BrownTown

ce pain est délicieux

2011-01-29T17:56:00.000-08:00

I have a new favorite bread (other than my mom's of course). I know this is a random subject to blog about when my last blog was months ago, but this is what was on my mind as I sat down to my computer. I guess I'm just shocked that I liked them, but so glad that I do. They don't look very good but taste fantastic! And they each only have 100 calories! Yay!

facebook junkie = long time no blog

2010-10-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

ok, so i don't exactly have much time on my hands since i've been in the dental hygiene program, but i somehow always find time to facebook. if i have pictures that i really want the world to see i will first post them on facebook before the blog. why? i don't know. maybe it is faster or because more of my friends will see them on facebook instead of my blog. but nonetheless, i have sisters who are not on facebook, so (lyric and hollie) this blog is for you. wow, i'm realizing you two really are the only ones not on facebook. no pressure. :)
but for those of you who are on facebook, sorry for the repeat. (i am at school and only have certain pictures on my flash drive). i promise we have taken more than these 14 pictures around here.

for fall break (yes, we have a fall break. never had one until we came here) we went to gatlinburg, tennessee up in the beautiful smoky mountains with some friends. we stayed in the coolest cabin, fully equiped with pool table, air hockey, arcade, movie theater room, hot tub, pool, 5 rooms with kind size beds and fire places, and oh much much more.

we seriously had so much fun and went on the most beautiful hikes. the most perfect time of year, with all the leaves changing.

i have to take pictures of jayden when he doesn't know it otherwise i get a goofy "cheese" face that really looks nothing like a smile.

when we looked online for a cabin, they all had this picture on their website, so we decided to mimick it and send it to our friend trevor who really should have been at the cabin with us. pathology really isn't that important.

this very well could be my most favorite picture. my boys. and owen's cheeks.

he's never laughed so much in his life until we put him in these swings.

Ward Halloween Party

trying on jayden's old chili pepper costume and loving it

NOT! he wasn't too happy to be literally stuffed into a costume. i guess we'll have to come up with a new costume this year. quinn says sumo wrestler. (i just watched a video on sumo wrestlers to get better acquainted with them before i start on his costume. i caught myself laughing out loud while in the library. seeing all those bare bums just make me giggle).

we had to go to the halloween party right after school so there wasn't much time for costumes, but browntown does have quite a few wigs (don't ask me why). they'll just have to do this year.

i couldn't get enough of owen and this wig. oh wait, i can never get enough of owen.

sidenote: cari, please do not comment on this photo ;)

hideous. that's all i have to say about quinn's wig. oh, and that it kept getting in his chili. mmmmm.

jayden loves toystory more than words can describe, so it was just fitting to have him be woody this year.

people kept calling him woody all evening which would always give him a cute grin on his face. (i'm just realizing how old he looks in this picture. my baby's no longer a baby!) ;(

him and his friend won first and second place for best boy costume. woody got second place....always coming in second to buzz. it's those dang cool wings.

my boys

2010-08-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

i am sitting at my dad's computer in nampa, idaho recovering from a recent back surgery and missing my boys like crazy! i am almost crying while posting these pictures. that's how pathetic i am. the tux jayden is wearing was worn by quinn when he was two and owen is wearing his blessing outfit made with love by my mom. owen's blessing went great, other than the fact that i was crying in pain rather than of happiness. but i truly am SO happy. i couldn't have a more perfect baby. owen is seriously the easiest, most mild tempered baby ever, and i love him to death. can you blame me for missing them?!

2010-07-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Quinn passed boards!!!!!! Too bad we are unable to show our celebrations, and congratulations signs, and Quinn's dinner plate with the biggest fattiest steak I've ever seen, and the fun night we spent together, seeing how our camera is still missing.

a little more good news

2010-07-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

both my boys got into the school we wanted! this pre-school has a year and a half waiting list and we finally made it to the top of the list, and just in time! thank goodness because i don't think i could go back to school full-time if i didn't feel comfortable with where my boys were all day. good thing we put them on the list before i got into the program, even if owen was written down as "unborn" and "baby brown".

good news, some more good news, and then a little bad news

2010-07-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

my kid is almost fully potty trained!!! i have not changed a wet or poopy diaper in the last 4 days! he loves going potty and is fascinated by it (i mean, who isn't). it now consumes our day, but has been definitely worth it. i used to hear the word "mommy" or "cars" all day, but now it's "potty!". we are so proud of him. we now just need to teach him to open his bedroom door so he can go by himself at night.the other good news is that quinn has taken boards. it's over! he has studied SO hard for this test; months in fact. i no longer feel like a single parent! he literally studied morning and night for this 8 hour beast of a test. i guess it can't really be great news until we get the results back. i'm positive he did great. we are so proud of you dr. brown.

and now for the bad news, we lost our camera. ok, so i lost our camera. i think i left it on the hood of our car at a bbq and forgot to pick it up. of course just in time for our trip to boise and owen's baby blessing. yes, you read that correctly, we are just now blessing owen; our five month old son. i don't think we'll be hanging his blessing outfit on his bedroom wall.

two's

2010-06-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

i can't get myself to call them the "terrible" two's because my child is far from terrible, but with that said, this age is so far the most difficult. on saturday jayden threw one of his temper tantrums (body flailing on the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs, that sort of thing) outside the gym and i was scolded, along with jayden, by an older lady. i was feeling like a bad mom and called my mom (a mom of 10) for some advice and encouragement. i asked if any of her kids threw tantrums....she said no. at first i was thinking, "well, thanks mom," but then she explained that she never took her kids out of the house. she literally never left the house. as i was thinking about it, his tantrums only come outside of the house; when we're out and about, when he doesn't get to stay and play on the swings or when its time to leave the pool. well, nothing really is resolved seeing how there's no way i could stay in the house all day every day, but she did tell me that its just his age and he'll grow out of it. let's hope.

update

2010-06-21T14:18:00.001-07:00

so here's a quick update:

owen turns 4 months old today! happy 21st!he is the sweetest baby and is growing so fast. SO fast. i mean, he's HUGE! i guess i am comparing him to jayden, who's a runt, but he is only four months old and is over half jayden's weight. he has just started laughing at jayden, which is pretty much the cutest thing i've ever seen.

jayden recently turned 2 years old!

for his birthday we skipped the big party because quinn and all our dental school friends are studying like crazy for boards. instead we decided to go to the zoo to meet pablo from the backyardigans. it was all very exciting. this picture doesn't show it, but jayden couldn't get enough of him and kept giving him kisses.

like i said, quinn is studying for boards so i don't see him much and cannot wait until it is over. for now the boys and i are living the life and trying to make the most of the time we have left together. no, i am not dying, but i am going back to school full-time and won't have the chance to spend all day with them like i do now.

browntown photo shoot

2010-06-09T05:04:00.000-07:00

my excuse for not blogging very much lately is that i detest using our laptop. it is in it's dying days and is as slow as could be. i find myself getting very irritated every time i use it. and let's be honest, i don't need anything else irritating me these days. :)
our friend amber kindly took a few (and by a few i mean 500) pictures of our little family on memorial day. thanks amber. here are a couple, and i will post more of the boys later. maybe on a day where i'm feeling very patient.

baby envy

2010-05-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

is't it usually the younger brother that wants to do everything his older brother does? well, not in our case. jayden wants to swing in the baby swing, be pushed in the stroller, get inside the excersaucer, and most recently be carried in the baby bjorn. you should see the looks we get when we go on walks in our neighborhood. i guess people think its odd to see a kid who can say hi and tell them how old he is being carried in a baby sling. well, we think its funny.

a day in the life

2010-05-23T14:33:00.001-07:00

let me give you a little glimpse of a day in the life of owen.

now owen has an older brother that loves him so much. so much that he has to be touching, patting, kissing, hugging, bouncing, loving, talking to, reading to, and pretty much smothering owen every second of the day.

owen is VERY patient and usually takes it very well, but there are times when it all becomes a little too much.

sometimes he just thinks, "why me?"

but then he remembers that he is already half the weight of his older brother, and will most likely be much bigger than him one day. meaning, that he will be able to retaliate.

it probably doesn't help that owen's mommy and daddy smother him just as much.

the only place he can be at peace is in his crib; away from it all. and where his older brother cannot reach him.

he puts up with a lot in a day. but he hardly ever cries, and even though the pictures don't show it, you can quite often catch him smiling.

a hair cut, mother's day, and a super cute baby

2010-05-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

so much has happened since i blogged last that i don't know where to start, but i also don't want to write a novel, so i'll try to be brief.

up first, a hair cut. we gave j-dogg his very first (and very much needed) hair cut. after watching his hair always fall in his eyes, and always looking wind blown, and even finding gum in his hair, i finally decided that it was time. even though i was the one that initiated the hair cut, i still got emotional. nerdy, i know, but he looked SO much older the instant the hair fell to the ground. we put him in his high chair, put on the bee movie, and gave him a yogurt and he held still for almost the whole time. quinn insisted on cutting his hair, and with sherstine on call, he did a great job. he looks like such a big boy.

up next, mother's day. quinn gave me the best mother's day i've ever had. well, i guess i've only had 3, but this one was by far the best! i woke up to quinn holding a present out to me. it happened to be the first of 21 presents! the first was my favorite trail mix that had a clue on it to where the next present would be. this went on for almost all the presents (which consisted mostly of my favorite candies and cereals), until one clue lead me to the oven where i found a pizza stone. i assumed that was my big present bacause i had been wanting one, until i found inside another clue. it lead me to the back bedroom where i found quinn holding an adorable box and inside was a shiny new itouch! i always told quinn that i wanted an iphone and i would just hold out until we could afford the extra monthly payment, but i found myself drooling over his itouch all the time. now quinn is drooling over mine because its a newer generation.

after a huge lavish breakfast made by my man, we headed off to church. my only complaint this mother's day is that i had to give a talk. i know. who asks a mom to give a talk on mom's day?! and the topic wasn't even on mother's! after church quinn cleaned the house while letting me take a nap (the second best present next to the touch). the tafoya's came over for dinner and the boys made us dinner while shanah and i realaxed and talked. thanks q baby for such a wonderful day.

and last but definitely not least, a super cute baby.

3 years and counting

2010-04-28T20:05:00.001-07:00

on this day 3 years ago i married the man of my dreams. i remember the day we were set up. my sister, hilary, said that she received revelation and that i needed to go out with this guy named quinn. after i got back from my mission i was constantly set up and finally vowed to never go on a blind date again, but seeing how hilary said that right after coming out of the temple i thought it must be true, (and for the fact that she has impeccable taste and is....well...perfect). that night quinn and i went on our first date. i can honestly remember the instant i laid eyes on him for the first time. not only was i floored by his gorgeousness, but i had never met a guy like him before. his smile lit up the room and he seemed genuinely happy to see me, even though he didn't know me. i remember acting like i had to get something out of my car just so that i could hurry and call hilary. pretty much the phone call went something like this, "hilary, he's so hot! k. gotta go." he was in boise just for the weekend to watch his little brother and sister while his parents went on a cruise, so he brought his siblings on our first date. and the way he treated them sealed the deal for me. he was the one. it really was love at first sight.

i can't believe it has only been three years! it feels like we have been married forever. (in a good way, of course). i feel like i've known him my whole life, and even before that. he makes me breakfast on saturday mornings. he is working his butt off in school for me right now. he is the best dad in the world. and he always lets me be right. i love you babe. remember....you promised that we'd die at the same time like on the notebook.

for hilary

2010-04-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

my sister hilary got mad at me (yelling and screaming and even cursing) for not putting any pictures of owen on the blog. just kidding, she actually just mentioned that i finally posted a picture of owen and he has big glasses covering half his face. so this post is for hilary, who i've actually never heard yell or scream....but have heard curse. ;) if you've ever met her you'd know she's pretty much perfect. and if you've seen her in the last 6 months then i'm jealous because it has been that long since i've seen her.

with buddy baby liam

the classic daddy/baby sleeping picture. awwwwww.

me in my robe looking less than desirable but baby owen looking adorable smiling in his sleep.

jayden likes owen a little too much. he hugs and kisses and smothers the poor baby to death. but the cutest thing is when he talks baby talk to him in his jibberish and tells him all about his day. i think they'll be good buds.....fingers crossed.

owen is a perfect baby (obviosly taking after his aunt hilary) and i take back what i said about only loving every other minute, because i really do love and cherish every second i get to spend with this little angel....even if it is at 2:00 in the morning.

addict

2010-04-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

i think our kid might have a minor addiction. he only gets the binkie at nighttime, but recently he has been wanting it more often, and since we don't give it to him i think his desire for it grows. i guess that is what we get for not taking it away earlier. here is what i found when i went in his room this morning. two binkies at once. one is just not enough. yeah, he's pretty hardcore. sorry j dogg, i think it's time.

i thought it was pretty funny so i took a bunch of pictures. sorry for the overload.

owen doesn't have an addiction (other than my boob....can i say that?) but i can't leave him out.

2010-04-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

sorry for the lack of posts.
i've been a little busy with these two...
and loving every minute of it.

well, i wouldn't exactly say that i'm loving waking up every two hours, or trying to get my 22 month old to use his words. so i guess you could say that i'm loving every other minute of it. :)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

2010-03-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

when i was younger i remember babysitting a little boy that was a screamer. i about lost my mind, and ever since then i would always say, "i will never have a screamer". i remember even telling quinn when we were talking about having kids, "he just better not be a screamer." well....that's what i get for saying never. jayden screams when he's sad, he screams when he's mad, and he even screams when he's happy. it doesn't bother quinn and he says to just ignore it, but i don't know if i can take it anymore. i swear one of these days i'm going to crack. it's a good thing he's cute. any advice out there?

monkey boy

2010-03-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

now that i have two kids, going on walks or to the zoo is not as easy as it used to be. before owen was born i laid awake one night stressing about how i would walk to the park with the boys without a double stroller and a toddler that likes to run. i found a solution...and the solution was one that i had made fun of for years. i always laughed at moms who put leashes on their kids, but not anymore. i bought one of those cute monkey backpack leashes for jayden and it works like a charm. now every morning jayden grabs his leash, begs me to put it on him, runs to the front door and whines to be taken on a walk. do i have a kid or a puppy?

oh happy day!

2010-03-22T07:12:00.001-07:00

happy 1 month birthday owen!

your present...bring you home from the hospital.

godparents

2010-03-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

baby o is finally out of the ICU and should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow! fingers crossed. he is looking so much better and now has the strength to scream at those mean nurses when they mess with him (which is usually right after he falls asleep).
here are our boys with their amazing godparents, who kept owen company in the hospital and kept mommy from losing her mind.
we love you guys.

"i only like good news"

2010-03-17T09:15:00.001-07:00

lexi: "i have good news and bad news."

quinn: "i only like good news."

the bad news is that it is day 6 in the ICU and it doesn't look like we are going home today. i think owen's expression in this picture shows how he really feels about that. he is doing a lot better, but still can't go off of oxygen yet. thanks again for all the prayers. they seem to be working great.

the good news is that quinn's intramural basketball team won in the championship game! let me add that this was in the A league and also let me add that the team they played looked like NBA all-stars....big tall black guys...monstars in fact. no one watching thought that they could beat the monstars (who have actually been the reigning champs of this league for the past few years), but quinn's team played awesome and showed those giants who the real champs are.

the other good news is that i got into the UofL dental hygiene program! i will be starting the two year program in august. and no, i don't know what i'm getting myself into. is all i know is that i want to do it. call me crazy.

here are a couple pictures of pre-RSV baby o.
we think he's pretty cute.

RSV...ER...ICU

2010-03-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

someone got my baby jayden sick, then my baby jayden got my baby owen sick, then baby owen got rushed to the ER for RSV and was put in the ICU.

today is day 4 in the ICU and baby o is slowly getting over this virus that is attacking his body so. all the prayers and well wishes seem to be pushing our baby toward a swift recovery.
thank you.

baby o

2010-03-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

owen quinn brown
born 6 lbs 13 oz
19 1/2 in tall
on february 21st
he has brought so much joy to our lives
he is such a good baby
and he already adores his older brother
(maybe tolerates is a better word)

jayden

2010-03-02T09:37:00.001-08:00

this post is for grandma.
pics of owen to come.

baby blues

2010-02-26T12:03:00.001-08:00

the baby blues are a funny thing. not post-partum depression...that's not funny, but the baby blues; where your hormones are out of whack and you cry over the silliest things. for me, it only lasts a day or two at the most, and the sobs have come over things like my coldsore bleeding to staring at my baby realizing how much i love him. this past week my mom was in town. she cooked and cleaned and watched jayden and did laundry and let me relax and enjoy my new bundle of joy. it was one of the most wonderful weeks of my life. i love my mom, and even more than her doing everything for me, it was her company that i enjoyed the most. anyways, (before i start crying again) she had to leave me, and it just happened to be on my baby blues day. oh i sobbed and sobbed and hated seeing her leave. but i guess she does have 9 other kids, a husband, and 20 other grand kids to tend to. thanks again mom, for being the best mom a mom could ask for.

baby o

2010-02-24T19:10:00.001-08:00

grandma's in town! hallelujah!

so curious. who is this guy?

first kiss

first bath

i can't begin to describe the utter joy that i feel right now.....so, i guess this will be a short post. let me just say that i have never been so full of love than i am right now. i am in heaven right now and don't think that i could get ANY happier. i would post the story of baby o's birth and how he has stolen my heart, but i can't stop staring at him long enough to do so. excuse me while i get back to my staring.

Owen Quinn Brown is HERE!

2010-02-21T05:46:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures. The story will have to come later when lexi is up to it.

holy snowman!

2010-02-10T07:50:00.001-08:00

we woke up tuesday morning to about 5 inches of snow and the good news of school being cancelled. quinn loves snow days more than anything. he acts like a little boy every time it happens. tuesday was no exception. quinn, jayden and i put on our snow gear and headed outside to make a snowman, but little did i know of how big a snowman. we started rolling, then quinn just kept on rolling and rolling until he had to ask the neighbor boy to come help because it was getting too heavy. then, of course, he couldn't stop. he had to make the second ball just as big and do everything he could to heft it on top of the first. it ended up being 11 feet tall! taller than our house! making our house look miniature. the mouth, eyes, and buttons are clay pigeons and we only had baby carrots so we used a banana for the nose. sticks looked too small as arms so quinn got the clippers and cut down two branches from one of our trees in the back yard. oh, and i think the sombrero is a great addition, don't you.

the best part is how it attracts so many people. all day long we have people pulling over to take pictures of it, or even getting out of their car and running up to the house to get a picture next to it. we've even had policemen, garbage men, mail men, and delivery men come by and take pictures. i love how it puts a smile on their faces. hey, we've even made it on the local news' website! we're famous! i mean, our snowman is famous! he needs a name don't you think. maybe something mexican like miguel or ignacio.

here is quinn and jayden rolling the first ball. jayden is trying to push so hard. his little grunts are so cute. i will post the videos of quinn trying to heft the second and third balls on later. they're pretty great.

35 weeks

2010-02-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

this pregnancy is much different than my first. i have been so busy with school and applying to the dental hygiene program that i haven't taken a lot of time to sit and reflect on what it is going to be like when baby #2 comes. i know that all of my questions will be answered when he comes (hopefully he follows jayden's lead and comes 2 weeks early) and i will magically love this baby more than i can even imagine, a gift our father in heaven gave to us women; bottomless love, but i still have one concern, or worry. i worry that the bond i have with jayden won't be as strong once baby #2 is born and requires much of my attention. i worry that the bond will dwindle even more once #3 is born. and i worry that there will hardly be a bond if we have a #4. jayden and i are so close. we do absolutely everything together. i dream and imagine jayden when he is older and he and i still have this amazing strong bond. more kids, less time for each one.

i know i am thinking too much and am not used to so much free time on my hands since school has ended. i also know that i will laugh and probably feel stupid reading this post once the baby is born, realizing that without him my life wouldn't be complete. so instead of this being a real concern, it is moreso random thoughts put out in writing. i am anxious, i am excited, i am worried, i am 35 weeks pregnant.

questions

2010-01-22T08:20:00.001-08:00

being pregnant with my second child, i find myself asking a few questions:
-am i going to feel guilty for not giving jayden all of my attention?
-is jayden going to notice that he is not getting all of my attention?
-how is it even possible that i can love another child as much as i love jayden?
-is he going to be just like jayden?
-what is he going to look like?

i know that i will love this baby (there's no question about that) but as a mom with only one child it is hard to fathom having this much love (all the love i have for jayden; all the love in the world) for another child. and quinn thinks that all our kids will look and act like jayden. i guess that is what all first parents think. this will be very interesting. we are so excited for this little man to come, and answer all our questions.

here are a few pictures of our little jayden from day 1:

go broncos!

2010-01-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

last night we watched the fiesta bowl with a bunch of bronco haters. thank goodness we won because quinn was talking enough trash talk that if we lost his friends would never let him forget it. here is jayden before the game warming up. his new thing is to shut himself in the closet for a while and come out in daddy's or mommy's shoes.

eastern time kills us when it comes to watching sports, so seeing how the game started at 8 and ended at 12:30, jayden got tired and needed somewhere to sleep.

quinn put him in the dog kennel (that was just washed) not thinking that he would really stay in there, but when we shut the cage and said, "night night jayden", he laid his head down and fell right asleep. we were just glad no one from protective services happened to drop by.

and here we are at midnight gloating from our win, with a baby that is in dire need of his bed. did i forget to mention that our baby is not a baby anymore and is now sleeping in a big boy bed? well, he is, and the transition from a crib to a queen size bed was a cake walk. our little stud muffin loves his bed. hallelujah!

happy new year

2010-01-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

i have to dedicate this new year's post to my amazing husband that went an entire year without sweets. i laughed at him last new year's when he said he was going to do it, and now a year has passed without one slip up. i so admire his drive and dedication. but i have to say, a new year's kiss is not that romantic when your man has a chocolate in his mouth. he just couldn't wait. i guess he couldn't make the decision between kissing me at midnight or having a chocolate covered caramel macadamian nut that his auntie sent him from hawaii. very understandable.

and thanks to the curfew's for bringing in the new year with us. oh, and for bringing the bubbly.

oh belly

2009-12-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

quinn decided last night that it was time to take a pregnancy picture. he came up to me, stuffed my shirt in my bra and pulled out the camera that just happened to be in his pocket. with jayden, he took a pregnant picture of me EVERY single night so that he could make a video to show my growing belly. i told him that there was not a chance that i would do that again, so pretty much he has to fight for belly shots with this pregnancy.

as large and in charge as it is, with a belly button that could poke your eye out, i absolutely love having a belly and adore every kick and squirm that i feel....which is often...VERY often.

sista sista

2009-12-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

it's final...the youngest smith is married. crazy! she was the most beautiful bride and has an adorable husband that treats her like a queen. out of the 9 kids who are married, she was the first to have a winter wedding, and now to my brother joe (the lone unmarried smith), i beg you to wait til' june. or just skip the traditional photo session outside the temple. in quinn's words, we froze our ninnies off!

all my single ladies! all my single ladies!
i mean
all my married ladies! all my married ladies!

my sister-in-law hollie (on the far left) just might have one of the sexiest sexy faces i've ever seen. ;) hollie, you crack me up and i love that you don't know what to do when we say sexy face. it makes you even sexier....if that's even possible.

the dreaded 2nd place curse

2009-11-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

2nd place in flag football, 2nd place in last year's intramural and church basketball leagues, three times at byu, he even got 2nd at state in high school b-ball, and tonight, the curse continues....2nd in the graduate's intramural basketball league. they played fantastic though and were so much fun to watch, (even though i could only catch glimpses because of the crazy toddler i had to chase around).

2009-11-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

our little devil

i mean angel.

he's got legs and knows how to use 'em

2009-11-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

someone got daddy's legs.

here have a plop of spaghetti

2009-11-03T05:41:00.001-08:00

the little man wants to feed himself now. bring on the messes!

happy uncooperative halloween!

2009-10-30T05:23:00.001-07:00

so we had costumes planned for quinn, jayden, and i where jayden would be an x-ray machine (skeleton showing with all of the things inside the belly, aka wedding ring, coins, etc) and quinn and i would wear scrubs and be doctors. jayden's costume involved wearing a box, which, needless to say, he was not having. so we scrumaged around the house looking for something that looked anything like a costume, and found a snow suit that looked a little like a bear. when people asked, instead of telling them that he is a blue bear (because really, who's heard of a blue bear) we told them that he was plan b. luckily not many people asked and even a few thought he was cookie monster. why didn't we think of that?

afraid of the spiders in the backdrop. where in the world would he get that from?! ;)

quinn desparately trying to keep jayden in the photo.

daddy's lil' helper

2009-10-24T13:04:00.001-07:00

i love that i came outside at the time that i did so that i could capture this moment. i love that our lawn mower just happens to have a little handlebar just jayden's size. i love all of the beautiful colors of the trees behind our house. i love that quinn doesn't care how long it takes him to mow the lawn with two little feet in front of him slowing him down. i love that jayden really feels like he is helping daddy, and that quinn really treats him like he does.

i love my life.

hotties with the bodies

2009-10-23T13:15:00.001-07:00

i've always thought that ben harper was incredibly good looking, so when quinn was told that he looked like ben harper, and i realized that hey, he does look a little like ben harper, it made quinn's hotness level go up that much higher. i didn't know hotness levels went this high!

(if you don't know who ben harper is, he is the good looking one up front...not one of the scary gangstas or the white snoop dog in the background)

when i took out the camera, stuck it in quinn's face and told him to look like ben harper, this is what he gave me:

maybe not a face ben harper would make, but definitely a face hotter than any ben harper could ever make.

future janitor

2009-10-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

i sure hope not! but his recent hobby of pushing the laundry basket around the house and putting in whatever items he comes across makes it look that way. that or a clepto.

i just found his sippy cup, my sports bra, socks, a toy, a snow boot, a book, and a leaf inside the laundry basket. oh and my cell phone that i was looking for. and no, all of those things were not lying around the house. that's where he needs to brush up on his janitorial skills; by not making more work for himself (myself) and taking things from the place they belong. i guess that would really make him a future clepto huh. why does that make me less nervous than a future janitor?

go cards!

2009-10-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

they may not be as good as the basketball team, but we still had a great time at louisville's football game this saturday, which they happened to win.....barely.

j-dogg loved my play-by-plays

and quinn's enthusiasm. (even if it was just for the camera).

booya! this one is for hil! not bad seats either huh?!?

well hello there belly

2009-10-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

why didn't anyone tell me?! why didn't anyone warn me that you show much sooner with your second child than your first? ok, maybe it's because of the fact that no one knew we were pregnant, or maybe it's just me that this is happening to, but i am about the size i was at 7 months pregnant with jayden and i'm not even 5 months along yet! i didn't show with my first until i was about 6 months pregnant, but i swear i saw a bump the second i found out i was pregnant with this one. anyways, i don't mind. i like having a belly. i was just shocked to see it show up so soon. so hello there belly, i welcome you with open arms.

no, this is not a picture of me and jayden. my belly is big but not that big. i just thought it was an adorable picture that i saw on designmom. i don't know if i'm exactly ready to show belly pictures yet, you'll have to stay tuned for those. for now, i am just going to enjoy the fact that the news is out and i don't have to try and hide my belly anymore. my fitted shirts have come back out to play!

good ol' huber farms

2009-10-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

i am in love with a little something called fall break. quinn and i never remember having a fall break at any other university we've attended. it really is fantastic and was much needed. my fall break was this last weekend, and although quinn's isn't until next week, he went with jayden and i to huber farms; a gorgeous orchard and winery in southern indiana. we were able to walk through the pumpkin patches and pick the most delicious apples. it reminded me of being home.

it got a little chilly on the wagon ride so quinn was kind enough to share his hoodie with jayden.

blowing kisses.

2009-10-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

i must apologize to those of you out there who check the blog everyday looking for new pictures of your grandson....karen.

well, they may not be of the grandson you were thinking of but here they are:

suprise!!!!

we're having another boy!!!

oh, and i should probably also aplogize to those of you we've lied to for the last 4 and half months when we've said that we weren't pregnant. you understand, right.

longest blog in blogger history

2009-08-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

ok, so i decided to make time to post our vacation pictures...even though i should really be studying right now. i decided that if i could make time to go to ikea in cincinnatti with brittany, then i could make time to blog.

the first stop on our vacation was indianapolis, where quinn served his mission. we were able to meet up with a lot of quinn's old mission buddies and even go to church at the ward where he served for almost half of his mission. we were also able to go to the children's museum (which claims to be the largest in the world) which was actually incredibly cool.

riding stuffed donkeys and giving stuffed donkeys love

next stop was orlando. we also got to see st.augustine (which claims to be the oldest city in america). perfect, now we can check that and largest children's museum off our list of things to see before we die.

i have a hunch that jayden won't be afraid of heights when he gets older.

we flew standby all the way from orlando to boise, which took staying in the atlanta airport for 12 hours and sleeping in the phoenix airport while jayden was really sick. i've had better days in my life.

next stop was boise where we were able to go to my brother's cabin with my whole family. a gorgeous cabin, private dock, and beautiful boat....quinn was coveting just a little bit. here's quinn trying to surf for his very first time. i'm upset that i didn't take any pictures of quinn wake boarding. he was by far the most entertaining to watch and was so fearless that i sometimes i couldn't watch.little elle surfing (and looking a little more sturdy than quinn. just kidding quinn, i know she's had way more practice than you).sam and sicily looking like prosthis is jayden's cousin carter, who was his best friend up at the cabin.
i really didn't see much of jayden up at the cabin because he had so many playmates watching him. he was in heaven and already can't wait to go back.

we split up into two teams and had a little quadrathalon. my team won, of course.

canoeing was one of the events, along with swimming, running and biking. it was a blast, but poor quinn couldn't have too much fun seeing how he thought that we were wasting perfectly good wake boarding time.my sister cari is a zumba instructor and was nice enough to hold zumba classes each morning. too bad i didn't get a picture of when the boys joined in.
my newest nephew was blessed while we were there, even though we didn't actually get to see the blessing. hey, church was at 9:00. i know...no excuses.

my sister cali's baby shower. she's so cute and i just can't wait for their little 10 lb. baby to arrive. sorry cal, but you know he's gonna be huge if your husband is 6'5" and was a 10 lb. baby.

jayden loved boise and all of the attention he got at grandma's house. i mean, i take a lot of pictures of him....but not even close to as many as his grandma karen. we love you.

last stop was salt lake city, where one of quinn's closest friends (and favorite mission companion) got married in the salt lake temple.

they are pretty much the cutest couple i've ever seen.

we were lucky enough to have quinn's sister coco along for the ride. jayden already misses her.

the newly wed couple fleeing off to cancun after a night of dancing and partying. the wedding was a blast.

jayden finally got to meet quinn's best friend chris who is going to the university of utah's medical school. i think jayden subconciously knew that he was supposed to love chris, because the second they met they had an instant bond.

jayden also finally got to meet his buddy calvin, who was supposed to be three days older but ended up being 20 days younger than jayden. that was so much fun to see them play together. once again, i wish we lived closer. next time we meet they may be able to play a game of one-on-one basketball together. and we all know who would win that game. (sorry jayden, but calvin is a half a foot taller than you and can already catch a ball). but watch out cal, cause quinn is training j-dog as we speak.

cupcakes of catan. settlers with cupcakes. is there anything better? i submit that there is not.
becca, you are truly a genius.

the hardest part was keeping chris from eating his settlements and quinn to quit taking the game so seriously and go already. i think i won that game. (hey, it's my blog and since i don't remember who actually won, i get to decide). that's how the blogging rules go, right?

we miss our group of friends and already can't wait to meet up again and do what we do best together.....basketball and settlers. but next time maybe brandon should show a little less leg.
we love you guys.

Livin' the life!

2009-07-11T04:40:00.000-07:00

I thought I would fill in for lexi now that I don't have school and she does! I'll do my best but I have to say that I am not as clever as she is so you will be seeing A LOT of pictures!

I definitely caught the best fish in the SEA!!!

Lexi has hops! Maybe jayden will have some hope ;)
I LOVE this picture

Jayden n' mom bustin up laughing

Somebody loved the beach

Lex saying "get that corn outta my face!"

Had to blog this one because I can just see the Smith Sisters doing this!
They all held each other laughing while the waves hit them!

Happy 4th! I recommend Destin to watch the fireworks!

Does he seriously have a smile on his face!?! I love this kid!

The water is so clear it looks like he is in a swimming pool!

Thanks Jesse and Becky for the kite. Jayden loved it!

Are we there yet?!? Jayden was a trooper for the 10 hour drive.

Check out this hottie! Check out the smile
I need to take lexi shopping more often!

I love Jayden's face in this picture.

Check out that tan line!

We tried getting the classic foot picture but Jayden wanted to hog it all :)

and of course our lavish resort!
We had a blast in Florida! Actually, we had so much fun that we're going back next week! This time to Orlando.

2009-07-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

beach bound

destin, florida here we come! pray for no rain and warm nights because yes, we're camping! tent style. on the beach. just the 3 of us.

(i really should have photoshopped our faces on this gorgeous couple. and added little jayden wandering off somewhere, eating something nasty off the ground, like he usually does).

99 things

2009-06-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

i don't usually do these things, but this one brought back good memories and made me add a few things to my "to do" list. you should try it.

99 Things
Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

who's your daddy

2009-06-21T05:02:00.000-07:00

so i woke up earlier than quinn this morning hoping to surprise him with his favorite breakfast of stuffed blueberry french toast. i have never made it before and have only had it a couple of times. don't ask me why, but for some reason i woke up thinking that it was stuffed waffles instead of french toast. ok, so it has been a long time since i've had it. anyways, i made a HUGE batch of waffle batter, got out the blueberries and cream cheese, ready to get it all going. i knew quinn would be getting up soon so i took jayden in our bedroom and sang a beautiful rendition of "happy father's day to you". he followed me in the kitchen and asked what the batter was for. then it hit me....i'm a retard! quinn didn't want to waste the batter so he said we should have waffles for breakfast this morning and then save the filling for breakfast tomorrow. uh, that didn't work as well as planned. i got so distracted with quinn opening his presents that i burnt the waffles. "ughhhh" i grunted really loud, and then looked over to see jayden flexing his muscles and gritting his teeth. when we were teaching him to flex his muscles we would always grit our teeth and grunt, so now every time i am frustrated and grunt like marge simpson, i always find him showing off his guns. there was a little more batter so i just decided that i wasn't going to eat and quinn could have what's left....until i burnt that batch as well. i promise i am a fairly good cook, but i was just incredibly distracted this morning and could not do anything right, apparently. i was so frustrated that tears started to stream from my eyes. quinn gave me the biggest hug, laughed, and said that i look cute when i cry. "i wanted french toast anyways", he said. not only do i have a hero for a husband, that catches bad men who are trying to steal from us, but he loves it when i cry for something as little as burnt waffles. happy father's day babe!

summa time

2009-06-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

pretty much i have nothing to say, i just wanted to let everyone out there know that browntown is having a fabulous summer.

we are looking forward to continuing the fabulousness when we go on our trip to destin, florida and coming home to boise in july!

one day

2009-06-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

oh ashley, how i long for you to take our family portraits. but for now, we will just have to settle for our ammature snapshots.

check out my friend, ashley's, photo blog to see the work of one of my favorite photographers:
ashleythalmanphoto.blogspot.com

get your hula on

2009-06-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

on saturday we threw jayden his first laua for his first birthday. we may have not had hula dancers, but it was still a hit. good food, good weather, good music, good people...it was a great day. everything was perfect, except for one thing...there was no birthday boy. where was the birthday boy?!

sleeping.
well, i guess it is his party and he can sleep if he wants to.

we gave out leis to everybody even though the majority already came in hawaiian attire.

well well well, look who decided to show up at his own party. actually, i woke him up. i didn't dare sing happy birthday, eat birthday cake, and crack open the pinata without him there. he wasn't exactly happy with my decision. his gnarly bed head speaks for itself.

quinn manning the pinata and obviously having the time of his life.

there's the smile i love! giving jayden a few minutes to wake up and a turn at the pinata brought that famous smile back to his face.

i was impressed by the j man for not touching the flame of the candle when we were singing happy birthday to him, but when it came time to eat the cake, i was a little offended. not one bite, not even one taste was eaten! at first i thought that maybe he just didn't care for pineapple upside down cake, but even when i put a cupcake on his plate, with party frosting and all, he still didn't eat it. he finally got himself to at least touch the desserts and smear it all over himself...but never in his mouth. i guess quinn has taught him well.

happy birthday baby boy! we love you! and thank you to all of our friends who came to party with us and helped us get our hula on.

it's your birthday! gonna party like it's your birthday!

2009-06-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

he may be sippin' formula instead of bacardi on his birthday, but this kid is livin' it up just like 50 cent! i think in these pictures he's trying to say, "all the ladies in the club let me see your hands in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care!"

this morning we crept into j-dog's bedroom, video cam in hand, and belted out a loud and beautiful 50 cent version of "it's your birthday" to our baby boy who is turning one today. he had the biggest smile on his face and it hasn't left since he woke up.
the sunglasses and shirt are a few of his presents. i particularly love the shirt.

today we are going to church hill downs to watch the horse races and tomorrow will be his big birthday laua. stay tuned for party pictures.

this post is dedicated to hilary who began the whole tradition of blaring 50 cent's "its your birthday" early in the morning on your birthday, every year. we love and miss you like crazy!

and if you haven't seen the short slide show of jayden that we made for his birthday evites, you can go to this website to watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iDoNLajm5A

OUR BABIE'S ONE!!!
(oh, and walking! phew, he did it before his first birthday...only by a couple days).

oh baby

2009-06-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

my babie's turning 1 in 4 days! excuse me while i get myself a tissue.

summa summa summa time

2009-05-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

ahhh, summertime. the sun comes out and the clothes come off.

when the weather's warm, the nudies come out to play.

i think he's posing in this picture but i'm not exactly sure.

and yes, that is his diaper in the distance that quinn decided to take off after rudely spraying jayden with a cold hose...expecting him to like it. and then jayden was like, "oh no you din't," grabbed the hose and sprayed quinn til' he cried like a girl.

no, but he really did find the hose that was still on and sprayed quinn, which was one of the funniest things i've ever seen.

what's new, jayden's out back, naked, playing hillbilly golf. i hate it, he beats us every time. why do i feel like he will beat us at everything for many years to come....until he understands competitiveness and not crying when you loose, then, it is on.

water, agua, l'eau

2009-05-23T04:44:00.000-07:00

there's not much in life that is better than swimmin' in the summer. loungin' half naked in a plastic baby pool, soakin' up the rays while reading a magazine out loud to your little man who is squealing with joy. ahhhhhh. i feel that i better soak it all in while i have a chance, because i know that if i get into the dental hygiene program, these days of focusing just on my baby are few and numbered.

his favorite thing to suck on are these fake coins we were given at a UofL basketball game. don't worry lyric, they're too big for him to choke on. i don't plan on making the same mistake twice. if the rest of you are wondering what i'm talking about, back in the day i gave her baby, max, (who is now almost 8) a piece of a tortilla chip, with the pointy edges and all. it lodged in his throat the second i gave it to him. as a lifeguard and knew exactly what to do, so yes, i had to do the baby heimlich on my baby nephew. it was very scary and i think i almost gave lyric a heart attack, but watching her reaction was priceless. i don't think yelling for mom and running out of the room is going to help your baby breath again. but what do i know.
love you lyr.

still sucking on that coin. quinn wouldn't be too happy seeing his boy more interested in a coin than a ball. maybe once teething is over he will be more interested in balls. lets hope. for quinn's sake.

the zoo has a really cool splash park that we went to yesterday. jayden loved it and i thought for sure he was going to walk while we were there. i got the video camera out and everything. he will stand forever by himself, but he just won't take a step without holding onto something. i don't want to hear it miller's and mortensen's! we all know your boys can run circles around j-dogg right now.

i know this next picture has nothing to do with water, agua, and l'eau, but i just had to include it.

quinn HATES it when jayden spits out his food. he is trying to teach him not to do it but it is taking longer than expected. quinn fed jayden this morning and when i walked into the kitchen, this is what i found...

jayden in his highchair facing the corner. quinn had put him in timeout. it didn't seem to be working very well.

awww yeeeah!

2009-05-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

yes, quinn had to open up a can last weekend.

on friday night we hung out at a friend's house until about 11:30, and as we pulled into our driveway we saw two guys jump out our back window! (ok, i won't use exclamation points throughout my whole story...but just know that i am writing it with a fast pacing heart and wide eyes). i have never seen anyone run so fast and hop fences with so much ease as i did quinn that night. he chased them down and eventually caught one of them while i called 911 and stayed with my sleeping baby.

now here's the fun part. after quinn has hopped a few fences, ripped his shorts, and landed in the mud, he caught the guy and got him in a choke hold. the loser then has the audacity to grab my man's jewels...yep, the family jewels. oh boy, that was not the right thing to do. now if you know quinn, i'm sure this will be hard (and fun) for you to imagine. he proceeds to deck the guy as hard as he can, oh, and woops...he still has the keys in his hand. the dude tells quinn that he won't run and they come up to the side of the road to wait for the cops. in the meantime, the idiot (lets see how many adjectives i can use for this imbecile) tries to smoke but quinn is like, "get that corn outta my face", pulls it from his lips and chucks it. even at a time like that i couldn't help but think how hot the protective side of quinn is.

i could make this story even longer, but to shorten it, we caught both jack a's and got all of our stuff back. they are still in jail and we are going to press charges to keep them in there for as long as we can.

bastards.

(sorry, mom, for the vulgarity. you know i never cuss...but there's something about someone stealing from you that brings it out in me).

catching up

2009-05-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

we had a great time when my parents and older brother and sister-in-law came into town for my brother's graduation from dental school. seeing how i have to catch up for all those weeks that i didn't blog, once again, i post a blog that is mainly pictures. sorry.

oh dad dad daddy-o, you and that blue tooth crack me up.

the louisville zoo is gorgeous and quinn bought me a year pass for mother's day, so i took mom and dad and we made it a day. i usually don't like zoo's, but other than the gorillas looking sad, i don't have any complaints.

congratulations joe! we are going to miss you like crazy!!! especially quinn. who in the world is he going to play ball with now?!

my oldest brother sam, an orthodontist in boise that also graduated from UofL, came to the graduation and had the honors of cloaking joe. quinn and i realized that if i get into the dental hygiene program, we will graduate on the same day and quinn will be able to cloak me. awwww.

jayden is also going to miss joe immensely. he gets so excited and flaps his arms like a bird whenever joe walks in our door.

proud parents.

joe also received an award earlier that day for being exceptional at implants. some of the awards gave money, so quinn took note of which awards those were and will now work towards achieving them. :)

we loved having grandma and grandpa here and can't wait to see them again.

thank you sam and hollie for taking us to all of your favorite restaurants, and for all the graeter's ice cream, and for making me gain 5 lbs over the weekend.

oh boy, jayden's becoming a cheeser. we didn't even try to make him look or smile at the camera in this picture.

i have to buy these sunglasses...

i just HAVE to!

you're the only ten i see

2009-05-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

ok ok, please don't be hatin'. i have a great excuse for not blogging for the last month or so. no internet is a great excuse right? a lot has happened and i don't even know where to start. so how about i fill you in on our fantastic, wet vacation to tennessee. it rained the entire time, but we still happened to enjoy ourselves quite a bit, and spend some quality time with our friends. as far as the title goes, that is what quinn said probably 21 times while we were in tennessee. as old as it got, i guess i'm glad he thinks i'm a ten.

let me warn you, i am going to post a gazillion pictures, which are mainly for karen (who has very discretely let me know that she wants to see pictures of her grand baby. if you call messages on my phone and facebook discrete). we love you karen.

at first we held jayden, trying to keep him clean, but after a while we decided what the heeyo, let the boy live. he played in the cold water, built a sand castle with daddy, and ate as much sand as his mouth would hold.

that says BROWN OHANA if you couldn't tell. brown family in hawaiian.

he was SO dirty! and look at that mouth full of sand! i think this is the moment where he decided that he didn't exactly care for it. too bad we didn't get a picture of quinn stripping jayden naked and washing him off in the cold lake water. i think that the people next to us thought we were abusing our child, but i wasn't about to put that dirty boy in our clean car. poor cute kid.

i love jayden's smile in this picture.

i had to put this picture in just to show how big my baby boy is getting. actually, he looks older than he is in this picture because of the way he is sitting, but it still makes me sad.

there was a gorgeous hike down to the waterfalls where it took you to "the wet zone".

we were completely soaked and dripping wet. once again, jayden was a trooper.

this background was so pretty that we....i mean quinn, wanted a family picture, so after this picture quinn set the camera on the little bridge, pushed the timer button, and ran up to meet me. he reached jayden and i, we smiled, but to no camera. yes, i told him this would happen, our camera fell in the water. a few choice words came out (of me, i guess i should say) and i see quinn run as fast as he can down the hill, luckily to find that the camera hadn't been swept away in the river. we let it air out and it works fine now, but we didn't get any pictures of this waterfall, which was way cooler than the first. oh well, maybe next year. and maybe quinn will learn his lesson......who are we kidding.

at the timeshare's pool, livin' the life.

he was so tired and cold, but so dang cute.

i love how miserable jayden looks in this picture.

and that was our fun little trip to tennessee. i promise i won't go so long without posting....karen. joe's graduation pictures are up next. (how impressive is that, i even know what i'm posting next!)

gosh dangit all to heck!!!

2009-04-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

i want to post a funny video of quinn and jayden and it still says error! HELP!!!

surprise!

2009-04-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

i can't surprise quinn for the life of me! just the other day he found out what he is getting for his birthday and i just about lost it! he, on the other hand, surprises me about once a day. easter morning wasn't any different.

so, a few days ago i asked quinn if i could get jayden an easter basket, his reply was no, saying that he was too young and we shouldn't spend money on easter anyways. easter morning rolls around and i wake up to quinn and jayden's shining faces, quinn's eyes wide with a huge smile, saying, "did the easter bunny come?!"
i shot him a glance of "oh no you din't!" and ran out the bedroom door to find a trail of chocolate easter eggs leading from our bedroom to the living room, where i found a gorgeous daffodil plant, lots of candy, and a few other presents just waiting for me! he must have done this in the middle of the night! i jumped up and down and squealed like a little girl, with tears coming to my eyes thinking of how sweet and thoughtful my husband is. growing up with 10 kids in my family, we never got easter baskets, so this was so exciting for me.

seeing how quinn made me think that we weren't doing anything for easter, i didn't get him anything, and felt stupid right away, to which his reply was, "you give me something every day". awwwwwww. or in quinn's words, "how did a girl like me get a guy like you?"

the trail

jayden finding the trail

jayden eating the trail

oh no he din't!

2009-04-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

oh how i wish those were just tootsie rolls in jayden's bath water. ah, the joys of motherhood.

rain rain go away

2009-04-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

i want to be here

or here

or here.....

just not here.

i was told that it rains nonstop here in the spring, so i wasn't shocked to wake up to the sound of pitter pattering on the roof. the weatherman was wrong yesterday so i was hoping he'd be wrong again today. we had a gorgeous palm sunday, full of warm, sunny weather, in which we spent at our friends house getting our fill of food and the good lord's word. but once again, it is a dark, drizzly day where i just want to stay inside and cuddle with my little baby cuddle bug (who is learning how to walk as we speak!) after enduring months of this weather, i find myself dreaming of walking on the beach barefoot in hawaii, or on the lake with our good friends, or in cabo san lucas walking the streets looking for souvenirs, or in sunny las vegas riding the scooter with my man. but i guess that is why i gave our bedroom an island theme, for moments like these, where i can just lay on our beautiful handmade quilt covered in hawaiian plumeria flowers, or stare at the framed island picture that i tore from a hawaiian calendar, and dream of a beautiful, sunny day, sitting on the beach with a flower in my hair and not a care in the world. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

he's back!

2009-03-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

i feel like i have to write a post about how happy i am that my baby boy is back. he was sick for what seemed like an entire month, always wanting to be held, not keeping his food down, not sleeping through the night, etc. well, out of the blue, one day, he decided that he was sick of being sick. and now he's permi-smile! i know i know, he was a really smiley baby even before he got sick, but that doesn't even compare to the boy he is now. i can't get him to stop smiling, and he laughs at everything. the good boy thinks i'm hilarious! and he doesn't even want to be held anymore, there's just too much exploring to do. it is so good to have our boy back.....even if he does get into every single thing in the house, (good thing it's a small house).

oh and chris....i don't want to talk about it!!! we just had a bad game alright! we had friends over to watch the game and yes, we are all still in shock that we lost. you wanna see a grown man cry....have his team (that you thought would win the whole championship) lose in the elite eight.

i know that these next two pictures are blurry, and his hair makes him look like one of the lolly pop kids, but i just wanted to show a few of jayden's new favorite things to do.

1. play with necklaces. any kind, any shape, any color. pretty much if you're wearing a necklace....watch out!

2. give open mouth kisses. these i love.

GO CARDS!!!

2009-03-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

these pictures have nothing to do with the topic of my blog today, but oh well, it's pretty much jayden's blog anyways right....for grandma, of course.

it is so much fun to be in louisville right now! we have THE best basketball team in the ncaa, we beat arizona last night by 39 points, and my husband just happens to go to school there! we always meet up with a bunch of our friends to watch the games and quinn shows up with a red shirt, red shorts, red socks, and our red fro wig that was used back in his high school browntown glory days. (too bad i don't have a picture of that, eh.) he looks absolutely ridiculous, but he thinks it brings the team luck so he won't quit, even as much as i try to persuade him to wear the nice shirts and sweaters i've bought him.

2009-03-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

oh the life of a baby. just a simple daily task such as bathing turns into a magical adventure.

crawling around, discovering new things, and splashing to their little heart's content.

not caring if their face is in the line of fire of the gushing water coming out, even if they can't breathe and the water is getting in their eyes, just because they are so interested in this thing we call a spout.

we can really learn from them....such simple things bringing so much happiness.

WAIT! did you see what i think you saw?!!!

A TOOTH!!!! yep, one tooth at 9 months old. FINALLY!

making him officially mr.snagletooth.

beloved st.patrick's day

2009-03-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

st.patrick's day. what a funny holiday. a holiday that is for the irish, but a holiday that we all feel like we can celebrate. this week is quinn's spring break, so even though we are not irish, we decided to make it a big deal and celebrate it like we were 100% irish. we would say things like, "what?! you have to work on st.patrick's day?!!!" or "what?! flights are going out on st.patrick's day?!!!" or "what?! you have to go to school on st.patrick's day?!!!" we put up green streamers all over our deck and garage, cranked the celtic music, and bought a ton of meat to grill. many of our friends were away for spring break but we still had a good turn out for the occasion. we grilled steaks and pork, hamburgers and brauts, ate chocolate covered strawberries (which explains the brown all around the kids' mouths in the picture below) put green food coloring in everything we made (which made everything look like the slime from nickelodian), and michelle brought the beer....root that is. the big hit was hillbilly golf. whoever thought pvc pipe and golf balls with string could be so much fun?!
and now i think we would all like to truly thank st.patrick himself...you know, for all that he has done for us ?????

my pretty much perfect husband

2009-03-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

as of january 1st, quinn has not had any sweets. for those of you who know my husband well, you would know the size of his sweet tooth. it all stemmed from the starbursts at christmas. quinn's brother, joel, has a starburst chain that is ridiculously long (100 feet or so) that he makes from folding starburst wrappers in a way that he can link them together. (each of quinn's siblings have a weird...i mean interesting collection, or hobby, or whatever it is. you should see the size of quinn's rubber band ball that he started when he was young! twice the size of a bowling ball, and getting about that heavy! and what do you do with it! what do i do with it?! he still gets rubber bands at christmas time! oh well, i'll let the brown's be the brown's...i mean i am one now you know. maybe i should start collecting twisty ties and make the world's largest twisty tie loop or save old shoelaces and make the world's longest ladder made out of shoelaces. you see.....i'm no good at this. i'll stick to collecting useful things like french books from the 1700's). anyways, joel received bags upon bags of starbursts for christmas and you know quinn, he has no governor when it comes to candy, so he ate, and ate, and ate, until he was literally sick. that lead to the decision he made on new year's eve....at dinner....with my family....out of nowhere....claiming he was going off sweets for an entire year! "what?!" i laughed. "why don't you start off with a week, sweety. you need to make realistic goals." some wife i am. supportive huh. well, i don't know if it's because he is stubborn or the fact that he likes the way he feels, maybe a little of both, but quinn brown has not had a single sweet since december 31st.

so last night, while at a friend's house, i ate my ice cream, thinking i was in heaven eating this delicious bowl of blue bell ice cream. my girlfriend felt bad and offered him a pear. he sat next to me with a knife and a pear, cutting into it while juices spray and spill into the plate. i hear the goodness gush in his smiling mouth and his eyes close with pure ecstasy. my belly was turning, and bulging, and i didn't even have a good taste in my mouth. i didn't feel good, which i never do after eating ice cream, and here i am staring at my husband eating his delicious pear, and salivating. i'm jealous that he is going to feel just as good, if not better, after he eats that pear, knowing how i feel after eating a big bowl of ice cream.

since when did my husband become more healthy than me? i was the little girl that pulled out an apple while my family ate chocolate cake! somewhere along the way my sweet tooth grew and grew until now where i'm too afraid to give up sweets. and once again, here i am....in awe of my pretty much perfect husband.

it's a beautiful day!

2009-03-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

when i woke up this morning it seemed like every other morning, jayden chatting away in his crib, i go in to find him standing up smiling from ear to ear when he sees my face, i change his diaper, open up the back door to throw the diaper in the trash, when it hits me....it's warm outside! no cold breeze; not even a titch of cold in the air! it's springtime!!! and from that moment on i haven't been able to get U2's song out of my head "it's a beautiful day"!
so when quinn got home from school we decided to bust out the picnic table, grill, and ipod, and have dinner outside.
it was perfect. jayden loves playing on the ground, we love warm weather and good music, and the steak and pork were divine (quinn having the steak and i having the pork, of course). i take it back, it wasn't perfect....when the trees behind our house bloom and are filled with beautiful red cardinals, that will be perfect. stay tuned.

bye bye baldy

2009-03-07T05:09:00.000-08:00

my babie's hair is finally growing out! no more baldy.
bring on the mohawks!
just kidding grandma karen, we know how you hate mohawks. speaking of things you would hate....you would have hated missing your son be one of the raining men in the relief society 's performance at the ward talent show last night. picture this...lights dim, shining stars all around, cue the music, out come the women, 10 in all, twirling their umbrellas to a correagraphed dance while sherstine (looking like a drag queen) belts out the words to "it's raining men", chorus comes and.....out come the men, jumping on trampolines, looking like it's, yep you guessed it....raining men.

trilingual

2009-03-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

for the past week, jayden and i have been going to the library to work on our taxes seeing how our internet at home is so slow. i usually try to go after i workout when he is napping, but today he decided to wake up early from his nap and check out the book selection. i think he always has his future mission on his mind and wants to get a head start on all of the languages seeing how the foreign language section was his first stop.

after searching for a while, he decided to go with chinese. he hears they have good food over there, and somehow knows that in 19 years there will be a huge growth in the church in that area and there is a good chance he could be sent there.

after reading the book he tried to think of what language would help him in the long run, even after his mission....

he chose spanish.

family yearbook

2009-02-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

i am in the middle of making a family yearbook with the website heritage makers and, maybe it's because i'm a little slow, but i'm having a little trouble putting it together. i chose heritage makers because my sister hilary told me that they do a great job, but my other sister (no lyric i'm not calling you "the other sister". have you ever seen that movie?) anyways, lyric makes her photo books through shutterfly and is very impressed with them. i also heard that you can print out your blogs, so pretty much now i don't know what to do.

has anyone ever worked with heritage makers and can walk me through it? i chose them because i was told that their bindings are stronger and the books are better quality than other websites. and as for the blog printing, does anyone know how that works and if the book and paper are good quality?

the other day i was frustrated that nowadays we rarely print out our pictures and all of these wonderful pictures of our gorgeous babies sit in our lonely computers where they are easily forgotten. i want to show them off! so pretty much i decided to copy "the other sister" lyric who makes a family yearbook every year. 100 pages of her favorite pictures during the previous year with clever comments throughout. i'm excited to get it going but i'm kind of at a stand still with heritage makers. HELP!

oh, by the way, these pictures are soley for my mother-in-law who begged and pleaded for more pictures of "her baby". there ya go karen. we love you.

SUCK IT OUT!

2009-02-11T11:44:00.000-08:00

what an exciting weekend we had. or should i say traumatic.
now i feel like i need to let all moms out there know something about the respiratory virus RSV and their babies. i may be the only mom in the world who didn't know this, but just in case i'm not, here is a good to know fact. if your little baby gets RSV.....SUCK OUT THE MUCUS!!! my sister hilary said that that should be my new moto: SUCK IT OUT! so let me explain.
RSV has been going around here...especially in our ward, and jayden happened to pick it up. we went to the doctor and they sent us home with a machine to do breathing treatments which was supposed to help. it didn't. he became worse and worse and not only did he have a horrible cough, but he started to lose his appetite and anything that he would eat, he would throw up. it became so bad that we couldn't even force feed him, and if we could get anything in him, even a little dropper full of pedialyte, he would throw that up. he was very lethargic, just like last time, 5 months ago when we had to take him in to the ER for dehydration. well, round 2. we took him in again to the ER on sunday night where they asked if we had been using a bulb syringe and sucking the mucus out of his nose. i said, "uh, no. my doctor didn't say anything about that." they said that with little babies not everything is developed and the mucus needs somewhere to go. so in jayden's case, the mucus went straight to his belly, causing the loss of apetite and the throwing up. they pulled out two long tubes, shoved them down his nose and sucked the mucus out of his belly, which of course i could not be in the room for. there was so much mucus in that poor babies belly. they did it twice and then hooked him up to an IV to pump fluids in him. my poor little baby was tortured that night but i am so glad that we went in because he is now feeling much better. once again, maybe i am the only mom who didn't know this, but wouldn't you think that my doctor would mention something that important?! to SUCK OUT THE MUCUS! well, now you're in the know.

here are pics of him in the hospital at 3 months old:

we thought that we could get some more cute hospital pics like those of when he was 3 months old, but i can barely get myself to look at these ones. he was so sad and miserable and it shows in his pictures.

waiting in the emergency room.

we sure love those hospital gowns. i told quinn i wanted to steal one and use it as a halloween costume but we decided against it.

i am happy to say that the little jay bird has been feeling much better and well enough to start playing again. yesterday i tried to capture him playing with his toys to reasure my family that he is doing better. but i must say that i will miss the days of him laying on my chest all day with his head on my shoulders.

there he is playing with the bulb syring and pleading with all mommies to SUCK IT OUT!
i almost cried when i woke up yesterday morning to find jayden standing in his crib with a huge smile on his face, just like he always does. i missed that. the smiles are slowly coming back. jayden's bringin' smiley back....YEAH! (that was a sad attempt to incorporate jt's "bringin' sexy back" into my blog. now you all know what i'm listening to right now. what?!

2009-02-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

oh boy does jayden love church! and why does he love church? maybe because he gets to hang with so many gorgeous little girls....just like this one.i don't know what it is, maybe the fact that she is adorable, or that she looks a little like his daddy, or the fact that she has a full head of hair for him to pull on, but this precious little girl is his favorite. he actually squeals every time he sees her. but sorry j-dogg, it doesn't look like the feelings are mutual.

another reason he loves church is that quinn lets him drive around the parking lot.

he loves steering the wheel. look, he's actually giving us the thumbs up!

now about him loving relief society...that's another story.

4 days and counting!

2009-01-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

4th day without school for quinn allen brown!!!

so we woke up tuesday morning to find this much snow outside... and that school was cancelled!!! we laughed and laughed thinking how silly these kentuckians are for cancelling school with only that much snow.

but little did we know what was about to come forth. see, there is something out here that they like to call "freezing rain". it is something that i have NEVER, in my entire life, experienced until now. it has turned everything into ice. we are living in an ice world! everyone's yards looked like ice skating rinks! quinn even tried to make a snow angel but couldn't break the ice to do it. there are ice sickles on everything!

and then came the snow. wednesday we woke up to a winter wonderland and jumped for joy again because we knew he wouldn't have school again.

but the ice became too heavy for the tree branches to hold which caused trees and tree branches to fall all over town. we have woods right behind our house and if you stood outside and made no noise, you could here tree branches falling every 10 seconds. it has caused quite a bit of damage around the city and we even had a branch fall on our garage. luckily it didn't fall far enough to damage it.

also, the ice is becoming too heavy for the powerlines to hold so there are powerlines down all over the place. there are now 607.000 people in kentucky without power!!! i don't know how we are getting so lucky, but we had power with the last storm and we haven't lost it yet with this one. we are housing my brother and his roommate who lost their power and feeding dinner to all of our friends at night who aren't as fortunate to have power. since we do have power, we are loving life right now....especially quinn. no school for 4 days and we don't even know if they'll go back on monday. oh, and it is gorgeous outside. a true winter wonderland....probably for only those that have power i guess.

quinn decided to take jayden outside and make a snowman.

isn't it beautiful?! it's HUGE!!!

SIKE! just kidding! it's a mini one! just j-dogg's size!

he loved being outside and loved to stick his tongue out to catch snow flakes. it was hilarious! and i loved how his eyelashes would catch the snow flakes.

well, sorry for the extremely long post. i have been wanting to blog all week but couldn't get our computer to work, and now that it does i realized that i had too much to blog. so there ya have it, our snow week in a nutshell.

spring?!!!.....nope.

2009-01-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

two days ago the weather was so nice here that we decided to enjoy it and go to the park by our house. it was 59 degrees! pretty nice for winter. well, as i write this it is snowing outside. good thing we took advantage of it while we had the chance. looks like we won't get the chance again for quite some time.ok, i know i'm his mommy, but does my son not look gorgeous in this picture with his big dark eyes or what!

he absolutely loved the swing and didn't ever want to get out of it.

giving momma one of his open mouthed kisses.

the coolest teeter-totter i've ever seen. even mommy and daddy liked playing on it.

j-dogg returns!

2009-01-21T05:41:00.000-08:00

i recieved a call last night from my mother-in-law telling me that she is unhappy with my latest blogs and needs to see her grandbaby. she said that i have been posting random subjects with random mens' pictures instead of having jayden as the topic along with many pictures of him. sorry karen. but if it makes you feel better, i haven't posted for about a week because we were having computer difficulties. i promise i had good intentions of posting his latest accomplishments.

i feel that i need to give a shout out to hand-me-downs. everything you see on the floor in this picture is from a good friend karen fry, one of quinn's classmates' wife. she and others (sherstine mortensen) has given us SO many clothes, but she also gave us a ton of really cool toys. we decided before jayden was born that we wouldn't spend money on toys when they are babies, seeing how they will be happy with paper and measuring cups (which is what jayden played with before this day). but i must say that i love having real toys, learning toys, for him to play with. thanks karen.

on monday, i walked into the living room to find this:
he must already be learning from all those learning toys. jayden pulled himself up to the table and started walking around it! i was so impressed with him! and now that he has started he can't stop.

we may be having a little walker sometime soon. (take your time jayden, your crawling has got mamma on her toes let alone you walking).

2009-01-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

the unique and soothing voice of sondre lerche is something all of you must experience. i came across his music in a record store when i was a senior in high school and have yet to find a song that i haven't liked. he is from norway and wrote and sang all of the songs in "dan in real life" (or as my brother jesse calls it "joe in real life" ...sorry joe). anyways, i got a call from my brother joe telling me that sondre lerche is coming to louisville along with brenda carlile and the seattle orchestra. we booked tickets that night. excited is an understatement.

speaking of music i need to give a shout out to one of my favorite websites: pandora.com. it is an internet radio website where you enter in a musician's name and it will play their music along with others like it. through it i have come to know many more musicians that play incredible music. it is on all day at my house and i love that i can have numerous stations, two of which are sondre lerche and band of horses. you should check it out.

calling all germ-a-phobes

2009-01-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

so j-dogg went from not crawling to speed crawler just like that! he is already getting into everything, but the sad part is that i think it's hilarious. i know i know, that won't last for long, but the other day he got into the potting soil in one of my other plants and when he looked up at me with dirt all around his mouth i couldn't help but smile. i decided to try being firm so i held up my pointer finger and in a strong voice said "NO". he gave me the cutest smile, grabbed my finger, and started sucking on it. be strong lexi, be strong.
so even though he is a pro crawler, he still has no teeth and gnaws on EVERYTHING. even the shopping cart, which is why i bought one of these clever little accesories today.

it can be used as a shopping cart cover and a restaurant high-chair cover (which he also likes to suck on). i'm not really a germ-a-phobe, but it gives me the heebie jeebies when i catch him sucking on those nasty handles when who knows who has touched them with hands that who knows what they've touched. i don't even want to know. but now, problem solved. thanks target.

bakfiets

2009-01-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

so as i was browsing the internet the other day looking for a bike that i could ride around with my kids, i came across the bike of my dreams: the dutch bakfiet. pronounced BAK FEETS, this crazy looking thing is found all over europe and has just recently made it to the states. BAK meaning "box" and FIETS meaning "bike" this box bike will make all my wishes come true.

these bikes have room for your kids, they also have two benches and room for your groceries or flowers or picnic basket. this bike is not for those who are always in a hurry. it is the minivan of bikes.

there are seat belts for the kids

you can even haul around your little babies

they have covers for when it is frigid and rainy

and you can even carry home your christmas tree in it! i know once i show this picture to quinn it'll be a done deal.

let's get real lexi, this amazing bakfiet is $3000 and we are dental students with large loans. maybe one day... and only if i live in an area with side walks and stores and parks close to my home. (that's a big IF). youtube has a video of a bakfiet race in portland. it's hilarious. you should check it out.

going green

2009-01-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

as i was blogging this morning about how jayden has learned how to crawl, he was in the other room tearing up my beautiful plant (which was FAR away from the spot that i placed him). i guess he listened to us and decided to "go green" ...and took it literally. al gore and my mom should be so proud.

the babe's got the pox

2009-01-12T05:44:00.000-08:00

my sweet little baby got the chicken pox. we were told that he couldn't even get them until he's a year old and then they give a vaccine, but they were very wrong. they don't give the vaccine until they are a year old, but they can get a mild case of the chicken pox. it hasn't been bad at all. he only has a few spots and he hasn't gotten sick so i shouldn't be complaining. since he is contagious for about a week, we have to keep him indoors which i think he loves. i drag him around so many places that i bet he wishes he could just stay home and work on his crawling.....which he can do by the way! he started crawling on tuesday and hasn't stopped since. he is already pretty fast and can get into a lot of things. we got a new video camera for christmas and have taken a lot of footage so once i figure out how to get those videos on my computer i will show you all proof of his crawling.

christmas in a nutshell

2009-01-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

jayden met his cousins for the very first time! hopefully next time they at least ACT like they like him. just kidding. he was probably pinching her butt or something like that.

jayden loved christmas morning, but i don't think as much as mommy and daddy seeing how they got up at a quarter to five and had to wake HIM up.

we suprised my family by showing up at my nephews basketball game where they played against eachother. everyone thought that we were coming two days later, but quinn sayed that he wouldn't miss that game for the world.

jayden went swimming for his first time ever and loved every minute of it. it could be because we shower with him and dunk him under the water all the time at home. he felt so comfortable in the water (except when quinn would throw him in the air) and even loved floating on his back! now i have taught enough mommy and me swimming classes to know that most babies don't like to be on their back in water. i was pretty impressed to say the least. we also got him to mimick us and blow some bubbles (after drinking a lot of that nasty water of course.) too bad our gym in louisville doesn't have a pool. we'll just have to wait until summer now.

aunt elaine got married and looked absolutely beautiful.

we finally got to meet my sister cassi's boyfriend and could just eat him up! we miss you cassi and spencer!

coco had chicken pox this christmas so karen, being the wonderful mom that she is, walked out of her bedroom with a face full of red spots to match coco's so that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable at the christmas party. we decided to all do it with her and had matching spots for the party.

j-dogg made the cut for baby jesus this year!

we went on a train ride up in the mountains. notice the gorgeous scenery behind the two dodo's.

and finally, lots of this...sleeping on a plane.

jayden brown is coming to town!

2008-12-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

"jayden brown is coming to town"
by Rebecca Miller

...we want to see him when he's sleeping, and play when he's awake.
he knows that he's been really good so come visit for goodness sake.

oh you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout i'm telling you why,
JAYDEN BROWN IS COMING TO TOWN

what a happy thanksgiving!

2008-12-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

this thanksgiving was one of the best ever. although it was weird not being home and around a million family members, it was fun to host our very first ever thanksgiving dinner. we were lucky enough to have quinn's family fly all the way from boise out here and spend the holiday with us. i had fun decorating and making all sorts of foods i'd never made before and quinn loved cooking his first turkey (which was the best and juciest i've ever had). we didn't want quinn's family to leave (especially jayden who was held literally the entire time) but it was comforting to know that we will see them in two weeks for the christmas break.

waiting patiently for the fam to arrive

the fun arrives!

with quinn being the young men's president, we happen to have a whole lot of paint ball guns in our garage, so after thanksgiving dinner, joe, quinn, joel, and our friend j.d. went into the woods behind our house and played for a while. other than j.d. getting hit in the face by quinn, there were no real injuries. thank goodness.

before

after

coco always knew how to make jayden laugh

joel did a fantastic job at putting jayden (and himself) to sleep

grandpa has the magic touch

eating dinner out on the ohio river

grandma not letting go of jayden right before leaving and pleading to take him with her. i'm sure j-dog wouldn't mind.

here's a little video to show jayden's cute little laugh

it's for reals yo

2008-11-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

no need to adjust your glasses or try to re-focus your contacts... what you are seeing in these pictures is for real

i actually just passed a gas station on my way home from the gym for 1.80! BOOYA!

yes, jayden is now taking baths sitting up all by himself!

but every now and then he'll pull out his ducky to bathe with. no little rubber ducky for this big boy; "go big or go home" is his motto.

out with uncle doe doe

2008-11-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

we took joe (or joe joe when he was little which turned into doe doe, hence the title) out for his birthday last night and even though we put jayden in a highchair at home, this was our first time sitting him in a highchair in a restaurant.

it was a little bigger than the one at home, but he is very good at sitting up by himself and sat up very well all night, until we handed him his bottle. for some reason he can't tilt it up high enough; he just leans back until the milk flows into his mouth.

quinn wanted to see jayden's face when he put a slice of lemon in his mouth. the result: he loved it. no sour face, just the sound of really hard sucking.

jayden ate the whole lemon slice down to the rhine! i know sucking on lemon's is bad for your teeth, but are they bad for your gums? i guess dr.quinn would know wouldn't he.

randomness

2008-11-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

always getting second place in intramural basketball has haunted quinn since he began college years ago, and last night was his chance to change everything. quinn is on a team with my brother and a few guys from the dental school, making a team of only 5 meaning they have to play the whole game every game without a sub. they are really good and so much fun to watch play together. last night was the tournament and they won their first game meaning they would have to play right after for the championship game. they were so tired and played a team that had a gazillion players. that didn't seem to matter. even only having 5 players and just finishing another game, they played incredible. we were behind 2 points with 18 seconds left. it was our ball, the ball was passed around, the clock running down, a perfect pass from my brother, the ball was shot, and..... BRICK!
we missed the basket and lost the game. second place once again. there's always next year.
jayden and another of his girlfriends hanging out at the game.

i was going to knit jayden a beanie to keep his head warm this winter but i think we'll use this hat quinn found.don't worry, we washed it.

so you know how thanksgiving is coming up, well, quinn and i are hosting our first THANKSGIVING this year and we decided to do some trial runs with the turkey before the real holiday. (it was probably just an excuse for quinn to eat turkey) but quinn and jayden decided to see who got the wishbone after eating the turkey.
we didn't set this picture up; jayden really won the wishbone. it was awesome.

how's that for randomness