California Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas in California with my family.

The kids were excellent on both flights. Warren was a bit wiggly but he did great. We were there for 9 days and it went by pretty fast. We visited with friends and family, went to the beach, visited the aquarium and of course celebrated Christmas.

One of the favorite places for the kids is Grandpa's lap. He is probably enjoying the peace and quiet with us gone. Brooklyn kept him pretty busy. I think her favorite thing to do was go fishing on the Wii.

Brenda and Warren. Next time we see her she will be a mom:) Warren is going to have a boy cousin his age.


Brooklyn got a talking Woody doll. She loves it. Last night she was washing his hands and hair in the sink. I had to let her know he may not talk anymore if she keeps bathing him.

Warren modeling his hat Christmas morning.

Upon closer inspection, I think it is a girls hat Mom. It has a heart on it:)

Warren, Uncle Ryan and Brenda.

We're excited for their baby's arrival in just a couple months.

Brooklyn, Autumn and Coral.

Brooklyn got to visit with her California cousins.

Warren playing with Uncle Ryan's phone.

Warren is getting so big.

Grandpa and Warren playing with his new truck Christmas morning.

Warren and Great Grandpa Rey.

The kids are really lucky to have living great grandparents.

Brooklyn preparing the dog's dinner.

Feeding the animals was a daily event for her. She constantly wanted to feed the animals-the cat, dogs or fish.

We made a trip to the beach and it was an awesome day to do it. It was raining a lot of the time we were there but the sun made an appearance this day.

Brooklyn enjoyed our trip to the aquarium. When I asked her what she wanted to do while visiting Grandpa and Grandma, she told me she wanted to, "Go see fish!" Above she is listening to the different sounds a sea lion makes. We did see fish as well:) She would look at them and then say, "more fish," and be pulling Grandma to the next tank.

We had a blast in California and I am looking forward to our next trip. It is somewhat difficult to make the trip with two kids but SO worth it. We love and miss you!

Giggles

Army Crawl

Warren is on the move! It is not pretty but he is moving. This was yesterday and he is already faster this morning. Will try and get another video up soon to see his progress. If you listen closely, you can also hear Brooklyn singing Itsy Bitsy Spider:)

Eyes Book

Brooklyn loves books. Lately she likes to "read" them to you and especially likes to read to Warren.

Daddy's Friends

This past weekend we headed to St. Charles to see Charlie's college friends and their boys. Brad and Sarah's kids are the same age as ours. We told Brooklyn we were going to see some friends. On the drive you could hear Brooklyn telling Warren we were going to see friends, Daddy's friends:) Brooklyn and her new friend Trenton. Trenton is exactly one month older than Brooklyn. If Sarah, his mom, has anything to say these two will be married one day:)

Brooklyn and Trenton taking a bath.

Saturday we headed down to Oktoberfest. Warren fell asleep while the rest of us enjoyed some brats, nachos and funnel cake.

Brad pulled Trenton and Brooklyn in the wagon. They looked pretty cute.

Sarah, Tanner, Charlie and Warren. Tanner is 13 days older than Warren. They didn't really interact too much but next time they see each other we're sure they will be play pals.

Shake Your Booty

Brooklyn loves to dance:)

Sitting Tall

Warren is officially sitting up:)

He doesn't always seem to want to and just leans back to lay down but he can do it for a minute or so when he is in the right mood.

Sibling Love

Lately Warren does more laughing than talking. When he starts laughing he really gets going. Warren loves us but he really lights up when Brooklyn comes around.

Growing Boy

Warren is 5 1/2 months now! Where has time gone?

We may be a bit biased but we think he has a million dollar smile:)

Warren took his first flight out to California at the end of August. Grandma and Grandpa Nelson were excited to see him. Next time we head out there, Warren will be crawling.


For Labor Day, we headed to Osceola. Warren was too young for the turtle races and festivities but next year he'll be able to join in.

Over the Labor Day weekend visit, Warren attended her first rodeo. It was a late night and he was tuckered out by the end.

Pure Excitement

Brooklyn discovered the Wii while visiting Val's parents this last week. There was a fishing game that she just loved. She was SO excited!

Potty Dance

We are in the process of potty training Brooklyn. She does pretty well. We haven't really tried to cut out diapers quite yet. We have just been praising and rewarding her when she does with stickers, chocolate chips, hugs and high fives:) But we think her favorite may be doing the potty dance.

Hungry Boy

Warren started cereal and he loves it.

We also brought the exersaucer out for him. He seems to like it.

This past Saturday we headed out to the new pool at the park across the street. It was really nice, water slides, lazy river, play area and a baby pool. Warren fell asleep but had fun while awake.

Warren waiting for some food.

ABC

We have been working on letters lately. Brooklyn is getting pretty good. Keep an eye on Warren too, he shows off his rolling skills.

Time Flies

Two kids has been keeping us pretty busy these days. Warren will be 4 months in a little over a week. A third of a year has flown by before our eyes.

Warren is really starting to use his hands more, hitting and grabbing things.

Warren is a calm and cool little guy. When he smiles, it makes your day:)

For 4th of July weekend, we campaigned a bit for Papa Love at a local festival. We were a bit concerned about Warren being able to handle being outside all day but he was the ultimate trooper and even attended a fabulous birthday party afterwards.

4th of July was rained out so we hung out at home. Warren and Charlie looking handsome.
This picture pretty much sums up Brooklyn and Warren. Warren is fine relaxing and laying around. Brooklyn is not, she's always moving.

Warren can roll both ways now. He amazes us everyday. He seems like he wants to get moving already. He's far from crawling but he is on his way.

Hot Stuff

My mom is coming out to visit us in less than a week! You sure you're ready mom? ;)

Brooklyn's Birthday Weekend

Brooklyn's birthday is not until this coming Friday but we decided to celebrate early since all her cousins would be in town. Charlie, and his sisters Liz and Anna ran the Hospital Hill 10k race Saturday.

Saturday morning Brooklyn woke up to find cousin Olivia who arrived Friday night after Brooklyn had gone to bed. She really was excited.

We started off the celebration with a visit to T-Rex restaurant. Brooklyn was scared and needed to be held for the first part of our visit. She really was a trooper, she just kept saying, "scared."

Dad taking a turn holding her. Eventually we traded sides of the table so she couldn't see the dinosaurs and she did much better:)

The whole gang(minus Mindy taking the picture) in front of T-Rex.

We headed back to the house to start Brooklyn's birthday party. Warren was awake at the very beginning and then slept for a couple hours, missing out on a lot of fun.

The cousins: Logan, Warren, Maura, Brooklyn, Gretchen, Olivia and Sophia.

The kids were ready to head out to the yard where Charlie and Jason set up a water extravaganza.

Olivia, Logan, Brooklyn and Liz.

Brooklyn was not too sure about all the water but with Aunt Liz's help, she turned into a little fish-or should we say mermaid:)

Brooklyn taking a turn splashing on the mermaid slip and slide.

We finally came in to eat and do presents. Brooklyn received a lot of great gifts, thanks everybody!

We got her a new trike. Here's Brooklyn sitting on it for her first time. All the cousins took it for a spin as well.

After presents, we had cake. We had a great day thanks to friends and family.

Sunday, after church, we headed back out to the water park(our yard). Brooklyn had a lot more confidence day 2 and headed straight for the slide.

Plopping down at the end of the slip and slide. Brooklyn outlasted all her cousins on day 2. We headed in, ate lunch and had to say goodbye to Liz and the kids. Come again soon!

Throw!

Brooklyn and Charlie getting a game of catch in.

Wonder Boy

Warren is seven weeks and six days old and already rolling over. We may be in for trouble:)

Mom, I posted these especially for you. He's not really doing anything too special but I knew you and Dad would enjoy them.

Love and miss you,

Val

Warren hanging out of the floor.

Warren shaking his rattle.

1,2,3,4

Big Sister

We were not sure how Brooklyn would react to having a little brother. Occasionally she's a bit rough but for most part she has been great. She says his name when he's not around looking for him and tries to rock and calm him when he is upset. She is definitely a little helper.

Brooklyn posing for a picture with Warren.

Brooklyn screaming cheese scared Warren.

Brooklyn shaking the rattle for Warren. As you can see, she really shakes it.

She is going through a "mine" stage right now but every once in a while, Brooklyn will try to share her toys with her brother.

Kisses for Warren.

We are still adjusting to being a family of four but Brooklyn seems to be liking the change.