Oops This Should Have Been Part One

So this is kind of pathetic. First I forgot to write about a bunch of stuff that happened the beginning of December. Then 3 weeks later I finally uploaded the pictures and now a MONTH later I am actually going to finish the post. It's funny that with 3 kids I actually have more to blog about but not time to do it. Anyway our Christmas festivities actually kicked off with a dance show. Netta's dance class and EZ's gymnastics class both got to perform at the Round Rock holiday kick off. For lack of time I will not go into how stressful that night was or the mental break down I had afterward, but let's just say there were tons of people, King was wigging out and we didn't get any video of Netta. On the bright side we did get video of EZ and he actually performed! I was honestly afraid that he would freeze up and refuse to do anything since he is not a big fan of crowds. Just another way that EZ has really grown up these past couple of months. Here they are before the show showing off their somewhat overpriced costumes. (EZ's especially)

Then we had the annual Christmas party at Church. Santa came and everyone, but King was excited to meet him. (John was actually trying to hold King and take the picture of Netta at the same time, which didn't work out so well. But someone else was able to get pics so we now actually have a better one I am just too lazy to upload).

Nothing says Christmas like EZ running around in shorts and a short-sleeved short. Gotta love Texas.

Like I said King was not a fan.

A couple days later EZ had his Christmas party/performance at school. Every time we take EZ to school Netta says she wants to go, so she was so excited to finally get to be there. Here she is hanging out with EZ and his class.

The different age groups got up and performed different songs. EZ did a good job. He wasn't the most animated, but he also didn't turn around and refuse to face the audience so we will call it a success.

I didn't get a picture of it, because I was taking video at the time, but Netta actually went up and stood in line with all the 4 year olds and danced along to all their songs. Afterwards all the teachers kept coming up to me and telling me how brave she is and how she should be in school. Trust me I would have put her in the 2 year old class if we could afford it. I have a feeling it will be a very smooth transition for her in the fall and I am sure I am just as excited about it as she is.

Christmas Festivities Part 2

On the 23rd we drove down to San Antonio to check out the zoo. Nothing Christmasy about that per say, but it was nice to spend the day together as a family with no other distractions.

Netta seemed to get sick on and off again throughout Christmas week and the week after so she was acting a little funny when we got there.

EZ however was gung ho from the minute we got there. For some reason he really really like carrying around the map and kept asking me where we were and where different animals were. He even played with the map for a while after we got home, but finally King got his hands on it and started to eat it so I had to throw it away.

Both kids were excited to get to go to the petting zoo. It is really misleading, because they call it a petting farm, which would lead you to believe there are multiple kinds of animals, but nope there are just pygmy goats. Of course the kids didn't care and it was very difficult to get them to leave.

Netta's on and off again illness flared up on Christmas Eve, so we had a quite night at home. I was really bummed to not be at my parent's annual open house so I opted to make a bunch of the traditional hors d'oeurves and what not that we always have. Maybe not the most complete dinner, but it made me happy. We also used our new Little People nativity set to act the first Christmas. That is the best toy ever. Christmas day of course kicked off with the opening of presents. I was so excited to watch the kids and so how much fun they had. For a couple days after it looked like a toy store had exploded in our living room. John won the price for best present by surprising me with a maid service to come clean our house! They came last week and I am still smiling I am so happy.

That night our friends Kim and John had us over for dinner. They were flying solo for the first time as well this year so it was great to be together. All and all despite being a little different our first Brown Family Christmas was a success and we are grateful that we had this time to spend with friends and family and to remember the birth of Christ.

Christmas Festivities Part 1

As I mentioned before we tried to do as much Christmas stuff as possible this year since we were flying solo. The week of Christmas John was technically on call Monday through Wednesday but he didn't really have much to do so Tuesday we headed to Zilker Park. We were able to ride the train, which of course all the kids loved. I really wish we had gotten EZ in this first picture but alas we got some guys backside instead.

EZ wanted to sit with his friend and not his uncool family.

The reason we decided to head to Zilker Park is because they have this huge Christmas Tree made out of lights. In the past they have had a huge light trail, which they canceled, so if you saw that this might now be that exciting, but we missed it so we were pretty stoked to see the tree.

We were sitting under it when they lit it and it was pretty sweet. I guess you are supposed to stand under it and spin in a circle and then fall down or something and look up. We left that to the kids.

Of course they were selling stuff there. They had this amazing kettle corn that was surprisingly cheap. We will go back next year just for that stuff. There was also a guy selling glow sticks and other glowing stuff. I don't remember where we were but a while back EZ was begging for a light-up sword which of course we denied him because they are way overpriced and usually fall apart right away. In the spirit of Christmas and because I was just tired of fighting him we let him get one this time and he loves it. Amazingly it still works and it keeps King entertained so it is worth it's weight in gold.

Finally, here is just a funny pic of King. Babies are so flexible.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

This year will be the first time we actually spend Christmas in our home with just our little family. I have mixed feelings about this. I am excited to start our own traditions and not have to travel, but I have been spoiled and have been at my home in Pittsburgh every single Christmas up until now. This was also our first Thanksgiving without traveling or having out of towners at our house and it turned out to be awesome, but I am not going to lie it felt a little strange. So, in order to help make our first Brown Family Christmas as exciting as possible I decided to we should start it off as soon as possible (once Thanksgiving was over of course). It was a process to get the tree up. Not that it was actually hard, but let's be honest, my kids make me tired, and I only had the energy to actually put it up one day and then we did the ornaments the next and then we did the house decorations the next and then the outside lights the next and so on and so forth. The tree itself is a little scrawny, but I figure one of the kids is inevitably going to knock it over so at least if it's small it shouldn't kill anyone. So here are some pics of the fam by the tree. We really need a photographer to just hang out at our house so we can actually get everyone together in one photo for stuff like this. (Maybe my camera has a timer, but I really have no idea if it does and probably won't ever remember to figure it out).

Visiting EZ's Preschool

We love EZ's new preschool and one of the best parts is that 3 times a year I get to go in and be a helper for the teacher. I went on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and got to help out with their Pow Wow. They started the day with a food drive. All of the kids got to bring some canned goods to fill a grocery cart for a local charity. Then they gathered wearing the headbands they had made ahead of time and had a pow wow where they shared friendship trail mix and built a huge totem pole out of boxes decorated by each of the classes. Here is EZ in his sweet headband. He chose the Indian name "Good Roaring TRex." I think it represents EZ perfectly. He is starting to really get into dinosaurs, but he is still kind of a chicken so he wants them to be nice and not roar too loud.

EZ also got to celebrate his half birthday, since they get out of school before his actual birthday. He got wear the awesome birthday crown, but the best part was this little book the class had made for him. Each of his classmates drew a picture for him and dictated to the teacher why EZ is special. The kids of course said the cutest things, like EZ is special because he has a super hero lunch box.

It was really fun to get to watch EZ interact with his teacher and the other kids. He has grown so much this year socially and I just love watching him having a great time with his friends.

Grandpa Steve In The House

A couple of years ago, my dad made the move from mechanic at USAirways to quality assurance guy and because of that he travels a lot and sometimes if he is working out of town all week he can zip by our house for a visit on his way home. Two weeks ago he did that very thing and we were able to have about 3 days to hang out. Of course it was awesome and my kids were in heaven. We always have to try new food when guests come, so we opted for some bbq served out of a trailer. It was awesome. You have to get there before the place even opens to get in line and Casey did a good job entertaining EZ and Netta so they didn't go crazy while waiting.

We split our time between my house and my sister Sarah's apartment. Sarah and Casey have a dog name Neville and King got to spend some quality time bonding with him. He isn't doing it in this picture, but Neville seems to think King is another dog and he likes to put his butt in King's face so King can sniff it. It is hilarious.

We were able to kick off the holiday season with a tree lightening at a local shopping area called The Domain. It was crazy crowded and we almost lost each other a couple of times, but the kids loved the seeing the huge Christmas tree and dancing to the music. There were also some sweet fireworks that Netta loved, but EZ was not too fond of. He just isn't a fan of really loud noises. Here we are waiting for the tree lighting. King is hungry and not as excited as everybody else.

Finally, King got to eat and was able to enjoy the rest of the night.

We are so grateful my dad's job allows him to randomly visit. It is pretty much impossible for us to travel like we used to so we will take whatever visitors we can get no matter how long or short the visit!

What The Kids Are Up To

As you can see from the above picture Netta is very stylish and we are attempting to introduce potty training. Sadly, it isn't really going anywhere. She has had one successful pee on the potty and that's it. Honestly, I am not as committed as I should be to really make it happen. First, life is too crazy with all the kids to really dedicate the time needed to potty train and second we got new carpet in March and I really don't want her to pee on it.

Also Netta and EZ have started playing really well together. She wants to do whatever he is doing and for the most part he is cool with that. The best thing ever is when I see them walking holding hands. It seriously melts my heart.

EZ is really growing up and apparently paying a lot more attention to my tv shows than I had originally thought. The other day we made a Halloween clearance gingerbread house and after we had finished he said we needed to "move it to the judges table." I like to watch Foodnetwork Challenge on Sundays and I never really thought he was in to it, but I guess he is.

Finally, King had his 6 month check up at the beginning of November. The kid is still a beast weighing 20 lbs and measuring 28.5 inches. That is heavier and taller than EZ was at the same age. The best part is Netta weighed just as much as him at 6 months, but she was 2 inches shorter. Homegirl was fat. In this pic of King you can see how nicely he fills out his car seat. That thing is killer to lug around.

EZ and Netta both love to play with King and he loves it when they do. Right now they especially like to give him some extra bounce in his jumperoo. They both hold on to the straps and pull him up and down. So far he really likes it and they haven't broken it yet, so for now I am just going to enjoy watching my kids having fun together and pray for no accidents.

The Neverending Halloween

I kind of forgot that I started this post awhile ago so now I will quickly try and finish it up. Halloween was an 8 day long extravaganza at our house. It started out the Saturday before the Saturday before Halloween with a free event at a shopping complex by our house. They had a free petting zoo and bounce houses along with candy of course. Netta didn't love the petting zoo like I thought she would. She is going through this weird phase were stuff that never bothered her before now scares her. She has started making me pick her up in parking lots if she hears birds and she says "The birds scare me." I have no idea where that is coming from. Anyway, the bounce house was a bigger hit. Here is EZ in his Super Why costume.

The next day my sister Sarah and her husband Casey came over. I think it was actually so Sarah could interview John and I for a class assignment, but it turned into a Halloweenish activity when they decided to make masks. Netta and Casey look especially frightening.

Later that week EZ had a Halloween party at school and while he was there Netta, King and I went to the festival that the city of Round Rock puts on for preschoolers. It was really windy, but really fun. Netta opted to go as a witch and this isn't the best picture, but it was the only one I could get because the wind kept blowing her hat off.

King enjoyed himself as well.

On Friday, our church had it's annual Trunk or Treat party. I love it because it is so much easier to trick or treat in a parking lot with the kids than going door to door. Especially with Netta who loves to run away. The kids busted out some new costumes for this event. King got to wear the Chinese outfit I bought in NYC for EZ for his first Halloween.

EZ opted for a Superman costume this time. Not much difference, except way more muscles.

Netta was a kitty cat. She talked about being this for the last month since my sister Rachel came and bought her a cat mask from Target. Of course I don't think I managed to get a single picture of her with the whole costume on, but at least in this one you can tell she is a cat from her tail.

Saturday Sarah and Casey joined us again for some pumpkin carving. EZ loved his so much that he wouldn't let me put it outside, because he wanted to be able to see it all the time.

Then finally on Hallween we went with Sarah and Casey to UT for their Halloween activity. Basically all the student organizations on campus set up booths at the arena and kids could walk around and play games and get candy. We attempted to get a family picture, but was you can see it didn't turn out very well. We honestly don't have a single good picture of all 5 of us together. In fact that is the only one have at all. Luckily, I won a free photo shoot so hopefully some good family pics are on their way.

Meeting Lucy

While my dad and Winston were here visiting, my sister Meghan was busy giving birth to her baby girl Lucy. Pretty much as soon as I knew she was pregnant, I knew that I wanted to go visit and help her out when the baby was born. Of course John is awesome and was totally on board for me taking off for a long weekend. I also have an awesome sister and friends here that were willing to help out with the kiddies. I was lucky enough to get there when she was 6 days old. Obviously, King got to come with me. I am so excited that finally one of my kid's is going to have a cousin the same age on my side of the family. Here is a pic of King and Lucy meeting for the very first time. Can you tell he is older?

The poor girl had jaundice and had to be on a billy bed when we first got there. Luckily, it didn't last the whole time and I got to have plenty of chances to hold her.

On top of getting to meet Lucy and help out Meghan, I got to hang out with my sister Katie. Her husband was out of town part of the time and we stayed at her place so we had some good girl time.

King seemed to really take a liking to Lucy. So much so that he king of kept trying to rip her face off whenever he got close enough. Luckily, we were able to get this really cute picture before he attacked.

I wish I could have stayed longer, but it was an awesome trip. I admittedly got a little teary-eyed when it was time to go. It's hard to be so far from family, but luckily the sisters will be reuniting in January for a girl's weekend and of course Lucy will be joining us!

Winston Comes to Visit

This past month or so we have been blessed with quite a few visitors. My sister Rachel and her husband Robert came at the end of September and my parents and John's nephew Winston actually came to visit the same weekend in October. Unfortunately, I only have pictures documenting Winston's visit, so he gets the blog post dedicated to him. Winston is going to BYU and also writes for a music blog, which allows him to score some pretty sweet tickets to concerts. He just happened to score 2 press passes to Austin City Limits, a 3 day music festival held in duh Austin, so of course he flew down and John and him got to live it up for the weekend. Luckily like I said my parents came the same weekend so I was not left completely alone. That definitely helped fend off some of the jealously that John got to spend 3 days listening to awesome music, scoring free food and most importantly getting a break from the kiddies.

John, being the awesome dad that he is, did not completely neglect the kids that weekend. In fact kids under 10 were able to get into the festival for free and there was a whole "Austin Kiddie Limits" section, so John took EZ with them for part of one day. This picture of him and EZ is one of my all time favorites.

The kid part was amazing. EZ got all this cool free stuff and was able to do crafts, check out real instruments and even get a tatoo. He had so much fun that we are thinking we should buy tickets for at least one day next year and take all the kids. Here he is showing off all his swag.

After the concert was over, Winston had another day in a half to hang out. He was awesome and watched my older 2 kids so I could go do some clothes shopping one day. My kids absolutely adore him and they were more then happy to hang out with him instead of me. We also took Winston to see the ginormous bat colony that lives in downtown Austin. Here is is hanging out with Netta waiting for the bats to take off.

Finally, an adorable pic of Netta and EZ hanging out together while waiting. They have really started to play well together and I know it's cheesy, but it seriously melts my heart.

Settling Back In

September was basically spent trying to get back into the swing of things after a summer of traveling. Obviously I am still trying to get into some kind of schedule since I am just now posting this. I felt like I had things pretty much under control right before King was born and now ummm not so much, but I think King is worth it. Anyway, one of the highlights of coming home from Utah was that my sister Sarah and her husband Casey moved here to Austin the next day! My kids are so excited to have family here and so am I. When we moved here I figured we would be on our own and never imagined that within 2 years we would have family so close. Sarah is getting her Phd at UT and Casey is getting his masters and they live about 20 minutes away! Their timing couldn't have been better, since they arrived in time to help me out while John was away for his dad's funeral. Having dad gone was a lot easier to handle with an awesome aunt and uncle down the road. Here we are hanging out at their pool. (I like holding King because he makes me look tan).

September meant back to school for EZ. I will have to admit I was counting down the days till preschool started. Last year we were at the YMCA, but this year because of scheduling we switched to a local Lutheran church and we couldn't be happier. EZ loves his teacher and he seems to really be opening up and playing with other kids. He has also started reading like a champ. He is always excited to go to school and is very proud of the artwork he produces. He likes crafts so much that he made me buy him scissors and of course immediately cut of some of Netta's hair. Luckily, the damage can be easily hidden.

One of EZ's projects at school was a book about his family. I had to help him fill out a little survey and one of the questions was "What is a favorite family tradition?" and I realized that we don't really have any specific traditions, so inspired by how much fun my kids had roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in Utah, I bought us a little fire pit for our backyard. The first time was used it we were a little unprepared and we didn't eat dinner till about 8, but the kids were so excited they didn't even notice.

We also decided it would be good to get the kids involved of some kind of sportish activity so we signed Netta up for dance and EZ up for gymnastics at the local rec center. They both absolutely love it. I must say Netta is the star of her class, since she is typically the only one paying attention. She loves to dance so I am not surprised. Of course I had to search for the cutest dance outfit possible. It's kind of silly considering how young she is, but she is so stinkin cute I just can't help myself.

Finally, I little update about King. He had his four month check up during September and weighed in at 18 lbs, making him the size of some one year olds we know and he is still the biggest of my kids so far. He is definitely a morning person and I have no idea where he gets that from. He is so smiley when he first wakes up. Now when it comes to evenings things aren't always so smooth. He is also definitely the fussiest of the kids so far and always seems to melt down around dinner time. There are days when I think it's good thing he is number 3 because otherwise our family might have been a lot smaller. But really it could be a lot worse and of course his cuteness makes up for it.