Missing Daddy....

Well, it's that time again...where our hero is touring the open seas again. DJ has headed out for an undisclosed amount of time. We've been told to expect anywhere from 2 months to 9 months, due to an unforseen incident on another ship out on their deployment (fingers, toes, arms, legs, eyes crossed that it's a short one). So it's back to the Brooke and Cade show again :) And what a show we put on!! We are an unstoppable force of laughter, new words, playing catch, and playing with the Bubba. But nothing takes the place of being this "force of three" versus a force of two...but Cade and I create our fun together and share it with Daddy when we can.

I'd like to just take a moment to AW (attention whore) my husband. In other words, brag about him. DJ is a very modest man. He is damn good at his job!! Yet he wants no recognition. This man fully dedicates himself to every task given to him, and even to those tasks NOT given to him. He is the first to report and the last to go home. Yet he does it all with a quiet demeanor, strong will, and persistance that we all wish we'd had an ounce of....especially when it comes to your job. A job that takes you away from your wife, your son, your family and friends....takes you away from a sense of connection and nomalcy....and strands you on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Yet this man, this husband, this father, this son, this grandson, this brother, knows his commitments and strives for perfection....and achieves it! The Navy has thrown a ton of curveballs at DJ, but he continues to knock them down, complete his duties, and amaze his superiors with his work ethic. He is an achiever, a do-er, a teacher, and a leader. I am so proud of all that he has accomplished in the short time he has given to the Navy. He has gone from being a bottom bilge dweller nuke engineer to being in charge of an entire department and mentoring the new guys coming on board the ship. He guides them, teaches them, and whips them into shape before being given a department. I know he is turning these 18 year old boys into men, Navy Men. Men that will one day be just as good as DJ at their jobs. (Although I know that will never happen, no one can top DJ! but I may be biased). I just needed to get that out. I know DJ is not one who "needs" recognition, praise, or advancement....but he sure deserves it! And although he'll probably never read this....I want him to know that his wife and son are extremely proud of him for all he does for his family, for the Navy, for our country. He is our SUPERMAN! We love you DJ! Please stay safe and hurry home!

Pics from the Rainier Game...

Well, I'm not sure what's going on with the blog website, but it won't let me put pictures on here....so here is the link to see them if you'd like.

I think he's a cutie-patootie...but I may be biased ;)



http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/brooker80/1st%20baseball%20game/

Future All Star

Well Family and Friends....we may have a Future All Star baseball player on our hands :)

Last weekend, we took Cade to his first minor league baseball game to see the Tacoma Rainiers play in Tacoma. We went with DJ's aunt Sandy, Uncle Jeff, and cousin Josh for a day at the ball park. The sun was shining (although very very chilly in the shade ((just ask DJ)) hehe), the smell of hot dogs were in the air, and the crowd was packed. Time for us to watch America's Favorite Pasttime Sport live and in action. The minute we sat down in our seats, CADE WAS CAPTIVATED! Little man fixated on that clay field and his eyes never parted. The game was around 2.5 hours long, and the whole time it looked like he was learning, studying, taking it all in. Not once did he squirm, fuss, or whine for food (which he usually does...he's good eater). Every so often, he'd stretch out that little arm of his, point his finger and yell, "BALL BALL!"...so stinkin' cute! I think the day would have been totally complete if we had let him run the bases with the players :) Maybe one day. Until then, we'll just let our little man watch sports so that one day he'll pick it up....and take care of us in our old age ;)

I was going to post some pics of the day....but the website isn't allowing me at this time....so I'll pu them in a whole new post...stay tuned....

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY....

....I FOUND OUT DJ AND I WERE EXPECTING!!!

Holy mackral that went fast! I remember it so vividly the morning I found out!

I woke up early in the morning and decided, "eehh, what the heck, I'll test", expecting full well for the test to read Negative. It was DJ's first month home after being gone for three months and that would have been too easy....but low and behold...the stick had two pink lines instantly!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe them so much, that I paced around the house while DJ was still sleeping until the clock turned 7:50 AM....reason being I was going to drive to Target (which opens at 8:00 AM) and purchase another test. I left the house in a mad dash for Target where I purchased another test, a card with teenie tiny feet on them, two pacifiers, an "I Love Daddy" bib and a gift bag. I hurriedly checked out, got home, tested again with a digital test this time, and just like the other test it read in big bold letters....'PREGNANT'. HOLY MACKRAL....IT'S OFFICIAL!! I'm gonna be a Mommy! So I grabbed my bag of Target goodies, wrote a very special message to DJ inside the card and wrapped everything inside the gift bag, including the digital test (Dont worry....the pee part was already in the trash). I crept into our bedroom and gently woke DJ up. We had been with friends the night before and had a late night, so he was groggy to wake up. Once he did, I told him I had a little gift for him and that I'd like him to open it. Once he came to, he was taken back by my "gift gesture" so early in the morning, but bless his heart he did what I asked of him. He started with the card and looked at the cover of two tiny feet on the front and the look of confusion streamed across his face :) . He began to read the card and the final words I wrote in the card were, "I hope you like the site of those teenie tiny feet, because we are going to have a pair of our own....Congratulations, You're going to be a DADDY"! He looked at me, coyishly smiled and said, "are you serious?".... "Yep"....and he tackled me in the bed with a hug that seemed to have lingered for 30 minutes. We both laughed, I cried, he wiped my tears, and we both just basked in the moment of knowing our family of two would soon become THREE!!

Happy "Pregnancy" Anniversary to us :)

I've been tagged...

I was tagged to do a MEME by Kelly... so here goes my shot at it... for those who don't "know" what a meme is... read on...you may be tagged at the end and have to come up with your own answers!!!

Eight Things:

8 things I am passionate about:
-My Faith
-My Husband
-My Son
-Our families
-My friends
-Being a mommy
-Never taking anything for granted
-Supporting our Military

8 books I’ve read and enjoyed:
-Marley And Me
-The 4 Blondes
-Women are from Mars, Men are from Venus
-The Strong Willed Child
-Does US Weekly Count?!?!?! hehe :)
-What about People Magazine?! :)


8 words/phrases that I say often:
- Bad News Bears
-Psycho Stalker T-Shirt Chair
-Yes Baby, That's Elmo
-AAaaahhhh muahhh!
-Where's the bubba?!
-The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round...
-I love you
-My little munchkin butt (Cade's nickname)

8 things I want to do before I die:
-See my children get married
-See my grandchildren
-Go to Italy
-I want to see the cure for cancer be discovered
-Hit the Lottery
-Speak a foreign language Fluently
-Own a beach house.

8 things I’ve learned in my life:
-Forgive and Forget
-Never take a single moment with a loved one for granted.
-You shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
-Friends will get you through your happiest, saddest, joyous, darkest moments in your life...KEEP THEM NEAR, CHERISH THEM!
-Knowing my son needs me, means more to me than anything in this world.
-My parents really knew what they were doing raising me... Im proud of that.
-Never underestimate the power of prayer, it's something we can all use a little of and wouldn't hurt to say a few for others either.
-Absense makes the heart grow fonder!

8 places I want to see:
-Italy
-Ireland
-Greel Isles
-Figii
-Moorea
-Paris
-Autralia
-Hawaii

8 things I currently want/need:
-A maid
-A new couch
-A curio cabinet
-A better paying job
-To get back into a true workout routine with a personal trainer
-To know where we will be living next...I HATE BEING IN LIMBO!
-To have a house of our very own.
-to hit that Lottery!!

It's been awhile...

Let me start off by apologizing for my severe lack in updating this blog. I promised myself I would keep up to date with this....but as life would have it, time got away from me again. So I'm sorry for the absence. But you know what they always say, "No news is good news", and that is true. I really don't have much to talk about, so I'll just update you on how super cute my little man is. :)

On August 19th, our little man will be a whopping 16 months old!! Can you all believe that?! Where did the time go? Where did my little 6 lb baby go? He is tipping the scales at 25 pounds right now, and is definitely ALL BOY! He loves to play with sports balls of all sizes (which his daddy is LOVING at the moment), Cade loves to wrestle tough with Daddy, run around the house with Joey, as be as loud as humanly possible when banging pots and pans....like I said, all boy :) But when it's night time, and the day is coming to a close...it's his mommy he wants...and my heart turns to mush! Hearing "mama, mama" and having those little arms extend out to me, aahhh just completes me! I LOVE THIS LITTLE MAN!

A bit over a week ago, we took a family adventure to the Seattle Aquarium in downtown Seattle. We took a ferry ride so Cade could see the sights over there...and he loved it! We couldn't get the kid to come back inside....he just wanted the breeze in his hair (and a cold breeze I might add). He loved seeing all the fishies, otters, hands-on starfish tanks, etc. There were only a couple times that he got startled, when a fish would dart at him head-on....forgetting there was a thick piece of glass between them. But other than that, he ran amuck throughout that aquarium squeeling and laughing the entire time :) And then for being such a good boy...he got a Nemo fish stuffed animal....he hasn't put it down yet :) Here are a couple pics from the day!

Elmo's world!

"La La La La, La La La La....ELMO'S WORLD!"

Yes this tune is forever stuck in my head. Thanks to the red lanky creature that is Elmo :) This past Sunday, Sesame Street Live came to our base and we were fortunate enough to get tickets. It was a sold out crowd of excited loud children, and the parents who instantly remembered their childhood mornings of Sesame Street.

DJ and I weren't sure how this was going to play through with Cade. Would he be scared? Would it be too loud for him? Would he absolutely love it? Turns out, the latter was true. Cade had a great time! Even dancing in the aisles and clapping his hands. I'm that sap of a mother, who actually teared up watching him light up when Elmo came on stage. "ELYO, ELYO, ELYO!!!" (Cade's pronunciation of "Elmo") "Yes Baby, that's Elmo up there". It was a great treat to see him recognize and understand people, figures, etc. He is growing up so fast!!

I apologize for not having any pictures of this occasion. I'm the silly Mommy who forgot her camera in a rush out the door. The whole time, I kept saying to myself, I can't believe I forgot my camera! I attempted to take some with my camera phone...but that didn't work. So again, I apologize for not getting pics of my little man boogying in the aisles. It was quite a sight to see. This boy definitely has some rhythm!