Papa's Visit 2016

Papa came for a visit the second week of July and we had a blast!! Here are some of the highlights...

Papa makes the best tents!!

There was tons of hugs and kisses, tickle fights and poor Papa had absolutely zero personal space the entire time he was here. Although, I don't think he minded too much ;)

The boys at the hardware store

Papa came during the tail end of VBS, and the girls had so much fun singing the songs and showing him their projects!

 Papa enjoyed the VBS picnic with us, and only got a few mosquito bites. LOL

We took the kiddos swimming in the pool next door, perfect to cool down on these humid summer days!

Papa played board games with his little ladies...

One of the highlights of this visit was fishing! The girls have been after Papa to take them fishing for awhile now, and they were super excited when we took them to Walmart to get their first fishing poles! Papa let them pick out their poles, pink Barbie ones (of course) and a pink tackle box.

Teaching the girls how the poles worked

 After they got the practice weight on their poles, Papa took them in the backyard to practice their casting.

The girls are still having fun practicing their casts in the backyard! 

They are some pretty serious fisher-women. Watch out fishes!!

What's better than practicing their fishing skills? SMORING aka Roasting Marshmallows according to Madison Grace. We had a campfire in the backyard and had fun telling camping stories through the years. It is so much fun watching your own kids enjoy stories about their parents as kids....and also pretty embarrassing for the parents. LOL 

We got up early one morning and got Dunkin Donuts chocolate glazed donuts and headed to Rosedale Lake to do some fishing. It happened to be one of the HOTTEST days of the summer with high humidity, so we weren't out there long. The girls didn't catch any fish, but the time spent with Papa was priceless!

We did some good eating this visit: Greek, Italian and Pizza! We took Papa to Nomad Pizza in Hopewell and enjoyed the artisan wood-fired pizzas. It was awesome! 

Everyone enjoyed the pizza, even Mr. Grabby!

Papa and his Maddie Girl

Grandparents are such a blessing, and provide kids with such a speical unconditinal love. I enjoy watching the kids' relationships grow, and see the wisdom and affection given only as a Grandparent can give. Thank you Dad for being an amazing Dad and Papa! We enjoyed our Papa Time and can't wait for him to come back for another visit! We love you!! xoxo

Summer Fun

This summer has been so much fun! After our kick-off trip to California, we had a couple weeks then we had two weeks of visitors, first Papa then Grammie! I can't believe it is already August, and summer is on its way out. I'm so not ready!! Here are some fun things we've been doing so far...

 VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL!! Both girls went from 9-12 the second week of July and LOVED it!! Maddie met a few kids that will be in her preschool class in the fall, and Lindsay was in the same group with a ton of her kindergarten friends. They had a blast!

 Family Picnic after last day of VBS... it was HOT!

PARKS!! Speaking of picnics, we have been having fun packing picnic lunches and playing at the park. We went to Marina Park where we sat under a gazebo with a lake view...

Big Boy eating blueberries

Playing hard = hungry girls

ICECREAM!! I've used my ice cream maker to make the following flavors: German Chocolate Cake, Lemon Blueberry Pie, and Butterfinger ice cream. I had to take a break because our shorts were getting too tight. Haha! There's been lots of Popsicle eating in the back yard..

Andrew had some Popsicle envy...

 CLINGER!! My little buddy has been attached at the hip lately...

My fifth appendage and me

 SWIMMING!! We began swimming at our gracious neighbor's pool just about every day. The girls are getting much better at swimming, hoping they are going to go for it this month!

 GOGGLES! Testing out their new goggles... This one is for a yearbook! LOL.

Here's to more summer fun... it ain't over yet (thank goodness!)!!!

Andrew Brooks, 9 months

Andrew Brooks, 9 months

Stats:
Weight,  20 lbs?
Height,  29 inches?
Teeth 6, 4, top, 2, bottom
Eyes, Blue
Hair, Blonde
Clothes, 9 months, footsie jammies 12 months!
Diapers, size 3

Likes: Eating, tearing paper, chewing on shoes (yuck!), crawling everywhere fast, pulling up, sisters playing with him, splashing in the bath tub, laughing with anyone, rolling cars on the floor, making noise, banging, baby talking, when Daddy tickles and throws me in the air.

Dislikes: laying still for diaper changes, waiting to eat, being tired, when parents leave the room, when sisters take away my toys, pulling up on unstable things, taking long naps, sleeping through the night. LOL 

Paper Tearin' Machine

Eating: This little dude loves to eat...everything! The only thing that has given him pause is scrambled eggs. I think its a texture thing. He enjoys self feeding the most, and I will only feed him purred veggies occasionally. He loves oatmeal in the mornings, and tiny, soft fruits, veggies and meat for lunch or dinner. Watch out, he'll swipe food from your plate and will give you the stare-down if you are eating something. He will crawl over and want a bite... who can resist those baby blues?! He still nurses 5-6 times per day, and 2 times during the night. I'm going to begin night weaning him this month, hopefully it will help him sleep through the night!

Drew shared a lick of some ice cream...

He bit into it...

Ouch! Ice cream teeth freeze!

Sleeping: Andy is taking two naps, one at 9am and one at 2pm and will sleep for around 1-1.5 hours if i'm lucky. He goes to bed around 7pm, and been waking up at 5am (ugh) since we've been back from CA. Hoping he'll start sleeping in more this month ;)

New Stuff: PULLING UP! Trying new foods! Attempting to CRAWL UP THE STAIRS! (see pic below), SIGNING! "More" and "All Done", Saying "Num Num" when he wants to eat. MORE TEETH! Andrew has been working on top two teeth next to the front ones, for a total of 4 on top, 2 on bottom!

This month we noticed more "boy" behaviors... he loves noise, specifically making noise. Banging toys together, banging/rattling/shaking anything that makes noise. The girls were afraid of loud noises, but not Andrew. He is extremely observant of anything on wheels, and will carefully use his little fingers to turn the wheel, or push the car/high chair/footstool on wheels. You can see his little brain working. Drew likes to take his cars and roll them in the kitchen and crawl after them, his favorite is a red ATV car. Also, when he does take a tumble (especially when pulling up on something that falls over) he will cry for a minute and want me to comfort him, but just a minute. As soon as he is calm, he is pushing to get down and play again. The girls seemed to need lots of extra comfort. How fun to experience both girls and boy!! We love you Andy B!!  xo

4th of July

Happy Independence Day America!!

Love, 

Madison Grace (4,5 yrs) Andrew Brooks (9 mo) Lindsay Diane (6.5 yrs)

Father's Day 2016

Happy Father's Day! We celebrated in NJ the weekend before we went to California, mainly because we didn't want to take our gifts on the plane! This year the kids got Daddy a new frame for his office that has all of his kiddos, Andrew included ;)  

We celebrated the real Father's Day in California with Grandpa Jerry and Nonna, and after church had a yummy lunch of Tri-Tip and Party Potatoes with the Aunties and Uncles!

Love my Daddy!! Everyone says I am his twin!!

Daddy's Girls

Jarrett is the most wonderful Daddy Bear, and let me tell you, his kids adore him. When he walks through the door after work, it sounds like a rock star entering the building. There's screaming and a loud stampede to get to the door to jump on him, and Andrew crawls as fast as he can to keep up. Jarrett handles his adoring fans gracefully, while managing to kiss me hello with all three kids attached at the hip. Thank you for all you do for our family, for being the most wonderful husband, daddy & son! We love you!! xo

Cali Trip 2016

This year's family visit to California can be described in two words: Swim & Eat. Kids had a blast playing with their cousins; swimming, swinging, sliding, chalking, bubbles, watching movies etc. And J and I did some serious eating. Haha! They got to meet their newest cousin, Sawyer too! The last day of our trip I had the sad realization that I hardly took any photos. So, the later part of our trip has the most pictures as I tried to make up for it. LOL. 

Swimming at Nonna's 

J being the lifeguard... he got splashed at ton!

Took the girls on a Mommy-Daughter-Double Date to seeing Finding Dory!

My beautiful dates

Celebrated Grammie's birthday and got to meet Cousin Sawyer for the first time!! She turned 1 on July 1st, so we got to watch her open her present early and see her eat some frosting from a cupcake. It was a hit!

Andrew loved getting to meet all his Aunties & Uncles on this trip!! 

Andrew had his first taste of Nonna's Party Potatoes... he ate it all up! 

Getting a bath in the sink by Nonna...

We also updated the grandkid/Nonna picture with Andrew...

Lindsay 6 yr, Katarina 6 yr, Nate 7 yr, Mia 4 yr, Andrew 8 mo, Madison 4 yr...we heart Nonna!

While we were in California the weather decided to welcome us back with 100 + degree temps. What do you do in Bakersfield in 100 degrees? Go to John's Pizza... it's indoors ;) 

Daddy & Mini-Me

Nonna rode the dinosaur with the girls!

Weee! Spin Faster Daddy!

The day before we flew out of LAX we got a hotel room and visited the Long Beach Aquarium. It was super fun, and the girls were all about "Finding Dory". LOL.

Waving to the scuba diver

Little Mr. & Nonna

Andrew loved watching the fish

This made me claustraphobic...

Lindsay & I touched sharks...they felt kind of rough. Not what I was expecting.

The kids were great on both flights, although we encountered teething fevers on the front end, and it took some time to adjust to the time difference. All the kids were troopers! Then everyone got sick when we got home. Plane germs! Thank you family for a wonderful visit, and for making Andrew's first trip to California so special! We love you!! xo

Andrew Brooks, 8 months

Stats:
Weight, 19 lbs, 4 oz
Height,  28.5 inches
Teeth 4, 2, top, 2, bottom
Eyes, Blue
Hair, Blonde
Clothes, 9 months, footsie jammies 12 months!
Diapers, size 3

*Eating. Little Man loves to eat. My friend who has three boys told me, "Happy Boy = Full tummy." So far, that advice has proven true! Breastfeeding has slowed down mainly because Mr. is so busy and mobile. He gets distracted by anything... noises, sisters, lights, tv etc.; the best feeds are before bed and naps in his dark room. Likes to hum sometime when he breastfeeds (?)

*Sleeping. Since learning to crawl Andrew has been using his skills in his crib. In the middle of the night. All. Night. Long. I remembered this stage with the girls, they can't figure out how to get back to laying down. I watch him on the monitor and he inches his way to a corner and finally passes out, but not without a few pick-up, put-downs and crying. Once he gets it figured out, we'll do it all over again with standing. LOL. Sleep is over-rated. Haha! He goes to bed 7pm, wakes up 5:45-6am. Andy naps 2 per day, usually 9am and 1 or 2pm for around 1-1.5 hours.

*New Stuff: CRAWLING!! Andrew appropriately waited until he had an audience (and soft carpet!) at Nonna's house when he decided to crawl for the first time! He practiced all vacation long and when we got home he was a pro, and trying to pull up already. FLYING!! Andrew flew on an airplane for the first time when we went to CA. He did well, and was pretty good on both flights. Bless his heart, he was teething and fevering on the first flight, and the second flight was a little challenging because he wanted to practice his crawling skills :) FAMILY!! Andy got to meet his Aunties & Uncles in CA, and loved all the attention ;)

Blue Eyed Boy

*Likes. Eating, self-feeding cherrios, cheese, blueberries etc. He likes meatballs, pasta, mac' n cheese, soft cooked veggies, fruits. Andrew enjoys splashing at bath time, watching Sisters and trying to 'play' with them. Drew starts waving his arms, and kicking his legs to get their attention, then all three kids laugh hysterically at each other, He likes to get all up in their business, and I hear a chorus of "Moooommm, he's messing up my ____. " Get used to it girls, its only the beginning!! He thinks its fun to push and pull chairs, put anything on the floor in his mouth, and tear up tissue/napkins/paper.

*Dislikes. Bananas, avacado (texture thing?) wearing shoes, teething, sleeping (what am I missing out on?!) a parent leaving the room, being snuggled (unless he is asleep). Being hungry.
 
*Personality. Oh my goodness, Andrew is just too cute right now. At this stage he just oozes adorableness and loves to wiggle-dance when he hears music, clap and wave. Big four tooth smiles, babbling, and leg rolls. Just loving this little guy!!