Spring, so far {2015}

 We kicked off our spring right this year-- with a getaway! We tagged along with Kreg on a business trip to Phoenix, AZ and seized the opportunity to see my grandparents in Green Valley, AZ and soak up some sunshine & RR over a long weekend.  It was delightful. 

Highlights of the trip:

Reid Park Zoo

 The Pool at our hotel

 Visiting Grumpy & Grandmaw

 One of the goals Kreg & I made this year was to run a 5k each quarter. With the crazy schedule this year holds, we knew fitness was going to be something that would easily be overlooked.  We may not be making it to the gym 5 days a week... but we're staying conditioned enough to run a 5k!  And we're proud of that with all that's being demanded of our time in 2015! Our first race on the list was the St. Patrick's Day 5k in downtown Colorado Springs.  It did not disappoint!  We signed Westin & Tucker up for the kids fun run (1/2 mile) so they ran their first race with us on St. Patrick's Day!  They loved it! They were so excited to wear their bibs and participate in all the hoopla.  I think they're hooked!  And Kreg and I were SO proud.  Special thanks to my dad, Chief, for being on nanny duty.  We could not have done it without you!

 Easter was fantastic this year! As always, I enjoyed dressing up my boys (yes, dressing boys is FUN!) and spending time with family.

 After church and egg hunting and Easter baskets, we were blessed to have lunch with all these wonderful people.  So thankful to have family close when it comes time for holidays!

 L to R: Kevin, Taylor, Drake, Morgan, Victor, Tami, Westin, Kevin, Tucker, Kortney, Keleigh, Brooks, Kreg, Amanda

Hope your spring is off to a fabulous start like ours is, friends.  Praying God's richest blessings on you and yours today!

Brooks William {9 months old}

Our sweet Brooks William is 9 months old! 

His 9-month stats are:

Just shy of 20 lbs (30th percentile)

29 inches (75th percentile)

He has SIX teeth, all of which came in within a week of each other about 3 weeks ago.  It was a miserable week! He is such a champ, though.  We went through zero baby tylenol or any other over-the-counter pain relief.  He nursed A LOT, took a lot of cat naps, gnawed on raw carrots and celery, and enjoyed some clove oil on his gums.  We're pretty regular users of lavender oil as well, which I think helped facilitate the resting we did.  I didn't do much besides tend to him, but that's what mommies are for, right?  I'm catching up on laundry and housework now that his big smile is back and full of new pearly whites.

 His favorite things in the world are:

His brothers

Balls

Singing

Food

Nursing

Snuggles

Smiles

Swings

 When I did his six month update, I wrote he had showed no interest in crawling.  Less than a week later he surprised me by taking off!  He's always on the move and can get himself into all sorts of mischief... he thinks its HILARIOUS to knock down towers recently built by his brothers, eat their legos, and chew on their wii u game pad cable.  He adores being one of the boys. 

 Somehow, we got another talker.  Just like his older brothers, he is so eager to communicate! He will try to say anything you ask him to-- including words that amaze us like "airplane," and "please."  He strung his first two word sentence this past week-- "bye bye da dee."   

 His personality continues to delight! He's the most smiley person I know and it's just plain contagious.  He loves other people, especially other kids and babies.  I'm still his favorite though :) He will gladly go to someone else for a quick hug and a smile, maybe even a kiss if you're lucky, and then he's ready to be back in his mama's arms!  I really can't complain.  I know it won't last forever so I try to soak in the snuggles as much as possible.  Plus-- I have no real need to do much in the way of upper-body workouts so long as I tote him around for a good chunk of the day! Win-win-win.

Brooks William-- you are LOVED.  My heart is so full of hope and dreams for you and your precious life! One of my favorite prayers for you is from Paul's first letter to Timothy: "But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith." I am so thankful to be your mama and for the privilege of watching you as you learn and grow! xoxoxoxo