For the fans

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

Not Crawling to College

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

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

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

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

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

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!