The Magic House

This past week Brindi and I went on a little Daddy-Daughter date to the Magic House. It was there annual free family night. Celeste was busy with a young women's sleep over and so it was just us out on the town.

The Magic House is such a cool place that is a complete hands-on educational museum with secret passages; stretchy boards; a 3 story and 2 story slide; giant blocks; and a giant ruler.

The water section was probably Brindi's favorite part and it was difficult to pull her away. She seemed to have spent almost a hour playing in the water.

There was also this giant 3 story bean stalk that you could climb up and down. Brindi was a little too small so I spent my fair share of time climbing through small little passages as I helped her climb to the top.

There is also a section just for Bob the Builder. This is where we spent the first hour of the night. Picking and planting flowers, cutting wood, organizing balls, sliding, and playing in all the construction equipment.

There were several walls through out the facility covered in chalk boards. Brindi is getting pretty good at writing her own name. You can somewhat make out the letters. She gets so proud of herself.

We are so lucky to have so many fun activities to do in the area. It was my first time to go to the Magic House and I was pretty impressed. We didn't even make it to the bubble room or even the 3rd floor and we spent over 3 hours there. A pretty cool place. It was Brindi's second time to go there. She went there a couple weeks ago with Celeste and some friends and the next morning she woke up so excited and came running into our bedroom saying "we need to get dressed mom and take dad to the magic house." I am so glad she was able to take me. I love the time I get to spend with Brindi. We have so much fun together.

Smiles and Bubbles

Brooke LOVES the bath!!! Her smiles say it all. Her and Brindi have so much fun together. Brindi plays with her like she's her baby and Brooke just sits there and coos and smiles while Brin's doing it.

St. Patrick Day Parade

This past weekend Brindi and I headed over to Cottleville for the annual St. Patty's parade. We found a little clearing towards the end of the parade route and took up camp. Brindi kept asking where our chairs were because everyone had chairs except for us. She was quite concerned about the whole thing. Because we were at the end, we had plenty of time to play around as we waited almost an hour before the first float came by. The spacing was not the greatest between floats either, meaning we watched pavement more than floats but Brindi did not seem to mind. She did ask several times where the candy was. One of the sad misfortunes of being towards the end is the fact floats run out of candy by the end. She did get a little bit of candy but was showered with green beads, a clover hat, flower planting seeds and sunburned cheeks. It was quite the fun little daddy-daughter date.

Brooke's Blessing

Brooke's blessing was very sweet and very promising. I hope the blessing her father gave her helps her to become all that the Lord wants her to be and all that she wants to be. It was a great blessing and our little family of girls is so blessed to have a father and husband who stays worthy to hold the priesthood. It truly has been a blessing in our lives. With that being said... We thought we would be blessing her during sacrament the first week of March. Well I was sitting in church the week before and they announce that we are having a broadcast stake conference. I was a little taken back since we just had Elder Christoferson(spelling??) come to our stake in December for stake conference and when I talked to the bishopric about blessing Brooke that week they said that would be great...Well....after hearing this we ended up blessing her after conference in the bishop's office. I was so glad that Grandma and Grandpa Lovell were able to come...it would have been pretty lonely in that office with just us and the bishopric. The other plus of it being Stake Conference was having the stake president there. Brooke is one special girl. It meant the world to us to have Gma and Gpa there. Brindi of course ate them up and she only wanted to take a picture if Grandpa and Grandma were in the picture........finally we got her to take one with Brooke, but failed to get a single good one of all four of us.

Heart Attack

Having a new little one or any young children during Valentines' Day can put the holiday on the back burner. But than again its these two young ones that truly made the day a day of love. We kept the holiday pretty simple this year with small purchases and more heart felt messages. Celeste received a card of why Joe is so lucky to have her. Joe began to receive a countdown of e-mails early in the morning that continued through the day with notes on why Celeste loved him. We had lunch at Applebees. Celeste than received some tulips and milk chocolate candies and Joe's car received a heart attack and was filled with m&ms and dots. We spent the night with the kids and just talking. Pretty simple but it seems those simple pleasures create the best days.

Taking a Stroll

Bath Time

Funny Games

The other day I came home and Brindi was waiting for me in the living room. Before I even had time to shut the door and put down my book bag she was dragging me to the couch telling me to sit down. She then proceeded to stand next to the wall near the front door and tells me to shut my eyes as she starts running at me full speed while giggling. Rewind...so this is a game that she and I created a couple months ago. One of us would sit on the couch and cover our eyes with our hands while the other would start from the wall and run through the living room at the other and when we somewhat collide I tickle her until she falls off the couch or if I am sitting on the couch I tickle her as I lift her above my head. She LOVES this game. It is so cute watching her cover her eyes and then cheat as she spreads her fingers in anticipation of me colliding with her and tickling her. It is so fun listening to her laugh and the excitement she has as we take turns running and covering our eyes. It was so fun playing with her and weird how so remembers these games especially since we have not played this one for a few weeks and before I could shut the door we were at it again as she says my turn, your turn, my turn as we switch positions for the next 20 minutes. Love being a dad!

Brindi's NEW Home

When Grammy and GrandDad came they brought a surprise for Brindi from her Aunt Amber. To say Brindi loves it would be understatement. She has pretty much lived in this little house. Everyone has had to play in it...and there have been some tight squeezes, with Joe, me, Brindi, and Brooke all having to be inside the house without our feet sticking out :). I still can't believe Amber took the time to make this for her. There is a place for her to hang the laundry, go fishing, pick the garden and the apple tree and orange tree. Brindi can take everything off and put it back on...it is pretty neat and I can't wait for Brooke to be big enough to play with Brindi. I think they are going to have a blast with this.This is when Joe looks at me and says, how come you don't make this like this and I reply, because I'm not supper woman like Amber. Thank you Amber, but like I said, I really can't believe you did this for her!

G&G Hancock Visit

Celeste's parents were able to come out this past week to see our new little girl and to help with out as we all transition into our new life. They were truly a blessing being able to help Celeste and I while also keeping Brindi busy.

The bedspread that Brooklyn is laying on was one of the things Sonja created and finished while she was visiting.
Grammy and Brindi Grandad and Brooklyn
Grammy and Brooklyn This is a picture that Brindi took of Grandad. Besides her thumb, she is a pretty good photographer. Grammy also brought Brindi a present. Can you guess what it was?....make up. What a cute couple of girls we have:) Celeste also decided to put her dad to work to earn his keep. Our funny basement corner was the task and the project kept her dad busy most of the week. I helped out a little but Pete did a great job. This corner has driven us nuts since we moved in because it was such a waste of space. After taking out a couple of walls,adding a couple of walls, a light, and a door...we now have a very functional closet and a lot more family room space!!! All we have left to do is pretty much sand and paint!

Brooke

Brindi has transitioned really well so far and loves to hold and kiss her little sister and tells Brooke everyday that she loves her.

Brooke and her Daddy.

We have forgotten how small they really are. Such a cute little girl! We have really been blessed.

One of the thousands of kisses Brindi has already showered Brooke with:)

Brooklyn Claire

We welcomed Brooklyn Claire Lovell into our family this morning. Can I just say, I love being a Dad! What a strong and emotional feeling it is to watch one of your own come into the world. It is one of the best feelings I have ever experienced and one that cannot be explained but can only be experienced.
Brooklyn arrived around 8:15 AM this morning after a long night of contractions for Celeste. She came quick after the epidural was administered (1 hr 45 min) and weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz and stretched to 20 inches in length. Mom and baby are doing well.

39 Weeks

One more week until the baby (still undecided on a name) arrives. We are still hoping she comes early but only time will tell. We seem to be trying everything in the book from long walks to feet/ankle massages and everything in between but no luck so far. The doctor even striped the membrane this week. We did start today with some pretty strong and consistent contractions but they have faded thru the afternoon.

We think Brindi is pretty excited for the baby. If only she knew the truth! We will see how excited she is after her little sister comes. But she loves to point to the baby and as demonstrated in the pictures below is spending a lot of time preparing to help once her sister arrives. Today she kept telling the belly, "Baby come out and play," "Baby its time to come out," and "Come out Baby!" We all echo her last statement.