THE BOSS

While living in Irvine has its down falls, like everything closing at 10pm, it also has it's perks. One of them being the concerts in the park. Well, this passed Sunday, the 24th, they had none other than the Springsteen Tribute Band themselves. We packed up a bottle of wine for mommy, crackers and strawberries, some beer for daddy, snapple for Carlie and Josh and of course a bottle of booby milk for Brooke. The park was packed, but luckily it was outside, so there was plenty of room to layout our blankets. We went with our neighbors, Jamie, Todd, Hailey and Travis and of course April, Maddy and Camryn. The girls kicked around the soccer ball for a while and the boys ran around and acted like boys. Brooke actually slept for part of it, which was hard to believe considering how loud it was. The tribute band was actually very good. Pretty much sounded like the boss himself. We are already looking forward to the next concert.

1st pro pics for Brooke

Last week, Carlie and i mustered up the energy and packed up Brooke and headed to Kiddie Kandids at the Spectrum for her official six week pictures. She did great and we got some really cute shots.....naturally....when you are working with a cute subject! See for yourself!

Josh's Mud Run

On Saturday, August 23rd, Josh competed in the 1st annual Irvine Mud Run. Check in was at 9am and they had warm ups at 9:30, which basically entailed giving all the kids a run down on the course. The raced in age groups, so Josh's group didn't race until noon. They had Jamba Juice and Sprouts there. The Irvine Fire Department was there to hose off the kids after they raced. They also had some of the San Diego Marine Core helping the kids through the course. The event was ran by Kids Klub, which is the day care Josh used to go to, so it was pretty cool that they all new his name and cheered him on. The whole course was about 3/4 of a mile. They had to go through bouncy slides, put their forehead on a bat and spin around, hool-a-hoop, crawl through sand, run across a bridge, hop in a potato sack, pop a water balloon, go down a water slide and of course, run through mud. From the beginning of the race, Josh kicked butt and pulled of FIRST PLACE! WAY TO GO JOSH!! He also won a raffle which was an LRG hat and a gift cert to Wahoo's. Here are some pics, enjoy!

One month old..

Carlie and I had a fun time trying to get Brooke to pose for her one month picture. She kept falling over or moving or crying, but we managed to get a couple of good shots...

Carlie's 13th bday

On Carlie's actual birthday, August 8th, we had family come over to celebrate the big day. At her request, we had chinese food for dinner and a yummy ice cream cake for dessert. The next day, was her party with her friends (this year Carlie wanted family and friends on a different day). She wanted to go to the beach and have pizza and smores. We surprised Carlie and had the Vestal bus pick everyone up! She was stoked! Mark went to the beach earlier in the day to try and reserve some pits, but unfortunately, all the pits at the beach were taken, so we had to do the smores at home. But the kids all went in the water..CRAZY...and has pizza on the beach. They ended up back in the bus, just because it was super cool!

Josh's first day of 5th grade!

On July 23rd, Josh officially became a 5th grader. He has a male teacher this year, Mr. McNatt. We are looking forward to a great year.

Brooke's and Mommy's six week check up

On August 14th, Brooke and I had our six week check up. Brooke's was first. Poor baby had her shots...5 of them! She let out a silent scream and turned beat red. She never got a fever, thank goodness, and ended up sleeping most of the day. She weighed 11 lbs 4 oz and was 22 1/4 inches long. She was 90% in weight and 75% in height. My checkup went well also. Everything is back where it should be, except my belly of course. :-( The doctor said to start walking 3-4 miles a day, 3-4 times a week. Pfft! I think he forgot who he was talking to.

First NASCAR Sunday with daddy...

Brooke's first of many NASCAR sundays with daddy. She even has her own driver picked already. It is Kyle Bush. Daddy said it is the perfect driver for her because he drives the M&M car and it is very colorful for her to see!

Brooke's first trip to the beach

For Carlie's bday, I intended on getting a babysitter for Brooke since we were going to the beach, however, at the last minute, we decided to take her with us. After all, the beach is one of daddy's favorite places. It got really cold and quick, but luckily, we had the Baby Bjorn, so I kept her in it and she stayed nice and snuggly and warm.

Brooke's first REAL bath

Finally, Brooke got her real bath. Again, it took her a few times to get used to it, but now she loves it. She just realized that she can splash with her feet and gets excited when she does. She did pee in her bath once and we had to drain it and start over. Well, I should say, once that I know of. I also had the pleasure of getting pee'd on while waiting for daddy to finish getting the tub ready, but I am sure that was the first of many.

Mark's first diaper change!

Here is Mark's first diaper change. He was a little nervous at first....lucky for him, there is always grandmas, aunts or friends around that wanted to change her diaper. So, he got off lucky for a while...but not for long. However, now, he is an absolute PRO!

Brooke's first mini bath

Next we have Brooke's first mini-bath. I say mini because Auntie Stacie let us borrow a cute little bath tub to use while they still have their umbilical scab. It is very shallow, but its a lot better than a sponge bath. It took her a couple of times to get used to it.

Brooke's first walk!

Next we have Brookes first walk. She did so-so. She didn't quite make it as far as Lucy, so I had to turn around and take her back. But that's okay...she is just trying to get used to her new world.

Catching up!!

Okay, so sorry it's been a while, but I have had a little one attached to me 24/7 lately...not that I am complaining! :-)

So, here we go....
Here is Brooke's first doctors appointment. It was one week after she was born. She left the hospital weighing 7 lbs 9oz and one week later, at this appointment, she was back up to 7 lbs 13 oz. Only 2 oz shy of her birth weight.