When Three Become Four

Finally the time has come when we can proudly announce that we will be adding another little Hourigan to the family!  We are so excited to become a family of four and give Brooks a true best friend to share his life with.  I am sure we can all proclaim that our siblings have become our best friends (with time).  

Baby Hourigan will join the fam the last week of December.  Our due date is officially January 3rd, but with a scheduled c-section the doctors prefer to do it 1 week early. . . great tax bonus :)

Of course this little planner of a mom can't wait to find out the gender!  I am 13 weeks along, so we will find out pretty soon.  Keep your eye out for another post!  

Mom and Dad's 35th Wedding Anniversary

Until then here's some of our current happenings...

Cousin's came swimming with Brooks:

And 2 cute Brooks' stories for the road:

We were in Publix the other day and Brooks was sitting in the cart while I was getting a loaf of bread.  He kept saying, "Elmo, Elmo, Elmo" (or some fashion of the word).  I looked at him like, "What are you trying to say?"  Then I looked up to see a rack of sandwich Tupperware with Elmo's face on each one.  I had no idea he would recognize Elmo!

For months now Tim and I have been trying to get Brooks to fold his hands when we pray.  He has finally started doing it (although usually with a full mouth of food), but now when we finish praying he always adds on his own "Amen."  It melts my heart every time!

Half Birthday AGAIN?!

The past year and a half have just flown by, and I still haven't figured out how to make time stand still.  Brooks is already 18 months old and most of the time he's Mr. Nice Guy.  He had his 18 month check-up today and his stats are:

Weight: 24.5 lbs. (54%)
Height: 32 in. (45%)
Head: 18.75 in. (57%)

The doctor was very impressed with his verbal skills!  Brooks has about 25-30 words in his vocabulary!

I want to share a few of my most favorite (and recent) stories of Brooks.  This weekend I was hanging some pictures on the wall and had laid out a few frames of different sizes on the floor.  I was trying to decide where I wanted the largest picture so I was holding it up against the wall.  Brooks had been playing in his room and came out and saw me.  He picked up the smallest frame and held it up against the wall just like I was.  I would have paid for a picture of it!  It was just so cute the way he mimicked me.  

Yesterday Brooks pushed over one of our bar stools (he likes the loud noise it makes, but has sat in time out for it in the past).  I walked over to him as he approached the next stool and told him if he pushed it over he would go in time out.  He moved to the next and final stool and began to push it.  Once again, I told him he would sit in time out if he pushed it over.  All the sudden he stopped and ran into the other room.  I followed him there to find him sitting in our time out spot! I never would have thought he understood what I was telling him, let alone volunteer to sit down!

Another favorite thing Brooks has started is asking jibberish questions.  The cute part is how he uses intonation in his voice as if it's the most important question, and he uses his hands too.  Everyone who sees him doing it laughs (including the doctor).

Brooks' first 5K!

My last "show off" moment is that Brooks has started putting together an entire puzzle by himself.  We have this knob puzzle with shapes and colors and last night he got all the pieces in the right place by himself (without a fit)!! In the past he has gotten very frustrated when the pieces don't fit in correctly his first try.  After we celebrated his success he did the puzzle over and over for about 20 minutes!

"Guitars and Tiki Bars..." 

Great American Kid

Memorial Day Weekend brought about many new experiences for our little guy.  We went up to Kentucky to see Tim's extended family and for The Great American Kid Campout!  And yes, it was as much fun as it sounds!

We turned Brooks' car seat around for the 6 hour trip and boy did he love it!  He would just watch the cars go by!

Brooks went fishing for the first time and caught a fish!  He did not even hesitate to touch it!

Brooks also went down to the creek with the big kids and got to touch a crawfish for the first time.  On the same day he also touched a frog and turtle without any fear! 

Brooks absolutely loved the corn on the cob!  

He was even double fisting it at one point!  

Each family at the campout had different colored shirts to help us "locate" our family when necessary.  Ours were bright orange :)  You'd be surprised how helpful it was after the sun went down, although Brooks doesn't quite get out of our sight!

 <-----Brooks favorite toy was this truck, even though his legs weren't long enough to reach the pedal.

3 generations!      --------->

Brooks had his first popsicle

 and loved it!  I think the pictures do it justice!

Brooks watched all the big kids throwing water balloons, but was happy to just hold on to his! He also loved riding on the golf cart all weekend! 

Brooks is just around the corner from 18 months and still continues to amaze us.  Tonight while I was reading to him he would repeat so many new words back to me.  When I walked out of his room and said "night night baby" he repeated it right back!!  

He spiked a really high fever about 2 weeks ago, and continued to cut all 4 molars that week!  Poor baby, he has another tooth coming in this week (its about time- this baby is ready for some steak!)

Be on the lookout for some fun summer posts (hopefully).  Brooks will be coming to camp with Tim and I a few days a week so he will have many more memories to share!  

Mr. Personality

Brooks' personality continues to shine each day and let me tell you, it's one strong personality!

Most of the time he's just so darn cute...

Sometimes he likes to chill and watch Disney...

Other times he's on the go...

Occasionally its "Brooks' way or the highway"...

Often he's caught being a great helper....

...And he always warms my heart!

Being a mom becomes more indescribable each day.  The joy and pride he brings Tim and I is exuberant. We could sit and watch him for hours.  Right now he is really into doing things on his own and it seems as though he is often busy trying to figure out how things work.  He also loves to dance and laugh.  His smile is most definitely contagious!

Brooks is a whopping 17 months old now!  He is officially a "picky eating" toddler.  It amazes me at how much he understands when we talk.  He can listen and follow directions to go get things in another room.  He is also adding words to his vocabulary, although he is quite stubborn in this area.  He will only say words on his own free will :)  New words include: Munson (our dog), O'pa (my dad), and 'ya' (which I'm quickly realizing my bad habits are rubbing off and I'm working on 'yes').

Brooks is also quite the little dare devil.  He loves to climb everything in sight.  He will flip over furniture, land on his head, and continue laughing.  It seems like I'm constantly running to catch him. He is also cutting a molar on the bottom (I felt it today, thank goodness because the sleepless nights were getting ridiculous).

Oh and my favorite new thing: Brooks will mimic my kissing sound before bed now.  As I walk out of the room and tell him I love him, Brooks will send a "kiss" my way.  More heart-melting! 

Thanks for reading!  Love to you all!