why did i say that???

its only 2 o'clock. with children hanging on both arms and legs, im trying to get my house ready for my in-laws. they come in on wednesday and i couldn't be more excited. its just... alot of work! mostly because its been over 5 weeks since i've done any deep cleaning. and in order to get one room cleaned, the kids make a mess in a different room, which im just going to have to clean up when im done with the first room. its a vicious cycle, cleaning.

anyways. i finally got charlie down for a nap, only for ellie to scream at jack 5 minutes later and wake him up for the third time. out of overwhelming frustration i yelled (yes, i yell at my children. dont judge.) "do NOT come into my room or you will both go to timeout until dinner!". remember how i said its 2 right now? yeah.

now as im sitting here, i really hope neither of them comes in because i really dont want to have to actually stick with it and do what i said.

it's a good thing i've got mint-chocolate brownies in the fridge or things could really get ugly around here!

an over-due update

chris brought home some surgical caps for the kids the other night. i think most people wouldnt mind going under the knife if their doctor looked this excited, dont you? these are the only pictures we have taken since charlie arrived. pretty pathetic.

its taking time for all of us to adjust and get used to life with 3 kids. jack and ellie pretty much get away with murder and have been acting out to the extreme. i spend as much one-on-one time with them as i can, but it has proven to be a challenge. we all just need some time to get used to things. they sure do love their little charlie though and are very excited to see him in the mornings, nearly suffocating him with hugs and kisses.

a little bit about the babe. charlie is a dream baby. after going through pure heck with ellie and almost pure heck with jack, it sure is nice to actually enjoy cuddling a calm newborn and smelling the sweetness of his skin. i find myself craving his cheek on my shoulder when im doing other things around the house. he only wakes a maximum of twice during the night and i dont find myself cursing under my breath when i have to get up to feed him. in fact, i might truly enjoy it if i wasnt breastfeeding. it does not come naturally to me and i have never enjoyed it. in fact, i have always hated it. i still do, but it does make a world of difference to have a good eater. i've set a goal for myself to stick with breastfeeding for two months and then after that, if im still hating everything about it, i can stop. we'll see how it goes. charlie spits up like a maniac, but i'll take that over the problems we've faced with the other kids when they were little. i love to see his smiles (even if they are caused by gas) and think he is going to be a happy-go-lucky kind of lad. he is definitely a special boy and has already wrapped my heart around his tiny finger.

the talented miss rikki

while everyone was here for the holidays, rikki took some pictures. she is amazingly talented. thanks rik!!!

these were taken when charlie was just 3 and 4 days old (new year's eve and new year's day). i should mention that i let jack and ellie pick their own attire in the individual shots. ellie is, of course, completely Over dressed while jack is completely Under dressed... definitely fitting their personalities!

the HoLiDaYs!

December 24th

we woke up early and headed to downtown ft. myers for THE BEST donuts in the whole world. maybe even universe. if you live around here, you have GOT to go to bennets. we had warm oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast and then we brought back 2 dozen donuts for the rest of the browne clan. ALL of the browne's were home for christmas this year!!!

then that night, before picking up auntie rik from the airport, the kids sprinkled reindeer food in the lawn... oats and glitter. i hope those reindeer have guts 'o steel!

December 25th

we woke up to screams of excitement, hunting for stockings, scooters for jack and ellie, watches for chris and jack and the smell of the christmas tree! nothing beats christmas morning!

then we went over to grandpa and grandma's for sticky buns, scrambled eggs, and bacon, followed by MORE PRESENTS!

alli and jacob got matching helmets... so sweet :)

not too many people get to ride bikes and scooters and go carts on christmas morn!

...or hold someone so precious!

we had alli and jacob this year and it wasnt too difficult to pick out something they would have fun with- nerf guns

jack just doin his thing! i guess not very many get to go fishing on christmas either

or walk around outside without a shirt!

jack and ellie both got scooters and a leapster 2 from grandma and grandpa brower. and ellie also got ponies from grandma linda that she has to sleep with every night. these are the biggest hit from our christmas this year!

December 26th

we made sugar cookie houses! we decided to do these instead of an actual gingerbread house because no body really likes gingerbread do they?!

mmmmm, buttercream!

and then that night my water broke while we were sleeping and little charlie was here the next morning! a VERY eventful weekend i'd say. who knew sugar cookies were the trick to starting labor?!

and now everyone is back home and we miss them all very much... very much! thats the only downside to having everyone together for the holidays. but we loved every minute of them being here!

hi! i'm charlie

my name is charlie!

actually it's charles thomas, just like my great grandpa. and my dad's middle name is thomas too!

i was born on december 27th. that was last monday, just like my brother and sister, because they were both born on mondays too!

i weighed in at 9 lbs 3 oz and was just over 21 in. i'm a great eater and an even better sleeper. my mom and dad think i'm the greatest! mom likes to kiss my cheeks and dad loves to watch all of my funny faces i make when i wake up.

here are some pictures of my fan club coming to visit at the hospital:

with jack and ellie

with grandma linda

with grandpa dave

with aunt alli

with uncle jacob

with jack man

early in the morning with momma

and headed home!

our christmas post has been on hold due to a lack of sleep and energy. BUT, we will get around to it one of these days!