Leslie's ready to have a baby . . .

Today is the baby's due date and Leslie is ready to go!  Her mom arrived yesterday so we even have the help here too!  Leslie and I went to a doctor appointment today and it went well.

Here are some fun pictures of Leslie since we haven't been taking many this pregnancy.

 

Some Updates

We've been having a pretty fun summer! We'll have to do a few more posts this week about some of our adventures!

Brooke and I have fun playing together everyday. She does some pretty funny things sometimes. The other day, she was putting all of her animals (and Dolly, of course) down for naps in her crib. She took them one by one and shoved them through the slats in her crib. When I took her to bed that night, I had to pull half a dozen animals (and Dolly, of course) out of her crib. It was so funny!

The other night, an older couple in our ward had us over for dinner. They had a bunch of toys that Brooke found thrilling. She pulled out a broom and started "sweeping" their kitchen floor. I found it adorable.

Brooke has a little friend, Lucy, that we have come play with us sometimes. The little girls love to play with each other. They were being so cute and funny the other day, chasing each other around the house and screaming. During lunch, they had a fit of giggles for, like, 5 minutes, just looking at each other and laughing. I think they were making silly noises with their lips. I was cracking up!

Brooke has been eating more veggies lately, of her own free will and volition! I've been trying to have a wider variety of things for her to eat for each meal, and I think that helps for some reason. So, for her lunch, I could do some tofu, green beans, rice, soy yogurt, and tomatoes, and she'll clean her plate up pretty well, without too much prompting from me. Even the veggies! I'm sure not everyday will be like that, but this week, at least the last part of this week, has been pretty good!

She's also been really into her blocks the past few days. When we play upstairs, she likes to use the old linking blocks that Mom gave her and build things. She did an airplane, a train and a crane. None of them really looked like what she was building, of course. But I'm glad she's being creative and using her imagination. And she's getting pretty good at putting those blocks together.

I am 33 weeks along now, and feeling quite big. I'm not swollen yet, though, which is a good thing. I'm getting more excited and more anxious, the further along I get. I'm getting really excited to meet our new little girl!

Having fun with Lucy

She loves wearing Mamma's shoes

Brooke found Dadda's goggles yesterday :)

Looking so pretty in her Sunday dress

The other day, Brooke was having grapes with her lunch. She gobbled up the grapes before anything else on her plate, and was just left with the vine, which she just put on the table while she kept eating her lunch. After a little while, she looked at that grapevine, said, "Airplane!", and proceeded to pick it up and zoom it on the table and through the air making airplane noises. It was so funny and cute!

A couple weeks ago, I made a little purse for Brooke out of scrap material I had. Brooke had one of my purses and she was loving putting toys and books in it and carrying it around. But it was kind of big for her to carry around, and with all that stuff in it, it was pretty heavy. So I decided to make her her own, a smaller one that she could carry around. I think she really likes it. :)

Brooke with her new little purse. She loves it!

Brooke's new stroller, her favorite new toy

Brooke loves to help mamma make dinner. I wonder why ...

I think Brooke is quickly moving into toddlerhood. She's been screaming for attention more and throwing a few more tantrums than is usual. Plus, she has started throwing little tantrums at church in Sacrament meeting. People have begun to notice. :)

I got fresh blueberries at Sprouts when we went out shopping. They are FINALLY cheap! Last summer, Brooke couldn't get enough blueberries (and neither could I) when the price on them dropped and I could actually buy some. We bought box after box. And I've been waiting all summer for prices to drop so we could go Blueberry crazy, and they finally have! Hooray! But this summer, Brooke is talking a WHOLE lot more, and she says the word "blueberry" "blucies". It's so cute! I can't get over it.

Daniel and I went to the temple to do a session. I was getting ready, putting on my boots (so Brooke put on her boots) and putting on my belt (so Brooke put on her belt). Cute girl!

Picture of the day for Daniel: she found his fig newton stash.

Watching Brooke play is sometimes very entertaining.

Brooke, in her cute little swimsuit.

Little buddies: Brooke and Lucy.

A Rare Date Night

Daniel and I had a fun date about a month ago. We decided that we needed to do something from our "Fun Things To-do" list.

We had a babysittter come watch Brooke in the early evening. Daniel and I drove out to LA, to go to the Ghetty Museum, stopping once along the way to get a little dinner at Chipotle. Their veggie bowls are DELISH!

Saturdays at the Ghetty are pretty busy after 5pm. Parking is cheaper than usual and they normally have a band or some kind of party going on Saturday nights. We just wanted to go explore the place and see the art exhibits and such. We weren't really interested in the party; in fact, Daniel commented to me that he could do without the loud music. :)

It was fun to see the art, though, and to walk around the gardens. It's really a beautiful place, and it's on a hill overlooking the city, so it has a great view. We've been there twice, and we've only seen half of what there is to see. It looks like we'll have to go back a few more times. :) It would be fun to take Brooke for a picnic there. A lot of families were there sitting on blankets out on the lawn near the gardens. I thought Brooke would really enjoy being around so many people and all that was going on there.

Beautiful view of the city. It was so clear last night!

We really like each other. And we don't go on very many dates, so it was fun to get out and be together.

4th of July

We took a little trip up to the bay area for the 4th of July to see Michael and Michelle and their boys. We left on the 4th, in the morning, and got there some time in the afternoon, just in time to go to a little swim party/bbq with them. And that night Daniel, Michael and Damon went to a fireworks show.

It was a pretty chill weekend with them. We went to the park Saturday morning to play. In the afternoon, the boys (all except Brixton) went golfing, and Michelle and I went to do some fun things nearby. We watched the boys hit a few balls at the driving range (it was Daniel's first time ever golfing, so Michael had to teach him how to do it, and he had to get a little practice in) and T off, had a fun little train ride and went on the merry-go-round a couple times before going to get some dinner and putting the littles to bed.

We went to church on Sunday, of course, and then just hung out and played games that afternoon/evening. Daniel, Brooke and I took some time that afternoon to go see one of my good college friends, Madi, who lives near where they do. And it was so lovely to see her. :)

We left Monday morning for a long trip back. We had an awesome time with them, though!

On the train! They're so cute!

Brooke loved riding the deer on the Merry-Go-Round

Brixton was so good to help Brooke around his favorite park. Good cousin!

I think they had fun hanging out together all day. :)

Cruise!

Daniel, Brooke and I took a cruise with my parents back at the end of May. We did a little short cruise from LA to Mexico for 4 days ... well, 3 full days and 4 nights. We had fun! Brooke was sick for the first part. She threw up about an hour after we boarded, not from sea-sickness but from an actual sickness. She had a fever on and off for the next 24+ hours. But that didn't stop her, or us! She was a good sport about everything.

There's our sweet ride!

Apparently we couldn't go on a cruise without some cool hats. So Mom bought a couple for us!

The ship took off in the evening of the first day, Monday. The next day we were anchored just off of Catalina Island. We explored a bit and walked around the island. But Brooke was still pretty mellow and tired, so my Mom and I took her back to the ship for a nap while my Dad and Daniel went on a little snorkeling adventure.

Brooke was fascinated with the seagulls that liked to land on the ship.

Day 1: Catalina Island

This was by far the cutest towel animal they did. We also had a dog, a bear and some other unrecognizable animal.

The 3rd day we were in Ensenada, Mexico. Not the most beautiful part of Mexico I've seen, but still pretty fun. We drove out to the big attraction, La Bufadora, a blowhole. It was not as exciting as people made it out to be; but there was about a quarter of a mile stretch of road that we walked down that was lined with little stands and shops. The people were selling everything: food, treats, clothes, souvenirs, ... And we spent our share of money. :)

We also took a little horse-drawn tour of the city. Brooke liked to see the horse, but she didn't love touching or riding it.

The little shops on the walk down to La Bufadora

Also, we got to play with a lion cub! It was pretty cool.

At La Bufadora

A little Mexican snack for Daniel. :)

Brookie and Grampa

After our excursion, we stopped at a little restaurant for some real Mexican tacos, which were delicious. And my parents paid a Mariachi band $5 to sing and play us a little song.

Our last day was at sea. We just hung out on the ship, played games together, did some mini golf, napped, hung out at the pool, etc. We had a fun time!

Living life . . .

We are having a nice summer.  Other than looking forward to having a baby girl in October, nothing too exciting has been happening.  We are just enjoying our summer by hanging out as a family and going to the pool.

A few weeks ago we went to feed ducks at a local pond . . .

 Brooke is getting very good at all her animal sounds.  Instead of saying quack though, she says "cack, cack, cack".

 Brooke just being cute!

 Stephanie Mitchell made this great robe for Brooke a while back.  Doesn't she look cute!

Our baby is a . . .

Due October 2014

 Leslie is looking great!!

What a babe!

 Leslie came home from church today looking so cute, so I decided I had to take a picture.

Baby bump: 21 Weeks

Brooke's hair has been a bit scraggly lately so Leslie took the matter into her own hands and gave her a haircut . . . (her hair was done by me today so don't judge).

 

Looking forward to another girl in the house!