the brown family

Carter is on the move!

2009-10-19T12:20:00.002-04:00

New Carter Pics

2009-09-09T14:38:00.000-04:00

Here are some most recent Carter pictures for you to enjoy. He never stops smiling!

Happy!

Happy!!!!!

Really Happy!!!!

Young Padawan's

2009-09-03T16:15:00.004-04:00

We have young Padawan's that have invaded out neighborhood and occasionally practice their light saber techniques in our front yards.

May the force be with them!

Easter 2009

2009-09-03T15:50:00.001-04:00

We spent time at Grandparents this year.

At the Brown's Ethan made a fort on the sofa and palyed in that for a long time.

At Great Grandma Badger's there was the Easter Egg hunt. Ethan loved it and got to spend some quality time with Grandpa Krauss.

Ethan decided he wated to do Star War Easter Eggs this year. "Big Surprise!". They turned out really good.

Overall it was a nice Easter for 2009.

Swim Lessons

2009-09-03T15:35:00.001-04:00

We enrolled Ethan into to swim lessons at East Kentwood's pool. Along with his neighrbor friends they learned some, but had a lot of fun. By the time lessons were completed Ethan was swimming on his back really well with a noodle and he was jumping of the 1 meter diving board without hesitation and he could go under water for a few seconds. It was worth it to be ready for summer.

Updating Blog

2009-08-31T16:47:00.002-04:00

OK so we haven't updated our blog since March. It has been a very busy spring and summer. I will be going back and updating as often as I can. Check back for updates soon!

Monster Trucks

2009-03-29T15:56:00.008-04:00

Chris, Ethan along with our neighbors, Shane and Spencer recently went to see the Monster Trucks at Van Andel Arena. Chris brought Ethan head phones and ear buds for himself. Fifteen minutes into the event Chris had to walk out with Ethan who was crying and said, “It’s too loud!” Chris finally gave him his ear buds and still had him wear his head phones which seemed to help. His favorite part was Grave Digger and his least favorite part was anytime Grave Digger wasn’t performing.

Finally, a happy boy! Ethan and Spencer

Newborn Pictures

2009-03-20T22:30:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago we had Ryan Start of RMS Photography over to our house to take Carter’s newborn pictures. Two hours later the session was over but now starts the hard part…choosing my favorites among the proofs. If you would like to see the pictures you can go to http://rmsphotography.net/store. Select Carter Brown & Family and enter our password, Carter. If you haven’t ever accessed Ryan’s site before you will be required to create a log in and password prior to viewing the session.

Transformer Birthday Party

2009-03-20T22:06:00.007-04:00

Ethan was invited to the neighbor Isaac’s Clark’s fourth birthday party. After singing Happy Birthday one of the six boys farted while another started picking his nose. Needless to say all the parents got a good laugh. This was a good glimpse into my new life as the only female living with three boys!

As most of you know Ethan declared sometime ago that he was going to marry Madi, Isaas’s older sister. Ethan has the perfect life planned for them or perfect if you are a four year old boy! They will live in our backyard or at Mickey’s House (Disney World), have two kids, a dog, and eat hot dogs and tomato soup.

While at the party I met a couple who have two boys that are also friends with the Clark’s. One of their boys also thinks he is going to marry her. After the party I explained the boy with the glasses also plans to marry Madi. This sad face instantly covered Ethan’s face and he said, “But I am going to marry Madi” followed by “Mom, when is he going to change his mind?” My poor boy was heart broken.

Getting ready for pin the nose on the Transformer.

Isaac opening Ethan's present.

Carter

2009-02-24T21:10:00.003-05:00

It is hard to believe that Carter is nearly two weeks old. Carter is such a different baby than Ethan was. All Carter seems to do is sleep, something that Ethan rarely did. Most nights he goes to bed at 11:00, wakes up for forty minutes in the three o’clock hour and sleeps again until 6:00. The only time he cries is when he has stinky pants or is being changed.

He had his one week check up on Friday with Dr. Mark (Ethan’s hero). At birth he weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. and was released from the hospital at 6 lbs. 2 oz. The doctor was happy that he weighed 6 lbs. 6.5 oz, just shy of his birth weight. The remainder of his visit went well.

Ethan has adjusted amazingly well. He loves his brother so much. Thank you to everyone who was so mindful of Ethan during this experience. He received a few gifts, a big brother bag full of treats, and a special night at Chuck E Cheese. I think our efforts to prepare and include him in the experience along with the special attention and gifts went a long way to help alleviate any signs of jealousy.

A few pictures of our precious new boy.

The Nursery

2009-02-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

Chris and I are so excited about how the nursery turned out. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Krauss for the bedding and Grandma Brown for making the curtains and framed monogram.

Carter David Brown Pictures

2009-02-16T20:57:00.006-05:00

I know all of you are waitng for pictures so here are just a few.

Carter David Brown

2009-02-14T09:27:00.003-05:00

Carter David was born at 6:35 pm on February 13, 2009. He weighed 6lbs 7 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great. Thank you to all our family and friends for your prayers and support.

Friday the 13th - Delivery Day?

2009-02-13T11:29:00.004-05:00

After three weeks on bedrest our wait might be over. We went to see the OB this morning for an ultrasound and stress test. According to the ultrasound Carter weighs 6.5 lbs. which is average. Melissa then had a stress test where she was contracting every 5 minutes. (Even being on her medication to stop them.) The doctor checked her out and she was dilated to 4 cm, she was 2 cm on Monday. The doctor thought for a while and finally decided that it was time for Melissa to go to the hospital. They will monitor her for a while and then if she is progressing we may have a baby as soon as today.

Big Brother Class

2009-02-13T10:55:00.006-05:00

Tuesday night we took Ethan to a Sibling Class at St. Mary's Hospital. We told Ethan it was Big Brother Class. He was so excited to be going to class to learn how to change diapers, hold Carter and be the best Big Brother he could. It turned out that we were the only ones to sign up for the class, so it was good one on one with the teacher/nurse.

The class started with the teacher showing items in a diaper bag and asking Ethan what the items were for. Ethan watched and listened intently to every thing she had to say. She showed Ethan how to hold a baby, how to burp (Patting gently) and how to put on a diaper. Next it was time for a movie on how a baby will change a family and how it will effect an old sibling. It was with a Pirate hosting the movie (Ethan loves Pirates!!!)

After that the teacher asked if we wanted to go tour the birthing floor or do more in the class. Ethan was getting a little restless so we decided to go on the tour. We went to see a birthing room and recovery room. We were also able to see a little baby boy in the nursery. Ethan couldn't believe how small he was. He was all smiles the entire time we were watching the baby.

After that we went down to finish the class. In all it was about an hour and a half. It was geared towards kids a little older however the class was still well worth it.

Tough Week

2009-01-25T10:18:00.004-05:00

Contractions
I went to the doctor Thursday for my weekly stress test. As soon as they hooked me up regular contractions, four minutes apart registered, none of which I could feel. They had me drink water, take some medicine, and lay on my side but still the contractions were every four and a half minutes apart. The doctor checked my cervix, which was not dilated and decided to give me more medicine and wait. Luckily, this time the contractions slowed to every seven minutes. After spending fifteen nights in the hospital with Ethan the day’s events were very familiar. I was getting worried that a hospital stay was in my future. I was instructed to go home under strict bed rest and come back in the morning for another stress test. Friday’s test went much better! My uterus was irritable but I didn’t have a single contraction while hooked up. Again, bed rest was ordered with a follow up appointment scheduled for next week Thursday at which time I will be thirty-five weeks.

Birthday
On Wednesday Chris turned thirty-five. We had plans to have dinner at one of our new favorite restaurants while Ethan was at Cubbies but Chris wasn’t feeling well so we had to postpone our plans. Ethan and I had planned to celebrate Chris’ birthday Thursday night but my body and Carter had other plans. Chris always says birthdays are no big deal…I hope he really means it.

Speech
On Monday Ethan came home from daycare upset because two of the kids in his class were teasing him because he talks funny. I talked with him and asked what he wanted to do about it; practice his speech at home, have me talk with Ms. Kylee (Ethan’s teacher), etc. He wanted me to talk with Ms. Kylee so I did. I told her what Ethan had said and explained that I understood kids would be kids but this was something I though she should be aware of. She explained that one of the kids in question had just been transferred to a new class and now that we had talked she will be able to be more aware of what is going on with the other child. I talked with Ethan again and explained that the one child had been moved to another class and Ms. Kylee would tell the other child to be nice to her friends if she caught her teasing him. A sense of relief quickly followed by a big smile covered his face as we talked.

That next morning I called the school Ethan will be attending to next year to inquire about early intervention screenings for speech. As luck would have it they had a screening scheduled for Thursday and spots still available. Chris said the screening was really relaxed and all the women doing the screening were fantastic. Ethan came home excited about his new school.

One of the speech teachers from the school called Friday and said he is struggling with typical sounds that kids his age struggle with but should know by now. She suggested he start attending a half hour, weekly speech session with her to see if he is capable of learning the correct pronunciations. If he is, they will teach us how to work with him. If not, he will be enrolled in speech classes while in Young Five’s. We are hopeful that we can work with him ourselves but also relieved that either way we have a plan.

Needless to say this past week I shed many tears. Tears when I learned my “baby” would have to go to school all day, every day next year in Young Fives, tears when I was stuck at the doctor’s office and Chris had to take Ethan to his testing, tears at the possibility of an extended hospital stay and more tears when we couldn’t celebrate Chris’ birthday and he accidentally saw one of his presents.

Latest Ultrasound

2009-01-19T21:13:00.007-05:00

At our latest ultrasound Carter weighed 4 pounds and 2 ounces. At this rate Carter should weigh somewhere in the seven pound range.

After remembering seeing hair during one of Ethan's ultrasounds we asked the technician to check for hair. It didn't take long for her to count all four hours hairs on the back of Carter's head. This was quit surprising considering Ethan was born with a head full of hair.

I have another growth ultrasound scheduled for February 13 and will try to post pictures a little quicker next time.

The shape and size of the nose is exactly like Ethan's as a baby.

Christmas Morning 2008

2009-01-19T20:53:00.015-05:00

Christmas morning we woke up and celebrated around the tree with Christmas music playing. We talked excitedly about how his would be our last Christmas with just the three of us before Carter joins in the excitement. After surveying the gifts and stockings Ethan quickly went to check the plate of cookies and milk he had left.

Santa left this note next to what used to be the plate of cookies.

We then had Ethan open both his and Carter’s stockings. He was excited about everything in his stocking but especially the singing, Veggie Tales toothbrush, Star Wars undrewear, and the glue sticks.

Ethan opening his stocking.

Carter got a little help from big brother, Ethan opening his stocking.

It was a Star Wars Christmas. Even Chris received a Star Wars game for the Wii.

Matching shirts for the little "Brown" boys.

Visiting Santa

2008-12-30T21:16:00.002-05:00

Santa doesn’t realize it but he got lucky during our visit. Instead of listing every toy he had seen in all of the ads Ethan only told him two items; Star Wars toys and tools.

As I walked up to Santa with Ethan Santa looked at my belly, giggled, and said, “I know what mom wants for Christmas.”

Preschool Conferences

2008-12-30T21:06:00.003-05:00

I had Ethan’s winter conferences with his teachers at Child Time. His teacher tested all of the friends (what Child Time calls the kids) on identifying letters, numbers, shapes, colors, the difference between size (long/short, big/small, and tall/short), counting, AB patterns, sorting objects, spelling and writing is name, cutting, math, and science. His teacher, Ms. Kylee was very pleased with the results of his test and said, “He was the least of her concerns.” She had noticed an improvement in his speech skills, something that has always concerned Chris and me. We plan to continue working with him on his speech and identifying some of the letters he had troubles with.

This past six months she had been individually pulling the kids aside to complete a journal. She would ask the question and fill in Ethan’s response. Some of his answers were true, false, funny, revealing and one in particular made me happy!

Favorite Color: Red - He likes strawberries and they are red.
Favorite Food: Macaroni & Cheese – Since when?
Things he does in the fall: Rake leaves - We have two small trees…what leaves?
Describe Mom’s car: Grey
Describe Dad’s car: Race Car – Chris has a spoiler…to a four year old this makes a race car.
Who lives with me: Dad, Mom, and Carter – I love that he is already thinking of his brother.
Mom’s favorite food: Pop – Is my addiction to Diet Coke that obvious?
Dad’s favorite food: Pop – Guilty by association!
Favorite thing to do with Dad: Yard work – Dad was happy!
Favorite thing to do with Mom: Hugs – This one made me happy, this is also my favorite thing to do with him!

Santa Claus Letter

2008-12-27T08:54:00.008-05:00

Two weeks before Christmas Ethan received a letter from Santa. He was so excited about the letter he couldn’t sit still. After reading it we had to call both sets of grandparents and have us read the letter to them. He never grew tired of hearing his letter.

In case you’re wondering Santa’s address at the North Pole is; http://www.santassecretary.com/default.asp

Christmas Cards

2008-12-26T17:37:00.004-05:00

Several of you have offered compliments on our Christmas cards. It was important that we include Carter in his first card as a member of the Brown Family. I had a concept and a list of things that we liked and wanted included. Our neighbor, Kelly runs a home based graphic design company, Perilight Graphics and designed the cards for us. She does birthday and wedding invitations, baby announcements, and holiday cards. If you would like to see more of her work or contact her about an upcoming project you can visit her blog at http://www.perilight.com/index.html.

Snowed In

2008-12-26T10:08:00.002-05:00

Last weekend’s winter snow storm allowed us to catch up and start some much needed projects around our house. For the first time in months I have not been too tired or our family has not had more important things we had or needed to do.

Things we did during the snow storm:
-Laundry
-Cooked another homemade meal
-Browned turkey for future meals
-Cleaned bedrooms including new sheets
-Cleaned bathrooms including closets and drawers
-Washed and replaced everyday dishes for Christmas setting
-Chris repaired our dishwasher and saved us a $60.00 service call
-Wore pajamas all day! We all took showers/baths after dinner and put on clean pajamas

Carter Update

2008-12-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

Our house is starting to show signs up the upcoming addition to our family, Carter. Bottles are in the cabinet, hooded towels in the bathroom closet, Christmas presents to and from Carter scattered around the living room, not to mention his new room. In case you haven’t seen me lately the BIGGEST reminder is my ever growing belly!

Unlike Ethan, Carter moves around regularly and reacts to pokes and prods and even seems to respond to his big brother’s voice. Nearly every time Ethan sits on my lap and/or talks with Carter he moves like crazy. Chris teases it’s the boy’s competing for my attention while I like to think of it as two brothers bonding.

I have another ultrasound scheduled for January 9, to track the baby’s growth. At nineteen weeks he weighed 12 ounces, and twenty five-weeks he weighed 1 pound 12 ounces. The doctor said he will induce at 38-39 weeks making delivery somewhere between February 14 & 28, assuming no surprises. I will post ultrasound pictures along with his new weigh after my appointment.

Mike in Baghdad

2008-12-08T09:04:00.002-05:00

We received a picture of Mike from Camp Victory in Baghdad Iraq.

Young Darth Vader

2008-10-30T08:16:00.011-04:00

A long time ago in a office far, far way......

There is a little boy that wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween. So his parents decided to let him join the dark side for this holiday. He prepared by watching Star Wars and asking many questions about the force. He practiced with his light saber every day. However this young Darth Vader was unhappy he wanted his father to be a Stormtrooper. His father said "Halloween is for little kids..." Unknown to the young Darth Vader his wish was already set and there was no denying his destiny.

Ethan (Young Darth Vader) practicing his lightsaber skills.

Young Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper meet for the first time.

Ethan is very excited that his destiny has come true. His Daddy is a Stormtrooper!

Young Vader being very proud!

Now Young Darth Vader is complete or is he? Young Darth meets his larger Master "Darth Vader" they duel to find out who will be the leader of the galaxy!

Build-a-Bear

2008-10-05T16:36:00.002-04:00

Chris and I have been waiting since Ethan was a baby for the perfect age and opportunity to take him to Build a Bear. We wanted him to be old enough to understand and appreciate the experience but not too old to think it was cheesy. The evening of his fourth birthday seemed to be just that opportunity. It was evident when we walked in the door we had waited just long enough!

He had troubles selecting an animal so we had to narrow his choices to three of which he finally selected a zebra. He chose a giggle for the sound and named his zebra, Boo Boo. For all of you who thought I could shop, you should see Ethan! Within three minutes he had three pirate outfits, a Michigan shirt, a Michigan hat, glasses, slippers, and a brush ready for checkout.

Stuffing his new friend.

Helping the man sew Boo Boo.

Ethan bathed Zebra him for a long time. He was

concerned he was tinky (stinky).

The birthday boy.

Birthday Surprise

2008-10-05T16:35:00.010-04:00

When Ethan got home from daycare on his birthday he had a surprise waiting. The Clark’s and Napper’s had decorated the porch for his birthday.

Thank you Clark’s and Napper’s!

Ethan's Birthday Party

2008-10-05T15:39:00.014-04:00

Ethan decided months ago he wanted a pirate birthday party. Chris and I were off to work making invitations, a map for the treasure hunt and our first ever theme inspired cake. The treasure hunt included; walking the plank, a tattoo station, breaking the cannon balls (black balloons with candy and change inside), tossing rings on a pirate ship, and collecting a bag full of treasures. I was a little hesitant about making the cake but with a little encouragement from Kelly and Carrie decided to give it a try. Several people thought we bought the cake from the store so our first attempt was a success! We are now left to decide if we should have a large party each year or only occasionally, any thoughts?

Grandma Badger and Krauss dressed as
pirates for the party.

Ethan walking the plank.

Brittyn tossing rings on the pirate ship.

Our party guests.

Ethan and Isaac popping the cannon balls.

The Birthday Boy

Summer 2008

2008-10-05T15:24:00.000-04:00

Summer at our house is the busiest time but also most enjoyable. A typical weeknight at our house includes a quick dinner, dishes and then outside to play, all hopefully by 6:30. We play until 8:00, take a bath, and in bed by 8:30. You can probably tell why we found ourselves wishing for the occasional rainy night. Early in the summer Chris built Ethan a swing set which was a hit. Many nights and weekends were spent on the sing set, jumping on the neighbor’s trampoline, riding bikes, and racing around the houses. Yes, racing around the house. This was an idea one of the neighbors came up with to wear the kids out so they would go right to bed.

Strasburg Railroad

2008-10-05T14:13:00.015-04:00

While in Pennsylvania we went to the Strasburg Railroad with Grandpa Brown, Chris’ sister, Kim, husband, Andy and our nephew Ben. Both Ethan and Ben have been train lovers for most of their short lives so our trip seemed like a natural fit. We were served lunch aboard a steam train from the 1800’s. After the ride we toured the train yard and museum and shopped in the gift shop.

Here comes the train!

Our train.

Lunch aboard the train.

Ethan, Uncle Andy, and Ben!

Shoveling the coal.

Family Reunion

2008-10-05T14:09:00.012-04:00

Our family along with Grandma and Grandpa Brown rented a van with a DVD player for our twelve hour journey to Pennsylvania for the Trees’ family reunion. We were a little concerned about the amount of time we would be spending in the van but planned ahead by bringing movies, crafts, and books to help pass the time. Our efforts were rewarded with a relatively smooth trip.

For a portion of our vacation we stayed at Chris’ Aunt Mary and Uncle Eric’s who have an underground pool. Ethan swam daily and by the end of our stay was jumping in, and diving off the diving board into someone’s arms. The annual family reunion was held at a park and gave Chris and me an opportunity to see several family members that we hadn’t seen since our wedding and to introduce Ethan to the family. Ethan had recently learned about the new baby and proudly told anyone that would listen, "Mommy has a baby in her belly!"

Ethan ready to travel!

Flying a kite at the reunion.

Candy hunt with Ben!

GO!

Mr. Fearless jumping to Aunt Kim

Craig's Cruisers

2008-09-14T22:00:00.010-04:00

Chris’ sister and family were here from Connecticut for a week in July. Ethan was especially anxious to see Ben who was born on the same day just five minutes before him. Numerous times during their visit we got the boys together including this night for some fun at Craig’s Cruisers and ice cream at Culver’s. The competitive side of the dads came out once they got into the go karts. Andy ended up victorious, even capturing the lap record for the day!

These guys have been watching too
much NASCAR.

The winners!

These two are always happy when together.

The serious pose!

Water fight!

The result of ice cream with prinkles
(sprinkles) or nerds.

Samuel

4th. of July

2008-09-14T21:02:00.007-04:00

For the second consecutive year Firefighter Mike invited our family to ride on a fire truck during Cascade’s 4th of July Parade. Our neighbor, Jeff is also a full time firefighter for Cascade and was able to get the Clarks and Nappers a ride in the parade. We had a little bit of time before the parade started so we had a little fun taking various pictures of the kids. Ethan was excited about the ride but more excited to enjoy the rides at the end of the parade route with cousin Ben and the neighbors. Mike co-hosted his annual dunk tank show at the fair afterwards. Several kids anxiously lined up for a chance to dunk Mike but Ethan refused concerned that Mike would get hurt.

Spencer, Brittyn, Madi, Isaac, and Ethan

Block Party

2008-09-10T21:55:00.010-04:00

Our neighbor, Kelly planned our neighborhood's first annual block party. Everyone was surprised when more than sixty people showed up. Everyone brought their own meat and a dish to pass. We played games and ended the night with sparklers. One of our neighbors collected contact information including email addresses which came in handy when a few cars were broken into a month or so ago. Within hours an email was circulated regarding the break-ins and communication regarding what was lost and what people had seen began.

Our neighbors

Grill Masters...Chris, Jon, and Shane

Ethan with his 3 legged partner, Ayden

Slow and steady didn't win us the race!

Baby Brown

2008-09-10T21:47:00.004-04:00

Within five minutes of arriving home on the day I found out I was expecting Ethan asked if I had a baby in my belly. A few weeks later and still before we had told him he told me that he thinks I have two babies in my belly and I just don’t know it. It’s almost as if he knew but he never overheard us talking so how?

When we finally told Ethan we were expecting he immediately started referring to the baby as a girl. He is not willing to consider any other possibility. I explained that we had to wait until the doctor took a picture of mommy's belly and see if their was a penis before we would know. A few days later he came over with his water camera, lifted my shirt and said, “No penis, it’s a girl”. He is as waiting as patiently as he can until mid October when the two of will get confirmation that it is a girl.

Strawberry Picking

2008-09-10T21:12:00.005-04:00

Twice during strawberry season Ethan was able to go strawberry picking. First, with Aunt Kelly and cousins Alexiss, Steven, Hunter, and Hope. As you can tell by the pictures Ethan had a great time and from what I heard sampled as many berries as he picked! The next time we went with the Clark's and Nappers. Ethan's favorite part of his second trip was riding in the Clark's van. Sometimes it takes so little to make a three year old happy! With the berries from this outing we made strawberry jelly!

Ethan with his cousins

Deliberation...to eat or put in the basket

Follow the leader

Silly Ethan!

Buddies Ethan and Isaac

Time to catch up!

2008-09-10T21:05:00.003-04:00

Many of you have commented that our blog has not been updated in two months. Rest assured the Brown family had not been sitting home with nothing to do. The opposite has been true! Since we last blogged we have learned that we are expecting. The final member of our family is due March 6.

A few of the things that have kept us busy include strawberry picking, assisting in the planning of our neighborhood’s first block party, riding a fire truck in Cascade’s Fourth of July Parade, vacationing in Pennsylvania, spending a weekend in Canada, painting the first floor of our house, building a shed, planning a pirate birthday party, and temporarily saying good-bye to my brother who is being deployed to Iraq. In the next couple of weeks we will attempt to bring our blog up to date with pictures and details of these events.

Sleeping Position Part 1

2008-07-01T11:46:00.004-04:00

This will be regularly updated as we take pictures of Ethan's different sleeping positions.

MOWING

2008-07-01T10:22:00.005-04:00

Father and Son time!

Ethan's Morning

2008-07-01T10:12:00.004-04:00

We usually have to wake Ethan up to go to Childtime. However on this morning he decided he want to wake up at 6:40am. Ethan wanted a snack, a drink and to sit on the couch and watch "Max and Ruby". We gave him a waffle, milk and a blanket. He covered himself all the way up so only his head was sticking out from the blanket. When he want a piece of waffle he would reach outside the blanket put in his mouth and his hand would go right back in just like a turtle. He is so funny!

Out at the movies!

2008-06-30T15:29:00.005-04:00

Opening weekend for WALL-E and Ethan, Ben, Uncle Andy, Uncle Chris, Aunt Melissa and Aunt Kim all were excited! Ethan kept jumping around waiting to get popcorn. Andy said he looked like Richard Simmons doing exercises. They boys had so much fun. It was Ben's first time to the big screen and when the lights when down he said "Now it is really dark!" The boys were great and loved the movie.

Mommy's Sunshine

2008-06-19T20:54:00.004-04:00

Since Ethan was a baby I would sing him "You Are My Sunshine". Early last week he asked me to sing the sunshine song and every since I have been singing it daily. After a few days he started singing along with me and once even ended with "please don't take my mommy away." I am treasuring all the opportunities I get to be the object of his affection knowing that I will not always be his sunshine.

Mommy

Little Boys Day

2008-06-18T11:30:00.010-04:00

One day while riding in the car we were talking about Mothers Day and Fathers Day. Ethan asked “What about Little Boys Day?” So we decided to give Ethan his Little Boys Days. Ethan chose the food; hot dogs, finger jello, and cheddar pringles.

Ethan and the neighbors came over for lunch and to play outside all day in the pools, slides and sprinklers. The weather was perfect!

That evening we all went to the Napper’s house for dinner and all the kids slept good until the thunderstorms came when we got over 3 inches of rain. At least it held off during the day.

TIRED BOY!!!

2008-06-03T10:09:00.005-04:00

I don't know what we did this day but Ethan was a little bit tired in the afternoon. GO BLUE!!!

Trip to the Mike's Fire Station

2008-06-03T09:45:00.007-04:00

It was Mother's Day, Melissa was very sick (Cold) it was raining and Ethan and Dad decided to go out and let Melissa rest. Lets go to Mike's fire station for some fun!

Wedding Bells

2008-05-29T21:29:00.004-04:00

Lately all Ethan talks about is getting married. I asked him once why he wanted to get married for which he replied, "because I want to be a daddy". One day I caught him getting dressed for his "wedding". Appropriate dress in his eyes included shorts, dad's belt and a pajama shirt.

It all started with my wedding ring which Ethan has consistently taken credit for buying. I briefly explained that mom and dad got married in a church and bought rings for each other. Following all of our conversations I would tell Ethan mom and dad got married because they loved each other. While at Grandma Brown's house a couple of weeks ago I asked him in front of Grandma, "why did mom and dad get married"? He proudly replied, "because I was in mom's belly". So much for his math skills, we were married for more than 5 years when he was born.

Another time while playing at our neighbors, the Clark's Ethan pretended to play family. He was the husband, Madi the wife, a stuffed doll/animal dressed in a sleeper as the baby and poor Isaac was the family dog on the end of a dog leash.

Lighting "ETHAN BROWN"

2008-04-29T08:26:00.006-04:00

Like Father, Like Son!!!

ABC's

2008-04-09T16:04:00.003-04:00

Ethan gets pretty excited doing his ABC's!

Pirate Ethan

2008-04-08T16:53:00.004-04:00

ARGH!!!

Hot Tub Party

2008-03-25T09:15:00.008-04:00

Ethan was invited over the the Napper's for a HOT tub party. It wasn't too hot otherwise Ethan would never have got in the tub. There was lots of splashing and laughing. The kids had a great time! Thanks Napper's!!!

Ethan's Easter Weekend

2008-03-25T08:37:00.013-04:00

Once again Easter was a wonderful time with family and friends. Here is just some of what we (Ethan) did.

Happy Easter Everyone!

THUNDER VALLEY!!!!!

2008-03-18T16:08:00.009-04:00

Dad and I went to "Thunder Valley" this past weekend. Otherwise known as Bristol Motor Speedway. Some of you may find it hard to believe but this was my first NASCAR race. I have wanted to go to this race track for a long time and it was everything I had imagined.

It took us about 1 hour to get into the track once we hit the traffic. We parked about 3/4 mile from the track and walked in. We planned this to hopefully get out of the track without having a long wait. It worked it only took 30 minutes to get to the highway after the race ended.

We walked up to the track and the grandstands seem to go up forever. We went in and our seats were in turn 2 row 21. "GREAT SEATS!!!!" Looking around the track we could see almost all the track.

The race started and I am very glad to have hearing protection. I took the protection off once to hear what it was like and it almost made me sick it was so LOUD!!

It was a great race and a great time! Here is a movie and some pictures.

Monsters in the Closet

2008-03-17T21:45:00.008-04:00

Ethan and Grandpa Brown played in the closet on Wednesday. They brought in blankets, pillows and a flashlight to see.

It looks like Grandpa had more fun than Ethan.

Ethan's First Dentist Appointment

2008-03-14T09:17:00.008-04:00

We had been practicing with Ethan for weeks before his first dentist appointment. We told him he had to open his mouth big enough for an airplane. Grandma Brown got Ethan books from the library on going to the dentist. Thank you Grandma!

Almost Time!

"I love this chair!"

"Open Wide!"

Ethan was GREAT! He let them do what ever they wanted to. Pictures (not x-rays), cleaning and flossing. All the pre-dentist planning worked!