where are we?

If you're looking for updates on our family you can find us on facebook and my new blog, Sweet Shoppe Mom. Also don't forget to follow Simply Sweets Cake Studio Blog.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We enjoyed a nice family dinner - Martha Stewart's meatloadf 101, Pioneer Woman's Creamy Potatoes, roasted asparagus and Simply Sweets cupcakes

Since the house looked so empty when we took down the Christmas decorations, I decorated for Valentine's Day. Now the Valentine's Day is over, can I start decorating for Easter - its one of my favorite holidays to decorate because I LOVE my egg tree. Not really into St Patrick's Day.

Going Green

I've been trying to incorporate more 'green' practices in our household. My latest has been in the kitchen switching to cloth napkins. We haven't been able to keep because we don't have enough sets to make it through the week but we're working on it. Here's a great article I found:

Simple Mom - How to Create a Paperless Kitchen

4 year stats

Brendan had his 4 year checkup today. He checked out fine, continuing to grow but slowing down in the weight department (his first year he was always at the top of the charts for height and weight). He got 4 shots and was very brave until the last one which hurt - so we decided a trip to Coldstone was a good idea.

height 40.75 inches, 57 percentile
weight 34 pounds, 30 percentile

We also went to Brendan's asthma doctor this week. He still has the occasional flair up of asthma where we have to add in a second medine but most days its 2 treatments of medicine a day using his machine. He's so good about it and we get to read lots of books.

Brendan's 4th Birthday

(back posting)

This year's party was a Knights and Dragons themed celebration - see see more photos from the party read the post on Desert Parties.

First day of tball

Brendan's 4th Birthday

Christmas Season Photos

Happy Halloween

First Soccer Game

Brendan's school has 4 weeks of soccer in the fall. The practice on Tuesdays and have games on Fridays. The teams are made up of 3 and 4 year olds - 4 play at a time, no goalies and they don't keep score. About half of Brendan's team just wanted to watch from the sidelines so Brendan got a lot of play time - he even scored a goal! Its very entertaining to watch - some kids like to pick up the ball and run away, at other times all the players were way off the field, and then the game stopped for awhile when the ball ended up near this huge tire (its put there for kids to play on) and everyone wanted to climb on the tire instead. But when they were focused on the game the kids did pretty well and I can see Bredan continuing with soccer as he gets older.

catching up

I'll try to get more photos and updates on the blog. To keep updated more often, become our friend on Facebook - danabrown for me (or just click on the badge on the right hand side column) and cygnusx1 for Rob.

First Day Back to School

back to school 09, originally uploaded by danavbrown.

Last week was back to school for Brendan. Last week was just for the extended care kids and this week school started back for all the kids. Brendan is returning to his primary class which he has been in since September 2008 - this class is mixed ages (3-6) and includes preschool, pre-K and K. He has been so excited to be back to see all his friends (though he is very sad that his best friend Mikaya isn't going to his school this year).

Brendan and Grandpa Frank

Brendan and Grandpa Frank, originally uploaded by danavbrown.

Brendan and Grandpa Brown - Fishing in Michigan (trip with Daddy)

Brendan and Grandpa Brown - Fishing in Michigan (trip with Daddy), originally uploaded by danavbrown.

Rob and Brendan went to Michigan for a week in July to visit family. The spent the first few days visiting Grandpa Brown and Grandma Betsy and then it was off to visit Grandpa Frank.

getting ready for Christmas

This photo was taken over Thankgiving weekend as we started to get ready for Christmas and pulled out all the decorations. Brendan is also wearing one of his favorite outfits - he loves anything red especially sweatsuits. He wants to wear this outfit everyday but I have to tell him that it needs to go in the laundry. I also bought his some more red clothes so he can "the red guy" more often (red power ranger).

Construction worker

When Brendan grows up he wants to be a construction worker. Everyday on the way to school we drive through a construction zone and he asks if he can be a construction worker. He loves all the trucks and really wants to use the jackhammer. He also loves to help Rob around the house with projects. Recently Rob bought Brendan some more tools and a tool belt.

Thanksgiving at preschool

Brendan's class cooked a Thanksgiving meal (the kids prepared all the side dishes, the teachers cooked the turkeys at home) and they had a huge celebration. They also made placemats and headpieces (his hat has feathers on the back).

For Thanksgiving this year we celebrated Thanksgiving brunch wiht Rob's cousin Audra. Brendan has a blast playing with his cousins especially "big Brendan" (Audra's stepson). Brendan spent the rest of the afternoon with Grandma Brown and we went to see a movie. We cooked our own Thankgiving meal on Friday because we needed our fix of stuffing!

wax lips

more Halloween photos

pumpkin decorating

Brendan painted his pumpkin (I gave him fingerpaints but he wanted a paintbrush...guess they don't do fingerpainting at montessori) and Rob carved his.