Brother and Sister

We are so blessed to have Riley finally here! For those of you who hadn't heard. She was born September 24th. She was 8lb 7oz (a little bigger than her brother who was 8lb 2oz)!! She ended up in the hospital when she was just 10 days old with a fever. After testing, they found she had a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and had to stay for 5 days. That was quite the homecoming for her!! She is on antibiotics now and will have further testing in about 3 weeks to see if there is something that would have caused the infection or if it was just a one time deal. Obviously we're hoping for the second option.

She is a great baby. Mostly eating and sleeping (oh and pooping)!! :) She sleeps for 2-3 hours at a time and is just an easy going girl. Tyler just LOVES her. He wants to help with EVERYTHING! I have to really keep an eye out when she's in her bouncer or swing. I don't ever want to go too far away from those two. Tyler loves her and is gentle but I don't quite trust it yet. He wants to help and he may try to be "helpful" when I'm not around. I was out of her bedroom for about 10 seconds the other day while leaving her laying on her floor and he picked her up. You should have seen my face!!! WOW...that made my heart stop. He had her picked up like kids pick up cats.....around the chest! I'll never do that again! I would have never thought he's pick her up. Guess I was wrong!

I'm going to try to update our site each week....keep checking back to see the latest Brouse news!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tyler is singing a song for daddy's birthday!!! ENJOY!! We miss daddy!!

We're having another baby!!!

So this week we found out some VERY exciting news!! We're having another baby! I took 2 home tests on Monday night and they both tested positive. The next day I went into the clinic and had a blood test that confirmed it! I am due September 21st and just 5 weeks along. so I have a long way to go. We are just so thrilled to be blessed again. When we ask Tyler if he wants a brother or a sister he says, "I want 2 sisters!" I really hope he doesn't have some kind of intuition! :) Wouldn't that be something!!!!

This week we also had Tom's first cousin, Jason Hammerback, visiting. Tom and Jason were able to hit the party scene in Waikiki one night, the boys drove around the island and we got to all go to the beach this weekend. I was originally supposed to be in Waikiki with them "partying" but finding out I am pregnant changed that plan! I'm sure they had enough "fun" for me too!!

Tyler just LOVED Jason. He even said he wanted to go home with him when he left today (and I think he was pretty serious). When we all hugged Jason at the airport, Tyler had tears in his eyes. He is our little emotional one. Tom says that's the one thing Tyler got from me!! :)

Well, hope you all had a nice weekend!!
Love,
The Brouses

Back to work!!! :(

It's back to work and daycare for us!! We have really had lots of fun together at home!! Tom and I talked to Tyler about it today and told him he would be going back to daycare tomorrow. He started crying and said "But I wanna stay home". It just breaks your heart! I am so blessed to have a job where I get so much time off at one time but it sure does make it hard to go back again (for all of us).

I made a long TO DO list and was able to accomplish all of the major things I wanted to get done. That feels really good!

Caleb got to spend the weekend with his Pop Pop in Georgia this weekend. Caleb loves going there to ride the 4-wheeler and spend time with one of the favorite men in his life. They made a trip to Game Stop to use a gift card he got for christmas. He was able to pick up 3 new games! That's sure exciting for a kid his age!

Today we went to pick up some fish for Tyler's fish tank. He got it for christmas from his daycare lady! Tom and I don't know much about fish so we'll see how long they last. Tyler's super excited about his new fishies!!

Well, not much else to report from here!! Tom's cousin Jason is coming to visit this week. We're very happy to have him here! We are planning to hit the Waikiki nightlife on Friday while Tyler spends the night at his daycare families house! I don't know if I can hang with the guys...but I can try!!

Have a great week!
The Brouses

Jingle Bells.....

Merry Christmas Everyone!! We had a great week together. I am on my break from school so it was so nice to be home everyday with Tyler. Tom worked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (half a day) so we spent lots of family time. Tom is off this week too so we'll be able to go do things together that we don't normally have time to do! We plan to go to the beach at least once or twice. It's been really rainy here lately so we'll have to watch the weather.

We had a nice Christmas here, just the 3 of us. I made a big dinner for us all to enjoy! We sure can't wait to celebrate all the holidays with our families again! :) Tyler got lots of nice gifts and was sure excited this year about everything!

Friday night at about 7pm our power went out. We thought it was just the base power but the WHOLE island lost power. We were without power until 5:30am the next morning. We didn't have anything to do so all of our neighbors hung out together and let the kids play by flashlight. They had lots of fun, stayed up late and ate goodies!

Today we watched the Vikings game (YES!!! We won!!!) and hung out at home! Tyler and I are trying to get rid of colds right now. Tyler had croup and was on steroids last week. He still has a cough but it's getting much better!!!

We wish you all a Happy New Year!!!
The Brouses

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!! As you can see, Tyler made it to see Santa. Although he didn't like it very much. We took him yesterday. He watched the other kids go before him and seemed fine but as soon as it was his turn, his face changed. He sat for about 10 seconds with the expression you see above and then the tears started. Tom and I tried to sit next to Santa with him thinking it would make him feel better but it didn't work. We're lucky to have gotten this picture!!

Today Tyler and I made lots of Christmas goodies. We made almond bark pretzels, cut out cookies with frosting and peanut butter cookies with kisses! Tyler loves to help me in the kitchen. Tom watched the Vikings....which didn't turn out the best!!

I'm off for the next 3 weeks for Christmas break so I'm VERY happy about that! Tyler and I will be hanging out together and having fun! Then Tom gets the week of New Years off. Then we can all hang out together!

We hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Brouses

Cookie Making

We've had a very rainy dreary week here in Hawaii. It's been raining like crazy and people here have even had up to 4-6 feet of water in their homes, especially on the North Shore. Tyler had to play indoors most of the week and that's not normal.

Yesterday I went to a baby shower for a friend I worked with at another school. We also got to check out the model home for the homes we are going to move into this coming April. Of course, it's twice as big and brand new so we LOVED it!!!!

Today Tyler and I made cookies and we all watched the Vikings win!!

We hope to have more pictures and news next week!!!
Take Care~The Brouses

It's been a long time!

As you see...Tyler was ready for the game today. When he got up and got dressed he asked "I wanna wear football shirt like daddy's". He loves to wear his Vikings shirt! We just bought the Santa hat...he loves it!

Since it's been awhile since I've posted anything I'll have to go back a little. Last month we went to a craft show here on base and Tyler got to ride on 2 horses. He rode on minature pony and a big horse. He just loved it and still talks about riding the horses when we pass the area where the craft fair was held.

On Thanksgiving, all our neighbors got together. We have 4 families next to us and we decided to have a potluck. We gathered in our backyard and had a feast!! It was really a great day. We rented a bouncy house for the 3 kids and they played and jumped all day long!

This week has been super busy for me at school. My kids and I went on a field trip to the Honolulu Zoo. The kids and I had a fun day scoping out all the animals and walking around.

This weekend has been pretty busy too. I spent most of the day yesterday wrapping and boxing up things we needed to send to our family. I got it all done so...YAY!! Today I spent the day correcting papers and getting ready for the week at school. We only have 2 weeks until my 3 week Christmas break so I can't wait for that. I don't know who's awaiting the break more... my students or me?! :)

I hope everyone is doing well!! We love and miss you all!
The Brouses

Potty Trained!

Tyler is almost all the way potty trained! He has really done so great the past few weeks. We have been working with him for quite awhile but it's just lately it seems that he has really taken to it himself. He hasn't had any accidents for almost 2 weeks. So I think he's got it!! YAY Tyler!!! He just turned 2 in August so we are very happy and grateful it worked so early for him! He still wears a diaper during naps and night but he usually isn't wet after nap. I guess nighttime takes awhile.

Tom is still in Japan. He comes home on Saturday morning. We just can't wait for him to come home. Tyler misses him so much (so do I). When Tyler gets tired he wants daddy! He always asks me to call him on the phone but this trip we can't just call him whenever we want. Tom has been able to call us everyday but with the time difference it's harder to work it out.

Tyler and I didn't do much this weekend. Just hung out together. We cleaned up in the backyard and Tyler played with bubbles!

Well, hope everyone is staying warm back in the states!! I miss it so much!!

Love, The Brouses

Happy Halloween! ARG!

We hope you all had a nice Halloween. Tyler had tons of fun and was a cute little pirate! He walked around our neighborhood and got candy for about an hour and a half. His little friends, Isaiah and Gwen, went with and they were also pirates! They all were too cute together! After taking Tyler around, we went home and handed out candy for a little bit.

Saturday we went to the Hickam Carnival in the afternoon. Tyler got to ride on all kinds of rides and played a few games. We went with our friends and neighbors (Brian and Christie) and their son Isaiah. Isaiah and Tyler are such good friends! We then went out for supper together and the boys got to play flashlights outside when we got home. They like to look for bugs together in the yard at night.

Today, Tom went to the club on base to watch the Vikings while Tyler and I slept in a hung out at home. Then we went to the beach with our friends Brian and Christie. It was a nice day!

Tom leaves for Japan on Tuesday so I took off work tomorrow to have an extra day at home with him before he leaves. He just got home from Georgia after being there for 2 weeks so it will be nice to have one more day together. We have Election Day off from school so it will be a 4 day weekend for me! YEAH!!

So...we wish you all a great week!
The Brouses

We're back!

We're back! So, I have a few weeks of things to update. Earlier this month we had some friends from visiting from Minnesota. The Lofbergs from Thief River Falls came over here with their two kids. They both graduated with Tom from high school. We had a great time together for about 10 days. It was a little rainy a few days for them but overall it was good I think.

While they were here we decided to visit a beach we've never gone to before. It's on the Waianae side of the island. That side of the island is more the poor side with lots of homeless people living on or near the beach. The beach we went to was military so you could only get access if you were military. It was nice. We rented a kayak for the day. I had never done that before so it was really fun. Tom thinks we should buy one now! I don't know about that! We drove back home and had supper at Ruby Tuesday.

Tom left for Georgia on the 19th. He had to go to a conference but while down there he was able to spend this weekend with Caleb. They had an awesome time. Tom will fly back here on Halloween day (I'm so glad he doesn't have to miss this year). Tyler is going to be a pirate. We had a hard time finding a costume that wasn't going to sweat him to death. After being home about 4 days, Tom then has to fly out to Japan for 2 more weeks. It's not fun being home alone but there are so many people who are missing their loved ones for being gone much longer! So we just have to make due! :)

Tyler and I have just been hanging out all weekend together. It's been fun. It's rained all weekend here which is very unusual. So, it's kind of like a fall day for us! I miss fall a lot!!

Well, hope all is well with everyone! We love and miss you!
The Brouses

This is a video of Tyler singing his ABC's! He's almost got it!

Fall in Hawaii!

So it's fall in Hawaii! :) Yeah, I know that sounds weird and it is truly weird to say when you live here! Actually after living her for almost 4 years, a person can tell there is a definite change in the weather but not so much to make many clothing changes (not like back home)!

So for the past couple of weeks we really haven't done too much new stuff. I am posting some pictures of Tyler with his stuffed animals. He's so funny with those guys! He just loves them. He tucks them into his bed and loves to be with them. He has been waking up in the night wanting Tom or I (mostly daddy) and we'll go to his room and find him standing there in the middle of his room with armfuls of stuffed animals! It's really cute but very creepy the first few times I would walk down the hall and find him standing there!

We watched football today and I did some cleaning. I am off of work this week for our fall break so I'm so excited to do nothing...or whatever I want for a week! We have friends coming from Thief River Falls this Saturday and they are staying for about 10 days. That should be fun! Tom leaves Oct. 18th for a short TDY to Georgia. He will be gone for 2 weeks and arrive back home on Halloween afternoon just in time for trick or treating! We have been searching for a costume for Tyler but just don't see anything that we want yet. He says a fireman but I'm just not sure he'll keep the costume on. Also, it's hard to find costumes that aren't made for cold weather. It'll be like 80 here when he's out trick or treating so it has to be something that's not too hot!

I added a couple pictures to the left of Caleb and Tyler. The one of Caleb was taken when he was little. Tom had put shaving cream on him in the bath and he thought is was so cool! We were looking at some old pictures and decided to do the same with Tyler. Isn't it so crazy how much alike they look. Man, some of the pictures of them at the same ages are so alike it scary. I just thought is would be fun to show you all!

Well, not much else! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!!

Love, The Brouses

Gecko!!

This is Tyler holding another gecko we found in the house. We have them in the house quite a bit! Tyler loves to chase them and have daddy pick them up so he can hold them. We found this one early one morning when we were leaving for work/daycare. This is one of the smallest we've had in the house. Tyler doesn't mind holding them. We took it outside after and let it go. He's so proud when we do that. He remembers where we put them and goes back later to see if they are still there.

We didn't do much new this week. We took a family trip to Toys R Us yesterday to use a gift card and money Tyler got for his birthday last month. We got him a bag of Mega Blocks and a huge tub of play dough stuff. He just loves his new things.

We also took Tyler and his friend Isaiah to the park on Saturday. They just love it there. We had lots of fun sliding, swinging and playing. The park is just down the road from here so we walk there. Tyler and Isaiah are such good friends! How cool to have a best friend at such a young age!!!

Today Tyler has been in his underwear practicing using the potty. He goes so well when we're at home. He does have little accidents but is able to hold the rest until we can rush him to the potty chair. He gets m&m's when he goes. He's only supposed to get 1 each time he goes potty but he always looks really nice at us after he's done and says "Two!" So of course he gets 2!!

Well, we hope you had a good weekend! We love and miss you!

The Brouses

Happy Birthday Mama!

Well, for anyone who checked the blog last week and found nothing new....I apologize. I just didn't have any new news for you and was really lazy last Sunday. This week we didn't really have anything new either but I have some cute pictures I wanted to share.

Last weekend I went and got Tyler's hair cut. He's had his hair cut many times and doesn't mind having it done. After she cut his hair the lady asked if I wanted a faux hawk. I was like...uh...I don't know. She told me she just uses this gel stuff to stick his hair up in a fake mohawk. Tyler usually LOVES to have "pokies" in his hair. That's what he calls them when we do it for him. He liked it right away but when we got in the car and felt his hair and how hard it was....he said "I don't like it mom"! It was too cute. He did leave it in all day but wasn't excited about it!

On Sunday night last weekend Tyler and I were outside on our front steps and he was climbing a little bench I have out there. He likes to climb the bench to look in this old mail slot...there is a gecko who likes to hide in it. I turned my back for just a second and he had fallen. The bench had tipped over and he fell on the cement. He scraped the left side of his face near his eye. It looked pretty beat up but he was alright. If you notice in the video, you can see the black and blue marks near his eye. Poor Tyler!! He's been much more cautious after that with climbing on the bench. He wouldn't even stand on it with me holding him.

This Saturday was my birthday!! 32! Can you believe it?! How time flies. Yesterday, Tyler and Tom took me out for breakfast and supper. That's so nice to not have dishes! We went shopping and I got a few things. Tom said he didn't know what to get me so I shopped for myself this year! We had cupcakes and ice cream for dessert! It was a very nice day with my family!!!

Here is a video of Tyler talking~enjoy!

We love and miss you all!

The Brouses

Beautiful Beach Days!

Tom was off on Friday so he stayed home with Tyler. Usually the military is nice and gives people family day on a long weekend to make it extra long. We had dinner at the club on base with our neighbors. We always love going there. Tyler loves to walk around and look for snail shells! It's also within walking distance so that's cool.

We had a very nice weekend together! We went to Lanikai Beach on the east side of the island both Saturday and Sunday. We LOVE that beach. It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches on all the islands. It's very calm clear blue water with soft soft sand. It always seems like the people there are much more relaxed too. People walk their dogs there without leashes and it's just cool! We make lots of castles and spend time just hanging out!

Today we stayed inside almost all day. We were doing some minor fix-up things around the house. Now Tyler and Tom are outside playing with Isaiah. We've had a great long weekend!

This week was a normal one for us. Nothing new has really happened. Just same 'ol work and home. It's kind of nice that way though....then we're not rushing around during the week when we have to work. I did get an ipod this week though. I know...I feel way behind in all the new technology but I'm pretty excited about my new purchase. I'll use it on my runs on base mostly. They are actually against base rules to wear during running, etc. but I'll take my chances. I see half the base wearing them when they're out. Hopefully I don't get caught! I'd really feel silly!

Saturday we had our neighbor and his son over for the Vikings game. Tyler and Isaiah LOVE to play together and had a wonderful day. We just all hung out and relaxed which was very fun. Today we washed and vacuumed the cars. It was very hot!! (as usual)

Well, sorry for the short blog this week. Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Love, The Brouses

Happy Anniversary!

This week was pretty normal for us. As I said in the last blog, I was waiting for Tyler's toddler bedding to arrive. It finally got here and it's SO cute! We got the toddler bed put together with all the bedding right away. We had to take a few pictures of Tyler in his crib before we took it down. It's kind of sad to put the crib away. That means he's not a baby anymore!! So, we were really curious to see what his reaction would be to the new bed. He loves it! There really isn't any change from the crib to the toddler bed. Except that he has fallen out a couple times and we found him sleeping on the floor next to the bed. The bed does have side rails that go part of the way down the side but he I suppose he has to get used to not being "caged"! :)

On Friday night I went out with a few girl friends for supper. It was supposed to be just a mom's supper but some of the daughters of my friends wanted to come out too. We went to Senior Frog's down in Waikiki. That place is super fun. There's always something going on at that place. They make funny balloon hats, they have contests for everything you can imagine. Tom stayed home and had a boys night with Tyler.

Saturday was our 5th wedding anniversary. We had our neighbors watch Tyler. They have a 2 year old son, Isaiah, who Tyler loves! Isaiah loves him too! Every time they see each other they just run to each other and are so happy. Tom and I went to the movie The Pineapple Express. Our recommendation is.....don't go! It was pretty bad! It actually didn't start out too bad but overall it wasn't good. We then went to Old Navy to look around. It's definitely different to go shopping, etc. without Tyler with. I can actually look around and not be distracted every couple minutes for juice, snacks and whatever else kids need when you are trying to look at stuff! :) After shopping Tom and I came back on base and had supper and drinks at JR Rockers Sports Bar. We hung out there until about midnight listening to this "funk" bad. We walked home (it only takes about 10 minutes) and got Tyler from the neighbors. We had a great afternoon/evening together!!

Today we took a nap with Tyler (and really nothing else)! After staying up past midnight I needed a nap!!!

Have a great week!

The Brouses

Happy 2nd Birthday Tyler!!

So, Tyler is 2 years old! Wow! We had his birthday party on Saturday. We invited our friends from the neighborhood, friends from Tom's work, and Tyler's Auntie Leane (daycare lady) and her 2 girls. We had about 20 people and lots of kids around. The backyard was full of Tyler's toys and they just had a blast.

Tyler has been able to actually be excited for this years party. We talked about it all week and about how he would have his friends over and we would have a party because he is turning 2. When we'd ask him how old he is he'll say "2" so proud. We decided to have pizza (everyones favorite) for the party. I also made taco dip, grapes, pineapple, carrots and celery.

When I went to pick up the cake at the Commissary (base grocery store) the lady brought it out and said "oops". I was just like...oh no! I looked and it said HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TYLER but it had Tinkerbell all over it. They had obviously made a mistake!!! SO...thank goodness I was picking it up 4 hours before the party and they had enough time to make a new one! In the end he had his Tonka truck cake and was very happy. And YUM it was good!!

Tyler got lots of trucks this year. He also got his first John Deere tractor. It's so cute. He got a Geo Train set too! That's his favorite thing so far. He's really into trains right now!

We just had such a great day being with our friends and enjoying each others company. The kids all play so well together! Today we just cleaned up and hung out in the backyard (Tyler's favorite place in the world!).

I'm waiting for Tyler's toddler bedding set to come in the mail this week so he can start to sleep in his toddler bed. We have it here in the box but we're waiting to get the construction set bedding in the mail. I'm hoping he makes the transition from the crib to the toddler bed ok. If anyone has any suggestions on what works and what doesn't...let me know!!

Well, another weekend over and it's time to get off to bed!!

Have a good week!! The Brouses

Lazy dayz

This week was really quiet around our house. Tom and Caleb left on Tuesday afternoon for Georgia. Tom stayed over in Georgia one night after dropping Caleb off with his mom. He flew back on Thursday. We really miss Caleb and like I said, it's been really quiet around the house.

I had my first day with my new 2nd graders on Wednesday. They are good so far but of course they are just warming up so we'll see as we go! :) I have 17 kids in my class. That's quite a bit smaller than what I started with last year so I'm very happy about that.

We didn't really do much of anything this weekend. We are getting ready for Tyler birthday party next Saturday. His actual birthday is on August 10th (Sunday) but we're having his party on Saturday. We are ordering pizza and just going to hang out in the backyard with his friends. He has this friend, Isaiah, from a couple doors down. They just LOVE each other!

Tyler has a little cold. He took an over 3 hour nap today. Must have needed sleep today! I got to clean the office desk and go through some things I've been needing to do. That was nice!

Overall, nothing really going on. I am posting some of our other summer pictures. I didn't take any new ones this week! I should have some next week with his birthday party!

Love you all and miss you!!!

Back to work for Kari

This week I went back to work. I had a GLC (grade level chair) meeting on Tuesday morning and then my first "real" day back to work was Thursday. It felt good to get back to my classroom and get things reorganized. I met the 3 new teachers on my gradelevel. We have 6 2nd grade teachers in all, 3 of which are new to our school. Actually they are all first year teachers. They all seem nice and ready to dig in. Students start back on Wednesday so we still have Monday and Tuesday for getting ourselves ready.

On Saturday we went bowling here on base. The bowling alley here is nice. It has tons of lanes and it also serves food, drinks, etc. We have gone bowling every summer with Caleb. It was a good family night. After bowling we went our for supper at the sports bar/restaurant on base. We seem to always go there. It's close and the food is very good. Tyler likes to look for snails out in the grassy area. We always manage to come home with at least a few shells.

Today, Sunday, we haven't done much. We went grocery shopping this morning and now Tyler is napping while Tom and Caleb was the cars. I think when Tyler gets up we are going to go to the beach. We don't have many days left with Caleb here so we are trying to squeeze as much in as we can.

Tomorrow Tom an Caleb are going to Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. Caleb has wanted to go all summer but we didn't get to do that until now. I have to work but those two will have fun. Caleb and Tom leave Tuesday night to take Caleb back to Georgia. Tom will stay over one night and then fly back.

We just sent out the invitations to Tyler's 2nd birthday party. We are having a pizza party at our house. I just can't believe that he'll be 2~ where has the time gone!!!

Well, not much new this week!! Hope you all had a relaxing weekend and may the week fly by for all of you!! :)

Love~The Brouses