Nicole Brack

Silly

2009-06-12T19:05:00.003-05:00

Silly faces

10 on Tuesday!

2009-06-02T23:42:00.004-05:00

1.) Taylor is 15.5 months and still not walking, but close. Her favorite word these days is "Dadeeee!" and this kid can easily devour 5 chicken nuggets on top of some applesauce and bread.

2.) Jaden is 3! I think he's over the "but I just wanna be 2 for a little while!" thing. Now he wants to name Taylor's new little pig (beanie pig) "Two".

3.) They still love each other, but boy can they get on each other's nerves already. Taylor tries to take something of his, he pushes her or pokes her, she screams and smacks him... he runs and cries. It's all you can do to keep from cracking up though!

4.) Jaden doesn't like to go to bed. But if you let him stay up until after 11pm like tonight, he gets up, and can't even make it up the stairs before plopping down on them and looking up with those tired little eyes for you to carry him. Lets hope he sleeps in a tad tomorrow!

5.) Taylor seems to go through phases of sleeping through the night, and waking once or twice. And she likes to wake up RIGHT when you're starting to fall asleep at night. Hmm...

6.) Jaden looks up at me tonight (and I admit I was pretty tired) and says "Are you still tired, Mommy?" and "Do you feel better now?" Goof.

7.) Jaden told me he wanted to take a bath tonight. So I fill it up, get his shirt off, and he realizes that if he goes in the bath, he has to put the new pink pig down (this is a $1 beanie hot pink pig from Walgreen's) so he changes his mind and says "I just want to sit here and watch the bubbles, Mommy..." instead of getting in. Seriously? Sit on a toilet and watch the bubbles floating? Needless to say, no bath tonight.

8.) Taylor already knows who's going to save her at bed time. Jason has her, I reach for her, and she clings to him like glue. She'll do it before nap and bedtime. Somehow she just knows where she's headed!

9.) Jaden didn't want dinner tonight. So, at 10pm when Daddy heated some up, he decided he wanted to eat his, too. So there were Daddy and Jaden at the kitchen table at 10pm in their PJ's eating sloppy joes. I should've taken a picture.

10.) sorry, I think that's about it other than Thank you for coming to celebrate Jaden's birthday with him and he loved all of his gifts! Have a great week!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T00:28:00.005-05:00

Amanda and I at her bachelorette party

A few snaps

2009-05-03T21:32:00.004-05:00

Jaden's first taste of hockey

What I get when I ask for a big smile!

Taylor- almost 14 months

Tay and Uncle Craig- her new buddy

Happy Thursday!

2009-04-23T11:28:00.003-05:00

Silly videos

2009-04-17T11:43:00.002-05:00

I was browsing on youtube after my cousin posted a funny video of a kid dancing. Soooo enjoy!

and no one ever gets tired of this one!

Yikes! This 6 year old can sing!

kids funniest home videos

Ok that's enough for now. Have a great weekend everyone!

edited2

2009-03-23T14:14:00.000-05:00

Edited invite

2009-03-23T13:51:00.001-05:00

Had fun today with L&S!

2009-03-21T22:05:00.005-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone!

2009-03-18T18:00:00.004-05:00

Jaden thought this was SOOO funny.

As promised, new Jaden pics!

He told me to put on my BIG lens (that I only use for weddings really) and let me take his pictures.

I love this but wish that pillow wasn't in the way.

So serious

Posing for Grandma (I suppose both since we never specified which Grandma!)

A new fav

That's the most I was willing to be in a picture today- haha!

2 more

2009-03-18T15:58:00.001-05:00

With picture:

Without:

MoooooooM

2009-03-18T13:18:00.003-05:00

Mom- Just some ideas for the invites. Let me know which direction you'd like to go. The backgrounds are mainly papers that I can't change colors to though (the design part like the green, etc.) To make these bigger, just click on them and it should enlarge, then you'll need to go back to get back to this page (back on the navigation bar at the top)

#1

#2

#3

#4-
I can make this black and white instead of pink and black if you'd like.

If you don't like any, I can try again.

10 on Tuesday

2009-03-17T16:55:00.003-05:00

1. Little Miss Personality sure doesn't like bedtime these days. We're in a mix of crying it out and bouncing.

2. Jaden has started stuttering. Not all the time, but it seems like when he's got a few things to say, he can't quite figure out which to say first. Like tonight Jason made pancakes and Jaden was trying to say that *Your pancakes are big... *Your pancakes have butter on them and *your pancakes are hot.... so he seems to say "Your your your pancakes are are ___ then he decides on one of the words he was thinking", then spats out the rest of what he wanted to say. I'm hoping this is normal. He's always spoken fine before, so I think his little brain gets into overload on occasion.

3. I think I'm getting sick. Not full blown sick yet and I've felt icky for a couple of days so I'm thinking I probably won't get too sick but we'll see. Still no fun. =(

4. The kids are loving this weather. Poor Taylor gets stuck sitting in a stroller while Jaden either plays or pushes her back and forth in the driveway. I put her on the ground the other day and she kept trying to eat gross things that were blowing her way so she's now stuck in a stroller until she can walk. She does love it when Jaden pushes her back and forth though so it works out and we all get some fresh air.

5. Jason took Jaden to the park yesterday and he decided he wanted to come back home after going down the slide a couple of times because he wanted to play with his 4-wheeler. Silly kid. I'm surprised I didn't see him on it today at all!

6. Taylor loves pop tarts- who knew? She found Jaden's today while he was napping (he had it on the ottman/table) and made a nice mess of herself.

7. I'm really starting to wonder why the shows I watch (any of them) can't just be on every week? It seems to be pretty hit or miss anymore with every one I watch. Some weeks they're new, sometimes re-runs, sometimes not on at all. And why are a couple of them having season finales already in MARCH? Anyone else?

8. I just saw a Window's commercial and a little girl plugs her camera into the computer and clicks to make her picture better, then sends it to someone. Then she says "I'm Constance (or whatever name) I'm a PC and I'm 4 1/2... too stinkin' cute.

9. I'm hoping Taylor will be walking within the next month here. She's doing a lot better practicing while holding our hands these days, and not quite so dependent for balance, so we'll see!

10. Jaden is MIA in these photos today because he was taking a great nap- go Jaden! But don't you just love this outtake:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My mom and the kiddos

2009-03-15T14:11:00.001-05:00

The kiddos and my mom-

Happy Thursday!

2009-03-12T20:59:00.005-05:00

So our cable got hooked up today, and the good news is that our internet is a lot faster! And the Wiggles are back. That's always a good thing!

I have no idea what this is all about! I must've said I had something in my eye?

And the little Princess still thinks she needs to be rocked/bounced forEVER to go to sleep. My warms should be nice and buff by the time this phase is over. We tried a little crying it out. Sometimes it works, but most times, she just gets all snotty and keeps crying. Ack.

These two are usually so sweet together. Jaden is always smiling at her and hugging her.
Except when she steals his toys. Then she's the enemy. Taylor looks at her big brother like he's THE coolest kid on the planet. Really though, isn't he? If he's off messing around (aka getting into something like her baskets in her room and throwing it all over the room) she's crawling as fast as her little hands and knees will allow her after him!

I can't believe he actually laid down AND looked at the camera AND smiled when I asked him to. My little ham.

Taylor is off the bottle. She just decided it's not for her. Yay it was that easy! And no more warm milk. She's taking cold milk from a sippy but you have to either lay her down or tip it up for her. And actually remember to do this throughout the days so she doesn't get dehydrated.

FINALLY a great shot of the kids together. Sitting close together, eye contact from both, and (almost) smiles- or at least they aren't crying! Too bad it's just a snapshot with junk in the background, but I'm still one happy Mama, and I'll take it!

Again, NO clue waht this is about, but it's definitly a keeper! Where could he have been running to when the sink/counter is directly behind me and on either side of me? Maybe I hit the dishwasher on accident and it excited him. ?? Silly boy!

She looks so tiny (and unimpressed by me) here.

All smiles jumping on the furniture. I'm a bad mommy- and I'm lucky this kid hasn't broken a bone or needed stitches (I hope I'm not jinxing myself!) yet at almost 3!

Jump Jump!
(sorry my shutter was too slow here- I wasn't expecting the jumping- so it's blurry)

=)

Mmmm Girl Scout cookies. Thanks Grandma Shirley!

Holy Crap- that's good!

awww

And just give you a taste of my night- Jaden just stuck his butt in my face and farted- loudly. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Boys.

New Petti Skirt

2009-03-04T20:24:00.003-06:00

Sooo, I hope everyone is having a great week. The weather should be great for the next few days at least! Time to air out our house and hope to air out some of these nasty germs the kids are coughing all over. Taylor is teething, sick and cranky. Jaden just has his cough but it doesn't seem to bother him much.

I got the petti skirt in yesterday, so I decided to try it out on Taylor today. she wasn't too into pictures, but we did our best. We'll try more outdoors once she starts walking.

This pretty much sums up our last week of them being sick and cranky.

Jaden helped Daddy wash the pick-up today... well, he watched I guess I should say. It was a bit chilly by the time he went out, so we didn't want Mr.Sick getting worse. =)

But he did get to help dry!

New Collages

2009-02-28T22:20:00.001-06:00

Possible new collages for the hallway- or somewhere. Haven't decided yet.

Happy Thursday!

2009-02-26T18:17:00.001-06:00

Taking pigtails out after 2 days=

Our trip to the park

2009-02-24T22:34:00.002-06:00

On the way home.

She isn't so sure about this...

On the way home.

Awwww.

I'd say he had some fun.

Chillin' in the swing.

"weee... that was fun!" ~Jaden

Blast from the past....

2009-02-22T16:44:00.001-06:00

Little Jaden (2 months old) and Grandpa Steve

Mom and Dad- August 2006

My Graduation- June 2002!

Taylor's Birthday Party

2009-02-15T20:33:00.005-06:00

Mmmmm- Cake!

Lovin' her new carseat from Grandma and Grandpa Brack! (Yes, we may have to just go for a drive to nowhere tomorrow to test it out!)

Little Pony from Aunt Lori, Uncle Chris and Haylee!

Jaden and Grandpa in a snowball fight

Throwing a snowball at Grandma Shirley

Haylee isn't sure if she wants to share her ice cream with me- but I don't blame her!

Peeking...

Tay and Grandma Janet

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

2009-02-14T11:14:00.003-06:00

Tay wants to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday, Big Girl!

Our Interesting Thursday...

2009-02-12T19:55:00.002-06:00

Thanks to my friend Alissa for these interesting pictures (the ones I'm in at least). =)

Mommy and Tay- 2 days before her 1st Birthday.

and getting so big!

yet still so small-

This just cracks me up:

Jaden was NOT wanting to be in a picture. Sooo this is what we got! Happy Thursday everyone! I'm off to get the kids ready for bed so Jason and I can start Grey's Anatomy.

Happy Monday!

2009-02-09T19:53:00.002-06:00

She's so cute!

Taylor's Baptism

2009-02-09T19:28:00.004-06:00

"I'm Workin!"

2009-01-29T18:12:00.002-06:00

Me: "Jaden, No!"
Jaden: "I'm workin'!!"

10 on Tuesday

2009-01-27T12:37:00.003-06:00

I came to blog these pictures of the kids from yesterday, and almost forgot that it's Tuesday! So- here's our 10 on Tuesday:

1. Taylor is on her belly all day long it seems. If you put her down sitting, she'll just plop right now on her belly. After awhile, she gets bored and wants back up- one minute later, she's right back on her belly. This girl wants to be moving- but she just can't for the life of her figure out HOW! (which I'm ok with for a few more weeks but we're going to be getting more agressive here before her birthday at least with crawling!)

2. Jaden lets me take his picture now! If he sees the camera, or I take it out for something, he'll keep bugging me to "Take my piter Mommy!" FINALLY! Enjoy the cuteness again!

3. I'm getting my new camera in a month or two here- I'm so excited! I outgrew my Rebel about a year ago. Luckily I booked a wedding, so not only paying for about half of my camera, it gives me insentive to go ahead and upgrade this spring before the wedding! Indoor pictures should be much better now!

4. Taylor seems to be getting taller, and finally thinning out "slightly." She's moving onto 12 month sizes, so I'm excited to go spring clothes shopping for her (and Jaden but t-shirts aren't as fun as girly clothes!) in a month or 2.

5. Taylor loves to stand up against the ottoman now. She doesn't fall too often, and thinks she's pretty cool to lean up against it and eat her cheerios.

6. Jaden cracked me up the other day. He had his giraffe chair out in the family room by the window. He as on the opposite side of the ottoman, and Taylor was napping. I think this was when he woke up from his nap. He peeked over and asked me if that was Taylor? He was so serious and I couldn't figure out what he was talking about... then i saw the 2 little furry "ears" of the giraffe peeking up over the ottoman. He thought it was Tay's pigtails. haha. (Maybe you had to be there)

7. Taylor's birthday is in less than 3 weeks now... I'm sad! I'm excited for Spring though, for Taylor to be walking, for the kids to be able to "play together" a little better outside in the yard since she'll be walking and wanting to play more.

8. Jaden is learning to pick up his own toys. We had a few arguments today about that. Mommy is sick of picking up piles and piles and PILES of toys when he decides to dump every basket of toys he owns at the same time all over the floor- enough is enough.

9. Taylor is pretty much sleeping through the night- with NO swing. yay! She loves that glow worm though! She goes down in the crib, gets coverd up, gets her blanky and then we turn the glow worm on and I walk out. The last 2 nights I haven't heard a peep, and not even at her nap today. Way to go Tay!

10. Taylor can dance. She just bounces up and down really, but it's hilarious!

Nothing else new here. Hope everyone is having a great week! Jaden and Taylor say "Hi!"

Tay's new hoodie

2009-01-23T15:44:00.002-06:00

Tay got a new hoodie! Happy Friday!

Happy Wednesday!

2009-01-21T15:48:00.003-06:00

Just a few new pictures today. Taylor got a new bow, and Jaden wanted in on a couple pictures. We're off to do laundry and a few other things. Happy Wednesday!

10 on Tuesday/Wednesday

2009-01-21T00:06:00.004-06:00

As it's after midnight, but barely, I'm still counting this as Tuesday!

1. Jaden is now letting me take his picture more often... but the problem is, he doesn't actually look at me much, but as soon as I put the lens cap on, he's telling me to take his picture again!

2. The kids' pictures have been submitted to the Regis and Kelly contest- I knew I'd forget about it if I waited longer. We'll see if they at least get their pictures aired. (No, the picture I submitted for Jaden isn't in this post, sorry!)

3. Taylor has her first tooth! (on the bottom) at just over 11 months old. FINALLY!

4. Jaden no longer likes the Wiggles much- but now, of course, Taylor is obsessed. If she's cranky, just turn on the Wiggles and she stares at it the entire time it's on, and "dances" with it. It's too cute!

5. I booked a wedding for April that I'm pretty excited for! (and also upgrading my camera in March, too!)

6. I have a book addiction- I've only read about 4 that are on this bookshelf. Looks like I'd better get to reading! In my defense- they're almost all used books, and it's nice not to have a due-date at the library!

7. We (aka Jason) finally painted the bedroom. No more white walls! Now we've just got that darn yellow bathroom this spring to do.

8. Taylor wants to be on the move so badly, and it surprises me that she isn't crawling yet at 11 months! She's constantly going from sitting to down on her belly, will twist around or roll, but not CRAWL! (I had to admit, I'm enjoying every last day I have of her being immobile though!)

9. Jaden: "I have to get my jacket on and get to Grandma's house REALLY QUICK!"
This kid cracks us up.

10. Taylor is FINALLY getting baptized in February! Sorry so late, guys!

11 months old...

2009-01-14T20:48:00.003-06:00

So Taylor officially turned 11 months old today. Mommy is a little sad thinking that Tay is only a baby for one more month. =( She's as cute as ever though, and cracks us up all day long.

So serious

All smiles

Aw little ballerina!

Tay's Birthday Dress. We were trying to get a picture for her invites that I have to order next week sometime (already!) to get them out 2 weeks before the party.

Hugs

How cute are they?

Being silly

Sorry for being so terrible about blogging lately- I finally got photoshop on my new computer so I'm slowly moving over with the photos!

Weekend Fun

2008-12-20T18:07:00.003-06:00

(Jaden thinks it's funny to roll Tay over and walk over her repeatedly.)

Being silly before bedtime.

Goofy boy

Aw aren't they cute?

Our little Princess- Thanks, Grandma Shirley for the cute crown headband!

Tuesday Fun

2008-12-02T21:17:00.003-06:00

Jaden spilled a sippy of water all over Taylor's head.... so I had to mess it up and take a picture!

She doesn't like the flash much.

Jaden thought the hat looked better on him. haha.

mmm cheerios!

Awww. Thanks, Grandma Shirley for the hat!

Mismatched, wearing Jaden's old sweats.

All smiles- and probably up to something no good!
It was a terrible 2's day in our house today!

Happy December!

2008-12-02T11:40:00.003-06:00

Just a few snapshots for you. Jaden and Daddy put up the tree this weekend! (Yes, I know it doesn't look the greatest!) No 10 on Tuesday this week... Jaden is being naughty today, and my sore throat is back...yay.

This face cracked me up.

Aww- someone is excited or Christmas!

He was saying "cheeese" though I've never told him to say that!
(and this is exactly WHY you don't tell a kid to say cheese!)

Jaden's masterpiece.

Tay is 9 months!

2008-11-23T23:28:00.004-06:00

So I attempted some 9 month pictures of Taylor- and a couple of Jaden in the tub! Happy Monday, everyone!

10 on Wednesday

2008-11-18T22:52:00.004-06:00

1. Taylor loves puffs. She wants to eat them all day long. As long as you put puffs in front of her, she's happy.

2. I asked Jaden yesterday if he wanted another bite of soup. He just said "no. No Thank You."

3. Both kids are sleeping all night now. 9pm-9am typically. Yay!

4. Jaden knows the entire dance from the Wiggles now. Words and all. It's hilarious. We were in Tay's room and he suddenly started singing it and dancing around

5. The kids love to sit on the couch and play together. Although Tay always wants to steal Jaden's snack. Sorry, girl- no m&m's for you yet!

6. I'm STILL working on that book. Just under 200 pages left now. And due yesterday. haha. At least it's getting good now though!

7. Taylor's hair is always up on top of her head since I always have it up in a bow. When we take the bow out at night, Jaden looks at me and says "put it down!" haha.

8. I went grocery shopping yesterday, and Jaden had a hay day. He wanted about one of everything I was putting away. And this morning, he looked and me and said "want applesauce, want pizza, want donuts, want......" Silly boy.

9. The Holiday's are just around the corner, and I haven't hardly started on my Christmas shopping. I better get to it! Jaden and Taylor have one little thing so far each, but that's as far as I've gotten!

10. Taylor won't stop babbling. All day long! It's hilarious.

One Week from Today!

2008-11-14T22:03:00.001-06:00

Words cannot express how excited I am for this movie. Something about this book series just gets to you. Who's going with me? I have 2 so far! Please turn your volume up!

From a fellow blogger

2008-11-14T21:58:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite gals posted this on her blog, and I felt the need to pass it on.

Happy November!

2008-11-06T20:42:00.004-06:00

Silly kiddos!

Pebbles

2008-11-03T16:22:00.002-06:00

This is short since my finger is hurting but I can finally get a little clip in Tay's hair like Pebbles!

10 on Tuesday

2008-10-27T22:33:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I'll do my 10 on Tuesday about an hour early here. The kids are both in bed and its so quiet in the house!

1. Something is up with Jaden. I'm not sure exactly what, but he hasn't been sleeping well and is extra whiny lately. He wakes up sitting up in bed with his eyes closed, crying. If I lay him back down, he goes back to sleep, but wakes up about an hour later or more for most of the night. Last night he did this until 3:30am, then was quiet until 7:30am when he got up, still tired and whiny. No nap either. Well, except the 30 minutes on the couch with daddy today... until either he fell off the couch or daddy accidentally pushed him off!

Taylor's new hat!

2. Jaden has been off the binky for awhile now. Yet today, he saw a "red one" under the ottoman and had the biggest smile on his face... until I snatched it from his hands quicker than he could get it in his mouth... DRAMA! I ran to Jason before he could get into the other room and told him to hide it fast! haha. But all was well when Jason gave him his old electric toothbrush to play with!

3. I've been wanting to get pictures in my In-Law's backyard for awhile now. Even though it was windy as heck and freezing outside! (ok 40 but that's close!)... we took Jaden out for a bit on Sunday. The pictures I got are some of my new favorites.

4. I'm a procrastinator. I have only 90 pages left (of 547) in my book... and haven't picked it up in 2 days. I'm so close to moving onto the next book! Does it help that I just finished editing the session from Sunday tonight??

5. Taylor has an attitude. She's a very easy going baby typically, but in the last month, if you take something away from her that she wants/has... it's ON! I should be proud. At least she knows what she wants and is determined to have it!

6. Jaden refused to eat dinner tonight. Nothing was making him happy. So... he ate 2 things of mandrin oranges, and a thing of peaches... and some yogurt. He wanted more water than milk today, too, which is rare for him so he might be getting sick. He's a little congested at night when he sleeps, and snoring a little bit. When he's awake, he's got a little cough, but nothing too bad yet. I hope it doesn't get bad!

And this is one of my new favorites! Sunflare crazy! (yes I did that on purpose)

7. Jaden heard the word "stupendous" today on the cartoon channel. (pre-school channel) and kept repeating it over and over to Taylor. It was so cute!

Jaden and Grandpa playing with leaves, and more sunflare. I love it!

8. It's COLD outside! That's all I have to say about that. Fall is not nearly long enough anymore. It goes from 75 degree days to 40.

9. My in-law's saved me this weekend. Literally. Well, my sanity at least. I mentioned Jaden's behavior above, and it had been going on all week last week. They had Jaden Friday and Saturday night, and Taylor Saturday night as well. My Saturday was GREAT! Not to mention it was a really nice day weather-wise! So- Thank you, Alvin and Shirley!! (and for the other countless times you have had our kids!)

10. The world is so big... but Jaden's world seems to revolve around Grandpa. It's the cutest thing ever. =)

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Playing with the speedlight today....

2008-10-21T16:41:00.003-05:00

Yes, I always express my HATE for my flash (and I'm talking my speedlight, not the pop-up though I hate that even more)... but I put it on today. It's so gloomy and rainy outside, that there wasn't much natural light to work off of. So basically, here ya go!

The house is a bit chilly, hence the hat.

Kisses!

Hi!

Happy Tuesday!

Our Family Pics

2008-10-19T22:01:00.004-05:00

We finally got our family pictures done today! Although the kids weren't too into it, they will have to do until next year! We searched high and low for a tree that's leaves had changed. Pretty trees are scarce yet this year!

This is my favorite. If only Taylor was looking at the camera, and Jaden wasn't crying... but it's us, no doubt!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Friday Fun!

2008-10-17T20:40:00.002-05:00

I got bored today

2008-10-15T18:26:00.003-05:00

So I got bored today and took some pictures in the mirror.
Thought I'd share!

10 on Wednesday

2008-10-15T11:40:00.003-05:00

So I'm a day late for 10 on Tuesday so we'll do 10 on Wednesday!

1. Taylor still won't sit up on her own. She's 8 months old now, and CAN sit up, she just intentionally pushes herself backward unless a (boppy) pillow is around her. Stinker.

2. Jaden loves Bob now. His squeaky fish. We named him Bob. He used to be soo scared of that thing and would run the other way when he saw it. Now, it's all about Bob.

3. Jaden apparently likes to crawl into Taylor's swing when I'm not looking. Beside the fact that it might break the darn thing, I sure thought it was funny when I caught him in there!

4. Jaden is getting a "little" better at having his picture taken. I'm really hoping to get a couple good ones before the Holiday's, but we'll see. I did get a couple last week, so I'll be ok with that if I don't get anything better.

5. Our basement makes me sad. Jason painted it this summer, we cleared some stuff out, mainly my backdrops and props, and now it just sits there, looking sad, covered with toys and junk we don't use. We REALLY need to finish that up this fall before winter hits. This requires getting another cable outlet hooked up on that side of the basement for the TV, moving the TV and couch, finding a decent rug since the carpet down there is terrible, and getting a second DVR box. All of this really won't be that hard to do, but we must be lazy!

6. I'm still addicted to the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I've finsihed the first 3 books. Just have Breaking Dawn (the last book) to read. I had checked out so many books from the library in the process of reading Twilight, that I had to take a break before Breaking Dawn to get those read first! I'm about halfway through the second book of the Queen of Babble series by Meg Cabot. It's pretty good, but also pointless. Jason calls me a dork. =)

7. We were suppose to get our family pictures taken on Monday evening, but it was raining the first part of the day, and although it stopped by late afternoon, Jason thought it'd be too cold and muddy so we are going to give it another try this Sunday. I hope to be posting some of those next week!

8. I've added a bunch of Holiday card designs to www.nicolebrackphotography.photoreflect.com so if you know of anyone interested in some cards, send them my way!

9. Jaden and Taylor are still pretty fond of each other. I got lucky that Jaden never really got jealous of her. He did act out that first week or two after she was born, but after that, he's been great about it and just loves her to death. She thinks her big brother is pretty darn cool!

10. Some days, Taylor has been fighting her naps. She gets tired and cranky, but just won't give in. I'm hoping this is a fluke and not a new phase for her! At the moment, BOTH kids are napping and they both went down about the same time... yay!! Usually they only overlap by an hour or less with their naps. Off to get some things done!

Cuddles on the couch after Daddy got home from work.

2 year olds...

2008-10-12T20:03:00.003-05:00

One word- MASCARA.

After the clean-up:

This cracks me up!

She thinks her brother is pretty funny!

It's Fall!

2008-10-09T22:53:00.004-05:00

So I decided to take the kids outside this evening in hopes of some pictures of them together- NOPE! Jaden wasn't having that at all. I should've know. Next time, I will wait to bring Tay outside for a good 45 minutes after he's been playing outside. I got them dressed to at least not clash with each other, and that never mattered anyway. So- here are most of the shots from the evening!

She's starting to look more like a big girl these days to me, which makes me happy AND sad at the same time! Yes, Daddy is holding her hand, as she still intentionally pushes herself backward when sitting on occasion! I don't think I've let her fall often enough for her to figure out that it hurts!

Smiling at Daddy

Smiles from Jaden!

Mommy's new Favorite! Finally a framer!

So serious!

This was the best I got because he only sat down for about 10 seconds!

I just love her pouty little lips and her big cheeks!

...and another new favorite!

Still cute

WAY different than I usually share, but I loved this image- just not the quality I got from it being so dark in the house, and we just won't go there on WHY it was so bad. SO I did this with it. I loved how Tay was smiling up at him. She loves her big brother more than she loves me!

They're just so darn sweet together.

And of course I have to share this story, though you'd had to have been there to truly appreciate it. So this morning, I was more tired than usual when Jaden woke up in a whine. I turned on the cartoons in my bedroom and let him lay with me for a bit. Of course, a 2 year old won't stay put for long, so he was off before I knew it. I was half-awake, listening to see what he was doing here and there. Then, he comes into the bedroom and tells me that Tay is up. I heard her talking to herself, and she happened to be in the swing since she had gotten up to eat around 6am and went back to sleep. Well, Jaden goes in there and is playing with her. So all of a sudden, I hear them both CRACKING UP at each other. For a good 10 minutes... non-stop laughter from both of them at the same time. I wanted to get something (though I'd probably just have had to leave a message on someone's machine since my video camera is broke) to record them, but I was too lazy to get up and my phone wasn't by me.

Anyway- these two are going to have so much fun together... for a couple of years. After that, I can see that Tay will probably be stealing Jaden's toys and bugging him to the extreme. Until then, I'm going to enjoy how darn cute they are together!

Happy Friday, everyone!

7 on Tuesday

2008-09-30T17:24:00.002-05:00

1. Taylor is babbling away. Her first was "dadadadada" with excitement! Now, just like Jaden did, she's doing the "mamamamama" when she's whining. She knows her stuff!

2. Jaden has an obsession with the phrase "should we ____" It's pretty darn funny! "Should we go see?" ... "should we go get it?"....."should we get the pink spoon?"

3. Taylor loves her food these days. Any baby food you give her, and the newest: puffs. I still break them into smaller pieces, but she loves them!

4. I'm reading Twilight- book 1 of the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. It's pretty good, but not quite what I had expected. It's from a teenager point of view, about teenagers, a simple girl and a vampire. Like I said, I like it, just didn't expect them to be so young when I heard all the hype of this series. I'm not a reader- never really was. But I heard so much about Twilight, that I had to look into it! Now I'll probably be hooked!

5. Jaden loves candy. It's about all he asks for anymore other than milk and pop tarts! It doesn't surprise me. I was the same way when I was little!

6. All of a sudden it seems like Taylor's hair is getting more full. It'll be so fun to give her pigtails hopefully in the next few months here!

7. We're going to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa Brack, Lori, Haylee and Chris next Monday. I'm sure Jaden will have a blast, and I hope to get some great pictures!

Thursday Fun

2008-09-25T21:58:00.003-05:00

Tay hiding behind her blanky

Jaden loves his monkey costume- until you put it on him!

Little grin through the crib!

And of course Taylor is Jaden's banana!

Mmm yogurt is good!

Happy Friday everyone!

Taylor and Daddy

2008-09-25T19:24:00.003-05:00

How stinkin' cute are they?!

Happy Anniversary, Grandma & Grandpa Brack!

2008-09-21T23:08:00.002-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa Brack celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary today!
Happy Anniversary!!

My new absolute favorite! Taylor will be so happy
to have this one framed in her room!

My beautiful niece, Haylee. 16 months

An attempt to get the 3 of them together. Not TOO bad!

One of many failed attempts. We'll try again soon!

Mmmm Strawberry punch!

Happy Monday everyone!

She cracks me up!

2008-09-19T23:38:00.001-05:00

So after Little Huddy's 3 month pictures today, I decided to snap a few of Taylor since she was in a good mood. Happy weekend everyone!

This girl is all about the tongue lately!

Wednesday fun...

2008-09-17T17:56:00.004-05:00

Today wasn't too eventful, but Jaden did have a playdate!

Jaden loves his licorice from Grandma Shirley!

Simone giving Jaden a kiss.

Jaden feeding Simone a fruit loop.

Jaden giving Tay kisses.

So serious!

And of course, if he makes himself toot, he'll flash a smile!

That's what Tay thinks about that!

Hi!

Simone waiting for her kiss from Jaden- that she never got!

She thinks he's pretty funny!

She's so cute!

10 on Tuesday

2008-09-16T15:33:00.003-05:00

Ok... here's my 10 on Tuesday:

1. Taylor finally went to bed easily last night! The last couple of weeks she hasn't gone down well at night at all, but last night she went down without a peep at 9:30pm!
2. Jason is sick- and sick grown men are worse than a sick 2 year old!
3. Jaden has been getting a [little] better at letting me take his picture.
4. Jaden got a new air purifier for his noise maker at night. He's decided he wants "THAT night-night".. aka the humidifier we were using before. Ugh!
5. Jaden has decided he wants this and he wants that. Today, all he wants is a sucker... over and over and over. Even if he's already had 2. Nope, sorry!
6. Taylor was sitting down last night with her boppy pillow around her as usual on the floor playing, and Jaden's balloon was on the floor in front of her- she decided she wanted it and she wanted it now... so she dove forward, landed on her belly and just hung there for awhile. First time she's done that!
7. Still no teeth for Tay, but I just know those top 2 are coming soon!
8. Jaden suddenly doesn't like raisins.
9. I think Jaden is going through a growth spurt because he suddenly can eat the entire fridge in one night!
10. Jaden wants to be just like his daddy. If Daddy is doing laundry, Jaden is right along side of him. If Daddy is on the computer, Jaden has to sit by him, too.... it's too cute! And of course nice for me once Jason gets home from work!

And a few snapshots for you from this morning.

What, mom?? Can't I just play for once??

Jaden loves his sister so much. It's adorable.

Uh oh, Jaden quit paying attention to her... here's Taylor's
mad face!

And the scream-

Happy Tuesday!

Monday Monday!

2008-09-15T15:32:00.003-05:00

Jaden loves his "baby"

I just LOVE that smile!

Looks like he's up to something!

Aww

huh?!

So sweet together.

2008-09-10T22:13:00.003-05:00

Can they get much cuter than this? They just love each other so much!

Not wanting his picture taken!

Silly boy!

What, mom?!

Took Taylor outside today....

2008-09-10T18:01:00.004-05:00

So during Jaden's nap today, I decided to take a few pictures of Taylor. Since it was majorly overcast today, we had to go outside. Sooo here's Taylor sportin' another hat! Again, thanks Grandma Shirley!

Little Miss Attitude

Ok mom, I'll look at you just once!

But this grass is much more interesting!

Ok ok a little smile and of course tongue!

Grin behind the hand- what I see the majority of the day!

10 on Tuesday

2008-09-10T12:06:00.005-05:00

Happy Tuesday!

Ok so I'm jumping on the wagon here with my other blogging photog friends and starting the 10 on Tuesday. Basically, 10 things going on in our lives at this moment in time.

1. Jaden is speaking mostly in full sentences now.

2. Jaden loves to say "I love you, Daddy" before bedtime. So sweet!

3. Taylor is getting better at sitting up, but still wobbly on her own. She sits well with a boppy pillow around her to catch her if she starts to wobble.

4. Taylor loves sweet potatoes and pears, but hates bananas.

5. Still no teeth for little T, but she's working on those top two! I can feel them, but they still haven't quite broken through, so she's waking a few times a night for her binky, and recently once to eat. Previously, she wasn't eating in the middle of the night, so it's not much fun, but she does sleep for a decent stretch after her bottle!

6. Jason says his new job is fairly easy, and he seems to like it. Other than having to be to work at 6am or 7am and sometimes not home until 7pm or later, he still has days where he's home early in te afternoon, so that's always nice!

7. I've been busy busy with photography, which is GREAT! I'm having a blast photographing all of these adorable little kiddos. I've had my fair share of One Year Olds lately, and they are so so fun!

8. Jaden loves the Wiggles. If that isn't any surprise to you. He could watch them ALL day long, but he is doing better at just letting it go when I tell him no more wiggles til "......." (usually before bed).

9. I am trying to figure out some possible way to get our FAMILY PHOTOS done! Yes, family photos. We have NO professional family photos. Not even from before Taylor was born. Only snapshots, and that is just not good enough for me. I've come to accept the fact that I probably WON'T loose a ton more weight, or look a great deal better than I do now- this is me, and if I still look the same in 5 years, I will regret not having family photos from when the kids were little. SO- yes we are doing them this year somehow (I need to find someone I trust with my camera who knows how to focus at least, and I will choose the settings, location, etc.) We will also use one for our Christmas cards.

10. I secretly love when Jaden wakes up in the middle of the night. He did last night, and it's about the only time the little booger lets me cuddle him, and it reminds me of those times when he was about Taylor's age. I love his age, I love HIM- sometimes though, it's nice to know you're still needed. He's not even 2 and a half yet, but I'm already feeling him use his independence against me. I'm sad!!

Terrible snapshots of the kids, but here ya go!

Thank you Grandma Shirley for my adorable outfit!

I love those pants!!

Do you ever feel guilty?

2008-09-05T23:12:00.002-05:00

Ok so I know this is a very random post, but do you ever just feel guilty? After trying for 5 hours off and on (ok 4 hours) to get Taylor to sleep (first a nap, then for bed).... she was FINALLY passed out cold at 9:45pm. At about 9:50pm (no joke) our nice 15 year old neighbor kid and his buddies fired up his buddy's 4-wheeler. Yep, up and down the street, circles in front of our driveway- it was SURE to wake at least one of the kids up. After the stressful evening I'd been through, and Jason as well, Jason was ready to call the cops on them.

I decided that I had the moms phone number, as I am throwing a purse party for her next weekend. I knew she was at work, but we were so worked up over this for some reason, I called her. She immediatly called her son, and within one minute they pulled that thing in and called it a night. NOW, her I sit, over an hour later, feeling so incredibly guilty.

1. For calling his mommy on him and being a "tattle tell".
2. Because she was in such a rush at work and not wanting to be on her cell phone, that I didn't have time to explain WHY I wanted them to "shut it" basically.
and
3. I'm not a confrontational person, hence not just walking the 10 feet to tell the poor little kid myself to please stop.

Now I feel guilty and embarassed- BUT it's 11pm and my kids are still asleep! Anyone else ever feel that way? Like if ONE more thing goes wrong, if ONE more minute of your night is filled with stress, you'll simply explode? Well, that was me tonight. I knew if they didn't stop, and one of our kids woke up, or I even had to listen to that outside my window (which is in fact open as our air is off due to the cool weather).... I'd go absolutely APE on this poor nice kid.

We really do like our neighbors- kids and all. This poor kid babysat for us a couple of weeks ago actually! He's a very nice kid, and I feel so badly for calling his "mommy" on him. But then again, Jason wanted to call the cops, and said he would have if I hadn't called his mom... sooo mom or cops?!

Ok vent over. Happy Friday night to you all, and I hope it was much calmer than ours! =)

Friday fun......

2008-08-29T13:01:00.007-05:00

Taylor's 1st Birthday dress came in the mail today. I was contemplating keeping this quiet until her party (whenever that happens to be as it's 5.5 months away yet!) but it's so cute I had to share. I saw it online with a different name, so now that it's HER name.. its even cuter! She will have to wear black leggings and a black long sleeve onesie underneath (or something) since it'll be February, but I loved the dress and it was exactly what I was looking for. As you can tell, it will be a cupcake themed party!

And little J. He's such a joy- yet so difficult to photograph anymore!! I will be beginning his grandma and grandpa to help me out one of these days to wrangle him long enough for a few shots where he's sitting somewhat STILL... if he looks at me with a camera in my face, it's for a split second, therefore I have no sharp eyes popping out at me which is what i NEED for my wall in the house! Argh!!

Final 6 month photos!

2008-08-28T18:56:00.013-05:00

Well, I finally tortured Taylor with her hats. Well, I shouldn't say torture because as soon as I put the first one on, she laughed out loud! She loved it! Enjoy!

Hat in August?

2008-08-25T00:50:00.005-05:00

Even though it's only August, and should be 90+ degrees outside, we had a beautiful day! I took these photos around 8pm tonight and it was a tad chilly and breezy so I decided to try on the hat that my mother-in-law had got for her to wear back in February. I had wanted this hat for so long but couldn't find it in her size, and she found it in Omaha! Soo... I was afraid that it would be too small, but wouldn't you know? It fits perfectly! I'm going to have so much fun torturing Taylor with her hats this fall... until she learns how to pull them off. Then, I'll go through a good year or more until I can talk her into wearing them again. That is- if she's anything like her brother! Well, Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

You may be wondering where Jaden was this weekend... he was in Weeping Water having a blast with grandma and grandpa! Pooped beyond belief, and wouldn't even let me finish my walk. All he kept saying was "Mommy house... mommy house...wiggles...night night....." over and over, so I gave up and took him home at 8:30pm! Here's Jaden last week with Daddy:

My little girl is 6 months!!

2008-08-23T20:11:00.007-05:00

Official 6 month photos to come soon!

Jaden got a boo-boo!

2008-08-06T12:34:00.002-05:00

Darn that driveway!!

Tuesday

2008-08-05T23:04:00.003-05:00

So our Tuesday was pretty un-eventful really. Jaden was a little angel. I drank LOTS of coffee today, Taylor enjoyed her exersaucer again, and before Jaden woke up from his nap, I decided to do a little "session" with Taylor with the new flower I got for her headband.

To my surprise, Taylor decided to roll over for the first time during this! She thought it was pretty cool, too! She rolled from this position in the first photos to her back. This is also the first time she's held herself up this far when I tried to put her on her belly, so I was happy about that as well.

The only bad news today- Jaden was in the driveway playing with daddy this evening (without shoes- just socks!) and was running.... so a 2 year old running on concrete with no shoes = ouchies! He fell and scraped his nose on the driveway. Luckily he didn't hit too hard and just has a scrap on his nose. Better than a broken nose I guess! He got over it pretty quickly and then thought it was pretty cool. I will post a photo tomorrow but it was so close to bedtime that he just got a bath and went to bed without the torture of my camera!

Our Monday

2008-08-05T00:33:00.003-05:00

Sooo we had a pretty good Monday around here. Nothing too eventful, but IMO it was a great day. The kid slept pretty well last night, woke up in a good mood, etc. I moved Taylor's exersaucer upstairs finally from the basment, and both the kids thought that was pretty cool. Taylor loves being in it, and Jaden loves to "help" her play with her toys. I told him to show her how to play with her toys and he will make all of the things go/make noise and she'd crack a smile and just watch him like a hawk. She sure loves her big brother! The photo of the two of them together is her in her exersaucer and him standing over her, thinking of giving her a kiss.

Now- let me explain. This was almost midnight for the next two. Taylor woke up to eat and was in such a great mood, Daddy sat down to play with her for a bit. He was kissing her on the cheek like this and the face she made in the next photo was so cute I had to go grab my camera. But when I fired my flash with it being DARK in the family room, I just got the "deer in the headlights" look instead of this cute one! So I janked up my settings so badly just to get this shot, that no amount of editing would fix it.

SO I just proceeded to run an "old photo" filter on the first, and an "old paper" filter on the second photo. I tried to save the second photo because I love how she smiles when daddy kisses her!

Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Just goofing around...

2008-07-25T17:30:00.003-05:00

Taylor and I decided to snap a couple shots today during Jaden's nap.

And I couldn't decide if I liked the color or black and white better, so I'm posting both!

Jaden loves his "Tayla"

2008-07-24T16:01:00.006-05:00

I am in shock at how much my kids have allowed me to photograph them this week. And pretty happy, too! Though these are just snapshots, I still love them! Catching both of them in a good mood is sometimes rare in our house, especially for photos. So- when I realized how happy they both were, I decided to bust out my camera.. without bothering to change Jaden out of his PJ's! Oh well. They're still so stinkin' cute! Enjoy!

Finally, eye contact!

2008-07-24T00:40:00.007-05:00

So Jaden decided to let me take his picture tonight... well, kind of! Just snapshots, but I got eye contact and even some smiles! Most aren't very sharp, but I'll take what I can get. He is by far my most favorite 2 year old! He was feeling much better after his long nap today, fever went down and he was ready to play. Lucky for me, he was still a little sleepy, but in a great mood, so he wasn't giving me much of those terrible 2's. We had a nice relaxing evening.

So totally adorable!

2008-07-23T16:18:00.001-05:00

Ok so I came across these little baby mats today. They are too cute that I might just have to get Taylor one here soon. I'm thinking she may end up with the pink bear. Just wanted to share for those of you with babies yourselves!

MATS

Because it's TOO cute....

2008-07-23T15:13:00.001-05:00

This video was shared on a message board I frequent yesterday, and it was too cute not to share with you all. Turn your sound up a little for the music as well and enjoy!

Finally an update!

2008-07-23T14:35:00.007-05:00

So at my cousin's bridal shower on Sunday, I attempted to have my other cousin, Amanda, take a photo of Taylor and I. Problem was, Taylor wasn't too into it, so this is the best we got!

Taylor is now 5 months old, and TEETHING. Surprisingly she did sleep through the night last night. I didn't have to get up and give her the binky once from midnight-9am! Well, give or take. The last couple of months she's whined for it at least 3-4 times per night. BUT she is constantly eating her hands and drooling like crazy (see above photo). I felt in her mouth last night, and sure enough, they haven't broke through, but I feel at least 2 teeth on the top and bottom in there getting ready to break through. We'll see how long it takes, as Jaden never broke a tooth until he was closer to 8 months or so, but I have a feeling Taylor will sooner than later! Time to bust out that baby tylenol!

And our little man. An attempt at a new photo of him is almost impossible these days, and the day I decided to try, he would NOT let go of that binky. Of course I could have ended up with a photo of a tantrum to show those terrible two's, but I went for the binky pic instead. Yep, my over 2 year old has a binky. And lately, it's been BAAAD. He will not let that thing out of his sight, though the previous months he only had it for bed and was just fine with that.

Jaden also needs a little trim, hopefully my mother-in-law has some time this weekend to trim it up for him. I am completely in love with this little guy. He cracks me up every day, is talking so much more now, and is getting pretty darn smart if you ask me. He does mix some words around on occasion, and my favorite is "Hold you" and "Rock you"... as in "hold me" and "rock me".

He has the "FIVE more minutes" down pat for watching TV before bed.

He told his doll (yes he has a 'baby') to "you sit there and watch me eat" the other night.

We need to really start working on the potty training. The first go-around failed, but here's to hoping the second time's the charm!

Oh, and he's addicted to socks. I try to get him to go barefoot in the house if he's hot, or like today has a slight fever (no other symptoms go figure?!) but nope, I put him in the crib for his nap and it's "sock ON?! sock ON!?" Little squirt.

I just *heart* him!

And I thought I should share miss T in her little sleeper and hat because the hat was way too small and this is the only time you will see her in her matching combo! I believe the hat was 0-6mo so I had to take a photo, even though she was NOT in the mood for my camera that day!

Well, thanks for looking! I hope to update with better photos and more stories soon! Have a great rest of the week everyone, and enjoy the rest of your summer, as it seems to be passing very quickly this year!

My silly little man

2008-07-09T18:30:00.003-05:00

So Jaden saw my camera and wanted "picture" .... which shocked me!! Here are a couple from this evening.

Welcome to my new blog!

2008-07-09T16:59:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! I've decided to create a brand new personal blog! My original blog is my photography blog, and I'd like to keep the two seperate, so this is the place to get updates and new photos of our family! The kids are growing so fast, so I hope you will check back often! If you use google reader, please add this blog. If you don't, I highly recommend that you start using it. I've recently started and it is so easy and helpful for getting updates on the blogs I like to follow but sometimes forget to check! Now I just check my google reader once a day and stay updated!

Anyways, here are a couple of new pictures of the kids from around the 4th of July: