Christmas Baking

I love to bake every year at Christmastime, until I actually start. I think I forget over the long year how much work it really is. Somehow I always talk myself into doing it again and this year was no different. Brooklyn and I baked cookies, fudge, apricot delights, and caramels. It was so much work, but a lot of fun too. Brooklyn decorated her first sugar cookies, although I think she ate more than she decorated. It was an exhausting day, but well worth the effort and the time that Brooklyn and I spent together was so much fun. She loves to help me in the kitchen. If I pull out my kitchen aid she is trying to push a chair over to help. She is turning into a wonderful little companion.

Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child

So I don't know if Brooklyn truly got what was going to happen on Christmas until last night. We opened a few presents for Christmas Eve and she finally understood what presents were. She was so excited that she had a very hard time falling asleep last night. The plan was to put Brooklyn down and Brad and I were going to put her toys together. Brooklyn took 2 hours to finally fall sound asleep and by that time I had all the toys put up and the crib in her room taken down. It all got done and she slept in until 10:00 this morning. It was so hard not to wake her up. Brad and I were probably more excited than her. When she woke up she came down and went straight for the presents under the tree. It was so much fun to see her excitement. Christmas is so much more fun through their eyes. Her big toy was the Rose Petal Cottage with a stove, sink and washer. We set it up her bedroom and brought her up there when all her presents were opened. When she walked in she said, "Oh wow." It was priceless. What a wonderful Christmas.

Disneyland!!

And last, but not least... Disneyland! We took Brooklyn to Disneyland on Friday with Grandma and Grandpa Beckstead. It rained all morning and we didn't go to the park until 3:00, but Brooklyn could not have loved it any more. When we got in the park G-ma and G-pa bought Brooklyn an ear hat which she picked out herself. She was so excited and thrilled she went out and gave g-pa huge hugs and let him carry her. Which is a huge feat that those of you that know Brooklyn can attest to. We then went to It's a Small World which was all decorated for Christmas. She just looked in wide eye wonder. After Small World we went to Fantasyland through the castle entrance. When she first saw the castle she pointed and then tried to jump out of her stroller. From there on, there was no stopping the girl. Her favorite ride by far was Dumbo. She went on it 4 times. With Brad, Me, Brad and I, and Grandma. She didn't care who was taking her on the ride as long as she was getting on Dumbo. Brooklyn was even saying Dumbo by the end of the night. We rode tons of rides as the lines were no more than 5 minutes for any ride, due to the rain. The parade was canceled, but the fireworks show was spectacular. Brooklyn loved every second and fell asleep watching the fireworks show. Her head just dropped. She was so pooped. It was a great day.

On Saturday, we went to the BYU vs. San Diego State game. It was great weather and a lot of fun. We saw our old friends the Vehars, from Phoenix. It was great to see them and catch up.

We had a few travel nightmares (it took us almost 19 hours to get home), but the trip was great overall.

This picture is while we were riding Its a Small World.

Brooklyn insisted that Daddy wear her princess hat. Doesn't he look pretty.

I only included this picture because it is the best one of the castle. It is not a great one of Brooklyn & I.

Ahh, the famous Dumbo!

The Haka Dance - Pre Game

(This one is in here for Brad.)

We bought a CD for Brooklyn with childrens songs. She LOVES it! We listen to it almost nonstop. She has favorite songs and she can tell if it is one of her favorites after the first 2 or 3 notes. If it is ring around the rosies she tries to jump out of her carseat in order to play. This video is of her trying to do Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. It cracks us up.

Here I Am, As Promised

Here, we go. I am going to try and update the last month for all you bloggers that have given me such a hard time. Life has been crazy. We have had a busy November, with lots of fun. We spent Thanksgiving in San Antonio with out friends the Irwins. It was super yummy and lots of fun. Not much else great or important has happened, we have just been super busy for some reason. I guess its the holidays. I love all my wonderful friends and your super blogs. Thanks for being on the ball and keeping me on my toes. These are just some cute pics from the last month.

Look at that adorable grin.

Unfortunately, we have one of those trees you have to put together branch by branch by branch. This is Brad & Brooklyn playing peek a boo with one. Brad fluffs and I put the branches and lights on.

Brooklyn has started to love the camera and want to have pictures taken of her all the time. Unfortunately, this is her new smile for the camera. Adorable, I know.

Funny Pics

Brooklyn and I went to a Halloween party with Melissa on Monday. She got these silly glasses and Brad snapped some pictures in a few classic poses.

Carving Pumpkins

I did say I was going to make up for not writing anything over the last two weeks. On Sunday night we carved pumpkins with the Irwins. Suzie's (I mean Sam's) was by far the best. Although my attempt was one of my bests. That isn't saying much though. Brooklyn got quite messy and enjoyed sticking her hand in the pumpkins. She was helping me clean mine out by putting everything in Brad's freshly cleaned pumpkin. He was super pleased. (ha ha)

Trunk or Treat

We went to our ward trunk or treat on Saturday and had a great time. Brooklyn liked the games and loved the trick or treating. On our way out to trunk or treat she just sat in the middle of the hall. She was so tired. Brooklyn didn't even realize what people were putting in her bag (although, she thought it was great anyway). After about 3/4 of the cars she saw a tootsie pop go in the bag and a light clicked on. She stopped where she was and searched frantically for it. She then practically ran to the rest of the cars, although she never let go of her lollipop until she fell asleep on the way home.

First Ponytail

Yes, I know lame, but it is a huge milestone. Brooklyn had her first ponytail last Wednesday. I took these pictures with a blog in mind and just haven't had the time. She looks so old. It was definitely a bittersweet moment. She looks so adorable and is at a very fun age, but at the same time she is no longer my baby and I miss that.

Sea World

So I am officially a slacker and here is my attempt to make up. On October 20th, we went to Sea World with some friends for a few hours. Brooklyn was a total grump, but she always loves the teacups. Brad and Ben got to the front of the line with the kiddos and there was only one teacup(paintcan) left. They decided to try and have a go at it together. Mind you, Brad and I tried it once and we didn't fit. Anyways, if you look closely at the pictures you can see that Ben's legs are inside of Brad's. It was really quite funny to watch. I think the girls were just wondering what the heck was going on.

We went to the pumpkin patch at Love Creek Farms yesterday with our friend Suzie and her two kids Sam and Audrey. Brooklyn had so much fun. It was much cooler than the corn maze and the pumpkins were more accessible to the kids. Brooklyn loves pumpkins! She kept sitting on them and trying to pick them up. She also painted a pumpkin. It was the first time she painted anything. Brooklyn did pretty good. She kept most of the paint on the pumpkin. We went on a hay ride, petted a horse, and tried to stay away from the bees. They were everywhere especially at lunchtime. I think we have visited enough pumpkin patches for the year though.

Its official, Brooklyn is finally sleeping in her own bed

most of the night and during all of her naps. It is wonderful. She is still in our bedroom, but you can't knock progress.

Hello

We have finally created a blog to share pictures, videos and stories. Saturday we went to the Corn Maize in Hondo. Brooklyn loved the barrel train, Brad and I not so much. It was sooo painful. We went to the pumpkin patch, took a hay ride, bounced on a jumping pillow, slid down huge pipes and all sorts of fun. We had a great time.