Puppies, Playing, Primping, and Pregnancy

In all the very important parenting books and magazines that I have dedicated several minutes to skimming in various bookstores and waiting rooms over the past three years as a parent, I am starting to notice a phase Brooke is going through that is not in any of them: The Puppy phase. This phase, which I am about to publish an article on in Horse and Hounds magazine, involves the the exteme and unnatural attachment that 2 1/2 year old girls have to various types of plush canine stuffed animals. She can't get enough of them! It all started out a few months ago when she started making friends with a small beanie baby dog which she aptly named "Puppy". From there the whole puppy thing just kind of snowballed and we now have 9 different stuffed animal dogs, all of which have there own names, familial relationships, and cliques to which they cling to. And that's just at our house. Over at Grammy and Papa Webster's house she has a whole other pack of hounds which are equally as engaging in fulfilling Brooke's constant need to be around some form of pooch. At times she even prefers to speak to us in "dog language" which, although difficult to understand, can be quite entertaining.

As Brooke develops her affinity for canine culture, Shan and I are chugging along as always trying to balance work, school, and the prospect of having our new little boy Bryant coming into our home. He is ever active and kicks constantly without letting up giving Shan what she thinks are several internal bruises. This of course is a good sign but can be difficult when you have a job, a home, a husband, and a two year old to manage all the time. But she continues on with a smile and excited for the little guy to finally come into our home. As for me, dental school is still keeping me busy and on my toes. I have a lot of fun working with patients and learning the ins and outs of the profession I'll be in for the rest of my life. Since I'm in my third year I mostly just have clinic and not so many classes,so its been nice having my nights free and getting to spend a lot of time with Shan and Brooke. Only about a year left and we'll see where things go from there.





Brooke learning to bowl (her first frame was a spare:-)



Brooke with friends Lady and Tramp




Brooke ready for a sporty Saturday with Daddy



Tempory residence of Brookie's dog clan. They would have stayed but one of them got too near a package of hot dogs and feared for what might happen to them if they stayed too long




Brookie in her polka-dot Valentine's dress from Aunt Meggie



TA-DAH




"She's taking too much off the back again, I just know it."




Cutie ready for a ball



Shan and Bryant cooking up a storm!



Brooke training to be Paris Hilton's next purse puppy. Woof.






Brooke teaching her puppies a class on how to be a good coloring book picture of Dora the Explorer and her friend Boots. For anyone who wants to become an animated cartoon character this video counts as 1 hour of continuing education. (Don't worry, the video starts sideways but uprights itself about half way through)

It's a boy!!

That's right everyone! Coming this May, the Webster clan will no longer be lopsided genderwise with the addition of another boy coming in the family to even out the odds. We actually figure he might be coming in April due to the fact that according to all knowledgable people involved (the doctor, the ultrasound technician, Shannon's bladder) he is somewhat of a giant measuring about a week or so bigger than he actually should be. Plus as an extra bonus for Shan he apparently is already starting his training to become a world class soccer player by kicking frequently and furiously. GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!! Brooke's quite excited to be getting a little brother and frequently comes up to Shannon to give her new brother hugs and kisses.
As far as everything else goes, we are all currently lamenting the end of the great holiday fun we've been having this year. We had a great time going down to California for Christmas and spending the rest of the time in Las Vegas. It was so fun getting to see everyone who we haven't seen in awhile including the newest addition to the family, Baby Olivia Jane Griffeth. It was really cute to see Brooke continuously want to hold and take care of little Livvie and we know she's going to be a great big sister.
Anyway, we hope everyone else had a very Merry Christmas and will continue to have a great 2008!



I'm gonna have a Brother!




Do you guys have any idea how crowded it is in here?? (Double click to enlarge)



You're looking at my what?!?




Brooke's trial attempt at turning herself into a duck

Toilet Paper Tales

So with Brooklyn's ongoing potty training we've learned to expect the unexpected. Brookie is slowly making progress with her toilet training and is even using "the potty" by herself without wanting us to help her. As we continue to try and help, one of the things we're currently working on is getting her to use toilet paper after she uses the bathroom. Today after finishing her "buisness" she came running up to us really excited to show us she had used the toilet all by herself. When we came in the bathroom to look at her great success we found that she had not only used toilet paper like she was supposed to, but had proceeded to empty a BRAND NEW ENTIRE ROLL of toilet paper into the toilet. She was so proud at what she had done!! Needless to say it was not necessarily the outcome we wanted, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. Congrats to our little Brookie for finally using toilet paper!:-)

Halloween Extravaganza!!

So Halloween is finally upon us and we've been having a lot of fun getting into the ghoulish spirit of things. Brooke decided she wanted to be Ariel this year and a cute little Ariel she is! We went to a party at Kenny's dental school where Brooke had a great time meeting up with all her other fellow princesses including Snow White and Belle. Little Ariel started dancing by herself in the middle of the dance floor and before we knew it all the other little kids had joined in with her. She danced with her friends for an hour straight, stopped for some food, and danced for another half an hour until it was time to go home. That girl sure does love to dance! (see video at end of blog.)

We also went to a little Halloween fair that we drove by awhile ago and decided to give it a try. It had a little "pumpkin patch" area to play in as well as a bunch of kiddie carnival rides (all of which Brooke was anxious to try). She got to ride her first pony which she loved and she had a blast riding all the other rides, some of which were a little scary but she braved her way through. We're still getting ready for the actual Halloween night where we'll be going to the ward trunk or treat, but so far this halloween been "terror" - ific. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

"Part of your world"


Kickin it with Snow and the Homies


"Let's get this party started!"





The unknown romance between Ariel and Flounder emerges.


Ride 'em Cowboy!


Two pretty ladies!


"Am I actually in a giant banana?"


"You gotta JUMP!! JUMP!!"

"Shhhhhh!!! The pumpkins are sleeping

Sometimes you just gotta dance!

13 weeks and counting:-)

Pumpkin Patch Boogie !

Birthdays, Weddings, and lots of driving

Well its been quite awhile since our last post so sorry to those who have been anxiously awaiting more news from the Webster clan. This past month and a half has been very hectic with lots to do and places to go. We have been on some type of trip almost every week for the past month or so and we can all say with absolute certainty that its nice to have a weekend where we're not in the car for at least a four hour stretch. Shan and Brooke got to travel out to Georgia for a week to see our new niece in the middle of September which was really fun. Brookie had a lot of fun trying to take care of her new little cousin which was actually pretty good practice for the new addition we'll be expecting this April. Shan also had the honor of being the matron of honor at the wedding of her best friend Jessie Davis (now Boyne) on October 13th. It was a great wedding with all of us dressed to the nine's and I (Kenny) even made an attempt at dancing (or as the people at the wedding like to call it; rigid awkward convulsions.). But it was a great time and we got to meet lots of new people and make lots of new friends. Amidst all these new nieces and weddings Shan and I both celebrated our birthdays (Oct.2 and 7th respectively) and had a great time getting older. We had a lot of fun having birthday celebrations and Brookie was ever so generous wishing us happy birthdays randomly shouting out "Happy Birthday Mommy/Daddy!" throughout the whole week. Anyway we hope everyone's doing well and here are some pics to enjoy

A happy trio!



Baby's are great!


Wait a minute! You mean she cries too?


Brooke pretending Alyssa is her own personal jungle gym.


Shan and Brookie grabbing some quiet time.



Happy Birthday Kenny and Shannon!!


Brooke utilizing my birthday dinner to make her first Halloween costume:
Taco Face!


Brookie's birthday present and card to Daddy!


Brooke's preferred conference watching activity? Watching Peter Pan on the portable DVD player.


Three is always better than one!


Shannon at a bachelorette party for her best friend Jessie (in the black dress).


Happy family at Jessie's wedding


Brookie happy to be back playing with "Grandpa O"


Brookie's first puzzle she completed without help (despite the fact three of the pieces are misssing)


Shan's baby bump is slowly growing:-) Stay tuned for updates!!

Webster California Adventures

Well, the time keeps passing us by and this past month has been quite exciting for our little brood. After finding out we were expecting another little Webster we naturally did what any family (or NFL quarterback) would do: We went to Disneyland!! Over my one week break I had off from school Brookie, Shan, and I decided to jaunt down to the California coast and just spend some time having fun going to Disneyland, the LA Zoo, and Mission Viejo Lake. Brooke loved seeing all the cool animals at the zoo and riding her favorite animal rides at Disneyland which include the Dumbo ride (we rode it 4 times) and the Merry-go-round (6 times). It was so great that we were able to get away for a little bit and a special thanks to Lisa for hooking us up with the D-land passes. Unfortunately Mom and Dad O'Bryant were not able to come with us as they were in Georgia visiting the newest O'Bryant grandchild, Olivia, but luckily we did get to spend some time with them as they came home Saturday night and we didn't leave until late Sunday. Anyway, here are some pics of all the fun! Enjoy!!
















Three "Ze-brothers" (Okay they might be sisters but then the pun wouldn't have worked)
















Giraffe head


















Dumbo's not so animated father


















Shannon spending some quality time with the Cullens as she finishes the 3rd book in the Twilight series "Eclipse." She's already looking into the process of having my name permanently changed to Edward. (The main vampire in the book)


















Brooke's so happy she gets to ride the sea lion......for the sixth time:-)


















Shan and Brooke happy to be back in the flying elephant























Brookie having fun on Mission Viejo Lake!


















Brookie and Grandma O. playing dress-up with some of their favorite friends

Baby Number TWO!!!!!!

That's right all you Webster Adventures blog readers! Our little family is now officially expecting a new addition to arrive sometime in May of 2008 and we couldn't be happier about the news! And while we're on the topic we also have got to give this new little kid props for his/her timing on letting us know he/she exists seeing as we found out about this over the weekend of our 5th anniversary(August 24th). What an awesome present for both of us!!
The current predictions from all of us are as follows:

Shannon - Thinks it is a boy even though she previously wanted a girl
Kenny - Sticking with his prediction of twins even though it's a bit of a long shot. (Gotta have faith baby!!)
Brooklyn - Currently still trying to comprehend the meaning of being a "sister", but she knows Mommy has a baby in her tummy and one day it's going to come out.

Anyway, we're ecstatic that we can finally say we're expecting another baby, and stay tuned for continual "Shannon updates" as we all know that any pregnancy provides great stories to put in a blog.


Current picture of what our new addition would look like if we could see him/her.






In other news, we did reach the 5 years of marriage milestone this week and we had a great time celebrating by taking an extended weekend and basically just having fun from Thursday to Saturday. We ate out at nice restaurants, stayed a night at a suite in the Venetian hotel (VERY nice!), and even went to see Phantom of the Opera which was an amazing production. Needless to say (cue sweet romantic violin music in the background) we're just as much in love with each other, if not more so, as we were when we first got married. I feel so lucky to have found my Shan and I'm forever grateful for our family and the happiness it has brought us all. (End music)



As for all you gluttons for news about Brookie, you will be glad to know (or maybe not) that we are still entrenched in the mires of potty training. She is good at actually using the toilet; she just happens to be lazy some of the time and decides she doesn't want to. She always has had a mind of her own. In this past month she has also increased her knowledge and technical prowess in her ballet studies. Shan has been teaching Brookie various moves that she likes to perform for people, and she is well on her way in following her mommy's lovely feather-light footsteps to becoming a ballerina. In other news, at her last doctor's appointment we discovered Brooke is about in the 90th percentile for height of kids her age, so my dreams of having a volleyball player daughter are still alive and well. Her continued vertical uprising has also proven quite the advantage for her to reach things she really shouldn't get to, so Shan and I are continually adapting to the challenge to keep her curious mind and hands away from things she ought not get. But she continues to be her generally pleasant and happy self and is a great joy to have in our lives.



Anyway, that's about it for us right now. Thanks for all you readers who have had to wait so long for an update and hopefully it won't be too long before we get on again.

Love ya all,

Kenny, Shan, and Brookie