Updating...

Well, another month gone by, and no new posts. So here´s a quick update on the fam until I find something exciting to post on....

We have been having all kinds of adventure over here in the Chad Brooks home.... Let's see.... For starters, we got to have a little mini-vacation, with most expenses paid, in Price and Moab! Hooray! Chad was sent down there for a week to cover for the manager there, and he got to take us along. So really, it was probably more a vacation for me and the kiddos. But we loved it! And we actually had some sun--hooray for warm Moab sun!! We went to dinosaur museums, played at parks, had picnics, visited Hole-in-the-Rock, hiked out to Delicate Arch. And then we met the family over in Blanding at the end of the week for Lanette's funeral. It was just a wonderful week!

We also had my uncle's kids for a week here at our house. They took a trip to Boston, and so we watched the kids. And we were a six-child family for about a week! Surprisingly, it was easier than I expected it to be. And instead of swearing off any more children at the end of it--as I thought would happen--I came out of it thinking, "Hey, we could do six kids....eventually....someday." Not saying that's the plan; just thought it was encouraging that the week didn't overwhelm me. :) We had a lot of fun together. And it was awesome for Coren--he had playmates all week, which was his favorite thing!

(This is my cute morning boy look...love it! Melts my mommy heart!)

(I´m not sure how to feel about the serious face and the menacing way he is holding his power drill here... I lean a little hippie when it comes to play guns and such....but he´s pretty stinkin´ cute here, so we´ll go with it.)

Coren is growing, and he is SO smart! Smarter than we think! He gets this knowledge from I don't know where, and it surprises me and Chad every time. He knows a bunch of his letters. He can count to ten in English and Spanish (hooray!). And he loves everything.... my favorite part of the day is right after he wakes up from his naps, and he makes his "declarations of love," as I like to call them: "Mommy, I love naptime! I love azul! I love treat! I love outside! I love Woody! I love car! I love jugo! I love Risa!" (This can go on and on--oh, it cracks me up!) He has started adopting the role of big brother, enjoying the power to discipline Risa when I'm not around--the other day I caught him telling her, "Risa, don't do it! Don't do it, Risa! Uno, dos, tres...okay, Time out, Risa!" And he tried to pull her gently to the corner. He is a cute dude! 

(Here´s the warning face....wait for it....)

(And there it is! The storm has arrived in full force!!)

And Risa is a bundle of....um....girl power! Yes. She is definitely all the things I was afraid of about having a girl. She is feisty! She is grumpy! She is impatient! She is a SERIOUS drama queen! She's really good about some things--bedtime/naptime, eating, etc. But she definitely knows what she wants, when she wants it, and if it doesn't happen, look out! She's also teething, which adds to the drama, of course. But she already knows how to throw a tantrum and milk it for all it's worth! Yikes! On the upside, there are super cute sides to her emerging personality--she can give some really precious cheesy grins! And those make the tantrums worth it (I suppose). :) She loves her brother--she could watch him all day. I am getting so excited for her to start crawling, so they can play together. And she seems to be just on the cusp of crawling. But, as anyone who has seen her knows, there's a lot of chub to hold up, so it might be a while before the crawling happens. We love our chunky, crazy girl!

(Okay, and here´s the happy, more flattering side of Risa.... and, in her defense, the side more often seen.)