Playing with Cousins

Last week when it had been rainy and not a lot going on, Cody and I decided to meet up at Grandma's for something to do with the kids!  We didn't get to play outside since it was wet and cold, but it was still fun for the kids to play with Grandma's toys!

Lane had brought the bat he got for his birthday, and Brooks thought it was the coolest thing

Katy and Brooks did a little sharing, and at least there was no punching in the face involved this time around.  Maybe they are finally learning to play together a little! (or at least tolerate each other!)

Lane still isn't sure he likes the younger ones messing with the stuff he's playing with, but it'll get better once Brooks and Katy get a little older.  I think Lane can't wait for that!

Sippy cup break

Here are just a few of Brooks at home.  I just thought he looked pretty mischievous since he knew he wasn't supposed to play with the DVD cupboard.

A Weekend in Smith Center

Last weekend we took a much overdue trip to Smith Center to see Blake's side of the family.  Blake and I have been so busy with the store that we hadn't been back since Christmas, so it was time.  There wasn't much on the schedule for the weekend, which was nice!  We just spent time with both of his Grandparents, went to church, and took a trip out to Grandad Lambert's farm.  I had only seen the farm from the road and Blake hadn't been inside the old house since his grandparents moved to town in 95, so he was excited to go inside and reminisce about the many memories he had out there.  I don't have any pictures of us going out to the farm, but maybe next time!  Here are some of the other pictures from the weekend.

Brooks got to hear Great-Grandad Burgess read him a story

Four generations of Burgess boys!

Great-Grandma Burgess and Cheyenne had to get in a picture too!

Granddad Burgess wanted one with me too before we left

Brooks had a good time playing with Grandma Burgess this time...he hasn't really gotten to just play with her for a long time because Christmas was a busy time and whenever they came to visit us here in York, we've been busy with store stuff or other things...it was good to have some quiet time with nothing else going on! 
He really enjoyed the rocking horse...I think cousin Pearl and Brooks might have to learn the concept of sharing next time we are all there together because I know she loves that horse too!

Brooks actually took a couple naps with Grandma this time, but he was still stubborn at bedtime and wouldn't have anything to do with anyone rocking him but his mommy.  He also wasn't a fan of sleeping in the pack-and-play, so of course I had to once again have him sleep beside me in bed.  One of these times he's gonna need to learn he can sleep somewhere other than his crib and with mommy! 

Brooks had fun playing with Grandpa Burgess too :)

 We went over to Grandad Lambert's for supper on Saturday night and had to get a picture of the 4 generations of Lamberts too!

I think in this one Brooks saw Mya (Grandad's little dog) jump onto the other couch.  Brooks just loves animals!

A little play time with Daddy

 He loves to be tossed in the air...

 and dogs...

We had a good time seeing family and having a weekend away for once.  We hope to get back a couple more times this summer so Brooks can meet his new Lambert cousins Kansas and Emma!  Looking forward to it!

Brooks & Cheyenne

I've been meaning to put together a blog about our new puppy, Cheyenne, but I just haven't had a chance until now.  We knew after we lost Denali that we wanted a new dog eventually, but the plan was to wait until we had a house with a backyard.  Blake of course couldn't help but start looking right away.  We had talked about getting an Australian Shepard (that's what my family had when I was growing up, and I knew they were great family dogs).  Blake looked for breeders online and couldn't really find any in NE, but he found one that had a 6 mo old puppy still for sale down in Missouri.  Blake contacted the breeder and she sent several pictures of Cheyenne and she looked exactly like what we wanted!  So instead of waiting, we decided to go ahead and get her right now.  It's been a bit of a challenge having a puppy in a small duplex, but she's actually doing pretty good considering.  She has terrible anxiety issues if we kennel her or section her off to one part of the duplex.  After spending a week in the kennel at night where she would continually whine and bark, we decided to try and just let her sleep in our bedroom on the floor (definitely NOT on our bed).  She has done fabulously and doesn't make a peep all night.  She just wanted to be where we were!  So besides not liking to be alone, she has proved to be a good dog for us, and I know as she gets more and more out of her puppy stage, she will be even better. 

Cheyenne has been great with Brooks.  He absolutely loves her!  She has been so tolerant of him climbing all over her and even pulling her hair....she hasn't once snapped or even looked annoyed at him.  We still watch her pretty close with him, but so far, she's been better than we ever would have thought!  Brooks calls her 'dah' or 'ah dah' all the time...he hasn't quite figured out the 'g' sound, but he gets really close to 'dog'.  It's pretty cute!

 Brooks has even learned which 'toys' are hers.  If he finds a rawhide or her 'kong' on the floor he tries to hand it to her.  He's even taken the rawhide from her before when she was chewing on it, and she just let him! Such a good dog!

Brooks also knows what the leash is for.  I think he's seen me hook her up to take her out enough that he tries to do it too!

 

It's a little hard for me to get pictures of the two of them while they are playing because as soon as I get the camera out, they both want to come see what I've got.
 

 Pretty cute sometimes :)

One night when Cheyenne really wanted to play and wear off some energy (and it was too cold to go on a walk) Blake decided to see if she would chase a laser.  Denali never really did, but Cheyenne went crazy!  Brooks thought it was absolutely hilarious!  Although, I don't know who laughed harder, Brooks or Blake!

I know these videos are not clear at all (I'm not even sure they will work)...it was too dark in the duplex, but at least maybe you can get some idea of the fun! Like I said, I think Blake might have laughed more than anyone! :)

So all in all Cheyenne has been a good addition to our family, and I'm sure you'll see more posts with her in it in the future!

Happy Birthday Brooks!

 

Our little boy turns 1 today! I can't believe Brooks is already a year old, but yet so much has happened in the past year, it seems like forever ago that we lived in Iowa!  We celebrated Brooks' birthday on Sunday with both of our families.  The day started with having Brooks dedicated at our church and then lunch, opening presents, and cake.  Here are a few pictures from the day.

I had to help Brooks with the wrapping paper this time.  For some reason he wasn't quite as interested in it as he was at Christmas.  But he was sure interested in the gifts inside!

 Cousin Lane was pretty interested too.  He wanted pretty badly to play with the toy tape measure he helped pick out for Brooks.

 

Brooks was extremely excited about the gift he got from Grandma and Grandpa Burgess.  He had rode on a little push car at the ACE show, so he knew exactly what to do with this one that he got.

Cousin Katelyn thought it looked like fun to.  She even started to push him around in it! It was so cute...maybe someday they'll take turns pushing each other!

After presents it was on to the cake.  I had done a duck theme since we consider that to be his first word.  He said it at the ACE show several times when he was playing with a rubber ducky.

Here is the cake I made for him

I think he just wanted to pull the ducks off it, but I can imagine that he liked it, right?

This was the first time Brooks has tried cake, and as with any new texture, he wasn't too impressed

 We gave him a bite of the homemade ice cream, and I think he liked that a lot better!! (who wouldn't?!?!)

I fed him some frosting on the spoon, and he kind of liked that, but still wasn't too interested.  Next year I'm sure he will enjoy it more!!

The day was fun, but I think we were all exhausted afterwards!  Brooks has really enjoyed playing with his new toys.  He's already mastered using his legs to push himself in his car, but he doesn't know that when he runs into things he gets stuck, but he'll learn! (or maybe as a boy he will always run into things!)  Thank you to all for the gifts and the fun party!