Cousins

Jon and Erin came up last weekend so we had a little get together at Mike and Karen's. All the grandkids were there except for Cathrine and Livi, who live in North Carolina. Brooke loves playing with "didi" (David) and "ehe" (Macie). They are all pretty close in age so they have lots of fun together. Ryan and Cole are almost exactly a month a part so I'm sure before long they'll be running around causing trouble too. It is so fun that our kids will have cousins their age on that side of the family. Who knows when cousins will come along on my side...



David, Ryan, Cole, Macie, Brooke

Playing the piano... so musically talented :)


Someday they'll be the best of friends...


Ryan was totally content, but Cole was NOT happy

Update

I realized the other day that all I have posted lately are pictures of my kids so I decided it was time for an update on what we are up to.

Matt has been super busy with school, work, and recruiting season -- but it is finally coming to an end. We have been to open house after open house and interview after interview. It is pretty sad when the wives of the other employees recognize me!! But, it is all over now. He got an offer last week from KPMG in Salt Lake and accepted it yesterday. He is going to finish school first, so he doesn't start until May, but it sure is nice to know he has job security! Plus, his brother Jon also works for KPMG which means we will get to see a lot more of his family. It is really weird to think that we are starting the next phase of our life and that we are almost done with school forever!! I will be glad to have him at home a little more though. I'm very glad that I've had lots of family around to help with the kids while he's been so busy!

I have pretty much recovered and for the most part (other than being tired) I am feeling great! I am enjoying my maternity leave, but it is coming to an end way too fast. I go back to work at the end of the month! I love being at home with my kids, but I will admit that it will be nice to have some time to myself again. Matt and I went out to eat alone last night and that is the first time I can remember being without one of my kids since Cole was born! I'm slowly increasing my running back to normal, but it frustrates me to no end that I get tired so fast. I want to be able to just up and run like I did before I was pregnant, but I know it takes time, I just need to have patience.

Cole is doing great, he is a very good natured baby. I'm still not sure if he is really just easier than Brooke was or if I just have more experience now :). I took him to the doctor yesterday and he has already gained a pound and a half and grown 2 inches since he was born! It is bitter sweet as a mom. Of course I am glad that he is so healthy, but I wish he would stay tiny forever. The one thing Brooke does have him beat on is sleeping -- I was spoiled with her! She slept through the night pretty much from day one, the most I ever had to get up to feed her was once, maybe twice a night. Cole wakes up every hour and a half to two hours to eat. Matt says he is preparing to be a linebacker haha. I'll be glad when the day comes that I get to sleep for more than an hour at a time!

Brooke is also doing good. She likes Cole as long as Grandma isn't holding him, but that is slowly getting better. She likes to be a little mom and help me feed him, burp him, change him, and give him his binky. She doesn't like it when he is in the swing though because she thinks it is hers. She always says "baby out". She talks non-stop, and this is not an exaggeration. If she isn't sleeping, she is talking. The other night we were at Firehouse for dinner and she was walking around asking everyone for money so she could buy some M&M's. I don't know where I got such a social child!!

Brookelyn Rae

Cole's First Pictures

Cole Matthew

Cole Matthew arrived on Sunday, September 28th at 2:05 p.m. weighing 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 19 inches long. My labor was very easy and everything went great. We are all doing well and enjoying our family!

18 Months Old

Brookelyn will be 18 months old this week! I can't believe how fast time flies and that we really have a 1 1/2 year old. I still remember being in the hospital when she was born, like it was yesterday. 18 months is such a fun age though. She talks all the time and repeats everything we say. We are learning to watch what we say in front of her... Grandma accidentally taught her to call the dog "dumb dumb" the other day.

She is also sleeping in a big girl bed now and doing great. The first night she cried for a few minutes and one other night she tried to get out and come out, but couldn't get her bedroom door open so she got back in. Another night, right after we got it, she must have somehow rolled past the gate and under her bed without waking up, because when I went in to wake her the next morning I couldn't find her. She was sound asleep under her bed. I went to get the camera and take a picture and then she heard me and woke up and said, "Mommy I stuck."

18 months also means very independent. She will not sit in her high chair and will not let anyone help her with anything. On the flip side, she is also very good at retrieving items and throwing things away for us :).

A couple nights ago we were at the park playing volleyball with some of Matt's friends and she was over at the playground and fell and cut her eye and lip open, but 10 minutes later she was ready to go back. She also loves to "drive" and has learned how to turn the cars on if we leave her in the drivers seat with them in the ignition. Watch out mom and dad!

Summer is Over!

Summer at our house is officially over. It has been far too long since I have posted, but things have been crazy at our house the last month. I really haven't been home much.

I officially started my new job in Ogden about 2 weeks ago and I've also still been helping out at Sky View because they haven't replaced me yet. It is going great so far-- I teach at 2 elementary schools in downtown Ogden, although that mean means I have no white students. Nope not a single one. At this point I really wish I spoke fluent Spanish. This will actually be our first week with students, the last 2 weeks have just been for prep and meetings and boring stuff. Working full time has definetly been an adjustment and I wish it was closer to home, but the drive hasn't been that bad and I'm really enjoying myself, but I spend most of the weekend sleeping :). It is still scary to think that I'm actually having to use everything I learned in school to help kids learn how to talk!!

Everything is still going great with my pregnancy. Last week the doctor was a little worried about me going into pre-term labor because the baby's head is already down and engaged but he said as long as I'm not having contractions everything should be fine. I am now 34 weeks, so only 6 more weeks to go.... although 4 would be great with me :). I still run about 4-5 miles a day and I think that really helps with my energy level and keeps me feeling good. I have to say, my 2nd pregnancy has been a lot easier than my first. I'm not sure if its just because I knew what to expect or if this pregnancy is really just easier. I'm sure it is quite a site to see me on my treadmill with my big belly and I will never admit it, but Matt says I waddle... thankfully I have my treadmill and no one but Matt has to witness such a site :). Next weekend we are going to clean out our spare bedroom and move Brooke into a big-girl bed so we can get the baby's room set up and ready to go. Wish us luck... she still says she wants to sleep in her baby bed.

Brookelyn has been switching off between my cousin Annie's house, Grandma Karen, and my Grandma's while I've been at work because her new babysitter is in New York. She loves to go play! Every morning she is so excited to wake up and play with Bentlee or Macie or Nanny. I wish Annie could keep her all the time, but I am soo glad to have her there to help when I need her!! I'll keep you updated on how things go with the new sitter next week... I'm a little nervous about leaving her since she can't even stay in nursery for more than 15 minutes without bawling. And, her babysitter is really expensive, so if anyone knows of someone that is reasonably priced and great with kids... please let me know!!

Matt finshed up a great baseball season with the Wolverines last weekend. They won the championship and ended on a 29 game winning streak. At the first of the season I hated him being gone so much, but I'm glad he got to play and I got used to spending my nights at the ball park and even had fun being out with other moms. Tomorrow he starts school again... boy am I glad it is not me :)!!! Only 1 more year to go though. I think he is trying to adjust to me working too. He is not used to having me awake when he gets up in the mornings and bossing him around. Nor is he used to me getting home late and then wanting to run so he has to watch Brooke.

Things are going great for all of us, but the lazy days of summer are definetly over for another year, now we are just waiting... somewhat patiently, but more anxiously than not... for baby #2 to arrive.

P.S. We had finally decided that the new baby would be Bailey or Kaison and then we found out that Matt's cousin has a daughter named Brooklyn (which we already new because she is about the same age as our Brookelyn) and their older son is named Kyson, so we are now back to square one with boys names and would greatly appreciate some suggestions because we just cannot seem to agree on anything!!

Lots of Camping

We have been camping twice in the last week. Last weekend was my family campout so we went up to Franklin Basin Saturday. Brookelyn had a blast and went from the horses to the 4-wheeler to the horses. She was sooo dirty when we came home! (After the Bear Lake episode we made no attempts to sleep over :))

Last Monday Matt's family all camped up at Tony Grove so we went up for dinner. Brookelyn LOVES to play with all her cousins. This time we actually took some pictures...

5 Cousins

This is our attempt to get a picture of all 5 grandkids together. As you can see Brooke was not cooperating. She kept crying and running to me -- or someone else was crying. Sorry Grandma, we did our best!