Yum...Yum...

As you can see in the picture, Brock loved eating corn on the cob tonight. This is the first time that we have given him corn that was not cut off of the cob. I think that he liked playing with it more than he did eating it : )

On another note, he is recovering great from his little surgery (see post below). His face was really swollen on Saturday but today it has gone down a lot. He has just played his little heart out and it has not bothered him at all. He should be back to normal in a few weeks.

This afternoon we finally got to meet Abby, Heth & Cindy's little girl (see their blog link on the side bar). She is just a little ray of sunshine. He just smiled and had a great time the whole time they were here. Here is a picture of Abby & Brock playing in the floor.

Brock's 2nd Surgery

This morning Brock had his second laser surgery on his face. For those of you who don't know, Brock has a birthmark on the left side of his face. It is called a Port-wine stain. These are the types of birthmarks that get darker and bumpy as you get older. We're having laser surgeries performed in hopes that the birthmark will clear up and he won't have any issues in the future. They put him to sleep for the procedure and then take a laser to his face. The laser goes a circle at a time and is trained to zap the color red. The red is blood vessels and the Dr. is tyring to destroy those vessels. Brock did great for the surgery, he was cranky right after the procedure, but otherwise was a trooper, Brock says "pain don't hurt". That's a reference to his favorite movie which is Roadhouse. After the surgery he has bright red circles on his cheek and his cheek is very swollen. The swelling should go down in a few days and the red circles take a couple of weeks to disappear. After the surgery we took him to Krispy Kreme and to The Varsity. He enjoyed his donut and cheeseburger, we're trying to get him over 24lbs before his second birthday. (Posted by Brad)

Brock in his little hospital gown before surgery.

Picture of his birthmark before surgery.

Picture of his face after surgery.

As you can see it does not bother him at all. He played all afternoon. How do you like his new gloves?? (too funny!)

Little Stinker

Yesterday I was trying to clean house. It is a much harder task when you have a shadow (aka Brock). I have to get him entertained with something and run and clean one room. Cleaning house used to take me about 2 hours now it is an all day chore. I had left him playing in his room and I ran to clean his bathroom. He was being really quite so I went to check on him and this was what I found....

Brock had gotten into his dresser and pulled out all his Diaper Doubles. Not just one pack but two packs of them. (If you are wondering, he has to wear them at night because he overloads a regular diaper.). At some point you just have to laugh, right??

Well, today I was trying to get ready because I have to leave to teach in a few hours. I always leave Brock in the bathroom while I am getting a shower so that he does not roam all over the house. He usually plays really good but today this is what he decided to do....

Yes, he got into the closet and pulled out all of my shoes! It was a disaster and he was so proud of himself. You can't get mad at the little fellow so you just have to laugh (hoping that he does not do it again). For those of you experienced parents, is this a phase or should I plan on picking up a mess every time that I turn around (more of a mess than I usually clean)?

Most days he is good and plays his little heart out. Here is him riding his little truck which entertains him for about 3 minutes, but that's good for a 19 month old!

Happy Birthday Pop!

Today is my dad's birthday (we want mention the age :)) Brock calls him "Pop". We just wanted to wish him a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The Big 3-0

Happy 30th Birthday Brad!!!!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Brad (dad),
Happy Birthday to you!

We hope that you have a great day!!
Love, Brooke & Brock

Las Vegas

This past weekend, Brad and I enjoyed a trip to Las Vegas with my two best friends, Kim & Molly and their husbands, Reese & Jason. It was tons of fun!!! We spent most of the time going in and out of all the hotels and looking at all the nice lobbies and casinos. It is just amazing at how nice some of these are. The first night we went to a Comedy Show and it was pretty funny. The second night we went to see the show LOVE by Cirque de Soleil. It was really good and something that you should see if you have never been to one of their shows. The last night we went to Downtown Las Vegas and toured around. The night life is certainly entertaining and I do not think that most people go to bed (but since we are all getting older, we had to have some sleep). On Saturday, we rented a car and drove to the Hoover Dam. It was something to see! I am not really into sightseeing but it was neat. We had a great time and it was really good to spend time with friends. If you have never been to Las Vegas it is something that you should do. There are many things that you have to ignore but it is really fun. I do not suggest taking your children :), but it is a nice long-weekend adventure. Thanks to my parents for keeping Brock so that we could go. Here are some pics from the trip. Enjoy!!

M & M World (look at all the colors!)

In front of the New York New York Hotel & Casino

Reese, Kim, Jason, Molly, Brooke & Brad

Molly, Brooke & Kim at the Hoover Dam

The famous Las Vegas sign

What Happens in Vegas.....

Brad and I are off to Las Vegas tomorrow morning until Sunday. We are sooooo excited! We are going with my two best friends and their husbands; Molly, Jason, Kim & Reese. We have been planning this trip for some time now and it is finally here. When we return I will post some pics and give you a report on the fun times that we had.

On another note, I had to leave Brock today for four nights....yes, FOUR nights. I am so sad! This is the first time that we have left him this long. It is a much needed trip but it is sad to know that we will not see the little man until Sunday. I know that he is in great hands with Pop, Dee, Granna, and Granddaddy Greg. I know that he will get spoiled and that next week will be tough getting him back on schedule, but that's okay. He deserves a fun weekend too!

Girlie Wisdom

Someone sent this to me in an email and I thought that it was good enough to share. I hope that it puts a smile on your face! Have a great day!

Girlie Wisdom!

Women over 50 don't have babies because they would put them down and forget where they left them.

A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but doesn't really care.

One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.

My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.

The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.

The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.

Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.

Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.

I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my knicker's.

Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!

Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' ......Now I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!

The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing and then they marry him.

I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day!

LIVE SIMPLY.....LAUGH OFTEN....LOVE DEEPLY

New Shoes

On Friday, Brock got a new pair of shoes from Granna. He tried them on in the store and did not want to take them off....this was what I was afraid of. You see, these are not shoes that Brock can wear everyday but I am sure that he will want to. They are made for rainy days...they are rain boots. He loves them! When we got home he wanted to put them on and play outside. Below are some pics of him in his new shoes. If you see him out in public with these shoes on, you know that he pitched a fit to wear them and I just gave in :-).

Little Prep

I just could not resist taking a picture of Brock yesterday. To me, he looked just like a miniature fraternity boy at Auburn. So now we are trying to decide if he is going to be a janitor (read post below) or a Frat Boy ;) Who knows?? Anyway, Brad had to get Brock those little Sperrys at the beach so that he would have shoes likes his dad. Brock could not leave the house without the sunglasses and I just love his little seersucker shorts. So when we put it all together....we get a little preppy toddler.

Future Custodial Engineer???

We all dream about what we want to do when we grow up. Most kids would say that they want to be a lawyer, doctor or teacher. Well, I believe that all Brock wants to be is a janitor or for a more technical term, custodial engineer. He loves to clean! Every time that he is eating, he wants a napkin to wipe off that table. When we are finished eating, he wants you to get the "boom" which is a broom to sweep up his crumbs. He loves to pick things up and throw them in the trash. He loves to take a kleenex and wipe down the tub. I could go on and on. This is so funny to me. I know that when the days start for him to do chores and pick up his room, his love for cleaning will stop. However, for now it is so funny to watch him and I appreciate his help.

Back to Work

Today I started back to work at West Central. Summer Quarter started today and will last for 10 weeks. It was nice to have a couple of weeks off but it is also nice to get back to teaching. This quarter I am not only teaching a night class like I usually do but I am also teaching an afternoon class and tutoring. This meant that I had to find a babysitter for Brock on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A girl that works at the gym nursery that we go to is keeping him. Her name is Jessica and Brock really likes her so it was not hard to leave him (and it was only for a couple of hours). This is a milestone for us since this is the first time that Brock has really stayed with anyone except family. She said that he did great. She said that he even took her by the hand and walked her into his room and said "nap". So she laid him in his crib and we went right to sleep. This is great! I hope that things will continue to go well for the next 1o weeks and maybe into the next quarter.

4th of July

On Friday we went to my dad's house on Lake Weiss to celebrate the 4th. We had a great time. Brock loves to pretend that he is driving the boat. He also likes to swing on the dock. He played outside all day and was worn out last night. We hope that everyone had a great 4th of July and we are truly blessed to live in America!!

Fireworks

Tonight we went to the Fireworks show here in Villa Rica. This is the first time that Brock has been to see fireworks and he loved it! He kept saying "ooh" and "ahh". It was so funny. We met up with a couple from our Life Group and Brock played with their little girl. It was a fun time! Happy 4th!!!

Brock enjoying his water before the fireworks show.

Pic of the fireworks

18 Month Update

Today we went for Brock's 18 month check-up. He turned 18 months on June 21 so we are a week late going to the doctor. So far, doctor's visits have been good for us. He has only been once for being sick so all of our visits have mainly been wellness checks. We are so happy that he has been such a well baby or now toddler. The doctor's office has a new train track with a train circling the room. Brock loved this....until he had to leave and go to the exam room. This is the first fit that he pitched. Once he got settled down, he was measured and weighed. He weighed 23 pounds 9 ounces (20%) and was 32.25 inches long (50%). The doctor checked him out and said that everything was great. She asked was he saying at least 10 words, running, trying to put on clothes and obeying commands. We said yes (obeying commands for the most part). He then had to get dressed and get ready for shots. This would be the second fit that he threw. The doctor said that is was normal for him to act like that. She said that it would last about 8 more months and said that he was starting the "terrible twos". On my, I do not know how I will survive. If you have suggestions, please comment and let me know. Otherwise, we are truly blessed to have a healthy boy!!!