Olivia's Birthday Take 1 - The Kid Party

So, let's start off with a little known fact. . . . I don't enjoy having a million kids in my home.  I know shocking, right.  I know, for a teacher, this shouldn't bother me, but it does.  I'm totally down with having 20 kids in class, just not in my play room.  So for the past several years we have had Olivia's party at a really cool park in Irving.  The problem with this, as you may know, is that the weather in North Texas changes drastically in winter and there is no way of predicting it.  The first year we had it there it was FREEZING!  Last year was pretty cold but super windy.  So as you can see, regardless of the weather, we have always just bundled up the kids had it at the park, because I would rather freeze for a few hours than have a houseful of munchkins - is that wrong of me?  So this year, the plan remained and we got ready for another park party.  It was looking really promising since the weekend before it had been sunny and 75 degrees.  Awesome right?  Not in North Texas.  On Saturday, February 18 it was 40 degrees and raining all day!  How is this possible.  So in a last minute decision, we knew we had to move the party to Casa Brooks.  Thank God I had Marisa there to help.  We "cleaned" up the playroom (and by clean up, I mean took out about 95% of the toys, or as Roger told me "I sucked the fun out of the room") and got it ready for the party.  Apparently I left some fun in there because we had no complaints:)

 Faith & Zelma

 Time for cake!

 Make a wish!

 Present time!

 So, oddly enough, I don't know who she takes after, but she LOVES being the center of attention.  I hated opening gifts in front of people, and she LOVES every second and put on quite a show.  Notice my face - That was my "going a little overboard Olivia" face.

 I'm not sure what I was saying here, but I promise it was NOT shut up.

 Don't know what Olivia was saying here but I promise it was not shut up!

 This was from her best friend Faith, who I am embarrassed to tell you that she asked her to buy her some Tom's for her birthday.  She even told her what size and all.

 Thanks for the Tom's!

 Trying them on

 And I'm pretty sure this is where silly just got out of control.  She was totally working the crowd.

 This was from Juliana.  For Christmas, Juliana had bought her some tights that apparently were baby tights because when Olivia put them on, the crotch only went up to her knees.  So she cried real tears and asked Juliana "WHY DID YOU GET ME BABY TIGHTS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!" So Juliana felt like she needed to make up and bought her some big girl tights.

 Then the old "put the gift bag on your head" trick.  Always great for a laugh!

 This was a Mickey Mouse watch that truth be told Roger found in a drawer that we had and I'm not 100% sure where it came from.  Probably from Auntie Laura, I'm guessing, but Liv sure was excited when she opened it!

 And this was a card from Kolton, a card which he wrote himself and then even offered to read aloud to her.  It went like this:

Who is. . . .

A person nice and sweet,

Someone who you might meet,

Someone who came to your Pumpkin Party.

Who is it?

Kolton

 More dramatics with the gift opening

 Yes, you guessed it.  It's her very own bento box (Japanese lunch box).  Love it!

Thank you everyone for a great last minute inside birthday party!

Friday is the Music Day!

Juliana has been taking music therapy classes from Che Ho for over a year now and we just love him.  He plays every instrument you can think of and he makes up his own songs.  For example there is the "Friday is the music day" song and the "hello, how are you" song, the "Bye, Bye, Bye" song and of course you can't forget the "Which color will she choose" song.  He is awesome.  I have to be honest, music class like all other things related to Rett and Juliana are shall we say not consistent.  Some days are awesome - she's awake, alert, responsive.  And other times, she literally falls asleep as she hears Che Ho come through the front door and there is NO waking her up.

This day, however was awesome!  Pardon the blur, but it was an action shot.  She was actually playing the drum!

 Here she is with a maraca which she actually held in her hand!  Oh yeah, don't forget Olivia!

 Here she is playing a tune on the piano!

 And apparently the shaker eggs were hilarious tonight!

Love this face!

Back to Ballet

Olivia is very excited to announce that she is back in ballet.  We took a little break in the fall but she couldn't stay away.  Stay tuned for Spring recital!

 Here she is in her class.

Running Diaries

Yes, I thought I would add an entry about my 12 mile adventure because I feel like I learned so much today.  Here's a little snapshot:
1. 12 miles is REALLY long.  It is truly as long as it sounds.  I ran it in 2 hours and 40 minutes, and I can honestly say in addition to that being the longest I have ever run, that is the longest I have ever done any kind of physical activity.
2. 52 Degrees is the best weather to run in.  I love it, you start off a little cold, but with the big Texas sun you warm up pretty fast.  It's warm enough that you build a little sweat but still cool enough to not feel over heated.
3. Music matters so much.  And the most important thing I've learned about music is that I don't need all this "pump you up" and "motivational" music.  What I need is something that is going to make me smile or even laugh when it comes on.  My favorites for today were, "Ice Ice Baby" and "Turning Japanese".  The other favorite was that on my last leg of a very long run today, the song "Loser" by Beck came on.  Gave me the little pep that I needed to finish, you know so I wouldn't be "a loser".
4. Sports beans pretty much rock.  I ate a pack about 20 minutes before I ran, then took a pack to eat on my second half.  I don't know if it is all psychological but I really feel like it gave me energy.  In fact for the first 6 miles I was rocking my face off.
5. Here is a break down of what goes through my mind while I'm running 12 miles:

• Mile 1-6 - I am rocking it out!  I feel great, I feel like I'm flying through it.  I am doing intervals of 1min walk/run.  Usually I will stare at my watch in anticipation of that one mile finishing.  The first 30 seconds of running are fine, then I start a countdown.  Today I haven't checked my watch once.  Before I know it, the minute is up and I can walk again.  I'm actually considering upping myself to 2 minutes run and 1 minute walk.  And to think I was so worried because I haven't run much in the last two weeks, and turns out I feel great.  Maybe I run better when I don't have much practice under my belt.  If this is the case, maybe I shouldn't run anymore until the race, then I could probably win first place, or pretty close.
• Mile 6-8 - Okay, it's starting to catch up to me.  Starting to feel a little tired now.  I just need to pace myself because I still have half way to go.
• Mile 8-10 - Okay, I'm starting to feel a little pain in my hips and knees.  I have now started checking my watch every time I run.  Pretty depressing to know I still have 4 miles to go.
• Mile 10-12 - In a great deal of pain.  I now have a stabbing pain in my right butt cheek (felt like sciatic nerve).  In addition it is extremely painful to start running.  Every time I can actually hear my hips and knees pleading for mercy.  So I stop running and walk the rest of the way.  I see my shadow and wonder where this grandma came from, oh wait, that's me:(  If I collapse here and now, could I be air lifted out of here or would I still have to walk back to my car. . . . .

So, there you have it.  I think I am all done whining about it.  As much as I hated it, you know why I will go back next weekend?  Because I can. . . . I literally can.  I am not trapped in a body that doesn't work like my daughter Juliana.  As much as it hurts I can make my body move forward and finish.  Every day Juliana works tirelessly to do simple things we take for granted.  So yes, I can make myself do this.  And you know what, I am confident that one day, Juliana will run one with me!  And then we will push each other, like we always have to finish the race!

So please, donate to my team and help us get closer to a cure!
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/kristy-brooks/disneyprincesshalfmarathon-teamgp2c

Pizza Party!

Pizza night at the Brooks' House is definitely Juliana and Olivia's favorite dinner night.

Start off with the dough, whole wheat of course. . . .

 After you spread out the dough, a little sauce

 Look how focused she is.  Pizza making is serious business!

 Next some cheese

 Extra please. . . .

 And finally the pepperoni - yum!

 Livi is a pro as well. 

Livi likes it extra on the cheese

Hey, is Monteleone's hiring. . . . . .

Growing to Fast

Just caught a glimpse of this girl that is growning so fast before my eyes.  Yes, she is brushing her teeth all by herself.  And yes, I still go back for a second scrubbing.  She is only 3 3/4 years old after all.

Saying Goodbye is so Hard to do

I guess all good things must come to an end.  We had the pleasure of having Roger's aunt and uncle from Germany (whom we affectionately call the Germans) stay with us from November and through Christmas.  I have to say I was a little bit nervous because they speak no English and I speak no German, and that can be really frustrating when my translator Roger isn't around.  But I have to say we got along great; using lots of charades, pantomime and google translate.  So for two months we went on several little adventures, we stayed up late each night just talking (me mostly listening), had the pleasure of Monika's amazing German cooking and just an overall awesome time. 

So here we are on their last day here.  I had to take a picture of Monika in the back seat because this is how we traveled.  Only if we were all riding I usually got stuck in the trunk but that's a different story.

 We stopped at In 'n Out for their last American supper.  It was awesome of course, then off to the airport.  My parents went too to see them off.

 Olivia's getting sad as she realizes that they are really leaving.

 Olivia standing under the giant wish bone.  I wonder what she is wishing for. . . .

 Monika and Olivia doing some kind of booty bump before she leaves

 Me and Monika - I'm gonna miss her!

 Me, Olivia and Alfons - I'm gonna miss him so much too!

 I think the this was all just a little too emotional so Juliana decided to "check out" and take a nap.

 You can imagine what Roger is wishing for here. . . .

 One last hug. . . .

 And one last hug for Juliana. . .

 This was a shot that Livi took.  I think she was getting sentimental and decided to take a picture of everyone before they left so she could remember them.

 And then it was time to say good bye to the El Paso crew as well.  All good things must come to an end:(