Music Video

Brooks moves constantly. He has so much energy that I worry he is going to keep me on my toes as soon as he is able to crawl. He also likes music. Put them together and he is one happy boy.

Merry Christmas!

This year we decided to stay in D.C. for Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa Carter drove from North Carolina to join us. On Christmas Eve, we dressed in our Christmas best and had another awesome dinner at one of our favorites, Founding Farmers.

Afterwards, we came back home and put Brooks in his festive pajamas and watched "A Christmas Story." Then Mark and I discussed the story of the three wise men and the miraculous birth of Christ. (This is a Clark family tradition.)

The next morning we sorted our gifts all the while Brooks peacefully napped. He fared the best this year with presents. (He popped his eyes open just in time to take this picture.)

Brooks and I ended up with some awesome new kicks.

Merry Christmas!

The Holy Family

This year Mark and I volunteered our family to play the roles of Mary, Joesph, and Jesus on Christmas Eve. The service was complete with stray angel and confused shepards. Brooks slept the whole time until they said his name at the very end. He woke up in time to see the audience adoring him. What a sweet baby.

Click here to view this video

This video was done on my mother-in-law's flip camera. There are other clips at: http://brooks2.shutterfly.com

Smiles

Brooks started to smile around 6 weeks. We only got to see a few a day and half the time it was because of gas. Now we see them all the time. He has become a different baby. Between weeks 3-8 we had a sensitive little one that seem to get upset easily, but recently he has been all smiles. (I personally think it was because of his dairy allergy that didn't get diagnosed until week 4.) This morning he was so happy I took picture after picture of gummy grins. These three were the best.

Snow Day!

On Friday afternoon, we heard that a blizzard was coming. We expected maybe 5 inches, but reports were saying estimates of almost a foot. As of Saturday afternoon, we are now well over a foot. In preparation of being stuck inside most of the weekend we got out on Friday.

Our group is now at the tail end of the baby boom (Susan is due Feb. 1st).

Hanging out with Andrea. He won her over by his new ability to babble, smile, and make eye contact all at once.

By the end of the day, we had around 16 inches of snow! (the snow went over my knees in this picture)

Whats That You Say?

This week Brooks has begun to make some funny noises. I can now tell the difference between some of his cries. When he is hungry or in pain, its a very loud scream. But if he is just looking to be picked up, put to bed, or just wants to make some noise he babbles. In the video below, Brooks is talking to his animals hanging from his new activity mat (thanks Grammy!) he got for Christmas.

Baby Its Cold Outside

Our weather in D.C. has gotten pretty chilly. In fact, we are supposed to get at least 6 inches tonight. Knowing this, I decided to get a thick winter hat for Brooks. My friend Felicia makes the most adorable baby clothing and toys. She has made several things for Brooks, but so far one of my favorites is the hat below. To see more of her beautiful items: http://eclecticallyhomegrown.blogspot.com

Yesterday I attempted another run, but ended up back inside 10 minutes later because of the cold. Brooks stayed warm though.