Kathleen & Matt's Wedding Weekend

Mid-October brought the wedding of Aunt Kathleen!!! Kathleen and her fiance Matt were married in Sea Island, Georgia. It was a beautiful event. We headed down on Wednesday to enjoy the long celebratory weekend with the family. Here is Brooke and Dad during a layover in the Baltimore airport.
Dad and Brooke enjoying some snuggle time on the balcony.

Kathleen, Brooke and Scott on the cocktail cruise.

Brooke and Dad at the rehearsal dinner. (Brooke kept running away across the golf course...)

Congratulations Kathleen and Matt!

Best Wishes for a Lifetime of Happiness!

Pumpkin Patch

One sunny Sunday, we treked to the local pumpkin patch/farm, which also had other fun animals and things/foods to buy. While it was a bit crowded (which was surprising as the Steelers were about to play in 30 minutes), we found some pumpkins, checked out the rides and other "events" for future years' visits, and were on our way.

"Brooke, we're here to pick our pumpkins. Do you see one you like?""Dad, these will work."

"Mom, I think I can dance on them."
"This big dog has a funny nose!"

"No, Brooke, this is a horse -- they're just as great as dogs!"

Brooke positions her pumpkins on the front steps. One for Dad, one for Mom, one for her.

First Official Haircut

In preparation for Kathleen and Matt's wedding, and just because I think it was finally time, Brooke received her first official haircut. We found a hairsalon that offered children services, including a great aquarium for them to look at, toys and fun cars to ride in! Brooke's checking out her car before the cut begins -- a huge hit!

The stylist determines out the "cutting plan."And we begin! The cut took all of 2 minutes, and she really only trimmed the back to make it straight (it was sort of V shaped). We'll be back in a year when our hair grows a little more!

ND vs Washington and Visiting St Joe

The first weekend of October had us heading west to South Bend and St Joseph Michigan. We stayed at Uncle John and Aunt Lindy's condo in St Joe, with Grandma coming up from Chicago to watch Brooke while Mom and Dad went to the ND/Washington game with our good friends the Kindy's. Here's Scott grilling up some burgers at the tailgate.
Smiles from the Kindy's who flew up from Nashville, TN. As Washington fans, they were disappointed with the loss, but I think had a great time anyway.

Unfortunately, no pictures to share of Brooke terrorizing John & Lindy's pad (no, really, she didn't break too much stuff). But she had fun nonetheless (especially from 1am -5am Saturday night, keeping Mom and Dad up...).

16 Months Old

Brooke at 16 Months Old!

Brooke's New Zoo

Mimi and Grandpa Jim came to visit. Here's a morning shot, with Brooke enjoying her sippy cup while Grandpa enjoys his coffee.

Leaving Brooke to watch Mimi and Grandpa, Mom and Dad drove to State College to see Iowa play Penn State. It was a great win, though a crummy and wet with rain all day long.

And with the arrival of grandparents, comes yet more stuff! Brooke got a Fisher Price Zoo, which she loves playing with and "dances" to the music.

Helping in the Kitchen

With minimal to zero child-proofing in our house (we have gates of course), Brooke is constantly into all the kitchen cabinets, pulling out Tubberware, kitchen towels, you name it.

On this particular day she decided to try on the oven mitts. I guess she was ready to help Mom with some baking!

Brooke's First Pirates Game!

Grandma Karen and the Chief visted over Labor Day Weekend. With the visit of grandparents comes new stuff for Brooke -- a new tricycle! Here she is helping Dad and the Chief put it together.

Taking it for a spin. Occasionally she'll sit in the seat, but more often than not she likes to push it from the back.Brooke also went to her first Pirates baseball game. For a team with 17 consecutive losing seasons, I think they pulled out a win that day (though, we left after the 7th inning stretch...).

15 Months Old!

Brooke's 15 month well check appointment was (obviously) with a new doctor, which brought some anxiety for Mom (how to pick a doctor? do I interview again? depend on neighbor referrals? quickly try to get my own PHD and become her doctor? oh, the decisions...).
Well, everything went fine, and the new doc is FANTASTIC! Brooke is eeking up her size, slowly but surely. Her weight is 22 lbs 2 oz (37 percentile), and her height is 30.5 inches (50 percentile). That height is up from 16% at her 12 month. I think the 12 month must've been off, as the new doctor's office has a more precise measuring routine than the old one. Her head circumference is 46 cm (50 percentile).

Even though it was August 30, we had to bundle up for a rare cold day while out in our wagon.

Good-Bye Blazer!

Brooke has said good-bye to her "first car".

Yes, we've retired the Blazer. It was a good car for almost 10 years, preceding the arrival of Jennifer by about 8 months.

And Maddie will never have to cram into the backseat with Brooke and all her toys now. Well, she may still get pelted with toys, but hopefully she'll be more comfortable on the "floor" of the new car.

We tried to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program, but unfortunately the State of PA had other ideas. Due to the recent move and ensuing car registrations, the state had our Blazer title, which you needed to do the gov't program. So we had to settle for a trade in...and wouldn't you know it, the Blazer title showed up in the mail 1 day later.