Life is Good.

Here we are at the zoo. This was right before a little girl came up and tried to pet Eli....

Sheesh, I'm terrible at updating this. I can't decide what I want this blog to be...should it have well-planned, thought-out posts, or should I just pop on a few times a week and share the latest silly things the boys do? Hmmm.....

Well, today is just going to be a silly update.

I've been thinking lately how nice it is to not have a baby right now. Don't get me wrong, we definitely want more kids, but I'm really enjoying this stage where things are just a little easier. I mean, both kids can generally sleep all night long. They both feed themselves. They both walk places, so I don't absolutely have to have a stroller wherever I go. They can play together, take baths together, help each other with (little) things.

I think the nicest thing right now is that we're at a point in our "training" where the boys generally stay out of the things that they shouldn't be in. Meaning that I can trust them to behave themselves long enough for me to take a shower or whatnot. Granted, we're talking like 10-15 minutes max, and I always make sure they're cared for and occupied with an activity while I'm busy, but it's nice to not have to keep my eyes on them 100% of the time.

And, they're hilarious. Micah says the funniest things. I'll have to start posting a "quote of the day" or something. Like the other day, he had a little cut on his toe, and I told him it was time to help me pick up the puzzles (that Eli and him had dumped all together in the middle of the floor).

He said, "Oh Mama, my toe hurts. I just can't do puzzles when my toe hurts."

So I said, "Should I get you a band-aid to help your toe feel better?"

"Not really. I think I need a snack to help my toe feel better. Maybe some Cheez-Its."

It was snack time, so I got him some Cheez-Its and he ate them. Then he came up to me and said, "Mama, my toe still hurts. Those Cheez-Its didn't work." Ha ha ha ha!

Eli sings the ABC's. It's so cute. Every syllable sounds the same--just kind of an "ah," but he definitely carries the tune! Silly boy, singing before he can really even talk. He does say a few words, though. And he says "Did it!" every time he puts a puzzle piece on the puzzle board. And he is a ladies man. He's not shy about flirting with any teenaged or older girl that he sees. :)

I love my boys. I love being their mom. Life is good.

Go Read This Comic!

My younger brother, Jeff, is a super clever and artistic guy who holds a degree in video game design. For the past year or so, he's been working as a video game tester, and he and his friend, Eric, started this web comic to poke fun at the industry (as well as to showcase their talents).


For those of you who knew Jeff back in the days when we all lived with our parents, you may remember his comic strip, "The Stick Guy," that he used to write (mostly on Sunday mornings when he should have been paying attention in church). Ah, my littlebro has always been creative, only now he has more training and resources to make his comics professional.


So go to this website. The link is to the first comic in the series, but you can click on the arrows at the bottom to read through them all. New ones get added on Mondays and Thursdays.


http://www.thirdpartycomic.com/2011/06/30/1-the-beginning-of-the-end/

Kayla's Married!

June 25th, 2011, Josh's sister Kayla got married. Josh performed the ceremony, I was a bridesmaid, Micah was the ring bearer, and Eli just looked cute. It was a fun-filled week leading up to the wedding, and there were lots of preparations to help with, since the reception was held in Josh's parents' back yard. And Josh's mom did all the food (with lots of help, of course). Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

All ready to get married! Does she look excited?

Of course I have no pictures of the actual ceremony, since I was busy being up on stage and all. Josh rocked the pastoring--he had an awesome message for the couple. This was Micah's second attempt at being a ring bearer. He got to carry a "sparkly box" (as he called it) instead of a pillow. He was pretty un-cooperative for pictures, which didn't surprise me, since he refuses to pose at home, too. But the photographer managed to get a couple of decent ones.

Between pictures and the ceremony, Josh took the boys for a drive so they would take a little nap in the car. It worked great for Eli, but it kind of backfired for Micah since he was out so hard that we had to wake him up to get him ready for the ceremony. So then he was grumpy, and whined and cried right up until I was walking down the aisle. I wasn't sure if he would go when it was his turn, but sure enough, he walked about halfway down the aisle and then ran the rest of the way. Too cute.

Here's a picture of one of the truffles my cousin and I made for the reception.

And here's one of me and my sweetie!There were a few raindrops during the reception, so I gave Micah an umbrella to entertain himself. He just wandered around with it, looking cuter than anything I've ever seen.

Here's Mr. and Mrs. Travis Shepardson!

And one of our attempts at a family picture. None of them had all four of us looking at the camera! Oh well, the joys of toddlers!

Well, I now have all of the brothers-in-law that I will ever have. And Josh's side of the family is all married off. I just have one brother left to get married, and then we'll be all out of weddings until the next generation. Man, we're getting so old!

Congrats, Kayla and Travis! And Travis, welcome to the craziness that is the Brown family. :)

First Surgery

Eli had surgery a couple of weeks ago to have ventilation tubes put in his ears. He's basically had fluid/infections going on since Christmas, so when they suggested tubes, I was all for it. This is the first surgery that either of our boys have had, and other than an after-hours visit for what turned out to be croup, we had never even taken our kiddos to the hospital.

Let me just say that Children's Hospital in Omaha is excellent. Everything from the phone calls to get medical history to the check-in process to the care Eli received was just great. Everyone was so nice and they went out of their way to make sure we were all comfortable and had everything we needed.

Micah spent the morning at a friend's house, and Josh and I both took Eli to the hospital. Our check-in time was 8 a.m., and poor Eli wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything all morning because he would be having general anesthesia and they don't want to risk him vomiting.

There was some concern about a fever that Eli had been running for a couple of days. We had a weird virus go through our house, first Josh, then Micah, and then Eli had fevers with really no other symptoms. We weren't sure that they would go through with the surgery, but we were told to show up and they'd make the decision once the anesthesiologist and the doctor checked him out. Luckily, they let us go ahead.

Since Eli was sick, they brought some toys to our room for him to play with, rather than letting him play in the playroom. He was so adorable in his little hospital gown with his diaper sticking out the back. :)

We waited and played, and eventually the nurses came to take him to the operating room. As I predicted, he pitched a fit when they took him away from me (the same fit he throws when I drop him off at the church nursery or even when I put him in his crib for the night). Then Josh and I waited and watched t.v.

It was only a ten-minute surgery, then they kept him in recovery for another half-hour or so. When they were bringing him back to our room, he was pretty mad. He was crying and babbling. The nurses said he was chewing them out, and I think they were right!

Once he saw me, he grabbed me and laid his head down on my shoulder. It took me a little while to get him calm, but eventually he settled down enough to drink some apple juice, which helped a ton. Then the nurse brought him some graham crackers and they were friends again.

At Children's, each kiddo is given a teddy bear that is next to them when they wake up from surgery. Eli has never been attached to any stuffed animals before, but he really loves that bear! He carries it around and hugs it, and he likes to sleep with it, too. So cute!

We had to put antibiotic drops in Eli's ears for three days, which was no fun because they stung his ears. Several times it took both of us holding him to get the drops in how they were supposed to be. But tubes are so worth it.

I think Eli hears a lot better now. He sure does jabber a lot more, and it seems like he's understanding us better and communicating to us better than he did before the surgery. I'm sure he feels better, too. And since we spent the first three months of this year visiting the doctor every two weeks trying different things to get rid of the fluid in his ears, it's definitely easier on our schedule to have the tubes in.

So there's the story of Eli's first surgery, and although it was a good experience, I hope he doesn't need any more. :)

Eli Dancing

In case you missed it on facebook....

Mississippi Trip

Here's the story of our trip to Mississippi in April.

My sister-in-law, Jenny, had a baby on March 25, while her husband (my brother, Kellen), was deployed in Djbouti, Africa. Her mom and two brothers were able to go stay with her for a couple of weeks, but of course Mom and Dad wanted to go see the baby and help out, too. They invited the boys and me to go along.

So on Friday, April 15th, we loaded up the van and drove through the night to Gulfport, Mississippi. It was 17 hours of driving, and the trip took us 20 hours total. The boys did great, and Grandma and Grandpa and I did pretty well, too.

We stayed for almost 10 days, and we packed a lot of fun things in! I was able to take the boys to attend the church of a friend who used to be a pastor at our church. He's now leading a church in Baton Rouge. It was great to catch up with their family.

We also went to the beach, had a picnic and played on the playground at Keesler Air Force Base, played in the backyard, read LOTS of books, attended an awesome re-creation of Passion Week events at Jenny's church, dyed Easter eggs and had many hunts for them, played in the sprinkler, ate at Chick Fil-A and Applebees, went to a splash pad, and went out for ice cream.

Oh, and we just enjoyed plenty of time at Jenny's house, holding Carter and watching Cady and Micah and Eli play. Cady and Micah played well together, but also did some bickering. At one point, they were arguing about whether Carter was Cady's brother or Micah's cousin. It turned into a "No, mine!" kind of fight, until Cady pointed to Carter and said, "Did this come out of YOUR mommy's tummy?" Ha ha ha ha ha!

So, below are some pictures from the trip. Hope you enjoy them!

Eli is One!

Eli is one year old! Actually, he's more than 13 months old now, but silly Blogger has delayed my posting on his birthday. I'm really not sure that it's going to work today, but I'll take the time to write it out and just hope that the publish button works.

I love that picture (above). He's just such a happy guy!
Eli's birthday (April 9th) fell on a Saturday, so we were able to celebrate on his actual birthday. All the Browns came (Dennis and Loretta, Kayla and Travis, and Matt and Courtney), as well as my mom and dad and cousin Lauren. We had some delicious pizza and opened presents. Eli didn't do such a great job of tearing into the wrapping paper, but oh well--maybe when he's two. :)

This is the balloon that Micah picked out to give Eli. He loved it! He kept sticking out his lips and saying, "Ooooo!"
I had a hard time picking a theme for the cake and whatnot, because it's tough to tell just what a one-year-old is into. But that boy sure does love to boogie whenever he hears music, so I decided to go with a musical theme. You'll see it on the cupcakes.

He also loves sweets, so of course he gobbled his cupcake right up.
Here are the cupcakes I made. I had a good time making the toppers out of melted chocolate.
I'm so proud of my little guy! He is so much fun right now. A month after his first birthday, he's walking all over the place, saying a few words including "ball" and "book," dancing whenever he feels the rhythm in him, and still giving the best snuggles and hugs. He's a super cute, cuddly ball of energy and I can't imagine our family without him. Love you, Eli!