Catching up...

I apologize for my lack of blogging late. Sometimes I get into a funk and just don't take the time to make a post. We have been enjoying the spring weather and trying to stay outside as much as possible. We spent most of Spring Break with Nate's family in Hot Springs honoring his cousin Chief Special Warfare Officer Adam Brown who was killed in combat on St. Patrick's day. He died a hero which was just his style. The Navy, his Seal team and hometown gave him a farewell that I will never forget. Nate wanted Will to remember Adam so we took him and Kate with us. I think it stuck with William. His teacher emailed me saying that Will had told her all about Adam and his funeral and how there was an American flag on his "casserole." I thought that was pretty cute. We managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the Tulsa Zoo before Will had to return to reality. Everyone enjoyed the time together.

Adam and his wife Kelley with their kids Nathan and Savannah...this is their last family picture taken before his deployment

Adam's body arriving at the Hot Springs airport

The Seal team and wives made this for Kelley-what a special gift. I think my favorite part of it is seeing his wedding ring on his finger.

My monkeys at the zoo... where they belong!

Will fit the form perfect...maybe that's why he is such a great climber.



Side note...when we got back from Hot Springs, Liv could officially sit up. I was gone two days and missed a milestone!

Easter was a lot of fun this year. The weather was beautiful so we got to celebrate outside! We flew kites, had egg races and had two egg hunts. Will kept shaking the eggs to make sure there was something inside. He got upset when he shook some and they didn't make a noise. From years of experience, I informed him that those are the best eggs...at my parent's house, it usually means there's a dollar bill. Pop and Nanny did not disappoint! :)
The Easter bunny paid us a visit and left these goodies.


A lovely family picture outside the church

Playing at Gramma & PePa's



Dinner at Pop & Nanny's


Will

Kate

Eli

Liv

This last Sunday, Liv turned 8 months old! She weighs 15 lbs and eats anything I put in front of her. Favorites include avocado, banana, yogurt and mum-mum rice crips. She sits up like a pro and army crawls everywhere. We went to Rachel's parent's house to see Rach's new studio (under construction), and she took a couple of pictures of sweet little Liv.



This little boy turns three next weekend! Such a cutie!

6 Months and Growing

Our little Liv turned 6 months old today! She is as sweet as ever and still as light as a feather. She has loved eating cereal and is about to try bananas, sweet potatoes and avocados. Her newest discovery is her toes-they make the perfect between mealtime snack. She prefers to stand instead of sit and enjoys the bouncy game. She loves her brothers and sister and saves all her giggles for them.

Covered!

This weekend Northwest Arkansas was covered in snow! It was a wonderful, long weekend. Friday, the kids played out back and caught snowflakes on their tongues. We got about 8 inches of snow at our house and could hardly open our front door! We made our first-ever batch of snow ice cream and loved it, especially Nate and Will. Will kept saying it was the "bestest ice cream he's ever had."
Playing in the "blizzard"!



Warm and Snug

Saturday, Nate helped a friend put down some flooring and dropped me and the kids off at my parents' for some sledding fun. Ryan, Chi Chi and Brady were there too, making it even better. Rachel took lots of cute pictures of the kids and I in action. We sledded, built a "fort" and a special snowman for Nanny's front yard. If you know my mom, she loves snowmen and has collected lots of them over the years. She had a lovely real one for a few days at least! We ate lots of great food, sat around and played games all day.




Pop & Nanny and their snowman

I stole these from Rachel's blog...can you tell a difference in quality???


Sunday, we made it to church and ate at Jose's for lunch (We are becoming regulars!). While at Jose's, Liv pooped through all of her clothes...she had on tights and there was literally poop down to her toes! (sorry if that's too much info!) Being the always prepared mother that I am, I had no spare clothes to put her in, so my baby was naked (wrapped in a blanket) in the freezing cold! Bad Mommy! We finished Sunday with some long time friends, catching up and letting the kids run out of energy.
Liv...after I cleaned up the remains of her poopy mess and got some clothes on her...little stinker!

Monday, I stayed home with the kids and our cousin Nykile. There was lots of dress up, Legos, movies and play doh! That night Liv ate rice cereal for the first time. I think she liked it. Hard to believe its time to start the solid food journey with her. We ended the evening with a little family rockband....a great, long winter weekend!



Everything is a family affair...

Round Up

Watch out for "da bad boy", "explorer princess" and "Indiana Jones!" They just might be headed to your house next! :)

5 Months Down

Well, Livia Jane is 5 months old! When she was born it was warm and sunny, and lately she is the sunshine in our lives during these cold, winter days. When she smiles, her eyes light up, and it just makes you want to kiss her all over. She loves sitting in her walker and even loves having her siblings all up in her face. I think she loves us already. :) She is getting more fuzz on her head-most days it sticks straight up. She weighs all of 13 lbs, with most of her baby fat in her legs (she actually has a few rolls, which is a first for our Brown babies)! Her favorite place is on her changing table where she kicks, giggles, talks and claps.



Last Sunday, Kate, my mom and I went to see the play "Little House on the Prairie." I grew up reading all the books and watching the old tv show, and mom has always loved Melissa Gilbert who starred as Ma in the play. It really was fun to see, and Kate loved that it was "real people moving around." In preparation for "girls night," we braided Kate's hair, applied blush, mascara (Kate's personal favorite to put on) and LAYERS of lip gloss-every one she owns to be exact. She wore a scarf like mommy's and carried her purse full of Disney princesses and lip gloss. She loved every minute of it, which made it even better for me. I plan to make sure there are plenty more girls nights to come!


On a side note...do not go see Disney's "The Princess and a Frog!" I am extremely disappointed in Disney for thinking that it was appropriate for my children. I wish that I had walked out at the very beginning.

Looking Forward

It's hard to believe 2009 has already come and gone. I am always a little sad to see the year end, but there is something fresh and clean and free about the days to come. I can't wait to see what 2010 holds!

We decided to bring the new year in very loudly this year. Some friends and family came over and played Rockband all night long (somehow three little babies slept through it all)! We had a lot of fun on our Beatles World Tour. My parents stopped by and got into it too...Dad wouldn't give the mic up. Will, Kate and Eli had a movie marathon snuggled up in mommy's bed and got to see the ball drop for the first time. They felt pretty special.




On Sunday, we woke up to the beautiful (unexpected) snow. While Liv took a cozy afternoon nap, we played outside in the FREEZING cold, built a mini-snowman, made snow angels and had a snowball fight--all the standard stuff! My kids loved it and had rosy cheeks for the rest of the night.