Big brother Zeus!

As most of you know, Zeus was our first child... our sweet bulldog! He came to us at the perfect time... when we needed him the most. I think he needed us at that point, too! Once we found out I was pregnant, one of my first thoughts was how Zeus would react to this new little person taking all of his attention. I have to say, after five months of having Alea, that he has done quite well. You can tell that he loves her. He will sniff her and lick her. And she LOVES him! She will just cackle at him. It is very fun to see. Now, I will say that he is a very jealous dog... and very protective, but I expected that. Everyone has adjusted how they need to, and Zeus is no different. We still love him very much! Here are some pictures to show how sweet they are together!


Zeus doing what he does best!!


The first picture taken of them together. Aren't they sweet??


Zeus will get right in her face... and she loves it!


My sweet babies! :)

Water Baby! ... well hopefully!

The last weekend in May we went to Houston for Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Kevin's party. While we were there, we decided to try Alea out in the pool! I was very excited for this... I am not a water person, but I was ready to see how she would react to being in the water. She loves her bath time, so I thought the "BIG" bathtub would be a hit. Well, it wasn't exactly a hit, but she didn't hate it. Sometimes our little girl is very serious, and this was one of those times. She had such a stoic look on her face when she was in her float in the water. She just likes to take everything in. It was quite amusing!

But even more important than actually being in the pool was her ADORABLE bathing suit! She has got to be the cutest thing in the world! I think you will agree once you see the pictures! I am ready to get back in the water with her. We will make her into a water baby in no time!


First of all, congrats Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Kevin! I love you! :)

Now, the many faces of Alea Grace in her precious 2-piece cherry bathing suit!

Ok, this last one is my FAVORITE! Gosh, how I love this little girl!!!

Wow! It's been toooo long!

First of all, I apologize to those of you who keep up with us VanBrocklin's through this blog! I have let this fall by the way side, and I am sorry! Since summer is in full swing, I will do my best to update this more often. I can't promise anything, but I will TRY!!

Alea has grown before our eyes! She is almost 5 months old. It is so hard to believe. She is the most precious thing ever! She is such a happy little girl. There is just so much I can say about her... I don't know where to start!

Going back to work was hard, but I was very thankful for Gran (Mom VB) for giving up her time to come stay with us and watch Alea for the 7 weeks I had of school. It was such a blessing to know that she was being taken care of in her own home with her own surroundings by such a wonderful woman/Gran! I definitely rushed home every day after school! Now, I am so thankful to spend all day every day with her this summer.

We have tackled a few firsts since I last posted! On Mother's Day (May 9th) Alea rolled over for the first time. I woke up and she was asleep on her tummy! She is most definitely a tummy sleeper! Now she rolls over all the time. She laughs and laughs and laughs... and smiles and smiles and smiles! She also started sleeping her in own room/crib a little less than a week ago. I know some of you are thinking that I'm crazy for having in our room for so long, but it worked for us, so we did it. Now, she is sleeping soundly in her room pretty much through the night. I am so proud of my little girl!

We have had Easter, Mother's and Father's Day, and so much more! I could go on and on, but I'm sure you are ready for the pictures! Like I said, I will do my best to update more often with more specific things to say! We love you all! :)

Her Easter dress... She was so sweet! We went to Houston for the weekend, and she slept through the service. She is such a good baby!

Along with the dress, here are her bunny ears! She was so funny wearing them. She wasn't sure what to think of it. Sometimes she is very serious!

Just so show you how happy she is! She smiles and laughs all the time!

I love this picture! Her little smile... and little pink dress. She's such a sweet baby girl!

Another precious picture!

I took this just the other day. She loves playing on her tummy, and this shows that... plus her drool, and now how she puffs up her cheeks and talks with her mouth closed. She is just too sweet!

Big Day!

Well, not only did Alea turn 6 weeks old yesterday, but New Moon came out on DVD!! What a big day! We definitely had a photo shoot with her awesome Team Edward shirt given to her by the sweet Karen Drennan! These pics are for you! ... and all those Edward lovers out there! :)

In honor of her turning 6 weeks old, I will tell you 6 new things about our sweet Alea!

1. I truly believe she has special powers. She can be upset and then all of a sudden she will start staring at the ceiling and start smiling and talking. I believe she sees angels! At least I know they are surrounding her! :)

2. Her other special power is the weather. I've decided her new nickname is Storm. She does an excellent job of rolling her eyes in the back of her head... and we have had snow 3 times since she was born. I mean, really? Snow on the first day of Spring???

3. I have started laying her on her activity gym. She enjoys it. You can tell she tries to move her arms and legs to touch the toys.

(This is the closest I've gotten to a smile on camera!)

4. You know she is in a deep sleep when she has both arms above her head!

5. She has started tracking her daddy and me with her eyes. She knows our voices and watches us walk away.

6. I guess #6 really isn't something new about her... but this week we are going to TRY to accomplish two BIG goals - feeding from a bottle (to get used to when I go back to school) and sleeping in her own room. The main word here being "try!" The bottle is most important. I know it is a lot to work towards in one week, but I've got to start sometime. So, say a little prayer for us!

Here are some more pictures I just couldn't leave out! :)

(This has to be one of my favorite faces she makes... she gets so excited!)

(And, then this is what we got... and I love this face, too! Look at that lip!!)

Then, last but not least, here is a picture of her just a day old, or maybe less!

And here is a picture of her at 6 weeks old! Look how big she's gotten!! I don't know what I would do without her!

5 Weeks Old Tomorrow!

Hi friends! Alea has had quite an eventful week! This past weekend Grandma came into town! Alea, Grandma, Nannaw, and I ventured into town to do some shopping! It is time to get her introduced to all the shopping she will do in her lifetime!! :) We had a lot of fun! We also watched Daddy's softball team win two more games... I'm telling you... she is good luck!!!

I can't believe she will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. I am so thankful I still have a month to be at home with her. We have had lots of fun. She is growing so quickly! And my love for her grows deeper every day, hour, minute, and second!

As requested from Poppa Karl... here are some more pictures!

Look at all of that hair!!!

She always gets so excited to get dressed and have her diaper changed! I think she knows feeding time is next! :)

She looks like her mommy with that hair all spiked up! Now we just need to add some color... maybe one day!

Gosh, she is just so precious!! I could look at her for hours and hours...

Oh... BIG yawn... :)

Exciting Weekend!

Alea had a very eventful weekend this past weekend! It was her first time to really get out, and she did great! On Friday we had our first of many trips to the famous El Sombrero for lunch with her daddy and Kate. On Saturday she attended her very first LeTourneau Lady Jackets softball game. I like to think she brought her daddy a little bit of luck... they won 7-0! The girls played great! Look out cute she looks in her LETU outfit!

She was able to meet some new friends who thought she was adorable! How could they not?!?

On Sunday she made her first trip to LifePoint Church where she met a lot more new friends. She did a great job in the service... I think she loved the loud praise music! :)

I wanted to dress her up in a new outfit, but she is in between sizes right now. Newborn is just about too small, but 0-3 is just still too big. So, I put her back in the same outfit she came home from the hospital from. Might as well get good use out of it. It is just about too small! See how big she is getting!!

I weighed her this morning... 9 lbs! I can't believe my little girl is getting so big. Almost a month old. I am so thankful for the time I have had at home with her. I just love her so much!

Ok, here are some more cute photos that I had to include! :)

Mom... stop taking pictures of me!!

Oh my gosh... how cute is she?? I dressed her up for her daddy... he loves his little Longhorn! (She is going to be so confused... Wreck Em' Tech! :))

Our first real bath! She did so well... didn't cry at all. I think she really enjoyed the warm water!

Thanks for keeping up with us... more to come soon! :)

Pictures!!

More pictures of our sweet baby girl!


Hanging out with Dad...



Rocking in her swing!


My little naked baby! :)

We decided to get all bundled up and watch Dad wash the car!

Her umbilical cord fell off... now a sweet belly button!

All dressed up for her first doctor's appointment!

My New Toy!

So, this is a little off the subject of Alea, but I had to share the exciting suprise my husband got for me!! The Tuesday before Alea was born I got a call from Mike telling me that he had run out of gas. This has happened before, so I didn't think anything of it. I got a gas can that happened to have a little gas in it, got in my mother-in-law's car, and we went to rescue him. He told me he had pushed his car into the Bingo parking lot.

As I'm driving, I am talking to him. He is telling me all about the horrible day he had and how things were just so frustrating right now. That wasn't what I wanted to hear, but running out of gas can pull those kinds of feelings from you. Well, I get pretty close the where he is, and I notice that my MIL is pulling out a video camera. At this I start suspecting something! And, sure enough, sitting in the Bingo parking lot is my sweet Mike next to this beautiful c2010 Chevy Equinox! He and his mom had gone to Henderson that afternoon to pick it up. He had picked it out the week before. Such a wonderful guy he is! I love it, and it was so wonderful having something reliable to bring Alea home in.

I have an amazing husband! What wonderful things 2010 has brought us so far! :)

2 Weeks Old Today!

Resting at home...


Ready to leave the hospital! She had to look cute! :)



One of the many times she has fallen asleep on me... what a feeling!


Wow - where did the time go? Wasn't she just born yesterday? I can't believe my beautiful baby girl is growing so fast. I was told I would feel this way, but you don't ever really know until you experience it yourself. Just like I was told that I never really knew what love was until I saw her. It is just something you have to experience for yourself. Also, the love I have for my husband has multiplied over and over seeing how much he loves her. He is smitten, and I thank God for that!

I've seen many blogs where people write lists about their child, so I am going to follow in their footsteps. 14 things to know about Alea since today she is 14 days old!


1. She has my nose and lips. That is pointed out to me pretty much every time someone sees her. I'm not complaining!


2. She has her daddy's big, beautiful eyes!


3. She has taken to her "pacy" quite nicely. I was concerned at first to give it to her, but it is very soothing to her.


4. She is a good but lazy eater!


5. She finally lost her umbilical cord today. She has a precious belly button!


6. She has her daddy wrapped around her finger!


7. She has three sets of grandparents, an aunt, and two uncles that love her more than they even thought they would!


8. She loves being in her swing - basically she just loves to swing, whether it is in the swing or in her car seat.


9. I have called her my "poop queen" and my "hiccup queen" on more than one occasion.


10. She smiles when she is gassy, and I love it!


11. She fits perfectly on my chest, and we have taken many naps together.


12. She has more good nights than bad nights - which allows for some sleep for me!


13. When she is hungry, she will suck on my nose... precious!


14. She looks adorable in a bow - something I never thought I would say. (Not because I didn't think she would look adorable... because I didn't think I would like bows!)

I will try my best to update as much as possible! Look back for some more great pictures!

D-Date... as in Due Date!

I decided it was time to start my own blog... so much to blog about and say. For right now I will just say that today I am 40 weeks pregnant. Alea Grace VanBrocklin will be born tomorrow, and my heart is overjoyed! I will start posting about her as soon as possible, along with pictures, of course!

Also, I did get a new car last week! What a wonderful suprise from my dear husband! He is so good to me. I am glad to be bringing Alea home is something safe and reliable, not to mention, gorgeous!!

For now I will go, but I will return a mother to a beautiful baby girl! :)