water, water everywhere

Bathtime seems to get more fun every day! During this splash-fest our bathroom floor got soaked, and so did Daddy. We spend so much time in the water these days, luckily Baby R enjoys it almost as much as Mommy!
At Karyna's birthday party on Saturday Baby R had plenty of swimming buddies! Nayeli, Wyck and Collin are the few that I managed to get pictures of...

fun can be found everywhere

Today we had to say "goodbye" to a good friend of ours, Katie Coleman! She is moving back to Chicago where she has a new job. Yeah for the new job, boo for the moving! We went to lunch at Culver's and tried to catch up a bit in the short hour we had. Baby R hasn't seen Katie very much, but instantly liked her. Maybe she recognized her voice from the months we spent working together last summer while I was pregnant. Or maybe she is just a very likable person. Baby R had a blast, so here are a few snapshots from our lunch date...

Yippee! My daughter is a Harry Potter fan already! Just look at her practicing with her wand! Okay, so maybe it is really a drum stick from one of her toys, but she thinks it is a wand. All she needs is a wizard's hat and cape (hint, hint Grandma). She told me she wants to be like Hermione when she grows up...

Yes, so have I mentioned that we spend a lot of time at the pool these days?? Luckily Baby R has a couple of friends who love to play in the pool too! Mary Lou and I really enjoy our weekly trips! It is nice to have a break from the normal daily routine. Not to mention having Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles all around to give us a break here and there!

A wonderful friend of ours from Williamston made Baby R the nicest gift! It is a beautiful quilt that has a built-in pocket for toys. That way Baby R always has something to play with when she stays overnight someplace. The quilt has Winnie the Pooh on it, and came with Pooh and Eeyore stuffed animals in the pocket. She already loves them, and laughs hysterically when daddy makes them dance and do flips. Thanks so much Chris and Erin for thinking of her!

As a little update, Baby R cut her 4th tooth on Tuesday, and has 2 more working their way out! Her 9 month stats are: 18 lbs 3 oz and 28 inches long. She still isn't gaining weight fast enough, and is now below the 50th percentile in weight. We increased her enzymes to try to help her absorb more of her food, so we are praying that her weight gain will be better soon. Aside from swimming, she really enjoys cruising around our apartment holding onto furniture. I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

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!

play time

Baby R's friends came over again yesterday for a much needed play date. Luckily they brought their mothers with them (aka my friends), so it was a fun day to catch up. Amazingly enough they all ate within approximately 20 minutes of each other, so we were able to take them for a long walk! It was a beautiful day, and the kids did really well during the walk. Baby R was not her happiest self during the day, I think her teeth are still bothering her, and she is not used to being around other babies. She did warm up to them by the end of our play date, so hopefully this fear of other people will pass quickly once she is cleared to be out in public. Reagan is almost 7 1/2 months, Skyler is almost 7 months, and Mason and Hayden are almost 3 months.

Here are the kids yesterday: Skyler, Mason, Hayden and Reagan

Here are the kids about 2 months ago: Mason, Skyler, Reagan and Hayden

A few more candid shots:

Skyler trying to eat Mason

Hayden giving Reagan his left hook

It's a free for all!

Playtime

On Saturday some of my friends came over to play: Skyler (3 weeks younger than me) and Hayden and Mason (almost 3 weeks old). We had fun, even though these pictures may not prove it.

Here Skyler and I are mesmerized by toy. We were really trying to watch Baby Einstein, but our parents wanted us to look at the camera. This triangle toy was so exciting that we had to look at it every time they made it rattle!

Ever heard of arranged marriages? Sklyer gets Mason (on the left) and I get Hayden (on the right). Skyler decided this by trying to eat Mason last time she saw them. But apparently I think Skyler and I should do rock, paper, scissors to decide instead.

Yep, one more pose. The boys "fell" for us. It was fun seeing my friends, some days I get bored of only seeing Mommy all day. It was a much needed break from our normal activities, I just love my friends!