Nate, Karen & Mostly Brookelynn Canen Blog

Brookelynn's First Steps

2010-03-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Brookelynn walked all by her self today with her Daddy's help!!! She has been able to walk on her own for a while now but hasn't been daring enough. Today, with Daddy's help she did it! She is a pro at it and it's only her first day!

10 months

2009-12-21T08:48:00.004-07:00

These last 10 months have been the best of my life! Brookelynn is seriously the cutest little thing. We have been busy, busy this month and will post more picture of our adventures but I wanted to make sure I wrote about what my little baby doll is up to these days.

Button, Button, Brookelynn Loves Buttons

She's a sucker for buttons to push. She loves to find them, see what they do and then do it again! Her toys, the remote, and pens that click are her favorites. She looks for buttons everywhere, in the books we read if there are small objects, like marbles, she pushes them see if they will do anything. She even has found that a few of Daddy's moles really are buttons. Who knew?

Good Morning Books

Brookelynn loves to read books any time of the day but she squeals for them in the morning. As soon as I pick her up she looks at the stack of books on the night stand and then reaches and sequels. We read the whole stack every morning. She especially likes the little lamb book right now. We have our routine down pat including singing, Mary had a little lamb, bah bah black sheep, playing peekaboo with the mama lamb, hopping like a frog, bahing like a sheep, bouncing like a bunny, dancing to the "music", and waving bye bye. I'll have to post her bah sound. I just love it!

Dancing Baby

While Brookelynn is cruising around the furniture she likes to dance as she goes. She'll dance to about anything if you dance with her but it has to be something she likes to dance on her own... which is pretty much anything since she dances to my singing. :) Her holiday favorite is jingle bells and loves to shake the bells as much as she shakes her booty.

Playing Games With Daddy

Don't get me wrong Brookelynn will play games with anyone, but she loves to play them with her Daddy. Nate makes up games with her all the time and Brookelynn is quick to learn how it is played and loves every minute. When you play a game that has turns, and you wait too long Brookelynn will pick up your hand to let you know it's your turn.

Favorites

Bath time (still), D the dog (still), crackers, mirrors, people, people, people, games, going and doing, looking at pictures of her or people she knows, (especially watching our family pictures with music), pushing buttons, kids, socks (not taking them off just crawling holding on to one or two), books, playing toss, dancing, waving to people... even better when they wave back, being tickled at night, eating, and singing songs with actions.

PS: Thanks Aunt Zhalore for the cute Christmas dress.

The loves of my life

2009-12-01T21:59:00.005-07:00

How in the world did I get so lucky!?! I have the most thoughtful, handsome husband and the sweetest most beautiful baby girl. I love them and they love me! My life could not get any better.

one for now

2009-11-19T19:59:00.005-07:00

I'm sure most of you know (since I stressed about it) that we just had family pictures done. My amazing friend Angie, magic photographer, took them so I know they will turn out great! She posted one tonight so I thought I'd share. Thanks again Angie.

oh how I love my little baby sue

In case you forgot where her blog is.

Halloween

2009-11-13T07:19:00.007-07:00

Here are some pictures of Brookelynn on Halloween. Better Late then never right? Brookelynn was little bunny foo foo. When you sing her songs with her she wiggles her legs, bounces up and down (dancing), claps and squeals. She does this with little bunny foo foo and she will bop the mice on the head,most of the time. When she's really into it she will put both hands way above her head and bop my hand. She performed it for almost everyone on Halloween. When we went to Grandma and Grandpa Stouts house Brookelynn was a little cheese. She had so much fun playing with Grandpa.

When she would hear the camera ding she would stop playing with grandpa, turn and smile. It was so cute. Grandpa said, "just like your mom", but I don't know about that. :)

It was so much fun to run around and see friends and family, Brookelynn loved her first Halloween!

Free photo shoot.... not so free pictures..........

2009-10-21T08:33:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I went to look at the cute pictures that were taken at the free photo shoot. I was so excited when the photographer put a preview picture on her blog and I looked at her prices for pints and they were reasonable. I looked at the profs and they were all so cute. Her style is crisp and clean with not a lot of frills. It was going to be very hard to choose what ones to get. After I looked at them all she told me about the pricing. . . . . . .
one 4x6 -- $40.00
one 5x7 -- $60.00
The prices went up from there. Now the photographer is talented no doubt, I was just not prepared for that. I was expecting it to be the same as the prices on her site. She said since she goes though the store she gets a commission and the prices come from the store not her. I had so many written down to choose from so picking one was hard. The photographer said this is the time to hit up grandparents...... I'm thinking I would have to hit up everyone that is my friend on face book to get enough for what I wanted. :) Don't worry I just chose the one free one. No need to send money. If we weren't getting pictures taken by Angie in a few weeks then I might have considered it.... ok, considered it more. I'll definitely have pictures to post from that! Yeah for Angie! I can't wait. Now I just have to decided what everyone is going to wear.

8 Months Old

2009-10-19T12:45:00.004-06:00

I really can't believe that my little Baby Sue is 8 months already. Where does the time go? Here are a few things Brookelynn loves these days to go along with the cute fall picture.

In Love With Patty Cake
Brookelynn loves Patty Cake, Little Bunny Fofo, and the itsy bitys spider.She joins in with a squeal and a giggle as she starts the actions. She claps for Patty cake, Bops the little mice on the head and claps again for the ittsy bittsy spider ending all of them with more clapping as we say "Yeah!!".

Whistler
I know it might sound a little crazy but I promise Brookelynn Whistles! She puckers up and blows in and out. I need to get it on video... I know. :) When I try she hears the sound of the camera turning on, stops and smiles.

Copy Cat
She loves to play copy cat with everyone. You pat the table, she pats the table....
She makes a sound, you make the same sound, She whistles, you whistle.... The funny thing is when the person stops and she's not done with the game she will flex her arms and grunt in protest then pat the table a few more times to get you to keep playing. She had my boss whistling and patting the table for a very long time. She is very convincing.

Diver
Brookelynn is able to get around, just not by fully crawling yet. She will scoot backwards or if it's something she really wants she'll get on her hands and knees and dive for it. She'll do this over and over again until she gets what she wants.

Sit ups
Brookelynn loves to do sit ups with Nate. Nate is her trainer and he'll hold her feet and she will do sit ups. He will plot her back down and she pops back up with a smile. I guess it's never too early to start being healthy?

Sharing
Lately she has started to try and give Nate and I her binky. She'll try and put it right in our mouths. She thinks it's so funny.

Cuddle Bug
She has always like to cuddle at night and in the morning but now just any time she will lean in and give you a hug. They are oh so cute.

Pumpkin Patch Kid

2009-10-15T12:55:00.004-06:00

Just because.

2009-10-11T23:34:00.003-06:00

Just because she's cute.

ps:Thanks Grandma for the cute dress.

Free Photo Shoot!

2009-10-07T00:17:00.004-06:00

So I was shopping in the mall today and went by one of my favorite children's store, Janie and Jack, and while I was shopping I noticed a photographer there. Last time I shopped there they gave me a post card to fill out to see if I would win a free photo session and picture. I didn't turn it in, but asked about is since I was there. They had someone just cancel and the nice photographer, Karen Hamilton said I could have the slot! Yeah for free pictures! I ran home put her in a little dress and tights and ran back. She hasn't worn this dress yet so I wasn't ready with hair accessories. Oh well. I love the o'natural look. I had a little hat on her in a few, it will be fun to see those soon.
When it was over then I asked if there was a way to see them before the the viewing appointment. She was nice enough to post one on her blog tonight. She didn't post anyone else from today.... I'm feeling a little spoiled. Free pictures and instant gratification. It was a good day.

I love my little baby doll!

Just don't do it again!

2009-09-29T17:23:00.005-06:00

Karen's friend Jenny is getting married soon so Karen volunteered to help out with a few things. In the process, Jenny mentioned how much work there is to do to prepare for a wedding. It's true, weddings take a lot of work, but thinking back to our wedding we had a lot of help.

So Karen decided to call Mom and Dad Stout to tell them how much we appreciated everything they did for us. Dads response was simply, "ya sure, no problem -- just don't do it again!!!!"

I love Dads!

Law and Order

2009-09-24T08:12:00.007-06:00

Anyone that really knows me, knows I love the show Law and Order. (Maybe that's not true, but now you know.) I love the cheese one liners, how you get though a whole story in 45 minute (Thank you Tivo), the characters, but most of all I love how everyone in the story is working to get the bad guys the right way. The Law and Order way. hahaha. This post makes me laugh.

Yesterday Nate's school, Canyons Technical Center, had a criminal justice fair. They had the police, firemen, K-9 unit, SWAT, life flight, U.S. Marshals, mobile police department, highway patrol helicopter, mobile crime lab..... everyone associated with really helping us keep law and order. Seriously great people that risk there lives for us.

We live so close to Nate's work that we can see the parking lot form our Living room window. It was quite the sight to see life flight land. It is huge!!! It circled a few times and on it's way down it made the trees bend almost in half. It picked up a table in the parking lot full of papers and give a ways for the kids and tossed it across the street. I didn't see this but they said it even picked up a few of the police officers motorcycles. Luckily the officers were right there to hold them down.

Brookelynn and I walked over when Nate had his lunch break too see everything. It was crazy to see the items SWAT and U.S. Marshals use, talk to the life flight crew and see the crime lab. I'm glad that there are people that choose those kinds of jobs! They are amazing.

Nate snagged a picture of Brookelynn and I in the highway patrol helicopter.

Rub-A-Dub

2009-09-18T10:35:00.011-06:00

Rub a dub dub, the cutest baby in a tub! As you can see Brookelynn loves her baths. She is 7 months old today and oh my is she cute! She is a crackup, she makes Nate and I laugh all the time. She's not feeling very well right now and she's still such a happy baby (for the most part). It was funny yesterday Nate said to Brookelynn, "you're cute when your sick". It made me laugh, but it's true. She breaths though her mouth making a little weesing whistling sound, sticks her tongue out and just smiles. The baths have really helped her breath better so Brookelynn take an average of 2 a day. She has so much fun in the tub I had to snap a few shots to share.

I love her little profile and shadow silhouette.
Look at that face and those lashes.

Brookelynn will be daring and stick her head under the running water.
Each time it goes like this.
"Mom, mom, watch me... Ready, set....... awehh!!.... Did you see mom?!?!"

Picture taking tragedy

2009-09-10T22:47:00.005-06:00

If Brookelynn becomes famous, I don't think she'll mind the paparazzi because we take so many pictures of her she'll be used to it.
I was out taking some picture or our little cuddle bug a week ago and tragedy happened.
Brookelynn can sit alone or stand holding onto something like a champ. She has been able to do it for a long time now so I didn't think it would be a problem to have her stand holding on to something while I took a few shots. Close to where we were was a walking trail. Well.... some guy.... and his big dog.... ran by and the big dog started barking and startled Brookelynn. Down she fell into the sunflower plant! She didn't even cry the brave little girl. I got the shot of her falling. I deleted it though because I couldn't stand to see the scared little look on her face. I picked her up and I knew the scratches on her were going to get worse.
I drove to the pharmacy and by the time I got there her arm was bright red..... no worse then what your thinking. Think fire engine red! It looked horrible!!! I felt horrible!!!! The pharmacist's gasp and "ooohh" made me think I was going to need pick up some meds to help with how bad I felt. Then he said, "It doesn't seem like she minds" and she didn't. She was her happy self the whole time. He showed me a few thing that could help, I got them all and hurried home. After a bath and a little cream you couldn't even see the signs of the tragedy. I know this really wasn't a tragedy..... Brookelynn feel into a plant but I tell you, as a mom it's amazing how bad you feel when your child gets hurt and you feel like you should have protected them. wow.... I'm not sure why I confess things on this blog. Here's a picture of our super star, not from the tragic day, a few days before.

Now that's what I call REAL food!

2009-09-04T15:33:00.007-06:00

We don't mess around when we start feeding our little girl food!

Real Food!

2009-08-25T13:23:00.014-06:00

We waited to start Brookelynn on cereal until 6 months. Now solid foods like ice cream, french fires and pickles came a lot earlier. I know... I know I feel bad but I had to confess. She loved them all even the pickle. Crazy Sanford genes. So it wasn't too surprising that she wasn't a fan of the blan cereal. She had just had two bites of ice cream from dad and she knew exactly what to do. So we hurried and made some cereal and I brought the spoon to her mouths and it clamped shut. She was not going to open it! We were tricky or some people might say cruel and we put ice cream on one spoon and cereal on the other. I went in with the ice cream and she opened wide and then I swooped in with the cereal. It only took a few times of this before she ate the cereal with out any tricks. Sad to say this only lasted a few days. A few days after and she stopped wanting cereal. So last night she tried butter nut squash and Loooooved it!! She ate every bit! A girl after my own heart. She loved it even more then ice cream. Phew.....
Here are a few pictures and a little video that I just took. I apologize for the singing and the camera shot. I took the video by my self and if I looked through the camera my dept perception was off and I couldn't feed her well but if I didn't look at the camera well.... this is what you get. I hope you get the idea. She squealed the whole time she ate!

Yellowstone

2009-07-29T21:57:00.005-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Yellowstone over the 24th. We were invited by Nate's brother,Adam and sister-in-law, Kara. We had a great time seeing the sights, the animals and making wonderful meals. Mostly Adam and Kara made the wonderful meals! Thanks guys.

Brookelynn did great! Who knew she would be a camper? The one thing I didn't plan for was it was the cold and the rain. I only brought one warm outfit since it's been in the high 90's to 100. I wasn't thinking cold. So we bought Brookelynn this little bear hat which was so cute! Of course as soon as we bought it the sunshine came out and it was hot. It was useful and cute the whole time because it rained off and on during the weekend. Which was perfect because it kept it from getting too hot, it was perfect!

We were able to see all of the sights that we wanted to because they have boardwalks that go to everything! It was great. We saw lots of animals too. One Buffalo greeted us on our drive in and lead the other lane of cars like they were in a parade. We even saw a beautiful elk! We saw him in the early morning with the mist rising around him, he was standing so tall and had huge horns. He looked so majestic, it was beautiful! The one animal we didn't see was a bear and we looked. I think we drove Adam and Kara a bit nuts with our constant search for a bear. I guess we'll just have to go back to Yellowstone soon. Until then the search for a bear is on hold.

4th of July

2009-07-10T15:56:00.003-06:00

tee hee.... I just love this picture! It makes me smile even thinking about it.
We had so much fun on the 4th of July. We went to Wyoming and hung out, had a BBQ, and watched the fire works with Heather, my sister-in-law and her friend. This was my first time ever seeing Wyoming fireworks. I'm going to guess that our kids are going to want to spend the 4th in Wyoming. Oh my goodness!! Crayz, Crazy fireworks everywhere! We went down to the baseball fields where familys bring their fire works. Between the ball field, the city show and eveyone else I didn't know where to look. There were fireworks everywhere!
As you can see, I was a little worried it was going to be too loud for Brookelynn. She couldn't hear a thing! A few minutes after this was taken she was out, and she slept the whole time. It was fabulious! Thanks Heather for having us up to play!

How did my baby get so tough and so tall??

2009-07-09T10:25:00.005-06:00

Brookelynn had her 4 month Dr's apt, even though she's half way though her fourth month. We went on vacation and then our Dr. went on vacation so we didn't get in until yesterday. I have to say I wasn't heart broken about being a little late because I knew it was time for immunizations and those are never fun. Brookelynn was amazing and didn't even cry! Just one little squeal. Earlier in the month she had to get some tests done and one of them involved a catheter. I was braced and ready for her to cry. I was holding her hands, singing to her and then the nurses said were done. Nothing... not even a peep. Both times the nurses said they were amazed and wished they had more babies like her. I'm not sure how our little girl is so tough. well, I'm sure she gets it from her dad.
At the Dr's they measured her and she's 13lbs, in the 50% that's a big 5lbs in 2 months. Even more surprising is she is 25in long, in the 75%!! I wasn't expecting my little baby to ever be above average in height. That is one thing that I love about our beautiful Brookelynn. She is always surprising us everyday with how amazing she is!
.

Lake Tahoe

2009-06-29T22:35:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that it's been over a month since I've bloged. It's not for lack of things to blog about. I don't really have an excuse. So before it goes any longer here are some pictures of our trip to Lake Tahoe. We went for over a week and Brookelynn was amazing! We drove and she did great both ways. We were going to buy a pack and play when we got there but we were so tired after all the driving so we thought the suitcase might work. It worked perfectly! It was comfortable and her room was very dark so she would sleep 10-12 hours a night, she just woke up to eat real quick then back to bed. We did a lot of hiking, which was so fun. Brookelynn loved it and all the other hikers loved her. Brookelynn went swimming for the first time and had so much fun splashing and playing in the water. We loved every minute of our first family vacation!

loving life at 30!

2009-05-25T11:20:00.002-06:00

Wooho! I'm 30!!! I have loved being every age and I feel the same way about 30. I don't think I look 30 but I'm glad I don't look 17 anymore either. It was my birthday on Sat and thanks to my handsome husband I had an amazing day. It stated out with Nate making me a yummy breakfast followed by eating some of my cake for desert. I know I know, you don't normally eat your cake after breakfast but this was no ordinary birthday. Nate asked my Mom to make her famous chocolate sheet cake and boy did it look and taste good. Thanks Mom!
Heather came to hang out with Brookelynn while Nate took me out and spoiled me. We went shopping and I got some new running shoes and then headed up to Ogden to IFly. It's a skydiving simulator. It was fantastic. Not scary as the real thing but sooo fun. After having Brookelynn I'm a little more hesitant of doing something crazy like jumping out of an airplane. I was even a little nervous for Nate to do the IFly because he has dislocated his shoulder before and with winds blowing up to 150 mph it could pop it right out. I really didn't want a visit to the hospital for my birthday. Luckily all went well, they were just a little more cautious with Nate.

We stayed up in Ogden and ate dinner at a delicious mexican restaurant. At home we played with Brookelynn, watched a movie, ate more cake and ice cream. If that wasn't enough Nate surprised me with another gift. Tickets to Elton John and Billy Joel! Yeah! I'm so excited! I'm not sure but that may make me sound older then 30 but I love them! I can't wait! It was a perfect way to start off my 30's.

3 months old

2009-05-19T11:58:00.010-06:00

Wow wee Brookelynn is 3 months old! Time goes so fast with this little girl! Nate and I have so much fun with her and seeing her grow and learn. She has grown so much this last month. She is now 10lbs! yeah! We have been working really hard to get to that so we are excited.
Here are some things that Brookelynn loves these days.
(I just love how Brookelynn looks at Nate)
Brookelynn loves playing with her Daddy and Mommy. Nate is so stink'n cute with her. She loves being his sidekick. Nate is always playing games with her or giving her rides. With me it's singing(with all the actions and silly voices), cuddling and coo's. We joke that between the two of us each day she gets a ride and a show.
Bath time is a happy time at our house. Brookelynn loves to splash and squeal. She could stay in the tub all day.
Brookelynn loves to go go go. she loves to run around in the car be loves walks even more. We go for a walk once or twice a day. The best times are at night with Nate. I love summer nights.
First of all I love these toes! I think they are the cutest things ever! Grandpa Canen must have thought so too because he started to play with Brookelynn and eat her toes and she smiled and squealed. She loves her Grandpa Canen.
Speeking of grandparents. Brookelynn interacts so cute and has something special with each of them. With Grandma Stout it's cuddling and smiling with just one word. With Grandma Canen she listens so intensely to every important word. With Grandpa Stout she can be crying but as soon as she hears him sing she stops and listens and smiles. She also love the tongue game with Grandpa Stout. This little sweater was made by Brookelynn's great grandma Henderson in Scotland, isn't it darling.

Brookelynn loves to learn. From day one everyone has said how alert and ready to be here she is. She is listens, watches and just takes it all in. Brookelynn loves to be looking, moving and learning. Everyday she surprises me with something. With her new sounds or showing me how well she can hold her self up. It's amazing to watch her grow.
Happy 3 months little Missy.

Mothers day

2009-05-10T18:43:00.003-06:00

I love being a mom! It's one of greatest things in the world. Right up there with being a wife to an amazing man. I am lucky to have a wonderful mom and mother-in-law. I have so many fabulous women in my life that I have to be examples to me and my daughter. Thank you to you fabulous women.... you know who you are!

all tuckered out

2009-05-03T22:05:00.005-06:00

I just love this picture. She was playing with her toys one second, then a sleep the next. It was taken a while ago... April 19th, (which is a while ago for Brookelynn considering she's only 2 1/2 months old.) but I had to add it. Brookelynn loves her little chair! I think she feels so big in it. Even though she still looks so little in everything.

2 days vs 2 months

2009-04-20T13:19:00.010-06:00

Wow! Where does time go? I can't believe it's already been two months since our little Miss got here. As you can see she still fits into her new born cloths. It's funny some of her 0-3 months cloths still drowned her. She's so itty bitty! I love it!