Brooklyn's Christmas Pics

Thank you so much to Mary for taking these pictures while we were in Yakima for Christmas! My parents got all of the granddaughters Christmas dresses and I wanted some good shots of Brooklyn in hers for her first Christmas. And thanks to my mom for taking Brooklyn to get them done while Thomas and I went snowboarding. I'll cherish them always.

That round little face!!! Seriously I have to try to restrain myself  when it comes to kissing those cheekies or she gets a little annoyed with me always mugging on her :) And that little nose too! Perfect for eskimo kisses I tell you.

Yum Yum

When I see her expression in this picture I can just hear the little laugh she makes.

Our little Christmas beauty.

I dare you to not kiss those cheeks when you are around them!

She looks so grown up to me in this picture.  Sitting up so tall!

Our Wintery Saturday

This was our Saturday:
Drove to Kuna per recommendation of a co-worker of Thomas' who said their was a really cool park there to walk around.  I don't know if we got the wrong park or what but it was pretty average and nothing to drive 20 minutes for.  BUT it's about quality time together right? And we actually really did enjoy the drive and walking around on the path to get some excercise. We needed to try out our new to us snowboots that we got from Salvation Army this week because next weekend we are going snowshoeing so it was a nice little dress rehearsal.

Making a snow angel. (Okay she actually kind of plopped back into the snow)

Baby snow angel

Afterwards we went and browsed Whole Foods.  Such a dangerous place because they have all these unique foods that sound good but they are pricey.  We ended up getting some pizza dough for dinner tonight, some soup, and these awesome teething biscuits for Brooklyn. It was Brooklyn's first time sitting up in the cart and she did aweseome.  I don't know why I haven't thought of it sooner.  I guess I still see her as a little baby who shouldn't be sitting up by herself in a cart yet!

We then headed to Winco.  People at Winco love Brooklyn.  So many comments and people stopping to stop to talk to her.  She didn't take an afternoon nap so to get through grocery shopping we gave her a teething biscuit and it lasted the whole time.  It was pretty darn cute seeing her face by the end because it was so messy.

Love them chubby hands!

Once home Brooklyn and I were excited that "Salon Tomas" (that should be pronounced in Spanish haha) was open.  We both had our toenails painted and felt pretty darn fancy.

Tiny toes

The artist at work.

Brooklyn's First Christmas

We spent Brooklyn's first Christmas in Yakima, WA at my parents house.  Thomas and I were so ready for a whole week together as a family. 
The evening we arrived in Yakima I went with Brooklyn to meet up with some old friends from High school.  One of them has a new two month old baby and another is 12 weeks pregnant. It's so crazy to think back on who we all were in High school and how we have changed and grown to be the people we are today.
On Christmas Eve we went caroling with my parents to neighbors and another of my friends from High school, Jessica's. A fellow student from our high school that she was very close with passed away the day before and we figured she could use a little cheering up.  You know what Buddy the elf says "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear." She was so excited to get carolers :) Brooklyn had helped me make sugar cookies for the goody plates we brought caroling with us.

Helping me mix the dough.

We also went to look at some Christmas lights at a house that every year does an extravagant display. 

Nana and Brooklyn

Thomas and Brooklyn

Some of the lights on the property.

Nana teaching Brooklyn the story of Jesus' birth.

Brooklyn and her Nana and Pops

Our family in front of the big garage filled with Christmas characters.

Christmas morning we had Brooklyn open some of her presents first.  She loved chewing on the ribbon and did pretty good tearing the paper off. To keep her from getting too overwhelmed we put her down for a nap while the rest of us opened presents and then she opened her remaining presents after her nap.  She got lots of clothes, toys, and books.  Some of her fave presents so far are her Disney train, Melissa and Doug musical instruments, Rock N' Stack, and chew necklace. The chew necklace was a gift from Thomas to me.  It is made for mommy's to wear and babies to chew on.  Genius idea! Brooklyn grabbed for it and put it in her mouth the moment I put it on.

Kisses for her Great Grandpa Clement

Another book to add to the collection.

Look how happy this BSU outfit made her! A true Bronco's fan.

A baby can never have enough hair bows.

Playing with the ribbon.

Merry Christmas from the Giles!

Loving her Pops' attention and the Chewby necklace.

Being read to by her Nana.

Zebra print, pink, and a big bow doesn't get any cuter than that.

Christmas afternoon we headed over to Thomas' brother's house for lunch and opening some more presents.
Christmas evening was dinner at my parents with Grandpa Clement and later games.
Our Christmas festivities made for some memorable moments.  The best parts were just being with family and seeing everybody happy.  I know gifts aren't the most important thing about Christmas but this year it really clicked with me one of the reasons why we give gifts.  It's only appropriate that on Christ's, the most selfless man to have walked the earth,birthday instead of giving him gifts we give each other gifts. Another act of selflessness, celebrating your birthday by having others receive gifts.  I can understand Heavenly Father loving seeing His children happy as they feel of the givers thoughtfulness and love.  I can relate to that because having a child of my own now I really could care less what I receive but it made me so happy to see my child be showered with gifts and love. It made me so happy to see my grandpa, husband, mom, dad, and daughter opening gifts and being surprised and grateful.  Best part of Christmas. 
Thomas got a new snowboard for Christmas so later that week my mom watched Brooklyn for us so Thomas and I could go up to White Pass Ski Resort to snowboard.  I was nervous beforehand but it all came back to me after the first run and we had a really fun time.  I love seeing Thomas in his element and how happy he is up on the mountain. 
What a wonderful first Christmas for our little Brooklyn and our whole family.  

After our day of snowboarding.

7 Months

At 7 months Brooklyn...
- Can sit up unassisted.
- Loves getting raspberries on her neck.
- Wakes up once per night to eat.
- Sleeps from 8am-8pm.
- Takes 2-3 naps per day.
- Wears 6 month clothes.
- Eats: rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, peas, butternut squash, apples, and bananas.
- Has been teething like CRAZY!!! Went through a couple weeks of her wanting to be held or to have me in her sight constantly, not going down easy for naps, and refusing to nurse for more than a couple minutes. Towards the end of the second week I discovered that if you read to her she will fall asleep with no fussing.  Fortunately we are now back to our happy content baby who goes to sleep easily, nurses well, and is content for a time playing by herself, but man those couple weeks were rough.
- Started eating in a highchair.
- Can pass an object from one hand to the other.

Smiley little teething baby.

When I was going through her 7 month pics we took I just laughed out loud at this sequence of picture.

Ugly Sweater Book Club

This month for book club we met at Carino's Italian restaurant and all wore ugly sweaters.  I could not for the life of me find a Christmas themed ugly sweater at Goodwill and was shocked at how high priced the hideous sweaters were there.  So basically I went for the cheapest one.  We did find a really cute ugly sweater in Brooklyn's size though so that made up for my lack of festivity.
I really enjoy book club a lot. It's a great group of ladies and it's fun to share a nerdy past time with people.

Loving the attention

Myself, Jillian, Eileen

This was the first time I had put Brooklyn in a highchair.  She loved being at the head of the table.

Eileen and Taryn.  Check out Taryn's headband!

Taryn, Elise, and Laria

Brooklyn has now been deemed the littlest book clubber. It's funny cause when I take her to book club she is just fine and dandy but if I take her to Bunko she is a mad little elf.  She hates it when anybody yells "BUNKO!" or "TRAVEL!". She's going to be our little librarian, she has a lot of books and the last time I came home with a book from the store for her Thomas was like "Another book?! She already has a TON!".  I just laughed and told him he'll thank me somebody when our daughter is a genius. 

Winter Garden Aglow

My parents came to Boise the second weekend in December and we were able to do some festive holiday activities.  Friday night they met Brooklyn and I at our church Christmas party.  It was decorated so cute with twinkly lights up above and the lights low with tables all red and green.  There was a girl sitting at the end of our table all by herself and the people we were sitting next to asked if I knew her and I didn't so everyone around her kept introducing themselves and asking who she was there with.  She was kind of vague and it was a little akward but as dinner got underway all of the sudden the piano started playing the Hallelujah chorus and people randomly started standing up and singing.  It was a flash mob! Whoever organized the party had gotten a choir from the community to come and perform. The dinner was kept simple but delish with  Costco lasagna, salad, and breadsticks from Olive Garden.  The little kids did the cutest nativity and even performed with bells.
 Saturday night we all went to the Idaho Botanical Gardens for their annual Winter Garden Aglow.  They had really unique lights around that dead branches of trees and bushes that made them look like they had flowers.  There were fire pits all over throughout so you could stop and get warm when needed, carolers, and Santa was there! It was Brooklyn's first time meeting Santa and we were sure she would cry  but she proved us all wrong and was totally fine, even giving a little smile.

The hand off

She kinda likes him!

Posing for pics

The whole family

With my padres

Somebody had had enough by this point but the view was awesome so had to snap a pic.

Good looking couple of old folks ;) Just kidding mom about the old part.

We finished the night off having hot chocolate and popcorn at home, giving Brooky Bear a Bath and having her open on of her 12 days of Christmas books.

Each of the 12 nights leading up to Christmas we would open a new book with Brooklyn.