Our Football Star

Of course we can't forget our first baby...so much posting about the new little one, I'd hate for the big one to feel left out.

Chance is amazing me this year at every turn. He's blossomed in to such a confident, outgoing person. He's very comfortable in school and has definitely found his nitch amongst his peers at school. He is reading like a champ and we are very proud that he has adjusted so well to the first grade.

Last year we attempted soccer and he just wasn't ready. I had my hesitations about signing him up this year but while we were in Texas we bought new soccer shoes and gear which made him super eager to join the practice sessions this season. He is loving it and doing so well. I am so proud of him for giving it 110%. He gets out on the field and really tries his best.



(Much more soccer pics in the right hand column.)

And he's been diligently working on his school project about "celebrations". We decided to do the report on Thanksgiving since Chance is the only American in his class and the only one to celebrate this holiday. We put together this poster that he'll be presenting this week.

PIC SOON TO FOLLOW.....I've got to get it off Chance's camera.

This week Chance learned how to tie his pants...meaning now he can offically tie a bow. Big feat in his eyes as he has been trying for weeks.

Little Longhorn

Brooks is still quite a happy baby unless you make him too cold. He's so peaceful and inquisitive during his infrequent wake times, just looking and staring and taking in the world. He's already an avid Longhorn Fan, supporting his team at every possible opportunity. I even caught him already watching previous season games with Daddy.

Sometimes he and Daddy also like to read the posts and feeds about the Longhorns, but it often puts him right to sleep.

We've been so blessed by so many thoughtful gifts lately. Our friend Katherine Bothager handmade a gorgeous quilt for Brooks. I had to have taken her months to complete it. It's so fantastic.....we are trying to figure out a way to hang it on the wall in Brooks room to bring some color in the space. It's just too amazing to think of letting spit up stain it. But we have to figure out how to hang it without getting holes in it, and instead somehow get holes in to the cement wall without owning a cement drill. She even embroidered his name on it!



My friend Jane also gave me this Swiss music box I had been lusting after ever since she bought one for my friend Amy awhile back. It's so charming and fits perfectly in Brooks' mostly green room.



The other thing I am totally pumped about is my Rossi bag that the hospital gave me as a gift upon leaving. It's a Swiss designer bag and really love it!


Of course these are all just to name a few. We love everything we have gotten and really appreciate all the thoughtful gifts. Brooks is officially hooked up with everything he could need!

Big Brother is doing pretty well himself lately, considering that his place on the throne has temporarily been thwarted. We've really been trying to give him individual one on one time, with Ryan taking him to Alpamare on Saturday and me taking him to Starbucks Sunday morning for some coffee. Chance loves to kiss on his brother and constantly wants to check on him while he sleeping in his bed. This is how we found Brooks after Chance went to check on him. Pretty funny I thought.

And the Cookie Finally Crumbled a Little

I've been asked by quite a few people lately how things are going around here now with the baby in the picture....I like to respond to that question with "things are going". We've all be having our ups and downs. Actually things are going surprisingly smoothly, especially considering we have all basically taken on new roles with Ryan being home for 2 weeks. It's kinda like we are in BETA mode around here, testing out the new systems and the new code written for each of our "new jobs".

Dinners have been full of bad manners coming from the end of the table....where Chance sits no doubt. There's been alot of "please eat with your fork", "no it's not okay to burp loudly at the table", "are you done with your dinner? then if not please come back and SIT DOWN." Just to name a few. But if that's really the most of the behavior problems, I really can't complain.

And then there's the 5:00 p.m. tears that start flowing down my cheeks for no real reason other than the fact that at that moment, the thought of waking up at 10 at 1 at 4 at 6:30 seems to be rather daunting. It's one of those things where I ask myself if I can really do this yet another night, and if I can continue to do this for many more to come. And sometimes the thought of it sends me over the edge just temporarily, until I realize that yes it does end, cause 2 weeks ago I was waking up at 8 am on the weekend to a full nights sleep of R&R. Yes it does get better and yes the kids grow way too fast as I look at Brooks and then my almost 6 year old and wonder how he so quickly got so big. How could he have just yesterday been a tiny baby like the one I am holding. And then I think of what my dad says...that kids they just grow way too fast. Or perhaps it could be that around 5:00 my body is so ravaging hungry from producing milk all day and night that it's the low blood sugar that starts the tears a-coming. Life as a milk cow is not so glorious. At least the Swiss milk cows get to spend their days grazing in the fresh mountain air and return for the night to have their tails tied. Who knows the real reason, all I know is that the tears they flow and they flow freely.

And then there's Ryan. So steady. So stable. Diligently working at 5:00 to calm me, put dinner on the table while calling out Chance's spelling list. He might as well also try to balance a plate on his head while doing it. I'm sure it'd be no sweat. Ryan is playing Mr Mom so flawlessly, now responsible for most things CHANCE, for taking him to school, ensuring he has on the appropriate clothes for the weather, packing lunches and school bags, doing homework, bed times, bath times, teeth. He's been such an amazing help.

But today the cookie started to crumble a little and I thought it was so cute that I just had to write it down. Sorry honey this post is at your expense. I sent Ryan out of the house with a very hefty list this morning. Next to Chance's school is the closest thing you'll get to a mall around here but still different in that it has a health foods store, pharmacy, post office and grocery store. Basically it's a one stop shopping. So the list included:

food stuffs from the grocery store
almond oil for the baby's skin and bladder tea for me from the "reformhaus" (health food store)
light bulb
soccer stuff for Chance
mail some letters from the post office
buy us some lunch to eat today

So Ryan sets off to take Chance to school and venture out for the day. Most importantly we needed the almond oil as the midwife was coming today to show us how to bathe Brooks and we needed the oil for after the bath. I hear from him several times over the course of his shopping spree mostly to inquire just exactly I wanted the Bladder Tea for so he could describe to the lady what I really needed. Must you ask...my bladder is still slightly irritated and recovering from all the domestic violence it took over the course of the last 9 months and from the trauma that ensued on September 4 when it might as well have been ripped from my insides. And hour or so pass and last I hear is that Ryan is now leaving the mall and heading home and is well "at the end of my rope".

In he walks with bags of groceries and a look on his face like, can I please go back to work now. I was not cut out to be Mr Mom. I do not do well shopping at SO MANY stores. I need to go watch the Longhorn game so I can start to calm down. But he proceeds to start replacing the burnt out light bulb below the kitchen cabinets. I knew it would not be an easy task as I sort of broke the light bulb holder when I was taking out the burnt out bulb. Meanwhile the midwife comes and Ryan, while trying to fix the stubborn light, mentions that while he was waiting at the reformhaus for me to call him back so that he could clarify what kind of Bladder Tea I wanted, he set down the much needed Almond Oil and planned to return for it later when he could go back with some clarification of what the hell I wanted. Long story short, we are informed that somehow he made it home with the damn tea but not the almond oil. Clearly it was not going well at the mall.

So the midwife and I proceed to gather things for the bath and we hear a yelp and cry from the kitchen. I peek in and Ryan has jumped 5 feet backwards in pain and I see the culprit still in his hand....if you are going to fix things that are attached to a source of electricity, one might want to temporarily disable the breaker and NOT use a kitchen fork to fix things. Metal seems to transfer energy, and unfortunately poor Ryan got zapped, just to add to the misery of his morning. I think as I write this post and look over at Ryan, the back of his head might still be smoking.

Midwife comes and goes, helpful as usual, leaving baby Brooks in a bath and massage coma. I ask Ryan about the experience at the reformhaus and I realize why this morning went so wrong. "HONEY, I had to describe to the lady at the reformhaus WHAT A BLADDER WAS. Your word for bladder in german was not "Blatter", that means "leaf" NOT bladder. I had to tell her you know....you drink lots of water and this thing inside you fills up and then you go TOILET".

And it was then that I knew why his hair was standing on end and why he immediately went to hibernate on the computer and drown away his Mr. Mom sorrow by watching the Longhorn game.

Clearly the baby and all are new roles are taking a toll, and even the best of them are entitled to crumble a little every once in awhile. All I know is I couldn't be doing it right now without him. Thank you daddy for all that you are doing for us. We love you!