Christmas Letter 2010

Merry Christmas from the Browns!

2010 is nearly over, and it's time to sum up the years' events. Here's what's been happening with us.

Josh still holds the job of Student Ministries Pastor at LifeSpring Church. He spends his weeks preparing sermons, attending meetings, meeting with students and parents, teaching Bible studies, planning events, and attending students’ various activities. This keeps him really busy, but he was glad to welcome on a second full-time student pastor in April to share the load. (The previous second pastor moved on to church planting in September of ‘09, so Josh had been on his own for several months.) His major events this year were a mission trip to Mexico in February, being the speaker for a middle school retreat in May, and three weeks of camp in July. He’s continued to take seminary classes, starting in on Greek this fall.

Josh also had the privilege of performing his first wedding this summer. His brother, Matt, married our new sister, Courtney. Josh officiated, I sang, and Micah was the ring bearer. It was a really special experience for all of us.

The biggest major event for us this year was the birth of our second child, Elijah Malcolm, born April 9th. Eli has been a very good baby, and it’s hard to believe that it was just this year he joined our family. We’ve already seen him learn to smile, roll over, sit up, crawl, and eat snacks. The phrase that best describes him is “Mama’s boy.” He’s a super happy guy, as long as someone’s holding him and he has someone to watch. And he’s huge—consistently in the 90th percentiles at his well-baby checkups.

In January, Micah was just learning to run around and had only begun to say a few words. Now, he’s 35 pounds of constant energy. His favorite things to do are wrestling with Daddy, running, jumping, and spinning in circles. He’s a very sweet big brother (most of the time!), and he talks all the time. He loves to point out letters, numbers, shapes, and colors when he sees them. He tries my patience sometimes, as any good two-year-old will do, but it’s a joy to be his mom and to watch him grow and develop. As a bonus, he’s very entertaining, constantly cracking us up.

As for me, I spent January and part of February finishing up a long-term sub job for a little Christian school. Since then I've been kept busy just figuring out how to be a mother of two while still keeping a home running. I also teach a small group of Jr. High girls and help out the youth group however I can.

2011 looks to be another busy but rewarding year. We look forward to another wedding in June (Josh’s sister, Kayla), and to more ministry and family fun as we live out God’s calling on our lives.

Much love,
Josh, Brie, Micah, and Eli

Thanksgiving!

Hi friends! I'm way late in posting this, as usual, but I thought you might like to hear about our Thanksgiving with the Headlee side.

We were blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving with all but one member of the Headlee family. We all made our way up to the farm in Bancroft for a 36-hour Thanksgiving/Christmas whirlwind. As our family gets bigger (adding a girlfriend and more grandkids to the mix), it's harder and harder to get everyone together, and it's even harder for all of us to get any sleep while we're there (five grandkids under five is tough!). But it's so worth it!

Here's Mom and Dad with their "granddarlings," as Mom calls them. We bribed them all to be still with candy canes (and a carrot for Eli). Micah went to town on that candy cane. In the two or three minutes that we were taking pictures, he ate it down to the U-shape. Sheesh. L to R: Cady (age 4--Kellen's), Natalie (Age 3--Eric's), Micah (2), Kenny (1--Eric's), and Eli (7 months).

Kellen decided that we all needed to go to a Husker game together, so we bought our tickets, put on our red (and our layers), and went to Lincoln for the UNL-C.U. game on Friday after Thanksgiving. Of course, we had to go watch the band warm up in front of Westbrook. Here's my dad the Band-Man watching and loving it:

And some pics from the game. Love Kenna's hat!

This random old guy behind us gave Josh a hard time for wearing a Broncos hat. Like the Huskers and the Broncos are rivals or something, geesh. It was COLD. Hats of any kind were necessary.

And not one day, but two of the days we were together, Kenna and I dressed very similarly. So we took a pic. Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters.....

Ahh, I love my family. Can't wait for the holidays in 2014 or so when the stars might align so we can all be together again.....

P.S. In April and May, we'll get two more grandbabies. Jenny and Elizabeth are both pregnant! Woo-hoo!

First Snow

I'm a little late with this post, but Micah got to play in the snow for the first time ever last week. Last winter he was still getting used to walking, so he didn't ever really get to enjoy the snow (which is a shame, since there was sooooo much snow last year!). But we recently had a decent snowfall here in Nebraska that stayed through the morning but melted away in the afternoon (the best kind!), so Josh bundled Micah up and took him out. Here he is in his snow gear: It took him a while to be able to walk in it without falling down.

I think he ate about half of the snow in the yard.

Josh and Micah also made a huge snowball, starting it at the top of the hill and rolling it until it was too big to roll. It's a shame I didn't get a picture of it (although ten days later, some of it still remains). Micah kept talking about the "big ball" that they made.

After they came in, I made the boys hot chocolate. Micah LOVED it.

And just because he's cute:

Happy Winter!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

As your kids begin talking more and more, you start to realize that the things that come out of their mouths are the same things that come out of your mouth. And you see them doing things that you realize are imitations of the way you do things. It's like a tiny, distorted mirror! So here are some of the "Monkey See, Monkey Do" moments I've noticed lately.

• Micah has seen me clean his grubby fingerprints off a DVD so many times, that today I saw him breathe on a DVD, then pull up his shirt and rub it on his bare belly before putting it in the DVD player. (By the way, that's NOT how I clean them!)
• Once, when I was watching t.v. and Micah was trying to tell me something, he came over, grabbed my chin, and turned my face to look at his. Just like I do when I need his attention. :)
• Micah "helps" me fold the laundry by picking an article of clothing out of the basket, shaking it, and then laying it in a pile on the couch. I never realized that I shake all the clothes before I fold them, but I guess I do.
• He's kind of obsessed with eggs, always wanting to hold them and whatnot. I finally let him break one for a recipe. He tapped it on the pointy end, and once it cracked, he just kind of squeezed until the shell crushed and the egg came out. I didn't have to show him what to do, though. He knew how to break an egg!
• While I'm slathering lotion on Micah after a bath, I usually have to pick a fallen hair or two (of mine) off his body where it's stuck to the lotion. Now Micah has started to pinch imaginary hairs off his skin and throw them on the floor while we're going through this routine.
• The most-spoken phrases in our house (judging by the phrases Micah imitates) are: "What are you doing?" "Where are you?" (when he's in another room and I can't see him), "Be careful!" (He said that one when Josh leaned his chair on two legs during dinner), and "No get me!" (i.e. "You can't get me.")

Do your kids do any humorous imitations of you? Tell me about it in a comment.

October Pictures

Took me long enough, but here you go:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=253659&id=506485788&l=3bbc6c8967

Pumpkin Patch!

A couple of weeks ago, we visited a pumpkin patch with the Jantz's (Ryan Jantz is the other student pastor with Josh). They have four kids, so altogether it was a crew of six kiddos and four adults. We had a blast!

It took some searching to find a smaller pumpkin farm that wouldn't be as crowded as the ones right in Omaha, but we ended up at the Bloom Where You're Planted Farm, a little south of town, and I'm glad we did. It was just the right size, with lots of stuff to entertain our young kids, but without the crowds and pricey admissions.

The first thing the kids did is play on a hay bale that you could jump on from a cattle chute. They'd climb up, slide off, and do it again and again.
I think their favorite part was this "corn box." Less messy than sand, but so much fun! They climbed and jumped, dug, and were buried in corn. Here's Micah holding a giant squash (or something?) in the gourd garden.

Then we took a wagon ride out to the field to pick a pumpkin. Here's the Jantz family:
Believe it or not, this is actually the better of the two family pictures we attempted.

It took Micah a long time to pick out a pumpkin. He kept picking one up, turning it over, and then putting it back down because it had dirt on it. I think in the end Josh just brushed one off before Micah noticed the dirt.

They had free pumpkin painting, so Micah used a paintbrush for the first time. I think he did a fabulous job, and he didn't even get messy.

And just for kicks, here's a pic of my manly husband, atop a tractor with his sippy cup. :)

I made Josh take a picture of me just to prove that I was there. You can see Micah's paint job a little better in this one.

Going to a farm like this reminds me of growing up in the country and of hanging out at the Schweitz's farm almost every Sunday afternoon. Good times...

You Might Be a Chubby Baby If....

(This one goes out to Jeff Foxworthy)

If your cankles lop over the top of your shoes, you might be a chubby baby.

If you have dimples where your knuckles should be, you might be a chubby baby.
If your joints look like they were created by putting rubber bands around long pillows, you might be a chubby baby.
If you can't find your neck among all of your chins, you might be a chubby baby.
And if you can't wear a low-cut onesie because it shows too much cleavage, well, you just might be a chubby baby.

Dancing

Doctor Visit

Now that Micah is two years old, and Eli has had his first half-birthday, I thought it was time to update you on their well-baby stats.

Eli: Height: 26.75 in. (68%) Weight: 20 lbs. 6 oz (92%)
Micah: Height: 36.25 in. (92%) Weight 33 lbs. (93%)

I took them both to the doctor at the same time, and I thought it was pretty cute to see them both just sitting on the table in their diapers, waiting to be seen. :) When it came time for shots, Micah cried before, during and after he got poked. And then he cried empathetically when he saw that it was Eli's turn. Eli, however, only cried for about 4 seconds, and that only after the third shot! Tough guy.

In other news, here's a link to September's facebook pictures, including Micah's birthday party and Eli's 5-month photo shoot.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=244746&id=506485788&l=ec645ef194

Birthday Party

Look at him, isn't he cute? This picture was taken on his actual birthday, Thursday the 23rd of September. We had a party on Saturday the 25th. And I happened to do laundry on the Friday in between, and he wore the same shirt on both occasions. Ha. :)So Grandma and Grandpa Brown, and Aunt Kayla and her boyfriend Travis came down to celebrate with us. On Saturday morning we took advantage of Free Museum Day and took Micah to see the model trains at the Durham Museum here in town. He loved it! They had a little step for the short ones like him to stand on: He kept running over to push the button that put the trains in motion. I think he could have spent hours watching the trains.

After lunch, Micah took a nap and all us ladies worked on party food, including a train cake. It's not exactly a professional job, but we enjoyed making and decorating it, and I think it turned out pretty cute. :)

Matt and Courtney, Lauren, and Grandma and Grandpa Headlee also joined us for the party. We had some food and then Micah opened his presents. He got some clothes, sports-themed decorations for his room, bubbles, golf clubs, Hot Wheels, and a wooden train set, to name a few.

Dad had to help him blow out the candles.

After the cake, we just hung out around the house. Kayla was enjoying herself.

He's loving all the new toys!

It was definitely a fun time. I'll be posting more pictures on facebook soon, and I'll post a link here, too.

The Big 0-2!

Happy Birthday to Micah! We have family coming in this weekend to help us celebrate, so stay tuned for more pictures and updates.

Regressing

Micah has been able to count to ten since he was about 18 months old. However, lately he doesn't exactly count in sequence....

While looking at a picture today, Josh told him to count the puppies (there were five). He counted exactly like this: "One, threefivesix, seven, eighteen!" He repeated that exact sequence on several more pictures.

Good thing it's three more years until kindergarten!

Five Months Old!

Check me out!

August Pics

We're getting into the fall routine around here. Of course, that doesn't mean much for a stay-at-home mom of preschoolers, but Josh's church events have settled into their weekly routine again. Camps are over, Bible studies are starting, the weather's getting cooler, and all the stores and places to play are less crowded during school hours!

Eli will be five months old in a week. Micah will be two years old a couple of weeks after that. Wow. Where does the time go, seriously?

Anywho, here are pictures from August. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=220444&id=506485788&l=5fbcc26197

What Eli Sounds Like

Just wanted to post this so family and friends can hear Eli talking.

Four Months Old

Eli is four months old already! I think his little life has gone faster than Micah's seemed to....probably because I'm a little busier this time around. Ha! You think you're busy with your first child, then you add another, and you realize you weren't really busy at all.

At his well-baby checkup, Elijah weighed 18 lbs. 8 oz. (96th percentile) and was 25.23" long (61st percentile). He's a chubbo, that's for sure! He did great for his appointment, only crying a little when he got his shots. In fact, Micah was with me, and I had to spend way more time comforting him than I did Eli! (Micah's scared of the doctor, and he didn't really like it when they were making Eli cry.)

In other news, Eli started rolling over from back to front last week. It first happened on Josh's birthday, so I guess that was his present from Eli. He did it so easily that it made me think he could have done it much sooner, had I given him more time on the floor. But with an active big brother like Micah around, the floor isn't always the safest place for a little guy--even one as "sturdy" as Eli. :)

Josh and I took both boys to the zoo today. It's been stinking hot in our town lately, but it was overcast and drizzly this morning, so it was actually quite pleasant. Micah loves the fish and the birds. And penguins, which are kind of a cross between fish and birds. Eli sleeps the whole time we're at the zoo. I don't think the poor little guy has ever seen any of it. Oh well.

So there's your update. Life is good here. :)

July pictures

Hello! Here are pictures from July:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=197107&id=506485788&l=c677d7cf93

and from Matt's wedding:


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=192334&id=506485788&l=c71a054adb

Eli's 4-month checkup is tomorrow, so I'll soon be posting some stats and an update on him. Stay tuned!

False Pride

Just wanted to share a funny story.

Micah knows almost all of his capital letters, so he's always pointing them out when he sees them. He has a growth chart in his room with his name on it, and yesterday, we were in there and he was naming off all the letters on the chart. So he said, "M-I-C-A-H, Micah!" I was kind of shocked and amazed that my not-even-two-yet child could not only recognize letters, but he could actually read his name! Of course the thoughts that popped into my head were ones about how smart my kid is and how I must be an awesome parent and whatnot. Then Micah moved from the growth chart to reading the letters on my shirt. He read, "G-O, Micah!"

Oops. I learned two lessons yesterday: 1)I shouldn't jump to conclusions about my son's apparent cognitive development, and 2)Comparing my kid's abilities to other kids' is a dangerous path that leads to false pride. Ha! :)

Poor Sick Micah.

I feel very blessed to have such healthy kids. Aside from jaundice as newborns, I have only made visits to the doctor for well-baby checks--that is, until last week.

Wednesday night Micah started running a fever. He didn't seem to have any other symptoms, so I was just giving him ibuprofen and I figured it was teething. Thursday he started to lose his appetite, and Thursday night, he only slept for about an hour at a time. He'd wake up crying, and Josh and I took turns watching movies with him until he fell asleep again. Friday he refused to eat anything, even candy--that's when I knew something was wrong.

I took him to the doctor and they said it was hand, foot, and mouth disease. It's a virus that causes blisters in the cheeks and throat (and sometimes on the palms and soles of your feet, although he didn't have that). So he was absolutely miserable--couldn't eat, couldn't drink, wouldn't swallow medicine, wouldn't talk. It hurt him to swallow his saliva, so he'd just hold it in his mouth until something made his lips open, then he would drool like crazy. Saturday was the worst day, and today (Monday) was the first day he ate much of anything. It's really contagious, too, so we were keeping Eli in the basement and Micah in the living room and we sanitized everything. So far, Eli hasn't gotten it, so I hope we're past this. Yuck.

It's so tough to see your kids hurting, and even tougher when there's nothing you can do for them. We'd try to give him children's ibuprofen, but he refused it, and when we'd try to force in in his mouth he would spit it back out. And I'm sure he was hungry, but eating hurt worse than the hunger pains. Poor guy!

Once again, I would like to praise my heavenly Father for blessing me with kids that are generally healthy. It's something I don't take for granted! And if your kids ever get hand, foot, and mouth disease.....well, I'm sorry for them, and I feel your pain, too.

Trumpet lesson

This is Micah's first music lesson from Grandpa Headlee, the band director.

Two Become One

Last weekend, we had the privilege of participating in Josh's brother Matt's wedding. Josh was the officiant, Micah was the ring bearer, I sang a song, and Eli just looked cute. Honestly, I think being the mother of the ring bearer was more stressful than being the bride at my own wedding--at least when the ring bearer isn't even two years old yet and the wedding is right in the middle of nap time. But really, we had a great time.


Micah was much more interested in playing in the nursery than in posing for pictures. It was a bit of a fight to get him to leave his tie on, and we could only get him to stand in the pictures if Matt was holding a cup of M&M's. I don't think he smiled in any of them, but he still looked cute.



This is the best family picture we could get.Josh performed the ceremony. It was his first time to do a wedding, and he did a great job. It was cool to hear my husband give his thoughts on marriage in the charge to the couple. I picked a good one. :) Courtney, of course, looked absolutely beautiful, and Matt just kept grinning all day. We lucked out--Eli slept through the entire ceremony, so he was no trouble at all to the girls watching him in the nursery. Mr. and Mrs. Brown!

Okay, so we weren't sure what would happen when Micah had to walk down the aisle. He generally runs full-speed wherever he goes, and when he gets tired, he'll lay down on the floor/sidewalk/grass and just take a breather before getting up and running full-speed again. So we thought maybe we should practice:

During the actual ceremony, he walked with two little flower girls, so he walked really nicely and watched them dropping their petals. He went right up on stage and handed his pillow to Josh, then took off. I had to catch him and send him back to the nursery for the ceremony, which worked out well. Overall, I was proud of my little guy. He was such a trooper, even though he was really tired.

And now I have a new sister-in-law! Forever. :)

Have One!

Micah is saying more and more phrases now, instead of just words. One that's been cracking me up lately is, "Have one." He says it when he's sharing his goldfish or animal crackers or other snacks with me. The other thing he likes to share is whatever vegetable I put on his plate at dinner. And by "share," I mean that he says "Have one," and then holds out his green bean without ever taking a bite. I guess he doesn't mind giving all his veggies away.

I know this is late, but here are some pictures from June:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=189443&id=506485788&l=1b9ba8462e

Enjoy!

Two-month photo shoot

When Micah was about two months old, I did an impromptu photo shoot in our living room using a white sheet thrown over the couch. Grandma Brown wanted me to take some pics of Eli at the same age, so we got out the sheet and did it again.

This next one was an imitation of one from Micah's photo shoot:

And here's Micah at two months:

Back to Eli:

I love this one:

And another of Micah for comparison:

I've got some cute little boys, eh?