So Long Holidays

Oh!

Beautiful Blue Eyes

Pie Race

Brooks had his first Thanksgiving at home in RI with Mommy, Daddy, and Lila. It was a relaxing and yummy day filled with good food and sunshine. The holiday started off watching Daddy play in the RI Squash Open, which Brooks loved. Prior to that event, Brooks participated in his own little "race" - the St. Georges annual pie race. It would take too long to explain this unique race but Brooks was the first contestant to ever finish while holding a giraffe (that would be his dear Sophie).

After Thanksgiving, Brooks and Mommy hopped on a plane and flew down to NC to help care for Grammy Sue, and to see his Aunt Laura (Goosie) and Uncle Mattie and cousins. The original plan was to go down for two weeks and then come home to see Daddy before heading back down for the Christmas break. Instead, we stayed down there for the whole month, where Daddy and Lila met us once school was out for the break. 

Playing with the kitchen

Playing with Owen

In NC, Brooks enjoyed spending time with his two cousins, Levi (3) and Owen (9 months). He was even more excited when he got to play with all their toys! His favorites were Levi's red kitchen and red piano, and Owen's activity table. And of course Brooks banged on the drums a time or two. On December 2, Brooks and Mommy went with Goosie and the family down to Greenville, SC where we met up with Big E and Paula. The day was momentous, because it was Owen's adoption day. It was a very special day filled with special people.

During the week, Mommy and Brooks kept Grammy Sue company and helped her with whatever she needed - errands, walking, physical therapy appointments, food, cuteness! Mommy was supposed to take Grammy Sue to her surgeon follow up appointment but unfortunately she woke up with food poisoning and was very sick. So sick in fact Aunt Goosie had to take over and feed Brooksie his first ever bottle of formula. He was a champ though and didn't fuss one bit as Goosie and Uncle Mattie cared for him and played with him. As long as Mommy was out of sight and sound, he was a happy boy. And Mommy was feeling better very quickly, which made both she and Brooksie happy. And, Grammy Sue received glowing reports on her follow up, which made the day that much better. According to the Dr. she is cancer free :)

One Saturday, Mommy and Brooks took off to Knoxville for the day to meet Brooks's Great Uncle Bill and Aunt Margaret, and all of Mommy's friends.Mommy was so touched by how many people took time out of their day to come see her and Brooks. And Brooks had fun seeing everyone and crawling around Market Square. Plus he unexpectedly got some cute sweet gifts. 

Bath time with the cousins

Back at the Belanger house, Brooks was enjoying hugs from Levi, and hair pulls from Owen. Actually, he loved sitting in the high chair next to Owen while eating new foods! But although Brooks is big, he is no match for Owen's appetite. He had cousin baths, and enjoyed playing with new bath toys. In fact all of this play time at the cousins helped Mommy decide on Christmas presents, which had to be fit in at some point during all of the business. 

Shopping at Target

During our time away, Brooks became a much faster crawler, and in fact he completely dropped the commando crawl and began doing the real-deal-belly-off-the-ground crawl. He also practiced walking with Owen's walker, and when with Grammy Sue, he began travelling from couch to chair. Before we know it, this little guy will be walking and running!

With Caroline and Salley

On another Saturday, Mommy's best friend and god daughter came to visit for the day. Brooks met Caro awhile back when she came to visit, but it was the first time meeting Salley. Salley enjoyed the toys too, and I think made new friends at the Belanger home. 

After almost three weeks away, Daddy and Lila showed up after driving straight through - 16 hours. Brooks was confused that night but in the morning when he woke up and saw Daddy and Lila, he was all smiles. Brooks began showing his new tricks right away - the best is his new phrase, yes I said phrase, "thank you." What a sweet and polite young man we have! Mommy was beyond thrilled to have her family all together again, not to mention, have someone help peel Brooks off of her. The down side of being away was that we were gone during the height of his separation anxiety and all the change just made it worse. He wouldn't let me out of his sight. 

Christmas

Stockings Were Hung

On Christmas Eve, while Mommy was baking her little heart out, the Belanger residence got a surprise. Uncle Bill and Aunt Margaret drove over from TN to surprise Grammy Sue for the holidays. Grammy Sue had no clue and was touched by their appearance. That day we had Christmas dinner and enjoyed everyone's company.

Christmas Day!

First one up!

On Christmas morning, Brooks was surprisingly the first one up. While still dark out, Brooks and Mommy snuck out to the living room and let Brooks see his presents from Santa. Brooks went straight to the ones for him - his own activity table and activity block. Once everyone arose, stockings were passed out and brooks enjoyed all of his stuffers. Then the fun began, with three little boys opening more presents than could be counted. The day was a success, and after the presents were opened the living room slightly cleaned up, Mommy made everyone her family recipe of Buttermilk pancakes, with maple syrup, and bacon. 

Four Generations of Hewlettes

While the day was fun, the night was sad as Daddy and Lila had to go back in the morning. By the time Brooks woke up that morning, they had been on the road for several hours. But we knew it was now just a matter of days and not weeks until we would see them again. Meanwhile, all the kids loaded up to head down to Columbia for the annual family Christmas at Nenie's (Brooks's Great Grandmother). Brooks got to see all of his people again, including Uncle James and Uncle Daniel. And he got to see Big E one more time before heading back home.

On one of the last days in NC, Brooks, Mommy, Goosie, Levi and Owen went to the park. Brooks had a blast going down the slides with Mommy, swinging, and bouncing on all the playground equipment. Finally, it was time to head home, and Mommy and Brooks said their goodbyes and went to Charlotte. We got there so early we were able to get an earlier flight! As usual, Brooks was a phenomenal traveler and only tried to grab the snacks of the person next to us a couple of times. 

Daddy was waiting for us at the airport and we were one happy family, together again. 

New Years

It was Brooks's first new years, and we started the eve off with traditional hoppin john and collard greens. Brooks enjoyed a pseudo version of the hoppin john while Mommy and Daddy declared the real deal the best yet! After dinner, we all went over to the neighbors drop in party for a bit. Mommy and Daddy were diligent, however, in bed time, as Brooks's schedule was all messed up from all the travel and change. But he bounced right back to his old routine which made Mommy very, very happy, because now she could sleep without waking up every two hours.

Uncle Colin and Levi

Hugs from Levi

Kaleidescope

Taking Brooks's Picture