Many Milestones...Messy Meals!

The start of 2009 has been full of more "firsts". Brooks is now 4 1/2 months old...I can't believe. He has become such a little man. This month marks a huge milestone....rice cereal, oatmeal, and the highchair. As you can see, Brooks is still trying to figure out what this funny tasting stuff is. He still pushes most of it out with his tongue. And, then of course he wipes his face and then touches everything he possibly can...meaning we've been cleaning cereal out of his hair, ears, eyebrows, nose, etc. But, it sure makes for some cute adorable photos!

This month, we've also hit the milestone of our first babysitter. Below is Gina Bratta. She is our neighbor down the street. She is so sweet and so helpful. I left Brooks with her for the first time and he did really well. Since then, we have also found a babysitter at our church. She is a senior in high school and wonderful with kids. Mommy and Daddy got to go on our first date since...July! We came home to a screaming baby and I'm a little worried that we might have run her off. The real test will come when I call her to sit for us again...hopefully she'll give us another chance!!:)

I finally got Brooks' exersaucer together and he seems to like it. He is still a little too short to touch the base, but he still enjoys pushing all of the buttons...and of course bending down and trying to put everything in his mouth.

For Christmas, Grammy and Shrampa got Brooks his first Mustang GT. It's a dual walker/bouncer that makes engine sounds, plays music, and honks the horn. Yes, Shrampa, I knew you would be proud of the pictures below! We are starting him early:)

To say that we've had some snow in Michigan doesn't even come close to describing the white blanket that has covered the ground since...November, I think. We've had to have one of our neighbors snow plow our driveway about twice a week. Adam had to shovel out a little pathway for the dogs because the snow was so deep that when they ran through it, you could only see the tops of their ears. There are 3 foot walls of snow on either side of the driveway. And, it's SOOOOOOOOOOOO cold. Now, more than ever, it's very apparent "we are not in Kansas anymore."

As you can see, our little guy is changing so much and it is so hard to not be with our family and friends through all of these milestones. It's amazing to me how big he has gotten just since Christmas! His little personality is so sweet and he loves to smile and flirt with the girls:)

All in all, it has definitely been an exciting few weeks full of many changes. We wish more than anything that you were here to walk through these milestones with us. But, just know that you are always on our hearts and in our prayers!!