Ah, the ants

I'm kinda feeling guilty because I haven't written in so long. This past weekend has been crazy. Tyler decided he wanted to go somewhere before he starts school again this next week, so last Thursday we loaded up when he got home from work and headed to Show Lo. We had such a good time. He took us around to Springerville, Apline, and Eager. Then and we experienced Snowflake and Taylor. It was so fun to see all the places Tyler used to go with his family every year. Tyler went fishing on Luna Lake (without success unfortunately...well he did catch a crawdad ). By the way, his saga with the bad front tooth is coming to an end, he got his permanent one yesterday. Hooray! I don't have a hillbilly husband anymore!Isn't it beautiful!The weather was so perfect and Brooke just absolutely loved being outside. She did really well consdering she didn't have her own bed and we were in the car the majority of the time. We picked up some roasted Hatch green chiles and some Taylor sweet corn on the way home so we were busy getting all that in the freezer once we got home.

Sunday morning I discovered ants in our kitchen. Last week I found a baby cockroach in the living room. Tyler laughed at me because I had never seen one before and didn't know what it was. I guess they're pretty common here!At that point I was really started to feel like my house was dirty and then the ants came and now I'm convinced I'm a bad housekeeper. I worked for a couple hours Sunday morning and again in the afternoon trying to keep them under control and figure out where they were coming from. That night I was getting lunches ready and there they were AGAIN!! Just when I thought I found the source and killed them off they were back Tuesday morning and then again last night and this morning. I'm certain they are in the walls. We called an exterminator who wanted us to set up a year-long $400 contract (ugh!), so I have been trying little 'home remedies'. Cinnamon so far seems to be working...we'll see though.

Brooke just continues to grow and be sooo fun. I still love to sit in the back seat with her when we're driving. It's just so much easier than having to reach back to give her a toy or bottle or what not. I also get to play with her. Well on our way home from Show Lo Brooke had her silky blanket on her (the one Grandma Steadman made that she absolutely LOVES) and she started to play peek-a-boo with me, pulling it over her face and then dropping it. It is the cutest thing. She also waves bye-bye now and says "ba ba" so that is so fun.

Last week I also had to take the bassinet out of her pack-n-play because she pulled herself up on the side. She is just growing so fast, I'm not quite sure I'm ready for this yet!

All I Want....

It's official! Brooke now has her two front teeth! The left one cut through last week and her right one finally has not cut also. I am constantly amazed by her! It seems she does something new everyday. I had to put the side of the crib up last week because she was starting to pull down the bumper and peer over it. She now no longer likes to sleep on her tummy but will roll to her side. She looks like such a doll when she does that! Her newest favorite thing is Grandma Workman's 'Jumperoo'. She just got it and put Brooke in it yesterday while I was at work. She called the office because she wanted to tell me just how much fun she was having. Of course when they came back and told me she was on the line my heart dropped, but they said that it wasn't an emergency. She just loves to kick her feet and look at the lights....it's too funny!


I just have to write a little bit about my latest hobby/obsession. I have gotten into couponing and it is the greatest thing ever! I love to get great deals and to get things for free or have the store 'pay' me for taking things off their shelves. Tuesdays always seem to be a big day if there is a big sale because it's the last day before the sale changes. So this morning Brooke and I headed off and this is the result of our shopping:

1 gal milk (moo!)
6 frozen meals (great for lunch)
10 4-packs Scott toilet paper (gotta have it!)
1 tube Aquaphor (great instead of baby powder)
2 cases water (can't live without it)
28 cans Gerber baby food (yum!)
4 tubs Gerber puffs (yum! yum!)
3 Air Wick Freshmatic sprayers (make the house smell good!)
2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners (fun job)
4 packages travel Kleenex (good in the diaper bag)
3 Schick razors (no hair here!)
4 Pantene shampoo and conditioner (wash those locks!)
1 Pampers jumbo diapers (couldn't live without them!)
4 Taco Bell tostada shells (guess what's for dinner?)

All in all I paid........................ (drum roll please)......................................................................................
$9.98!!! Plus I have a coupon for a free gallon of milk at Bashas and $2 to spend at CVS. I love it! Here are just a couple of picture of things I have gotten with coupons. It definitely takes time, but I think it's worth it! This is the 40 boxes of cereal I got free (thanks Fry's!)

This is the baby food from Target last week. 80-something jars for $3. Needless to say we don't have any more room for baby food!

These are my deals from CVS when I first started shopping there. I have to say I think it is my favorite store! All this for just under $20. Yeah coupons!

All About Brooke

Brooke is 7 months old today! In honor of her,(and because we spent her 6 month birthday in the hospital) This is a little tribute to her.




This is a picture of Brooke when she was 2 days

old. She was born January 10th, 2007 weighing 8 lb 8 oz and 21 1/4 inches long. She was born with a cyst on her eyeball that looked like a clear bump (which they originally thought was just discharge) that grew until just a few weeks ago when it finally popped. She was also born with a broken right collarbone, which the doctor said does not hurt her and we wouldn't be able to tell unless we knew it was there. We gave her a bottle at 2 weeks and she has been awesome at taking a bottle since then.







This is Brooke at 1 month old. Since the day she was born she tried to pick her head up on her own and just continued to get stronger and stronger. We took a drive up to Grandma and Grandpa Steadman's and she slept pretty much the whole time. We learned not to stop at any Maveriks though...every time we did and I changed her diaper she had a blow out! It was a lot of fun to take pictures of her with her cousin Kyden, who is 4 days younger.














Brooke was blessed on 3/4/07 at 2 months old in a beautiful dress Grandma Steadman made for her. It resembles my wedding dress. At her 2 month check she was 11 lb 1 oz and 22 3/4 inches long. She has slept through the night ever since she was 9 weeks old. She also started rolling from her tummy to her back. We took her for 2 month pictures which turned out so cute, but we weren't able to get her to smile. She just kept that serious face of hers that we love.



















Brooke had her first Easter at 3 months old. When she was in the right mood she would giggle and smile. She also started to hold her own bottle. Brooke has always loved to be around people. If she was in the living room and I was in the kitchen she would fuss until I brought her into the same room as me. She started rolling all over the place. I had to put up the front bumper on her crib so that she wouldn't roll into it and hurt herself. Her hair has just kept getting longer and longer and it curls on top when I put some lotion or gel into it. She saw her first Phoenix Coyotes game and was such a good sport!


















Brooke has a very serious side, as well as a laughing, fun side. She was so good to always let me put a headband on her. At her 4 month check she was 12 lbs 2 oz and 24 3/4" tall. She had her first tears, her first airplane ride to San Diego, her first Mother's Day, and got her first bottom teeth.



























We got to go back and visit Grandma and Grandpa Steadman when Brooke was 5 months old. She had a fun time with Kyden. On our way home she started to make loud cooing noise. She had her first bowl of rice cereal, her first pedicure, and her first weekend away from mom while she was in Chicago for work. With every week that passes Brooke has just gotten to be more and more fun. We bought her a Bumbo (the best thing ever!) and she has enjoyed her little "throne".












At 6 months Brooke had grown to 15 lbs 7 oz and 26 1/4". She seems to laugh all the time and is just a good, happy baby. Everywhere we go people comment on her eyes and how blue they are. She loves to grab my hair and eats it with her thumb in her mouth. She had her first bite of green beans, which she wasn't too fond of at first.
She babbles "mama", "papa", and "baba", and went swimming for the first time. She has been really good at going to sleep when I lay her in the crib at night. While we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Steadman again in Idaho, Brooke was hospitalized overnight for intussusception, but has since fully recovered. Dad took her down the waterslide and she seemed to really like that.






Brooke is now 7 months old. Boy how time flies! She is the joy of our lives and we love her so much! Her favorite song is "5 Little Monkeys", her favorite food continues to be milk, although she likes the cereal also. She loves to take her bath and go swimming, be outside, suck on her left thumb, grab hair and putting it in her mouth with her thumb, the silky blanket Grandma Steadman made her, play "peek-a-boo", and laugh at her mom being silly. She has started drinking from her sippy cup and has cut her top left tooth. She is ticklish under her arms, sides, and on the back of her legs. She saw her first D-backs game (although she wore the Cubs outfit I got in Chicago), and she has started to sit up on her own. While she still looks a lot like her dad, people are starting to say that she looks more and more like her mom.

So, here's to you Brooke! Happy 7 month birthday!

Our little babbler

It seems like the past few weeks Brooke has really started to grow up. We seem to be hitting that "easy" stage where we have our routine down and feedings are easy. Brooke is just such a joy to be around! She has now started to babble and make sounds like 'papa', 'baba', and of course my favorite, 'mama'. Tyler's aunt, uncle and cousins from Canada were down this past week so we spent a lot of time with them and the rest of the family. They brought her down a little Canada onesie that is so cute. Tyler's sister Deena had her baby shower Saturday and that was so much fun. We are so excited for her and can't wait for Brooke to have a cousin!