A Season of Thanksgiving!

Brooke & Mommy

October 2009 Has it really been 3 months since I blogged? I guess I should try to do a better job - the thing is, facebook is sooo much easier!

We have been very busy - Brooke is getting so big! Actually I was looking at the pictures from August and she is changing so much. My baby is growing up way faster than I want her to...though I have to say I am very pleased that we are progressing nicely on potty training. I think by Christmas she will be good to go.

Is this not the most precious child? I say she is doing good; however, over the weekend the little angel squatted and peed on the carpet! She was sitting in her Dora chair, watching TV and being a good girl, so good that I was reading a book! I look up to catch her in a squatted position and she said... "It Warmmmm" and smiled that beautiful smile. It's hard to be mad at her, but I pretended that I was and took her straight to the bathroom, changed her clothes and then made her sit in time out while I cleaned the carpet. Now, I don't normally make her sit in time out if she has an accident but she did it on PURPOSE!

We spent some time in Florida in October it was really great! Brooke loved the beach and it was fun to go on vacation with my mom and dad. My friend Amy and a friend of hers also went with us - it was a very nice relaxing vacation.

My baby enjoys seeing the sunset over the ocean, just like her momma.... you can bet we will enjoy many more of these over the years.

Halloween was a hoot - Brooke just wanted to be a "Bella, Bella, Bellarina" whatever the heck that is! She enjoyed herself and we went to the Alton parade - she was pretty excited to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse there!

The Bella Bella Bellarina costume...she picked it out all by herself. I mean come on...you know I would have dressed her up as a softball catcher or something cool like that!

We have also moved since I blogged last - I really like where we are at but I miss being close to Mike and Suzanna. We are now living in Troy which is about 25 minutes from Wentzville. It's very quiet and Brooke and Jody have 2 1/2 acres to run around on. I enjoy the peacefulness of the country but I don't like the drive into work every day. I'm adjusting but if you know me at all ... you know that I DONT DO MORNINGS! lol Getting up early and having to drive a half hour is just not enjoyable to me. I'm trying to take adavantage of the half hour to and from work by listening to calming music, talking and praying to God, singing with Brooke or just simply... being quiet! I read something a while back about trying to use your commute as a time to do some of these things. Well, so far, it's not working. :) Other than the drive, I do love the new place! There is plenty of room and it is feeling very homey - even put up some lights on the outside over the weekend.

Brooke's favorite thing about the new house... the "baby pool" that she gets to take a bath in (I did her bathroom in Nemo but she prefers my bathroom for bathing because she can "swim")

As far as an update on the difficult situation with Brooke, things haven't really changed though I do think we make tiny steps of progress each day. Gramma is still hanging on to those final strings. In the meantime, I pray alot. I pray that God gives me the strength to tolerate what comes with this situation, I pray that He protects Brooke and keeps her safe from harm both physically and emotionally, I just pray whatever is on my mind and beg him to carry us both through this and to give me the faith I need to know that He is in charge and will take care of us.

In the meantime, I really do try not to focus on what is "wrong" with the situation and instead rejoice in all of the happiness this little girl brings to me. She truly is the light of my life and I feel so blessed to have her call me mommy. Every day she learns something new and every day she teaches me something new. I am absolutely amazed at the growth of her little brain - she never misses anything and believe me she never forgets anything.

She uses words that I never expected a 2 year old to use. For instance, the other day we are driving down the road by our house and she sees some Christmas lights on a house, she hollers... "Mommy look! It's Incwedible"

She also uses words on occassion that a 2 year old should NOT use. Just yesterday we are driving down Highway 61 between Troy and Wentzville and she hollers, "HOLY SHIT!" I nearly jerked the car off road and she continues "THERE"S RUDOLPH!" I start to glance back at her to figure out what the heck is going on and a blazer on her side of the road pulls up even with me and I realize... there is a dang dead dear on top of it. Thankfully, she didn't realize that the deer was dead. I'm not sure where she gets the foul mouth..... I know what you are thinking but I'm serious, I don't cuss in front of her. Must be the other kids at day care.....

My little buddy Smokey (my 17 year old cat) passed away at the end of September. Since his best friend Yoda died last year, he has really been going downhill. He was beginning to suffer and I just couldn't let it continue. It broke my heart - I found that little guy on the side of Route 3 in East Alton in 1992 and he was so tiny I had to feed him with an eye dropper. He went with me to college in Mt. Carmel, IL - transferred with me to St.Louis - then back to East Alton - to 3 different places there - then to Wentzville where we lived in 3 different places. He stuck by me through thick and thin and dogs and kids. He was really a good pet and I miss him and so does Brooke. As hard as what it was, I know I did the nicest thing for him when he was declining so rapidly. I miss him......

Yoda and Smokey were both quite intrigued with Brooke when she first came to us..... they warmed up quickly though and this was a frequent scene in our house. Smokeyand Yoda were BFF's.... I'm sure they are cuddled up on a cloud together. :)

On a brighter side - Jody is quite a treat! This dog just cracks me up and I absolutely love that she and Brooke are growing up together.... they play and fight just like sisters should. Jody is protective of her and she likes to sleep laying with her head on Brooke's shoulder. It's adorable and I need to try to get a picture of it. Problem is, every time I walk into the room Jody's head pops up like she's on guard. :)

My Other Lil Pumpkin

As I was typing this, Jody comes into the room and has what appears to be a baseball. OH MAN....I have a bunch of things sitting here in my office that I am still organizing since the move. That dog was chewing on my autographed Joe Torre baseball.... I am trying not to be mad :)

Thanks for hanging in there - I know this is a long post and exactly why I shouldn't wait so long! This process of blogging and adding pictures is somewhat painful. It takes forever to load the pictures and they load to the top of the page and then you have to move them where you want them...inch by stinkin inch... maybe I just haven't learned the tricks yet. I think I will try to find a different blogger and see if I can find something simplier so I will be more consistent. :)

Leaving you with quote - seems appropriate for this season of Thanksgiving and this season of my life.

"If one could only learn to appreciate the little things...A song that takes you away, for there are those who cannot hear.The beauty of a sunset, for there are those who cannot see.The warmth and safety of your home, for there are those who are homeless.Time spent with good friends for there are those who are lonely.A walk along the beach for there are those who cannot walk.The little things are what life is all about.Search your soul and learn to appreciate."--Shadi Souferian

A Wigglin' Good Time.....

The last coule of weeks have been busy! First of all... court went good on August 7. Grandma and Grandpa now have legal guardianship. This is what we needed to have happen so we can move forward in this process. I know that it is difficult to understand and yes it is VERY frustrating but this is not your typical situation. I have had some people question me lately, wondering why I continue to go along with all of this. This answer is simple. Brooke is my baby and I will do whatever it takes, for ever how long it takes. I know that God is in charge and I BELIEVE that He will see us through this experience. Now...on to more fun things! On Tuesday night, Brooke and I went to the Wiggles Concert. This little girlie talked about it for a week, she just couldn't wait to get there. The concert was at St. Louis University and I just had to snap this picture on the campus...some day when she graduates from SLU... you know in like 22 years.... I'll be able to take another picture in exactly the same location and hang them side by side LOL. The roses she is holding are for Dorothy the Dinosaur. Dorothy is her very favorite character....you'll here more about her later on in the post. This was Brooke's second time seeing the Wiggles. My mom and I took her last year, but this time I was prepared and was on their mailing list so I was able to get pre-sale tickets. We were in the 10th row on the floor. I wanted her to be close to make sure she didn't have any trouble seeing them. Plus I wanted her to have the chance to see or touch one of the characters. We got there pretty early and I had to entertain her with the camera. We took lots of pictures of hte two of us. Somehow I actually got one that came out pretty decent. When the lights when down and the music started playing, she just couldn't sit ANY longer. She had to start wiggling. We were on the aisle so she was able to get up and move around a little. Here she is dancing to one of her favorite songs. It wasn't long before Jeff, Murray, Sam & Greg came rolling out in the Big Red Car. At about this point, Brooke was hollering... "MOMMY THEY MADE IT!" She was so excited that they were here. Jeff, the character in purple, has a tendency to fall asleep during the shows. Well, don't think we weren't prepared! Brooke didn't hesitate one second to hold up her "WAKE UP JEFF" sign. Greg actually called her out and pointed to her sign. She thought that was kind of neat. It didn't take long and all of the kids who had floor seats were wandering up to the stage. Well there was no holding this one back. She WAS going to get up there. I reluctantly let her go, I was afraid that she would get too far from me. I can't believe I missed it, but Wags the dog "FIVED ME" as Brooke calls it..in other words, he gave her a high five. Gosh my baby girl is sooo darn cute!

She came on back to the seat to get a drink and Greg was talking about Dorothy. I gave her the sign and as she started to walk up, Dorothy came out onto stage. Brooke stopped and held up her sign and began waving. She just as quickly threw the sign down, grabbed the roses she brought for Dorothy and took off running to the stage again.

You can see Dorothy the Dinosaur in this picture taking roses from the kids. Little Bit was too far down for Dorothy to reach so Greg (the guy in red) had to grab Brooke's and hand them to Dorothy. Brooke kept stretching and stretching, doing everything she could to reach Dorothy. At another point in the show, this guy in yellow... I think he is Murray but I can't keep them all straight...he came out into the audience and stopped and talk to Brooke. He touched her on the head. As you can see she was star struck! After this though, she kept running up to the stage trying to get Jeff, the guy who plays the piano, to talk to her. She came running back to me pouting and said, "Mommy, he not talk to me!" I had to explain that he was busy singing. LOL

This is pretty much what Brooke's face looked like through the whole show. She just had so much fun. She was very disappointed when the show was over and kicked and screamed the whole way out. She carried on and on almost all the way home... in the midst of it all I could hear... I want to HUG DOROTHY!

When we got home and she settled down, she went to sleep fast but insisted on sleeping in my bed. She dreamed about the Wiggles all night..she was moving around alot and once woke up laughing. I asked her what she was doing. With eyes closed, she said.... "Dancing"

And that is my dream for you baby girl...that you will always live by this simple quote:

"Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt,sing like no one is listening,and live like it's heaven on earth."- William Purkey I love being your mommy and look forward to watching you live a happy, healthy life filled with dancing, love and laughter!

Swim Lessons

Brooke has been in swim lessons for the past two weeks. The first week went great and she learned alot. This week has been too cold and she doesn't want to get in. Hard to believe it is July! I don't know why those silly people at the park don't heat the pool :). This first picture is at the beginning of lessons. You can't tell very well but Brooke is doing the splits on the top step. Also...you can see in this picture that her little eye is actually getting worse. At this point, we are doing a patch for two hours a day. I don't think it is helping at all. She goes back to the eye specialist in August. Hopefully they will just do the surgery and get it over with. The rest of the pictures are in no particular order...just some that I liked.

This is Brooke's swim instructor, Brian. She was practicing her kicks.

By this point, she was cold and ready to get out.

Practicing her dives or rocket ships...

Practicing her ice cream scoops.

That's all folks!

Sit Back and Relax...this is going to be a long one!

It has been so crazy busy! I have tons of pictures to post and ALOT to talk about so grab yourself something cold to drink! First of all, I promise that eventually I am going to get out and try to use my new camera to take some really wonderful pictures of something other than my girlies! It's just so dang busy these days!

Anyhoo...let's get started!

Here we have some pictures of little Miss Priss at my mom and dad's house. She stayed with them for a week - while she was there they bought her this cute little swing.

Paw Paw just hated it when he had to go to work while she was there. So he brought the tractor by for her to see.

So this picture below.... I am mostly putting this on here for my friend Mel....Ellie Sue isn't the only one obsessed with her shoes, particularly her rain boots! I put Brooke in this cute little dress and then came back in the room to find her with the BOOTS on! The boots are now hidden away in the top of the closet! Speaking of Mel...she and her family and friends put on the 2nd annual Shake-4-Jake last weekend, in honor of her nephew Jake Owen Raborn. Check out the foundation website and donate if you can: http://www.jakesfoundation.org/

This family may have lost their little man Jake but let me tell you, his memory lives on in all that they do to celebrate his life by helping other families.

Okay, so the next picture below... please do not lecture me about how unsafe it is to let the kiddos play on a slippery pad on concrete... I KNOW THIS! Sometimes ya just gotta play where you are and that's what we did! Look how much fun she is having!

I also understand how important it is to keep your kid hydrated on a hot day... but this picture proves the theory that we have an innate ability to keep ourselves alive. I mean she figured out how to drink the spray off the water spiket! I'm training her for Survivor!

These next two pictures are some of my faves! When I look at these, I know that there is no stronger bond than between a mother and her child. I also know, as many who have adopted children do, that the bond between a mother and her adopted child is as strong than that of a mother and her natural born child. You know what is strange? People have been telling me since Brooke was 3 months old htat we looks alike. When I look at these pictures...we kinda do! Maybe it's the hair color and the glasses??

Oh before I forget.... all along, I have let Brooke call me whatever she called me. Sometimes it was Dottie, sometimes Mommy and usually it has been Mommy Dottie. In the past few weeks though, she has dropped Dottie and just calls me Mommy. It makes my heart melt!

Okay...this next little group of pictures was taken Friday night. I LOVEEE this outfit from Children's Place. Brooke is really into hats and purses and I just can't pass up the opportunity to buy a matching outfit!

We are at our church here. Little Girl is all exicted about the "FOWERS" .....

This started out as an innocent "I want to smell them FOWERS".....

"....But MOMMY the FOWERS spose to go in my purse with Wags!"

As she runs off she is hollering .... "I WANT THEM FOWERS"

The flower incident was only the beginning of the vandalism to the church on Friday night :) We went to the family movie night where Horton Hears A Who was playing. Nellie (as I like to call her...you know from Little House On The Prairie) was an absolute terror on wheels! First of all, she wouldn't sit still on the floor with the other kiddos. She had to keep running back to tell me "secwets". Then she wouldn't leave some little boy alone... he would inch away from her and she would inch closer to him. He actually moved to the other side of the stage. Nellie followed. Then she was just helping herself to everyone else's popcorn. She had her own, but I was keeping it by me because I was afraid she would dump it out. I finally let her take it...she pranced right up on to the stage and dumped it out. I love my sweet girl. :) We left about 35 minutes into the movie. I'm sure everyone appreciated it!

So this is some exciting news! Suzanna jumped off the high dive last week! YEAH SUZANNA! She has been doing swimming lessons for three summers now and everything is starting to click for her. I came on Thursday night with the camera in tow.... she is swimming very well! She has learned rotary breathing and a couple of different strokes ... I don't know what they are called. Anyway... so here is the series of pictures of her jumping off the diving board!

"Look Dad....NO HANDS!" (Mike was taking these pictures while I video-taped)

Contemplating.........

"Okay Dad... gotta hold the nose just in case!"

Airborne...........

I did it!

The girl is growing up right before our eyes! Last weekend we went home to visit my mom and dad. I bought Suzanna a new outfit and did her hair and make up before we left my mom and dad's house. We went to pick Mike up so we could go to dinner for Father's Day and he said, "Who said you could wear make up?" Suzanna said, "Dottie" Mike looked at me and said, "Who said she could wear make up?" I said, "Me" End of story...nothing else was said. I think we won the battle but not the war.... I doubt either of us have heard the last of it.

Look at her though in these pictures with my dad. She is a beautiful YOUNG LADY...that's right Mike. Read those words and weep...your baby is growing up!

Suzanna leaves in a few days to go spend two weeks with her grandparents in Oklahoma and then she is off to Girl Scout Camp for two weeks. A whole month :( I will miss her a bunch but I know it's good for her to get away and experience different things and to spend time with her grandparents. When she comes back it will be just in time for her birthday on August 1st.

This picture below was also taken on Father's Day. Notice that my dad's shirt has hand prints on it. Those are Brookie's .... we had fun making his shirt and he wore it proud!

Okay... last set of pics. These were taken today.....

Awwww.... she does love her puppy, though sometimes she is just MEAN to Jody. I am afraid for Jody's well being once in a while.

Wore out!

I promise to blog more often so they aren't so long! Til next time........

Walgreens!

Well this is going to be a very short post.... I took two cards full of pictures up to Walgreens (Wood River)yesterday and they really messed up the order!

First of all, I had a scrapbook page made - first time I have ever done this. Just wanted to see what it was like. They put two of the same pictures in it. I assumed that I had made the mistake so I didn't take it back.

I didn't check the photo CD I had burned either, until just now. Well..there are only 4 pictures on it. So all of the pictures are GONE. ARGH! I'm very frustrated.

In the meantime, I have this collage. There are some cute pictures of me and Brooke. I did have some prints made so luckily I still have those.