Christmas

This is Christmas morning. Kris played Santa and handed out all the presents.


Kris was excited to get new softball cleats. His softball stuff got stolen out of the back of his truck earlier this year, so he was in desperate need of new stuff!

Molly sure does love her dad!

Kris' parents got all of his marathon prints professionally framed as a Christmas gift. They look really nice!

This is the print from this year's Chicago Marathon. I think Kris worked the hardest to get this one!

This was my first time to cook Christmas dinner solo. All of the food turned out delicious! We had ham (my first time to cook one!), company potatoes, green beans (with bacon, of course), Iowa corn, dumplins, rolls, and graham cracker pie for dessert. I ate until I was sick..literally!

Christmas Eve

This year for Christmas, Kris and I stayed in Houston. Although we missed our families, we enjoyed having the holiday at our house and not having the stress of traveling. The dogs, however, weren't too happy we were home. I made them wear their reindeer ears more than they would've liked.


We went to church on Christmas Eve.

This is us, attempting to get a "family" picture. Obviously it didn't go too well. The decent ones were really blurry. The rest of the pictures either cut Kris out completely, or the dogs weren't looking. As you can tell, Jonah is enthused by all the picture taking.

After church, we came home for appetizers. Then, we watched our favorite, "A Christmas Story," on TBS.

When I was growing up, my mom always let us open one present on Christmas Eve. Kris is opening his one present...he is very excited! (Hope he wasn't disappointed--it wasn't that great of a gift!)

Kris let me open one present on Christmas Eve as well. He bought me a snuggie...as a gag gift of course. I think snuggies are ridiculous and they actually are not that comfortable.

Oh Jonah!

Jonah turned 2 on December 21st. I was really hoping that the 2 year mark would mean that he had matured and was going to be a calmer dog. This picture was taken on December 22nd. Apparently, we still have a long way to go...


He dug a giant hole in matter of one hour, got into the neighbor's yard, and managed to get all muddy. I had to wait until Kris got home to hose him off..he does NOT like being sprayed by the water hose. Kris had to use his old wrestling moves to get Jonah to the ground so that I could spray him. I thought it was hilarious...Kris did not.

Getting ready...

Kris and I are getting ready for the baby slowly but surely. We finally selected a paint color and Kris began painting this weekend. It was a long job, but he did awesome. He wasn't interested in my help because he says I am an awful painter (he is probably right).

Doing the trim is the worst part of painting.

Kris is doing the first coat on the walls. He looks happier than he feels!

Merry Christmas from Brooke & Kris!

Kris and I wish you all a Merry Christmas!!


Some have been asking for baby bump pictures, so here they are! I am currently at 23 weeks.

Things are going along smoothly and as you can see, I am finally gaining weight! The other day someone told Kris, "Gosh, I didn't even know she was pregnant!" He replied with, "How can you not tell. She looks like she has a giant basketball in her shirt!" Nice!

The baby is moving around alot. He likes going to church. He seems to move around a ton when we are there. He is also very active after I eat. We are getting the nursery set up a little bit at a time. I hope to paint over Christmas break.

Molly and Jonah wish you a Merry Christmas, too! (They look a little scared because they are afraid I might make them put on their reindeer ears!)

Here they are looking sweet and innocent, but don't let them fool you. They are not! Jonah is Marley reincarnated! He has been breaking out of the back yard on a regular basis lately. Luckily, he doesn't really go anywhere. He does like to get the neighbor's trash and drag it into our yard as a "gift." Kris currently has the fence rigged to looked like a total red neck lives here! But, that's the only way we can keep him in. (At least for now!)

Snow in Houston!

We got snow in Houston! We didn't get too much, and it didn't last too long, but we got enough for my school to be cancelled early and for Kris' MBA program to let out for the afternoon. The city as a whole got between 1 and 4 inches. Everything shut down and people freaked out...they started preparing like a hurricane was coming. I guess because that's the only storm native Houstonians are familiar with!

The kids (and adults) at school were so excited for snow! We got nothing accomplished because it started snowing almost immediately after class started. We weren't allowed to take the kids outside--which I think is so sad, since many of these students have never even seen snow. However, I was a rebel and snuck some students outside a few at a time to stand in the falling snow. They were amazed that snow could get on your hair and in your clothes. It was great experience for them.

This is a picture of the front yard. We covered up our flowers because they were blooming and we didn't want them to die. We'll see if they make it.

This is a picture of the flowers with snow on them. Flowers and palm trees look funny with snow on them.

Molly and Jonah were allowed to go out in the front yard and play in the snow. Jonah didn't like it and immediately ran back in the garage. Kris had to force him to come outside. They are investigating the "white stuff." Getting them to go to the bathroom while there was snow on the ground was quite a feat. It was too wet and cold for these tropical dogs!

Thanksgiving 2009

For Thanksgiving this year, my parents, brother, and grandmother came to visit. They were here from Wednesday night until Monday morning. We had a nice visit and did tons of eating and shopping! Since we just found out the gender of the baby, my mom took full advantage and took me shopping. She bought the playpen, bassinet, tons of clothes, and the bedding. It was so nice of her to do and one less thing Kris and I will have to buy.


Our table all set for Thanksgiving. We spent all day long cooking! It only took about 30 minutes to eat it all! It was sure was delicious though!

My grandma makes it a rule to make a pie for every person present at dinner. We had these 4, but also had a cheesecake in the fridge!

We took my family to a Hibachi restaurant on Saturday night. We had a great time watching the chef do all of his tricks. The food was delicious too. This was yet another time that we were stuffed!

Mom, grandma, and I at the Hibachi

It's a boy!!!

We had our 3D ultrasound today and got an excellent report. The baby is developing right on the schedule. The heart and brain look perfect! He is even in the right position. Everything looks really good with me too. We were pleased with the reports.

We did find out the baby is a boy! We are very excited, but most excited that he is healthy. I actually had a dream the night before our appointment that he was a boy. So, when I woke the next morning the first thing out of my mouth was, "Kris, it is definitely going to be a boy." The only thing was in my dream, the baby had hair like Jonah's...hope that doesn't happen!


In this picture you can see the baby giving you the thumbs up sign! I guess he's doing okay in there.



Here is one of the 3D pictures. He looks a little like he has a mustache for some reason. I am not sure what's under his nose...

Here you can see that the baby is really a boy! He is a flasher and we have several pictures that confirm his gender! He is definitely not shy.

18 weeks and counting!

This is me at 18 weeks. Kris has been very good at reminding me to take pictures of myself. It is getting hard to find clothing that fits. Maternity clothes really look ridiculous because I have only gained in my tummy area--the hips and butt on maternity clothes are huge. For now, I am using my belly band and wearing skirts and dresses as often as possible. It's a good thing it's warm in Houston!

I did start to feel movement today. I woke up at about 7 a.m. to put the dogs outside and then went back to bed, but couldn't sleep because the baby was very active. He or she kept me awake for about another hour and a half.

My wonderful husband painted my toenails for me the other night. I am still able to do it myself, but we were "practicing" for when I can't. I think he did a great job!

New Room

Kris and I went about setting up the baby's room a few weeks ago. What a job! We had to move the current furniture into another room, combine our office with an existing room and furniture, move pictures and curtains, then we had to put together the bed. It's finally done! The crib is a convertible one, which means it will convert from a crib, to a toddler bed, to a full-size bed.

The dressers pictured were actually Kris' baby furniture over 30 years ago! We changed out the handles because the old ones were rather tarnished, but other than that, the set is in awesome shape!

We will add a changing pad to the top of the dresser and this will become the changing table.

This bed took awhile for Kris to get put together, but he did an awesome job!

This is another dresser...my kid will have to have lots of clothes!

We will find out the gender in about 2 weeks. We are so excited to know! Once we find out, we will paint the walls and choose bedding--it's really hard to wait!

Baby Update

Kris and I had our 16 week appointment last Thursday. Everything is moving along smoothly. We didn't get an ultrasound, but they did hear the baby's heartbeat. It is beating 159 beats per minute. Pretty fast! We will find out the gender at our next appointment-November 25th. Be sure to check back for updates!

Halloween

I know, I know, we are crazy, but yes, our dogs did dress up for Halloween. Molly was a witch and Jonah was a devil. We thought their costumes fit their personalities pretty well! Jonah hated his and pulled his cape and horns off immediately. Molly on the other hand, is a typical girl--she loves dressing up. She wore her hat for about 3 hours and I was the one who finally took it off of her! We are looking forward to next year when we will be able to dress up a baby instead of our dogs!

Chicago Marathon

We recently got back from Chicago. We went there so that Kris could run the Chicago Marathon. This is his third time to run the race and he has been training for months. We got to see many family members and friends and Kris ran the race with his brother, Aaron, for the first time. Kris says this will officially be his last marathon!!

These are the back of the marathon shirts. It's hard to see what they say, but the emblem says, 200 lb. club, fat guy marathon and there is a picture of a man holding a knife and fork, chasing a hamburger with legs. Many fellow marathon runners loved the shirt and asked Kris if they could buy one from him.

Luke, Aaron, and Kris before the big race. It was so cold outside! The official temperature was 32 degrees, but the "feels like" temp. was 24! I am very bundled up, but still froze!

Kris, as he was getting ready to cross the finish line! He got very bad leg cramps toward the end and could hardly walk, but he managed to finish! It was neat to watch all the runners as they came to the finish line. It was very emotional. Some were crying, probably from both pain and emotion. All sorts of people ran the marathon; there were one-legged runners and old men. It's amazing the dedication some people have.

Kris and Aaron after the race.

This is just one of the very large blisters Kris had on the bottom of his foot. We were supposed to stay in Chicago until Tuesday, but we decided to fly home early so Kris could relax. I was tired from shivering and he was tired from running!

Recent Doctor Appt.

Kris and I went to another doctor appt. today. All went well and everything is progressing as it should be. We didn't get another ultrasound (we were a little disappointed about that), but we did hear the heart beat on the doppler for the first time, so that was nice. We scheduled our next two appts. We will find out the sex on the December 3rd. That is also when we get our 3-D ultrasound. Other than that, I am feeling pretty good, still tired, but not nearly as sick.

We are off to Chicago this weekend. Kris is running in the marathon there. I will post pics when we return. It is supposed to be very cold there, so keep your fingers crossed for a heat wave in Chicago!

12 weeks...and it's a girl!!!

Me at 12 weeks. Not sure why I look so "pregnant" so fast. I have only gained 1 1/2 pounds, yet my stomach sticks out a lot! I went online and did some maternity shopping. I am wearing my belly band all the time now. Our next dr. appt. is Tuesday. Can't wait to get the ultrasound!


Kris and I decided to do a gender test kit at home. You can do it as soon as 10 weeks. According to my research, in lab tests it was 90% accurate, but in at home trials, it was 82% accurate. That's still pretty good. I woke up Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. and decided to take the test. (You have to take it in the morning). After I took it, I woke Kris up so we could figure out the results together. According to this test, it's a girl! We won't know from the ultrasound until the beginning of December. We'll see how accurate it was! (Needless to say, I am not running out and buying pink just in case.)

A Whole New Kind of Bar...

Kris and I recently went to dinner with some friends. After dinner we went to The Chocolate Bar. This restaurant has all kinds of chocolate: ice cream, fruit, candy, dog treats, the list goes on and on. Everything is chocolate!!

We had to go to the chocolate bar instead of a traditional kind of bar because all three of us girls are expecting. Jen and I are two weeks apart, while Julie and I are four weeks apart. It's fun to be able to go through this time with two of my best friends.



The pregant crew: Julie, 6 weeks; Jen, 12 weeks, Brooke 10 weeks

Recent News

Barefoot and pregnant (in the kitchen), eating for two, bun in the oven...so many different ways to say, We're having a baby!!!

Me at 10 weeks

Baby at 8 1/2 weeks. You can see the little arms.

Our expected due date is April 22, 2010.

We found out we were pregnant right after I got back from my New York trip. We were completely shocked because we had done clomid in July and the dr. said it didn't work, and there was no way I would get pregnant. She suggested seeing a fertility specialist, so we went through all the consultations, etc. Well, apparently the dr. was wrong because we were pregnant all along! We are very excited and could hardly wait to share this news with everyone. We definitely appreciate being kept in your thoughts and prayers.