Holiday Concerts

This week the kids had their holiday performances at school.  With 3 kids in the same school that means overlap for mom & dad.  Luckily the school knows that many people have multiple kids in the school so they do the toddler activities a little earlier than the other kids.  That meant we all went to Jonathan's performance and then Mr. Brown and I split up for the other two.

The Toddler Room sang just one song - about all you can get out of 2 year olds!  But they were darn cute doing it!

Jonathan had no interest in actually performing so he just watched from the sidelines.  Yep - that's him over on the left.  He's getting so big and yet still quite the peanut compared to his peers.

I spent most of my time in Allison's room so I got the most pictures of that.  She got to introduce a Kwanzaa song that they sang.

I did manage to sneak into Peter's class for a song as well.

All in all they had a great time.

And I made some wreaths for 2 of the classes to display their cards from all the parents & kids that went with the Christmas bonuses people donated.  The crayon wreaths were a HUGE hit.  Just some cardboard wreath forms, 2 boxes of 64 crayons each and lots of hot glue!

Overheard

As Allison climbed into the car for school this morning...

"I don't know why we bought a house that has spider webs!".
Said with complete indignance.

First Day of School

This is Peter's first year of preschool. He is joining Allison's Montessori school but is in a different classroom. Last year there were quite a few tears from Allison as we dropped her off. Of course once we were gone she was fine.

This year was very different. Both kids were very excited. I think Peter was a bit nervous but with big sis to guide him he never let on. And I know it went well because when I dropped them off this morning we walked in the door and they both immediately took off for the playground. One of the teachers saw me without the kids and asked where they were. I answered that I had no idea and that clearly there were no issues with separation anxiety in our family.

I like that Peter has his own class. The Montessori philosophy combines age groups. So in our particular school students in class can range from 2.5 - 6. But they try to keep siblings apart so they can have their own experiences. I think this is fantastic because for so long he's taken on the role of side-kick. I'm excited for him to develop his own friends and interests that he can then share with Allison.

Now, what you really want... the photos:

In front of the school

At home:

Dad ready for work

Mom ready for a job interview (!)

And for good measure.... baby Jonathan

The current obsession in our house is with Rapunzel. Disney's new animated princess movie Tangled is really cute and we've probably watched it somewhere near 100 times so far. (no, really not exaggerating!)

As a result, Rapunzel is the favorite princess in our house these days. And it's not just limited to Allison. EVERYONE has to get in on the act. Allison is, of course, Rapunzel. And Peter gets to be her unlikely common-criminal-turned-true-love Flynn Ryder. Mr. Brown gets to be a second Flynn Ryder. And baby Jonathan alternates between the 3rd string Flynn and the chameleon Pascal.
What about me? Well, I tried auditioning for the part of the silent but beautiful and kind Queen. Instead I have been cast as Mother Gothel. Upon my protests I was told that I "could be a nice Mother Gothel." Well that makes it better. Although I personally can't imagine a universe where a woman who is several hundred years old as a result of hording a magical flower and subsequently kidnapping and imprisoning an innocent baby princess could be considered "nice." But, hey, what do I know?

So every day we pretend we are the Rapunzels and Flynn Ryders of the world. To complete the picture Allison uses two scarves tucked into the back of her dress to act as her long hair.

I have to admit there are several advantages to this pretend scenario.
1. the kids play together nicely. There are very few arguments between the lost princess and her friends.
2. the role of Mother Gothel allows me to make requests of Rapunzel such as picking up toys or clearing dishes that actually get done because it's all just part of the game.
3. it's nice to see them playing together rather just making a big mess

This stage of pretend play is very fun to watch.

Cinderella, Cinderella

Cinderelly, Cinderelly
Night and day it's Cinderelly
Make the fire, fix the breakfast
Wash the dishes, do the mopping

And the sweeping and the dusting
They always keep her hopping

She goes around in circles
Till she's very, very dizzy
Still they holler

Keep a-busy Cinderelly!

Allison has been on a dress-up kick lately. Actually, it's not so much dress-up as it is a "wear my Cinderella (Halloween costume) dress as often as possible." I suppose she loves that it is long and has sparkles on it.  She's worn it everywhere: to the pediatrician's office, to the grocery store, daycare, and just about everywhere else's we've gone in the last few months.

Yesterday I needed to vacuum (happens a lot with 3 kids) and she begged to help. So she had her first crack at pushing the vacuum unassisted. She actually did pretty well considering the vacuum is still taller than she is.  But the pictures of her cleaning the floor in her Cinderella dress cracked me up and just had to be captured. I swear I didn't make her vacuum.

Food Fight!

Okay, there was no fighting involved.  Actually, there wasn't even much fussing involved.

But last night Jonathan got his very first taste of real food! 

First food: avocado.  Yep, avocado.  Not rice cereal.  Not oatmeal.
I mashed the avocado and mixed with a LOT of formula so it was soupy.  Over the next week I'll make it a bit thicker each day.  But I wanted to start with it pretty liquidy.

How did he like it?  Not too bad. 

Getting ready for that first bite.  A bit unsure.

"Um, what on earth is THIS?"

"Okay, seriously, what IS this?"

"Let me just play with this in my mouth a bit."

"Let's do that AGAIN!"

Pretty much every bite went like this: Interest, yucky face, followed by smacking it a bit and swallowing happily.

Classic

Why avocado, you might ask?  Well, I know the standard is to use cereal of some kind.  But I have this theory that by making carbohydrates the first food for our children we set them up for a life of carb loving.  I have no basis of this belief but I figure it can't hurt to start with a fruit/veg.  I chose avocado because it's full of healthy fats, fairly mild in flavor, and can be mashed into baby food without any cooking or added water.  Each of the other kids started with avocado as well.  In fact, last night I was thinking that between the other two kids I probably didn't finish an entire box of rice cereal total.  I only ever gave Allison a few servings of just cereal.  Mostly I just used to to beef up the Stage 1 purees and make them heartier after they had them act of eating them down. And since we've waiting until 5 1/2+ months to start solids with our kids, I felt more comfortable going with something more "real."



it just gets funnier!

I swear that Allison gets more and more funny each day!

Last night at bedtime she asked daddy why his hair is always "like that."  Here's how it went:

Allison: "Daddy, why is your hair always like that?" (said as she touches his hair)
Mr Brown: "Like what?"
Allison: "Like this!" (as you pushes all of her hair over the top of her head to the other side)
Me: "I'm pretty sure she's saying you have a comb-over!"
Allison: "Yeah, comb-over"
Me: laughing hysterically.

Seriously, I can't remember the last time I heard something funnier than a 3 year old saying the phrase "comb over"

The funniest part of it is that Mr. Brown doesn't have anything close to a comb over.  I'm pretty sure she was trying to make her hair stand up on top like his does.  But it really looked like she was simulating a comb-over!

Joy

Jonathan Lawrence

On September 3, 2010 Jonathan Lawrence Brown entered the world at 12:30 pm.  He weighed 6lbs, 5 ounces was 18.5 inches long.



It took Mr. Brown and me a long time to decide on a name for this little guy.  We even knew it was a boy (although that was a little secret just between us) and still had a hard time.  We needed something that fit well with Allison and Peter and could grow and change with him as he made his way through the world.

In the end, we were inspired to honor our son by giving him two incredible namesakes - his grandfathers.  My father (Jonathan, aka Jon) and Mr. Brown's father (Lawrence, aka Larry) are two of the best men we know.  If this little guy turns out to be half the man his namesakes are he is destined to be an amazing addition to our society.

For now we just call him Jonathan although I'm sure at some point he'll figure out his own nickname to go by.

Allison and Peter are in LOVE with their new brother.  The both wake up every morning wanting to see "the little guy" before doing anything else.  They love to show him off to their friends, give him kisses, share their toys, help make his bottles and just generally let him know that he is loved.  It's amazing to me as a mother and I feel so blessed that we have not had to deal with the jealousy that I know often accompanies a new baby in a family.

Baby Jonathan is now 2.5 months old. At his two month doctor visit he weighed in at a measly 9lbs, 15 ounces and 21.5 inches in length.  So he really is our "little guy" - He's like 5-10 percentile on the height/weight charts. 

He started at daycare last week and so far is doing great.  Peter loves having a little brother to share with his friends there.  I miss him a lot while I'm at work - I especially miss what a great snuggler he is and our mid-morning cat naps together.  But we try to make up for it in the evenings.  Trust me, if you could snuggle with him on your chest for a nap you'd never want to go to work either!

Picasso Pictures

Just in case you wanted to see the damage done here are a few photos.  The wet spots are from where we tried using the Magic Eraser to clean it off.

Visitors

In November we were lucky enough to have two rounds of visitors.

First, Allison's Godmother, Katie, came for a visit.  That was a wonderful weekend.  Katie & I have been great friends since the first weekend of our freshman year of college.  We have seen each other through college, jobs, moves, marriages and now babies.  Unfortunately she lives on the other side of the country so we don't get to see each other often.  But whenever we do it's like breathing a sigh of relief.

Allison had a great time playing with Katie.

Next we got a visit from Grandma & Grandpa Brown.  The kids had a great time. 

Grandma & Peter watching Mr. Brown and Grandpa play tennis

Playing at the park

Baking banana bread with Grandma

Picture Recap - Halloween

Yes.  I am incredibly behind in my picture posts.  So now you're going to get all caught up at once.

First up.... Halloween.  You may remember (or not) that Allison & Peter were Mickey & Minnie Mouse.  These are some pictures from their trip to Mr. Brown's work for their annual Halloween party for the kids.

Minnie Mouse hard at work

Mickey wondering where his ears went (he wouldn't wear them)

Off to find the people handing out CANDY!

Becoming the Browns - Part 10

Because I’m feeling like a kid at Christmas waiting to share the next part with you…. You have to know what happened at the end of my year in grad school.

April 16, 2004.

It was the weekend before my last week of school.  Mr. Brown said he wanted to go out for a nice evening to celebrate the end of the school year, my internship & graduation.  So he said he’d pick me up at 5 and that I should wear something nice (like a dress – not common attire for a grad student).

When he arrived and I opened the door I was not expecting what I saw.  Mr. Brown was wearing … wait for it … a TUXEDO!  I had my suspicions that he might propose that evening but I was definitely not expecting formal wear.  This was a big night indeed! 

We headed down to his car and I got another big surprise… a stretch limo waiting for us outside of my building.  Yep… tuxedo, limo and…. chilled champagne inside.  Now Mr. Brown is not a man who drinks alcohol.  That’s not to say he has never had a drink but the few he has had have been selected for him and generally, he hasn’t enjoyed them.  So having a bottle of champagne (which I love) was a big step for him.  I learned he had consulted his friend Byron and his wife Karin for advice on a champagne that was sweet enough for him to enjoy and not so sweet as to cause your face to pucker.

After getting the driver (who was incredibly nice) to snap a few pictures (disregard the date stamp – the elder Mrs. Brown’s camera was off by a few hours) we hopped in and headed to an undisclosed location.  He wouldn’t tell me where we were headed.

I was thrilled when after driving for what seemed like forever we arrived at Morton’s in Southfield.  We both love Morton’s.  We’d had the opportunity to eat there a few times in Chicago and have yet to find a steak to beat theirs.  Mr. Brown let me know that the menu was completely open to me.  When our waiter brought the cart displaying the offerings of the day, I was instantly drawn to that gigantic lobster.  Imagine my surprise when he MOVED!  Yes, the lobsters on the cart are indeed still alive.  But not for long.  Soon a delicious, huge, 4 pounder was gracing my plate.  I think Mr. Brown had the porterhouse but I can’t say that I remember specifically since I couldn’t get enough of that tender sweet lobster with butter.  Yum yum!  If you’ve never had the chance to eat a full lobster… find an excuse.  It was heavenly.

We topped it off with wine and a chocolate soufflé.  I could have taken or left the soufflé (it was good, it’s just not my favorite dessert) but it was a nice finishing touch.

Now, the whole time we are eating people are staring.  We are clearly the most dressed up folks in the place.  And we are ordering lavishly.  There is reason to be curious.  Everyone asked what we were celebrating.  Mr. Brown, ever calm, stuck to his story that we were celebrating my graduation.  I, of course, kept wondering IF and WHEN he was going to get around to the real reason for the evening.  I had no proof but it certainly seemed obvious.  But we finished dessert and left the restaurant with nary so much as a mention of wedding bells.

Back to the limo and back toward home.  It seemed like a lot of money and effort just for a nice dinner out.

And there on the interstate, in the backseat of a limousine, Mr. Brown got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.  What came next (now, now, get your mind out of the gutter)… tears, kisses, laughter, hugs and of course… YES!  I said yes! (I’m sure you guessed that since this is the story of the Browns… not of Mr. Brown and Mrs. Somebody-else’s-wife)

It was perfect.  While leaving the restaurant I had been a tad bit disappointed I was secretly relieved that we were able to share that special moment alone without the prying eyes of strangers.  (The driver doesn’t count… I’m pretty sure he knew it was coming.  I also think the divider was up.)  And of course, it had been planned all along that way.  Mr. Brown knew I wouldn’t prefer a public proposal.  And he also wanted to make it happen as close as possible to where it all began – in a limo.

We stopped at a park for a few more pictures and then headed back to my place to properly examine that sparkling lump of carbon. 

Oh – in case you’re wondering about the ring… it is a brilliant cut solitaire in a semi-cathedral setting on a medium-width 18k gold band.  Simple but beautiful… just like I had always wanted.  This was a man who took notes (at least mental ones).

This isn't my actual ring but it's a very close approximation.

And if you think you might be about to lose your lunch from the sappy romance of it all then hold on to those air-sick bags for another minute longer.  There was one last surprise for me.

The next morning Mr. Brown again spirited me away to an undisclosed location.  It turned out to be my regular salon.  For a prescheduled, prepaid manicure.  If I was going to be showing off that rock, I certainly couldn’t have shabby nails hogging the spotlight!

 ********

Answers to a few questions you may be asking yourself.

Did Mr. Brown ask for your father for your hand in marriage?

Sort of.  My parents live in California.  Mr. Brown lived in Illinois.  He did not make a personal visit.  He did call and have a nice long chat with my parents.  Which if you know my father that is not surprising – he’s never been known for his brief conversations!  He told them he was planning to propose and asked for their blessing.  The exact details of that call remain a mystery to me – known only to my dad, Mr. Brown, and possibly my mom.  But they did know in advance.

Did you call everyone as soon as it happened?

No.  I didn’t make a single phone call until the next day.  I called my parents first, around 6 am their time.  I knew they’d be awake.  It turns out my mom had been up waiting by the phone for quite some time already.  She kept asking my dad if she could call me and he insisted that she wait for me to call.  We went to visit Mr. Brown’s family later in the day (after the manicure).  It was actually kind of funny because of all of the friends I tried to call no one was home except my high school best friend. 

What was the first thing you did as an engaged couple?

After Mr. Brown picked me up from the salon we headed right over to the bookstore so I could buy a wedding planning book.  That probably doesn’t surprise most of you.

How did Mr. Brown know what kind of ring you wanted?

I dropped many not so subtle hints.  And he had straight out asked me several months earlier if I preferred yellow or white gold.  My basic ring philosophy was to not waste money on side bling but instead to focus on the main attraction.  I was never shy about sharing that.

How did Mr. Brown pick out the ring?  How did he learn about the 4Cs?

First Mr. Brown bought a book about diamonds.  Then he consulted with Karin for her advice.  She liked to make her own jewelry and was pretty savvy when it came to looking at stones.  She brought her own loup on the shopping trip. It was a good investment of her time.  She helped Mr. Brown find a ring and her own hubby bought her one too!  As a side note, Mr. Brown actually purchased 4 rings but returned 3 of them.

How did Mr. Brown know your ring size?

He didn’t.  He had asked me several months before (just in case he ever needed it).  I hadn’t been sized for a ring in years so I told him what I thought it was (7.5).  Turns out that was way too big.  I took it to be resized the next Monday and had it cut down to 5.75.

Did Mr. Brown know you would say yes?

Yes.  I’m certain he wouldn’t have asked if he had been uncertain of the answer.

How did Mr. Brown think up the idea to schedule a manicure?  That’s brilliant!

This wasn’t actually his idea.  This idea was something I had shared with him many years before.  A coworker of mine had proposed to his girlfriend before they headed out to dinner.  They were late for their reservation because after he proposed she had to stop and paint her nails before she would head out of the house.  He suggested to all the guys that they should just plan on a manicure for their new fiancé to save themselves some headache. 

Why did you order lobster at a steakhouse?

Um… have you had lobster?  Steak is wonderful but…

If you've missed the beginning of this story, go here.

Peter at 1 Year

These pictures are obviously a few months old but still fun to look at.  It took me forever to pick out pictures these past few times.  But as usual, our photographer Andrea did a great job!