The Brown Bunch

We're usually on vacation for the Fourth, but because baby Claire is so new, we decided to stay in town this year. That gave us an opportunity to enjoy the annual Carrollton parade. Of course Claire and Jake were decked out in their festive wear and I had to take plenty of pictures. Hope you and your family had as much fun celebrating America's birthday as we did! Enjoy! As usual, Claire was up bright and early ready for the parade! After we got the kids dressed and ready, we had time for a quick pic before we headed out the door. As you can tell, Jake was excited about the parade! Daddy had his hands full while we waited on the parade. Jake loved waving to the people on the floats. Jason and I loved seeing their faces light up when they noticed Jake waving to them. What a great feeling! By the time the last group came by, Jake was tuckered out! Luckily, we had time for naps before cooking out and doing sparklers!

I was finally getting the hang of this mom business. After having Jake for 14 months, he and I were really in our groove.... and along comes Claire. When we found out that we were expecting again, I was shocked, excited, and very scared. How in the world could I handle two children under the age of 2? I still haven't figured that out, but let me tell you that I can't imagine life without MY two. From the moment Claire Elizabeth was placed in my arms, I knew that I loved these two more than any other gift I'd ever been given. My water broke at about 11:30 pm on Saturday, June 6. Jason and I were excited, but tired and had been hoping for some rest on Saturday night. Instead of that rest, we got a trip to the hospital where we were up all night waiting on our little bundle. Aside from some very painful contractions and a bad case of nausea when the nurse told me I might be too far along for an epidural, this was the easiest delivery in the world. I snoozed in between pushes a...

So at the threats of my friends of being removed from their blog lists, I've decided to post a few pics. I must admit that with the end of the year, having to move my classroom, and being pregnant, I've fallen behind on my mommy picture taking. Thank goodness that Aunt Fabby is usually around with her very nice camera to catch all of Jake's Kodak moments. Maybe now that summer is here, we can talk her into posting some of those pics on her blog for me (hint, hint, Aunt Fabby !) These pictures are some that were taken as a fund raiser for Relay for Life. A local church was selling picture packages to raise money for Relay and we wanted to have Jake's pictures made while supporting this very worthy cause. My aunt was able to secure one of the much desired time slots and we were set. Nanny Nette took Jake with her to the mountains for the weekend so that Jason and I could have a break so the photo shoot took place without either of us being there. Thank goodness...

After Jake's birthday party was over, we were free to start celebrating our Spring Break. I am so thankful that Jason was able to take the week off and we could enjoy it as a family before our new addition arrives. We took off on Sunday, Jake's real birthday, for Nanny Nette and PawPaw's condo in Panama City. Jason and I decided that a few days of fun, sun, relaxing, swimming, and BINGO were just what we needed. It turns out that things didn't turn out as we had hoped. It was rainy and cold most of the time we were there and we all suffered from sinus issues. Jason's favorite BINGO parlor had changed the way they do things (If it aint broke, don't fix it, right?) and at 7 months pregnant, I was needing my own bed. Sooooo ... to make a long story short, we ended up packing up and coming home a little early. We figured we could veg out at home just as well as we could veg out at the condo and Jake would have more toys at home to play with. The trip wasn't a...

We celebrated Jake's first birthday on March 28. We invited family from all over the state and were very excited when many of them got to come. We know it was a long drive for almost everybody, but it meant so much to Jason, Jake, and me to have everyone here. For one of my grandmothers, it was her first time seeing our house. We made sure that she got to see Jake's nursery along with the new baby's nursery because she had been wanting to see both for some time. Jake's latest thing is Elmo. He loves Elmo and grins anytime he sees the red furry creature. There was no doubt that this birthday should be completely devoted to Jake and Elmo. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day. Thanks, Aunt Angie for being my photographer for the day. Your rates couldn't be beat! Nanny Nette made Jake's cakes. Didn't she do an awesome job. PawPaw had an armful when he held both Jake and Jack. He was originally only holding Jack, but Jake got a little jealous a...

It's been a while since we've posted. Life with a 10 month old is always busy so I don't get very much time to sit at the computer. Sorry! I will try my best to do better! Here is a quick update on what has happened with us since our last post: I haven't posted anything about being pregnant, but most of you know anyway. In late October, Jason and I were shocked to find out that baby #2 was on the way. While it took me a while to get used to the idea, Jason was excited from the get-go. I guess that's another reason we haven't posted in a while, mommy is tired all of the time! Anyway, we found out last week that we are having a GIRL ! We were both thrilled and I know Jake will be a wonderful big brother to his little sister. We don't have a name picked out yet, but she will be here sometime around our anniversary in June. What an awesome present that will be! I know that most of you check this to find out the latest with Jake. So here it is... He is a MONSTER!...

Now that we have a little one in the family, Nanny Nette has decided that we need to start some holiday traditions. On Sunday, we left after church and went to Warm Springs for their Christmas festival. After a wonderful lunch at the Bulloch House, we hit the shops. The most exciting thing we found was Santa. Along the way we also found several photo ops. Basically, the day was just a chance to take some cute pictures of Jake. Enjoy! Jake getting ready for some fun. Jake riding the reindeer with PawPaw . Jake with Daddy. Aren't they handsome? Jake and PawPaw rode " PawPaw's Express." This was Jake's favorite moment of the day! Getting ready to ride Do you see who the head of our household is? Jake tried to drive a tractor. The wheel was bigger than he is. (Ignore the bubble in my hair.) Daddy played Superman in the old fashioned phone booth. Back at home, we realized we didn't have any pictures with Nanny Nette . Thank you PawPaw and Nanny Nette for a fu...