Everyday is an Adventure!

Tristan is trying out his new taste buds, and so far so good. He's getting used to carrots, which was Tommy's first taste of baby food. Tommy LOVED it, Tristan not so much. It took a couple days before Tristan would open his mouth and swallow them. This was taken on day #2. He's much more open to the idea and even gave me a smile after a successful mouthful.

(Yummy!)

This is his first try of the carrots. He wasn't too thrilled, as you can see.

Most of it got on his bib...

This is what a typical morning looks like, Tommy and Tristan hanging out on the couch, Tommy entertaining Tristan with one of his old baby toys. Two peas in a pod, these two.

Adventure: Baby food, success! What will tomorrow bring? We'll see!

What 2011 means to us...

Justin and I are in for some BIG changes this next coming year. I was just thinking about it and thought we should share our plans with our families.

We leave Germany August 2011!! We are SO excited to be living in the states again. We have enjoyed our experience living here, but we're ready to be home again. (Hello, Wal Mart, we MISSED YOU!!)

There is no 100% guaranteeing where we'll be sent next. Until Justin gets his official orders in May or June, it's up in the air. BUT, Justin has put in for Ft. Carson, Colorado. We are 99% sure that's where we'll be stationed next. It's closer to family, and we have heard some good things about the Ft. Carson.

Even though we're excited to be leaving, I feel a bit sad too. Germany has been our home for almost 3 years and it will be weird not to be here anymore. I'll miss so much about it. It's just so beautiful here. There is still so much I want to see before we leave. Justin and I haven't told many people, but we are planning a HUGE vacation. We'll be traveling through France, Spain, and Italy on our way out of Germany. When our time in Germany is up, Justin will have 30 days of leave and that is when we plan to travel everywhere. One of the big things I'm looking forward to is Disneyland Paris! After 4 years of being in the army, I feel we deserve this trip.

We will be in Colorado for one year, after that Justin's enlistment will be up. We talked a little about re-enlistment, but in the end decided against it. We're ready to move onto something else. Being in the military has been wonderful and has come with so many blessings. We would not be where we are now financially without it. We've survived boot camp, AIT, and a deployment, and I am proud to say so. We have been through so much as a family and it has really strengthened us and given us important life lessons. Though it was hard, we wouldn't change it for the world.

6 months before Justin's enlistment is over, we plan to have a job lined up for Justin. There is a good possibility we end up back in Arizona. We have high hopes we'll have a few options to choose from. With Justin's extensive training in the army, we have many doors open to think about.

We want to thank all of you, our family and friends, for being there for us through our time in Germany. Even though we're an ocean away, I've always felt you were all still there for us. Thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Can't wait for 2011!

♥

The Brooke's :)

Twins?

I swear it could be the same baby!

The Many Faces of Tristan

Happy

Mad

Silly

Curious

Serious

Photography

As an early Christmas present, Justin got me a nice camera. He gave it to me early because 1. He couldn't wait to see my face when I opened it and 2. So I could use it for our upcoming trip to Garmisch. (which was really fun and I still need to post about it!)

So I've been using photo editing and really trying to get better at photography. It's always interested me but hadn't done much of it. Being a scrapbooker, being able to take my own pictures has been awesome. The only downside? My house has been neglected because I'm on te computer editing instead of cleaning. :)

Here are some of the photos I've worked on. What do you think?

I know this one is hard to see on blogger, but it says "Boys are meant for Kisses".

Christmas Cards & Thankfulness.

I'm usually the rushed Christmas shopper, flying through the store a few days before Christmas trying to get the perfect gift that I should have gotten weeks ago, the one dropping off Christmas cards at the post office knowing full well with as late as I'm sending them, they'll get there a week AFTER Christmas.

Well.... not this year!! I've started early! We have our Christmas shopping done, and I just finished making Christmas cards. All I have left to do is develop our family Christmas picture and find envelopes to fit my homemade cards. A (very good :) friend of mine brought up a good point, getting the shopping and card sending done early lets you enjoy the Christmas season more. Instead of worrying over gifts, I can focus on baking! Truer words were never spoken.

I know I shouldn't be skipping right over Thanksgiving, but I've caught the Christmas bug this year. I've been listening to Christmas music, hardly giving a thought to the-day-of-turkey-eating. But I have been thinking about why I'm thankful. It's hard not to this time of year. Christmas gives me a happy warm feeling. It truly feels like the earth is celebrating the birth of Jesus with us, it's always a beautiful day.

This year we lost someone very special to us. My sweet sister is missed so much, especially this time of year. She loved Christmas, and I know she will still be with us this year. So first and foremost, I'm thankful for the time I've spent with Tiffany and the memories I have of her.

I'm also thankful for this guy:

He loves me at my worst and adores me at my best. I couldn't ask for anything more. I love you honey! ♥ (you can all throw up now... haha!)

Observe the picture above. Tommy is coloring, and getting it all over the coffee table. And you know what? I don't care. I grew up in a house where we didn't use the dining room table because it was too nice. All it taught me was to actually use the stuff I buy. Life is too short, I'm not going to waste energy trying to make my furniture last a million years, I'm going to look at Tommy's scribble marks on my table and think of how much I love him.

Yeah, I guess I'm thankful for this other little guy. :) I'm so excited for his first Christmas!! Every year we each choose a new ornament from a nice Christmas store downtown, and this year there will be one more to choose. That makes me so, so happy.

I'm thankful for the time I have to cuddle with my boys on the couch when it's raining and cold outside.

Merry Christmas. Count your blessings.

Hello, sunshine!

We've had a few BEAUTIFUL days here in Germany. The sun is shining, accompanied by cool breezes. It's just absolutely beautiful. Leaves are falling and turning all sorts of colors. The cherry on top is that Justin has had a few days off work. We've been outside for two days, just enjoying it. Germany has really long, cold, and dark winters. We know these are the last few days the sun will be shining, so it's bittersweet.

Look. At. That. Face! Tommy is just the cutest thing ever, period.

Tommy isn't always generous with his kisses, so this is a momentum event. We were having lunch at a downtown cafe. It was just laid back and relaxing. Everyone is out enjoying the weather.

After we went shopping downtown, we went to a company BBQ. Soldiers are leaving Germany and it was a farewell party. One of them is Justin's good friend, I think he's going to miss him. Justin looks for any opportunity to "wear" Tristan. :)

Tristan adores being in the baby backpack. He doesn't fuss at all in it, even if he's tired. Must remind him of the pregnancy?

Tommy got a much needed haircut. Justin always hovers around making sure the stylist doesn't cut Tommy's hair the wrong way. Here is Justin telling her how it's done. haha

Beautiful weekend, beautiful life! Life is so very sweet.

Here is a video of Tommy. He was at the salon while I was getting a hair cut. He was yelling GO! at all of the people crossing the street. You can see a little bit of downtown in this video, it's really pretty. Enjoy!