Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Today was a big day for
Brooke and the whole family. She officially entered our faith.
Howard and I along with Papa June, Grandma Esther, Sha Sha and
Ta Ta were present along with our religious leaders. We are
having a naming ceremony for Brooke at our Temple this Saturday.
We invited our closest friends and family and expect about fifty
adults and about 30 children. We can’t wait to celebrate with
everyone. We sent out invitations for this special occasion. It
was simple and sweet:
Brooke Alana
entered this world February 10, 2005
entered our lives January 3, 2006
entering our faith October 21, 2006
After the ceremony it is off to
our favorite Chinese restaurant for food, music and fun.
Brooke is continuing to be a pure
joy. She is so mobile - it is unbelievable. At 20 months she can
ride a tricycle and pedal without any help. She has already
started to climb onto Matthew’s two-wheeler which has no
training wheels. This little princess is no little princess –
she is a tomboy through and through. She prefers to run with the
older kids and preferably boys. Little girly toys are not her
speed although she does like little baby dolls. Every time I try
to put pretty little bows or ribbons in her hair she pulls them
right out. She can climb trees (small ones) and has learned from
her brother how to pull out certain kitchen draws to scale her
way up to the counter.
This fall has been quite
entertaining. We went to Hershey Park with the kids, Uncle
Gordon, Ta Ta and Chloe. We did not have one day of sunshine and
it not only rained but it was a torrential down pour everyday.
Well this is a family that tries to make the best of every
opportunity and so we went to the amusement park anyway.
Here are the advantages of going
to an amusement park in the rain.
- No lines
- Plenty of parking
- Clean rest rooms
- No lines
Here are the negatives of going
to the amusement park in the rain:
- You get soaked
- Not all rides are opened
- You glasses are constantly
fogged up
- You get soaked
I must say that we had a great
time nevertheless. It is something we will remember for a very
long time. Matthew’s sneakers squished and squeaked for two days
and we spent a lot of money on disposable ponchos but we had
fun. We also spent time in the Amish country enjoying the
culture and foods of these wonderful people. We had a great meal
in a family style restaurant that served traditional
Pennsylvania Dutch food. Our hotel also had a wonderful indoor
pool so when we didn’t want to be wet outside we could get wet
inside as well.
We also had a great time pumpkin
picking and apple picking. The north fork of Long Island is
chock full of orchards and pumpkin fields, corn mazes and
wineries. It is my favorite time of year on the Island. The
colors are beautiful and the coast line as a back drop makes it
even more spectacular, Matthew climbed the trees to get the
sweetest and biggest apples and we caught Brooke eating them
from the ground. She must have taken a bite out of twenty apples
that day.
This September we started a mommy
and me class at our local community center. Brooke loves the
music and the singing and dancing. She enjoys playing in the gym
but she does not like following the teachers instructions. When
it is time to clean up Brooke wants to play. When it is time for
snack Brooke wants to play. When it is time to do circle time
Brooke wants to play. When it is time to go home Brooke wants to
play. I guess you got the picture by now! This is one determined
and stubborn little girl. I have read that children like Brooke
who are strong willed, self confident and steadfast will be the
CEO’s of the future and I have no doubt about that.
I guess I have two natural leaders
in the family Matthew and Brooke. It has amazed me how these two
children who were born on opposite sides of the world are so
similar in so many ways. It is so wonderful.
The big news this fall is that we
have a new addition to our family. Casey Luke Skywalker arrived
as a little fur ball this September. Casey is a little mix breed
puppy that is 10 months old. I guess life with a six (soon to be
seven)year old, a 20 month old, a 35 year old box turtle and a
one year old gold fish wasn’t enough. Now we have a little 8
pound fluff ball as well. After 14 years, our precious dog
Dallas passed away this December just before out trip to China.
I swore I would wait a long while before we got another dog but
that just didn’t happen. Casey is an active wild little thing.
He fits in pretty well. This is definitely an exciting little
household. My mother-in-law as mentioned more than once that my
house is “hopping”. I guess that is Esther’s way of saying it is
noisy and hectic. That might be true but this household is full
of life and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Hope this fall brings health and
happiness to you all.
We want to thank all of you for
your well wishes and your emails. They have been so encouraging
and endearing. Keep them coming. We love to read them.
Peace and Love
Mandee, Howard, Matthew, Brooke,
Snappy, Matthew the Goldfish # 2, and Casey |
