Brooke is 8 months old!

Brooke turned eight months old on May 19!  I can't believe how quickly the time goes by.  I am sure that I say that each month as I do her monthly update.  She is getting so big and her hair is getting so long.  Her hair curls up tighter than Lydia's did, but I think it is about as long as hers was at this age or a little longer.  It really is a lot of fun having girls with such cute, curly hair.

 Brooke is such a happy baby.  We are very lucky to have her.  Here is a list of some of the things she has been up to:
**Brooke is always happy.  She can be up all night and then she'll still be happy the next day.
**Brooke loves when people look at her.  Once she makes eye contact she instantly starts smiling.
**Brooke loves to talk.  She says daddad and is starting to say mumumum along with all the other noises and sounds in between.
**She mimics sounds that Lydia makes.
**She crawls normal now and she crawls fast and is into everything.
**She pulls herself up onto things and stands up next to it. 

**She claps her hands and loves the attention when she does it.
**She can wave now.
**She reaches for people.
**She is still sensitive and doesn't like to be left alone in a room, even if she can still see us.
**She still nurses.
**She is starting to sleep through the night a little better, but still wakes up once and then she pulls herself up and I have to go in and lay her down or else she just stands on the side of the crib and cries.
**She loves following Lydia around and playing with her.
**She is one tough baby because Lydia is the typical big sister and sometimes steals her toys, hit or even kicks her and Brooke just puts up with it.
**She doesn't have any teeth yet.

 **She likes to dance to music.
**She likes sitting in her high chair and eating little snacks.  She will eat most baby food without any problem and loves to eat little finger foods and feed herself.
**She still just takes short naps.  You can pretty much plan that she will take a nap for exactly one hour!

 **She loves to chew on things and always wants to have something in her mouth.  She was chewing on her toothbrush while I was doing her hair and would get upset each time I took it away so I decided to take some pictures of her chewing on it.
**She loves to crawl into her carseat so she can pull the binki out of it.  She only used a binki when she is in her crib or in the car.  I have one attached to her carseat and we bring the carseat in with us.  She climbs into it and pulls it out and then starts crawling away with a look of accomplishment on her face.

 

 **She likes to crawl and look out the back door.  If Justin goes out without her she starts to cry and is sad until he gets back.
**She likes being outside and running her toes through the grass.  She also tries to pick the grass.
**If she doesn't like how the ground feels on her knees she crawls with her bum in the air so only her toes and hands touch the ground.
**She likes crawling to different floor surfaces and she will stop and pat the new surface all excited that it feels different from what she was crawling on before.
**She likes to play on the piano.

 

 

 Brooke really is a greats baby!  She is so happy and so fun to have around.  She definitely keeps us on our toes because she is into everything and is so busy, but I think she is just trying to keep up with Lydia.

 I was able to get Lydia to sit by Brooke for a few pictures.  They are such cute girls and they are both so much fun to have around.  Some times can be a lot harder than others but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I feel so blessed that I am able to stay at home with them and to be able to raise them.

 

I love my two little girls so much!!!!!

Leeds Trip Part 2

On Saturday we went boating at Quail Lake.  We were going to go to Sand Hollow but there was a triathlon going on there so we decided to go to Quail Lake.  It was windy in Leeds but it had died down before we got to the lake.

We played on the beach for a little while and then we took the boat out for a spin and came back to play on the beach.  Lydia loves being in the water.

 Michelle and Arianna were able to hang out with us again.  Stephanie had to work but we missed having her with us.

Ron and Carol soaking up the sun in the front of the boat.

 Me and Brooke.  Brooke did really well in the boat and seemed to enjoy it when the sun wasn't right in her eyes like it was for this picture.

 Justin went and sat at the back of the boat to swim for a little bit and Lydia climbed right back with him to dangle her feet in the water.  She loved it.  The water was still pretty cold but it didn't phase her at all.

 

 Ron always puts Justin in charge of driving the boat so Lydia decided that she would help him out.  She loves to help drive boats.

After we were done at the lake we went home and the girls took a nap and then we went to a splash pad in St. George.  Lydia and Brooke both had a lot of fun.  We hadn't put Brooke in her swimming suit because I didn't know there would be a little stream.  I just thought that there would be a lot of fountains spraying and didn't think Brooke would like it as much.

 Stephanie was able to come with us.  Lydia decided that Stephanie was going to be her best friend this trip.  If Stephanie was around Lydia made sure that she was right there by her.

Brooke enjoys watching everything that is going on.  She is such a happy baby.

 Lydia absolutely loved the little stream.  It was the perfect amount of water for her to just sit and play.

 Brooke liked getting in and getting her feet wet.

 I love Lydia's facial expressions in these next pictures. 

 

 

We had a lot of fun at the splash pad.  In the same area they also had a carousel.

 Lydia was able to go twice.  The first time she went Justin, Brooke and I went with her.

 Clayton and Arianna went with the first time too.

 The second time Lydia went, she went with Ron, Carol, and Arianna.  Lydia loves carousels.  You can't really tell by the look on her face in the pictures, but she has so much fun and waves each time she goes past where we are standing to watch her.

Brooke once again had fun watching what was going on.

It was a fun day and a fun trip to Leeds.  We went home Sunday after church.  We were glad we were able to visit and that the temperature wasn't extremely hot yet.

Trip to Leeds Part 1

We went to Leeds to visit with Justin's family over the weekend.  We got there late Thursday night and stayed until Sunday.  On Friday we went to Snow Canyon to let Brooke and Lydia play in the sand dunes.  They both loved it!!!!  This is Lydia showing her excited face before we left on the little walk to get to the sand dunes.

Brooke liked riding in the back pack.  She kept playing with Justin's hat.

 

 

Brooke and Lydia both loved crawling around in the sand.  It surprised me that Brooke had so much fun with it.  I don't know why because she crawls all over the place all the time, but it seemed funny to me.  I guess I keep thinking that she is still just a little baby.

 

 

 Lydia thought it was so much fun to crawl around and have Brooke crawl behind her.  They crawled all over the place.

 

 

Brooke ended up face planting it and got sand all over her face, in her eyes, and in her mouth.  Of course you have to take a picture before you clean them up, right?

 

Lydia had fun burying Grandma Carol's feet and Justin's feet in the sand.

 

Justin had just as much fun as the girls did playing in the sand.  Here he took off running into the part of the sand that didn't have any foot prints yet.

 Brooke loves being on Justin's shoulders.

Michelle and Arianna met up with us a little bit later and we ate a little picnic lunch and then went on a hike on a trail called Pioneer Names.  I guess some of the early pioneers had carved their names into the rock.

Lydia and Arianna both loved climbing up the rocks.  They were both great little climbers too.

 

 

I carried Brooke in the pack for this walk.

 

We had a lot of fun.  We hadn't ever gone to Snow Canyon in all of our trips to Leeds so it was a lot of fun to get out and explore a little.

We were lucky because the weekend we were there was a little cooler than it had been the past few weeks in St. George.  By the time we left Snow Canyon though, it was getting pretty warm.   I loved watching the girls have so much fun.