Beal Family

Happy Birthday Brookelynn!!

2012-01-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

I was stuck in bed for Brookelynn's birthday so we were not able to do much on her big day, but we were so excited to have Rachel, Jaxson and Rawston come over to help us celebrate. They were so sweet to come over and bring a cool Tinkerbell cosmetic kit! :) I love this picture of Brookelynn styling Jaxson hair! Thanks Rach and Jax for making Brooke's day special!

We had to postpone Brookelynn's Tinkerbell birthday party by a few weeks but with some help from my parents we were able to have her special day at the park!

The birthday girl loved seeing all of her friends and family. Thank you everyone for making this a special day for our girl!

Brookelynn's First Day of School

2012-01-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

Brookelynn had her first day of school in September! She was so excited and most excited that Brynn was in her class. We warned their teachers that Brynn & Brookelynn loved each other like sisters...so there was a lot of love and a lot of hate going on! haha

I love the picture of the girls after their first day. I know that I am going to look back on this picture in about 12 years and cry because it feels like this only happened yesterday. Love these girls!

Family Vacation - Sandestin, FL

2012-01-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

We went to Sandestin, FL this past August and had such a WONDERFUL time! It was such a sweet time with my husband and girls. The beaches were beautiful and Brookelynn loved the beaches. The sweetest part of the entire week was seeing how much the girls truly enjoyed the being with their daddy. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am to have such an amazing man! Thank you God for blessing me with my wonderful husband!

This is just a brief overview of the trip. I was able to make a book that captured all of the sweet moments...

Big Announcement- Baby Beal #3

2012-01-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

We are very excited to welcome another baby into our family! This was the pic that we sent to our families to let them know about the exciting news! We are so thankful that the Lord has blessed us with another child. We continually pray for her health and we are so anxious to meet her!

Hawaiian Falls 2011

2012-01-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

We drove past Hawaiian Falls a lot this summer, so Brookelynn talked about the 'slides' quite a bit! We finally went with the kiddos near the end of the summer. We weren't sure how the kids would do but the LOVED it! The big girls started with these small slides then dominated the big twisty slide! It was so fun to see the girls build up confidence to do something that made them a little nervous. Hopefully that friendship will only encourage good, safe, wholesome fun in all of the upcoming years! haha

Circus 2011

2012-01-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

In July, Jenn and I took Brynn and Brookelynn to the Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was such a special day for our 'big girls'! They loved seeing all of the animals and performers. Here are a few pictures of our fun day.

After the Circus the girls and I headed to Tyler with Gigi to see Jenn and Mom's cousin Kim. We had such a fun girls weekend! It was also Jenn's 21st birthday so we celebrated my little sister!

The weekend is one that I will never forget because I found out the morning of the Circus that I was pregnant with our 3rd baby girl! I was a little surprised! Bailey was out of town and in my shock I ended up telling him that I was pregnant as he sat at dinner with 3 colleagues in an airport restaurant. He was a little surprised too! But we are so excited and blessed to be expecting another baby girl into our family on April 2nd.

Lake weekend with the Selfs

2012-01-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

We headed to Cedar Creek lake with the Selfs in August and had so much fun! The kids had a blast playing in the water and riding the Jet Skis and boat! Brookelynn loved riding the Jet Ski with dad!

The little ones loved playing in the pool on the deck! We had a wonderful weekend with special friend but on Sunday Berkley got a little boo-boo! So sad! I felt terrible! She fell out of a chair in her bumbo and landed on the tile floor. It scared me to DEATH!! Our pretty girl had quite a lip when we left.

Summer Days

2012-01-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful summer of playing in the backyard, swimming at the gym, and playing with friends and family! Here are a couple of cute snapshots of the fun!

4th of July

2012-01-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

On the 4th of July we had a nice weekend at home with hot nights and cold ice cream! This is one of my favorite pictures ever. My sweet girl was losing her ice cream to the July heat but she was giving it her best!

On the 4th we headed to Addison for an air show and fireworks. We had a lot of fun and Brooke and Berk loved the fireworks. Brady, Alex and Carson showed up a little after picture time.

Happy Birthday Berkley!!

2011-07-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby girl is one year old! I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! We wanted to have a sweet celebration as sweet as our Berkley!

The party was so fun! We had all of our closest friends and family there! I had a lot of fun playing with the 'Ice Cream' theme. I think my favorites were the cupcakes. The cupcakes were in waffle cones and the icing looked just like an ice cream scoop!

My camera decided not to work the day of the party but I think it worked out because I was able to download everyone's pictures before they left. Berkley was a busy girl at the party. Everyone wanted their picture taken with the birthday girl.

I didn't expect Berkley to be interested in the cake at all. After all...she only likes baby food and Cheerios. She tasted the cake then went for the waffle cone, which she loved!

It was so fun to have all of our new little friends at the party! The youngest of the crew were Gage and Graham. I think we counted 19 kids! SO MUCH FUN! Everyone was in the picture except Jaxson...he wasn't feeling it. :)

We had some indoor activities and some outdoor activities. Lots of fun for everyone!

We had the party a little early so we celebrated on the 28th as well! Berkley was greeted by her Daddy in the morning, then she experienced her first pancakes. She loved them! We went to the pool, she took a nap, then after dinner we headed to Baskin Robbins to make the "Ice Cream Celebration" complete. She thought she was such a big girl to get to hold her own cone! I think that she loved her fun day of new things.

Berkley we love you so much and thank God for you daily! You have such a sweet, calm personality. You are such a blessing to you mommy, daddy and sister. Happy Birthday!

New Family Vacation

2011-06-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend at the lake for Father's Day this year. I think that Brookelynn and Jaxson had the most fun, which made it so fun for us to watch. Jared, Rachel and the boys came out a little later but Jaxson was ready to catch up on the stuff that he missed out on. He didn't even make it to the house before he was in the pool! They were hilarious! Here is Jax grabbing a quick drink in the hot Texas weather! haha (out of his shoe)

Brooke was SO excited to have a partner in crime!

Brooke and Jaxson had different techniques on entering the pool...Brooke was all about the height and Jax was more interested in the sting of the belly flop!

This is so fun guys!

Got a little tangled

They definitely mastered the Slip N' Slide

Sunday morning we woke up and had a delicious Father's Day Breakfast. It was the perfect finish to a wonderful weekend. Brookelynn and I recorded this cool book for Bailey and it was funny to watch him as he listened to his silly girl's answers. Thank you Bailey for being such a loving Daddy to our little girls! Thank you to my sweet dad for being such a wonderful Dad and Chief! You are adored by all of your girls as well! I love you!

Jared & Jaxson took a little rest on the hammock. A sweet Father's day memory!

Crazy haired boat driver!

Beal Family Vacation

2011-06-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

We headed to San Antonio at the beginning of June to have a weekend with the Beal family. It was SO much fun. The last family vacation that we went on with the Beal was the first year that we got married. I guess they didn't like to spend that much time with me! :) Well it was definitely a different vacation than it was 8 years ago! We headed to the Wild Oak Ranch for great family friendly fun!

Berkley got a new big girl car seat for the trip! She thought she was such a big girl and loved watching a movie with Brookelynn. Sad to say that there was not much sleep on the way down there.

The Wild Oak Ranch has a cool lazy river, beach and pool on the grounds and the kids had the most fun in the sand. They got pretty dirty. Terry and Nita were great to sit in the sand with them while the 'big kids' floated the river. (All except Bailey, who was sick in the room.)

Saturday night we headed to downtown to have dinner at Mi Tierra. The food was quite tasty but the wait was a little long. We shopped a bit and we played our guitars, we shook our maracas and we shopped a little more. Then it was finally time for dinner!

Brookelynn loved the mariachi band.

At the end of the day we were all tired but we had a great day. Our little senoritas were all decked out! More pictures to come...I just need to get them off Terry's camera.

Silly Girls

2011-06-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

Brynn came over for a couple of afternoons while John and Jenn were out of town and the girls had a great time. (As always) Here are a couple of pictures of them being silly!

Not my baby anymore...

2011-06-28T12:43:00.001-07:00

My sweet Berkley has been a 'baby' for a really long time! She started sitting up at 6 months and has been content sitting watching her sister ever since. She was not interested in crawling or rolling... just sitting and laying. She finally got a little bored and started crawling on June 5th. She hasn't stopped yet. On June 6th she started standing up in her bed...it seems so strange walking in to get her now.

Photo op...

Of course Brookelynn wanted to get in the picture! (Doesn't like to be out of the spotlight long)

Happy Memorial Day

2011-06-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had a great low key weekend. The best part of the weekend was having Bailey home with us for 3 days. We loved it! We went to the pool with the Selfs...

Brookelynn being a sweet sister!

Bailey being a wonderful daddy!

On Monday night we also went swimming and finished the night off with a little sparkler... Here is Berkley with her big bow to let people know that she is a girl. Her outfit made it a little hard to tell.

Family picture.

Thank you to our troops and my cousin, Ben, for all that you do for our country. You are always in our prayers!

Silly Berkley...what a precious smile.

Zoo day

2011-06-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Jenn and I decided to take an adventure with the kids. We wanted to go to the Dallas Zoo, so we decided to take the Dart Rail down there. It was so much fun! We met at the station at 9 and we were off. It took about 45 minutes to get down there and the kids had a great time. I met a lady that was trying out for the X-factor and we talked the entire way down. (Jenn & I had to split up because we had our huge strollers...and she got stuck with both big girls! :) thanks Jenn). When we arrived at the zoo Kelley, Tate & Blakely were waiting for us! The kids were taking it all in!

Berkley rode her first carousel too. She rode with her big sister and Brookelynn did such a great job of holding on to her.

We got some cute pics of the big kids... We saw the gorillas, the elephants, we fed the giraffes, we watched the leopards play, then we headed to the kids area. The girls had a BLAST in the water.

The ride home...We had some tired kiddos. We had to run to the train to catch it. It was so fun! I helped Jenn walk on the wild side a bit...she thought that I was crazy for running to catch the train! :)

At the end of the day...the girls were exhausted...and we were too. We had the wrong kids! :)

Berkley Photo Shoot

2011-06-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

We went the park to get a cute pic of Berkley for her birthday! We got some cute one! Here are some of my favorites. Brookelynn was such a big sister and photo assistant.

My sweet Berk

Silly smile

Dramatic pose

Laughing at Brooke

Matching Cousins!

2011-06-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

Jaxson, Rawston and Rachel came over to play a few weeks ago and we had a cute cousins photo shoot. Nita had bought these outfits for the girls and Mom got the matching ones for J&R. They were so cute! We are waiting for Dillards to call...for their bookings! haha It was so funny to watch them. Here are a couple of the funny ones.

We took so many and they were laughing so hard because we kept throwing marshmallows and raisins at them. It was a funny day that I will remember for a long time! Love these kids!

Happy Easter!!

2011-06-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! It was such a sweet weekend with friends and family and a time to be so thankful for Jesus and his death AND resurrection. The festivities started on Thursday as we headed to Building Blocks at Watermark with the Selfs. First the moms stuffed eggs and had a quick 'talk' then we went to get the older kids for a fun easter egg hunt. It was cold and rainy outside, so the hunt was moved inside...

Sweet girl...trying to figure out this whole 'hunting for eggs' thing.

My polka dot girls

On Saturday, the Selfs joined us at The Heights for our Easter Celebration. There were inflatables, animals and hunts... When we arrived all the kids matched!! SO CUTE! So we HAD to get a picture of all of them! :)

I love this picture of Berkley and her Daddy!

It was impossible to get a picture of all of the kids looking at the camera. Here is the cutest 'action' shot.

"And they're off!" They looked so cute when they were able to get eggs...we had to remind Brookelynn to pick up the egg and put it in her basket. Her plan was to pick up the egg, break it open, throw the candy in the bag and drop the egg back on the ground. I must say, I was impressed that we was able to do all of that with one hand!

After the girls filled their baskets they thought it was a race to see who could eat their candy the fastest!

After the egg hunt we headed to the petting zoo. It was the cutest one I had ever seen. There were so many baby animals! Baby bunnies, baby chicks, baby goats and baby ducks.

We also headed to the 'death trap'!! Brookelynn and Brynn had so much fun in the bounce house and on this huge slide! UNTIL...Brookelynn almost busted her head open! As she walked to the end of the slide she tripped and fell head first on to the concrete. The entire crowd gasped as she fell and I was able to catch her as her head hit the ground. My heart stopped. Thankfully she was ok! She is my little trooper! I am so thankful that she did not get hurt.

When we got home Gigi and Chief were there! Gigi got the girls the cutest swimsuits...so they modeled them for us.

Sunday we went to church with my family and had a great day!

Our best attempt at a family picture...

The whole gang...

Gigi and Chief with their girls

Our first Easter at our house...in our new dining room. I loved it! We also had dinner in there on Saturday night. Special memories!

First splash of 2011!!!

2011-04-20T20:47:00.001-07:00

Most of you know that I love swimming in the summer!! I might love it as much as I love buying swimsuits for my girls!! Well, we started 2011 strong...we made a trip to Target last week and purchased our favorite pool! I knew Brookelynn would love it!!! and Berkley did too!!

I went digging to see feature how they both sported this cute green suit!

We went for the infant sprinkler pool at Target to make sure that Berkley was safe. Brookelynn was not as excited about it when she saw the Dora and Nemo pool...Her words..."I yike Dera...ohhh...I yike Nemo...ohhh I LUV IT!!" We made the baby pool a little more appealing to Brookelynn by adding the slide! It was a lot of fun...and I think this is the most she has used this slide since we bought it.

The great outdoors!

2011-04-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

With all of this beautiful weather we have been spending a lot of time outside! Several trips to the park and multiple activities in the backyard.

Brookelynn and Berkley are already having so much fun playing together! Berkley is a trooper...especially when we strap her in to the Jeep and she bonks her head every time Brookelynn starts moving...which is every 2 seconds....stop, go, stop, go...

A couple of cute pictures of my baby girl!!

Date with Dad

2011-04-20T19:08:00.001-07:00

On the way to church on Sunday Bailey told us that he was going to take Brookelynn on a date that day. I made them wait until after nap time then they were off. Brookelynn woke up and Bailey jumped into action. He took her to her room to get her clothes on...this is what they came out in. Brookelynn had plaid capris on with a white shirt that was too big and her hat on. He also put her hair in a pony-tail. We hurried out the door...yes, 'we'...because Berkley and I really wanted to tag along! We hurried to the PGA store and arrived at 5:03. We walked up to the front door and found out that they closed at 5!! Bailey was so bummed because he was planning on buying Brookelynn pink balls, a golf skirt and golf visor. So we ran by another store to get the pink balls but they didn't have little people golfware. So here is how the date went...

The day started out pretty serious...getting a hang of the swing...

It quickly turned REALLY silly!!!

REALLY SILLY!!

She started showing all of the other golfers her pink balls....

She was making some great putts...

Dad took a much needed break...

Brookelynn found a hill to start rolling down...

Then she started running everywhere...

She had a wonderful date with dad! She loves him so much and so do I! I thank God everyday for blessing me with such a wonderful husband.

Happy Birthday Carson!!

2011-04-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Carson's first birthday at the Dallas Zoo! It was so much fun! We had VIP access to a turtle and guinea pig. Brookelynn was a lot more interested in the animals while they were in the cage...until the turtle poked his head through the bars...not cool turtle!

Grand kids with Nini & Grampi

This is great! We were singing "Happy Birthday Carson" and when we were done Brookelynn noticed that Carson was not blowing out his candle...so she did it for him! Sweet cousin!

We all took a spin on the carosel...

then fed the giraffes... Carson ate the giraffe food...

it got Brooke's hand...

Brookelynn rode the elephant!!!

ok this was pitiful......Bailey sat Berkley on the kangaroo and she was scared to death!!!! She was holding on for dear life! She sat there for about 30 seconds and did not move a muscle! It was hilarious!

Rawston's Sip N See

2011-04-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

We had a Sip N See to honor Rawston at the beginning of April. We had a great time kissing on that sweet boy and spending time with family!

The special guests!!

Matching cousins...

Rachel and the hostesses

Food table...

The party favors...cookies with Rawston's thank you on the front. We got these from One Smart Cookie. They turned out so great!

Moms and tots with the Selfs

2011-04-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

We headed out to the Arboretum again with the Selfs. The girls had a great time running around. The girls checked out all of the animals and listened to a story while we waited in line to have their faces painted.

Such cute best friends!

They walked around holding hands...it was so cute!

This makes my stomach hurt!!

2011-04-20T14:48:00.001-07:00

Fast forward 16 years....oh I don't even want to think about it! I love how Brynn looks like she has it all under control but Brookelynn is holding on for her life!!! hahahaha I can't stop laughing!

Cousins!!

2011-04-20T14:39:00.001-07:00

We stayed with Brady and Alex for a week while we replaced our floors in our house. We really enjoyed our stay! Brookelynn loved spend time with Carson and toughing him up a bit! haha They had a chance to have a group bath!! Wow...there was a lot of energy in that tub!!

Silly cousins!!! This is going to be a bunch of trouble in the upcoming years!

A day at the Arboretum

2011-04-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day at the Arboretum with Gigi! We tried to go the day before but our paths crossed a Marshall's and it was cold outside! So we headed back for a second attempt! We made it to the parking lot...then an hour and a half later we made it through the gate! We were crazy enough to go during spring break but it was all worth it! We had a great time with Gigi and enjoyed our beautiful surroundings!

This is definitely my favorite picture of my precious girls. I feel like it captures each of my girls sweetness!

Brookelynn is a such a great sister and she loves to make her baby sister laugh

OK I LOVE THIS SEQUENCE... WATCH CLOSELY!!

Brooke sitting next to Berkley and noticing something behind her...

"Oh, what a pretty purple flower...I bet Berkley would love to eat it!!!!"

Not so much...

This picture wraps up all of Berkley's poses....excited, open mouth...in ALL of her pictures!

At the end of the day Brookelynn found a friend in the bushes... she was amazed!! She watched it for 5 minutes...

This squirrel was eating a pecan...it removed the shell all around...then slowly starting eating all of the pecan a little at a time... it was cool to watch. :)

After approximately 300 pictures I finally captured Brookelynn's true smile! This captures my sweet girl.

Silly Berkley!! Loving life!

Four generations enjoying all of God's beautiful creations...family, daughters, laughter, nature. God is SO good!

Baby Rawston

2011-04-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Rawston Reid New was born on March 2nd! I gave us a little scare but is doing great!! He is awesome just like his mom!! Here are a few pictures of the day at the hospital. We were not able to get many pictures of precious Rawston since he went to the NICU immediately but you will get to see what the big brother and cousin got to do while they waited!

Here is beautiful Rachel just resting....this is 30 minutes before Rawston entered this world! Doesn't she look great! I was so proud of this girl, she is a trooper!!

First family picture! This is when we were all able to run in quickly and meet him. He had to head out for tests after this.

Here are two sweet 2 year olds waiting as patiently as they could!

It was a great day! Rawston has already brought so much joy to this world!! We love you!

Fun at the park with Jaxson

2011-02-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

Last week we got together with Jaxson and Rachel at the park to enjoy this pretty weather. It was really windy but we will take it over 14 degrees anyday!

They had so much fun on the tire swing!

More than anything they loved throwing and walking in the leaves!

Sister time...

2011-02-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

The other day I asked Brookelynn to go play with her sticker book while I had a quick conversation with a friend. I walked in on this... I had put Berkley to bed before I made the phone call but Brookelynn wanted to show Berkley how she put her stickers in her sticker book.

This look means, "What, mom...I am being quiet for you!"

I love you Brookelynn! You are sometimes too smart for your own good!

More snow days!

2011-02-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

This is a random picture that was in the middle of my snow pictures. I had to put it in because it shows how big my girl is getting. She is no longer a baby...she is my 'big girl'. She has a little girl face these days.

Bailey made a sled for the snow that would not go away and Brookelynn was pulled around like a princess!

Bailey forgot about the thick layer ice that was underneath the snow and peeled out and fell! haha it was so funny! He wouldn't talk about his aching knee! Sweet daddy took one for the team!

Back on track...

Then Brookelynn fell off and lost her pants!!

Sweet Rachel and Anthony came down to play on the beautiful day! They are such sweet kids and Brookelynn LOVES it when they come play at her house!

Berkley even got a ride on the sled!

Eating more snow!

Mom and Brooke

Berkley even got bundled up to play in the snow!

Rachel playing with Brookelynn while the boys built forts

Fun time with Dad!

2011-02-23T22:44:00.001-08:00

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!! Brookelynn's face is hilarious! She lives for the end of the day when daddy gets home from work!

Happy Birthday Jaxson!

2011-02-23T22:23:00.001-08:00

We went the ranch for Jaxson's 2nd birthday! It was such a fun day with the family. The weather turned out to be beautiful. Rachel definitely out did herself but we ate like kings!

Jaxson, Brookelynn and Rhett had so much fun playing together all day!

Me and my sweet brother! I think out sweet sister took this picture....I should have had her jump in but thanks Jenn for taking this pic. I don't know the last time we took a pic together!

Everyone got to play on Jaxson's new John Deer! Even Berkley!

Family pic as we snuggled around the fire!

Brookelynn was in heaven when we started roasting marshmallows. Rachel found the largest marshmallow I had ever seen! We had a great time! Happy Birthday Jax!

January Snow Day!

2011-02-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

Wow...I am behind! This was our first snow day! Brookelynn loves the snow and LOVES to eat it! We stayed inside most of the day then ventured outside when Bailey got home! It was fun and the air smelled wonderful! Made me with that we were snow skiing.

Berkley's first taste of snow

Sitting UP!!

2011-02-23T22:02:00.001-08:00

Berkley started 2011...sitting up! She was very close over the Christmas break but once she got this cool toy she didn't want to spend much time on the floor.

Once we got home she was ready to sit up and play with this fun toy! My girl is growing SO fast!

She has such a sweet spirit and we are so thankful for what she has added to our family.

Bath Time

2011-02-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

Berkley and Brookelynn have started having actual bath time parties! Now that Berkley can sit up they have SO much fun in the bath together. This is a picture of her first bath with Brooke while she was sitting up on her own!

This is a video that I will always cherish! Berkley is so amazed by her big sister. She lights up when Brookelynn walks in the room. I already love their relationship...even when they bicker at each other. I love you my girls!

Baylor Bowl Game!

2011-02-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 29th we headed to Houston to go to the Baylor Bowl game. Unfortunately, we did not have the outcome that we wanted but we had a GREAT time with the Selfs, Heathcotts and Beals. We have a fun night out at Chili's and stayed out to a crazy 11:00 PM!! haha We had a great time with some great friends!

Merry Christmas

2011-02-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

This post is backwards but you see the final result. An exhausted 2 yr old! We had a wonderful Christmas day with all of our family and we are so blessed! Here is a quick re-cap of our day!

Nini and Berkley

Girls picture in our breakfast p.j.s

We went out to the ranch after lunch and spent time with the Beals. Brookelynn arrived to find a cool jeep! She loved it and took it for a spin with Echo then her baby.

Wearing Jaxson's cool safety goggles

Sweet Berki with her daddy

Sweet little momma!

Santa came!!

Helping Berkley with her new toy

Cousins hug...

Sweet family picture after the Christmas Eve service

Afternoon with the Armstrongs

2011-01-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

We went to Abilene early and were able to spend time with my best friend, Lindsey, and her kids. Avery and Taos are such sweeties. I wish that our kids knew each other better but living so far away makes it hard! This was the first time that they had met Berkley.

Berkley and Taos were really checking each other out! Taos was so sweet! Brookelynn and Avery had fun playing together too!

Doesn't that face just like he is up to something...:) I think that this is when he got the idea...

This is when he executed his idea! :) If he could just get a little closer to that girl he could rip that bow off her head and snatch that paci out of her mouth!.... :) hahaha he was successful! This picture is priceless! Nona was there to save the day!

Group picture! Thanks Lindz for coming over! We truly enjoyed spending time with you all!

Sneaky Santa!

2011-01-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 19th Santa was checking his list twice and realized that he wasn't going to have room for Brookelynn's trampoline in his sleigh on Christmas. We were so surprised when we woke up to find that Santa had left a note for Brookelynn.

Brookelynn was so excited find her "Jumper" outside!! She new exactly what to do!

Then we went inside and she got to open her present from her sweet daddy!

She got some COOL overalls! (For the ranch)

Our growing baby girl!

2011-01-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Our sweet little Berkley is growing so quickly! I want to take a minute to show you how big she is getting! She brings so much joy to our lives. She loves her big sister and Brookelynn loves her so much!

This picture is such a sweet representation of our lives! Brookelynn is always the center of attention but Berkley doesn't let you forget about her! She is always bright eyed and smiling!

Our baby is sitting up...well kind of...only on this pillow. The floor doesn't really allow her to keep her balance!

Our precious Berkley! We love you so much!

Enjoying the Christmas season

2011-01-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

So...we went to see the famous North Park Santa...wow. Not worth the wait! It is such an ordeal to see this Santa. It requires a lot more than just waiting in line. Jenn was so sweet to get a number for us to see Santa early and we met Brynn, Jenn, John & Ethan there to see the man. The story was the best part but Brookelynn was not at all interested in talking to him. These pictures are a great illustration of the visit. I think that next year we might stick with our favorite Santa in Abilene!

We also went to check out the Christmas Village at the Richardson public library. It was so fun. The houses were not open the night that we went but that was ok with us. It was really cold so we took the fast track around. It was fun and we look forward to making this a Christmas tradition with the girls.

Berkley's big week!

2011-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

On December 12th, we had a very special dedication of both Berkley and Carson Beal! Our sweet families were able to join us as we made a commitment to raise our sweet babies in Christian homes. We are so blessed by Berkley and Carson and so thankful that we were able to share this time with Brady and Alex.

A few days before Berkley (Brookelynn & I) was in Abilene starring in the Wylie Baptist's Living Christmas Tree. She was baby Jesus! She did so well! She was loving the attention...she was all smiles when it was her time to shine! We were so proud of her, Nini and Grampi! It was so sweet to see Berkley playing baby Jesus during her Nini's solo!

Berkley with Rick (family friend/music minister)

Spiva Christmas

2011-01-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

We headed to Bonham for a family Christmas and had a great time catching up with family that we haven't seen all year. We ate more great food and the kids played and Mr. & Mrs. Claus even stopped by!

Richardson Christmas Parade

2011-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

In early December we headed to the Richardson parade with John, Jenn, Brynn and Ethan! We had such a great time watching the cheesy parade...but it was great for Brynn and Brookelynn. Thanks Bailey for being a good sport! It is all about the memories!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-01-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

Wow! I am so far behind! Here are a few pictures of our wonderful Thanksgiving weekend in Abilene. The weekend was for the most part very relaxing. We were all out at the ranch enjoying the weather and eating way too much food!

Brookelynn after a great nap!

Berkley in her turkey dress. Nini got Brookelynn and Berkley matching turkey dresses...they were definitely cuter on than they were on the hanger! :) haha Thank you Nini! We love you!

Nini with her babies!

Brookelynn got to ride sweet Coco

And the goat yard art! :)

Time for dinner!!

We love spending time out at the ranch! There are so many friends there to play with!

Sweet Berkley

2010-12-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

Our happy girl after church one Sunday in November

Christmas Pictures

2010-12-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

While we were stranded at home a few weeks ago we decided to have a photoshoot! The girls did really well...considering we were in the backyard.

I used marshmellows to bribe Brookelynn...this was at the end, after she had been rewarded

Our sweet Berkley, she is such a happy baby!

My sweet girls

Banana with Santa

2010-12-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of November we headed to Abilene so that Bailey could hunt and the girls went to Christmas Carosel. It was fun! We saw lots of cute things and we went to "Breakfast with Santa" on Saturday morning. We thought it would be so fun too...but...breakfast wasn't really breakfast...it was A banana! That is NOT breakfast to me...especially a $12/person breakfast! Well, it wasn't what we had expected but it was a fun memory! We were still hungry after we left so we headed to La Popular and had a delicious breakfast for about $5.

There was also a puppet show, craft and carnival in addition to the banana and Santa. Brookelynn was a little young for the craft and carnival.Berkley was ok with Santa at the beginning...

Then she got upset and Brookelynn didn't want to get close to him

Brookelynn wanted her picture in front of the vintage Carosel.

My newest adventure!!

2010-12-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

I went to my first Thirty-One party on November 4th and I was hooked! I fell in love with all of the bags so since I couldn't buy all of them I decided to sell them to all of my friends!

This Christian based company proudly bears the name Thirty One from Proverbs 31, Characteristics of a Virtuous Woman.

Here are few fliers that show just a glimpse of wide variety of products that Thirty One offers. They also have a kids line with some great useful products. I would love for anyone to check out the website to see all of the great products. WWW.MYTHIRTYONE.COM/CBEAL. You can place an order online or send me an email to let me know what you want... thirtyonecourtney@gmail.com. I hope you all love it as much as I do!!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun Halloween! We missed Bailey while we were trick or treating but Brookelynn seemed to really enjoy it, she loves spending time with her best friend Brynn!

This could be one of my all time favorite pictures of Brynn and Brookelynn. We got about 8 more after this shot of them being really silly.

The baby trick or treaters. Sweet Ethan was a sleeping pumpkin!

Getting candy from the neighborhood bumble bee!

Me and my girls!

Later we found the big babies in the stroller...

The last picture of my little bugs!

Fall Festival

2010-11-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

We went to our church's fall festival with the Selfs on Wednesday. This was the first year that we went with the girls! We had a great time!

Bailey with his little lady bug

Brynn and Brookelynn completing an obstacle course to get a piece of candy

Bailey with his butterfly without her wings

More fun games for Brookelynn

Family picture with our bugs

Baylor Homecoming 2010

2010-11-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

We headed to Waco again this year for Baylor Homecoming! We arrived in Waco early Saturday morning to see the parade. When we arrived it was sprinkling a little bit but it stopped when we found a spot to watch. We found Mom, Dad and Jenn then we immediately saw the Evans! Brooke had saved a great spot for Brookelynn to watch with her! They were so cute in their matching cheerleader outfits.

Brookelynn loved all of the floats!

My sweet husband and his big girl!

Chief and Brookelynn

Mom and Berkley

Our family

After the parade we headed to the bookstore...

Then we headed to the game....We were having so much fun when we walked up to the stadium and even found our seats...but then it started raining! And pouring!!! Right before the rain started all of the students around us started screaming, pointing and running. It was chaos! (They were pointing at the wall of rain heading our way!) In all of the craziness we were seperated from my mom, who had Berkley. While we were all getting drenched, all I could think about was my little 4 month old baby getting drenched too...only I wasn't with her and I couldn't make sure that she was ok. Brookelynn was being such a big girl as she was soaked to the bone. We walked to the car to seek shelter in hopes that Mom and Berkley would come soon after. Well...1-1/2 hr later...we still couldn't find Mom and Berkley! I tried to stay calm...after all my baby was with my mom...but I started getting a little worried. When we finally found Mom she was having such a great time...talking to new friends...telling them how she had just spent the last hour with the Baylor football team in their LOCKER ROOM!! The Lord put her in the right place at the right time...as it started raining someone in the locker room looked out the side door and saw my mom holding my little baby and they invited her in! She was the only 'non-team member' that was in there! Thanks Bears for taking care of my Mom and baby Berkley!

If we would have been all together after the rain started we would have probably gotten a hilarious 'soaked' group picture...but it wasn't funny at the time! :) Here is our tired wet Brookelynn as she waits for Gigi and Berki.

Fun times...I don't think we will ever forget Homecoming 2010!

Silly Sisters

2010-11-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn doesn't like to miss much these days so she sits with Berkley when we change her diaper. Here are just a few moments that I could let pass by...

Coco

2010-11-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Another ranch weekend!! This time we got to meet the newest addition to the ranch...Coco.

Bailey and Brookelynn resting their eyes on the hammock.

Brookelynn riding Coco for the first time. This was the first of MANY rides to come!

Brookelynn snuggling with her uncle Hunter

Pumpkin patch

2010-11-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

While we were in Abilene we visited the pumpkin patch with mom. Brookelynn has been loving the pumpkins this fall. When we run to the park we see how many we can see on everyone's front porches.

We are still working on getting some precious sister pictures...this one was close.

We even went on a hay ride and the girls had a great time! Thanks mom for taking this cute picture of me and my girls!

Sweet moments

2010-11-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few pictures that we have taken over the past month.

Brookelynn in the strawberry outfit...

Here is Berkley in the same outfit! It is crazy to see the difference in the girl's size! Brookelynn was so much taller than Berkley is. Brookelynn was month old when she fit in to this outfit and Berkley was 3 months old when she wore it. My sweet girls!

Bailey with his girls. They can be found here most nights.

Berkley in Brookelynn's "B" outfit.

Brookelynn was helping me pose Berkley. :)

Berkley loves the exersaucer! She has had enough of the bouncy seat. She loves to sit up and look at all of these cool toys. She only wishes that she could reach all of them with her mouth!

Brookelynn's multiple birthdays

2010-10-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn had a wonderful 2nd birthday! We had such a fun day at home. Bailey and I blew up about 60 balloons the night before to surprise her when she woke up. I also prepared a fun birthday scavenger hunt for the birthday girl. The hunt lead her to the kitchen, the bathtub, the backyard, a special lunch with Dad, and back to the living room for a special present (her first bible).

The next weekend we headed to Abilene to celebrate her birthday at the ranch with the Beals. It was the birthday that would not end!

Here is Brookelynn modeling her new cowgirl outfit.

The cowgirl helping Grampi work on the tractor.

Little stinker

Birthday girl getting a strider bike!

The party!

Brookelynn blowing out her candles! Isn't that the cutest cake! Nita made it!

And that marks the end of the 3 week birthday celebration. When Bailey got home on Monday Brookelynn ran to him and told him that she wanted a "surprise"! :) Rotten!

Berkley's Sip N See

2010-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

This is a very overdue post! Rachel and Jenn were so sweet to have a Sip N See for Berkley. It was so much fun and Berkley enjoyed meeting all of our friends and family. Thank you Rachel and Jenn for a wonderful shower!

Berkley got a fabulous new bow!!

Dear Mystery gifter, I appreciate you thinking of our sweet Berkley when you wrapped this silly aggie cheerleading outfit. Thank you for the great laughs and for the outfit that I will give to my future niece!

Thank you everyone for the sweet gifts and taking the time to meet our sweet girl!

Brookelynn's Birthday Party!!

2010-09-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

We had Brookelynn's party early this year because the pool was closing before her actual birthday. We had a great pool party at Jack Carter Pool! It was so much fun with Brookelynn's best friends and cousins!!

The birthday girl!!

Fun festivies

Singing "Happy Birthday Brookelynn" with all of the cousins!

Decorations at the pool! Fun cupcakes were so easy for the pool!

Mom and Dad with the silly birthday girl!

The Selfs with Berkley...We can't wait to meet Ethan.

Berkley hanging by the pool in her swimsuit

Mom and Berkley! I don't think I have gotten a picture of the two of us since we left the hospital!

Family picture after a fun birthday party! I think everyone was hungry in this picture!!

Berkley Update

2010-09-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

Berkley is so fun these days! Just smiling and laughing and cooing! She has stopped her crying at night and is just a joy to be around. She has brought so much joy to our life! I love kissing her sweet cheeks and I love seeing Brookelynn's face light up when she sees her little sister. Berkley Kate we love you!

Good Morning!! Does it really matter what time it is when you wake up to this sweet face?

Berkley loves sitting in the swing looking up at this mobile...and Brookelynn loves pushing her in the swing. Berkley isn't going to be scared of anything with a sister like Brooke.

Brookelynn has been in major 'mom mode' and she put her baby down with Brookelynn and picked up the flip video and said..."cheese". What a stinker!

Berkley and Brookelynn's beautiful baby

Berkley saying, "what is she doing now?"

Port Aransas (Year Two)

2010-09-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

We went back to Port Aransas this year. This year we were going to have a smaller crowd but at the last minute Brooke Evans got the flu! We were SO sad that Brooke and Ashley were sick. The Evans were SO sweet to let us go ahead and go down in hopes that they could join us later in the weekend. We took the trip from Dallas to Port A slow...stopped in Waco, Austin and San Antonio for the night. We were so excited to see Hunter and Shelby and see their new home! We had a great evening with them and woke up Thursday morning and made the last leg of the trip to Port A. Brookelynn did AWESOME!! She was such a trooper! We got some really sweet videos of her in the car. Brad and Hannah joined us on Friday. We had such a fun, relaxing weekend. Here are just a couple of pictures of the weekend.

When we arrived on Thursday we headed to the store to get food for the weekend. Here is Brookelynn helping me cook dinner. (With her bandana...Brooke and Bailey had adventures in convenient stores in each stop time while I fed Berkley. The bandana was a fun find in one crazy store!)

I love this picture of Bailey and Brookelynn!

Brookelynn LOVED the beach! She would just run and run and run...

Berkley wasn't quite as big of a fan... the wind kept bouncing her in her bouncy chair!

But Brookelynn kept running and running...

Then she played in the sand. She was more interested in destroying the castles than building them.

Family picture at Port A 2010

Thank you, Evans families, for allowing us to use your beach home! We had a great time but we missed you. It was great to see you on Sunday for a quick dinner! I look forward to spending more time together and Port A 2011!!

Weekend at lake

2010-09-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

We went to lake with my family on the weekend of August 14th. Jenn finally came home from Pinecove and my birthday was on the 15th. We had a really fun time but missed Jared, Rachel & Jaxson. I have wonderful memories of going to the lake with my family when I was a child. It was fun share those lake days with Brookelynn. I can't wait to teach her how to ski!

Brookelynn loved swimming in the lake...it was so hot in the boat, but the water wasn't much cooler! (96 degrees)

Berkley was just hanging out in her seat. We had a special towel for her to keep her cool!

Brookelynn enjoyed her first tube ride! She went on the tube last summer but we didn't really go fast at all. This year it was a legitimate tube ride and she did great! She had fun...you can't really see her face in this picture. She went with Bailey and I on Saturday but we forgot the camera.

We set up a small pool at the house for Brookelynn to swim in. It was so warm that Mom and I decided to get in with the girls. Berkley wasn't a big fan at first but she warmed up to it.

Brookelynn lended her finger to help Berkley calm down.

Sweet smiles

2010-09-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

We were playing in the Bumbo a few weeks ago and was able to capture this sweet smile!!

Berkley got a bow!!

2010-09-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

While we were in Abilene we did have a fun 'photo shoot' for Berkley! I was very pleased with the outcome! This was also Berkley's first bow! What a hit...perfect for the pictures

We tried to get some cute pics of Brookelynn too...but she wasn't in to it. I thought this was a sweet one of her NOT smiling!

Berkley's first trip to Abilene

2010-09-08T13:26:00.001-07:00

We didn't get many pictures of our adventures in Abilene. I was pretty

tired after our all day trip. But I was sure to get one picture that we had taken of Brookelynn...

BATH TIME!!

Can you tell who is who?

It was fun at the beginning but they both got upset in the end...

Officially 1 Month old!

2010-09-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of cute pics of Berkley on July 28th...

Dad and Brookelynn loving on little sis!

Week Four!

2010-09-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

So here are a few cute pics of Berkley throughout her 4th week! Really random...We are really starting to get into a good routine. I feel like I am getting this "mommy of two thing" down!

Berkley hanging out on the sofa...controlling the TV channels.

Brookelynn thinks that it is so fun to sit in Berkley's car seat.

When Berkley was 4 weeks old we transferred to her own bed. She did great with the transition and Brookelynn loves her being in the bed. We went to get Berkley out of bed this Sunday morning and Brookelynn really wanted to get into bed with her. So Brooke played in there for a while and Berk seemed to really like it!

This was the picture of Berkley's first night in her own bed.

(This is a picture of Brookelynn on her first night in her bed)

Berkley's Third week

2010-08-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great week with Berkley! Nita came down to play with the girls and keep Brookelynn entertained while I got a little bit of sleep! Here are a few pictures from the week!

I was taking some pictures of Berkley and Brookelynn snuck in for a kiss...

Sitting with Berkley and giving her some loving...even though it doesn't look like it in the picture.

Our little one with her sweet chicken legs

Brookelynn sitting with her Nini...she was Nita's shadow for the week!

Bailey took Brookelynn on a 'date' to the bookstore and they got a few Baby Einstein videos... Brookelynn didn't watch TV until the Einstein videos. She LOVES them!

On Sunday Terry (Grampi), Josh and Darby came down to go eat at Texas de Brazil. We celebrated Nita, Josh and Bailey's birthdays! It was a great time with the Beal clan...minus Hunter and Shelby... we missed them! Here are the girls in their matching lady bug dresses. Terry picked them out for the girls before Berkley arrived!

Berkley's second week

2010-08-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Berkley's second week was the very exciting!! She slept....

Here are a few of her sweet sleeping positions...

She was awake for a little bit...we were sure to take a picture to see her sweet eyes

Then she went back to sleeping...on her sister this time.

Then on her daddy

I love this picture...it is a perfect description of having 2 kiddos...One in your arms while the other rides a horse on your leg! They just love their daddy so much! (and so do I)

Brookelynn trying on mom's baby bjorn

I love thess two pictures...I am afraid it is just a glimpse of what is to come... TROUBLE!!

Then she gives this look and she is sweet again

Berkley's first trip to the pool!

2010-08-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

Rachel introduced us to the coolest pool! We hope that Berkley is going to be a little fish like her sister. She is off to a good start, at the pool at 2 weeks old! Me, Mom and the girls met Jaxson and Rachel to have a fun morning at the pool! Here are a few pictures of the fun outting.

Brookelynn kissing her sweet little sister. In their matching outfits. Berkley has a matching swimsuit too. I am sure it will appear in later posts.

Gigi & Jaxson

Jaxson & Brookelynn had such a great time playing in the water with Gigi.

They loved the slide...

Berkley's one week birthday

2010-07-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Berkley has had a great week and we are all so excited that she is here! We love her so much and I love seeing her and Brookelynn interact. Here are a few pictures of our first week with Berkley. (Sorry there are so many...we have the camera at our hip these days.)

I love this picture of the girls

Our snuggle bug on her 'one week birthday'

Brookelynn telling Berkley a story...we just had no idea what language she was speaking in!

Sweet feet

Brookelynn had so much fun cooking with Gigi. These little blue chairs have become her extention to the big world.

Every night when Bailey gets home from work Brookelynn gets "love marks" on her hands. This was Bailey's first day back to work and he came home and Berkley got her first "love mark".

Eyes wide open

Little sneeker...The only reason Brookelynn is smiling in this picture is because she knows that she is not supposed to be there. This is our neighbor's porch and Brookelynn loves to run over and hide on her front porch.

4th of July

2010-07-21T20:29:00.001-07:00

This year we really wanted to go see fireworks with Brookelynn. We weren't sure if we would actually go but we ended up feeling pretty good that night. We ran out to Firewheel town center for a late show. I am really glad that we ended up going be Brookelynn loved the show and Berkley ended up sleeping through all of it.

I love this picture of Bailey & Brookelynn...she had the best seat for the show.

I know this picture is blurry but I thought it was kind of cool.

Brookelynn's look of amazement at the fireworks.

She was so impressed

Such a sweet picture of my girl

Family picture with my matching girls...yes I dressed them to match even though Berkley wasn't seen by anyone.

Little frog

Actual 4th of July ... our little miss liberty! If you asked Brookelynn what the fireworks said, (on her shirt) she would respond with, "BOOM, BOOM".

Jared, Rach & Jaxson came over for dinner on Sunday. It was so fun, we had an all american dinner...grilled burgers and homemade ice cream. Then we finished the night off with a few fireworks...yes, in the city limits. Jared's famous last words, "Bailey, I promise, this one does not have fire." (This as a flaming parachute man lands in our neighbors yard) It was hilarious!!!

Home

2010-07-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

We got home on Thursday afternoon and Bailey's parents brought Brookelynn home shortly after. It was so great to see Brookelynn and great to see that she was finally excited to see me. (She didn't want anything to do with me in the hospital) This our first family picture outside of the hospital.

Brookelynn was checking out her new sister...letting her know the rules of the house!

Our little burrito

Big sis...wanting to be close to her sister

Friday was our first day alone...without grandparent help. WOW...we were tired! This is the first breakfast with my girls! Brookelynn and I always enjoy our breakfast together and now I get to enjoy that time with both my girls!

Resting with both of my girls

Berkley's first bath at home with my big helper, Brookelynn

My little lamb...she didn't really enjoy the bath

Berkley Kate Beal

2010-07-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Berkley Kate Beal made her entrance to the world on June 28, 2010 at 7:33AM! We were SO excited to meet her and have enjoyed every minute with her since then. We went in to the hospital a 5AM and in to surgery at 7AM...33 short minutes later Berkley arrived. Definitely an easier entrance than Brookelynn! Here are a LOT of pictures of our stay at the hospital...

The first of MANY pictures of our girl!

Proud mom & dad looking at our precious new baby girl! It was such a sweet time to just hold her on my chest before she met everyone else.

After we spent time with Berkley in the OR Bailey took Berkley to the nursery window so that the rest of the family could get their first look at her. Brookelynn was SO excited to see her Daddy and little sister, but she was SO sad to see him leave.

This is a picture of Brookelynn after her daddy left.

When we were transferred to our room we had Brookelynn come in to meet her little sister. She wasn't really sure about it. She was so excited to be in the same room with Mom and Dad but did not like to see mom hooked up to all of the machines and in the big bed. She didn't know what was going on.

She was a lot more interested in Berkley when she wasn't in bed with me. She has been the best big sister and such a great helper! This was the first time that she held her. In the other room with Gigi.

Berkley's first bath!
She wasn't a fan!

I picked up this fishing game at Target for Brookelynn to play with in the hospital...it was the best $2.50 that I have spent in a while. It was so much fun for her to play with at each of her visits!

Berkley with her little sis shirt that my sister Jenn made. Brookelynn had a matching big sis shirt! I thought that they were SO cute! Jenn you are so talented!

Big sis...playing with her fishing game.

Our new little family. Brookelynn checking Berkley out.

Our first family photo.. (Brookelynn had a cookie in her mouth)

Dad and his girls

Proud Grandparents

Big sis and little sis hands

Kissing her sweet hands...

Mom and her girls

Berkley came back from the nursery on Tuesday morning all clean from her night bath with this cute little hat on. I know...it is a big bow (especially for me) but I thought it was so cute!

Mom and Berkley...I finally got to take that hospital gown off!

All scrunched up...

All dressed up and ready to go home! It was a good week in the hospital and we had so many sweet visitors but we were SO excited to get Berkley home and get Brookelynn back from grandparents. Berkley looked so pretty in her dress!

Wrapped up warm & tight...

Our little fish!

2010-06-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn's first swim certificate! We finally completed Brookelynn's swim lessons tonight! She was so proud to show her daddy her swim certificate!

Bailey was able to come watch Brookelynn and I at swim lessons yesterday. It was the perfect day for him to come! She was allowed to swim with the noodle for the first time and she did great! She finally figured out how to kick her feet and paddle her hands at the same time. She kicked her little feet so fast! Here are a few pictures from the lesson...sorry for the preggo swimsuit pics. This is when we were working on swimming on her back. She thinks that this is so funny and it must feel so weird to her because she always makes the funniest face.

We would throw the ball and she would swim as hard as she could to get to it!

When she first got her noodle on...

Beginning of the class...doing the hokey pokey... We would play a couple of silly games during the lesson but Brookelynn wasn't interested. She would much rather swim around the pool or do her 'monkey crawls' along the wall or jump off of the wall.

Another cute picture of my girl...with her crazy hair

Here is a video of her swimming with the noodle

Swim Lessons!

2010-06-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn started swim lessons last week! Due to the fact that my child has NO fear of water, I thought it might be a good idea to get her into swim lessons before her little sister arrives. They are actually parent/child swim lessons, so I get the in the water with her. It is so fun to go to each lesson and have her master a new skill each day.

Here is my little fish before we headed out to the pool.

Bailey came with us to one lesson and took several pictures and videos...I will post them tomorrow. Now it is time for bed!

Random Picture

2010-06-16T21:46:00.001-07:00

Here are a few random pictures from the past few days.

Brynn came over to play last Saturday and Brookelynn brought her chairs in the living room and arranged them like a cho-cho train and invited Brynn to join her! It is SO much fun to watch these girls play together. Jenn and I always joked that these girls were going to be best friends but we never thought that it would start this early. They are so sweet to each other and greet each other with a hug each time they meet. Pardon Brookelynn's big girl panties and paci.

On Tuesday my family was in town to pick up my Dad from the airport. While they were all in town we met up with Rachel, Jared & Jaxson for dinner. Here is Uncle Jared with the picture that he loves taking...They always looks so cute together! Jaxson is getting so big and cute and has the sweetest personality.

I can't remember why I took this picture...I just think that it is cute of my growing girl.

Abilene weekend

2010-06-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we headed to Abilene so that Mom and I could give my best friend Lindsey a Sip & See Shower. We were so excited to meet her sweet baby boy, Taos Crawford. We had a great shower on Saturday morning then headed over to the Beal's to go swimming. My little fish swam for over 2 hrs and didn't want to get out when it was time for dinner. She absolutely LOVES the water and can't get enough of it. Here are a few funny pictures of her enjoying the water. I don't think that she stopped smiling and making funny faces the entire time that she was in the water.

Lounging on the raft

Fishing in the shallow end

Swimming with Mom...I loved every minute too!

Swimming with Dad!

Dad is so much fun!

Our tired girl snuggling with Nini after a long day of swimming.

Memorial Day weekend

2010-06-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

We headed to Lake Whitney for the holiday weekend. We had a great weekend with the Griggs, McClures and the Selfs. We didn't get many great pictures but we had so much fun hanging out in the kiddy pool, taking boat rides and watching movies. There was lots of baby talk when we realized that all 4 girls were pregnant! Congrats Kelley and Mary! We are so excited to hear that we will have new friends to play with next year!

Here are the kids eating lunch...their mom's forgot their booster chairs.

Brookelynn being fussy. We took a couple of kiddy pools and Brookelynn was in the big one most of the weekend. There was a little spray hose that she wasn't too keen on.

Brynn on the other hand loved the spray hose and had a great time spraying anyone that she could.

Family Dinner

2010-06-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

We were able to schedule a family dinner at the end of May with the Ratliffs, Holders and News. We had such a great time just spending time together. We all live in the DFW area but it is hard to find a date that works for each busy family. Brookelynn had such a great time hanging with he big cousins.

I look forward to the next dinner...when we will be a family of 4!!

Brookelynn had a popcicle...and ate someone else's too! The orange didn't come out of her swimsuit...good thing that her mom has a swimsuit obsession!

Preparing for Brookelynn's baby sister

2010-06-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

We are excitedly pulling out all of the baby gear for Brookelynn's baby sister. Brookelynn has had so much fun testing out all of the old gear, making sure that it all still works right. Here she is testing out the baby bath tub. Her bear is usually the test subject but she decided to take a dip herself.

Here she is "resting her eyes". This is a new thing that she doesn't when she is tired. If she gets a little fussy in the car seat we ask her to "rest her eyes" and it will all be better. It is hilarious to see her actually close her eyes for a few minutes. I will have to get more pictures of her "resting".

Chef Brookelynn

2010-06-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn got a kitchen for her big girl room! This isn't just any kitchen...Terry made this kitchen for Hunter & Darby (Bailey's brother & sister) when they were 2. They are now 24! Nita repainted each piece for her. They also brought the blue table...which was Bailey's when he was small! Brookelynn has had so much fun playing with this special kitchen. Thank you Grampi and Nini for Brookelynn's new kitchen.

Nini also stocked the kitchen with more cooking utensils than I have in my kitchen! Brookelynn has become a pro at pulling every piece out on to the floor! :) It is a joy to pick up while I am 9 months pregnant!

Eating ice cream with Nini!

Broken Bow, OK

2010-05-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

We had a wild hair last week and decided to make a spontaneous weekend trip to Broken Bow, Oklahoma last weekend. We went to Broken Bow for the first time when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Brookelynn. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. It is only 3 hrs from Dallas and you feel like you are thick in the heart of Colorado...with a beautiful lake to top everything off. It was still a little cold to swim in the lake but Brady and Bailey had a great time fishing on Saturday. It rained a little on Saturday morning but the sun was out by 11 to make for a beautiful day.

Brookelynn loves her cousin, Carson, so much. She loves taking care of him and helping with his pacifier. Here are the babies with uncle Brady.

After Brookelynn's nap we got her swimsuit on to play with some water. I know...sounds like so much fun, but it kept her busy for a good hour! She loves anything that has to do with water and cooking. Next time we come we will definitely take a small pool for her to play in.

Alex, Carson, Brookelynn and I ventured out for a walk that afternoon but it was a little to mountainous for us. It was a beautiful walk but we decided we didn't need to go to far because the further that we went from the cabin, the larger the hills were. Pushing two babies up a hill in a stroller is quite a workout!

On Sunday Bailey, Brookelynn and I went out on the lake for a little bit. It was a little chilly so we bundled up and headed out to catch some fish!

Sweet girl in Carson's lifejacket. She loves being on the boat.

We went to the dam to catch a few Perch. They were biting like crazy and Brookelynn loved seeing them reeled in, taken off of the hook, then letting them go (bye bye).

We were a littel worried that she would want to get out of the boat as soon as we got on but she was very content driving the boat and fishing with dad.

Daddy's little fisherman

Our awesome cabin. The lake is a little different because there are no lakehouses on the lake so they are scattered all through the woods. Majority of the ones that I have seen are very cool and have a lot of character. Bailey found this one for us and got us a great last minute deal. It was so nice and VERY clean. We will definitely go back!

Side porch with grill and fire pit down below.

Back porch with a hot tub...looking forward to sitting in there on our next trip.

Living room

Kitchen, bedroom and upstairs

After our fishing trip it was time to clean the boat. Brookelynn loves to help her Dad.

Family picture time! We had to make sure that the Skeeter was in the background. :)

Big family picture! Carson's first trip!

Daddy daycare

2010-05-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Brookelynn caught the Hand, Foot and Mouth virus. It was a very sad thing to watch our little one go through. Then, Caryn, her babysitter got Tonsilitis during the week. I stayed home with her one day and then Bailey stayed with her the next. They had such a wonderful day together. They started the day with a bike ride to the park then finished the day by making Brookelynn's first fort! Here is a picture of what I came home to. It was so cool! I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and Brookelynn's awesome Dad.

This is what Brookelynn looked like when I got home. Dad has great taste!! I layed out two outfits and Bailey mixed the two for a bright combo!

Dad and Brookelynn in their cool fort.

Weekend trip

2010-05-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we made a quick trip to Austin for a friend's wedding. We were able to pick up Jenn in Waco on the way so that she could hang out with us and play with Brookelynn during the wedding. We had such a fun trip! Bailey went to lunch with an old friend and the girls went to a very cool shopping center for lunch and a little bit of yogurt. It was a very cool shopping center.

Brookelynn thought that the hotel was very cool. I thought that this was a sweet picture of our girl in the big bed. I think that Jenn captured this one...she is so good!

I have not published many pregnant pictures but here is one from the wedding. I am 28 weeks here. I will post a few more in the future.

Big girl bed!!

2010-05-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn got a big girl bed two weeks ago. She has done SO well with the transition and was so excited to change some things around in her room. Here is her last picture in front of her crib. I should have taken one before I broke it down.

I put the mattress on the ground for a little bit and Brookelynn thought it was a trampoline! She had so much fun playing on it. She is such a silly girl.

Wow mom...this is a really big bed!

Sitting in her big girl bed.

We had a few troubles with the crack at the top of the mattress...she fell in about 2 hours after she fell asleep. It was quite a tramatic event. We now have all of the cracks covered but we are still working on her crazy sleeping positions.

Since her first night we have had several trials...One night she got out of her bed 7 times in a row. She was just so proud that she could get out of her bed all by herself and come into mommy & daddy's room. I have to say that was quite a test of my parenting skills. She was so cute and sweet everytime that we walked in but I had to be the mean mommy and put her back in her bed each time. She finally got her first spanking on her bottom. It really hurt her feelings. She has since fallen asleep in the floor and is now starting to come into our room in the middle of the night. She has such a sweet spirit and I love her so much!

A day in the life of Brookelynn...

2010-05-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

I got an IPhone a while ago and have been snapping random pictures of my girl. Here are a few from the last few weeks. They are random and not in any real order.

Brookelynn gets to play outside in the afternoons when the weather is nice. This was the first day that I showed up and she was a little sweaty girl! :) She was so cute and smelly! Rosie cheeks like her momma and smelt like a wet puppy! I know...only a mother can appreciate all of her smells.

With the warming weather Brookelynn and I have been going on a lot of walks to the creek. There is a small playground at the end of the creek that Brookelynn loves! Here are a few pictures of her sliding.

With her crazy hair...

The other night Brookelynn turned into a mummy! Bailey wrapped her in toilet paper and she thought it was SO funny!

Brookelynn and I met Bailey for lunch several Fridays ago and Brookelynn got her first ice cream cone!! She was so proud and couldn't really believe that it was all hers!

Brookelynn's quirks... She started crossing her pinky and ring finger when ever she was not using her hand. I just had to take a picture because she has been doing it a lot lately. I tried to do it myself but my fingers are not limber enough.

This picture is about a month old. We found these duck eggs under the slide the first time that we went to the playground. Brookelynn was very intrigued by them. She would slide down the slide then take a quick look at the eggs. She did this for a good two weeks until the eggs were gone.

Time with daddy... She loves to swing in her swing that Bailey made. Here she is with Bailey's cowboy hat on.

Bailey has been working on some shelves for our room. Brookelynn loves to spend time in the garage with Dad and help on his projects.

Brookelynn's first boo-boo! We were walking down to Caryn's several weeks ago and she tripped. My strong little girl didn't even cry! She was more worried about spilling her snack that she was carrying. The worst part of it all was the scab. It was so very tender.

The Griggs came over to play a few weeks ago. Brookelynn and Tate had such a great time playing together. They are sweet little buddies.

Easter Sunday!

2010-04-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Easter morning...Brookelynn woke up early on Sunday morning to find that the Easter bunny had left her a trail of eggs and an Easter basket! It was so early....but I could tell that she was excited! Can't you see the excitement in her face?

This was the first egg that she found and there was some great stuff inside!!

She made it to the cool Easter basket!!

We had a great morning with the Beals and enjoyed an amazing service at Wylie Baptist! We came home for lunch and took a few pictures, then it was time to eat! We had a great lunch...once again I did not get any pictures. All of the family pictures were taken with Terry's camera. One of these days I will download all of his pictures and make a Beal history post! :)

I was able to snag a few priceless pictures with Brookelynn, Carson and Nini before we left! Brookelynn just loves her sweet little cousin, Carson! She had to take a few minutes to hold him and love on him before we went out for the Easter egg hunt!

After lunch we headed out to Meme & Papaw's for the family Easter egg hunt! Everyone was there so it was fun for Brookelynn to get to hang out with all of her cousins! The hunt was a little intense but the little kids got their own hunting grounds!

Brookelynn & Jaxson comparing their finds...

Looking for the eggs in the grass

Sweet girl with her Easter basket

Our family picture for Easter 2010!

(Don't worry...no matching this year...the variety of preggo closes is a bit limited...but stay tuned next year...2 girls in their pretty Easter dresses...who can resist!)

Chief & Brookelynn riding a bike!

The ladies picture!

Always nice to put the preggo on the end!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2010-04-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

After the zoo we took the kids home to get a nap. A very short nap! Then we dove into the kid's first attempt at coloring Easter eggs. As you can imagine...they were not very interested! We got a few cute pictures then the big girls finished them up.

Zoo Day..

2010-04-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

On Easter weekend the New family, and us Beals, decided to venture out to the Abilene Zoo! It was a great time and the kids loved it! The weather was so nice and it was Brookelynn's first time to see all of the cool animals. Thanks Chief & Gigi for taking us all to the zoo!

Brookelynn checking out the pretty pink flamingos...

Sweet girl in her cool shades

Cute family picture of Jared, Rachel & Jaxson

This is the closest that you will ever see Bailey to a snake...and only time you will see him with a smile on his face while looking at a (live) snake!

Daddies and their munchkins

"Hi" - Brookelynn walking like a big girl on the big wall

Loving time with her daddy

Riding a catapillar

One of Abilene Zoo's most popular exhibits...the carp in the lake eating dog food. There were hundreds and they were huge.

Getting close to nap time

Brookelynn's favorite!!! Feeding the giraffes. We missed them the first time around but we were able to feed them on our second trip up the bridge! So exciting!!

Waiting patiently for our turn...

Checking out the buffalos with Aunt Jenn

Brookelynn's other favorite!! The monkeys! She thought they were so cool and fun to watch!

A day with Rachel, Jaxson & Gigi

2010-04-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn and I met Rachel, Jaxson and Gigi at the Dallas Arboretum the week before Easter to enjoy some fun time together and the beautiful flowers. It was a perfect day to be outside! The kiddos enjoyed the beautiful weather and free reign of open park! We tried to get some great pictures of the kids but they were a lot more interested in exploring all of the grounds. We got a few cute picures but most of all we had a great time together! We coordinated their clothes and they looked so cute together. This was only the second time that Brookelynn got to run around with Jaxson, he had just started walking so he had a great time keeping up with Brookelynn.

Sweet babies walking in to the park...

Brookelynn with her Gigi

Brookelynn thought the flowers were SO pretty!

But of all of the things to see...my girl found the water and really wanted to get in!

The kids playing with Gigi and the ball...

Brookelynn running after the ball while she was stealing Jaxson's sippy cup.

Carson Clay Beal

2010-03-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Carson Clay Beal made his entrance into the world today! He held out as long as he could but he is here and he is precious! This is right after he was born. Weighing in a 7 lbs and 20.5 inches long! Mom and baby are doing great! Alex was a trooper...and Brady was too. We are so excited to meet our little cousin!

We went to meet Brookelynn's cousin tonight and Brookelynn loved him. I am not sure if Carson loved her but we will see... She immediately started picking on him! haha She wasn't sure what to think of him at first then she was really sweet and was loving on him. We told her that we were going to meet Carson and she kept saying cook-ie? haha so his nick name might turn in to cookie!

Brookelynn was so sweet and wanted to be close to him. She even gave him a few kisses.

He is such a pretty baby and we loved meeting him. We can't wait to see him more!

Carson with Uncle Bailey. He was so happy and alert! He has the sweetest eyes!

When we got home Brookelynn thought it was time to take her picture now. Here is her cheese face...rotten. I know...what are we going to do with her?

Beautiful weather!!!

2010-03-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were able to enjoy the beautiful spring weather! This is definitely my favorite 'changing of the seasons'. Everything is starting to bloom and the weather is so pretty! Saturday we went on a walk to the creek and played on the playground at the end of the trail! It was so much fun! It was only the 2nd or 3rd time that she played at the 'big kid' playground.

Loves the slides!

I am still a little cautious...I am trying to get better.

She also fed the ducks for the first time! We normally have Nanuq with us on our walks so the ducks stay as far away as possible. This time we went prepared with some old bread. The ducks were not shy. One duck even grabbed the bread out of Brookelynn's hand. She thought it was so cool!

Go Bears Go!!!

2010-03-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

Friday night we were watching the Baylor Bears play basketball and Bailey mentioned that she needed her cheerleading outfit...so we put it on!!

She was a great sport! She had so much fun playing in it. She new that she was the center of attention so she loved it! This is a picture of her 'twirling'. She makes the funniest look with her eyes!
Go bears go!!

She loves playing hide & seek with her daddy. 'Where is Brookelynn?"

There she is!!!

Loving her daddy!