Brooks: Week 24-25

I have to admit that I get a little sad when I think about how fast Brooks is growing up. Some days I just look at him and I’m amazed at all that he has accomplished in his short life! He surprises me daily with something new…this week it was feeding himself! Man time is flying by fast…before you know it he will be walking! Yikes!

Last week we took Brooks on his first (of many I’m sure) vacation! We started out by driving down to Naples for two days where Mark and I celebrated our fifth anniversary.

We even got to see some friends while we were there…good times! On Saturday we drove up to Treasure Island where we spent the rest of the week. We had a great condo on the bay and right across the street from the beach…the best of both worlds!

Mark got to fish and Brooks and I got to enjoy the beach! We had awesome weather and there was even a rainy day…perfect for napping, reading and enjoying some time indoors. Brooks loved the beach! We had a little half tent that we set up every day and it was awesome for our fair skinned little man. He was so intrigued with the water…it was a little chilly so we only put his feet in but he still loved it!

We were all sad when Thursday rolled around and it was time to pack up and go home. We can’t wait to go back again!

One big accomplishment for Brooks this week is that he is sitting up and playing with toys now. He doesn’t fall over as often and he is really good about his tummy time. He used to just fuss when he rolled over but now he will turn in circles and he is even scooting around a bit. Of course he tries to go after all toy that are in reach. His favorite toys right now are anything that has a tag. He has a bunch of soft plush building blocks and he thinks they are so cool but only because each one has a two inch white tag that he loves to chew on. Go figure…it’s the little things that make life so grand for him!

He continues to be a great eater. He LOVES his solid foods and his favorite is oatmeal with banana. He really digs pears and peaches too…yummy!

We brought the highchair out this week and he thinks he is SO special when we put him in it! He is too funny! Another first for him this week was introducing him to Cheerios…he wasn’t too sure about them at first (I think it was a texture thing) but now he gobbles them up. He also loves his sweet potato puff (sort of like Cheerios but they melt in his mouth) and we discovered that he can actually feed those to himself! I’m telling you…he is growing up fast! Check out this video of him eating his puffs! He has started drinking out of a sippy cup too. Man…I told you there were a lot of accomplishments over the past few days! He likes the sippy cup a lot and he is trying really hard to hold it himself…what a stinker!

Brooks is becoming quite vocal these days too. He has discovered that if he screams or raises his voice that he gets a reaction out of us…so of course being the bright young man that he is he has taken to squealing…not fun for the ears! Most of the time he is fine and he acts like he is just experimenting with what his voice box can do but watch out if he gets ticked off! Man alive that kid has a set of lungs! His little personality is starting to emerge and it is a lot of fun to watch him come out of his shell. He is definitely starting to “try” us with certain things too. We have to tell him “no-no” now and boy does that hurt his feelings! He is too funny…that lip pokes out and here come the tears! He “bit” me the other day when he was nursing and I told him VERY sternly “no-no Brooks, that hurts Momma” and he just looked up at me and he didn’t know what to think…a few seconds later he did it again and I told him “no-no!” and he just wailed! I felt bad for him but it really did hurt! When he gets like that it is SO hard not to laugh at the poor baby…that lip poking out is a sight to see!

We had some SUPER great news this week…Heather and Jon finally had their baby!!!! Lillian Grace (Lilly for short) was born on the 30th and she weighed 7 pounds and was 20 ½ inches long. Heather and Lilly are doing great! Brooks can’t wait to meet his new girlfriend! Although I have to say that he is going to be jealous because she has WAY more hair than he does! Hopefully he won’t take it personally!

Can you tell that Brooks is anxiously awaiting his first phone call from Lilly? He hasn't put the phone down since he heard she was born! Heehee!