ACU Magazine

Abilene Christian University sends out a magazine each quarter. They include announcements from alumni on births, marriages, etc. This past issue included Brooke's birth announcement and Ryan's wedding announcement.

Brooke's artwork

Brooke goes to a wonderful preschool every Tuesday and Thursday. They send home the cutest crafts every couple of weeks. I wasn't sure what to do with the cute projects; so I scanned them in for the blog. I especially love the hand prints and poem that she made for a Mother's Day gift.

Brooke is 11 months!!

It is crazy for me to think that Brooke is already 11 months old. Time is flying! We are enjoying her personality; which seems to come out more each month. I tried to get a shot of her with the horse and the blocks; but she is way to busy to sit still. I appreciate the skills of my photographer friend jess. She is able to get great pics of all the kids. I thought these photos still turned out pretty cute.
Here are some fun facts about Brooke at 11 months:
*She is eating everything. We tried strawberries, peanut butter and eggs with no allergy issues. Yay! I have even tried to mix in some different flavors into her meals. She likes baby curry and spanish rice.
*She is still in size 3 diaper and weighs 19 pounds
*She drinks completely out of a sippy cup. She only likes milk and water; no juice.
*She learned how to clap
*She pulls up on everything and pushes her cart around.
*She has 6 teeth, three top and three bottom
*she has discovered the toilet water. Now we have to be sure all bathroom doors are closed.

Trip to Washington DC

We drove to Washington DC earlier this month to visit Ryan and Kelly. We spent all day Saturday touring Mt. Vernon. It was nice to be outside and walk the grounds. We took a little boat cruise of the Potomac river and then toured the mansion. This was the perfect activity to do with Brooke. She loves to look at all the people and enjoy the outdoors. Keith especially enjoyed learning all about the gardens and touring the museum of George Washington. We learned that Brooke has allergies on this trip. There were so many plants in bloom and pollen count was high. Her eyes got very goopy.
On Sunday we went to church with Ryan and Kelly and then had a great lunch at their house. They made it a very special first Mother's day. I got to shop at Nordstrom Rack without Brooke for a couple hours. It was so nice!!
on Sunday night we went to Ryan's softball game. Brooke loved yelling "ball" and seeing all the action.
on Monday we drove into Washington DC and looked at some of the famous sights. We walked to the White house and the new memorial in the mall. Brooke allergies were getting so bad at that point; so we drove back early on Monday. It was a really nice trip.

Cinco De Mayo

We went to Patron restaurant in Monroeville with a couple families for Cinco De Mayo. After the 45 minute wait, we were seated at a big table right next to the live band. They were a little loud at first, but after a few minutes it was great. The babies loved jamming to the music. The food was great and the margaritas were awesome. I can't believe I didn't take any other pictures. The Hecks and Staskos were at dinner with us. Yay for Cinco De Mayo!!

Springsgiving

We had our second annual Springsgiving the last weekend of April. Keith got up at 7 AM on Saturday to start smoking the pork shoulders. He also smoked bacon-wrapped-chicken. He setup the deep fryer and fried a turkey and chicken wings. Sadly, I did not get a picture of any of the great food. We had about 30 people over for our Springsgiving meal. They all brought sides, desserts, and drinks. We had great weather, so everyone played outside. We also celebrated baby Jacob's first birthday. Jess made the cutest monkey cupcakes. Jacob was so cute with his cupcake. It took him a minute to realize it was really his. He kept waiting for someone to take it away from him. Brooke enjoyed crawling in the grass and being outside. I think that Springsgiving is catching on with this group. I would not be suprised if they celebrate next year in their new towns. This was definitely the best turkey that Keith has ever cooked. There were no leftovers after the meal was finished.
We also had a visit from Kelly on Friday/Saturday. She was in town for a church reunion at her parent's church. She taught Brooke how to high five!

Easter

We celebrated Easter with some of our close friends in Pittsburgh. We went to church and then had a late lunch at our house. They all brought yummy food to share. I had my first attempt at making a ham. We usually just buy the ham from Honey Baked Hams. I decided to save money this year and make it myself. So, Saturday night I started basting and cooking the ham at 9 PM. Three hours later I took the ham out of the oven. It was mushy and overdone, kind of like retirement home food. I got the wrapping out of the trash and was so embarrassed to read that the ham was already cooked. All I needed to do was heat it up before serving. So, at 1 AM I drove back to the grocery store and bought another ham. The second ham was delicious, but I think next time I will stick with the pros at Honey Baked hams. The Easter bunny brought Brooke and Keith some wonderful treats. Brooke's basket was so big she could fit inside. That was a smart bunny; getting basket that could be used to hold her books in the living room. The bunny also brought her an Elmo phone and a mini glow worm. Her Grams from Texas sent some cute ducky socks, a pink pair of jeans and a sweater. She also sent a cute Lamb video.
We had beautiful weather on Easter Sunday. The kids played outside and we took lots of pictures. I should have put on my cute shoes for the pictures. Oh well! I am very thankful for my sweet Pittsburgh girls and their families. They have been a huge blessing to us. I love that Jess took pictures of Brooke and Jacob playing together. They are such cute friends. My favorite picture is where they are looking out the screen door. All the neighbor kids were playing in the street right in front of our house.
We are most thankful that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave. I am excited for Brooke to understand this story when she is older.
Hoppy Easter!!