ok, ok already

Sorry for the gap in blogging but i got a little sick of reading peoples blogs and them trying to portray the life they want everyone to think they live instead of they life they really live. But because of the requests here is a update on Our life. For some reason it wont let me upload pictures and i don't have much time before she wakes up so you get the condensed version.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn has started preschool. She attends a Montessori school just walking distance from the animal hospital I am working at again. She goes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. She starts ant 7:45 and Steve picks her up at 3:00 two days a week and i pick her up the other at 5:00. Brooklyn LOVES school! We have only had 3 days of crying when I go to leave. She loves painting, "working" and most of all going on the blue swing.The third day of school a boy woke up form his nap crying and before the teacher could walk over to him Brooklyn sprung from her bed and went and hugged him and started rubbing his back. The teacher says she shares better than any other child in the class. Her only problem is sharing the blue swing. There has definitely been a change in Brooklyn self confidence and separation anxiety with me. I find myself now chasing after her in public places instead of peeling her from my leg.

Brooklyn's speech just exploded. It started a few weeks before school started and school has helped kick it into over drive. She amazes me now with whats on her mind, now that she is finally able to tell me what she is thinking about. My favorite sentence that comes from her mouth is this..."mommy love you moon back" It melts my heart.

Brooklyn is still doing wonderfully with using the big girl potty. She has had 3 accidents at school, but has not had one at home in over 4 months. She is only wearing a diaper at night. She uses the little potty 1/2 the time and the other 1/2 her grabs her stool and climbs on the "big pee pee potty." I NEVER have to remind her and she is getting better at telling me when we are out in public way before it becomes a mad dash for the restroom.

Brooklyn is obsessed with Christmas. It has been so much fun this year seeing the magic of Christmas in her eyes. We saw Santa at the mall and she skipped right up to him and climbed on his lap and asked for Cinderella. Our Church had a Christmas dinner for the children and she got to see Santa again and this time he handed her a present which of course was Cinderella...she couldn't believe it.

Brooklyn is still enjoying tumbling class. She does a perfect somersault and is slowly perfecting her back flip. She excels at the bars, her upper body strength is down right amazing.

We still take frequent trips to Disneyland with Jackson. Her favorite rides are the tea cups, dumbo, carousal, jungle cruise, nemo and most of all the parades.

Me

I am enjoying my time back at the animal hospital. It feels good to be using my brain again. I didn't miss the drama that comes along with working closely with women.

I am preparing to move out the first of the year. I have been checking out areas and apartments, I am so excited to have my own space again.

I am still working at the wedding facility and loving every second there. It has slowed down to only one night a weekend, which is nice to have more time to spend with Brooklyn.

I started jogging a couple nights a week. It feels good to exercising again.

so yesterday...

I was in the bathroom getting ready for work when Brooklyn comes in and hugs my leg. I bent down and told her that I was going to go to work and that she gets to stay with her Aunt T (thinking she is sad that i am getting ready to leave). With a huge smile on her face she walked away into my room. She then returns with a work dress from my closet and hands it to me. She couldnt get me out of the door quick enough...

More signs that Fall is here!

We went to Disneyland last night for dinner and to watch the parade and they are almost done decorating for Halloween! It was beautiful. They have changed out all their flower beds that were full of pinks, blues and purples and have replaced them with all shades of oranges, reds and browns! They have hung orange flags all down main street and have these cute little mickey jack-o-lanterns. When we go next week it will be done and I will get some good pictures.






It may seem excessive to go to Disneyland once a week, but I cant help myself. I packed our dinner so the only expense was a powerade I bought for 3.50. We rode on autopia, ate dinner while watching the jedi training in tomorrowland, rode the tea cups, dumbo, carousal and watched the parade. Before we left we finally went on the new nemo submarine ride which I have not been on. It brought back a lot of childhood memories of riding the old submarines because it still has a lot of the same features. We didn't get home until 9:00 and my little sunshine was still up at 6:30, needless to say I am a little tired. I think today will be a lazy day.

My friend

Everyday I'm reminded what amazing friends I have. Yesterday I get a call from my most beautiful friend, Laura. She wanted to take Brooklyn and I to feed the ducks with crusts and leftover bread she had been saving for weeks just for this special occasion. We picked her up and the first thing she does is pull out a hello kitty doll (Brooklyn LOVES kitties) and gave it to Brooklyn. Off we went to the "duck" park, not knowing what we were getting into. We pull up and three ducks had already made their way to our car even before we were able to get out. By the time we were 15 feet away from the car we were completely surrounded by at least 60 ducks. We couldn't get the bread out of the bag fast enough. Most children in this situation would be terrified but Brooklyn was so excited. She did such a great job feeding the ducks until they got overly confidant and stated biting her finger.

















After being ran over and pecked to death by the ducks we played on the jungle gym for awhile. Here Laura is a newlywed, with her husband at home and yet instead she takes the time to enjoy a duck feeding, sliding and swinging afternoon with her mommy friend. Brooklyn than had to pee and refused to go in disgusting port-a-potty so we left. We stopped for lunch and Laura with her demanding and pushy personality paid for taco bell. We ate lunch and then she gave Brooklyn a princess toy basket to keep all her "gagh" toys together. She fed my child 2 "pop pops", which were dripped on her floor, rug and chairs. Brooklyn than continued to hit her flat screen tv, dump out her piggy bank, pull all her blankets off the chairs and couches and interrupt our chatting conversations, and Laura seem to not even be bothered. I am so grateful to have such an amazing friend who always has time to listen, lend advice when needed, finds humor in times of sadness, has a wealth full of knowledge, accepts and even seem to enjoy my quirky and sometimes difficult personality (probably because she sees the same qualities in herself)and pushes me to be the best person I can be. I am everyday grateful for the friendship we have created.

Bringing in the Fall

I cant wait for fall weather. It is by far my favorite time of the year. I am so excited to say goodbye to summer and start decorating the house with orange, red and brown leaves, pumkins and squashes and ghosts and witches. I had a Sunday off and heard Irvine park had just decorated for Fall...i couldn't resist. We rode the ponies, took a tour on the train, strolled through the pumkin patch, played on the paddle boats and enjoyed the beautiful 78 degree weather.

a disney afternoon

Tara an I decided to take a quick trip to Disneyland today. We ate lunch, got Brooklyn's face painted, rode the tea cups for the first time, watched the Princess show, listened to Cinderella's story time, rode dumbo, Snow white and the carousal, bought Brooklyn a doll the one side is Cinderella and when you flip it over it turns into Belle and then finally called it a day!

art

Brooklyn has taken more interest in art and drawing lately. She gets the paper puts it in her place at the table and grabs either the marker or crayons and sits down and colors. I have told her that only one marker can have its lid off at a time and she has been so good at following these rules. She always puts a lid on before is takes off another. She will draw something and then when i ask she will tell me what it is. You can tell she is not just scribbling but rather drawing an image she has seen before. Also she loves coloring over things. I will draw a bee and she will only color over the bee. It has been fascinating for me to see this development in her. The sweetest part is that she knows who she is drawing it for and knows exactly where they should put it. Here is a picture she drew for Jayden that she put behind Jayden's bowl, a picture for Jaja that her had to stand up on his desk, one for the fridge and one for her self in her room. Enjoy her masterpieces!

Sunday mornings

It is easy to stay at home on Sunday mornings and stay in your PJs and take it easy but Steve and I have dedicated Sunday mornings to getting out early and exploring the world. Steve bought Brooklyn a nice new back pack and she love riding in it. We have been going for couple hour hikes through the wetlands the past few Sundays.

Like we are not busy enough...

I love to keep Brooklyn busy and active. I want her to experience all that life has to offer. Today we started tumbling. I pictured a small room with a couple mats and a trampoline and boy was i wrong. This is a HUGE building with every gymnastics equipment you could imagine. There are 5 boys and 1 girl in our class and they all seemed to be around two-three years old. Some had been doing the class for a couple months and a few for a year. Once I saw the place and the equipment we were going to use i didn't expect Brooklyn to interact much but at least to observe. There was No observing it all doing for Brooklyn. She jumped right in a participated through the whole class. I have to admit I always think Brooklyn is the "best in the class" but this time i am right. This is her element. We had so much fun I think i might increase to two days per week. I also got a good work out. I havent sweat that much in a while. I cant wait for next friday!!!!

disney playdate

We had a long over due play date with Lisa and Jackson yesterday at Disneyland. I cant believe how much Jackson grows and changes from one play date to the next. He is such a happy little boy and filled with tons of energy.Brooklyn and Jackson get along so well and they totally enjoyed each others company. First we saw minnie

Next we went on the carousal.
























Then dumbo






























Of course we couldn't miss the Princess Ball. Brooklyn got to walk with Belle and Jackson rocked at the may pole.





















We saw pluto






















Played in Toontown




















We also watched both parades and completely pooped ourselves out! We cant wait to do it again next week!

our special time

I was in a picture taking mood yesterday and decided to capture our special time on camera. As part of our bedtime routine Brooklyn lays with me in my bed before she goes into hers. We cuddle, kiss, talk, sing, read, pray and sometimes just lay in silence. These pictures of me are terrible but I think they capture our feelings of peace, contentment and love.