Catching Up

Our trip to Washington, D.C.

Halina before her first time Trick or Treating

Halina's First Birthday!

Some Recent Pics

Halina Is Officially Walking!!!

Look out world here she comes! Technically Halina took her very first steps about a month ago, but now she is walking constantly. She definitely has the drunken sailor act down well. So far we've counted 15 steps in a row without falling. She typically run-walks and takes big falls. She makes great entertainment these days.

Tutu Fun With Daddy

Daddy's Home! Halina always lights up when her Daddy gets home from work. Today we dressed up in a tutu especially for Daddy. Thanks to Freda, Hallie has a great collection of her very own tutu's! Posssibly a ballerina in the making?

Baby Ace Ventura

We Got a tooth!

Halina finally got her first tooth yesterday!! We are so excited! It is really sharp but it hasn't seemed to bother her. Stay tuned for more exciting firsts!

9 Months Old TODAY!

Halina is 9 months old today!!! She is very active these days. She crawls all over the house looking to explore new things. She especially loves to pull all the books off the shelves in the office and in her room. She has recently been responding to music by bouncing and swinging her arms up and down like a conductor. She loves to watch Landon play the guitar and sing, but as he plays she is inclined to play the guitar for herself. She currently can play the recorder and piano all by herself. It's likely we have a musician in the making.

Every Thursday her cousins Katelynn and Kloe come over to play. She has so much fun singing nursery songs with them and being entertained.

Halina doesn't have any teeth yet, but she's eating more solid foods. She loves anything and everything edible. So far she hasn't had anything she didn't like. She really loves her fruits and vegetables (thank goodness) but we think she may love meat more! She gets very excited when she has meat, so excited she starts panting for it. Charlie and her are more alike than we thought! Charlie is probably her best friend these days. She loves to pat him on the head and play with his ears. He really loves her too. He's always anxiously waiting to clean up her messes after meals and he loves to smother her in kisses. That is true love!!!

Halina is still a Mommy's girl. She loves her Daddy too, but when she's having a rough day nothing seems to settle her but Mommy. She says both "Mom-ma" and "Dad-da." She typically says Momma when she's upset and needy and Dadda when she's happy and playful.

Over The Weekend

Sunday was Halina's dedication day at church. She woke up at 5:30am with lots of excitement. The dedication service was awesome, except that Halina was the only baby that couldn't hold still. She really wanted to get on the floor and explore the stage full of instruments and cords. For awhile now she's had an obsession with cords. She likes to swing them around and bite on them. Mommy and Daddy have to keep a close eye on her so she doesn't get her first electrifying experience.
Above right Halina and Mommy are heading out the door to church for Baby Dedication Day.

Landon, Stefanie & Halina at the Oakes Game.

Friday night we went to a baseball game to see Landon's Dad sing the star spangled banner with a realtor's group. This was Halina's first time to a baseball game as well as our first time to a baseball game in California. Go Oakes!!! Halina had so much fun at the game. She really enjoys the outdoors and experiencing new places.
Above left is Halina with her "Bebe" at the ball game.

8 Months of Fun!

Halina is having a blast with her new found skills. She's standing and climbing on just about everything. She's been balancing for a couple of seconds, so walking is just around the corner! Halina recently discovered where Charlie's food & water is, so she is constantly trying to get some dog food in her mouth. We guess it can't hurt her, right?

Mark Your Calenders

Sunday July 1st, 2007 is Baby Dedication Day at our church and Halina will be dedicated that day! We are so excited for this event. Although she's been dedicated to God since she was conceived this is a very important day for us and our family & friends to partake in her public dedication.

Oceanside Harbor

Oceanside Harbor was a wonderful place to vacation. We all had a great time going to the amusement parks and playing at the beach. This was Halina's first experience at the beach and she was thrilled to play in the sand. It has taken us many days to get her completely sand free. It keeps showing up in mysterious places!

No, she was not eating the sand. The wind blew the sand up and it stuck to her drool.
Looks like we'll have to get a sand box for Halina to play in!

Easter Photos

We finally got some good professional pictures of Halina! The first ones she took were at 6 weeks old and she was either crying or asleep. It was mostly my (Stef) fault for setting the appointment in the evening. Halina is a morning baby, so we try and get everything important done in the morning. Her Easter pictures were shot in the morning. Halina had a blast taking pictures this time around. She was giggling and doing all sorts of cute poses. We hope it remains this way for future photographs (i.e. pictures with Santa!).

Sixth Month Review

Halina is now 6 months old!!! She is 15 lbs, 9 ounces and 25.5 inches long. She is sitting up and almost crawling. She's starting to show some signs of seperation anxiety. Almost every time Mommy walks out of the room she starts to fuss. She loves to stand, play pat-e-cake, go for walks around the neighborhood and participate in worship at church. Oh yes and she loves to play with her dog Charlie (he loves it too!).

She is a very happy baby and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. Everyday with her is truly a gift to us. We look foward to this exciting new season of mobility!

Upcoming Events!

• Just two more weeks until Landon's 30th Birthday (April 13th). He is actually very excited to be 30. He believes this next phase is his life is really going to be great. But why wouldn't he... he's got a GREAT WIFE, beautiful baby, family & friends who love and adore him, a great dog... what more could a guy want? Did I mention the great wife? :) Needless to say he's got it pretty good, so why not embrace the 30's!
• Halina is one week away from her 6th month birthday, Friday, April 6th. She will have her sixth month check up and will start some real food for the first time. Although we"ll have to add it in to the expenses, we're very excited to see Hallie's reaction to her first foods (cereal & puree fruits & veggies).

Greetings

Greetings Family & Friends,

Welcome to The Brokaws blog spot! Here you can view photos of our family (Halina) and gather valuable information on our latest happenings. We hope this is an easier way to stay connected and updated in each others lives.

Lots of Love,

Landon, Stefanie, Halina, & Charlie