Bring on the terrible 2's!

I still can't believe our baby girl is 2. And it's even harder to believe that Troy will be 1 in a month! We had a rockin' birthday party for Brooklyn with 8 other 2 year olds. Fun times! Fortunately we had great weather, so we broke out the slip n' slide (one of B's presents) and let the kids slide away. Well, actually, Erik slid with them. He says he was just helping the kids, but he was seeming to really enjoy himself. And he even got an ab work-out doing it! We had lots of Brooklyn's favorite foods: gold-fish, watermelon, pretzels, Pb & j in cut-outs, chips, cheese, water (she LOVES water!), and Ritz crackers. She had a blast playing with her friends, and especially opening presents. She made out like a bandit too! Spoiled little girl! But she was of course gracious, at least for a 2 year old. We also played a couple of her favorite games: Simon Says, and Ring-around-the-Rosie. The kids really got into it! I of course forgot to hand out the gift bags at the end of the party (I KNEW I'd forget!), but I'm hanging on to them to hand out at play-group. I'm sure their parents will be thrilled, especially with the sweet finger paints I put in there! She LOVED reading the cards. Really!

A little dazed and confused from all the wonderful attention! :)

Cheese! Like my foot?

Queen for the day (or week rather!)

She looks like she's having a LOT of fun.

What a great Daddy

At the end of the party, ready for a nice, long nap. All of us were!

Brooklyn also had her 2 year old well-child check-up yesterday. Here are the stats: Weighing in at a WHOPPING 24 lbs (10%) She used to be in the 2%, so this is an improvement!!! Height: 33.25 in (25%) Head: 49cm (75%!) Yup, she still has a big head in order to accommodate that big brain!

Happy Birthday baby girl!!

Baby Brookyn is no longer a baby, but a big 2 year old! You know the old adage, "Time flies!" Well, it really does. Brooklyn is such a sweet little girl. She is the BEST big sister and friend. She loves swimming, swinging, reading books, watching "Cailou, Barney, & Dragon Tales," drinking from a cup, eating dinner in a BIG chair (not her high-chair), coloring with pens in her own note-pad, putting on her shoes BY HERSELF!, and going Bye-bye. But most of all, she LOVES her baby brother, Daddy, and Mommy. She is such a love, and has TONS to give. We are so blessed to have her sweet little spirit in our home. I thank Heavenly Father every day for sending her to us. We love you Brooklyn Joy!!! Birthday bash with an over-load of photos to follow in our next post. :)

3 days old

1 year oldAlmost 2!
2nd Birthday

"America, America, God shed His grace on thee!!"

Happy 4th of July!! What a great holiday, probably one of my favorites. What other holiday do we pig out on hot-dogs, corn-on-the-cob, watermelon, hamburgers, and potato salad? Not to mention the fire-works. It seems like every 4th gets a little more sentimental and emotional for me. I am SO thankful to live in this free, amazing country! We are so blessed to have the freedoms we do, and I know we all sometimes take them for granted. This year I am especially grateful as I am starting to see some of our freedoms taken away (I won't get into it). I just feel so blessed to be able to raise our children in a safe, and free country where we don't have to worry about being killed for speaking our minds. Where I can walk around free as a woman and vote, gain an education, and work in a profession as I chose! It saddens me to know that some people don't have the same pride in their country. I hope someday they will take pride and understand how lucky we all are! God bless America!

We started off the 3-day weekend by running through the sprinklers. Erik is seriously the most fun dad ever. He's not afraid of acting like a kid again!

I love the sheer joy on her face.

CAREFULLY stepping through the sprinkler.

Troy wasn't too sure about all of it. He's a little hesitant.

Oooh, that's cold!

That night, our old ward had a pot-luck/softball game at Hazen HS. Troy and Jenna always have so much fun together. And who wouldn't want to be around such a cute little girl!!

Nice hit Daddy! I'm especially impressed with my photo-taking abilities while holding Troy. :)

For the 4th, we went over to our "adopted" family BBQ, at the Rigtrups.

Had to throw in the close-up too, since this is my scrapbook, per say.

The smokin' hot ladies cookin' up some delicious grub! Alexis Allen and Stephanie Rigtrup.

Troy was a little out of it. He didn't take an afternoon nap. So he went down to bed early. Poor guy.

Another sleepy baby. Thomas Allen. He and Troy are only 1 month and 2 days apart. They had a blast together! And he is such a little sweetheart.

Having fun on the tramp. Brooklyn really thinks she is so big.

We love Roxy!

Playing duck, duck, goose. Actually, I think Brooklyn was just running around.

There were some sweet fire-works in the neighborhood. Lots of illegal stuff, you know, the GOOD stuff! Kind of scary with all those pine-trees around.

"Cheese!!"

Trying to get a picture with the kiddos. Brooklyn was thrilled.

Yes, I know my fore-head is shiny. This is where Troy and I took in the festivities. Erik woke him up from his peaceful slumber because he didn't want him to miss the fire-works! :)

Brooklyn's very own sparkler! Yes, we're that family who lets their 2 year old hold her own sparkler.

The morning after.