True Love

What is true love? True love is a daddy who's 6 ft. 3 in. and crawls under his little boy's crib to brush his little girl's teeth while she's playing under there. He could have pulled her out, but instead he went the extra mile so she could have a few more minutes of fun before bedtime. That's true love, and that's my incredible husband.

A Girl And Her Pac

Here are a few cute pics of Evie and her pac. It won't be long and we'll be saying good-bye to pac. Although it is still a ways away, I'm not looking forward to that day. For now, though, pac is here to stay.

Two is always better than one even for pacs.

4 Months Old

Today Emmitt had his 4 month check-up, and all went well despite the fact that he screamed the entire time. It almost made me think that he somehow remembered his last visit. Emmitt had definitely put on the LBs during the last two months. He now weighs 15lbs and 12.5oz, and he's 26 in. tall. T.O. (Terrell Owens for those who don't know.) better watch out. Emmitt's already preparing for his spot on the Cowboys line-up.

Burning 2600 calories in 5 hours - A Dieter's Dream

Well, she did it. Kelli finished her marathon today and is feeling great. Her knees didn't bother her, and the only real discomfort she experienced was a stitch in her side towards the end of the race. After 5 hours of racing and burning off more than a day's worth of calories, Kelli's final words were, "I'm ready to eat some Mexican food." Congratulations, Kelli. We're really proud of all your hard work.

Run Kelli Run

Life has been very busy in the Brown household lately, but it's also been very fun. The kiddos are growing up so fast, and I have tons of pictures and stories to tell. For now, though, I just have a request. Pray for my sister. She is running in her first marathon tomorrow in San Antonio. Although I'm slightly jealous (I love to run, but I have 2 kids.), I wish her a great race with perfect weather and pain free running for all 26.2 miles. Run, Kelli, run. We're all so proud of you!

Hair Cuts and Flowers

Today was an exciting day of firsts for the Browns. Evie had her first hair cut, and we visited the Myriad botanical gardens for the first time. Mommy also had a first - a crazy key fiasco, which I blogged about earlier. (My first, though, will never happen again, or at least I hope it won't.)

Evie behaved so well during her hair cut. She didn't cry or scream or throw a fit. Despite a few wiggles, my stylist, with help from Nana, was able to cut off Evie's follet. For those of you who don't know, a follet is a female mullet. I can't say that I'm sad to see it go. No more business in the front and party in the back. Because Evie did so well, she got a sucker at the end. This was her favorite part.

At the Myriad Gardens, Evie enjoyed looking at all the different plants and flowers.

Here's our big girl walking around checking out the plant life.

Nana and Evie

The Busy Browns

The month of September has been full of fun and excitement for the Browns. Here is just a peek at some of our adventures.

Growing, Growing, Growing - It seems like every day that Evie and Emmitt are changing. Emmitt is no longer the tiny newborn I took home from the hospital, and Evie is no longer my baby girl. Emmitt has now entered the smiling and cooing baby stage, and Evie has become my big girl toddler. It's exciting to see them grow, but I just wish I could occasionally pause it or at least set it on slow play.

OCCC Arts Festival-Evie really enjoyed playing in the sand.

A quick snack

Making a bracelet with Daddy

Emmitt enjoying a little rest. Notice the pink pac. I left his very manly Dallas Cowboy pac in the car so he had to settle for Evie's pink one. (It was clean, though.)

A Day at the Zoo with Nana-Evie loved the animal choo-choo.

Rainbow watching with Daddy after a rain storm.

2008 Oklahoma State Fair

Our big girl looking at some baby piglets.

A look at Chris and Kelli's future

Brain Farts

Lately, I've felt like my brain has not been working. I'll lose things and then find them in the most unusual places. For example, the phone on a shelf in my closet half hidden by clothes. Today I experienced another one of these "brain farts." This one, though, is by far the best.

My mom and I were leaving for an appointment, and I couldn't find my keys. I looked in the diaper bag as well as my purse. Not there. I looked in the kitchen, my bedroom, and Evie's room. Not there either. Since we were pressed for time, I decided to use Josh's keys and look for mine later. So, we went to the appointment and then came back to the house to search some more. This time, I looked under and in everything. Still no keys. Just when I'm beginning to think that I've lost my mind or even worse that someone has stolen my keys, I find them. Where did I find them? How about on the roof of our Yukon, which I had just driven to our appointment and back!

Last night, the garage door would not go down. I went out to take a look, and for whatever reason, I took my keys with me. While working on the door, I laid my keys on the roof of the Yukon. Once finished, I walked back into the house with the keys still on the roof, and they remained there until I found them this morning after driving to our appointment. It just goes to show that it never hurts to pray about even the little things in life, i.e, lost keys and where to look to find them.

Baby Brother and Sissy

I snapped some pictures of Emmitt the other day and noticed how similar it was to this one of Evie.

My two very special gifts from God!

A Great Series And An Incredible Man

This past month, our pastor has been speaking on relationships. It has been a great series with something new to learn and take away each week. A few weeks ago, the talk was "How To Have An Affair." (I'm not joking. That was the actual title.) It was a great series on how to protect your marriage from an affair. One thing, Josh and I took away was the idea of a "date night." We use to have a "date night" at least once a month before Emmitt arrived. Since his arrival in July, though, there's been no "date night." That was until last Saturday, and it was the best by far.

We had a great time eating at our favorite restaurant, Deep Fork Grill. Since it was our free day (we're both doing Body For Life), we both ordered a delicious 14-16 oz. ribeye. If you could have seen my plate afterwards, you would have laughed. Except for the broccolini, it looked like I had licked the plate clean. Dinner was delicious. Then we headed over to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert- carrot cake. You would think at the Cheesecake Factory the dessert of choice would be cheesecake, but not for Josh and me. It's their carrot cake. Delicious! Although the food was incredible, the best part was spending it with my man. We had so much fun talking about anything and everything.

When we were preparing for our wedding, we found a verse in Song of Solomon that became our verse. It was true for us then, and it is still true for us today. "I have found the one whom my soul loves." (SS 3:4) I thought I loved him a lot on our wedding day, but I had no idea how much more I would love him 5 years and 2 kids later. Thank you, Love, for an amazing night. I love you.

Thank you also to Nana, Papa, Aunt KeKe, and Uncle Chris for watching the kiddos so we could have our "date night."

The Faces of Evie

Lots of things, which I will share later, have been happening in the Brown house. For now, though, enjoy some funny pictures of Evie.

Come On, Buddy

Two weeks ago, Evie had her 18 month check-up. What did we find out? We have a healthy girl - a very healthy, very chatty, very independent little girl. Evie has definitely been showing us her unique personality lately. Phrases like "oh my word" and "come on, buddy" now make up her vocabulary. Our dog, Christmas, is her new "buddy." Trying to get the dog's attention, she walks through the house patting her leg saying, "Come on, buddy." Usually he ignores her or hides. She's also discovered her love of climbing. If I would let her, Evie would climb anything and everything. From the couch to the kitchen chair and table. Yes, I've actually caught her on top of our kitchen table with the orneriest grin on her face.

Evie is also adjusting very well to her new baby brother. She's become very fascinated with his poopy diapers lately. Whenever it's time to change Emmitt, Evie always wants to watch. Occassionally, I get the odd request to "touch it" referring to the "poopoo." I never thought I would have to explain to someone that we don't touch "poopoo." Not Emmitt's, not the dog's, not even our own. But I have, and on several different occassions. Evie always keeps you on your toes.

Spending time with brother.

Sharing our milk with baby.

Evie behind bars. This is how I found her one day after her nap.

Two Weeks Old

Our little man Emmitt is two weeks old today. The time is flying by fast, even faster than with Evie. Right now he just eats and sleeps, which mommy loves especially at night. Occasionally he'll have a little awake time, but it doesn't happen too often. Evie is a great big sis. She loves to see "baby bother," and gets a little upset when she can't see him face to face. For her, the video monitor doesn't always cut it. All in all, I think she is adjusting very well to sharing mommy and daddy with Baby Emmitt.

Emmitt-1 day old

Emmitt-2 weeks old

From the 80's

My sister forwarded a hilarious email to me, and I have to share it.

You Know You Grew Up In the 80's and 90's if:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE or JENKS.
2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton.
3. You know that 'WOAH' comes from Joey on Blossom.
4. If you ever watched 'Fraggle Rock.'
5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
9. You played the game 'MASH'(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House).
10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
11. You know the profound meaning of ' WAX ON , WAX OFF.'
12. You wanted to be a Goonie.
13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing.
14. You can remember what Michael Jackson originally looked like.
15. You remember the CRAZE of slap bracelets.
16. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
17. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
18. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying 'I know you are, but what am I?'
19. You remember 'I've fallen and I can't get up.'
20. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
21. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
22. You remember boom boxes and people walking around with one on their shoulder like they were all that.
23. You remember watching both Gremlins movies. (I never actually got to see these movies, but I can remember them coming out.)
24. You remember watching Kids Incorporated and the new Mickey Mouse Club on Disney.
25. You remember watching the show Jem.
26. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
27. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as 'NKOTB'
28. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on 'Saved By The Bell,' The ORIGINAL class.
29. You can remember singing 'We are the World' in music class.
30. You tight rolled your jeans.
31. You owned a banana clip.
32. You remember 'Where's the Beef?'

It was scary and funny to realize how many of these applied to me. Kind of makes me feel old, but not too bad.

Playing in Brother's Room

This morning Evie was playing in Emmitt's room. She loves his toys even though they're too young for her now. When Josh walked in to get her for breakfast, this is how he found her.



Isn't she quite the climber?

Welcome, Baby Emmitt

On July 17 at 7:20, Emmitt David Brown made his grand entrance into this world. He weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and was 20 in. long. Here are some of his first pics. More will come later.

Evie giving brother loves.

Leaving the hospital.

Funny Faces

Two days before the arrival of Emmitt, I had this conversation with Evie while eating lunch.
"Picture. Picture." Evie said as she pointed to my camera.
"Do you want me to take your picture?"
"Picture. Picture."
As I opened my camera case Evie repeated, "Cheese. Cheese."
As I focused the camera, I imagined Evie's beautiful smile since she had requested this photo shot. Instead of a smile, I was only able to snap pictures of Evie's funny faces. These were the faces she made.

This was the only semi-normal smile I was able to catch.