Happy Thanksgiving!

On this Thanksgiving day, I (Brooke) am so thankful for so many things and feel blessed beyond words...my hope is that all of my family and friends feel the same way about their lives.

So, from our family to yours...HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

(Here are 3 of my biggest blessings...)

Our "Little Boy" is 4!!!

We can barely believe it even though Brenden reminds us daily, that he is now 4 years old! That's right "Just like Hailey!" :) Brenden turned 4 on Friday, November 6th but we had what seemed like a week of festivities to help us celebrate this special occasion.

On Friday (his birthday) We both (Bobby and Brooke) took the day off of work so we could spend the day with Brenden...as he deserved. We both dropped him off at school only to return about an hour later to bring his special birthday snack. We stayed at preschool briefly to watch Brenden and his classmates enjoy the birthday treats and then we left so they could finish out the day. We all picked Brenden up after school and then headed out to South Point for a special haircut and lunch. Brenden could not have been more excited about both. He loved the VERY special haircut but we think he enjoyed the chairs (a car) and the movie (Cars) more than anything else. After the haircut we traveled over to Chick-Fil-A for a yummy lunch and some time on the play space.

That night we went out to dinner to celebrate the special occasion. We let Brenden pick and he of course picked his very favorite "Robins" (aka Red Robins). Brenden had a blast enjoying the fries, gifts from family, and of course the song/attention from the workers! :) It was a GREAT ending to a wonderful day!

On Saturday morning Brenden headed out to Chapel Hill with Bobby to enjoy his very first "Go Heels" football game. This was his big bday gift from us and he was VERY excited about this experience. They took Brenden's buddy Avery and his daddy with them for the festivities. It could not have been a better "gift" for Brenden!!! He enjoyed some tailgating fun both before and after the game and lasted the entire football game even without a nap! Bobby was so proud and loved every second with his big boy! Brenden couldn't stop talking about the game when he got home and for over a week after the event. We are very blessed that this was such a success for Brenden and that he had such a good buddy going with him.

Finally, our last birthday activity was the "Go Heels Tailgating Party" on Saturday, November 14th. We never know what the weather will be like in November but we decided to plan an outdoor party and hope for the best. We were very excited that things worked out so well...beyond what we expected. We had lots of fun "tailgating" games including Brenden's new "Go Heels" Cornhole game (that Papa made him). We also had some yummy tailgating food. Brenden had a blast with it all!!! He loved hanging out with his buddies James, Stephen, and Will. He was so excited to see his Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He absolutely loved spending time outside with his friends and family! It was definitely one of our favorite birthday celebrations so far and we're very appreciative for the huge success that we had from start to finish!

NOW...on to the most fun after so many words....here are the pictures from all of the different celebrations. Brenden could watch this "movie" a million times if we would let him! ;)

Halloween 2009

Our family is definitely a big fan of Halloween. We love the idea of the great fall weather, adorable decorations around our house, dressing up in fun costumes, and spending time with friends and family. Now, we'll be honest in saying that we're not HUGE fans of candy...but we do enjoy that perk of the holiday as well! ;) This Halloween was, yet again, a very exciting, fun, and busy time for our family.

All of the fun actually started on Friday morning. Brenden got to participate in a GREAT costume parade at his school. He and his classmates all wore their costumes that morning and then paraded around the gym for all of the parents to admire and take pictures. Mommy could not attend this year, but luckily Nana and Daddy were both there to wave to Brenden and take these adorable pictures.



























































On Saturday we knew that our day was packed with lots of events, but the weather threw us a little bit of a curve ball. Brenden was supposed to have his last soccer game that morning but the rain gave us the opportunity to enjoy a yummy family breakfast at Cracker Barrel instead. After breakfast we headed out to The Pollard's for Caleb's 1st birthday party. We had such a great time there visiting with friends as we watched all of our kids play together. (We forgot to get the camera out of the van so sorry we didn't get any pictures.)

After the party we all got into our costumes and headed over to The Durham's house for their Halloween party. This year, we decided to all dress up with a Carolina theme.

Brenden was a Carolina football player...

Bryleigh was a Carolina cheerleader...
Mommy was a Carolina fan...

and Daddy was the Carolina football coach, Butch Davis...

The Halloween party was a blast for all 4 of us! They had some great games planned for the kids and some yummy snacks for us all to enjoy. Brenden really enjoyed their "Go Heels" playroom, winning the scavenger hunt, hitting the pinata, and getting to leave the party with one great sucker! :) He wasn't so sure about the haunted room that they had, but maybe he'll do better with that next year! ;)





















After the party we decided to head over to our church's West Club campus to see Nana and Papa, enjoy a few of their festivities, and go trick or treating at a house or two. We were so excited that we successfully completed all of our goals at that visit.

































We finished the evening up fairly early so we were able to head home, eat dinner, and get the kids (and ourselves) to bed at a decent hour. Success from start to finish!!

We still consider Halloween to be great Holiday with our kids but we're definitely eagerly preparing ourselves for Thanksgiving (Bobby's favorite) and Christmas (Brooke's favorite)!!!

Fall Fun

We had a really good time this weekend spending time with the Baber family and enjoying some fun activities outside in the "crisp" fall weather! This morning Brenden had another soccer game and his uncle Greg came in from Charlotte to watch and cheer. Brenden was so excited to have Greg here and cheering for him at his game!

The most noticeable thing about the game was how ridiculously cold it was at 9:00 in the morning. It was extremely windy and all of the fans (and players) were shivering on the sidelines.

Another noticeable thing about the game is that Brenden did an excellent job...yet again. We're surprised at corner he has turned recently with his soccer "skills" and we're proud of the effort that he's beginning to show each week. Below is the picture of him right after he scored a goal. (He was running over to Greg to get a high five.)

Later that evening we headed out to The Hicks' family for a fun cookout with some of their friends. It was still extremely cold outside, but we managed to stay warm by the fires. Here are some of the fun pictures from that night as well.


















We feel so blessed to have such amazing families and the support they offer us daily. We know that we may not see each of them regularly or even often enough, but we still know that they love us and we still consider it an overwhelming blessing to say that they are our family. This weekend was just testimony to that gift in our lives.

Pumpkin Patch with Preschool

Brenden's preschool had their annual field trip to the pumpkin patch on Monday and Brenden was VERY excited about this trip. He could not wait to go and see the farm, feed the animals, and "pick strawberries". Now granted, he may have been a little confused about where we were going, but his excitement was genuine! :)

We rode to the pumpkin patch with Nana, Papa, Hope and Hailey so that was an added bonus to our trip. The morning started out a little bit cloudy and rainy but quickly cleared up becoming a very nice afternoon. Our first adventure when we arrived was to walk through the corn maze to pick out corn and soybeans that we could use to feed the animals. Brenden is ALL boy so he loved this time and Mommy is all girl so she was VERY thankful for Papa who was willing to help and get a little bit dirty.

After exploring the corn maze, it was time to head down to feed all of the animals. Brenden also LOVED this experience and showed that he is a country boy at heart. He loved for the animals to eat right out of his hand and he wanted to pet them all. He asked one of the boys working there if he could pet the rabbits and he said "sure". So, he took Brenden in the cage for Brenden to pet and hold the 2 rabbits that they had. Brenden was in heaven and giggled the whole time.

After the animals we took a (long) hay ride and then picked out our pumpkins to take home. Finally, we were able to go and play with our friends on the playground. At the end of our visit we were able to take some fun pictures to make Mommy smile! (Fact: It is nearly impossible to get 3 babies, 3 four year olds, 1 five year old, and a 7 year old to all look at a camera, sit still, and smile....fun, but impossible!)

It was a GREAT day on Brown's Farm and we had a blast exploring and spending time with our friends. We are very happy with our experience and are thankful for another GREAT field trip. We were all definitely VERY tired on the ride home.....

Facing Forward

As many of you already know, we were a little bummed that when we went for Bryleigh's 1 yr check-up they said she didn't weigh 20lbs. yet. You might not remember off the top of your head why 20 lbs is such a big deal, so we'll give you a picture clue to go along with the title of this blog to see if it helps you remember....

That's right, when a child is 1 year old and 20lbs, they can finally turn around and face the front of the car. Now, we know that a lot of people turn their kiddos around before they are 1 and many turn them around before they are 20 lbs, and that is totally fine. However, we decided to wait a bit longer in our situation just to be safe. The pediatrician told us..."legally, you should not turn her around however you have to think about safety....if she is fussing too much facing the rear then you need to turn her around so you won't wreck trying to keep her entertained." Well, she was mostly fine with facing the rear so we didn't mind leaving well enough alone. That was until about 2 weeks ago and then the fussing really started. Daddy was the first to cave in and he put a front facing car seat in his truck for Bryleigh.

It may be hard to tell here because of the paci but she was SUPER excited about the new view! For a while this has been the special treat about riding in Daddy's truck because she was still facing the rear in Mommy's van. We finally broke down and bought the big girl car seat for the van as well a few weeks ago.

As you can see from this picture, the view is just as great in the van and Bryleigh is just as excited about the change!!!! Mommy, on the other hand, can't believe her baby is old enough to sit-up like such a big girl, face the front of the car, and occasionally watch the movie that is playing. Seriously, where does the time go?????

Labor Day with the Bulls

We decided that any day off of work and home with our kids is definitely a special day. For the most part, we work hard to try to make that day feel special for the 2 of us and for Brenden and Bryleigh as well. We knew that it would be a good idea to spend this labor day holiday at the Durham Bulls ballpark cheering for one of our favorite teams...The Bulls! We went with our friends, The Pollards, and had an amazing time. It was cloudy for most of the game which was fine because it kept things cool and comfortable. The kids enjoyed cheering for The Bulls, eating some yummy snacks, and playing on the Maze throughout our time there. It was definitely a great way to spend our day off work and we're so glad that we were able to squeeze in one last game before Fall officially arrives! Above was a video with some of the pictures from the game....however below, is hands-down, the best picture that was taken all day!

Go Redbirds!!!!

As we've mentioned before, Brenden has officially started his first fall soccer season. He had his first game last week but our camera wasn't working so we were eager to take some pictures this week so everyone can see how handsome he looks in Red! ;)

On his team this season he has some of the same teammates that he played with last year, which was very exciting for him. On top of that, he was SUPER excited that some of his church buddies were also on his team! He is always so eager to see Stephen and James at church or at special events, but now he's VERY excited about getting to hang out with them at the game and practice each week!

This game didn't necessarily provide many opportunities for us to brag about Brenden's soccer skills...however, he did play the entire game, he didn't cry (for the 1st half of the game), and he really seemed to enjoy being outside getting all sweaty running all over the field. We're very proud of that!

Even though he seemed to love all of the events on the field, we're pretty sure that his favorite thing about the game was what was happening off the field. He had the most adorable cheerleaders there pulling for him the entire game and he LOVED every second of it!

It was a great Saturday on the field and we're looking forward to many more Saturdays just like it this season!

Boys Will Be Boys!

Brenden is always very excited to spend some time at Nana and Papa's house each day, but today was extra special for him. When Brenden arrived this morning Papa had a little surprise....

Brenden is definitely all boy because he could not have been more excited about this! Papa had placed it in a jar and Brenden loved carrying it around the house. Nana also reported that he took the jar outside but put it right beside the window so he could watch him some too. When Brenden first saw him he said "Aw, he's so cute. He doesn't want to go outside because he's scared. He's so scared of the thunder Papa." He kept his pet "Grasshopper" for awhile and then released him into the front of the yard. Later that afternoon Brenden found another one on the back deck. They captured this one again, enjoyed him briefly and then let him go in the front so he could "find his brother"! :)Thank you Papa for allowing Brenden to be a boy and for helping him experience the things in life that he enjoys the most!

P.S. No animals were harmed for this blog! All of the animals were captured carefully, cared for lovingly, and released eagerly! :)

Preschool 2009 - 2010

Today was Brenden's first day of preschool for the 2009-2010 school year!

He definitely had mixed emotions about going back to school this year which was very funny to us! He was excited about going to school again, but unsure about missing out on time with Nana and Papa. He said he was happy about getting to see some of his old friends but confused about getting a new teacher. He could not wait to wear his new backpack but was not thrilled AT ALL about putting on tennis shoes! We realized that it was actually very exciting to see him battle all of these different feelings and emotions because that means that our little boy is getting older and is starting to truly process what is happening to him everyday!

He woke up extremely early (go figure) but was happy and ready for his special day. He was also ready to take some pictures in his new outfit and with his new backpack on.

After the photo session at home, he went to Nana and Papa's house for a little while while Mommy ran into work for a meeting. At 8:45 Mommy, Nana, Hailey, and Brenden headed up to Aldersgate to take a few additional pictures. He was so excited to stand beside his cousin and hug on her...Hailey on the other hand, not so excited! ;)

Brenden was about to burst because he was so excited and ready to enter into the school. Once we got inside he was Mr. Independent eager to walk to his class and see his teachers. He walked ahead and went straight to his classroom without any reminders. He loved seeing his picture and name on the wall outside of the classroom and ran right into the room to start playing. After a quick hug and kiss, he was off playing and waving bye from across the room. It was a very different drop-off, but growing up and gaining independence is what every Mommy and Daddy wants for their child, so we're excited about the "Big Boy" drop-off today!

When Daddy went to pick Brenden up from school, his teachers were eager to report that he had a GREAT day! They were pleased with how well he did and he was in an extremely chipper mood! After a quick picture with his Best Buddy, Avery, he was ready to head out with Daddy! Still smiling from ear to ear and telling lots of great stories about the events throughout the morning.

At dinner tonight we talked about Brenden's first day and we're still excited about how well things went! Bug has nothing but great things to say about school (so far) and he didn't seem to mind his tennis shoes much at all. :) We're very proud of him and the growth that he has made over the past year. More than that, we're just VERY happy and blessed that we get to see this face at the end of each day at our house....school or no school....