Spiders...

This morning I was pretending to catch a fish with Brooklyn and was making small screamlike noises of excitement.

Brooklyn response was, "Mommy, its not a spider!"

I have had a few uncomfortable experiences with spiders/bugs lately and they have all resulted in an involuntary scream. What can you do? She made us laugh so hard this morning.

Celebrating 4

It seems that every year Brooklyn's birthday is not a day, but a multi-day event. It is never really planned this way, but we always get carried away.

**Brooklyn's birthday this year started out with a party at Grandma Peggy's and Grandpa Malcolm's in Las Vegas with family. We had a cute little party for my brother Mike and Brooklyn. Mike's birthday was the 25th of Feb and hers is the 2nd of March.

Mike picked out a princess cake just for Brooklyn. We decorated with Princess Tiana and green for Mardi Gras. Everyone got a hat or silly ears and we all had a great time.

Here are a few pics from the night.




Somehow I didn't get one of the two birthday kids together, but oh well.

**Her birthday itself started with "4" pancakes, dress up she had bought with money from Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Malcolm, and a vanity for her new bedroom. We then got her dressed in her "4" shirt and hit the mall. She had birthday money to spend and she knew exactly what she wanted - the green Tiana dress up from Princess and the Frog. We picked out her dress up and some lipgloss from the Disney store and then grabbed some lunch together. Afterwards we picked up her Tinkerbell cake and headed home to have some quiet time with a movie. Daddy got off work early and we headed to Sonny's Bar B Que for her birthday dinner (her choice, but they do have killer mac n cheese). After Sonny's we had some cake and played together as a family for awhile. It was a great day and she kept saying all day how she "couldn't believe I am 4!"


**The birthday celebration ended this past weekend at Disneyworld Magic Kingdom. When we told Brooklyn we were moving to Florida we promised her we would take her to Disneyworld for her birthday and we were not about to renege on that promise. We had a fun-filled two day trip to the Magic Kingdom where she had an incredible time. We met princesses (dined with them too) and fairies, enjoyed lots of shows including Belle's Story Time three times (I think this was encouraged by daddy a little though), rode every ride she wanted to and some multiple times. Peter Pan's flight had to be her all time favorite ride, but she also LOVED Goofy's Barnstormer Rollercoaster. She couldn't wait to go again and again with her "Prince Daddy." It was a great time as a family and it helped us remember the benefits of being so far away from all those we love.




Happy Birthday Goose! We love you!

My Baby is Four

(Brooklyn the morning of her birthday with her new Tiana wedding dress up already on getting ready to eat her "4" pancake.)

I can't believe that my baby Brooklyn is not only no longer a baby, but four years old. She is such a joy to us and everyone she is around. She has such a bright and bubbly personality and has an incredible imagination. Brooklyn is rarely "Brooklyn," she is always some other character from a movie or book and we must play along.

Here are my favorite things about Brooklyn right now.
1. She loves sharing.
2. Her imagination is constantly running.
3. She is my big girl, but still has to start the day with snuggles in my bed.
4. She loves learning. She is always asking questions and asking for more learning time.
5. She loves princess or fairy anything. She truly is our little princess and we love to spoil her and help her feel every bit that princess.
6. She is definitely a girly girl. She loves to have her nails painted, hair done, put on makeup, shop and anything else girly.
7. She loves her daddy/daughter dates. She is always thinking of what she wants to do on her next daddy/daughter date. Her daddy loves her so much and I am so glad he started taking her on dates so long ago.
8. Her daddy is her prince. No matter what movie/game/story she is acting out her daddy is her prince. It always ends with her marrying her daddy. They pretend to get married and have a dance. Most days are not complete without a wedding with daddy.
9. She loves artwork. We have been living in an apartment for the past 2 and 1/2 months waiting for our house to be done and she has filled her walls and ours with her artwork. She will spend hours coloring, drawing or creating something. It is definitely one of her favorite things. I think she will have some disappointment leaving the apartment because we have allowed her to decorate it and that will no longer be the case in the house.
10. She is hilarious! I love this girl. She always gives us a reason to laugh with some crazy story or silly behavior. She has been spending the last few weeks trying to come up with something funny to make her Grandma Beckstead laugh so she will feel better. They are definitely random, but it is funny to watch her try.
11. She is incredibly loving. Brooklyn loves so much and we couldn't be happier. She can't wait for her baby sister to come. She keeps talking about how much she will help me and how much fun it will be to play with her. She also keeps coming up with names for her and her favorite right now is "Elegant."
12. She loves to dance and sing. No matter where she goes she is always dancing and singing. Everytime I am not around whoever is watching her always comments on her dancing and singing. It is definitely one of her favorite things and our days would not be the same without her sweet voice and twirling around the room.
13. She has a mind of her own and she uses it. Brooklyn always knows what she wants. She rarely changes her mind and is determined to see something through. She loves to play with other kids, but if they don't want to play her game or if she isn't interested in what they are doing she entertains herself. I hope this quality continues through those tough preteen/teen years.

We love you Brooklyn! I am so glad you had a birthday so we could all remember that special day you joined our family and how much we love you. We are truly blessed to have you as part of our lives and I thank Heavenly Father every night for the treasure that you are. Happy Birthday princess!

Alexis???

So right now we are thinking this baby is Alexis, but will probably call her Lexie. What do you think?