Halloween

Halloween was fun this year. I think Sara was really into it and was excited to be a princess. We recycled a dalmation outfit from two years ago and put it on David. He seemed somewhat ok with it except for the hat. It was a nice evening and Sarah went trick or treating with 5 kids! That's big for our "neighborhood" which really isn't much of one because we live on a main road and there aren't as many kids in it (since we live in the city, parents flee to suburbs when it comes time for their kids to go to school) but we like our location and heard the city school near us is really good.

With all the activities that happen around Halloween, it seems that the kids always get several opportunities to use their costumes. First the daycare has a harvest festival one evening for the kids with all sorts of activities. Then they have trick or treating in the classrooms the day of Halloween and then their is neighborhood trick or treating. By the end of this, we have more candy than we need and it seems it hangs around until Easter but the kids have fun.

David dressed up. Woof Woof

Sarah and "the girls" at the Halloween festival (Nina, Madison, Sarah and her friend Sarah Kitchen--yes their are two Sarah's with the initials SK)

Goodnight Lovies

I feel I need to post this because one day I'll show this to Sarah and she'll see how cute it is. On many nights, Sarah likes to put her stuffed animals to bed. She's not much of a sleeper, so after I say goodnight, I'll often hear footsteps moving about. Sarah will go around her room and collect blankets (even getting some from David's room) and stuffed animals to tuck in. She'll do this during the day as well. Sometimes we'll find stuffed animals tucked in our beds, in the chair in David's room, or on the couch or chairs downstairs. These photos here are just from one night's effort of putting many stuffed animals to be in her room. They are just small reminders of how sweet (at least we think) our little girl is.

Here's some on the main carpet (the photo above are the one's at the end of the bed)

...and since we ran out of room, we put one near the wall.

New Camera Lens

I finally got a new camera lens in June. My old one broke for my SLR and I didn't realize how expensive it was to replace one. After hours of shopping and reading reviews, I figured out the right one to fit our needs. I am extremely happy with my purchase. These were just a few of my first shots of the kids with them. I love how well it does close ups.

One thing I was glad to capture is David sucking his two fingers. Just like his sister, at around 3-4 months he started sucking his two front fingers. He did this continuously until about 9 months. He rarely sucks them now, which is good and similar to what Sarah did. They both never wanted a pacifier. One day at daycare he kept trying to steal another child's pacifier and finally got it. He didn't know what to do with it and started trying to eat the backside of it.

David loves to watch Sarah and smile.

Sarah watching David.

David crawling towards Sarah


How do I look?

A Very Hot August

This August and summer were hot. Some of the hottest temperatures on record. We had many days in the 90s and 100s, which were miserable. It was too hot to do anything and Sarah just wanted to be inside to avoid getting too hot and sweaty. I couldn't blame her. We tried to manage by going to the Children's museum, visiting the playground at the mall or playing in our inflatable pool on the back porch. We definitely are going to look into a pool membership for next year now that David is more independent. Hopefully we'll get Sarah more comfortable with the water by then.

Sarah's Birthday July

This year Sarah had her first birthday party. We were in Massachusetts visiting family in July but we had plenty of children come to play with her. We had a great week on the beach visiting with my parents and my friend Elina and her family (they rented a house down the road). The week started off with Sarah's party and then we had fun at the beach most days. The weather was nice and Sarah got to play with her niece, Abigail; her second cousins, Vrinda, Rohan, and Nihar; and my friend Elina's kids, Zak, Nathan and Hugh.

The Brown Family gathers for Sarah's birthday

Eating mom's watch at the beach.


Fun at the beach

Reading books with dad.

Playing in the sand

Having fun with dad at the birthday party

David 5 months

David continues to get stronger and stronger and now can roll over and sit up on his stomach. He loves to laugh and smile, which is fun to watch. He will be 5 months this week and we still wonder where the blonde hair and blue eyes are coming from--well we know they are from mom but we doubt these recessive traits will last long over Greg's dominant dark hair and eyes. Sarah did have blue eyes for the first few months, like many babies, but we'll see if they start to change in the coming months. We did find a picture of Sarah from when she was around David's age and they do look very similar despite the hair.

Look at me, I can sit up!

What's this on the blanket?

Hmm, what's going on over there?

Hi everyone!

Florida Trip

We had a fun trip to Florida in late March to visit Nanny and Pop-pop at their house. The weather was warm on some days and colder on others. We still had fun and Sarah really enjoyed going in the hot tub with the bubbles. She loved playing at the beach in the sand and had great trips with Nanny and Pop-pop to visit animals. Greg and I had an opportunity to get a few days without the kids which was a nice change. All in all a great trip!

David hangs out in the beach chairs

Sarah has fun eating s'mores by the fire

Fun with the bubbles in the hot tub.

David's Growing

David continues to grow and meet his milestones. We had an adjustment when he started daycare --he didn't like using bottles, but now he is happy and likes getting dropped off by his big sister. Sarah wants to drop and pick up David off first so she knows he is ok. She also likes to show off her brother to the other kids. It is very sweet and she is a great helper. These are just a few of David's photos at 3-4 months.

Hey there....


Touch down!


Please shoot my right side, it's better


Daddy and Sarah hanging out with me.

All bundled up with sister Sarah.

Easter Fun

This Easter Sarah had a lot of fun searching for eggs. She had several sessions of practice as well. It started with searching for eggs at pre-school and then having an egg hunt at a friend's house on Saturday. By they time Sunday came, she was excited for more in our backyard. Greg was working, so it was just Sarah, David and I. I hid the eggs and then Sarah wanted to do it again and again. I hid the eggs, then she hid the eggs...this went on for several tries. I am amazed at how easily children her age can be entertained and it reminded me of the fun of searching for eggs at Easter. Next year, hopefully David will join in the fun!

Sarah finds eggs in the grass


and in the flowers.....



....this is so exciting!


Wait, there is one in my toy car!

I'm so happy!

For the love of donuts

We are lucky enough to have a very a good bakery four houses down from us. One of their specialties is donuts. They are dipped in cinnamon sugar so they aren't too sweet and they taste wonderful with a cup of coffee in the morning. They are the next best thing to my mother's homemade donuts and can't even beat a Krispe Kreme hot donut (although those are good as sometimes).

We've had several snow storms this year and last week was one of them, but that didn't stop Sarah and Greg from going to get some fresh donuts to make us happy. I know up north, this would be a normal adventure, but for us southerners, it is very different for us. Hard to believe we could have even more snow next week!

Splish Splash

David continues to grow and is two months now! When he was born he had skinny little legs (a Brown family characteristic) and now they are turning into nice chubby baby legs. He is already wearing 3-6 month clothes and is almost 14 pounds.

He has some trouble with acid reflux (at least we think) and he started some prescription medicine last week. We saw a noticeable difference in him and he actually has some calm moments now. We are happy that he is more comfortable. His next big adventure is starting daycare next week. I spoke with the caregiver there and she is very excited to have him. She also took care of Sarah for part of the time and Sarah loved her. It is nice to know that he'll be in loving hands when we aren't there to take care of him. Unfortunately, David still is not a fan of bottles and loves to sleep on his stomach (which is not allowed a daycare), so I think the first week will be tough for him. I am planning on doing shorter days so he doesn't come home completely exhausted and hungry. Hopefully he'll adjust quickly and enjoy his time there like Sarah.

Our evening routine is starting to go a little smoother as David gets older. Bathtime is one of our calmer moments since both Sarah and David enjoy it. Sarah likes to help bathe David and David just likes to sit in the warm water. It's a nice time that we get to enjoy as a family. Even Brody will join us in the bathroom. We are so happy that we renovated the bathroom over the summer. Now we can all fit comfortably in the bathroom and the heated floor continues to be a treat with the cold winter nights!

Sarah and David enjoy their evening bath

Finally some nice weather

It has been very cold in VA for the last few weeks, which makes getting out and enjoying the southern mild winter weather tough. The cold finally broke this weekend, so we had a chance to go to the river and enjoy a nice walk as a family. Sarah had a great time walking and Greg carried David in the sling. Brody was very thankful to be able to run around and visit with the other dogs. Despite the cold water, he still went for a dip in the river.

Sarah is adjusting well to being a big sister and wants to help with David. She likes to see how he is in the morning, when he is awake, and when he needs to be fed. When he cries, she will go and talk to him. At first she was upset when he cried. Now she seems to tune him out--particularly when he cries when we bring Sarah to or from daycare. He is following in his sisters footsteps and doesn't appear to be the baby that calms down when he is in the car. We hope this phase doesn't last too long.

Walking by the river

Sarah singing "a hiking we will go..a hiking we will go..."

Sarah and David

Sarah enjoys a new hat she received for Christmas