Happy Birthday to Me

I had such a great birthday. Here are 10 things that made my birthday so wonderful this year.
1. Brooke slept in until 7:30. Lately she has been waking up at 6:00 so this is a great improvement.
2. Reid bought me yummy orange rolls for breakfast because he leaves for work too early to make me breakfast in bed.
3. I took Brooke to the pediatrician for her 2 yr. check up and the doctor said everything looked good and they didn't have to give her any shots.
4. Reid took us out to lunch at this yummy restaurant that is right on the river. The view is great and the artichoke souffle I got with my salad was delicious.
5. My sweet family sent me this cute fruit arrangement. Just the other day I saw a commercial for these and I thought, it would be so fun to get one of those but no one I know would ever send me one. I was wrong and the fruit is delicious!


6. Brooke took a nap.
7. During her nap I started reading the book Reid gave me The Devil in the White City. Also during her nap, I was able to workout with the new excercise video Reid gave me (Reid always gets embarassed when he gives me things like excercise videos, treadmills, yoga mats, etc. for gifts, but it's what I wanted and it makes me so happy).
8. Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Ice Cream!

9. A delicious dinner of soup and sourdough bread and an even more delicious dessert of carrot cake and ice cream.
10. Look at this face! How could I not have a wonderful birthday with this little sweetie around!

Birthdays are great! Thanks to my sweet husband and family for such a fun birthday.

The things she says!

The other day I had just gotten out of the shower when Brooke ran up to me and said "fat, fat, fat". Aside from being traumatized by the fact that my two year old was calling me fat, I was kind of freaked out that she even knew the word. It wasn't until we were at the pool the next day and she started calling herself and the water and everyone else "fat" that I realized she was trying to say the word "wet". Understanding two year olds can be so fun!

Also we've been teaching Brooke how to say prayers, and she has gotten to the point where she likes to say them on her own. Her prayers go a little like this "Dear Heavenly, Amen". Maybe she's telling us to shorten things up!

City Festival

Last weekend was our city festival. They had a little petting zoo and some blow up slides and obstacle courses. Brooke loved the sheep, but was a little afraid of the camel.

Camping

A couple weekends ago, we went up the mountains for a little camping trip. We had a great time, it was gorgeous and there were tons of cool butterflies and Brooke had a great time trying to catch them in her net. We also went on a few hikes and saw a couple cool waterfalls and I almost stepped on a baby deer that was hiding on the trail. Brooke had so much fun, although you can probably tell from the pictures that eating the 'smores was her favorite part.

Things I laugh at that I shouldn't

I've always been prone to laughing at innoportune times. During church, during the sappy moments at the movie theater, when people say things seriously that I find ridiculous, etc. Never has this problem been more apparent than it is now. As a mother I feel like I am constantly bombarded with situations where I should be serious and I just can't help but laughing I really need some help!

Today while I was vacuuming Brooke got into my make-up drawer and helped herself to my mascara, I tried to be so stern while telling her that that was naughty, but she just looked so funny that I burst out laughing. What a great authority figure I am!

Summer Reading

As most of you know I am kind of a book worm so I just wanted to talk about a few of the best books that I've read in the last couple months.


Twilight Series
I had heard people talk about these "vampire" books for months and was so not interested. I thought it was so weird that so many people were reading these books and in my slightly snotty way would tell people I don't really read books like that, thinking they were your stereotypical trashy, fantasy vampire books. Anyways, when I was in UT visiting my family I read all three books in three days. I loved them! The characters while maybe a little one sided were so compelling and I became so emotionally invested in the story. I cannot wait for the fourth book in August, it really is lucky she is such a phenominally fast writer I don't know if I could wait much longer. I also read The Host recently and thoroughly enjoyed it, Stephenie Meyer is such a great writer!

Atonement

I stayed up until 2 o'clock this morning reading this book. I got a little bogged down in some parts by the overly descriptiveness, but I really enjoyed the story. It really just made me think about how quickly and easily things can change. At the beginning of the book, two of the main characters are looking forward to their bright futures and the life before them when a mistake is made that destroys their world. I really was moved by that feeling of regret, of wanting to change something you've done but not being able to.

A Mighty Heart
I remember watching the Daniel Pearl tragedy on the news and I just loved this book for the hope that she was able to maintain throughout and even after such a horrendous tragedy.

Mr. Darcy's Diary
This one is just for fun. As I kind of have a Pride and Prejudice obsession, I really enjoyed this book, it was a super easy read and it was fun. I always love to see how a story changes when told from a different perspective.

Persuasion

Somehow through all these years and my love of Jane Austen I had missed out on Persuasion. I loved it! While reading it I swore it was my favorite Austen ever. I loved the characters and I loved that the characters feelings were a little more open and descriptive than they are in some of her books.

Anyways, what books are you guys reading now? What are some of your favorite books of all time? I'm always looking for new things to read so I'd love any suggestions. Also if you read any of the above books and hate them I would appreciate it if you would just forget that I recommended them!

Sleep Tight

This is seriously Brooke in bed with her doll stroller, 8 books, 3 dolls, elmo, and a piece of her dresser. We took her binkiy away last week and she seems to be compensating for that loss by putting the entire contents of her room into bed with her. And in case you're worried we do take everything off the bed when we check on her.