25 October 2012

Random cuteness from the baby.

Mr. Brown came home from the store this week with potato bread, which is a change from the brown wheat bread we usually eat.  Nut Brown calls it 'cloud bread' and will eat it as a dessert.

24 October 2012

 My friend Wendy lent us this very warm and adorable bear suit for Bobo.  It's like holding a heavy stuffed animal that generates its own heat.

Also it tastes good.

22 October 2012

Yesterday we took our neighbor girl with us to church and she was exclaiming over Bobo in the back seat and saying that she wanted a baby brother.  The kids responded thusly:

Nut Brown: No, no!  You feel like you're not part of the family any more!

Rose Pink: You don't want a baby brother.  Trust me.  They're a lot of work, and you have to play by yourself a lot.

New babies are hard on our family.

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In other news, Bobo is cutting two teeth on the bottom and is no longer allowed to nom our fingers because now it hurts when he bites.  When lying on his tummy on the floor, he can spin himself around in circles to get some variety of view.  Mr. Brown just started reading 'Superfudge' to the kids, and they LOVE it.

17 October 2012

Bobo has learned to blow raspberries.  He and his father had an exchange of raspberries in the kitchen recently, and when Mr. Brown came back into the room, Bobo started blowing raspberries again.

He's also learned that fingers are for grasping and tries to hold everything remotely close to him.  He's gotten good at floor time as well and has started some rudimentary scooting.  But he still hasn't rolled over yet.

12 October 2012

We're deep into fall soccer season and both Rose Pink and Nut Brown are playing.  They have soccer practice on separate nights so practice night has turned into 'mommy date night' for the non-practicing one.  Yesterday Nut Brown and I rounded up all the game tokens we could find in the house and went to Chuck E. Cheese to spend them all.  Fabulously fun.  And free.

Nut Brown is #1 in the below photos.

28 September 2012

Last week, as Mr. Brown was agonizing (again) over whether or not homeschooling will work to prepare our dear children for college and the rest of life, Rose Pink told him: Oh Daddy, you don't need to worry about college for me until I'm at least ten.

We gave Nut Brown the camera while on a walk with Grandma and Grandpa while they were here in August, and when reviewing the photos he took, we discovered that he'd photographed individually all of the adults' behinds.  I suppose that's what was at eye-level for him.

25 September 2012

 An exciting event at our house last week produced representative artwork:

A praying mantis landed on the kitchen window he moved...

first photos 24 Sep 2012

We just got a new camera.  (Thanks for the advice, BJ!)

First photo.  It surprises me sometimes how well the oldest and the youngest  get along and enjoy each other.



When Bobo wears this outfit, the kids call him 'monkey butt'

Definitely aware of his hands and can more consistently get them in his mouth.

Everybody does love an Irish girl.  Also we love her even though she's not really Irish.

Rose Pink's soccer game last Saturday.

Bobo takes in the action at the game.  He made lots of noise and helped me cheer.

Hey baby!

Rice cereal is just a little too weird.

And he's getting better about getting other things besides his hands into his mouth as well.  And Mr. Brown is getting some relief because he'll sit in his high chair and practice fine motor control for twenty minutes or so while the dishes are done/lunch is made.  Yay.



the following are brought to you by either DC or Marvel comics, whichever publishes the superhero performing below:

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Did we not tell you that homeschooling leads to smart children??  We've already started with the intelligence plus-ups for Bobo.  (Brain hat thanks to our friend Wendy!)

12 September 2012

Bobo grabbed my placemat at dinner last night.  Those little hands are getting more and more proficient.

Last night Rose Pink gave thanks in her prayers for all the baby animals that will grow up so we can eat them.

We walked/rode/rollerbladed up to Jim's last night for ice cream, and it was a lovely evening.

7 September 2012

Bobo is more and more aware of his hands and their gripping ability.  He holds his own hands together, and brings one or the other up to his mouth to suck on.  He has also started reaching out and grabbing things (very slowly) and sometimes he can manage to get them into his mouth for chewing.  He passed his four month checkup with flying colors and is now 50th percentile for weight, so he's getting bigger.  He still talks a lot.  Sometimes to us and sometimes to himself.  When he lays on his stomach, he can hold his head up, but he doesn't like it!

Our camera broke this week, so no photos.  :(

1 September 2012

My parents came to visit for the Dream Cruise....

... and other activities...

31 August 2012

This sign was taped up in our front window when I got home, and that's how I found out that Mr. Brown had followed through on his plans to have some friends over for D&D today.

30 August 2012

Conversation:

Mr. Brown: I think I feel so bad because I have too much pride.

Rose Pink:  How can you have too much pride, papa?  You're a member of the church!

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If only life were that straightforward!

29 August 2012

One of the sweetest things in my life is seeing my children love on each other.  A couple Sundays ago, I was making up lunches to take to church (I have to stay after for choir, so I bring lunches for the kids) and spreading PBJ sandwiches.  Nut Brown wandered into the kitchen all sleepy and when he saw what I was doing, he made sure that I knew to give him the sandwich made with the heel of the loaf, because Rose Pink doesn't like heels.  The sweet part is that he doesn't like heels either; he was just looking out for his sister.  He does things like this all the time, and it always makes me all mushy inside.

Rose Pink came home from her first day at vacation Bible school with a collection of charms that had to do with the theme for the week.  She thought they were pretty awesome, and so did Nut Brown.  Nut Brown only went to Bible school for one day and then wouldn't go back, but Rose Pink went and asked for another set of charms for her brother and brought them home for him.  It just warms my heart when they look out for each other.

28 August 2012

The hazards of being alone with your brother in the back seat.  He might use a popper on your forehead.  (You know, those half rubber balls that you turn inside out that 'pop' up off the floor)  In Nut Brown's defense, he also used one on his own forehead.

27 August (2)

Just now, putting kids in bed, a very noisy something drove down the street.

Mom: Wow, that was loud.  What do you think that was, Rose Pink?

Rose Pink: A semi?

Mom: It sounded like one, didn't it?  What do you think, Nut Brown?

Nut Brown: A car?

Mom: Actually it was a motorcycle.  A really loud one!

Nut Brown: By car, I meant vehicle.

27 August 2012

 Bobo is four months old today!

Who needs a crib? Cribs are overrated.

Bobo is big into sitting up, and will strain to get upright if he is slightly reclined.  He talks and talks and talks: last week he was fussing on my lap, refused a bottle, but then lay and talked to me for five or six minutes while I changed his diaper.  Afterwards he was ready for his bottle- he apparently just had something he had to get off his chest first.

This week he has figured out that he can move his hands around and how to get them into his mouth.  Early indications seem to suggest that we have another lefty.  He is still stumped when we put things into his hands: poking himself in the eye with them and then being surprised.  He'll put your fingers in his mouth and chew on those, too, and he's at that nice gummy stage where it's like a little massage.

Mr. Brown gave him his first real food yesterday: sips of a citrus banana smoothie at a friend's house.  He liked it.  But then, he's on prune juice in his formula every day, which he prefers over plain formula, so no surprise that fruit is yummy.

He's a pro with the bottle now, and when he hears us shaking it up, he calms down and waits impatiently for it, because he knows we have it figured out and food is on its way.

Also, he's a drooly baby, which is new and different.  He's not teething, but he blows spit bubbles and will dribble on you.  And he'll nom on your shoulder too, and leave a little wet circle.  He's so cute.

Birthday!

 Nut Brown is FIVE!

Rose Pink spent the whole week before letting Nut Brown go first when taking turns, and making sure he got first choice of treats, all because he was the birthday boy.

 Chocolate cheesecake 'dirt' with gummi worms and a chick.

 Waiting to blow out the candles

 Opening gifts from our friends

our monkey man

Nut Brown was highly anticipating this birthday, and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make anything happen for it: two days before we still hadn't gotten any gifts for him.  Instead of a party at home, he took some of our friends to Flip City, a gymnastics place that has a free play hour every day, and then they came home and ate hot dogs and chips and cheesecake.  (Mr. Brown makes the BEST chocolate cheesecake.  The BEST.)  And broke a pinata, because that's what we do for birthdays.  It turned out to be a very fun afternoon for our boy.  I can't believe he's five.

12 August 2012

Some gratuitous photos of our darling baby.  He likes to talk, a lot, and he also is happy to hang out on laps quietly.  On Sunday at church, he insisted on sitting up to have his bottle (only BABIES lay down to eat, Papa, REALLY!) and when you put him on his tum he can hold his head all the way up.  He will also yell at his siblings if they're too rough with him.  He tries to sit up in his carseat when he thinks he's been in it long enough.  Also he's sleeping really well at night (8-9 hrs) and not really sleeping at all during the day.

11 August 2012

Nut Brown took us on a jolly walk last night.  We stopped by a construction site that has a lovely enormous pile of dirt for climbing, and then walked past our old house ('the cabin' as the kids call it) to the 'near park'.  I pushed Nut Brown on the swings and we played a tickle-me-no-you-can't-I'm-dodging game on the swings and threw punches at each other.  It was lots of fun, and the Mr. Brown and I raced each other across the park to the sidewalk, me with the stroller and Mr. Brown with the wagon and two kids. (I won.)