December 31, 2011
We had such a wonderful Christmas! We had the honor of hosting some of Derek’s family for the holiday and it really was perfect. Derek’s brother, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew all drove from Portland on Christmas Eve and arrived around lunch time. They were immediately at home and family time began. We had a smorgasbord of food, football (or was it basketball?) on the TV, and some lazy, Christmasy hours commenced.
The cousins made Evelyn a matching blanket and they all had fun playing
We decorated Christmas cookies
Read some stories
Got ready for church
We had a lovely time at our church’s Christmas Eve service. Then we came home, had some dinner, did some Christmas crafts and got the kids settled down for bed (they were excited to sleep so Christmas would come sooner). After the kids were in the bed, the adults enjoyed some time drinking homemade kahlua and coffee (thanks, Marcie!), stuffing stockings, and staying up much too late.
Christmas crafts
Derek made homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning but did all the prep work the night before so all we had to do was pop them in the oven the next day!
Merry Christmas!
Sophia and Alex patiently waited for Evelyn to wake up and for the adults to get coffee
Grandma Kathy Skyped in to enjoy the gift opening
Her very own little kitchen!
YUMMY!
The perfect gift for our daughter who is currently obsessed with airplanes (Thanks, Grandma!)
She kind of got tired of opening gifts so decided to play on them instead
A box full of gifts from Auntie Mandy
A teapot from Auntie Jenn and Tio (Uncle Richie)
He was kind of excited
The only time we will allow Beaver gear in our house!
Trying on Alex’s “hat”
Name puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa Brown
Playing with her new laptop
Tea party with Tio
And some family group shots
The day after Christmas – play continues
Cute cousins
The holiday went by far too fast. They arrived Christmas Eve and left the day after Christmas. But we are so thankful that we were able to spend Christmas with family in our own home. Lots of memories were made and we had such a blast.
December 23, 2011
Christmas is in 2 days, wow! I am currently sitting here with a cup of coffee watching the gorgeous, pink sunrise and thinking of all the last minute things I need to get done before Christmas Day. Though there is no snow and it’s not supposed to be a white Christmas, I can’t complain about the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having (and when I say “warm”, I mean 40s). We are excited to be hosting Christmas this year and will have some of Derek’s family arriving tomorrow morning. It will be a house full of family with lots of food and many memories to be made. We cannot wait!
Though Evelyn celebrated her first Christmas last year, she understands a lot more this year and seeing her little face light up when she sees “mis mis lights” or “mis mis trees” or hears “bimble bells” is priceless. Celebrating Christmas when you have a kid is a whole new, wonderful experience. We have found ourselves going a little over the top for her sake and it’s such a blast.
A couple weeks ago we picked out our Christmas tree at a local lot (we weren’t willing to risk cutting down our own this year and getting stuck in the snow again!), put on some Christmas music, dressed Evelyn in her Christmas PJs and decorated the tree.
Oops! A “Christmas Vacation” moment
It’s blury but I still love it
Evelyn helping with the final touch
We are feeling very blessed by all the Christmas cards we have been receiving and so grateful for friends and family near and far.
Have a very, Merry Christmas!
December 11, 2011
Thanksgiving 2011 looked an awful lot like Thanksgiving 2010. Turkey Trot 5k in the morning and Thanksgiving dinner with the entire fam at my sisters house, oh and with the added bonus of my husband becoming a doctor. No big deal.
Turkey Trot 5k:
Thanksgiving dinner and family:
Happy Holidays!
December 1, 2011
On Thanksgiving Day, not only did we run a 5k and eat lots of food, but my amazing husband became a DOCTOR! It’s official and he has very much earned this title. I am so proud!
This is before our Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving morning. My sister made Derek a shirt that says “Don’t Worry I’m a Doctor” on the front and “Dr. Brown” on the back. The run was the perfect opportunity to wear it.
Congratulations, Dr. Brown!
(For a recap of my 5k race, check it out here)
November 14, 2011
Due to some recent computer issues, we haven’t really had the chance to upload any photos for a couple of weeks. However, our flip video camera has been out in full force and we have been capturing lots of Evelyn moments. She is growing and changing so much. Her speech changes and vocabulary grows daily. She is a sponge and will attempt to mimic almost anything we do or say (we have to be careful sometimes!). She is full of energy and keeps us on our toes. She absolutely adores her daddy but she is a mama’s girl (as of now) through and through. She has started saying “mommy” on occasion and if possible it may be even sweeter than “mama”.
Evelyn really enjoys to sing and is getting better and better. The other day Derek tried to teach her “Jingle Bells”. This is not her best rendition but the end of the video shows something she has been doing A LOT of lately:
"Dada do it" and "Mama do it" are said multiple times daily (usually in
reference to singing a song) and answering "k" to her own questions
continues to crack us up especially when it's something that she wants
that is not actually ok.
Purposefully hiding things and asking where they went has become a new
favorite. She has also picked up from us how to reply with "I don't
know" ("I no no"). It's pretty darn cute:
She is currently obsessed with airplanes. She hears airplanes flying by
when we are in our house (even when we don't hear them) and almost always
runs to the window to try and find them. She gets pretty stoked when she
happens to spot one while she's playing outside:
I am not even sure what is happening in this video but it captures some
of the essence of Evelyn. Her silliness and fun spirit:
I guess it was inevitable but she has fully learned the word "no" and
loves to use it:
Since this video her "no" has become much more clear (much to my dismay).
Her first response to almost everything right now is "no".
She has also started doing this which is pretty adorable:
October 23, 2011
While I am quite sad to see Summer go away, I have come to the conclusion that I actually like Fall. The colors, the smells, the pumpkins, the meals, the sweaters and boots…oh my!
This past week we took Evelyn to a local farm to visit the Pumpkin Patch, she is quite obsessed with “pun-tins” and was in heaven seeing them sprawled across the field. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed some wonderful family time together.
October 21, 2011
You may remember back in July when I mentioned that I had registered for my first half marathon. Well, as of last weekend, that half marathon has been conquered and completed! Jess and I had great fun training together (from afar) and ran the entire 13.1 mile race side-by-side. Our official time was 2:18:53
The final push to the finish line
Through our training, Jess and I found ourselves constantly wanting to write down or share our struggles or new tips or just how awesome our run was that day. From this we got the idea to start our very own mommy-runner blog! There are several of these out there so we thought “why not?” and therefore our very own blog was born. It’s called The Mommy Miles (www. themommymiles.blogspot.com) and I would absolutely love for you to follow along as we continue our running adventures and juggle all elements of life as running moms. You can also find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@TheMommyMiles).
For a full race report of my half marathon, head on over to The Mommy Miles and read my post here.
October 6, 2011
Last week Derek flew back to Scotland to defend his PhD dissertation. After 24 hours of travel, a 4 day stay in Edinburgh, a one and a half hour brutal defense, I can now say that he has successfully passed! He has a few minor changes to make before he officially re-submits but it looks like the degree will be conferred on November 24, 2011! So on Thanksgiving Day we can truly and officially call him Dr. Derek Ryan Brown, PhD.
I am so proud!
September 30, 2011
Can you believe that my daughter is one and a half today?! I can hardly believe it myself. I feel like 18 months is quite a big deal, maybe the official entry into toddlerhood? Though I personally think she’s been there a while now!
Exactly 18 months ago she was this:
And now our silly little girl is this:
Evelyn is an absolute joy! She cracks us up on a daily basis and is just so full of life and energy. Granted she is hard to keep up with, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. She is always on the go, constantly absorbing new information and is getting taller by the day. The summer has been amazing because she truly loves being outside. She would probably pitch a tent and live in the backyard if we let her! She is learning so much and her vocabulary grows by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. We’re understanding more and more what she is trying to tell us and we know that she understands most things we try to communicate to her (even if she chooses not to listen sometimes!). She still loves to dance and her new thing is jumping (“jump, jump, jump” she says) or at least her version of jumping. She’s pretty stinkin adorable.
She hasn’t had her 18 month check-up yet but we did weigh her on the scale at the airport a couple weeks ago and she was about 25 pounds. I imagine she is still in the upper percentile for height as well since she is taller than all her little friends and we constantly get the “she’s tall” comment. I guess she had better get used to hearing it!
She has recently learned her shapes and we are very proud, here’s a video:
And one of her jumping:
