6 Months Already!

I cannot believe our little girl is six months! Brooke has brought so much joy to our lives and constantly surprises us with her new found skills. She is exploring everything around her through touch and taste. (Yes, everything she reaches for goes straight into her mouth!) Her "tricks," as I like to call them, are increasing monthly. She now is an expert at sitting and just the other day she rolled from her back to her stomach for the first time. We were very excited, as we have been waiting for her to accomplish this. However, Brooke does things on her own terms, because when I tried to get her to repeat this new trick she was not having it. She also is in love with the camera. The minute she sees or hears one, she turns and smiles. She can even be in a semi-bad mood, but will always stop to "pose" for a picture. I have recently caught her off guard and snapped a few photos of her pouting/crying to try and capture all her moments.

Brooke brings a smile to our faces daily. The pictures below show Brooke's growth over the past few months (Feb - April) and some of her FIRSTS too! As you look through them I hope they put a smile on your face as well. Enjoy!

(Except for the first picture, they go in order from Feb to the most recent in April)

Our most current Family picture - April 20, 2011

Avila Beach

Brooke's First Valentine's Day - 3 1/2 months old

Brooke's First Visit to the Zoo

Brooke & Mommy feeding a giraffe

Brooke's wing span compared to the California Condor

Brooke's first swing ride & she loved it!

5 Months Old and ready to EAT! Her first food was rice cereal.

Yummy!

I wanted to match Daddy!

Pretty in pink, at my friend Gracie's birthday!

Daddy and Brooke are looking out the window at San Jose International Airport. They are getting ready for Brooke's first airplane ride. We took a vacation to Utah to visit family.

Brooke gets her ears pierced & she only cried for a few minutes! - April 1, 2011

Brooke's first hike... go Daddy! We hiked to the Y, overlooking Provo, Utah.

My first set of Mickey ears & my first trip to Disneyland! - April 13, 2011

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

She loved the characters.

She's actually laughing in this picture. Minnie was tickling her.

Mail for me ?!?

It's a letter from the Easter Bunny!

Brooke was playing in the sand while camping and face planted.

She didn't seem to mind. - April 19, 2011

First time coloring Easter eggs

Awww...

Cheese!

Little Miss Brooke showing off her sitting skills!

Sun, Sand and Camping in January

We did it... our first camping trip with Brooke! We spent 5 days (Jan 5-9, 2011) in Pismo camping on the sand. The weather was nice and sunny, a change from foggy Fresno. It would get cold when the sun went down, so Brooke looked like a little burrito every night to keep toasty! We played volleyball, went ridding on the dunes and had some good laughs with friends around the campfire at night. Brooke enjoyed watching from her ocean themed swing (see last picture).

This is a shot of our camp set up - 5 trailers and 2 tents! We had a perfect view of the ocean!

Our first family camping trip!

Brooke relaxing!

Brooke chillin' at camp! She kept smiling and laughing at the orange fish.

Happy New Year!

Even Brooke was awake to welcome in 2011!

YES, Brooke has arrived & is 2 months ALREADY!

I know, Brooke is 2 months old and I am just now blogging about her for the first time. What can I say about our daughter... She is WONDERFUL!!! I love being a Mommy and James is enjoying Fatherhood. Brooke had her 2 month appointment this week and weighed in at 11 lbs 3 oz and 21 3/4 inches long. She has been steadily gaining since she was born. She also had her first round of shots since the hospital and Brooke was not happy about them at all. She screamed so loud the nurses heard her at their desks down the hall. Her tears made me want to cry. I could not wait to scoop her up and console her once the doctor was done. She is a very alert and active little girl. The doctor said she holds her head like a four month old. We are already proud parents as we watch her grow, learn and achieve new skills every day. Here are some picture of little Miss Brooke over the past 2 months...

Our 1st Christmas!

My silly Auntie's Lisa & Lora

We're waiting for Santa!

Brooke with her Wonderful Grandma's!
She loves her Grandma Bern & Grandma Dee

Mommy & Brooke on Christmas Eve

2 Months old

Brooke's Baptism 12/19/10 - held on her Grandpa Mike's birthday

Pictured with her Godparents Aaron & Loni and Parker too

The best Christmas gift ever!

Brooke and Daddy doing sit-ups

Brooke's 1st Thanksgiving

4 Generations - Nanna, Grandma, Mom, Me, Auntie Lora, & Auntie Lisa
Thanksgiving Day



1 Month Old - Nov 24, 2010

Me & Auntie Crystal - I'm so cozy...

My Birthday Buddies, Landa and Steve!

Happy Halloween - 7 days old

5 days old

Brooke's friend Gracie! I love this picture of her!

Stephen & Brooke - He was so excited to meet her.

Brooke, all ready to go home!

Brooke Noelle Perkins - October 24, 2010 / 12:43 pm / 7lbs 4oz / 20 inches

Brooke's Birth Story

I went into labor with Brooke at 12:30 am on October 24, 2010. She was determined not to be born on her due date! After laboring at home for 1.5 hours, James and I loaded our bags and headed to the hospital. James' Mom was down visiting from Oregon and hoping Brooke would arrive while she was here. Denise decided to stay back at our house until we made sure the hospital deemed I was in active labor and was going to admit me. My Mom and sisters decided to waste no time and started their 3 hour drive from the Bay Area. On our way to the hospital we called our close friends to inform them. With contractions 3-7 minutes apart the hospital admitted me at about 2:30 am. Laboring while standing and walking felt a lot better then when sitting, so with James' help I walked the halls until 4:15 am. At this point I had to head back to my room so that the nurse could check me. She hooked me up to fluids and told me I was about 2 cm. Around 7:30 I had progressed to 4 cm and was given an epidural. Wow, epidurals are fantastic!!! I felt great and without pain once on the epidural constant drip, however it slowed down my labor to contractions every 10 minutes apart. To help speed things up they put me on pitocin and broke my water. At about this time, 9:30 am, I began to feel discomfort again. I mentioned it to the nurse, thinking at first it may have to do with the pitocin and breaking my water. It did coincide with these two things, but also had to do with the fact that my epidural had COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING! They tried everything, including giving me other drugs, which only made me drowsy but did not kill the pain. They were contemplating re-doing the epidural when i told the nurse that I felt like I needed to push. She checked me and I was at 10 cm, Woohoo! I pushed for about 20 minutes and Brooke was born! In the end it was well worth it!

Count Down - 9 Days From Due Date

With only 9 days till my due date, when do you think I will go into labor? I am taking a poll, just for fun, to see when YOU think Brooke will arrive. Just so you know I had an appointment this past Monday (10/11/10) and my doctor informed me that I was "almost at 1 cm." I think he was just being nice. So... take the poll at the right of the page and let us know when you think our little girl will be gracing us with her presence!

More Preggo Pics

October 12, 2010 - 38 weeks & 4 days / 9 months

Only 11 days till my due date!

I'm carrying a "pumpkin"!

September 11, 2010 - 34 weeks / 8 months

September 11, 2010 - We just returned from a 9/11 memorial that was held in Fresno