Colorful Colorado

We took our first summer vacation and went to visit my family in Colorado last week. The last time Justin and I went to Colorado we experienced negative temperatures so getting to see the mountains during the "summer" left a good impression on Justin.

The trip marked Brooks' first airplane ride. The long journey across the country went much better than I anticipated. I guess if you expect the worse than everything is better. Brooks definitely inherited the Ball gene though and fell asleep before we even took off for our first leg to Atlanta. Woohoo. It's funny how nobody wants to talk to you prior to the flight and gives these looks of disgust b/c your taking a child on the plane... until afterwards when he hasn't made a peep. Then, they all want to play with him and say how well he behaved.


On our flight back from Denver to Charleston, Brooks also slept, but not before he decided to poop. Unfortunately, the plane hadn't taken off yet so I couldn't change him. When he did wake up the beverage carts had trapped us in our seats. An hour an a half later, we made our escape to the shoebox bathroom. Apparently, kids are not considered when designing a plane. I had to lay Brooks on top of the toilet like a dead bug... arms and legs in the air.

We had a great time on vacation. I think Brooks enjoyed playing in the backyard the most. He had so much space to walk around and play. I look forward to living in a house with a yard. Here are some highlights of his experience.


Much of the backyard is filled with rocks... definitely a favorite for Brooks. He would sit and put them in the bucket, take them out and throw them for a good 15 minutes at a time.


Brooks also enjoyed the swing. I used it a few times to prepare him for nap time. Who can resist the rocking motion?

Brooks quickly learned how to turn on the bubble machine. Even if I turned it off after he walked away, he would walk right back to hit the switch.


It took almost all week for Brooks to warm up to my dad, but obviously sitting the hammock was way more fun than playing shy.


My mom forced me to go through some of my childhood keepsakes and we came across the Indian Princess/Guides vest & headband. Brooks wore it for awhile and showed off his new-found ability to stick his finger up his nose.

Riding in the red wagon also proved to be a favorite for Brooks. He fit perfectly into the seat. Justin pulled him around the lawn a few times and got a good laugh out of him.


One of the main reasons we took the trip to Colorado was to see our new nephew. Everett Gordon arrived on Mother's Day. I detected a little bit of jealousy from Brooks when I would hold Everett, but otherwise he had very little interest in him.


This picture took at least 15 minutes to take. The bright line down the middle is from another camera's flash. Cousin Wyatt made it clear he did not want his picture taken until Gramma offered to hold everyone in her lap.

I'm not sure when we will make it back to the mountains, but hopefully it won't be another three years.

Big Brain???

Brooks went to his 12 month wellness visit a couple weeks ago. Bottom line: he's tall, skinny and has a giant head.

Height: 31 1/4 inches (90%)
Weight: 23 lbs (50%)
Head: 48.5 cm (97%)

Yes, compared to other children the same age, Brooks' head is just about larger than every other kid. Let's cross our fingers it's because he has a giant brain.

Doctor's visits typically take a couple hours no matter what time of day you go. Thank goodness that never seems to bother Brooks. In fact, we played "knock the book off the chair" game for at least 20 minutes. He laughed so loud, I'm surprised none of the nurses came in to find out what he found so funny.




Brooks also started walking. Although he's not a total champ at it, he will choose to walk over crawling... unless he face plants into the floor and then it's full on commando. The first video shows his Frankenstein like movement. The second video is Brooks attempting to walk in flip flops. We planned to take a trip to the beach and I thought it would fun to dress him appropriately. Unfortunately, the shoes didn't stay on long and never made it to the beach with us.

She'll be Coming Around the Mountain...

Monkey has learned how to sing. And, Brooks loves it and at the end he gives Monkey a hug. The first video Justin is singing the song and you will notice Brooks actually claps to the beat a couple of times. I sing in the second video. This was the third round of the song and Brooks found it so funny that he had a hard time sitting up.

1 Year and Counting

We celebrated Brooks' first birthday. In the process of the annual party we avoided a trip to the ER overnight and just ended up in the doctor's office. Yes, we spent his first Thanksgiving in the ER with Croup and now his first birthday with a double ear infection. I guess if you don't go big, go home. Right?

Brooks started breaking out into a fever around 1pm Tuesday and it continued to hover around 102.5 throughout the night. He threw up once at which point we called the after hours service at his pediatrician's office. Thankfully, the nurse asked a bunch of questions and educated us on all things fever.

He woke up the next morning with no fever and I felt relieved that he could enjoy his birthday. Not so much. About an hour later the 102 fever came back so Justin took him to the walk-in hours... also a first for Justin.

Brooks spent the day filled with pain reliever and Amoxicillin. He did crack a few smiles and the playfulness came in short waves. We were able to sneak in a quick birthday party which included a cupcake, song and a couple of presents. He did very well digging into the oversize Elmo cupcake and eating what he could of it. It lasted all of five minutes before he wanted no part of it. Here are a few photos from the night.

Bathtub Diving

Brooks really enjoys bath time. It's a relief b/c I know it's 30 minutes where he will just sit and play without crawling into my lap and whining. We do have to be careful about his desire to stand in the tub. Thankfully, I think he's starting understand the command "sit" quite well.

The other day, he started sticking his face into the water. I wasn't sure what to think at first... wow, he's so brave, I can't believe he's blowing bubbles... oh wait, he breathed in the water and now he's choking. Justin wasn't watching so no need to panic. Instead, I just let him cough it out and let him continue to stick his face in the water. Ha, ha.

I'm pretty sure he wanted to chew on the washcloth b/c after he decided he had enough of breathing in water he finally picked up the rag to put it in his mouth.

Smarter than Mommy

(I let Brooks get into the toilet paper the other day just so you could see the fun.)

I don't have any pictures of this particular story, but I'm sure your imagination will suffice. Brooks really enjoys standing next to the toilet and banging the lid of the seat. A couple months ago he discovered the toilet paper roll. He would hit it and the paper would unravel, so I flipped it which seem to solve the problem. Until. Tonight.

Brooks and I were playing in the living room and he bee-lined it for the bathroom. I knew where he was going so I let him trek to the toilet for a little seat banging. It turns out he knows how to hit the toilet paper until a little piece unravels from underneath. Then, he can grab it and stream it to the toilet seat where he can hold onto it while he bangs. Unfortunately, this was a short lived game because he kept trying to put the paper into his mouth. I quickly ended that and moved him back into the living room... which he did not like. I closed the bathroom door to help deter him from returning.

Well, Brooks pulled the clever card. He crawled right into our bedroom, took a left turn and headed right into the bathroom. That little booger. Needless to say, now both doors are shut.

Mini Milestones

Brooks turned 11 months old on Sunday. It's hard to think we will soon have a one year old, but I can't say that time flies. I've really enjoyed watching Brooks grow and reach all of the little milestones.

He is not just a crawler now, he has the most incredible upper body strength and can pull up on anything in less than a second. Those little feet just roll and pop him up. He likes to get into the basket of DVD's and pull them out one at a time. The couch is another favorite hang out as well as any window sill.


We are still in the phase where everything goes in his mouth. It really lets you know when it's time to sweep. :) Brooks is slowly learning a few other things like how to pump the spinner to make the balls swoosh around, how to put his hands in the air to say he's all done with dinner and the "Indian" call will soon be heard. I did get to see him clap the other day for the first time. His motor skills need a little refining, but it's still a clap.

Brooks' personality is also fun to watch. He's way more interactive and expressive. This goes both ways... bad when he tries to eat the dirt out of the plant and I won't let him and good when Daddy comes home from work to play with him. This is video of Justin playing chase with Brooks.

In four weeks we'll be talking about Brooks' turning a year old and I can't wait.