Way Back When-esday!

As I scrolled through the pictures for this week's Way Back When-esday, I couldn't help but smile at each of these...

Picture 1: 2006
Brooklyn was 11 months old and had just started giving goofy faces to the camera.

Picture 2: 2007
Brooklyn was 1 year and 11 months old. She was still so attached to her paci, so when she fell asleep without it in the car, her little face was so precious, I had to take a picture. We ended paci in the car usage shortly after that (I think by her 2nd birthday). That's also my hat in the picture- but she claimed it as her own soon after I opened it on Christmas morning!

Picture 3: 2008
Brooklyn and Kate have been best buds for as long as I (and they!) can remember. On this Saturday we went over to Kate's house to play, and the girls took turns driving the Barbie Jeep (one of Kate's new Christmas presents!). We were so excited because Brooklyn's hair was finally catching up to the other girls' hair in her class!

Girls Nights!

Two Friday nights each month, my husband, father, and 8-10 of their closest male friends gather together for Poker and Fellowship (aka beer). They started their friendly game sometime when I was pregnant with Brooklyn (late 2004). Not to be outdone, the wives decided we needed our own Girls Night. What started as just me, my mom, and Brooklyn has grown to quite a group! We used to go out to eat and then have coffee and dessert back at the house, but as babies were born and our group size increased (and patience level decreased!), we decided to just make dinners at our house. Now, it's just easy to order pizza and let the girls run free! :-) Here is a few pictures taken last Friday. It was a "small" group of 8, but Brooklyn, Zoe, and "Baby" Allie had a great time playing with babies, sitting in little chairs, and goofing off.

A Snow Day...and Way Back When-esday!

In honor of yesterday's snow...er...dusting, I thought I would post pictures from Brooklyn's two previous snow days for Way Back When-esday and some pictures from yesterday's fun.

Year: 2007
*Brooklyn thought snow looked funny, felt funny, and was just pretty much not impressed with it.


Year: 2008
*Brooklyn thought it was hilarious to have snow covering the ground. We had JUST put our house on the market, so things were crazy in our house. I never bothered buying Brooklyn snow boots because well, in North Carolina, it's just not worth it for the 1-2 snows you get a season. But, she had a blast walking around in her makeshift "Uggs" (aka Daddy's tube socks).

Year: 2009
*Here are some pictures from yesterday. Since the "Uggs" were so succesful last year, we tried it again, and they kept her tennis shoes (and more importantly, her feet) super dry. Don't mind her crazy outfit...she picked out her own scarf, hat, and gloves. :-)

January...so far

January has proven to be quite a busy month so far! Within weeks, we celebrated New Years, my parents' anniversary, and my mother's birthday. Grace Reigns Down performed at iCoffee in Summerfield and we participated in the Youth (also Intergenerational) Service at church one Sunday morning. Following one crazy weekend, we enacted, "Stay at home week" where we managed to stay at home and eat dinner together every night for 5 nights. I missed Wednesday night for work, but Chad and Brooklyn had dinner waiting to be reheated at home when they arrived, and Brooklyn was in bed at a decent hour every night (our goal!). We have gotten ourselves in trouble, because now Brooklyn's favorite questions are "Who's coming over?" "Where are we going tonight?" "Where are we eating tonight" and "Who's picking me up from school?" She has been sleeping late in the mornings (I have to wake her at 8 to go to school & work), and I told Chad that when she hits kindergarten, we are in trouble. So, instead of putting it off until 2010, we decided now's the time. Weekdays are days at home. Unless we have band practice or something random come up, we are eating dinner as a family and Brooklyn is in bed by 8:30pm. Period. After having a low-key weekend as well, Brooklyn finally looked at us Sunday and said "Can't I have a friend over today?" :-) Seems our little social butterfly has had enough family time!

Way Back When-esday!

I really need to do better posting besides just for Way Back Wednesday! :-)

I usually don't take many pictures in January, having been on picture overload after the holidays, but this one was taken January 18, 2006. We were at our friends', Jon & McKenzie, house, and McKenzie took some cute photos of our 11 month old baby girl. That sweet bald head and precious toothy grin could melt anyone's heart!

So, hop on over to Cheryl at Twinfatuation and play along with Way Back When-esday!

Way Back When-esday!

This may be a late posting because Blogger is giving me the business with posting pictures.

Year: 2006

Age: 11 months

Brooklyn is having fun: making animal noises like "mooooo"

Year: 2007

Age: 1 year, 11 months

Brooklyn is having fun: singing "all the little rabbits are rockin in the rabbit hole"

Year: 2008

Age: 2 years, 11 months

Brooklyn is having fun: playing dress up with Zoe

2008- A Year In Review

It's my first "Year in Review" since I have only been writing this blog for 10 months. :-) What a busy year this was for us!

January

Grace Reigns Down starts the new year off right,

playing several shows at churches and coffee shops.

February

The house is officially on the market and the adventure begins! (This is when the blog is born.) Brooklyn officially turns three (and dispels any myths about the terrible TWOs).

March

We celebrate Brooklyn's 3rd birthday at the Greensboro Children's Museum.

April

Happy Birthday to me!

May

Brooklyn's first trip to the dentist.

June

Brooklyn's first trip to New York!

July

The house is sold! (And we head to the beach)

August

Lots of packing and unpacking!

September

Good times with friends (Loryn's birthday at Chateau Morisette)

October

The Jay-nifer wedding and Brooklyn is Sleeping Beauty for Halloween

November

It's time to start decking the halls!

December

Is there a better way to end the year than to Las Vegas for a family vacation!?

Vegas Baby!

On Sunday, December 28th, 7 of us ventured west to the land of gambling! We headed to Las Vegas! Despite fate trying to keep us away (via Delta airlines and their crappy service), we all made it out there (on separate flights) by mid afternoon. It was a quick trip- just two nights- but we all had a great time seeing the sights, losing (and winning) some cash, and enjoying time as a family. Brooklyn loved the extra time with Uncle Eric and Caroline (it makes us miss them even more when they are back in Florida), and Nanny did a great job showing us the "under 21" sights.

Here is Caroline, Brooklyn, and Nanny in Mandalay Bay's shark reef aquarium.

While we were at the shark reef, the boys were kicking some poker butt! Eric, Dad, and Chad all made it to the final table, with Chad placing #2, and Dad winning the tournament. It was awesome to watch!

At Caesar's Palace, we found FAO Schwartz (and the land of the stuffed animals!)

And we walked down to the Bellagio hotel and saw their "Famous" Fountain Show.

What a whirlwind trip- but so much fun! Thanks to lots of excitement (and a little Jon and Kate Plus 8), Brooklyn was an absolute angel flying home.

The (Second) 12 Days of Christmas

The second 12 days of Christmas went by in a blur for us. We had party after party and food on top of food! Needless to say, my diet went out the window for a month, but now we are back on the wagon. :-) On Friday, December 19th, we attended our 7th annual "Family Christmas Party" with my girlfriends (from UNC) and their husbands. This year, Loryn and Lee hosted in their new home, and they spiced things up by doing a "National Lampoons/tacky 80's Christmas" theme. It was so fun, and I have not stayed up that late in a long time! :-)




McKenzie, Marisa, Heidi, Jennifer, Loryn, and Me (celebrating our 10 year friend-a-versary!)

Chad and me in our Christmas attire (and some yummy "punch" that Loryn made!)

On the 20th, we attended the annual Henzler soiree, which is always fun, and we started our two week hiatus from work- yay!

Christmas Eve is always spent at Oma and Opa's house (my dad's parents). Brooklyn was the star of the show, showing off for everyone, and really enjoying opening her presents. It was a great "warm up" to the next day's festivities.

Brooklyn and me with Oma and Opa

Brooklyn and her two new dolls (the yellow one is straight from Italy!)

Then, we headed to church to lead our 7pm Comtemporary Christmas Eve service. You can see below our annual picture in front of the Chrismon tree.

Then, off to bed, but not before first putting out a plate of cookies and glass of milk for Santa.

Christmas morning! Brooklyn was the last one awake so we were ready with the camera (Don't mind her "capri" Pajamas!).
She started slow with her stocking.

And also found her first Santa gift- a Sleeping Beauty vanity. That was her favorite gift, she said.


Then, she started racking up with more babies, more strollers, and accessories for the vanity.

Later that morning, we went and did Christmas with my side of the family. Around 4pm the ENTIRE side of the family (including Chad's parents and brother) came over to my parents for dinner and more presents. Friday, did our annual (we have a lot of "annuals" I am noticing) Tangelwood Lights and Dinner with Joe, Misty, and Allie Henzler, and Saturday, we did Christmas with Chad's family, including cousins and their kids. Sunday, we left for Vegas...but that's for another post. :-)

I enjoyed myself so much that week that pictures seemed to cease, so I will just have to rely on others for my scrapbooking. :-)