Keeping Christmas Simple

Well, today was Christmas tree day!  We headed out early this morning to find the perfect one...

After lunch, a nap and a birthday party, it was time to decorate!  Due to the fact that we are due January 5th and our doctor has told us several times that they may need to take John a bit early (Christmas time frame) we decided to keep Christmas simple this year.  By simple, I mean out of the nearly 10 huge tupperware boxes of decorations we have, only putting up about 1% of them.  Most notably, the tree.  This year, we went with lights only...instead of pulling out our 2 30 gallon tubs of ornaments.  Why?  Because I can't bear the thought of Christmas cleanup whether it be at 9 months pregnant or after a c-section!  I'm not being a scrooge - all decorations will be out in full force next Christmas!

Will was of no help when it came to decorating (lighting) the tree, which I am fine with (a boy who is not interested in decor is fine with me!)...but when it came time to set up the train, he was all hands on deck!

  

Here we have the finished product - and the extent of our decorations this year.  

A simple Christmas tree and...

My homemade stockings!

Now all we need is Santa to pay us a visit!

What's in a Name?

Picking names for our kiddos has come rather easily to Billy and I...we basically established only two simple rules prior to Will being born:  

1) the name must be traditional

2) if a boy, the name must be masculine

With Will, it was really easy...he was named William, after both Billy and Billy's grandfather, Bill.

Realizing it would be hard to come up with something as awesome as being named after your own father for our new little Baby Boy Brown, we decided to double dip into the Trey side of the family.

Baby Boy Brown will officially be named (in 5 weeks or less)L

John David Brown

John after my grandfather and David after my dad (the most awesome dad in the world).

Mom, don't get offended we didn't pick names on your side :) If he was a girl we were going to name her Kate after Nana!

So, all in all, I think we succeeded in abiding by both rules, for both boys.  And can I just say how excited I am to have another boy!??!?!  What this means to me (tomboy for life):  No bows, no lace, no makeup, no prom dresses, no boyfriend drama and most importantly, no pink!  

Here is a sneak peek at John's nursery...plain, simple and boyish :)

Sleepover Ready

We spent the last few weeks finalizing the baby's room.  One of the major additions to the room over the weekend was the moving of Will's Lazy-Boy chair out of his room, upstairs, and into the baby's nursery.

With that being said, we had to backfill the empty space in Will's room by purchasing the most awesome (and cheap) couch from IKEA...perfect for Will's room and perfect for slumber parties as it pulls out into a bed!

Dylan - come on over whenever you're ready!!!  We've got a spot just for you!

Post Thanksgiving Christmas Cheer

One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving (other than the food) is the fact that the we always put our Christmas decorations up right afterwards!  This year we are doing it slowly though...last weekend we decorated our yard...this coming weekend we will do the inside of the house and tree.  

One of the nice things about being hugely pregnant right now is that I didn't have to do this...

Billy, with a little help from Will, painstakingly set up all our Christmas lights and yard art.  

But look how good these guys are at it!  And what a great result!

Yes, in Houston Texas, you can be barefoot with short sleeves in December and not worry about catching a cold...

Billy, I love you, but you need to straighten out the right side string of lights lining our sidewalk :)

And our outdoor Christmas decor wouldn't be complete without a giant, light up, frosty the snowman!

The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree is on for Saturday morning!

 

Turkey Day Traditions

Turkey Day was just like any other Turkey Day this year....

We all got up early, Billy made a turkey and we headed over to Nana Rosie and Papa Max's house for some yummy food.  The only difference this year, is after lunch, we were off to College Station to witness the last Texas A&M -v- t.u. game on Thanksgiving.  (Note - while A&M would love and has asked t.u. to continue the tradition, they have declined).  Thanksgiving lunch was fabulous, we even had some friends (Nick and Cheryl) in town to celebrate.

Here we are right before departure...bellies full (lunch probably sent me over the 30lb gained mark!) and all smiles...  Needless to say, the game did not turn out as we had hoped (tough to do without our two running backs), but we had fun anyway and welcome the challenge back if t.u. ever has room in their schedule for us!

Fall School Pictures

Here are our cutie pie's fall school pictures...

To sum them up, he is A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E!!!

(Now why can't I get him to smile like this when I am taking photos?)

Will's Scrapbook

Well, three and a half years later I am finally caught up (as planned :) ) on Will's scrapbook.  

It is about a foot thick....and weighs at least 20 pounds...

But it is perfect.  It is exactly how I envisioned it to be!

His life chronicled in pictures from in utero to his 3rd birthday.  

My goal was to have it completed by Halloween, and it was!  

(I would be remiss if I didn't give a big thanks to Billy, my ever patient hubby who ignored the massive amounts of crafting supplies on our dining room table for the last three months...love you!)

Now that I am caught up, it is time to prepare for Baby Brown's.

I will TRY not to procrastinate so badly this time around!

Here are just four of my fave pages...

My two Anns

I had the pleasure of hanging out with my two Anns last weekend...It was so nice to get together, and being around little Ann reminded me of how completely unprepared I am for baby #2!!!  Well, I guess I better get over that within the next few weeks!  In the meantime, is she not the most beautiful baby you've ever seen????  Hugs to you both!

You might be a Texan if...

You can have this much fun with a box...

(never mind the inordinate amount of tupperware/boxes/cleaning supplies strewn throughout our kitchen...we are in the process of getting ready for the baby - ie getting all of Will's clothes out of storage)

Then be so inspired, you head out to Home Depot the next day to buy more boxes, tape, adhesive, screws, four wheels and plywood...build a "rocket chair" and drive it down to the mailbox every night (thanks to the end of daylight savings time, we have to get reflectors for it this weekend!)

Graham Cracker "Art"

Every now and then, Will's school has graham crackers our for the kiddos to take home at the end of the day.  Will loves these days because it gives him the chance to create something out of them...by...biting them.  For example, he takes one bite of one then says "Look Mommy, I made a dump truck", or "Look Mommy, I made a speed boat".

The other day we hopped into the car with our graham crackers and as we were waiting on a stop light, Will proudly shouted from the back seat:

"Look Mommy, I made Pangea"
(takes another bite)
"Now look Mommy, I made Laurasia, that is where Deinonychus (one of Will's favorite meat eating dinosaurs) lived!"

Now if I can just channel that little brain into wanting to do something like, learn Spanish!
*Note to self - get a dinosaur book in Spanish for Christmas!