The Brooke Family

hey, guess what?

2010-09-07T14:38:00.003-05:00

A little news from the Brooke family.....

We are happy to announce that our little family is growing! We are due with Baby #2 on April 8th! Please pray for a safe pregnancy and for the little life that God has blessed us with.

HOORAY!!! :)

love,

Jeff, Rachel, Mason, and Baby #2......oh yeah, and Annie. ;)

Florida Vacation!

2010-07-27T15:02:00.005-05:00

Jeff, Mason, and I flew down for a week to Estero, Florida, thanks to the great benefit of being a WA faculty member and using a free house for a week! Mason was a CHAMP on flights both to and from Florida (3 hours of undivided cuddling and attention, who wouldn't love that)....Our week included a screened-in, in ground pool in the backyard, trips to beaches all along the southwest Florida coast, lazy mornings complete with daily Panera coffee, and lots of relaxation for Jeff and I (while Mason was sleeping!).....It was just what we needed before the busyness of fall sets in! (although we still have another trip to Michigan before soccer tryouts..yay!) Happy Summer!

obsessed with balls of every kind, shape, and size!

my little love

cuddlin' with Daddy

beaching....

our pool for the week!

LIVED for shooting hoops in the pool!

our fam

Ringbearer Debut

2010-07-08T10:56:00.003-05:00

There are many more pictures to come, but here are a few from Matt and Adrienne Harrell's wedding! Mason was their very young ringbearer, although he did a great job! Here's a few highlights.....working on getting the video of him walking down the aisle up! :)

Congrats and thank you to Matt and Adrienne!

A few highlights....

2010-05-10T11:02:00.005-05:00

Still keeping up with the label of "the worst blogger ever", here I am trying to catch up on 2.5 months....life is so busy with our little man!

March:

*My dear friend Lauren had her sweet baby Elsie born on March 20th! It's SO fun to have another friend with a baby!

*Mason turned 1 year old on March 28th!!! WHERE has time gone? We celebrated big time with a "friend" party, my extended and Keating family party, and the Brooke family party! Whew! Mason got some fantastic gifts, our favorites including a wagon from the Brooke's (which we've basically used everyday--he LOVES it!), and a new carseat from my parents (FRONT facing convertible carseat--of course we've used this everyday too!) He also loves playing with lots of new cars and trucks and his favorite new obsession--BALLS!

April:

*"Mini"-Spring break trip up to New Buffalo, Michigan. Jeff and I rented a room in New Buffalo (our fave close vacay spot) and spent a great couple of days hanging out on the beach, eating at delicious restaurants and cafes, and biking all over with our new "hitch seat" for Mason to ride in......We are totally on a biking kick, and there are lots of days the last few months where we go on after-dinner bike rides around our neighborhood! The hitch carrier also converts to a jogger stroller, which is awesome as well.....I have very high hopes to be running with Mason more this summer....we'll see how that goes, haha.

*Easter - We have made it an annual thing with both of our families to host Easter every year. It is so fun to get both sides of our families together and celebrate Jesus' resurrection. We had a yummy ham dinner complete with an Easter egg hunt in the yard for Stephen and Mason.

*HUGE Doctor's appointment for Mason - We went to a pediatric ENT to get a second opinion on Mason's "laryngo malasia" diagnosis that he got at birth....up to this point we still thickened his milk and video swallow studies had shown he still had issues with his epiglottis being "misshaped".......the pediatric ENT ran a scope down his throat and said, "oh, it looks completely normal--he must have grown out of it!" PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! Such a big deal for us at birth (week in the NICU)...only to be vanished at a year old! God is good.

*Weekend at Taylor University - My mom, Mason, Jeff and I headed down to good ol' Upland Indiana to watch Jeff play in an alumni soccer game! My mom, Mase, and I did some shopping in Indy on Friday, then spent the day at Taylor on Saturday....It had been my FIRST time back since I left my junior year (2006!) So crazy...and really amazing to be back on campus. It's weird being back at TU without seeing all the same people that I spent everyday with though...there's just so many memories everywhere I went! Such a great 2 years of my life.

May:

* Thus far, we've had really just one big occasion...my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary! We planned a surprise party for my parents at Portillo's/Barnelli's and had a great turnout of all of the family to celebrate them. My parents deserve the best, and I am so proud of them. I even attempted a mini version of their original wedding cake...turned out to be not so "mini"...it was huge! It was definitely a major challenge to make, but it turned out yummy and looked KIND of like the original.....Probably won't go into the cake biz any time soon...but once in a while, it's really fun to tackle!

Mason is growing up so fast. I know everyone says that constantly, but the older he gets, the more Jeff and I are just so amazed at the development of kids and how quickly they pick up new skills and personality traits. God really had fun when he thought about how he would have babies turn into kids. :) Mason makes me laugh all day long. He is definitely a "ham", and makes all kinds of funny faces and noises. He purposely tries to be funny, and has a mischievous grin on his face most of the day. (oh man, the preschool teachers are gonna LOVE him...ha)

He seemingly understands everything we tell him, and I usually send him on errands throughout the day..."Mason, go find mommy's shoes"..or "Mason, where's your blue ball?"...or the most common, "Mason, help Mommy clean up this mess." :) He still eats a ton, and is the in 95th percentile for height, and 78th for weight...he's a BIG BOY! He's been walking since the day of his first birthday, and hasn't stopped! He loves going to the park, and pointing out EVERY SINGLE basketball hoop and fire hydrant that we pass on the way to the park. (Daddy's VERY proud of the basketball hoop obsession).

I'm sure I could keep going, but don't want to bore you all. :) Maybe I'll get around to updating sooner next time around? Yeah, probably not. :)

Mason Videos ;)

2010-02-25T16:16:00.002-06:00

Here are some long-awaited Mason videos that I've been meaning to put up for a while! NEVER a dull moment in the Brooke house! ;)

About 11 months!

2010-02-17T10:04:00.007-06:00

What a fun couple months it has been! Mason is definitely making the transition from baby to boy faster than ever! Yes, he's still a little guy...but it's amazing to see how much comprehension and growing up he's done in the past 2 months alone! Even when looking at Christmas pictures, Jeff and I can totally tell he's even more grown up now!

Because I am pretty much the worst blogger ever (meaning I update this blog--hey I'm a busy momma), there's always a lot to catch up on! As far as Mason goes, some highlights include:

*His head of red hair is filling in more than ever! He totally looks like a little boy from the back!

*8 teeth are in! 4 on the top, 4 on the bottom--which makes him able to eat pretty much everything as long as it's in small pieces...he LOOOOVES bananas, oranges, cheese, pasta, ham, and any crackers!

*He is walking with his walker, and taking steps while holding onto things (chairs, ottoman)...he is SOOO proud of himself when he walks with his walker..grins the whole time!

*Says Momma, Dadda, Nana (which means a variety of things), and all kinds of squeals and strange sounds that all mean something to him! Though we can't understand his language, it's pretty obvious that he understands us! It's so amazing how God created babies..:)

*He claps....ALL the time!....we think his clapping means "Yay!", "Hi", and "Bye"....sometimes he'll wave to say hello or goodbye....but he usually claps and smiles instead, which we're fine with :) One thing at a time....

*He sleeps almost 12 hours a night!! AAAAAMMMMAAAAZZZIIIINNNNGGG!!!

*He gets into everything--Cabinets, boxes, laundry baskets, mail, tissue boxes, you name it...we have quite the explorer/climber on our hands! He is totally content to crawl around the whole house playing with anything he can get his hands on.....he especially loves cars, trucks and balls!

*Last thing---sorry the list is long!---he does this new hilarious trick where he puts his head to the side with his eyes down (pretending to sleep)....and I say, "oh, good night mason".....then he suddenly lifts his head back up and grins, and I say "Whoa Good Morning!!".....and we do this over and over and over.......:)

As far as for our family, we've had lots going on! My brother Matt is living with Jeff, Mason and I right now for a little change in pace and for him to develop some independence as a commuting college student...it's been fun to have him around and to reconnect! Mason loves his Uncle Matt....and Jeff and I love our late night convos with him and free home-brewed lattes! (Matt's a real-home-Barista!). On a sad note, Jeff and I lost a good family friend in Mr. Harrell, who passed away this January. We are so broken for the Harrell family, but at least we have full confidence and joy that Mr. Harrell is now rejoicing in Heaven with Jesus, ALS-free.

My mom and I went on a super fun girls' weekend in January downtown in Chicago, and enjoyed good quality-non-interrupted time together! I love having my mom as my best friend and shopping, eating, and watching movies together! She is the best. I also celebrated my 25th birthday on the 6th of February, and enjoyed a breakfast bday party with the Brooke's, and an outing to Red Robin with the Keating family. My own sweet family (Jeff and Mason) took me to Cheesecake Factory for lunch as well! Talk about a lot of good food.....a definite-get-in-shape-for-spring-plan is in the works! :)

I am ALSO proud to say that I am ALMOST the proud wife of a husband with a Masters Degree! Jeff has been working tirelessly on completing his thesis paper for his Ministry Leadership Masters degree from Crown College, and the paper is due at the end of next month......Then PRAISE THE LORD, we will be done with all these online classes on papers! He has worked SO hard to complete this--again, I'm so proud of him--we all are! Jeff and I also keep busy on Wednesday nights leading at Housegroups--our church's high school ministry--we each lead a small group of girls and guys at a home near us, and we have loved getting to know our kids and getting involved with our church in this way. What we thought might be a bit of a burden schedule-wise has been absolutely a blast! Also, thanks to my mom who graciously babysits for us every Wed. night. :) I am so blessed to have the mom and mother-in-law I do, who ask ME when they can come over and hang out with Mason! I'm spoiled, I know it. :)

Last week my good friend Lauren had a baby shower for her baby girl who is due in March, and it was fun to help plan this shower and celebrate her little one-soon-to-come! In May, my other good friend Amie is due with a girl as well, and our group of friends looks forward to another baby girl shower in April! I CAN NOT wait for these babies to arrive!! Playdates, here we come.

Before I bore you all with more details of our lives, I will end this post here. :) In summary, God is good, and I love my family and friends. Here's some pics of the past couple months--isn't Mason so BIG?!

Bath Time!

Eating pasta--a true Italian :)

My boyfriend and I

Our buddy Landon came to play!

Annie turned 2 this month! What a big girl.

Cheesers....STANDING as usual.

Playing with Annie (climbing on her)

My birthday lunch :)

Daddy and his little stud

Cutie Patuttie

Reading his favorite book, "Little Quack"..over and over and over and over and over....

Christmas with the Brooke Family!

2009-12-27T22:34:00.007-06:00

What a wonderful first Christmas for the Brooke family it has been! We've spent some great quality time with both sides of the family along with our good friends. Christmas Eve was spent with my side of the family and Christmas day was with Jeff's family. We also got to spend a day with my dad's side of the family as well, complete with LOTS of food, and gingerbread people/house making! All in all, it's been a busy, yet perfect holiday.

We also watched the Nativity Story at my parents on Christmas Eve, and boy, was I ever blown away by the realistic telling of Christ's birth. I realized that I had become somewhat numb to reading to story of the birth of Jesus, only because I had heard the story so many, many times....and this movie totally revamped my awe and the WONDER of the miraculous event. The movie totally walks you through the culture of the time of Christ's birth, not to mention the emotions and trials that Mary and Joseph must have faced with the news from the angel of the coming of Christ. I was actually weeping by the time Mary gave birth to Jesus in the movie.....it's especially moving now, having gone through the birth/mothering process myself. Either way, I was really blessed to have the true meaning of Christmas expressed to me in a new, inspiring way. :)

Mason loved spending so much time with our family on both sides, but I can especially tell that in the last couple weeks, him and Jeff have become mighty attached...:) All of this extended time with Daddy is PRICELESS! Mason gets SOOOO excited to see Jeff, every time he enters the room. It's adorable.

We LOVED all of the wonderful gifts we each received, and it was even more fun to give all of the gifts we've worked on picking out for our family! We cannot be thankful enough for the generosity from our amazing parents. Mason got some awesome toys and cute outfits and we are SET on fun playthings for our days together when Daddy goes back to school! ALTHOUGH, Mason has just entered into a stage where CLIMBING and STANDING are ALL that interest him.....he climbs the ottoman, us, Annie, our gates, dressers, the crib..you name it. We are gonna have a mighty hard time containing this active, STRONG boy! Just yesterday he climbed to standing onto our gate that blocks Annie out of the living room, then started to thrust his upper body over the top to try and get over it! YIkes! He is like a little explorer, and LOVES to crawl under and through things---through the legs of chairs, under the tables, stools....All this to say, it might be a month or two before he gets over the excitement of climbing and standing long enough to play with some of his cool toys!

We spent an afternoon about a week ago hanging out with Scott, Leslie and Landon Mathews, and we got the boys outside in a pull sled in the snow--it was SO funny! The boys were so stuffed by their big snowsuits, they could hardly move in the sled....:) (Pictures are forthcoming :) We hope to do more snow time this winter!

We also look forward to hanging out with Kirk, Chrissie, and Elijah Duncan, and Scott and Mel Barrett this New Year's in Indy at the Duncan's! Weather permitting that is....all this crazy snow! We hope and pray that all of you remain safe and joyful this holiday season. Praise God for sending his Son to be our Savior and King!

love,

The Brooke Family

on the MOVE! (and STANDING!)

2009-12-11T11:16:00.005-06:00

Not only are we crawling all over the house, and climbing stairs (or anyone/anything climb-able), Mason is now using stuff to STAND UP! Walking soon?....we shall see!

and here's some attempts at a cute Christmas card picture.....took quite a few, but I think we ended up with a GREAT one, thanks to our lovely photographer, Jess. :)

This is the one we are using :)

hand in the mouth....but Annie is calm..

laughing because Annie is OUT of control

A good pic if we chose to not have Annie in our picture...but hey, she's part of the fam!

testing my camera for lighting effects

Crazy Man Crawler Climber

2009-12-03T21:28:00.002-06:00

Evidence of Mason's crawls and climbs! :)

Christmas Time is Here!

2009-12-02T21:42:00.004-06:00

Mason is now 8 months old and counting....and our first Christmas with Mason is rapidly approaching! I realize how terrible I am with keeping up with this blog, but hey sporadic posts are better than nothing, right?!

Mason is changing quickly before our eyes! He is crawling like crazy, and is starting to pull up on stuff. We think--no, we KNOW--that he is going to be a climber.....and my life as I know it will soon be over....haha....I'm already chasing him all over! He really doesn't sit still often, and is always trying to reach things up high, pull things off the table, off a shelf, turns in our arms as we hold him....He is an explorer, and we love his eagerness! Though, I think I will have to put this kid in sports pretty early to help use up some of this energy!

He babbles all the time, and as of this last week, we THINK we may have heard "dadada" noises....he's already got the "mamama' sounds down....though he won't say anything on command in front of people, of course. :) He starting waving to us in his high chair, and he eats almost everything we put in front of him....with the help of those 4 teeth!....meat, veggies, fruit, crackers, bread, cheese.....exceptions are bananas---yuck, he won't TOUCH those! All this good food seems to have helped him sleep through the night better.....he's been sleeping a solid 10-12 hours through the night......which WE LOOOOOOOVE!

Mason loves being tickled by Mommy and Daddy, and dancing around with us to Christmas music....just yesterday he met Santa Claus at Macy's downtown, and boy, was he FASCINATED by Santa Claus! Just stared at that white beard and man in red! We went with my cousin Julie and her cute 3 kids, and my mom. There's nothing like going downtown and seeing the city decorations and music to get you in the mood for Christmas! We look forward to spending Christmas Eve with my family this year, and Christmas day with Jeff's side....other highlights include a Keating Christmas party with my dad's extended family, two Christmas parties with our friends, and baking Christmas cookies with my friends and my mom! This truly is the most wonderful time of year---feel SO blessed to have such good family and friends nearby. God is good.

From a while ago...Mason was a lion for Halloween...and my amazing mom MADE this costume!

My sweet Grandma and her 7th great-grandchild!

Eating-a favorite activity! As is PLAYING with putting the food all over!

Our Christmas date with the Deely's downtown at Macy's!

1st trip to visit the one and only-Santa Claus

end of summer...time for fall fun!

2009-09-18T20:40:00.012-05:00

Well clearly I am not very good at this whole keeping up with the blog thing...but hey, life is crazy busy at the Brooke house! (Not to mention our laptop is slowly dying, and I don't get online nearly as much as I'd like!) Jeff has started the school year at WA, and between teaching, soccer tryouts, games, practices, Project LEAD, retreats, we've had ONE busy Daddy! Mason and I support Jeff by going to some soccer games and sometimes visiting him at lunch. :) I'm excited about this fall as well, as I've joined a Bible study at our church Christ Community, a fitness class at the park district, a reading group for Mason and I at the library, and not to mention, hanging out with my favorite little man in the world! I also recently found out that 3 good friends are pregnant! Yay for more babies! (PLAYMATES :)

Mason is growing up SO fast. I feel as if I've said that every post, but I am just amazed at HOW quickly he changes from week to week, month to month. He is now 5 1/2 months, and has quite the personality these days! His red hair is growing in quite nicely, and he is getting SO heavy---I'm sure he's over 18 pounds at this point! He loves laying on his tummy, rolling around, reaching for toys, and of course, chewing EVERYthing in sight. He has been teething since he was 3 months old, and in the past month, he has grown in 2 teeth! Mason loves eating cereal once a day, and we just started eating fruit too! (I know, I should've started with vegetables....but hey, the applesauce looked so yummy :)

Mason talks ALL the time now.....lots of "ya-yas", "mamas", "hummmms", blowing spit bubbles, shrieks, and laughs.....it seems as if he LOVES the sound of his own voice, and every day experiments with all the different sounds he can make. It is amazing how we can see how much he is starting to understand....He definitely knows his name, the word "eat", "bottle", and "cereal"....He looks to both of us when we say "Mama" or "Dada"...and of course, "Annie", his favorite!

Here's a BUNCH of pictures from the past couple months....isn't he getting so big?! :)

Applesauce and oatmeal....mmm

Hanging out with Dad

My mom, Jeff, Mason, Annie, and I did a fundraiser walk for the "Dogs for Disabilities" program....it was a beautiful morning along the Fox River!

AND.......the TWO teeth make their first appearance!

Cutie-Patuttie

Go Warrior soccer! (We all have matching black Adidas jackets)

The best thing in our house---the JUMPAROO! Mason jumps NONSTOP!

Hanging out with Grandpa at the beach Labor Day weekend!

Good morning Bubba

All "soccered" up for Daddy's game!

Hanging out with our buddy Emmett Howard

Working on sitting up!

Our other good buddy Landon Mathews!

Mason's in love with both of his Grandmas :)

and he's real good buddies with his cool Uncle Matt

and of course, his sister Annie....who LOVES to kiss him lots

First trip to Brookfield Zoo with Mommy and his cousins!

More interested in looking at me than the animals at the zoo...

JUST waking up from a little napper...:)

In August we traveled to Muncie for a friend's wedding....

Our trip to Holland, MI! What a fun week of beaching it, pooling it, and just having fun family time!

Out to dinner with our Buddy

My most favorite family shot of us so far! Looks like we have a little swimmer on our hands!

Our vacation got even better when Grandpa Pat and Grandma Kay came to visit! :)

Sweet Grandma Kay

Cuddling with Daddy on the floor is Mason's favorite! Lots of chuckling here...

Swimming with Mommy :) Great fun!

annnnnd Daddy, of course!

Visit with Hannah!

2009-07-18T23:21:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago Mason, Grandma, and my mom and I went over to my Grandma's and had a fun visit with my cousin Brenda and her baby Hannah! We were eager to take lots of pictures of the two of them because they were SO adorable together. :) Here's a few of them!

June '09

2009-07-02T14:43:00.008-05:00

June has been quite a busy month for us this summer...no surprise there! Wheaton Academy camps are now through, Jeff is in his LAST week of online masters degree classes (HOORAY), Father's Day has come and gone, and we had a trip to Ohio for a family reunion! Mason is growing up FAST before our very eyes and in the words of Jeff, is getting "HUGE". :) He is now in his 6 months clothes (he is SO long) and is majorly teething. He chews on his fingers constantly, tries to make attempts at talking, and can hold toys in his hands and studies them. He is smiling tons, and as of the last few weeks, LAUGHING! His laugh is the cutest sound I have ever heard, and the first time he bursted out laughing was of course, while watching our crazy dog Annie play tug of war with me and her toy. Since then, he's laughed at my funny faces, and at random times throughout the day. I know he may not have any comprehension of what he is saying, BUT I WILL SAY that he has spoken the word "MAMA" numerous times.....when he starts to get hungry or fussy, he'll start his crying bout by saying "MMMmmmmamamamama".....:)

I say it counts as a first word, why not! ;)

Our first father's day was a joy for Jeff to celebrate for the first time. Mason and I got him a digital picture frame that we uploaded with photos of our family and friends...he's going to bring it to school and put it on his desk so that his students can see his family! We had a wonderful morning breakfast and walk around Geneva with Pat and Mary Kay, then spent a relaxing evening with my family cooking out. Our trip to Ohio for a family reunion was a fun little weekend getaway, and Jeff and I were AMAZED at how well Mason did on the long car ride. He slept a good amount on the ride, and slept great at the hotel. The only battle was getting home, and trying to get him back on a normal sleep schedule after sleeping too much in the car.....oh well....still made for a wonderful weekend, getting to visit with our beloved cousins in the Columbus area!

Things to look forward to:

-4th of July with Jeff's great friend Ryan Dellos who will be in town

-Time off for Jeff in the next couple weeks and then a vacation to Michigan in August!

-2 weddings to attend; One in Minnesota for Jeff's friend Benj, and one in Indiana for Jeff's friend Nate

-Matt, my brother, is trying to apply to go to Italy for a YWAM trip experience in Sept. for about 6 months----please pray this works out and that he gets the application in!

Jeff and Jake preparing for the waterballoon fight in Ohio

Family picnic in Ohio!

Grandma Rose and Mason....she gets him to laugh too!

Best buds

Father's Day feast!

Gramps and Mase Face

My good looking parents on Father's Day!

Father and son ;)

3 generations of Brooke men

Sweet grandpa and grandson

Grandparent Love!

Family shot

My dear friend Carrie got married! So happy for her and Jordan...this is at her wedding.

We spent a day at the St. Charles "Pride of the Fox" fest....what a gorgeous summer day it was!

Grandpa and grandson :)

Getting BIG! :)

2009-06-14T00:42:00.006-05:00

Mase Face, as we like to call him, is getting ginormous! He is in the 91st percentile for height, and the doc seems to think that he may be a tall one. :) He is smiling LOTS now, and is making efforts to talk...lots of "oohs" and "aahs", shrieks, and chuckles. It seems as if every day he crosses another "baby milestone." Jeff and I are amazed at how fast he seems to be transitioning from a baby to a little boy! As of this past week, he has rolled over, both from his tummy to his back and vice versa....laughed out loud....and holds his head up very straight when we hold him! I could have never dreamed being a mommy would be this much fun! We're already getting too tall for our 3 month clothes, and have moved into some 6 month outfits already. Where is time going?

Jeff and I are doing great, but keeping very busy. Jeff is working a number of Wheaton Academy camps and Victory camps, doing summer training and games with his Varsity soccer team, and keeping up with his online Masters degree classes. He works so hard, and Mason and I are so very proud of him. (Although we wish summers were more of a break for him!) Mason and I keep busy supporting and helping Jeff, visiting with the grandparents, and keeping up the homefront! We also just had our first "Mother-Baby" Aerobics class this past week, and boy, was it ever a riot. Mason was by far the most entertaining baby in the class, laughing out loud whenever I'd attempt a pushup over him, or bob up and down with him in the carrier to the workout music....he kept trying to crawl off of me when I was supposed to have him laying on my chest while I did ab exercises....I'm thinking that I'm gonna have my hands full when he starts to crawl and walk! He is SO, SO active and NEVER stops moving!

We have some weddings coming up this summer as well as an Ohio Family Reunion in a couple weeks that we are looking forward to! A much-needed summer vacation is planned in early August to Michigan....yay!

We have WAY too much fun on Daddy's Mac.....;)

Working on gettin' that head up!

HELLO Handsome.

more fun on the Mac...

lots to smile about!

riding the wild and crazy Annie

twins!

Jeff and I took a quick little trip to Michigan for our 2 year anniversary! It was a great little getaway, although we missed Mason.....here is the yacht that Jeff bought me.....hehe

"Smiles" Junior

2009-05-12T15:03:00.008-05:00

SMILES!!

Big SMILES for Mommy and Daddy in the morning

Family Portrait (minus the crazy Annie)

Me 'n my buddy

I'm kinda in love with this guy

Boy, does he love his grandparents!

Uncle Matt gets a half smile out of him :)

..then a full smile!

My Mother's day surprise! :)

Hahaha....how can you not be crazy about this face?

Chilling with Grandma Kay

A contemplative look...

dancing on Dad

catching a nap with Dad

our little Mase Face

I can't get OVER how FAST babies grow! Mason is well over 11 pounds, and is in the 85th percentile for length! He's already two inches longer than he was at birth--a hefty 23 inches! We definitely think we may have an athlete on our hands. :)

Mason delights us everyday with his newest trick---HE SMILES AT US! He was kind of doing the "unintentional" smiles in his sleep for a while...and now he definitely looks us in the eyes and breaks open in the biggest grin you've ever seen....hmm..wonder where he gets that? :)

It was the biggest honor in the world to have my FIRST Mother's Day this year. Mason and Jeff surprised me with beautiful flowers and a sweet photo album of Mason pictures. Oh, how I love my boys! We had a relaxing Mother's Day, going to church, then heading over to Grandma Kay's and Grandpa Pat's place for lunch. My family has been in Florida for the past week, and so they enjoyed Mother's Day ON THE BEACH. (SO not fair!) I can't wait for them to get back.

2009-05-01T22:59:00.001-05:00

Rub a Dub Dub.....cute baby in the tub!!

Mason absolutely LOVES bath time.

Hanging out with Mason!

2009-04-23T12:19:00.004-05:00

No more umbilical cord! Yay!
We're in love

This "curled lip" look is probably my favorite of his many faces..

Cuddlin'

Like father, like son!

Thinking pose

Daddy, WAKE UP!

sneaking a nap in the BIG bed!

cutie.

Proud Uncle Matt

caught Mason praying during a nap!

Hanging out with Daddy!

quality mommy time :)

16 days old :)

2009-04-13T18:24:00.005-05:00

It is hard to believe that Mason is already 16 days old today! It's been a great couple of weeks being home with our little guy. If we haven't gotten to personally say or write it to you yet, we want to THANK EVERYONE who has given us a sweet gift for Mason, sent us a card, visited us, given us flowers, or has wrote us an encouraging email! Again, we are just amazed by the love of our family, friends, workplace communities, neighbors, etc.!

After a wonderful Easter weekend, we are looking forward to getting back to a normal weekly schedule. Jeff went back to work today, and though I will miss his help here at home, it will be good to start some kind of "routine", and for me to get used to spending the day with Mason as a stay-at-home mommy! Mason really is a good tempered baby, and usually just cries when he is hungry (about every 3 hours). He is A GREAT EATER, and is putting down 5 ounces of milk every few hours....he's still doing really well with the bottle, and after a trip to see the speech therapist, we have been able to use less thickener in his milk! We're hoping that in a couple weeks, he will be able to drink straight breastmilk without the need to thicken it up! He loves when Mommy and Daddy sing to him, and he loves to cuddle, especially in the morning. We can't get enough of him...even Annie seems to be intrigued by Mason! She lays next to his "pack 'n play" when he is in it, and (when we carefully let her) she licks his feet and head. :) What a good older sister...=)

Cutie-patuttie!

Getting SOOOO big!

On the way home from CDH

We LOVE our little Buddy!

2009-04-02T15:09:00.004-05:00

HOORAY!

2009-04-02T14:59:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry we haven't updated in a bit..we've been busy working with the doctors to get Mason eating normally without worrying about him aspirating....the wonderful staff here at CDH's NICU have found that Mason eats just fine out of a "slow-flow" bottle with a slightly thickened version of the breastmilk. He hasn't choked once when we feed him that way, and we are happy to say that we may actually be going home tomorrow!! His little condition with the flap in his throat is something that will actually clear up on it's own as Mason grows bigger and matures. Praise God! Getting him to actually breastfeed was a pretty big challenge, so we figure as long as we (I) am pumping to give him the "good stuff", and just taking it through a bottle---who cares? :) We are SO SO SO happy to hear nurses mentioning the word "discharge" to us. Jeff and I are getting VERY TIRED of staying at the hospital (although we have LOVED CDH), and realized just today that we haven't stepped foot outside since last Friday afternoon! Going home will be very refreshing. I am feeling fantastic, although incredibly sleep-deprived...but the C-section recovery for me has been a breeze....just taking some Ibuprofen and walking around lots! Thank you all for prayers and encouragement---Mason is definitely a little blessing! I think we're pretty ready for this parent-thing! =)

Love,

Jeff, Rach, and Mason

Tuesday Update

2009-03-31T08:30:00.004-05:00

Hello Family and Friends!

We wanted to be sure to give you a little update about our little Mason. We are still at the hospital and will continue to be this whole week. Mason got a few tests done yesterday to try and figure out the reason he aspirates every time he swallows food. A neonatal doctor and a speech pathologist worked together to do a "esophagram" and a "swallow study" on him to first eliminate some possibilities. A HUGE praise that the esophagram revealed that there is no hole in his esophagus...and basically the swallow study showed what we had already confirmed--that he aspirates (inhales food into his lungs) every time he swallows. The speech pathologist (who was wonderful) explained to us there is a little flap in our throats that flips open and shut to let food/liquid go down into the esophagus and directs air into the trachea...and when Mason eats, a TINY amount of liquid gets into the trachea (airways)....There's not a solid reason why this is so---it could just be a developmental thing, or that his "flap" isn't quite the right size.....Either way, she seemed very upbeat about everything, and said the problem often remedies itself and/or we have to modify our feeding methods. And being a Christian, she said, "Just pray this thing would go away---we know prayer works!" That was very cool to hear. :) Also, TODAY (Tuesday) we are having an ENT doctor specifically go in and use a scope to look at Mason's throat to see more specifically what is happening when he eats. We think this will reveal more answers today. Please pray for the doctors and for a good diagnosis by the end of today---we just want to take our little guy home!

All that to say, we are just LOVING being parents to Mason--we can't stop looking at him, cuddling him, and thinking that he is the cutest baby in the world. :) He already has smiled at us a couple times, makes great eye contact, and makes the cutest little cooing noises. We are so in love! Thanks again for all the encouragement and love---we LOVE the comments, emails, phone calls, texts.....we can't WAIT to have you all meet him in person!

Love,

Jeff and Rach (and Mason)

Mason Patrick Brooke

2009-03-29T07:48:00.006-05:00

Daddy's got some funny faces =)

Stare-down!

We're already getting little smiles!

Daddy's little buddy

He is, without a doubt, Jeff's little clone!

Mason and his Dad....looking SO MUCH ALIKE!

Hi cutie!

Quality time with our Mason

Looking just like his Dad!

First time I got to see him during the C-section

First moment as a family

Our little buddy

At 1:21 AM, on March 28, 2009, we welcomed Mason Patrick Brooke into the world, via C-section. He weighed 8.3 lbs, and was 21 inches long. We had gone into the hospital on Friday at 1:00PM to get induced, but the Pitocin didn't seem to do it's job as far as getting further dilated--so the doctor opted for us to get out our little guy as soon as possible with a C-section. The surgery went great, and Mason came out with a healthy cry, big feet and hands, and a face that looks just like his Daddy's. :) He is so cuddly and lovable---we just can't get enough of him!

Due to some minor respiratory/feeding issues, he's being kept in the NICU, just so they can ensure he's getting all the nutrients and proper monitoring he needs. It's possible that he may have a small infection, possibly due to some fluid that got in his lungs. We were pretty alarmed at first on learning that he would have to be kept in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, instead of staying in our room with us, but we know that the best place for him to be is there, so he can learn how to swallow properly. He seems to have trouble breathing and feeding at the same time...could just be a coordination thing, but they are working hard to get to the bottom of the problem. He's getting well nourished and fed in the NICU, just through a feeding tube for now though.

It's tough not being able to see him as much as we would like, being that he's on a different floor than us, but we savor every second that we go down to hold and cuddle with him. As far as visitors go, it's really just been family so far, as the NICU encourages not a lot of visitors, especially if he's got a little infection. He'll be in the NICU until Monday for sure, but we will definitely let you know if things progress quicker! If you have more questions for us, just feel free to call. Thank you everyone for your prayers, and we could not be more happy to be blessed with such a wonderful little baby boy as Mason! :)

Love,

Jeff and Rach

Getting Ready for Baby

2009-03-25T09:23:00.006-05:00

Baby boy socks, hats, and bibs
Where we will change and rock him to sleep
His cheery little cars and trucks themed room

41 weeks and getting induced this weekend

WE MOVED!!!

2009-01-31T20:11:00.004-06:00

We are so thrilled to be moved into our new home in St. Charles! We are settling in and trying to get unpacked before the little package of joy arrives in March! We had several friends help us move which was amazing. We will post pictures as soon as we find the camera...haha. We will update the blog more regularly once Baby Brooke is here.

Our new address...

Jeff and Rachel Brooke

713 Arrowhead Ln.

St. Charles, IL 60174