All Things Brown ...

Halloween!

The good thing about Halloween is that sometimes you are lucky enough to have a couple of parties to go to so the kiddos can wear their PRECIOUS outfits!

Audrey = ladybug

Isabelle = teddy bear

Both insanely cute.

Although here's is Audrey's territorial look ... wherever we go, if there is a car, she hoards it! She thinks it's hers to "dive" and throws a real hissy if anyone wants to use it. That's what happened Monday at Daniel's house!

Astronaut Trey & Teddy Bear Izzie ... soo cute together!

Audrey thought that decorating cookies was a fabulous idea! :-)

Then, on Friday we went to Tula & Maverick's for a party - they have a trampoline AND a car!

Ladybug jumping...

and cooking...

Then, there was actual Halloween! We went to the Locke's house for chili, trick or treating & fun! The girls were soo cute together. Didn't even plan it, but the three older girls all had tutus involved in their outfit and they were so precious!

Possibly the cutest picture ever ... three little tutus and all the princesses looking!! (and holding hands like that!)

Under that big "hat" is a little baby named Isabelle who's costume was a tad too big up top!
 
 
 

She did not really love wearing this headpiece, so it didn't last!

Below, I just how all you see if Izzie is the head!
 
 

Oh, and I don't remember that Audrey hounded the car on Saturday night, but she occupied herself with the play vacumn (interesting b/c she is very afraid of the real life one) and Tatum's bike!

 
Izzie REALLY wanted to eat the candy - next year Doodles!

Me & the girlies...
 
  
 
 
 Thanks to everyone who hosted us for the Halloween festivities! We had a great time at each party!
 
 
 

Freeman Farms - Chino Valley, AZ

Sunday we took a little road trip to Chino Valley, which is a little town just NE of Prescott to escape the heat & have some fun doing REAL fall things!

It's an awesome place and kind of a kid wonderland ... petting zoo, tractors everywhere, carousel, corn maze, train, hay rides, sno cones, pumpkins!!! Needless to say, Audrey had a great time ... Doodles did too, but the wind and dust seemed to be bothering her little eyes - poor thing.

I think it's safe to say that we'll go back next year, so next year, they can just run all over the place together!

just look at A's face in the one below; she LOVED this!

 
 
 

 

 

Doodles was very tired and ready to go by this point ...

They were pretty dirty after the day and demanded an extra long bath in the big tub! They do everything just alike!

 

 
 

 
 
 
 

Mother Nature's Farm & Special Pumpkins

Saturday - big day. Tasha and I took the girlies to Mother Nature's Farm to pick out pumpkins for some creative carving! All morning I told Audrey about Tasha coming over and how we were going to a pumpkin patch ... she couldn't wait!

My pumpkin among the other pumpkins ...

 

The admission fee for this place includes a pumpkin for each kid ... Tasha and I helped Audrey and Isabelle decorate their pumpkins! There were cute foam stickers to use, so pretty mess-free. Yippee! Audrey had quite the hand in her pumpkin's "style" and it turned out very cute.

It is very hard to get a picture of these two movers & shakers looking at the same time. Audrey alternated between hugging Doodles and pushing her right off the hay bail.
"Thanks Tasha for saving my head from getting bonked ... Love, Doodles"

Such a poser...

Audrey doing what Tasha does ... of course.

Quick picture on the tractor!

 

So even though we were at a pumpkin patch, we picked our carving pumpkins at Fry's on the way home because the line was OUT OF CONTROL at the farm. This is where the fun for Audrey really started ....

We let her help in her own way with the carving. She scooped, poked some random holes, tried to use the knife (yikes!), and more. Tasha read a tip that if you sprinkled flour on the pumpkin after you made the tracing dots, then the pattern was easier to see. It didn't work so great for me, BUT Audrey LOVED playing with the flour! She proceeded to her hands all in it ... scoop it out with every imaginable thing she could use - easter eggs, shovels, spoons, cups ... she would move it bit by bit all over the  yard. Sam also enjoyed this little game because she got to eat all the flour - yuck!

While Audrey played with the flour, Tasha and I worked and worked on special pumpkins for the girls. Background - for Audrey's birthday, Tasha got her a pumpkin carving kit with stencils for certain special characters and promised to come back over and her make them! :-)

The finished product follows ... can you tell who they are???????????????

 
 
 
I think Big Bird and Elmo turned out great! Audrey LOVES them...when she got up from her nap, she kept talking about "tasha pumpkin ... i unt tasha pay (play)..." she was very sad that Tasha couldn't stay forever! I couldn't wait for night, so I showed her the pumpkins and she screamed "elmo!!! big bird!!!" They are now sitting on the back porch so we can enjoy them while we are watching TV or whatever ... I hope they last a while because well they are really cute & A loves them! 

 
 
 
 
  
 

Doodles is Way too Close to Being One ...

 

My doodlebug is nearing the ripe age of 1 year old ...the ten month mark has come a tad too fast for me! Doodles you're my last baby, so you need to slow it down a bit!

-point at everything with your little pointer finger;

-feet are disproportionately small and irresistibly cute;

-eat with both hands - very animatedly - very often - very much ... you love solid foods - all of them;

-make sweet little sounds;

-have a wicked tuck and roll that happens during diaper change;

-hate getting dressed and muc prefer to be naked;

-still only have 2 teeth - on the bottom;

-have started sleeping in lately - wa hoo! you are sleeping until between 7 and 8 am these days. nap twice, although you often get dragged out and forced to skip that first nap in lieu of a big one in the afternoon just like audrey (so we can get out!);

-love apple juice! prefer the sippy cups with a straw and do the best w/ those...you can do a nuby cup fine, but they always leak!;

-do the strangest thing in the car sometimes: bang your head back against your cat seat??? really.

-have started waving - soo cute!

-have a very cute and very tiny hiney;

-love bath time with big sis ... you girls play and play and splash and make BIG messes in there! ... you do not enjoy being rinsed and always crawl away from me and pull up on the side trying to get out when rinse time comes;

-think you are a daddy's girl.you get REAL excited when he comes home ... arms flapping and giggles every time.

-still nurse - at least 2 x a day and when i am home, more. still use a paci to go to sleep - whatever keeps you happy bug!

-are starting to get into push toys; here we go again!

-have curly hair that reacts in humidity and looks beautiful!

-put everything in your mouth ...

- wear 6-12 month clothes; wear size 2 shoe; don't like hats; rip off socks.

-have the cutest crawl ... when you are in a hurry you SMACK the floor you go so fast and hard! when you get worked up, i can feel your heart just pounding in your little teeny chest. your crawl has smoothed out and looks more natural now that you are getting the hang of it; it was really cute when crawling was still a little robotic.

-have enough hair to wear a clip to keep your "bangs" out of your face.

-scratch your ears. :(

-stand up in the crib a lot and reach up when you want to be picked up.

-like to cuddle; did i already say that? i really like this one!

doodles - you are my sunshine! you're so special to me and my very favorite little baby. the difference with you for me, is that there is no rush for you to grow up, walk, talk, whatever!  i know it is going to happen - much too quickly. i want you to be little as long as you can for those reasons and in the meantime i just want to savor every little minute of you and every little phase / development / change you make.  love you baby girl ... your biggest spectator, ma ma

(which by the way, I swear you have said a couple of times! ..."ma ma ma ma ma"...)

 
 
 
 

 

i heart doodles

A Wedding Weekend!

Congrats to Jessica & Trevor on your marriage - we had a GREAT time in Florida for your wedding and miss you all already! :-)

Warnings, lots of pictures to follow:

Audrey likes to do just what her big cousins "dessica" and "eya" are doing and the airport starbuck's run was no exception; she needed a special vanilla milk too!  

Doodles gets settled in for part 2 of the flight to Jacksonville!

Having Uncle, Aunt & Cousins on the flight was a big help ... these girls played & watched movies!

Friday, we were off to get nails done ... the first of many cheek to cheek pics from the weekend (me and bride!)

Friday night was rehearsal & dinner ... somehow didn't get too many pics of that!

Saturday morning we hosted a luncheon for Jessica and played the fun icebreaker where all the guests were to put Jessica's pictures in chronological order ... it was really cute and we definitely saw some priceless photos - personal fav = glamour shot!
 

Mimmie came with the girlies to the luncheon! Mimmie's table feasted on chicken fingers and fries, but I think she was able to get something else!

A sure was happy when her very own cupcake showed up! Every single bit of icing and "cake" was taken care of ...
 
 

Doodles got her own cupcake too - she LOVED it! Lucky girl, most babies have to wait until their 1st b'day party, but not Doodles. She has already had plenty of cake!

The "Chill Girls" were all together for the event - ALWAYS a good time!
 
 

The group collectively gave Jessica a scrapbook full of pages made by each of us ... Mother of the Bride & Bride w/ the "not adopted" page - so cute!

 Me and the girlies...

All the girls AND Mimmie!

Then, the wedding! Monkey came too.
 
 

A little posing before it all started - thanks to Phil for taking these pics, but who managed to escape being in ANY! :(

Note the beautiful pink jewelry from BELEZA!

Part 1 of 2 for the flower girls
 

Part 2 of 2, flower girls!

Here comes the Bride & her Dad ... almost time!

"...Meet me at the altar in your white dress..."

 
 

 
 
  

Mr & Mrs Stewart seal it with a kiss!

The girls LOVED my flowers ...

Look at that beautiful hair do!  

 
 
 

Helen & Doodles - bonding for sure! Helen, I wish you were here - the girls loved hanging out with you so much!
 
 

 Handsome husband!
 
 

Just one of the MANY boys that Audrey flirted with over the weekend! This is John David and they were a cute little match! There was also Graham, and most especially James!

At this point in the night picture taking stopped, we danced the night away instead & let the photo booth take over - lots o fun!

The next day, we went to one more lunch with Mimmie & Poppy before they had to drive back to NC. We went to the beach club to enjoy the view AND we got to hang out with the Sanders Fam!

 

The girls had a fun time swimming in the baby pool with Graham  - before we all had to leave for naptime.  Later on, my cousin Lance and his other half  -who goes to college in Jacksonville met up with us at the hotel (soemhow no pictures!!!???). We had a great time .. hit the pool, the playground and some great thai restaurant.

And, how cute is little Graham playing peek -a - boo? He and the girls sure did have a good time! What a bonus to get a whole extra day w/ them!!?? It was so much fun.
 
All the kiddos eating while we waited for the boys to come back with the thai food .. thank goodness Kari had some real food for them to eat! :-)

If only we had thought of this sooner! These three thought it was super fun to hang out together in the pack and play!
 

After a long day full of fun, we packed and packed and kept the girls up way late ... then we woke at 4:30 am to get to the airport to make the trek back. We were exhausted but did manage to all nap a bit at the airport ... preston on the floor, izzie in the stroller & audrey and i in a chair! And the girls even slept the whole 2nd leg of the trip (nashville to phx).

 
 
 What a wonderful trip ...we got to see so many special people, see a very special wedding & have a little fun while we were at it! I'd say I cannot wait for the next one (trip), but I can...we are very looking forward to staying HOME for the holidays!

Congrats again Mr & Mrs ... now get back to the US, I miss you!!!!
 
 

photo link ...

I recently had some pics of the girls taken ... here is the slideshow!

http://crescendophoto.com/browngallery

Her Party

was lots and lots of fun!

we had audrey's party on saturday morning - yes, iowa was playing in the background. audrey had a big time & we thank you all for coming! :-)

here she is with two of her favorite things ... the drums from Ya Ya (thanks!) and balloons!

wondering around - of course!

desperately trying to sneak a swipe of icing! isn't the lettering great? cousins ella & jessica took turns writing the letters to "audrey"

ever the lady with her cake! no smashing this yaer, just delicately eating every single morsel!

these two - the cutest little buddies! it's a good possibility that they will be trouble someday! here, they are having a big time with the cash register that tatum gave audrey - and wondering who will get the key to the cash drawer!

miss priss must've been on a sugar high and refused to nap. we decided to push through and head over to Joe's for dinner with Tasha & Rob and Tatum's crew - the weather was surprisingly awesome for an outdoor dinner! Of course, she was exhausted and fell asleep on the way over ...

Doodles at Joe's being a little dearie!

and finally Audrey wondering around some more ... sometimes she just meanders around aimlessly in her own little world ... that is okay b'day girl! you get that from your daddy! :-)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Actual Birthday

So long long ago, Audrey Madison turned two years old and her mom has been sooo busy that she hasn't had time to write about it or post pictures of it!

We spent the morning running errands like crazy in an attempt to be ready for her party the next day! B'day girl and little Sis were troopers for all the running around that we did ... Audrey's favorite stop was definitely Ikea. Fortunately, the waiting area for returns includes a couple of kids games that she thought were pretty cool - not to mention the big kids who were sort of playing with her! Audrey also thought it was a blast to spin and spin the shopping cart around (you know how they are at Ikea) with little Sis in there -- we also played several games of "where's Audrey?" that invoved me running around and hiding in various spots - we had a long wait.

That night, we celebrated by taking the big two year old to Peter Piper Pizza for some games and pizza! Little Sis was very tired, so she had to snooze a bit, while the b'day girl enjoyed the carousel!

After pizza & a nap, Audrey hit the cars for some "diving" ... first, she wheeled little Sis all around:

There are no photos of her "diving" the big games, because I had to supervise aka help with those! Boy this girl does love cars and pretend driving a whole lot! Here are the sisters with DaDa just before we had to call it a night!

When we left, we tried to get to get Audrey to say the tongue twisting name of this place, and she decided to call it "peppeeer pizza" and it stuck!

At this two - year mark, Audrey you are getting more and more fun, helpful, smart, adorable, lovable & irresistible! You ...

• have figured out possession ... most things are "audee's hair...audee's car ... audee's milk, and so on"
• obviously call yourself "audee"
• get along very well with your little sister - you like to help a lot, especially rinsing her hair in the bath (otherwise known as dumping water all over her). You are learning to share better and we are working on that!
• are still a good eater, but getting pickier these days! You love cheese, "chocat" milk, "appy jooooce", yogurt, smoothies, all fruit especially.
• have pee pee and poo pooed on the potty lots and lots. We are all very excited about this! You have an Elmo progress chart and get a sticker for every time you go! And, if it's not too late, a "pop pop" also. (This is the word for a lollipop, which ranks very high up on your wish list- all day!)
• still love your Towel.
• have gotten really into imaginary play. Ex: you love your monkey and monkey has to do the things you do, like monkey eat (you try to feed), monkey pee pee (you put monkey on the potty), monkey nigh night (you put monkey to bed), and so on. Occasionally Towel does these things too!
• still love Elmo. Your favorite thing to do is watch Elmo on the computer with DaDa. Thank goodness for YouTube. You also ask for "Elmo TV" throughout the day.
• are talking and REPEATING everything up a storm! Nothing gets past you and we must start watching what we say around you!
• still call Henry "ra ra" and I'll never figure this out - because when you see a picture of a cat in a book, you say "cat." It's adorable ... right along with a necklace still being a "maci."
• pronounce "more" as "merrr" and I love it!
• have the cutest run. It's more like a trot or prance.
• love to play "where's Audrey"...like to hide.
• cannot wink but instead blink both eyes very slowly.
• flirt way too much with MEN - not even boys - MEN! And, you have your definite favorites.
• best dance move is the bounce. Sometimes you put your hands on your knees and bounce. I don't know where you get this. :-)
• still eat Crayons. I cannot wait for this to be over.
• are obsessed with my toothbrush of all things. You call it "mama teeth brush" and snag it at every opportunity.
• say "da da work" when he's gone.
• every morning that we leave, you say goodbye to "tam tam"  and "ra ra".
• still use your feet on the ground to get around on your big wheel, even though you can reach the pedals!
• love to read ...most nights we read an Elmo book but are trying to brach out for mommy's sanity.
• can climb the straight up steps to the big slide at the park now. it makes me nervous, but you can obviously do it!
• got in the habit of waking very early from nap and night sleep and coming out of your room. this did not work. I broke down and put a knob cover on your door and it's works awesome! You were confused for about 2 days, but now it's fabulous. You have started sleeping (or staying in your room) until at least 7 am most mornings. When you're ready, you start whining, yes whining "ma ma ...ma ma ..." and I find you on the floor by the door.
• get wicked bed head all over the back of your head - every night.
• love to swing - high and put your head way back and look up.
• call airplanes "hairplane"...football is "beesball" ... say  "hawkeyes" all the time. I can see your dad's influence in a lot of the things you do!
• have an infectious laugh, still.
• mostly sleep on your back, with your arms above your head, and your knees out. occasionally, still in the "fetal" position and i love that one. after you are out for the night, i sneak in to see you again and like to sit and share at you for a while when you are sleeping.
• are the most wonderful little daughter i could ask for ... you melt my heart every day and i'll say it again - have changed me!
• love you audee - mama

ps- went to the doc for your 2-year on 10-5-09 and you were  a trooper. Weigh 26.8 pounds (50%) and are a whopping 36" long (97% - what?). Noone would ever know you were soo darn tiny when you were born! You got 1 shot, never saw it coming, screamed like crazy and talked about your owie all day long. Oh, that is another thing, you're realized that "owie" is code for attention! Smart little girl...

 
 
 
 

Isabelle at Nine Months!

Again, what a big month for Doodle bug! She is officially a crawler and all over the place AND she is loud! Her vocals have developed quite dramatically and when she wants something, she tells you all about it - and you cannot ignore it! :-) Definitely louder than Big Sissy.

Also, she has started imitating sounds ... like "ba ba ba ba..." and blowing bubbles ... and the tooting sound - a favorite apparently!

She's eating lots of new foods all the time and recently loves peaches!

Loves to take baths with Big Sister. ....doesn't love that Big Sister dumps water all over your head well after you are thoroughly rinsed; we are working on this! Doodles you love to splash around in there, slap the water, try to eat the fishes, are obsessed with whatever Audrey's doing, and unfortunately want to stand in there a lot and give Ma Ma little panic attacks with this. 

Your little hair is full of curls all of the sudden! Your hair is so beautiful and long on top ... I am glad one of you girls got my curl, and it suits you! I love how it kind of slips over your ears ...

We're making more progress with using a sippy cup and the Nuby one seems to be a good fit; bye bye ba bas - soon!

Still napping 2 times a day, down for the night at 7 or 8 pm, and up at 6-8 am! Wakes up crying in the night every now and again; usually just needs to find the paci again, a head rub and to be covered up with your blanket! Oh, Doodles every night, you sleep with the pink and white crochet blanket that Mimmie gave you ... you are the most darling thing. As soon as the blanket covers you, you turn to your side, tuck it between your legs, stretch and stick your toes right out of the holes! It's pretty adorable - those toes!

Have discovered toys and you are ALL about them! Blocks, balls, noise makers, everything! It's interesting teaching the whole "share" lesson with you and your sister!

Haven't developed a really strong "love" for something (like Audrey's towel) but we are trying to get you to fall for something ... like your white snuggly lamb! We'll see if you end up loving something, like Towel! Also, you do NOT suck your fingers either - still use the paci for sleeping (unlike Audrey by this age).

Right after you started crawling, you started trying to pull up on things! You really like to practice standing and do the cute thing where you have your legs spread out really really far because that is how you can balance best! (Really cute, and I remember when Audrey was in this phase too!) Sadly, many of your impressive Doodle Rolls are going away now that you are on the move ... your little legs are slimming down way too fast and you're down to 1 roll that is not that impressive missy! What is going to happen when you start walking?

LOVE apple juice! Don't love prune juice. 

Are ticklish, especially on your belly.

Have really tiny feet - we love to chuckle about those feet!

Point with your pointer finger all the time ... love to touch / poke / grab faces with that little finger and push your Cheerios all around with that cute little finger! 

I keep thinking I am done but then remember more ... in the crib now, when we walk in the room, you do the thing where you hustle to sit up and raise your arms as fast as you can, like "oh you're here now, get me up!!!" ... if you're crying already, you're already sitting there waiting for someone to rescue you. You're obsessed with the water mobile thing in there and stand up in the crib all the time to turn the music on! Lots of times we find you like this - standing and pressing the buttons. 

Also, you LOVE to crawl, stop and sit. Crawl, stop and sit. When you first figured this out, you were super pumped about being able to sit up ... still pretty stinking cute! 

This looks an awful lot like the downward facing dog to me!