perfection

last monday i got to watch this little guy while we waited for a special delivery. but this little guy doesn't seem so little anymore.

hes had to grow up and now he is the big brother.

is this not the most beautiful little bundle you have ever seen?

she's even perfect when she cries

and these two kids can't get enough of their new cousin-

baby sophie cathleen

larissa invited jack over on tuesday night for a special visit and even let him hold sweet sophie. he told me he wanted to wear his sea monkey pajamas because, "i know baby sophie loves sea monkeys!" he said.

ellie has pretty much stuck to larissa's side and wont let sophie out of her sight. i have been impressed with how gentle they are with her. i think they realize how special she is.

i held her for about a half hour this afternoon while she slept in my arms. once again, i have been struck with awe at the trust our Father in Heaven has in us to care for such amazing creations. and i am grateful for that.

Happy Birthday sweet Sophie!

i can't help it!

a few weeks ago we had the ipod on shuffle and a christmas song came on. i dont even remember which one it was, probably one by bing crosby or nat king cole. but since that song, i can not get the holidays out of my head! i am SO looking forward to the holidays this year. not only for the obvious reason of not being pregnant anymore and having a new little bundle in our home, but because its going to be so much fun with TWO little people who understand whats so exciting and special about that time of year.

the cooler weather and colors, the family being together, the halloween costumes, the sweaters, the spicy smells filling the house, all the yummy foods and baking, and obviously, the music. i already have so many ideas of great little gifts for the kids and keep making mental notes about their individual interests and talents. i cant wait to see little hands covered in flour while baking cookies with jack and ellie and (after eating half of them) delivering them to friends and loved ones.

i love the holidays and am already filled with anticipation! i dont ever remember being this excited, so early in the year. i even ordered a special holiday magazine the other day and cant wait for it to arive. im crazy. but i guess all i can do until then is enjoy the last month or so of summer and spend as much time as possible in the pool, licking popsicles, and grilling!

bon voyage!

after watching an episode of curious george where george made a boat out of random toys and such from around the house, jack really wanted to try making his own. i thought it would be fun to have the kids each make their own, any way they wanted, and see who's floated... but ellie wants to do everything just like jack these days. so there wasnt much of an experiment.

here they are, setting off on their maiden voyage!

and they float!

this afternoon my mom mentioned how long ellie's bangs were getting. i had only noticed it when she was in the pool because i am constantly sweeping them out of her eyes. well i thought just a trim would be ok. lets just say a "trim" wasnt just a "trim". i cut WAY more than i intended. and its not like she was moving around or her bangs were wet. i have no excuse. i did a terrible job. but it has made me smile every time i look at her.

i should have just lied about it and said she got to them on her own...

they'll grow back right?! they actually dont look horrific when i sweep them to the side. but the odds of her keeping them swept to the side...slim to none!

baby #3 and a getaway!

it's official, the girls are outnumbered in the brower household. because this blog is family friendly, i have spared you from the "crotch shots" proving that we are having a little man-cub. ( can you tell we have watched the jungle book recently? somehow all little boys have become man cubs to me. but dont worry, the name "mowgli" is not in the running for a name :)

speaking of names, jack immediately said his name should be hunter, then dayton, then nathan, then etc etc. these are all names of his cousins. i thought that was really cute. then when we told him to be thinking of something different than someone he is related to he responded "oooh, i know, how about daddy". yes, daddy would be a different name indeed!

other exciting adventures include a SURPRISE GETAWAY! chris arranged to have the little people stay with grandma and bo & larissa for a night so that we could stay at the Hyatt Coconut just down the road. it was a dream! this has been the best birthday ever! i am starting to feel quite spoiled!!

i had been having one of "those weeks" with the kids. you know, the weeks where if i was offered to have every hair on my head burned off or spend another ten minutes with the kids, i would light my hair on fire myself... yeah, one of those. so this overnight trip was greatly needed and even more appreciated!

ever since it was built, i have had the dream to stay at this hotel because, well, i could see it at the end of our road since i was in 8th grade. and believe me, it was everything i imagined and more!

we went swimming in one of their 3 pools on friday afternoon. when we were done, we hopped out and went straight to the fire pit to roast marshmallows and make smores. after that, chris had arranged a firework show for me! ok, we just happened to be staying on a night that they were having an amazing fireworks display directly over the pools. it was incredible. and because it is just down the road bo, larissa, everett, grandma, jack and ellie were all able to watch the fireworks too!

this is the only picture we got together. dont mind the terrible wet spots in unflattering areas. a drunk man took it for us. he told us it was going to be a great shot because he got the whole fire in the picture... i guess he had a few too many drinks...

then we split a burger at one of the many restaurants and went back to the room to watch ironman, which i had never seen. the beds are like huge pillows sent from heaven at the hyatt! i hope to someday have a bed like that at my house!

then saturday we ate at the "lavish breakfast buffet" and totally stuffed ourselves. let me tell you, its not fun to be pregnant, eat at a breakfast buffet and then change into your bathing suit. somethings just arent right. but we had fun swimming for a little while on saturday morning before picking up the kids and going to grandma's house to swim of all things!

thank you chris for a special getaway for the two of us. you are my amazing buddy.

and of course, THANKS to mom and larissa for making this a possibility... i owe you guys!

super duper long

here is a little update on familia brower!

(ok, its not little, its long and includes alot of photos. but, if you stick around, i promise some of these pictures will make you smile!)

first and foremost, it was my birthday yesterday and we celebrated all weekend! yes, all weekend! thats how much i love my birthday. ok, not really. my dad and bo went out of town on saturday so we celebrated my birthday on friday! mom and larissa made a most scrumptious meal of homemade fettucini alfredo, grilled chicken, apple & gorgonzola salad, garlic bread and texas fudge cake with vaniller ice cream. it was sent from the heavens, it was SO delicious!

can you tell the kids put the candles on the cake? allison, i'll save you the trouble- there are 25 candles

carrie, this is the only recent picture of my buddha belly...somehow i try to avoid those...

here is sweet little ellie girl in my favorite outfit. she's hard to resist!

what happens when there's a birthday cake, birthday candles and three little kids who dont get to blow out the flames? a whole lot of this...

we relit the candles several times for the kids to have a turn blowing them out.

my loot:

i have wanted this watch for oh so long, but couldnt come to grips with spending the money on it. i kept waiting for it to go on sale, but apparently its such a popular item that they dont think it will be going on sale any time in the near future. so, i guess a birthday is the perfect excuse :)

i should also add that this year was the year for hilarious cards! i appreciate all of the kind (and funny) thoughts from you all!

on saturday we went to golf safari!

if you can enlarge this next picture, you should! it was SO stinkin' hot! jack was even sweating from under his eyes... i didnt know that was even possible, but apparently it is

and yesterday we went and ate at iguana mia! i love fried, greasy mexican food! and nothing beats a free meal on your birthday!

lets not even talk about how silly this next photo is

alright, enough birthday talk.

lets get down to the nitty gritty.

in real life we have been learning how to dip oreos in milk:

having movie nights:

and getting ourselves dressed in jammies at bedtime: