Happy Birthday Gary :)

I have been lagging on my blogging duties lately! Things have been so busy with weddings, graduation parties, birthdays, etc. Here is a quick Fleming Family update...for all of you dying to know :)

Last weekend we had my sister Maggie's Graduation party. We also celebrated my brother and sisters graduation from college(s). No-they are not twins-some people just take a little longer then others to graduate!

The kiddos had a great time hanging out together-Jack totally was showing all of the other kids around grandma and grandpas house-where all of his toys go, etc. The girls would have helped out, but decided to chill on their blanket instead-looking fabulous as usual!


After the graduation party, Gary and I went to our very good friends Ande and Lindsey's wedding. My brother Matt and his fiance Lindsey were AWESOME enough to stay overnight with Brooke-who did GREAT (from what I hear!). Gary and Brooke were exhausted by Monday and ready for a nice, long 3 hour nap-pretty cute right?!?!


Today we celebrated Gary/Dad's birthday. It was pretty awesome because one of the guys that is working on our basement wished Gary a happy birthday and (I quote) said, "so, the big 30 huh? Hows it feel??" Gary could NOT believe that ANYONE would possibly think that he could be 30! That is what he gets for telling me that I am pushing 30 and totally a cougar since I married a younger man-do I have to remind him that I am only 9 months older then him?? All in all he was happy, though, because he got some really fabulous Tom Johnson style workout shorts and tickets to John Mayer.

The weather has finally been cooperating lately and we were all able to get outside and go on a walk. Brooke had a GREAT time, but her hair was all over the place-comb over much?? If she didn't try to pull it out every time she had to go to bed or got upset, we may be all right :)

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL WEEKEND! I promise to update more this weekend and next week-things are beginning to finally calm down...

happenings...

So, I didn't get any comments on my last post...I guess I better take it up a notch :)

Gary picked up Brooke from my parents house today and when I got home she and I were plaing on the floor when all of the sudden she was like 2 feet away from me-she was totally crawling! She was crawling backwards, but she was crawling! I then decided to test her new skill a bit so I had her reach for toys to the side of her, waayy in front of her, etc. She was turning on her tummy 180 degrees, pushing up on her knees and moving forward..like I said..totally crawling! Well, she was scooting at least!! I have decided that this is happening because her cousin Lily was over on Wednesday. Everytime Lily comes over, the next day Brooke is doing something new-a skill that Lily will have already mastered. We will see what this turns into as the girls get older! It is pretty amazing, though, and I am so excited-time to really get to the baby proofing around the house :0

Totally going for it..

Getting it..

What's up Mom..

Happily posing after mastering her new skill :)

I have also decided to add another 'non-baby' section to my posting. I have a tendency to be quasi-obsessed with downloading new music. It may be something that I heard on the radio or maybe from a friend or I may have just heard it through a commercial or on TV. As soon as I hear something I like, it is stuck in my head until I get on itunes and download it. I thought that I would share some of these 'finds' with you all and you can download them too-if you like them that is...
First post!

1. Where I Stood by Missy Higgins - Care of my friend Ruggeri (AWESOME)
2. Violet Hill by Coldplay - From their New Album
3. Only Yesterday by Taken by Trees - Seen/Heard on Grey's Anatomy

That is all for now! Enjoy :)

Daddys Girl.....& mom's too!

Brooke is totally Gary's daughter. Forget her toys or the Baby Einstein DVD's, she is set with her laptop computer. Not sure what she is fascinated with (maybe she is googling or perhaps updating her blog) but anytime the computer is out-she wants it! She used to sit nicely on our laps while we were working on our laptops, but now she wants to type, use the mouse and make bizarre yelling noises while staring at the screen-also similar to dad...


She also has some mom characteristics as well. My mom always tells the story how I would not go to bed without her in the room, laying on the floor with her hand going through the crib railings just so I could touch her hand and know she was there. I am now feeling the pains that my mother once felt-sleep deprived to the extreme! Brooke now does not want me to leave her alone to sleep. When I bring her to her room, she will open one eye to see if I am still there. She then loves to grab onto some part of my face-quite regularly my chin or nose and hold on for dear life. If I take her hand off, she is up and crying...My mom also used to say how when nap time would come around, her and Amy would take to the couch for a nap-not Kelly, though. I would lay in between them only to get up and run away once they were both asleep (I walked at nine months). Luckily, Brooke is not escaping from nap time yet, but she is also not a nap time fan either...She would much rather hang out with mom and Bella then rest-her mothers daughter....always once to be part of the action :)

CONGRATS to Mugs! Here she is at her graduation from UA. This was when she came off the stage to see the posters that Amy & Tracie had made for her. She was totally surprised and loved them! If you look closely at the picture, you cab see all of the teachers on the left turning to check them out too...we are so creative!! The Johnson Family 15 year legacy at Ursuline has officially come to an end...

Busy, Busy...my how times flies!

What a week! This week has been a fun & busy one for the Fleming Family. I am currently blogging on a Friday night as my husband-the Rock Star-plays yet another 'gig' in town. Tonight he is playing at F15teen and will continue to play on Friday nights for awhile. So, for all of you in town looking for something different to do on a Friday, you should go see him (Enough plugging). I am hoping that I can go and watch him one of these Fridays..but until then, I blog....

Brooke and I had a great time with our friends Lindsay and Lauren on a fun shopping trip to the mall-and Lindsay (& Lauren) provided us with plenty of laughs when poor miss Lauren spilled her mom's newly fresh, hot coffee ALL OVER Lindsay's clothing in the Middle of Macy's. There is nothing worse then looking forward to your afternoon caffeine fix, then to watch in slow motion as if slowly stains your clothing. ALSO, I have to say that I was a bit disturbed by the reaction of those mall patrons that saw this event take place-not one person stopped to help or see if we were all ok. Two moms (Brooke in stroller, Lauren in the Baby Bjorn attached to Lindsay) one with steaming coffee running down her legs frozen and all anyone could do was walk by, point and stare and think to themselves, 'thank god that is not me...' Well, at least that is what they looked like they were thinking...but, I digress... Lindsay sucked it up, though, and took one for the team and stayed to shop..we must have looked like quite the group, coffee all over her, a large coffee stain on my shirt, just hanging out at the mall..maybe this is why everyone was staring at us...All in all, though, it was good times and I was able to land a GREAT dress for the upcoming weddings I am attending-Thanks for the help Linz!

In other events, today is my brother-in-law Joe's 30th Birthday-HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE! I hope that you had a GREAT day with the family!!

Lastly, my youngest sister is graduating from High School this weekend and I cannot believe that she will be on her way to college this fall! It is too crazy how fast time flies...speaking of time flying...

Brooke at 2 months & Brooke at 7 months

Mothers Day

Yesterday was my first Mothers Day and although the weather was less then perfect, we still had a great day. Gary, Brooke and I met his parents and brother and sister-in-law at Church and then we all went to brunch. We had a great time and Brooke was very well behaved :) Gary got me a very nice Willow figurine (Angel of Mine) which I love and Brooke got me the cutest picture frame that already had a picture of the two of us inside-it was perfect! Although I didn't get a picture of Brooke and I yesterday, I did get a GREAT one of her and her favorite Uncle Mike-too cute...
The rest of our day was spent relaxing at home. All four of us (Bella included) took much needed naps followed by picking up some take-out for dinner. It was the perfect 1st Mothers Day and thank you to Gary for making it so wonderful for me-he even did all of the laundry and dishes!

I hope that everyone is having a GREAT MONDAY!

Totally Blogable....

So, today Brooke & I met our friends Lindsay and Lauren at a really neat place in town called CooperElla

We had such a great time with our Gal Pals :) Lindsay and I could not resist the temptation of these Fabulous Flower Headbands. We took many pictures of the ladies modeling them for all to see. We have already received many compliments...I am determined to take Brooke's 6 month pictures with only the headband on-do you think that she will TOTALLY hate me when she's older??!! She will also be wearing this head wear until she is 17...to make up for how much it was :) I mean, she begged me to get it for her!!!

Could you say No to this face??? I think not!

Lauren absolutely LOVES her new accessory :) Too flipin' cute!

Back from Dayton, OH

Well, we made it back safely from our journey to Dayton, Ohio. We made the 6 hour trip to watch my sister (#4) graduate from College. It was really fun to see what she had been up to these last 4 years and what my sister Maggie will be up to the next four years as she will be a freshman at Dayton this Fall. It was such a pretty campus, I only wish that we had gotten to see more of it. Unfortunately, the only clear weather day of the weekend was on Sunday when we had to make our 6 hour trip back home. It was a fun filled weekend and we were able to see many of the Ohio 'hot spots' and hope to come and visit again when Maggie is there :)

Brooke when we arrived at our hotel. She was all decked out in her new 'plaid' outfit (matching shoes-of course) Tracie was very pleased :)

Mom & Brooke at dinner. Brooke was so good the entire weekend. I was even surprised and impressed with how well she behaved!

The graduate and her god-daughter at Tim Hortons having some breakfast after seeing Tracie's new apartment. It was a raining, raining day, but we all made the most of it! Coffee always helps :)

Tracie and some of her roomates ('get crazy' picture) at the infamous Tim's Bar! Such nice girls and such a good time. Although, I don't think I can keep up with the college crowd anymore :)

Finally a graduate!! Posing in front of her work (with the Columns) right across the street from her house. A perfect day for graduation!

Tracie-thanks for a great weekend! We can't wait to have you home for the summer :)