Making grilled cheese

Ha, I walked away for a minute...came back and this is what I find her doing!!!!

Such a good helper!

"I can do it, see??"

"Mama, I will be careful, it is hot!"

Puzzles

She really likes doing puzzles. 

OUCH!

We went to Uncle Shawn's house after her doctor appt. and she slipped and fell on her tailbone in their garage. I felt so bad, she was crying hard!  What a rough week.  The next day I took her to the chiropractor so he could adjust her.  She was a lot better after the adjustment. Thank you, Dr. Brian! 

3 year WELL VISIT

Sunday evening...one.tired.sick.girl!  Poor thing!  She fell asleep and we put her in bed at 6:30 pm, she slept until 7:00 am the next day! 

Pam was watching Brooke on Friday and she took her into the doctor because Brooke had such a bad cough.  She also had a runny nose and fever.  The doctor basically said what we figured she'd say...so it seemed like a waste.  The poor girl is sick...what happened to the old days when you took your kid to the doc- he/she gave you medicine and you felt better in a day or two?!?!? So, Friday evening and Saturday we relaxed, stayed home, cuddled with ladybug blankie, played withToy Story guys, and had lots of soup!  We propped up her bed, ran the humidifier, used lots of chap stick/vaseline for her dry skin and lips, and gave her some Children's Motrin/Tylenol when needed!  Then.....around 3 am on Sunday morning the FUN began!  She was screaming/crying for hours...we could not get her to go back to sleep.  We knew something was wrong, but didn't know what to do.  So, I finally called the on-call doctor around 7 am, and he said he thinks she has an ear infection by the symptoms I was telling him.  So, he prescribed Amoxicillan and wow, it did wonders FAST! Her well-visit was the next day, which was perfect timing since she needed to be checked for sure that her ear was infected.  Sure enough, she took one look and said immediately that it was infected!  So, she will be on an antibiotic for 10 days. 

She even got a gown to wear this time!!!!  She weighs 40-1/2 lbs, and she is 40-1/2 inches tall. She is growing so fast...where has time gone? 

Valentine Roses from a student

Thanks Sterling!  This rose plant is beautiful. 

Family

My parents had taken the kids to a movie and when they were on their way back home they stopped over with Tai and Marin.  We enjoyed our time with them. Brooke gave them a little Valentine surprise!  It was so fun for Brooke....she LOVES her cousins.  Matt and I really miss seeing them.  STUPID brothers!!!!...that's all I am going to say! 

We also celebrated my dad's birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!  We got him a new set of screwdrivers, since the ones he has are ancient!!!!! 

We love you Papa and Tutu!!!!! 

Preschool Valentine's Day

This was a special day for Brooke.  She got to pass out Valentine's (handmade by my mom) to her friends.  She received Valentine's from her friends, too... and she brought them home in a heart holder that she laced yarn through.  So cute.  You know I will definitely be holding onto that one!  And, the flowers were given to Brooke from one of the older students.  Each Elementary student picked a child in the Preschool to give a flower to....so precious. 

Above are the cards my  mom made for Brooke to give her friends. 

                Above are the cards that my mom made for Brooke to give to her teachers and assistants. 

Oxford Academy Preschool

Here are her classmates.Her teacher was Miss Tina, now it is Miss Krista. 

Sonia (top left) and Brooke both moved to the Primary classroom together. 

Brooke is really having a good experience at her preschool.  It was an adjustment when she moved from the Toddler classroom to the Primary classroom full-time in January.  But, she is doing well. She still gets upset at drop-off time in the morning, but once I leave she is fine. She is having some potty accidents lately, not sure what's going on there??  We will keep encouraging her.  
Since I had this week off for my Winter Break and Brooke had school, I scheduled a "parent observation" on Thursday  morning and it was very interesting to watch how the chidren interact and "work" Montessori style!  I noticed Brooke would not stay on one given "work task" for very long.  She moved around a lot, but it seemed to be ok.  The teachers didn't ever tell her "no", she was allowed to make as many choices as she wanted.  She started at the painting area and painted an American flag.  Then, she went and got a rug and unrolled it on the floor.  She went to a shelf and grabbed a triangle puzzle.  She worked on that and couldn't figure it out.  So, Miss Krista sat with her and showed her how to connect the sides of the four little triangles to make one big triangle.  Her expression was priceless when she could do it on her own!  Then, she put the puzzle away, rolled up her rug and put it back in the basket.  Then, she went walking around looking for her next choice.  She stopped to talk to a little boy for a minute and then went onto getting a rug again.  She put it in another area by a shelf and started building with wooden rods.  She put them from thickest to thinnest on her rug.  Then, she added another set of cube-like wooden blocks.  She stacked them on top of the rods. She did that for about 20 minutes, that was the longest stretch of time I saw her work on one thing.  I only observed (through a peephole in the window) about an hour.  I was not able to take any photos because Brooke did not know I was there.   We just received her school composite, so I will add that so you can see her classmates and teachers.

Swim class

Motor Boat, Motor Boat!

The Wheels on the Bus song

Brooke had such a good time in swim class that Daddy signed her up again for another 3 week class.  She is having a blast...sure is getting more and more confident in the water! 

You've got mail....

Special Valentine

This is a card Brooke got from Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter.  Isn't it creative????  She loved it! Happy Valentine's Day to you, too! 

Valentine's Day gift from us

Daddy got her the Toy Story Alien...she was so happy!

Matt and I decided for Valentine's Day this year we would simply spend time together as a family.  TIME is such a wonderful gift and we feel like we don't have very much of it lately, plus it is going way too fast!!!!  We played lots of games together and basically sat on the floor for the evening playing with all the Toy Story characters!!!  Her favorite thing to do if you haven't noticed! ;) 

Macomb Rec Center

She goes to dance class upstairs and then when we walk downstairs to leave she always asks if we can go into the tree house.  There is a play area and she likes to play after dance with her friends. 

Ballerina

Brooke is really enjoying her dance class on Saturday mornings.  We are happy with the class and the teacher...she is doing a good job following directions.  We are very excited about her first recital in June.  Keep Saturday June 11th open on your calendar if you want to join us!  We'd love for you to come. 

God is LOVE

SMILE!

Jesus loves you...

                                                                       and so do I!

Ice cream treat

Delicious! 

For Valentine's Day I took Brooke to Coldstone Creamery and we shared a chocolate brownie ice cream treat. 

Where is Brooke???

She is so  funny about this game...we play it at least twice a day!  She tells us what to say...."mama/daddy - say, Where is Brooke?" Then, we say it and she cracks herself up...wiggles under the blanket and then says, "tickle  me!"

LOVES to jump!!!

Release that ENERGY - She sure has a lot of it! 

Such a sweet smile!

Serious look!

This trampoline is such a wonderful gift for her...Thank you Santa!!!!  She jumps and jumps....perfect for this Michigan winter when we are inside the house all cooped up!