Cooking with Mommy!

Whenever Joy cooks in the kitchen, Brooklynn is quick to pull up a chair and lend a helping hand. Of course, all the hard work also brings great reward and a chocolate mess!

Trick or Treat!

Brooklynn dressed up as her favorite animal this year for Halloween (a leopard) and participated in her first real trick or treat experience. He cousins Anna Kate and Lauren came over and they all hit our neighborhood pretty good. It took Brooklynn a couple houses to learn that you should stay by the door until you get a piece of candy, but once she got it she had a ball.

More picnic fun.

At my company's annual fall picnic, Brooklynn got to roast marshmallows for the first time. I had to teach her to wait until they were "toasty brown" before she ate them. At the end of the night we got to take a little hay ride, which Brooklynn had remembered from last time. It was all she could talk about the entire morning and on the way to the picnic.

One brave little girl!

While we were at my company's fall picnic, they were giving horse rides to the little kids that were there. I took Brooklynn over to see the horse and the guy with the horse asked if Brooklynn wanted to ride. To my amazement she said she did, and she hopped right up on the saddle and took off. I have to admit. I was a little nervous since she was so high up. She did awesome and absolutely loved it.

She sure does love her little brother!

Brooklynn really loves that little brother of hers, even if at times it's at Blake's expense.

The RedS...ox?!?!

Our good friends Bill and Sabina thought it would be a great thing to get Brooklynn her first Boston Red Sox shirt to honor their favorite team. For those that don't know, this does not sit well in our house. Brooklynn knows that her daddy's favorite team is the Cincinnati Reds and shouts their name anytime she sees me wear their logo. You can imagine her confusion when we let her wear this blue shirt with an odd looking logo made up of a couple of ratty, old socks. So there ya go, Bill, proof that she's wearing your gear. Now can we throw it in the trash?

ZOO TOTS!

Because we're members of the Greenville Zoo, Brooklynn gets to attend "Zoo Tots" once a month where she gets to learn about and even touch some real live animals. Of course we have to go see the rest of the zoo after her class, especially the two elephants which are her favorites!

It's football season again!

We had to break out all of our jerseys and cheer on the Carolina Panthers to their first win this past Sunday. Brooklynn's getting really good at yelling out "Go Panthers!" whenever she sees football on TV. It's good to make sure that our children are raised the right way! :)

It's cousin time!

It's always a scene when all the girls get together. Brooklynn's cousins Anna Kate and Lauren just love to get together with her and have a bunch of fun.

Brooklynn's favorite place!

Today I took Brooklynn to her absolute favorite place in all the world, the Greenville Zoo. She had to take HER leopard everywhere throughout the zoo to show him all the animals, especially the BIG leopard. I can't wait to take her to a "real" zoo.

An end to a great beach trip

Our last night at the beach we decided to get dressed up a bit and attempt to get a family shot down on the beach. The camera was fogging up because of the heat, but we managed to finally get some good shots.

A beach photo session

I took Brooklynn down by herself one evening to take a bunch of pictures. I got so many good ones as she looked for shells and ran away from the waves.

Look, it's the beach!

Joy's parents joined us at Pawley's today and we had a nice walk on the beach in the evening. (The 100+ temperature each day has made the sand quite unbearable during the day.) Brooklynn really enjoys the ocean and would stay down there all day if she could. She's obsessed with finding shells and fills her little blue bucket every day.

Our first day at the beach!

We were blessed once again to get the opportunity to go to Pawley's Island, South Carolina for a week at the beach. Thanks Gally! We are truly thankful. Our first night there we went to Litchfield Beach Fish House for dinner. It's been so long since we've been able to have fresh seafood. Brooklynn loved this place because there's a big shark coming out of the roof, and a big fish in the back of a truck in the parking lot.

Drawing Blake

Brooklynn really seems to have a nack for drawing Blake. I am waiting for the day when she will ask him to pose.

Mmmmm Cherries

Just in case you were wondering...she likes cherries!

Aunt Sara's Birthday

Mimi came to visit on Aunt Sara's birthday and she brought Brooklynn her favorite...books! Brooklynn loves her Mimi and Aunt Sara so much and she was especially excited when Aunt Sara asked her to help her blow out the birthday candles.

Swimming

This summer Brooklynn really loved the pool. She has just gotten braver and braver. We went to Shane's brothers house one evening and Brooklynn loved the inflatable animals so much. I think she would like to be a fish!

Lauren's Birthday

Brooklynn had so much fun at her cousin Lauren's birthday party. It was a one of Brooklynn's favorite places. She ran and played and ate her years allotment of sugar. She was very excited about the cow!

A Successful Portrait Visit

We had a great visit to Portrait Innovations. Here are a few of the highlights. We have finally found a place that can keep Brooklynn still for a minute!