The Brown Bunch

Nana & Papa with the grandkids Papa helping Jake with dinner Jake with Nana Jake looks almost as big as Alex in this picture Jake is all decked out for the Georgia game Jason was off for the weekend so we decided to tackle a few things on the list of "Things We Wish we could do, but never have time for...." The two main things that this included were going to visit Nana & Papa and going to tailgate with friends for the UGA/Tenn game. Having a baby sure does change things and we haven't been up to Royston or Athens as much as we'd like to. Friday was Papa's birthday. He and Nana were "campering" with Sarah and Alex for the weekend. They wanted to be close by for the Brown family get-together. Jake was able to spend a lot of time with them while Jason and I headed for Athens for a few hours to catch up with our tailgating buddies.

My cousin Dede turned The Big 4-0 on September 5 so we celebrated with a surprise party. She didn't feel like celebrating so we had to force it on her just a little bit. In the end, I think she enjoyed herself. In fact, it was a happy time that everybody needed. Here are a few pictures from the night. The Look-Outs Dede with Nanny Betty and Nanny Shewbert (The good looks run in our family!) Dede with Dikey and Lori (The good looks just keep coming!) The four granddaughters: Andrea and Lori (the babies) and Dede and Allyson (the big girls) :) No post on this blog is complete without a picture of Jake. Of course Jake did what Jake does best. Isn't he precious?

Football season is here! Jason and I are so excited to have Jake here to help us cheer on the Dawgs. As you can guess, Jake doesn't quite understand the excitement yet, but he is getting there. He really loves to watch the games and actually fusses if you turn him away from the TV or block his vision. I guess he's going to be just like his daddy. I caught this shot last week. The Bulldogs were fighting off Central Michigan and Jake couldn't make it through the 3rd quarter. He loves to watch, but it sure does wear him out!

Nanny Shewbert , my great-grandmother, is 98 or 99 years old. (She says she is 98, but the family Bible says 99.) She lived with us some when I was a child to take care of Allyson and me so that Mom could work. Because of this, she and I have always been very close. In fact, I like to joke with my cousins that I'm her favorite. So when Jake came along, I wanted him to be around Nanny Shewbert as often as possible. She lives in Helen, so we don't see her (or the rest of our mountain family) often enough. Jake is incredibly blessed to have 1 great-great- grandmother, 3 great-grandmothers, and a great-grandfather to all welcome him in to the world. For Labor Day weekend, Nanny Nette and I decided to take advantage of the long weekend and get up to see the family. The Nannies felt like getting out so the 5 of us piled in the car to go visit family that we never get to see, do a little tourist watching in Helen, and made quick stop at Dairy Queen. During our 3 h...

Paw Paw has been buying things for Jake since he found out we were pregnant. I guess it should have been no surprise that he bought Jake a playground for their backyard. Of course it's way too big and it will be a while before Jake can use the two slides or climb through the tunnels, but we had to snap a few pics. Judging by the looks on Jake and Paw Paw's faces, they plan on having lots of fun out there together in the years to come!

I got up early on Sunday to get ready to head to Nana's. Before I could hop in the shower, I glanced back to the bed and saw this adorable Kodak moment. I knew that the camera flash would probably wake them both, but to be honest, it was worth it. I had to have this picture to always remember just how much Jake is like his daddy, even at four months old. They even sleep the same! As I'm typing this, Jason is giving Jake a bath and I can hear them both singing and squealing. It's music to my ears! I am blessed to have such a happy son and wonderful, loving husband. Jason amazes me each day with his love for Jake. I knew he would be a good dad, but he is so much more. I say all of that to say this... Yes, I wanted my son to look a little like me. At the very least I thought he would have some of my characteristics. I don't think I'm that beautiful, but I DID do all of the work for 9 months and 18 long hours. I never thought that I would have a blond haired, blue eyed ...

Jason celebrated his 30 th birthday today. While his real birthday celebration will happen in September when Daddy takes him to New York, we met Mom, Dad, and Allyson in Newnan for a special dinner. I know that Jason's favorite present was the personalized card from Jake. I let him hold the pen and write a special note to his daddy. He also licked the whole card (before I could get it away from him) and sealed it with a kiss for Daddy! I swear everything Jake does is cute!