December....this month was nearly TWO months ago!! It started with a great visit from Aunt Betsy, Quentin, Gracie and Brinin. We had a blast!! Betsy and I took the kiddos to the zoo and road the train in Brackenridge Park. Brooklyn liked to stand on the train. I can't wait to take her back to the zoo!! I think she will have more fun each time she goes!! To commemorate her first trip to the zoo, I bought her a mini stuffed Okapi. Here is a picture if you don't know what it is...he was seriously the cutest and looked so soft!!! His legs were like a thinly striped zebra and his body was solid deep chocolate brown. He was all alone in his area (kinda sad) and his legs were twitching...so maybe he wasn't the happiest animal at the zoo...but he had a special place in my heart! Maybe the Okapi was more for me than Brooklyn, but she seems to be a fan!
We also went to Bass Pro Shops to see Santa Claus! Did you know he was there? Well he was, yuppers the real Santa Claus made it down to San Antonio for some time at BPS. ...needless to say, Brooklyn was not really a fan of Santa Claus. I think she would have rather been sitting with the Okapi. As soon as she laid eyes on the bearded man in the red suit, her bottom lip curled under and she began to wail. Last year she politely laid in his arms for her picture...but this year, she gave us a classic, screaming child picture. In all honesty, it's pretty cute. Granted...we would have preferred a happy child...but for a Christmas picture, this was the next best thing....
We also introduced her cousins and Aunt to Cosi and Orange Cup...both were a big hit! The rest of December was basically filled with Thirty-One parties!!
Everyone came to our house for Christmas on Christmas Eve. We may or may not have had a Christmas Tree up this year. We did have stockings hung with care. Brooklyn got an extra special (amazing!!) gift from her Uncle Cousin John (my Mom's first cousin)...a 100% complete hand stitched, petit point needlepoint stocking. It is absolutely stunning!! It has Santa, fancy Russian buildings, ballerinas...and so much more detail!!! It is such a special keepsake for her!!! It took him a year of hard work and love!!
We were blessed with spending Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa K, Aunt Jamie and Uncle John, John's sister Mary, Uncle Cousin Steven, Ian and Seda. We had a pretty great time eating tamales and being with family. One of Brooklyn's big Christmas gifts was a kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa K. ...so she got a ton of soft/stuffed veggies, eggs, cupcakes, pots and bowls. She is set to make us veggie stew and dessert!! She loved...and I mean LOVED stirring in her pot the entire night!!! She was too cute!! She is also a big fan of opening and closing the doors of her kitchen...and putting things in them. She also got a magna-doodle type thing, which is probably her most favorite toy!! It says ages 3 and up...but she has always been a fan of Rowan's....so she got her own!
Now Brooks. What can I say about what he got for me...but W-O-W. I broke down in tears when I opened his gift. I don't cry very often...well maybe in front of him, but not in front of other people. I am still in awe of his gift. Ok, sorry to hold you in suspense. He had a book made that is just pictures of he and I. It has special little stories, note and memories on each page. It is simply wonderful!!! He has definitely set high expectations for himself.
You might ask...what did Brooks get? He is now fully stocked on socks and underwear! Yuppers, that's right! That's how romantic I was this year. Ok, he got a few other things too...wireless headphones, corduroy pants, beard trimmer, gadgets for the garage...and a few other things...but nothing seems to even come close to competing with my present. Thanks babe!!
My parents spent the night for Christmas...which was so much fun!!! When we woke up, Santa (err, umm...Grandma Q and Grandpa Joe) had brought Brooklyn her official Little Tykes Cozy Coupe Car!! Once she figured it out...she LOVED to climb in and out...and in and out some more. She is still a bit too short to push it around...but she loves for us to push her!!
We went over to New Braunfels on Christmas afternoon. We got to see Great Aunt Jo, the Irvines and thank John for his amazing stocking!! Aunt Jo got Brooklyn a shopping cart (so she can go shopping for her kitchen!!)...and got to see her open it. On our way home...we wanted to stop and eat...didn't feel like dragging leftovers out...we our choices were IHOP and Denny's. We opted for Denny's. Major disappointment...no Moons Over My-Hammy on Christmas Day...they have an abbreviated menu for certain days of the year. It was sad...but we had dinner...with a bunch of other people who apparently eat at Denny's on Christmas!! The service wasn't the best...but hey, it was Christmas.
The next day we took off for Midland and had Christmas there! It was nice...Teri, Tim and the boys were still there when we got there. We also got to say hi to Joey and Jill before they left...and then we had the rest of the time with his parents. I stayed up late playing Phase 10 with Betsy each night...a pretty fun card game if I must say so myself. We twisted Brooks' arm into playing with us the last night. We visited Rosa's and Taco Villa. Brooklyn is a fan of Rosas' bean and cheese burrito...thus she is definitely Brooks' child. Ryan was in town...so we got to see he and his Mom for a quick visit.
The day we were supposed to leave, it was supposed to snow. It made me nervous to be on the road with nasty weather...but it turned out to be ok by mid afternoon. However, it DID snow that morning. We bundled Brooklyn up and plopped her in the backyard to take her picture. She wasn't too sure about the snow. In reality, there was barely enough to stick on the ground. We gave her a small snowball and she WOULD NOT hold it! She was just kind of frozen in position and not sure what to think about it all.
Other fun facts about life. Brooklyn loves to rock in Popeye's old rocking chair. We caught her a few times climbing into it in her bedroom...so I put it in the living room. She loves to sit in it and say "ra ra" (rock rock). She also says: mama, dada, no no (she is a pro at this one), ba (ball), ish (fish), baby, bu-bye, hi, wasz isz (what's this), uh ohhh, oh wow (not so much anymore...this was kind of a phase)...we are still working on more or bite! She knows her: nose, eyes, ears, mouth, tummy...and loves to point to yours too! She knows a cow goes moo.
Brooklyn's special talent?? Her imagination! If you hold out your hand in front of her...she will grab/pinch things out of your hand and put them in your mouth. Then she "chomp chomp" chews them up and goes back for more imaginary food. It is pretty stinkin' cute/funny!
We are still pretty amazed my this little being that we have brought into the world. She is starting to get cuddly and hug on us. It just melts me when she cuddles with me because it is so rare. She won't give us kisses yet...however, she loves to give kisses to her animals, dolls or the dogs. Hopefully Mommy and Daddy will be next!!
Ok, so remember Brooks' fabulous Christmas present for me? I really want to take the time to have this blog printed on an annual basis and made into a book. I think it is the best baby/memory book for Brooklyn. I am embarrassingly behind on her baby book...but this is pretty current (I may lag between posts...but I make the effort to catch up). So, I hope that this is the last post in her book! I just need to make more posts (shorter ones!!) on a frequent basis...and that will simplify life!! Just little snippets here and there of her life.
