T12:04:00.000-06:00

this is getting so unreal - i really can't believe kate is four months old already. sounds so cliche, doesn't it? as richard says, kate is the sweetest of all sweetnesses these days.

at her 4 month doctor appointment today, kate measured in at 15.5 lbs (84%), 25 inches long (81%) and her head is 87%. we thought she would be even bigger based on all her rolls!

as you can see in this one, kate has started laughing now and continues to be a very happy baby. she likes to put everything in her mouth - her hands, rings and toys. at night she gets our of her swaddling blanket, and by morning we find her turned in her crib and sucking on her fingers. she has also started rolling over from her tummy to her back during tummy time and can get about half way from her back to her tummy. we are now eating 5 times a day and taking 3-4 naps. kate is following in her brother's footsteps and sleeping well overnight (about 8pm to 7am). so thankful for that!

brooks is still doing great in his big brother role. we are taking a parenting class (Love & Logic) and practicing all of our new techniques on him. he is very sweet to kate and always says he wants to be a "nice boy." this week we have a reward for being a nice boy - on saturday, brooks is going with daddy to buy a "little tennis racket" to play "bounce bounce" more with dada. brooks is so excited and is talking about it everyday.

weekend getaway

2011-05-10T16:28:00.000-06:00

so fun that we were able to spend mother's day weekend (and also richard's birthday weekend) in vail. it was a great getaway - wonderful weather, beautiful scenery and lots of time to just relax. no laundry, no chores, no yardwork, no shopping - just watching basketball (go mavs!) and baseball (come on rockies, pull it together!) and spending time together.

playing with daddy in vail

kate on her first "hike" - we really only made it about 300 yards before it got too snowy on the trail and we had to turn back! not our best effort.

kate happy to be in beaver creek for the afternoon

brooks all tired out from our "relaxing" weekend

"more eggs"

2011-04-27T14:16:00.000-06:00

these have been the most said two words of Brooks's life so far - this little man is totally into eggs! funny, considering he is allergic to them. but wow, easter eggs, dying eggs, coloring on eggs with markers, putting stickers on eggs, hunting for eggs and especially opening up the plastic eggs to find jelly bean treats - brooks loved it all!

as you can tell from our easter clothes, we did casual and cold easter here in denver this year!

thanks to mimi fuquay we had great treats for the kids in their baskets. brooks is really enjoying his easter bubbles and bunny coloring book.

sweet baby kate in her easter dress and bunny ears - she was so smiley all day and did lots of "talking"

our "best" take of a kids easter picture. "puppy" made an appearance and wouldn't go away for the pictures. there's always next year!

What a great Easter celebration with family! This is always my favorite holiday of the year.

3 months

2011-04-18T21:16:00.000-06:00

this weekend our little kate turned 3 months (or one quarter as richard liked to say). she is the most adorable and lovable little thing. we had quite an eventful lead up to 3 months and we have lots to remember about our little peanut.

at 3 months, kate weighs 14 pounds (90%)
she eats about 5 times a day starting at 7am and finishing off around 9pm with a "dream feed"
she sleeps about 9 -10 hours at night and takes 3 naps (some are lengthy and some short depending on the day).
kate spent her first morning in the church nursery last week and did great
she loves her swing and the light up star on her playmat.
she does not love tummy time and needs a little work there!
kate has given out a few giggles in addition to her many smiles - she is such a happy baby.
last week, kate took her first trip to the ER after taking a fall down some of the basement stairs. such a freak accident and we are so thankful that she is totally ok - healthy and happy. after a CT scan at the hospital we found out that kate has two small fractures in her skull. luckily, the doctors told us that kate is a "healing machine" and the fractures will heal within two weeks with no long term consequences. unbelievable! we definitely thought that our first trip to the ER would be with our two year old rambunctious boy, but our little baby brought us there first.

as you can see in this picture, brooks is such a loving big brother. when kate got home from the hospital on wednesday, brooks said "kate, big boom head" and just wanted to give her a kiss. it was about the sweetest thing we have ever seen. brooks is really thriving these days - as a big brother and just as a two year old. his vocabulary is increasing by the minute and we love to hear all the new things he has to say. some of his favorite phrases are "mommy play more choo-choo" and "eat now." at least he is also getting better with his "please" and "thank yous."

kate looking at all her awesome rolls and wondering, "when did i get so big?!?"

lately

2011-04-05T14:22:00.000-06:00

just a few pics from the last couple of weeks. we are continuing to have a taste of spring here and there and loving being able to play outside. my birthday last saturday was a record high (84)! kate is getting bigger everyday (11 weeks now) and becoming a little person for sure - smiling and staying awake so much more. she has taken over brooks's nickname of "cheeks" and is for sure off the chart in that measurement!

cheeks

birthday sand table - a big hit

opening day - go rockies

spring training

2011-03-24T14:41:00.000-06:00

in addition to loving basketball and tennis, brooks's new favorite sport seems to be baseball. and we think he has quite a talent so far - and he seems to be a lefty at the plate!

cheeks

2011-03-16T20:40:00.001-06:00

2 months - wow - this girl is getting big!
and yes, it's a new bear for baby kate from family friends the Williams in Dallas.

highlights:

smiling here and there - not sure what makes her happy yet!
sleeping so well :) 10-6 at night most nights and mommy is feeling so much more alive!
a fierce cry at times but overall a very happy baby
happy in the car, stroller and on all the adventures we take her on to keep big brother brooks occupied!
and the cheeks - wow, we thought brooks had big cheeks as a baby but these are bigger

we go in for her two month appointment next monday so we'll have some real stats to share after that. for now, here are some new pics. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

spring in denver? really?

2011-03-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

it's true - i feel like we are really getting a taste of spring in denver this year. 60 degrees for many days in a row - playing outside - wearing shorts - and a trip to the zoo!

we loved seeing the giraffes - they were inside and even bigger than i ever imagined

little picnic lunch

always a favorite - the elephants!

even kate liked her trip to the zoo and slept nearly the whole time.

ps. she is getting so chubby - i love it!

a first of many firsts

2011-02-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

baby kate is giving out some smiles!

it's hard to catch these fleeting smiles on film, but here are our best takes.

also, her cheeks are getting huge!

visitors

2011-02-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

we have had a revolving door of visitors to see baby kate for the last 6 weeks, and we love it! this week kate got to meet her "boompa" and "moompa" brooks who came in from atlanta. they arrived with a special gift for baby kate, and we had a fun time going out to eat (brooks's favorite) and playing with the kids.

my dad quilting! what?!?

kate's baby quilt from boompa - i can't believe he made it himself! it's beautiful - thank you dad.

kate meeting boompa for the first time - he's a natural

fun with boompa

dad & carol - thanks for coming to visit - we had a great time as always and love the quilt!

1 month - here we go

2011-02-17T10:44:00.001-07:00

the chair makes a return for our monthly updates...

kate celebrated one month yesterday with her mimi in town to play. we took her by the pediatrician's office for a quick weigh in, and richard and i were both way off in our guess. kate is getting big fast and weighs 9 pounds 7 ounces already! she is sleeping really well and getting us up really only once in the middle of the night around 3am. i can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. she is spending more time during the day with her sweet eyes open and has started napping in her crib during the day too. when her afternoon nap lines up with brooks's it is sure a treat for mommy!

happy one month birthday kate. you are a total sweetness and we love you.

somebody's a gamer

2011-02-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

so even though i really tried to bowl well at xander's 3rd birthday party last weekend, i couldn't take home the win for the fuquays. you may think richard beat me, but you'd be wrong. brooks bowled the high score for our family on sunday all by himself. (he did have the aid of the bumpers and a ramp to roll the ball with, but nonetheless, he broke 100 in his first game and beat mom and dad as you will see below. needless to say, everyone at the party got a good laugh out of this one!

one pin? seriously - all i needed was one more pin and i choked! if only brooks understood what was going on and could celebrate his victory!

cuteness

2011-02-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

just had to throw up a few new pictures of the cuteness that is our house right now. i can't believe we have two little redheads!

I could not be more thankful for these two.

2 weeks

2011-02-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

these past two weeks have totally flown by, and i sort of forgot about announcing our little kate to the blogosphere...here you go!

Kathryn (Kate) Doyle Fuquay joined us on Sunday, January 16th at 12:47 in the afternoon. she is a tiny little peanut, weighing 6 pounds 12 oz and 19.5 inches long. At first, we thought she looked just like big brother brooks, but as we spend more time with her she is developing a look all her own. she still has redish hair and blue eyes, but i think she's looking more like richard than brooks ever did. (yeah for daddy!)

At two weeks she is eating about 8 times a day and is very efficient. She has taken well to the bottle for one feeding with dad, giving mom a chance to sleep a little more in the early morning. She is very sleepy most of the time but happy when she does open her eyes. She really is only crying when she's having her diaper changed or to wake me up at 3am to eat! can't blame her for that. At our checkup yesterday, kate had grown to 7 pounds 10 oz and was 20.5 inches long - she is growing like a weed!

Getting Ready for Baby Sister

2011-01-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

with 11 days to go until our due date, i am in full-on nesting mode and getting very excited to meet this little lima bean! it has been even more fun than i thought to decorate a room for a little girl. richard will say that there is more pink than he expected, but i love it!
here are some pictures of her sweet room

the walls were already yellow and perfect for a little girl's room

our new crib thanks to mimi and granddad fuquay. i had fun repurposing this pink fabric from an old duvet cover that i loved. i used the fabric to make the crib bumper and crib skirt as well as some basket liners and ties for the curtains.

Thanks nana and papa for this great mobile

we painted the changing table from brooks's room and decided to use this dresser from my childhood room for storage in the closet. i love looking at all of her sweet clothes hanging here waiting for her arrival.

we also moved the rocking chair to the nursery, making room for a play table in brooks's room - he loves it!

this moses basket was from when i was a baby! i made a new slipcover for the pad and then a new bumper for baby girl.

ok baby girl, we are ready for you now! (at least your stuff is ready - i don't know about ever feeling totally ready to stop sleeping for a while!)

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

We rang in the first day of 2011 with a fun morning playing in our first snow of the season. It was too cold on friday (high of 9) to play but saturday was much better (20)! Since Brooks couldn't stand or walk last winter he never really got a chance to play in the snow. He seemed to like it and really likes wearing all the cold weather gear!

Brooks also LOVES riding his new tricycle from Mimi & Grandad - even in the snow!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Our pretty tree - Brooks picked it out

Brooks got a train/toy table from santa this year and also some new trains from Mimi & Grandad to add to the ever growing collection. We have not been able to rip him away from the "Te-Tes" yet.

Opening new clothes from Boompa & Moompa on Chrismtas morning. Brooks is going to be one stylish little guy this year.

Trying out his new doctor set from Aunt Kathleen. We promise richard does not bring work home, but somehow Brooks knew exactly how this thing was supposed to work.

Opening presents with Daddy

and then trying on Daddy's new boots before even he could! perfect fit!

We finished the day with a wonderful dinner with friends, the McDaniels & the Woodalls and their 4 boys combined. Oscar & Brooks played with the tools and also had a big game of basketball in the basement.

Brooks and his good buddy Elliott posing by the tree for one last pic before it was time to go to bed. Love the pajamas!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of videos of Brooks's christmas morning...more pictures to come but a turkey to tend to for now.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Some more Dirk photos

2010-12-25T14:45:00.001-07:00

I dug out some oldie goldie dirk shots -

This is from 2001.

Always a sucker for a belly scratch. Note the high class furnishings.

In 2003 Dad and I spent two nights and three days on the Ozark Highlands Trail and Dirk ran himself into the ground by the end of the trip.

Here he is in the car on the way to the Pecos Wilderness for a four day backpacking trip in 2004. Unfortunately we didn't know that thigh-deep snow was waiting for us. But eventually we stopped messing with the topo maps and compass and just followed Dirk who always knew where the trail was (supposed to be).

Resting after a day of trailblazing. Note the bear bell.

Winter 2006 had the most snow in quite a while.

Always in the middle of things!

Missing the Dirk Dog

2010-12-23T22:29:00.001-07:00

It feels like just yesterday I was blogging about our dog Arnie when we had to say goodbye to him last year. And this week we had to say goodbye to our sweet Dirk Dog. This one was definitely more surprising as we thought we would have many more good years with this amazing dog. Dirk started getting a case of the dwindles about a month ago, and we have been in and out of the vet these last couple of weeks. Last week we found out that he had a cancer in his belly and didn't have long to live. On Tuesday night Dirk gave up his fight, and we miss him so much already.

To say that Dirk was a good dog is a huge understatement. He was the best dog anyone could ever ask for. Although I only adopted Dirk in marraige, he was so special to me. Richard adopted Dirk with friends in medical school and rescued him from a life on the run. After his many escape attempts, a few electric fences, and eating through a few doors and having two teeth pulled, he certainly settled into family life with us.

Our last day with Dirk Dog

Dirk was the sweetest dog with Brooks and really any other visitors that came to the house. He loved being loved and often wore his "sweet face" as Richard's mom called it. He was the ultimate companion, unconditional with his love, never demanding and so low key. We always thought he would be the best dog to one day bring a new dog home to to train. There will unlikely be another like him.

Dirk dog loved the outdoors, and we will miss taking him on hikes and snowy adventures. In the spring we plan to give his remains a tribute in one of his favorite Colorado places.

Early Christmas Presents and Fun

2010-12-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed an early Christmas with Nana and Papa this weekend. Brooks loved opening a few presents, and I can already tell I am going to have to start cleaning out older toys to make way for the next week! Brooks is really turning into even more of a toddler, playing "baseball", basketball, building with legos and doing "work."

Our new favorite toys - a construction set from best buddy Xander. We know Xander can teach us a lot about big machines and these tools will be so helpful for big jobs with daddy. Thank You!

Weekend Update

2010-11-14T16:06:00.001-07:00

Just a fun afternoon with daddy! They were forcasting snow today but instead we got a beautiful (although very cold) day to play outside. I'm trying to enjoy these days as much as I can knowing we won't have spring until May!

And yesterday we spent some time working on baby sister's room. Brooks took his first steps to reverting to a baby in the process!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-02T13:06:00.000-06:00

Halloween 2010 - A Penguin

Brooks with his buddy, Elliott. Brooks also carried this book around the whole night.

Getting in a little extra reading before trick or treating begins.

on a mission with his basketball-looking candy basket.

Brooks and his friends after the first house.

Politely taking candy from strangers - what a great lesson!

Halloween 2010 was a huge success. Brooks kept his costume on for 4 hours and i think would have even lasted longer. He loved going up to the houses and was very polite in taking candy and "saying" thank you with his sign language. Only one man thought he was a girl.

congratulations amy!

2010-10-26T15:31:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Amy & John!

we had a wonderful time celebrating this wedding with atlanta friends in columbus, ohio two weekends ago. it was Brooks's first wedding ceremony and reception, and he had a great time! i didn't take many shots from the weekend - i guess we were too busy having fun!

Fun at Steak & Shake with nana and grandpa phil

Breakfast in bed at the hotel

our favorite! moving brooks from one hotel room to another after the reception in this metal "hospital-style" crib. we even ran into friends in the elevator and brooks slept through it all.

the picture of the weekend - my mom had no idea her former self was running for congress in ohio!

congrats again to amy & john - the wedding was fabulous and we know your new life together will be a thousand times greater! we love you!

pumpkins

2010-10-25T14:17:00.000-06:00

while we haven't yet found a pumpkin of our own, we have had two fun outings where brooks has had the chance to play with pumpkins. wow - he loves them! he thinks they are balls (#1) and this weekend in dallas was trying to throw and kick them around the arboretum!

at the fall festival in our neighborhood a few weeks ago - horses, pumpkins, blacksmith, etc

Brooks in a teepee

pumpkin patch

Brooks also likes to sit on the pumpkins - his way of trying them out

this weekend at the arboretum in dallas - about 40,000 pumpkins to choose from

kicking the pumpkins like a soccer ball

maybe my favorite! carrying pumpkins from one patch to another

cutest little pumpkin man - pardon the random pieces of hair sticking out by his ears - the weather in dallas was more humid than we are used to and brooks had curly hair all weekend!

Can't wait for halloween this weekend and Brooks's first real trick or treating...stay tuned

Words

2010-10-08T16:18:00.000-06:00

so, as with crawling and walking, Brooks has been a little behind the train in acquiring in his words. he has been saying "Yeah" to just about everything for a few months with the occaisional mama and more often, dada, thrown in. But since he started his little pre-pre-preschool one day a week he has starting showing an interest in talking a lot more!

and in addition to "yeah," Brooks has finally learned to say the word "No." What a joy!

Wild Wild West

2010-09-28T21:17:00.001-06:00

End of summer brought us on another great road trip with Nana & Grandpa Phil - this time to Nevada, Utah & Arizona. Who knew you could get between those three states so many times in just 5 days!?!
We started in Las Vegas and went to the Hoover Dam & drove around beautiful Lake Mead.

Day 2: Zion National Park and a great drive through Utah's rugged terrain. Richard & I would love to go back to Zion and do some real hiking, but for this trip we just did the scenic drive. The drive took us through a great tunnel that was the longest in the US at the time it was built in the early 1920s (i think).

Day 3: Grand Canyon - the North Rim (much less visited than the South Rim). This was my first trip to the Grand Canyon and it was even more spectacular than I expected. We walked a few of the rim trails and enjoyed the amazing views from the Grand Canyon Lodge, built in 1927.

Day 4: Richard was only able to join us for the long weekend and we toured the South Rim out of Flagstaff, Arizona on Saturday on our way to Lake Powell.

Day 5: Lake Powell, Page, Arizona. We rented a ski boat on Lake Powell and had an awesome day! Lake Powell is like nowhere else I have ever seen - it's desert but beautiful and the boys were even able to waterski.

Brooks, the superstar traveler, even took a 2 hour nap while we were speeding around the lake.

The Rainbow Bridge - the largest natural bridge in the world. Richard & Phil took the hike up close, but it was a little far for Brooks!

We had such a fun time exploring this new part of the country. Thanks Nana & Grandpa Phil for a great adventure and all of Brooks's new patches for his bag.

"First" first day of school

2010-09-14T13:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Brooks went to his first day of Parents Day Out! what a big boy!

He really seemed to have a good time and didn't cry when we got there. After an open house involving lots of tears and clinging to mommy's leg, I wasn't sure what to expect. The teachers prepare us that sometimes week two can be harder than week one so i'll hold back any confidence just yet!

Brooks was most excited about taking his snack with him to school and started eating it before we left the house!

Crooked Creek

2010-09-14T13:28:00.000-06:00

This past weekend it was so much fun to take Brooks (and Richard) to Young Life camp for the first time. We had a leadership weekend with about 400 other volunteers and staff from Colorado at Crooked Creek Ranch in Fraser, CO. Richard couldn't come for the whole time but was able to join us on Saturday for a beautiful day in the mountains.

Brooks wanted to drive the Ridge Runners right out of the place.

Of course, we found the basketball court quite a few times.

And also the sand volleyball - so much fun at camp!

It's a ...

2010-09-03T11:22:00.000-06:00

GIRL!!!

We could hardly believe it last night when we opened our "famous" envelope to find out the gender of baby fuq #2. we were both picturing a little boy for some reason but are thrilled to know it's going to be a little girl. i am finally not going to be so outnumbered by the boys!

the envelope please

we were both pretty surprised when it was pink! daddy is a little nervous about a little girl but as mimi said..."he will be putty in her hands."

does this mean i get to start shopping?

what a day! january here we come!

a fuquay tradition

2010-08-26T16:50:00.000-06:00

Fuquay Family Vacation 2010 - Breckenridge, Colorado

what a fun week with all the fuquays in colorado - so relaxing. We watched a movie, played quite a few games of Catan, ate like kings, played golf twice and enjoyed walking in town most days. the boys also did a 14er (Gray's Peak)!

all the boys with their polo ponies :)

the highest tee box in north america! we had so much fun playing at Copper Creek again - what a beautiful course!

if you're going to san francisco...

2010-08-26T16:44:00.000-06:00

a little late posting these pics, but we had a great weekend away in san francisco last month. a big thanks to nana and grandpa phil for coming out to denver to stay with little brooks so we could have a weekend away - what a treat!

we celebrated devin and mandi at Half Moon Bay (just southwest of San Fran). This is the view from the outdoor ceremony at the Ritz Carlton - so great!

all the fuquays at the wedding

so fun to spend the weekend with the Browns too!

so many friends to catch up with from dallas (high school and med school)

on Sunday, we stopped in Saucilito and had fun looking at all the boats

we loved driving through san fran - we did the golden gate bridge, lombard street and drove all over the place!

18 months

2010-08-04T16:50:00.000-06:00

and the months just keep flying by!
i wanted to get down some of the highlights of Brooks at 18 months before i forget what fun things he is doing right now.
the details:
26 pounds - 52%
34.74 inches tall - 97%
walking for sure and starting to "run"
still sleeps 8 to 8 and takes 2 naps for a total of 15-16 hours sleeping a day!
when he's not sleeping he loves to eat, kick balls, play outside, ride in his new wagon, swim and do puzzles.

favorite foods: animal crackers (he woke up one night from a dead sleep and this is what he wanted!), soy milk, blueberries and all kinds of fruit. he goes in and out of loving his "little green trees" (broccoli). as we get better at using the fork and spoon, dinner time is getting very messy (especially with pasta!)

brooks doesn't have too many words at the moment - still says "yeah" to almost everything - he has learned to make a frowny face and shake his head emphatically when he wants to say no. everything else pretty much sounds like dada and the occasional mama.
we have definitely entered into the early stages of independence - brooks wants to do everything by himself first - get to the car, climb out the front step, carry things, put on his shoes...it is certainly a lesson in patience.

and finally, i hope we always remember how sweet he still is at this age. he "gives kisses" to mommy and daddy before bed, loves to lay down on the floor with dirk dog and gives richard a running hug when he gets home from work. we are so thankful for our happy little boy!

i couldn't resist putting in this pic of brooks making himself comfortable in the baby seat.

he has another thing coming in january!

80's throwback

2010-07-19T14:31:00.000-06:00

a tribute to all you Chimney Lakes girls who read the blog...does this shirt look familiar?

Richard and I played in our 5th Wooden Open here in Denver - a wooden racket tennis tournament put on by some friends out here. What a fun afternoon & evening!

We didn't make it quite as far as we did last year, but we had a great time and Brooks was such a trooper. It was the hottest day in two years out here - 102 degrees!

Other than wearing my tennis shirt from about 1988, the highlight of the night was Richard scaling and falling over a fence in the middle of a point to try to make an incredible return! (and you say i'm the competitive one this this house!)

Summer Fun

2010-07-05T10:03:00.000-06:00

This summer Brooks is really enjoying all his new favorite "sports." He is getting so active and animated.

Basketball is still the #1 sport of choice.

Swimming is coming in a close second. After 3 straight days at the pool last week Brooks likes to dunk under the water, "jump" off the side into my arms, and "swim" around kicking his legs while I hold him up. After a little while in the big pool though, he likes to go back to the baby pool and just play with the toys.

"Golfing" - aka swinging clubs around like crazy in the backyard and hitting any ball that's available - is also a daily activity! We are working on keeping the clubs on the ground, but i think we have a long way to go until he is ready for the course!

Yesterday, we went with some friends down to Garden of the Gods Park for a little bit of hiking and touring. Richard was a trooper carrying Brooks on his back for 2 hours!

Happy 4th Everyone!

For the fans

2010-06-09T16:30:00.002-06:00

and by fans, i mean our parents. more walking video - back by popular demand

Not Crawling to College

2010-06-02T11:46:00.003-06:00

well folks, he finally did it! all it took was mom going out of town to get our little man to start walking. funny, that's what it took to get him to start crawling too!?! we are so excited for brooks - he is very nonchalant about it, but i think he can tell we are very excited about his new skills. in a week, you can all remind me that i was so eager for the walking to start! here is a glimpse - i hope the video isn't too big.

Remember the Alamo

2010-05-07T07:58:00.000-06:00

and the other 4 spanish missions too!

Richard and I enjoyed a great three day trip to San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country while we were in Dallas last week. This "babymoon" was a great getaway - our first in 15 months just the two of us. I had never been to San Antonio and couldn't wait to see the Alamo!

In addition, I had heard about the "Mission Trail," a loop including 4 other Spanish missions that we thought would be fun to see. http://www.nps.gov/saan/index.htm It really was history in our backyard and felt like we were in another country. We decided to rent bikes and to the mission trail this way - about a 16 mile loop. It was awesome - one of the coolest things we have ever done on vacation (zip lining in Costa Rica might still beat it!).

From the National Park Service:

"The legacy and history of San Antonio and this region began with a simple ceremony when...

in 1718 Franciscans and Spanish representatives established the first mission. Within 13 years, five were located along the San Antonio River. The missions’ purpose? To acculturate and Christianize the native population and make them Spanish citizens. Today, visitors can retrace the footsteps of the mission Indians and friars. And, possibly, meet descendants of those first inhabitants.

The Alamo - Mission San Antonio de Valero

we went to the alamo twice - this time not on the bikes!

The six flags of Texas

Mission Concepcion

Mission San Jose - the "Queen of the Missions"

Mission San Juan

Mission Espada

In addition to our great bike ride, we also relaxed on the River Walk, ate Mexican food three times and drank a few yummy margs.

Our trip continued with an evening in Fredericksburg, Texas - where we went on our honeymoon 4 years ago. We walked the pretty main street, ate dinner and had an awesome breakfast at Rather Sweet - an adorable bakery. On our way out of town, we stopped at Wildseed Farms to enjoy the wildflowers in bloom and pick up some seeds to try back home.

What a fun trip! Thanks to mimi and grandad for spending 3 days with little brooks!

15 months

2010-05-07T06:46:00.000-06:00

a little late, but since we haven't given a true brooks update in 3 months, better late than never. we were in dallas last week, so this is not the "famous" chair, but it does show that brooks is not a baby anymore - he's a big boy!

At 15 months, Brooks...
...weighs 24lbs 3oz - 46%, is 32 inches tall - 79% and still has a big head!
...is still cruising and crawling incredibly fast - no walking yet. we keep saying it's going to be anyday, but we've been saying that since january!
...sleeps about 12 hours at night (8 to 8) and is still taking two naps. we figure the amount he sleeps is at least double what Richard sleeps on a daily basis.
...has been diagnosed with allergies to milk, eggs and nuts :( we have been to a special hospital for skin allergy testing (National Jewish Hospital - the best in the nation) this week he even did a 7 hour food challenge to test him with the milk, and after just 1 teaspoon he broke out in hives and we were done. so, his diet is ever changing.
...still loves to eat! (despite the allergies) he loves oatmeal, blueberry waffles, fruit, avacados, soy milk, soy yogurt, bread, all veggies, turkey dogs, chicken and especially animal crackers.
...has a few "words" (more like sounds that mean words and we understand) they include, "dir" for Dirk, "duh" for Duck, and "ba - be" for Baby. sometimes we even get a "mama" or "dada"
...loves to point to body parts when you ask him. he knows Ears, Eyes, Nose, Hair, Head, Toes, Hands, Feet, Belly and cutest of all, Tongue (he sticks it out!)
...enjoys going to Gymboree, the church nursery and the playground. He is showing a little bit of separation anxiety when we drop him off with someone but soon forgets and starts having fun.

...his favorite toys at the moment are his rocking "horse" (really a snail), reading books, trains and all the "Little People." He is totally adorable when he stands in our front window and watches us in the front yard and smiles through the glass. other favorite things to do: play in the grass and dump out the dirt in mommy's flower pots.

Spring is Springing

2010-04-06T20:26:00.001-06:00

sort of...

we have had a few nice days in Denver these past few weeks (although it was hailing and 40 today) and we are enjoying every minute of sunshine after the long winter.

can't wait to plant flowers, bbq and enjoy warmer weather in the weeks to come

Happy Easter

2010-04-06T20:22:00.000-06:00

Just a few fun pics from our Denver 2010 Easter celebration.
Richard was able to switch work with a friend to get the day off and we enjoyed morning church and a great afternoon meal and games with friends. the Lewises always throw a great Easter complete with a kids and an adult easter egg hunt. this year we also played "battle of the sexes" family fued, Spring/Easter addition! congrats to the boys and especially Richard who pulled out two key answers!

get your hands off my eggs!

Turks & Caicos

2010-03-25T12:43:00.000-06:00

Brooks and I just got back from a great week aboard Infinity in the Turks & Caicos Islands. What a beautiful place! http://www.turksandcaicostourism.com/virtual-slide-show.html

My parents have been sailing through the islands for about 5 months on and off. We were able to meet them in Providenciales (Provo). First, we took a red eye flight from Denver to Atlanta and then had 4 hour layover in ATL before flying to Provo. Brooks was such a trooper and handled the travel like a champ!

First stop - "The Anchorage" for a festive welcome drink

The boat is just off the left of this deck!

Brooks loved playing the cockpit with toys and buckets of water. This is the safety harness we used so he couldn't get anywhere! Thankfully, he is not walking yet - one less thing to worry about.

Brooks building his first "sand castle" - he loved the sand and the water - his favorite was when the waves would rush up over his toes.

The beaches were so beautiful and we were able to visit many of the beach resorts for lunch and dinner. We stayed on the boat in Turtle Cove and it was perfect. We went to the same beach a few different days. It had a children's park with swings and a big playgrond and just a little off the shore was an awesome reef. Phil and I enjoyed two snorkling trips - we saw lots of fish and coral as well as a sea turtle and even a sting ray!

We had a rental car and drove around the whole island one day. At the south end we found this incredible house that we thought was a hotel until we drove up to the front door. Definity a private home!

Walking to dinner at the Tiki Hut, just around the corner from the boat.

Thanks Nana and Grandpa Phil for a great vacation - now we are going home to rest!

a new adventure

2010-02-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

last week Brooks had a fun new adventure at Gymboree - he loved it!
while the weather is snowy and cold outside, we will be playing at gymboree.

back on the slopes after nearly 2 years!

2010-02-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

finally, some great pics from our fun ski trip in january! mom and phil took us to breckenridge for five days, and we invited great friends to join us for the trip. Amy & John flew in from Ohio for the vacation, and we had so much fun seeing them and getting to know John better. (side note: amy & john just got engaged in december too!)

Mom & I at Breckenridge - we had the most beautiful weather all three ski days.

January skiing isn't always so great.

Richard, me & Amy skiing Loveland on day one.

Amy & I on Peak 7 at Breckenridge - we were tearing it up!

Phil & Paula at Breckenridge - Day 2. What a cute skiing couple!

Amy & John at the top of Loveland pass - 11,990 ft! brrrrrr

While Brooks didn't get to do any skiing, he had a great time at the house with lots of playtime with nana and daddy.

Thanks nana & grandpa phil for a great vacation! We already can't wait until next year!

Olympic Fever

2010-02-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else, but the Fuquays have Winter Olympic fever and we've got it bad! (or good, depending on how you look at it!)

In our American/Canadian household, we are having fun cheering for both teams (as least I am, not sure about Richard). Watching the Canadian mogle skier win the first home gold the other night was spectacular!

Last night, we got together with friends for an Olympic/Fat Tuesday/Valentine's party, and Brooks and I decided we should go as team Canada (richard had to work).

Here is our yummy dessert!

and this morning, Brooks was still wearing his maple leaf shirt so we thought we should get some more pics.

Here is Brooks preparing for his first winter Olympic sport...standing in snow!

Our future Olympian!

(but not in luge, hockey, skeleton, or any dangerous winter olympic sport - we may have ruled them all out!)

Birthday Boy

2010-01-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Brooks! You are ONE and we can hardly believe it!

while the weekend and the party were not exactly what we had expected, you were such a trooper and loved the little celebration we were able to have. After getting sick on Wednesday night, you gave your bug to mommy (thursday), daddy (friday), nana and grandpa phil (saturday) and scared away mimi and grandad. Luckily, uncle neill was able to escape without harm. what a weekend!

with such a "memorable" weekend, what we will remember most about Brooks at his first birthday...

- your cheeks!! they are incredible and everyone talks about them. you are an adorable chubby baby with a big belly and great rolls in your legs!

- you are such a fast crawler and love leaving the room on your own and going exploring around the house

- you love opening and closing doors (until you get your toes or fingers caught!)

- you love playing peek a boo around doors, walls, and especially with your "lovie"

- you love sitting on the big bead and having daddy come and pounce near you - you have the best laugh!
- you just started pulling up on the furniture to your feet and will cruise around if the incentive is good enough, cheerios usually do it!
- while you haven't eaten much this week, you are enjoying mac & cheese, blueberries, banana chunks, and all sorts of gerber 3rd foods.
- you are working on your sippy cup but mostly like to pretend to take a drink and then drop it on the floor.
- you are testing us when you are in your highchair, dropping food to see what we will do (we know your games!)
- you love going to the church nursery on tuesdays for mom's MOPS group and bible study. the ladies say you are such a ham and are always so good.
- you are also a great sleeper - 8pm to 8am and still take 2 naps too.
- at your doctor appointment today you weighed 21lbs and 14oz - just the 36%, but i think you've lost some weight being sick. you were in the 93% for height and head size. Tall, Lean & Smart - just like daddy.

Who knew

2009-12-31T15:06:00.002-07:00

so, since entering the mommy world, i have discovered my inner crafty side. i think i have always been creative, but i wouldn't say crafty. but you should see me now!

with thanks to debby chapin for the inspiration, i recently embarked on a big craft undertaking - a felt playhouse that i thought would be fun for little brooks as he gets older. with some adaptation to our own interests and love of sailing and the ocean, i decided to make him a playhouse "boat." at first, i thought i would make it for brooks for his 1st birthday coming up next month. then it seemed more daunting and i figured it would be done sometime next year.

but then i got started and had so much fun that i couldn't stop cutting, sewing, and gluing it together! less than a week later...done! take a look...

i can't wait for brooks to really play with it and in it. some of the fish have velcro, can be moved around and are plush like little toys.

I had so much fun with this project i can't wait to figure out what's next. i think all my yaers planning and working have found a mesh with being a stay at home mom. i love feeling productive and having something to show for the cumulative hours that are "nap time."

Merry Christmas to all

2009-12-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning opening presents - his first puzzle from Great Aunt Terena nad Uncle Julian in Canada

New Golf clubs! He just wields them around like weapons right now but just wait!

Brooks's new rocking "horse" from Ray & Anne in Atlanta. He loves it!

Our Christmas folly (really just mine)...We ran out of room in the fridge for veggies on Christmas Eve, so i put the pots out in the snow to stay cold. At <10 degrees, this is what we opened up on Christmas morning. As Richard said, "What exactly did you expect?!?"

Yum Yum - We enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner with Dave, Sarah & Elliott McDaniel too!

11 months on Christmas Eve

2009-12-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ringing in 11 months on Christmas Eve was really fun. Brooks put on his vintage "Peanuts Christmas" shirt and had a blast opening his first present and celebrating with Nana and Grandpa Phil.

This month may have been the most eventful yet with lots of new endeavors for our little guy. To top the list is certainly the crawling! He is unstoppable and i'm not sure why we were in such a hurry to get here! Brooks certainly is cute though when he plays peek a boo around a corner or door and follows you quickly from room to room.

Brooks also started pulling up on tables, chairs and toys and seems to like playing more independently with his toys. He loves any toy with doors or flaps and gets excited when he figures out how to open and close them. Unfortunately for us, this also translates into enjoying opening and closing every other cabinet and drawer in our house!

the "photo shoot" had one funny low moment when i wouldn't let Brooks out of his chair! we quickly recovered.

Brooks's favorite game of Christmas - pulling the dishtowels off the stove

Checking out his presents and ornaments - Brooks especially liked the picture ornaments of Richard as a little boy.

Merry Christmas Nana

Dallas christmas

2009-12-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Choo Choo! All Aboard!

Last weekend we boarded the Dallas Christmas Train for a great few days in Texas with family and friends. Since Richard has to work on Christmas, we celebrated with the Fuquays a week early. Brooks had a wonderful visit with Mimi, Grandad and Uncle Neill. We went to Burger House, saw the Trains at Northpark, and visited with many friends and extended family.

Mount Rushmore at the Northpark Trains

Brooks also got his first two Thomas trains for Christmas from Santas in Dallas.

Merry Christmas Grandad!

Great Grandmama visited twice while we were in town and loved seeing little Brooks

The "Santa Parade" with all of Mimi's santas

more firsts for little brooks

2009-12-12T15:46:00.002-07:00

Every first time mother wants to experience all the "firsts" that come with a little one. Well, after spending part of every day of Brooks's little life with him, he decided that a good time to start crawling would be the first night I wasn't in the house! yeah for daddy and what a fun surprise to come home to last Sunday after a great weekend at Wyldlife Snow Camp!
This is our first attempt at video, so I hope it worked!

This last week has also been fun getting ready for Christmas, taking Brooks to pick out his first tree (it was about 8 degrees outside!), and decorating the house bit by bit.

Merry Christmas!

10 months

2009-11-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

We never can seem to get the new pictures up on the 24th, but hey, we're close. Another month has flown by and as you can tell from these pictures, we have quite a little ham on our hands! Brooks is getting more personality every day, and we think he's pretty funny!

He is "talking" all the time - da da da da and ba ba ba ba are his favorite phrases, and he especially loves when we say it back to him. This month he has been working on holding his bottle by himself, eating more finger foods like cheerios and soft fruit and veggies, and the ever-elusive crawling! That big belly just sticks to the ground as Brooks rolls and spins around all over the house. He has no trouble getting where he wants to go, but hasn't quite figured out how to get up on his knees.

This month Brooks and I also took a trip to Dallas to visit Mimi and Grandad Fuquay. We had so much fun! Brooks has also moved to his big boy car seat and seems to enjoy not being so squished!

a lover and a fighter

2009-11-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

as most of you who follow our silly little family blog know, we usually keep it light and funny and try to focus on brooks and our adventures in colorado. but today our hearts are heavy and our house is sad.

five and a half years ago, on a whim, i decided to get a dog - a cute, fluffy, white little dog - arnold palmer, or arnie as everyone knows him. my roommates were gracious and richard (my boyfriend at the time) helped me pick him up, put together his first crate and take care of him from day one.

over the years, we loved arnie for the crazy, energetic dog that he was and also had many moments of frustration with him as he did silly things that we couldn't understand. while he loved us so well, licking us every chance he had, he always had a part of him that we couldn't get under control, a scared and aggressive little dog, that would come up unexpectantly once in a while. even after working with trainers and dog whisperers for the last few years, arnie bit one of our neighbors on friday afternoon coming home from a walk. we had seen such improvemnt in his behavior, but as our trainer told us on saturday, his problem isn't going to be something we can fix. she commended us on our work with arnie and the loving home we gave him. after much thought, converstaion, and tears we decided that the best and safest thing for our family was to put arnie to sleep.

thank you to all of you out there who loved arnie over the years. we spent the weekend remembering old stories of him, fun trips he had taken and the countless things he had eaten that he shouldn't have. we want to remember the loving and licking dog that brought so much joy and laughter to our house and we pray that wherever arnie is now, he is not anxious or scared or sad.

Arnie's 1st christmas in Denver - he loved the 3 feet of snow we had for much of the winter!

Arnie loved having more dogs at our house, but always wanted to take their beds instead of his own.

Arnie on a hike at Cherry Creek Resevoir

Arnie hiking and playing in the water at Booth Falls in Vail, CO.

Arnie on his first and only 14er.

Arnie and Xander

Arnie and Brooks - lots of kisses all the time!

we miss him already.

Roar

2009-11-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

While too young to enjoy Halloween (obviously) Brooks did allow us to put him in a costume and take him out past his bedtime! I had my heart set on him being a little lion and luckily found a costume just a few days before Halloween.

Brooks and his best friend, Xander (the puppy).

The dads with Brooks and Elliott (the elephant). Both up well past their bedtimes, but enjoying the party and concert on the porch with friends.