SLEDDING IN SWAN VALLEY

Dear Kurt,

We spent most of the afternoon in Swan Valley.

You rode a snow mobile and went sledding.

Brooklyn was dragged around on a sled most of the time and got mad when we tried to bring her in the shelter to get warm by the fire.

I was the opposite.

I stayed in by the fire most of the time. It didn't make much sense to get cold and wet since I am sick.

There wasn't a ton of snow up there but still you and Cody built a jump and you all took turns sledding down the hill and off the jump while Brooklyn and I sat and watched.

We will have to go back after a big storm and I am better. Then we can make a sweet course down the hill and I can take the snow mobile for a spin.

I love you.

Sincerely, Lori

BACK TO SCHOOL

Dear Kurt,

Another semester has begun.

Last night before you went to sleep you told me that you will probably be waking up all night thinking it is time to get ready for school.

That didn't end up being the problem.

You didn't get much sleep for a couple other reasons.

First I tossed and turned for a while trying to get to sleep. This is normal and you usually sleep right through this but for some reason it made you toss and turn as well.

Next, was my coughing fit that wouldn't stop. You got me some cough drops and water but I it only helped a little.

At that point you went to sleep on the couch.

Next Brooklyn woke up crying. I looked at your empty side of the bed and remembering that you hadn't kissed me goodbye yet I figured you must be up getting ready and that you would get her back to bed.

The crying didn't stop. It woke me up enough to realize that you had gone to sleep on the couch because of my coughing. I finally looked at the clock and realized it was 2 am. Oops. Sorry.

I put Brooklyn down and 20 minutes later she woke back up. I put her back down but she had other ideas. She cried for a while. Not the sleepy, whimpering cry, but the "there is no way in heck I'm going back to sleep" cry.

Just great...

I finally realized she wasn't kidding and took her out to the living room and sent you back to our bed. I thought a little cuddling would get her to sleep. She thought differently.

She spent the next hour showing me her belly button, ears, hair and nose. Then she got down to play. That is when I thought, "Oh no. This is not becoming a habit. Night time is for sleeping!"

Finally I got her back to bed and crawled back into bed with you.

After about an hour of tossing and turning myself and therefore keeping you up, it was 4:30.

Which left you 2 hours of sleep.

That's enough to think straight on your first day back to school, right?

I guess we will see.

Just in case you forgot (I know how grumpy you get in the middle of the night) I still love you. A lot.

Sincerely, Lori

JUST CHILLIN'

Dear Brooklyn,

Today we are just chillin'

You slept till 10:30.

We ate breakfast.

We sat on the couch and watched tv.

You colored.

I sang, you danced.

I put your clothes away.

You got stuck behind your crib.

I played a game on my phone.

You put puzzle pieces in a bag and then pulled them out.... about 20 times.

I laid on the ground. You sat on my head.

Now you are taking a nap.

I am writing you a letter and thinking about how I should get something done.

Sincerely, Lori

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS 2011

OUR FIRST PICTURE OF 2011

Dear Kurt,

Holy cow. It it 2011.

That is a little strange to me. Time flies.

2010 was good to us. Favorite parts include:

January: Building our snowman

February: Brooklyn saying Dada

March: Brooklyn's first Easter egg hunt

April: Warm weather and cute hats

May: Camping

June: Trips with our besties

July: Christina, Fourth of July, Paintball

August: Lots of birthdays

September: Brooklyn walks

October: My mom, dad and sister visit. plus Halloween.

November: Celebrating three years in California.

December: And, of course, Christmas

I hope 2011 will be just as great.

Sincerely, Lori

A GOOD DAY WITH A SCARY ENDING

Dear Kurt,

Today started off pretty normal.

You went to work.

Brooklyn and I hung out and played.

We met your family for dinner for one last get together before your uncle and aunt went back to Nebraska.

After some yummy frozen yogurt and Orange Leaf we went home.

That is when things got scary.

Your dad called and briefly told you that he was involved in a shooting at work and he couldn't get a hold of your mom and that we needed to call and tell everyone that he was okay.

And that was it.

No other information.

We spent the rest of the night watching the news and calling close relatives and passing the time with your brother and sisters playing Monopoly.

We are on our way to bed now with no other information other than that we won't be getting any more information for several days until they finish a protocol investigation.

Our imaginations are running wild and the whole situation is a bit scary.

Hopefully everything will be fine.

Sincerely, Lori

POSSIBLY NOT A PROFESSIONAL, BUT NOT A BAD START

I WILL BE SORE TOMORROW.

Dear Kurt,

Tonight you taught me how to snowboard.

You convinced me to skip the bunny hill and go straight for the mountain.

Okay, mountain might be a slight exaggeration but when you have to pass the bunny hill, which is on about a 5 degree angle, to get to where we were snowboarding, I think mountain is as good of a description as any.

The first time on the ski lift was a little terrifying. There was nothing holding us in! And it was pretty high up and windy! Needless to say, I held on for dear life the whole way up.

After we got me strapped to my board we attempted to make our way down the mountain. I'm pretty sure I fell at least 20 times just in the first 20 yards or so.

The next 20 yards weren't so bad. I think I only fell about 10 times. I was quite proud of myself until I asked you if I was doing pretty good... You responded "No. You are horrible. I've never seen somebody so bad!"

Humph!

Well, turns out that was your bad.

You told me yesterday when I was asking how to snowboard that I shouldn't lean back on my heels. Well..... turns out that was dead wrong. When learning you should almost always be on your heels!

Once I got that figured out I was amazing, right!?! (Don't answer that.)

The second time down I didn't fall even once!!! Woo hoo! I'm going pro now!

The third time down I fell a lot... on purpose. No really. I had to stop a lot because my legs were burning! Holly cow, I think I should take up P90X or something before we go again because my weak little legs were dying!

After that I forced myself the learn the zig-zag thing. What was the called again? because then I wasn't using my leg muscles as much.

But I was using my tail bone and face a little more. The zig-zag thing makes you go fast and that resulted in a little more falling than not.

LORI, SHANIA, AND KURT, TRYING TO GET WARM IN THE TRUCK

By the end of the night, I was beat. And so were you after you left me for a while to take on the actual mountain with your Uncle Jeff.

It was super fun. I would like to go again soon. After the whole P90x thing, of course.

Thanks so much for teaching me. And like I said when we finally made it down the mountain the first time "sorry I was wanted to kill you up there."

I love you so much.

Sincerely, Lori

CHRISTMAS DAY

BROOKLYN PLAYING WITH HER NEW DOG FROM GRANDMA AND GRANDPA BROOKSBY WHILE KURT PUTS TOGETHER A TOY.

Dear Brooklyn,

Merry Christmas.

I think you knew what was going on this morning when we woke you up because you ran straight to the Christmas tree and sat down like "Okay, I'm ready to open my presents." It was quite adorable.

So here was the run down of your second Christmas ever:

1. Wake up and open presents at our house.

2. Go to Grandma and Grandpa Killian's house to eat breakfast, talk to Uncle Ethan who is in Mexico, and open more presents.

BROOKLYN SQUEALING WITH JOY AT HER NEW DOLL.

3. Go home and take a short nap while mom and dad shower and get ready for the day.

4. Drop off last minute gifts to friends on our way to Great-Grandpa Killian's.

5. Go to Great-Grandpa Killian's for lunch, more presents, and to listen to the boys complain about the Laker's losing.

OPENING A PRESENT FROM GREAT-GRANDPA AND GRANDMA KILLIAN.

6. Go home for another short nap.

7. Web cam with Grandma and Grandpa Brooksby and Aunt Christina, which included lots of dancing.

8. Eat dinner.

9. Go to Grandma and Grandpa Killian's to hang out.

10. Come home and go to bed.

It sounds like it was a crazy day, but besides all the back and forth, it was quite relaxed.

I know you won't remember this Christmas but I hope I never forget it. You are an amazing child and I am so grateful that you are mine. I love you so much, Brooklyn.

Sincerely, Lori

ANOTHER HOLIDAY EVE AT THE DOCTORS OFFICE

Dear Brooklyn,

We spent some of our Christmas eve sitting in a doctor's office.

You woke up in the middle of the night not feeling well. You haven't been feeling great for about a week now but this was different.... and all too familiar. I was positive it was another ear infection.

And of course it was on the eve of another holiday.

So after some time rocking you on the couch while you fell in and out of sleep and weighing our options we headed off to the doctors to get you some antibiotics.

After a surprisingly short wait, my diagnosis was confirmed and we were off to our Christmas eve party at your great-grandma's where you spent half the night sleeping on Grandpa Killian and the other half snuggling with me, even with all the craziness going on.

So now you are curled up in your crib sleeping and the house is clean and ready for Santa to come. I hope you sleep well and wake up happy and excited for Christmas.

I love you very much.

Sincerely, Lori

OUR FLOUR WAR

WE STOPPED OUR FLOUR FIGHT FOR A FEW SECONDS TO TAKE A PICTURE.

Dear Kurt,

The second I got a face full of flour from you it was all out war.

A very short lived war, though, because you were holding Brooklyn and she didn't appreciate having flour thrown on her.

She also didn't seem to recognize us after.

I think I got the worst of because I had flour in my mouth and eyes and down my shirt. And I had to clean it up.

So just to be fair you better sleep with one eye open because right now I believe in the saying "Don't get mad, get even."

Ha, HA, ha Ha, hA!!! (evil laugh)

Sincerely, Lori

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Dear Kurt,

It was one of those days.

One of those days where I would have gladly given away are child to the first responsible adult that would have taken her.

One of those days where no matter how hard I tried only two of the ten things on my "to do" list got done. And you did one of them.

One of those days where as soon as we were in the car headed for the grocery store I immediately decided we didn't really need anything there. You weren't convinced.

One of those days where Brooklyn thinks it's pretty funny to hit me on the head repeatedly with a book no matter how many times I took it from her.

One of those days where as soon as you started putting Brooklyn to bed I started the bath and didn't plan on showing my face to the world for a while.

One of those days where I sat in a hot bath for over an hour playing games on my phone and reading a book.

So right now I am going to curl up next to you on the couch and wait for the lunar eclipse to happen and hope tomorrow will not be one of those days.

Sincerely, Lori