Teachers and students at David's school decided to end for Thanksgiving break with a fun filled teachers vs. the 8th grade girls volleyball team game.  Brooke and I thought David was the star of the game. Here he is in mid-air. Check out that sweatband.  It turned out to be a very close game, and the teachers actually went home with the trophy. Go old people! At the end of the game everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to David.
We went straight from the game to start our trip to MP for Thanksgiving. All the while Brooke and I were keeping a big secret from David....a surprise birthday party from his family in MP! We did have to tell a few white lies to keep up the ruse. Brooke picked out this fun gift for Daddy. Here she is playing with it before we wrapped it. 

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, and Brooke enjoyed all the attention she got as the only baby. Here are a few pics from her first Thanksgiving. 

Grabbing Uncle Dodo's Beard. She found it fascinating, along with his chest hair.

Waving in her new outfit from Aunt Diana

Just before the meal...

The last few moments before her new outfit became covered in sweet potatoes. 

I knew this day would eventually come. Brooke has her first cold. By this point she's pretty much over it, but yesterday was pretty tough for her and for us. She ran a low fever yesterday & was very congested. I was babysitting Rachel by the way, so I did my best to keep the two apart. We got in to see the doctor and she assured us it was just a cold and to keep doing what we've been doing--humidifier, saline drops and suction, elevate her head. Still, I hate seeing my baby suffer. She felt much better today, and I'm sure by tomorrow she'll be back to her old self. Phew, we made it! 

Wurstfest-A German festival held in New Braunfels full of music, dancing, and food & drink. I have been going to Wurstfest since I was a wee German dancer. At first I loved going because it had fun rides, mainly the potato sack slides on which I would race other kids time and time again. Later I liked going because my friends were meeting me there. Then at some point (mid high school) it became a chore because I always had to work some booth and my parents were official "Opa" and "Oma", which at the time was not very cool. When I came home from college to visit I liked going to Wurstfest for the college night; you could bet you'd see just about everyone from high school there. Plus, my parents were "Opa" and "Oma" which meant I got free admission and drink tickets. Then at some point, as I realized I had really moved away from home, Wurstfest became something I was proud of, another piece of my hometown's unique character along with the rivers, Schlitterbahn, and old downtown charm. I enjoy coming to Wurstfest every year, spending time with "Opa"and "Oma". This year I realized it will probably become something special to Brooke too.

Here she is sippin' on some Coke (no not really, she's just fascinated by the cup).

Dad & Mom in Opa & Oma gear (aren't they adorable!?).

When you have been Opa for a while, your family crest/shield is made and displayed in the Wurst Hall for all time. Here's my nephew Felix pointing out our family shield. 

Mmmmmm Fried Pickles & ranch dressing.... (not pictured: bratwurst, pork chop on a stick, corn on the cob, funnel cake, bread pudding)

Good Morning America came to Wurstfest last year. Of course a giant stein had to be made to mark the event!

Little Fraulein

We took this opportunity to take Brooke on her first Carousel ride. She is waving to Grammy...or should I say Oma?

When we arrived at my parents' house Brooke had a couple of presents waiting for her... a cute ladybug bib and this adorable pair of pajamas with pretty little horses on them. I love this picture of her. I think we will have a crawler soon.

As the weekend came to an end we prepared ourselves for the loooong trip home in the Volkswagen Beetle. You see, I drove this cute little bug pre-baby, and my parents were nice enough to temporarily trade cars with me. So I've been enjoying driving a big SUV and mom's been looking so cute driving the bug. Well, the time came for the cars to be inspected, and the bug can only be inspected in Collin County since it's still in my name. To make a long story not so long, we packed into the beetle and journeyed home. I soon lost feeling in several parts of my body. Brooke & I were in the backseat, David & our dog Kinsey in the front. We made several stops.

Mommy & Brooke crammed into the back seat. We must have been a sight on the road.

One of our stops was at Best Buy just to look around. We tried out Guitar Hero III. Turns out those three years of playing the clarinet payed off because I was pretty good...better than David anyway. Thanks Mom & Dad for all those music lessons!

Sunday was the Baby Blessing for May-Nov. 07 babies at church. Brooke did so well throughout early service, class, and a bit of 2nd service. Jeanett, Diana, & CJ came from MP for the event. We also enjoyed shopping on Saturday. Grandma got her some sparkly jeans.