fun in the sun

Yesterday we had a playdate at Uncle Jack and Aunt Susie's pool. It was sunny and hot, and we had great company! Uncle Nick, Nayeli, Aunt Molly, Uncle Bob, Austin, 'Aunt' Mary Lou, 'Uncle' Todd, Collin, Grandma, Granny, Aunt Allison and Karyna all showed up at some point. Collin and Baby R got to know each other better, and enjoyed splashing each other in the kiddie pool. Nayeli swam a lot, while Austin got up the courage to actually get in the chilly water. Aunt Sue and Uncle Jack helped out with the babies, which was super helpful. If only we could have gotten Baby R and Collin to nap just a little earlier-maybe next time...

Baby R thought her sippy cup made a good pool toy.

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Collin sporting his super cool pool hat!

A few highlights from the day...

officer bob

Austin is so proud of his Daddy the policeman! We went to the park to visit him, and Austin had to do his superhero pose with his superhero dad!

Officer Bob gave all of the kids cool temporary tattoos. Baby R loved sporting hers!

three years

Yesterday Rick and I celebrated our anniversary! We didn't have any plans because he had work in the morning and class in the afternoon (of which he only has two more days). He surprised me by calling in "anniversary" to work so he could be home with me until his class at two. I called my mom and asked her if she could come babysit Baby R for a few hours, and Rick and I went to see a matinee of Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End. All in all I enjoyed the movie, and I think Rick did too. It did surprise me, however, that they left it open for another sequel. When I got home from the movie, Rick had sent me beautiful flowers! Then we had the Sister Missionaries over for dinner. It was a great day with my wonderful husband!

memorial day

For Memorial Day we went to the Cross' house for an afternoon of food, fun and family

Reagan and Karyna had lots of fun playing outside

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I came up with a few fun relay races, which made everyone look funny!

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Austin and Nayeli had fun playing with the pool and slide

allison

Happy almost-extremely Belated 30th Birthday Allison!


Top ten faves:

1. Makes killer enchiladas
2. Lives only a few minutes away
3. She's a great mom
4. First introduced us to Settlers of Catan
5. She is always up for a walk to the park
6. Teaches Nayeli to match her clothes (despite Katie's best efforts to teach her otherwise)
7. Loves to hang out with the fam
8. She is very supportive of Nick's career as a student
9. She competes with Rick as Bud's greatest suck-up
10. She makes tasty deserts

jeni

Happy Extremely Belated 30th Birthday Jeni!


Our favorite things about Jeni:

1. Her sense of humor
2. Never afraid to call 911
3. She's a great Mom
4. Embelishes news events to make them more interesting
5. Likes to play games with the family
6. Her bangs have been under control since approximately the 10th grade
7. Always gives thoughtful gifts
8. Her piano playing
9. She always looks great, and so do her kids
10. She doesn't live Argentina

great strides

On Sunday our family took part in the Great Strides walk for Cystic Fibrosis. It was a great event to participate in, and our little fundraiser in DeWitt, MI raised over $30,000. We had great support from family and friends, not only in helping us raise over $2,100 as a team, but many came and walked with us. It was not a beautiful day, it was quite chilly. And the walk which we figured would probably be about a mile or two, turned out to be five miles! But it was fun anyways!

Me, Baby R and Rick

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Mitch, Steph and Skyler came to support us!

Grandma and Grandpa (not pictured) came too! In fact, Grandpa walked the entire 5 miles by himself! Well he did lean on Grandma for part of it, but that was just to keep from tipping over - he moved his legs by himself! Aunt Pat, Uncle Chuck, and Steve kept driving by him to try to pick him up, but he insisted that he would make it the whole 5 miles by himself! He said that may be all that he can actually do for Baby R, so he didn't want to give up. Now he won't be able to move all week, what a sacrifice!

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Uncle Nick was there too! He is such a strong supporter for Baby R. He single-handedly raised about half of our team's donations. He also made great CDs for everyone who participated with us. I'll have to post a playlist, because the songs are very uplifting and motivating!

Karyna was a great sport too! She rode in the Baby Bjorn for the whole walk, which probably helped Nick burn mucho calories!

Austin and Nayeli joined the festivities.

The back of the t-shirts that Mike made for us...

The Babbling Brooks take Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis

Other walkers that I didn't get pictures of:

• Beth and Rob Cebelak
• Aunt Pat, Uncle Chuck and Steve Cross
• Dave, Victoria, Wyck and Embeth Hall
• Allison Miller
• Grandpa Miller
• Amol and Kanchan Pavangadkar
• Molly Stump

This is such an important event for Cystic Fibrosis, because the Great Strides walks are the biggest fundraisers for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We learned that there are 26 different cures that are being researched at the moment, but there isn't enough money for all of them. That is why it is so important to raise money, so that we can find a cure soon! Apparently one of the retired pulmonologists from Lansing said that he thinks they will find a cure within a decade! That would be such a wonderful miracle, to find a cure in Baby R's lifetime!

calisthenics

Phew! Good thing Aunt Amber came to visit and helped me with my workout... I was starting to get a little flabby!

baby face(s)

It has been too long since my last post. Somehow life just keeps getting busier. Baby R keeps getting more fun every day, and has countless facial expressions! Here are just a few to brighten your day!

bye bye binky

Well the time has come to break Baby R's attachment to her pacifier. I was originally going to give her until she was a year old before I took it away, but she changed my mind. She got so attached to her binky that she started waking up numerous times in a night crying for it. Needless to say, I wasn't a fan of her new sleep schedule. Tuesday night was her first night without it, and she didn't do so hot. Luckily she has gotten better each night. It only took her about 3-4 minutes to fall asleep last night. Now if she would just stop pooping in the middle of the night!

this is fun

This program is way too much fun! Some pictures of Baby R playing with her toy from Nick and Allison. She loves being able to stand and play!

uncle jack and aunt susie

Baby R had fun visiting with her Great Uncle Jack and Aunt Susie on tuesday. She has officially been given the ALL CLEAR! Yippee!! Well not "all" clear, but "most" clear. What I mean is that she is allowed out in public places now. But I am still supposed to keep her away from sick people, runny-nosed kids, smoke, germ-infested places (like hospitals), etc... Baby R is now allowed to sit in the chapel at church with us, can go to the grocery store with me (no more date nights spent grocery shopping), and can go out to eat with us (to smoke-free establishments). So to kick off her first full week of freedom we went over to the Hargrove's to visit. After all, Baby R will be seeing them basically every nice day this summer to swim in Jack's pool! It is Sue's too, but from now on I am calling it Jack's because everyone else calls it Sue's. Anyways, Baby R warmed up to them pretty quickly, as you can see by the pictures above. (Thanks to Linz for showing me how to make a collage!)

Can I hear a HUZZAH for the ALL CLEAR?!

busy, busy

This past week and weekend were quite eventful. The downside was that somehow (despite my continued efforts to keep Baby R completely healthy) she came down with a bit of a cold or something. And the fun part was that I got everything she had, only a day later! Fun, fun! Anyways, here is a brief recap of the events:

• Rick graduated with his Master's Degree in Accounting! Yippee! He still has to take a three week course starting next week, so he technically isn't entirely done until May 31st. We are so proud of Rick!
• Baby R has cut her second tooth! Sure enough, her other front bottom tooth just barely broke through her gums. I still wonder if that played any part in her coldish/fever discomfort last week.
• Speaking of her sickness... We still don't know what she had. It couldn't have just been a cold, because she was running a fever (101.4) for two days! She was really pretty well-behaved considering her obvious discomfort. She had to sleep with me for two nights so I could hold her upright, otherwise she had trouble breathing from all of her phlegm and runny nose. They tested her for RSV, I am guessing she didn't have it, because the doctor's office didn't call me and tell me.
• We decided to rent a house from a family that we go to church with. They are going to be in Utah for the summer, and are letting us stay there until August. We are hoping to be able to find a house to purchase by then. That way we don't have to sign a 6 or 12 month lease at an apartment somewhere. What a blessing!
• Rick got a call back from the IRS and has an interview with them on Saturday in Indiana. If he gets this job, he could possibly be working in Lansing (or Traverse City). Anyways, please pray that he gets it and we can stay in Lansing!
• Baby R can stand while holding onto things, and thinks it is fun! I think she may never crawl, and might go straight to walking. After all, she still hates being on her tummy for more than a few minutes at a time.
• Baby R now holds her arms up while we percuss her sides, which makes it so much easier for us! She's so smart!

Here are a few pictures from the above events...

Rick walking at graduation

His fan club

Baby R standing and playing with her toy

More fun standing

Holding her arms up while daddy percusses her

imagination

Baby R has started conversing with her toys and imaginary friends. Sometimes she even gets into a very heated conversation. For example, just before we took this clip of her in her carseat, she clenched her fists while yelling at her blue octopus and then she smacked it. It was hilarious, too bad we didn't get that on tape. Here are a couple of clips we took of her babbling in her carseat and in the tub...

molly

Happy belated 26th birthday Molly!!

Our favorite things about Molly:

1. Thanks to her, Katie's not the only one with man shoulders
2. Is great with the young women at church
3. Likes to play sports and gives female athletes a good name
4. Her great comebacks
5. Makes creative gifts
6. She's always up for a rousing game of loaded questions
7. She has the best hair in the family
8. She makes good desserts
9. She is fun to shop with and she finds great deals
10. She laughs at Rick's jokes

nick

Yes, I am late again... Happy belated 28th birthday!

Top 10 things we like about Nick:

1. He is a nerd and a jock at the same time
2. His fascination with Rick and leather pants
3. His new haircut
4. His assertiveness in raising money for cystic fibrosis
5. His dink shot and uncanny ability to slice the slice (sometimes thrice) in tennis
6. His fantasy football knowledge
7. He's the only one who really understands Dad's jokes
8. He's always up for a good board game
9. He's comfortable enough with his manhood to admit he likes Gilmore Girls
10. He introduced the Gospel to our family

nayeli

Happy 3rd Birthday Nayeli!

Top Ten:

1. Likes to be a bag lady
2. Can count in English and Spanish
3. Is no longer afraid of Uncle Rick
4. Gets excited about tissue paper
5. Her phenomenal memory
6. The way she runs
7. Has fun nicknames like "Ya-ya" and "Yeli"
8. Is a girly-girl and a tomboy all at the same time
9. Her blue eyes
10. Her love for Counting Crows

addison

Happy Belated 4th Birthday Addison!

Top Ten Faves:

1. She lives closer than Argentina!
2. Her beautiful smile
3. The way she could never remember Katie's name
4. She always dresses super cute
5. The funny games/tricks she always played with Grandpa
6. The way she "read" the Christmas book with Grandma
7. Even though we don't get to see her very often, she always likes to play with us
8. She looks so sophisticated in glasses
9. The way she plays with the boys
10. Her pretty sweet dance moves