Galveston!

This past weekend we went to Galveston for my birthday. I wanted to get out of town and do something, so we decided to visit Galveston. We had not been back since Hurricane Ike. It has changed some. Most places are remodeling and back in business, but some are just a hopeless cause. All of the oak trees along the esplanade down Broadway are all dead and need to be cut down. It will majorly adjust the scenery along that historic road, so unfortunate. We arrived on Friday night and met up with Ryan's brother, Jonathan and his wife, Stacy. We went out to eat at Sonny's, which is a hometown seafood/American bar. Ryan actually got a scholarship for medical school from the owner of this restaurant and we got to visit with him for a few minutes. On Saturday, Brooke was up bright and early so I decided to take her and enjoy a few minutes of the sunrise and the peaceful ocean before the crowds. I really miss taking early morning jogs along the seawall. It was always so quiet and relaxing. Then after that we went back to the condo and ate cereal and joined Stacy at the beach some more relaxing in the sun. Brooke doesn't really know what to think of the ocean yet, but I took her in the ocean for a little while. The she took a nap on a towel on the beach. After that we went to lunch at The Sunflower Bakery, another hometown cooking restaurant near UTMB. It has moved down a block and is now three times the size of its old store. It was still delicious as usual. Then we headed over to Moody Gardens The Aquarium. Brooke enjoyed watching the fish and followed them along in their tanks. It was fun to watch her reactions. Meanwhile, the boys went on a guided fishing trip in the bay. They caught 9 trout and one sheepshead for eating and each caught 2 hammerhead sharks, scary! That evening we met up with my good friend from pharmacy school, Kelli and her family in Kemah. She has a 9 month old, Kolby, who is cute as a button. I am glad I finally got to meet him. We had a lot of fun visiting at dinner. On Sunday, we took some pictures of Brooke in the ocean and shopped on the Strand and then ate at Fisherman's Wharf before heading back home. It was a fun filled weekend and I am glad I had a wonderful weekend birthday. Enjoy the pics from our trip!


Me and Kelli with our babies



Brooke watching the fish

Shark and sea turtle at Moody Gardens

I love my baby girl!

Smile for the camera

Brooke playing in the water.

Stacy and Jonathan

Brooke reading Water, Water Everywhere at the beach.

Gulf of Mexico from our balcony in the morning


Sunrise from our balcony

I miss running on beautiful mornings in Galveston


The hurricane water line in the Strand

5 months old

I can't believe Brooke is already 5 months! I am just amazed by all the things she can do. Words cannot express how awesome it is to watch a baby grow and learn new things. She is getting a lot better about controlling herself while sitting. She can sit in the corner of a chair or the couch unassisted. She is starting to notice and want to touch more things around her. She now grabs at my face and pulls my glasses or jewelry. She is enjoys eating her cereal. For two nights this past week she slept for 8 hrs straight! Wow, that was wonderful.

We did have our first cold this past week. She never ran a fever, but had nasty nasal mucus and was congested. I took her to the doctor on Wednesday and he said it was probably viral. He had to clean out her ears, which she did not like, but I think she felt much better afterwords. Brooke and I are now getting over the cold and feeling much better.

We also went to our first Kindermusic class on Thursday. That was a lot of fun. This is a summer class that is only 1 day a week for 5 weeks. Her class is for 0-18mo. and is titled "busy days". The first week was about going to the grocery store. We sang songs about going to the grocery store and food. We danced and pushed the babies around in laundry baskets, which Brooke loved. There are two 6mo, one 10mo, and one 3 mo old babies in Brooke's class. She loved watching the older babies.

Here are some other pics we took this week.









Hello Ms. Monkey!











Fun in the morning sun.















My cool new shades!







Having fun in the sun!

Happy July 4th! We hope that everyone had a great July 4th weekend. We did. Ryan smoked a brisket that was delicious and we watched the fireworks on TV. On Friday, July 3rd, Brooke and I went out to lunch with Dot and then went to these cute shops where people sell items that they make like jewelry, clothes, candles, etc. I found this cute outfit that Brooke is wearing and I thought it looked festive for July 4th.
She is starting to gain some more weight now that she is on cereal. I can notice her legs are getting a little chunkier. She is still very active. She is constantly moving. Yesterday I propped her up in her Boppy pillow on her stomach and placed a mirror for her to look at while I went to get some laundry. When I came back she had pushed herself over the pillow into the mirror and had a huge grin on her face. It won't be long before she is crawling. When I put her on her stomach, she gets her weight on her forearms and just starts moving those legs, but she is only able to inch along because her belly and chest are still on the floor.
Yesterday, she started sounding a lot more congested and having a runny nose. Then last night I started to feel bad. I know this comes with the territory of daycare, but I hope it won't last long and thankfully she hasn't run a fever yet. (knock on wood)
On June 27th, Brooke's aunt Sara got married. It was a beautiful wedding. We had a great time and Brooke did very well with all the people and the length of the service and reception was not too long for Brooke. Here are a couple of pics from the wedding:





















The other baby in the picture above is Taylor, Sara and Lane's other niece from Lane's side of the family. She is 7mo. old.
I can't believe Brooke is almost 5 months old. Time flies... before I know it she will be starting school.