First visit to the Doctor today!

I had my first appointment today! Typical appointment, pee in a cup, draw some blood, ask some questions, and try to hear the heartbeat. I knew it might be too early to hear anything and I was right. My Dr. made me promise that I wouldn't freak out if we didn't hear anything, and I didn't, but I was a little disappointed. But then he asked me if I wanted to do an ultrasound to see the heartbeat and I was thinking that I'd have to make an appointment at the hospital for next week so I didn't think it was necessary. But he said we could just go down the hall and he would do it. So I got an unexpected ultrasound and I got to see the little bean! It was basically just a little blob with a heartbeat, but it was cutest little blob I've ever seen! It was great! Baby Brown #2 is going strong!

Here's my 10 week belly shot. Yes, it's already starting to grow.

Recent pictures

I know I haven't been good at all lately about updating, but things have just been very busy. I'm sure everyone understands. Here are some of the most recent pictures of Rylan just being cute.

Helping decorate the Christmas tree.


Reading in the recliner (notice the book is upside-down)
Hanging out on the couch before bed.

Trying on Mommy's shoes (Daddy didn't think this was as funny as I did!)


Posing on the coffee table
Saying hi
Sitting on a jar of Christmas balls for a pictures

Everytime I would take a picture, I would say, "1, 2, 3!" After I took the picture, he would throw his arms up and say "tee"! It was great, so I finally caught it!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Dad! I'll call you tonight!




I know I've been terrible at updates lately, but things have been very busy and I've been overwhelmed. I'm also fighting a terrible cold right now and I feel awful. I shouldn't have come to work today, but because of the day, it would have been more difficult to plan for someone else. So, I'm here and I'm thinking about leaving sub plans for tomorrow in case I don't feel any better. In some good news, I haven't been feeling too sick lately from the pregnancy. But I'm definitely pregnant. My pants are tight, I've busted out the old maternity jeans, and the other night, I cried every time the Rockettes finished a number on the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Special. Nick thinks it's weird and Rylan would just look at me funny. Oh, and those Hallmark commercials get me teary-eyed every time!

Well, I better get back to class. I just thought I would update you a little and let you know we're all still alive!

Why God Made Moms

WHY GOD MADE MOMS
Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Elf Yourself!

Check this out!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9583186524

Go to elfyourself.com to make your own!

Coming in July!

Guess what ...........................?
























I'M PREGNANT!!! Baby Brown #2 will be coming around July 10, 2008! We are so excited to be adding to our family and can't wait for the baby to arrive! I'm only 5 weeks along, but already feeling it. I'm much more tired than I remember being with Rylan and also feeling ickier. No puking yet, but I feel like it. Oh well, it's all worth it right?! Pray that God keeps our little bean safe, healthy, and growing over the next 9 months! (oh and it can't hurt to ask for a quick delivery too! :) )

Cheese!

Lately, Rylan loves having his picture taken! If he finds the camera, he'll either bring it to me or run away screaming because he knows I'm going to take it from him. He likes pushing the buttons too. Anyhow, so when I get ready for a picture, he will pose for me. He says "cheeeeeeeeeee"! He always makes me laugh!

A little scare!

Last night, we got home from work, and Ace was gone. He is normally tied up in the backyard. We do have a fence, but that doesn't keep him in, he goes right over, so we've had to tie him up. Well, he got his head out of the collar somehow, left it on the chain and took off. Neither of us had been home all day, so we had no idea when Ace had disappeared. So I took the first turn, driving around calling, looking, and searching. I went around the neighborhood, down the river, to the park, by the golf course, but nothing. It was completely dark at this point, so that didn't help. The whole time I was praying I wouldn't find him dead on the road. Whenever we go for walks, we make Ace sit and stay before we cross any streets, so we were hoping that caused him to at least slow down before running across. Nick took his turn on foot, but found nothing. We had called the Police Station and Humane Society to let them know of his disappearance, but hadn't heard anything back. Before bed, Nick took another drive around. We left food outside by his dog house and hoped he would be there in the morning. I dreamt about him all night and just didn't sleep very well. Well, he wasn't home by morning and I figured he was either dead or someone had decided to keep one awesome hunting dog. We called a local radio station and they aired our information. I had also posted Ace's disappearance on my school district email site and shortly after I got to school, another teacher called saying someone had just reported seeing a black lab without a collar on the north end of town. I got a hold of Nick and he went right out to look. It wasn't Ace. So Nick called the Humane Society, and they had a black lab that had been brought in last night. Nick went there, and thankfully, it was Ace! Apparently, he was found not far from our neighborhood, but before Nick could take him home, he had to go to City Hall to pay an animal at-large fine, then back to pay the HS for boarding him overnight. Only $43 to get our dog back! I know I complain about him a lot, but I really do love Ace and was really upset and the thought of him being gone forever. So he's home, safe, and guess where he is right now...........


sleeping in the kitchen! Spoiled.

Not the best picture of Ace, but here's our first baby!

Halloween!

Sorry it's taken me a WHOLE DAY to get pictures of the sweetest bee you've ever seen! (oh yeah, I never gave hints did I?) Obviously we didn't really do any trick or treating, just to relative and a few neighbors to show him off! It's weird to me when people show up with a baby at the door like it's the baby's candy they are getting. "I hope you are feeding that to your baby!" Anyhow, the pictures with animals are from last weekend when we went to a Halloween thing at the zoo. Rylan LOVED it! We forgot the stroller and I thought it would be a disaster, but he wouldn't have wanted to be in that stroller anyway. His favorites were the fish inside and the goats. We had a good time.






Running away because I was trying to take a picture!

Here's Rach trying to get a picture with Rylan and Sylvie. This was the best we got; Rylan escaping and Sylvie trying to get her lady bug costume off!

Vegetarian no longer!

That's right, Rylan is a regular meat eater! It has taken a while, but he's starting to like meat. It started with elk sausage, and now he likes chicken. He's still not a fan of hamburger, but we're working on it. He'll try anything with ketchup on it, but many times, he'll suck the ketchup off and spit the food back out. Little bugger. Here he is enjoying a drumstick!


And here's the pathetic mad face I got when I wouldn't give him the whole box! He's getting pretty demanding.


This was after eating, he got up on that chair all by himself. Can you tell how proud he is? Needless to say, we've put up the gate into the dining room again!

We'll need a new freezer soon

Nick shot a deer last Sunday. It was a 20 yard shot with his bow. He went out around 2pm and at about 6pm I got a call from him. He was whispering that he just shot a deer and I might have to come take pictures of it for him, but he would call back when he found the deer. My first though, "oh great!" Rylan was eating chicken strips, and I had meatballs in the oven for Nick and I . I am thinking how I'll have to bundle us both up, stuff Rylan in the backpack carrier, trek across a muddy field only to enter a forest where I'll have no idea how far from the tree stand this deer ran. Nick can try to give me directions, but how do you do that in the woods. Turn left at the big tree? Needless to say, I was not looking forward to it, but I would do it because it's Nick's passion and he was so excited to get one. So I cranked up the meatballs, got Rylan all fed and started getting things ready by the door. At 8:00 I decided to call Nick to see what was going on. It was dark and it was bathtime. I was prepared to give Rylan a bath and pack him up in his jammies, but was hoping I wouldn't have to. When Nick answered, he was already on his way home! He had taken pictures himself and butchered the deer in the field. So we have more meat and the head is still lying in the backyard. He's not going to mount it, but just cut the antlers off and add them to the collection we have in the garage. Someday, I want a big antler chandelier. Nick thinks it's awesome that I want this, but I'm just hoping he'll settle to have the antlers in the house, but not attached to the heads! Anyhow, here's the picture!

Quite the Video

I found this on someone else's blog and I had to have it. It brought tears to my eyes and made me realize how badly I need to be a positive role model in my students' lives. I honestly love each one of them and would do just about anything for them, but I need to be more than a teacher. I need to be someone who they know cares about them.

I sold one!!!!

A diaper cake that is! I had seen one online and it looked easy enough to figure out, so I tried it and it was so cute! I have given 2 away as gifts and I tried selling them on ebay, but it didn't take, so I just wait for opportunities to make them. Well, I have been chatting online with a group of mommies and I had shared that I made them and one of them wanted to buy one! Yay! Here are pictures of it, it's so cute and I wish I could make more! So let me know if you are looking for a unique, cute, useful baby shower gift/centerpiece! I can use just about any color you want, but classic pink fit for this one!



Close up of the blanket


The back



So what do you think? There are 88 Pampers Swaddlers diapers, a receiving blanket, booties, a bear, 2 bottles inside, and 2 baby spoons to help hold the bear up.

Sorry!

After talking to my mom about commenting on the blog, I realized I had only allowed registered users to leave comments. I have since changed that and anyone can leave comments now! Sorry! Don't feel you need to leave a comment, but I like hearing from you!

I love it!

I just wanted to add that I'm really loving Rylan's haircut. I loved the curls, but now it's much cleaner looking than that moppy mess he had some days. And with the weather getting colder, it was always messy from hats! His eyes really pop out now and it's easier to see his precious face. I thought I would update you in case you were worried about the sadness I conveyed in my last post! HeeHee :)

Oh, and we got Rylan's Halloween costume today too! We tried it on and, OH MY GOSH, it's so cute! We're going to hold off on any pictures until Halloween though, so I'm going to taunt you with the info, but you'll have to wait for pictures! I don't remember if I've told anyone what he's going to be, but I'll give you occasional hints over the next week.

Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins this morning with Rylan for the first time. He wasn't so sure about it at first, but then we couldn't keep the "guts" out of his mouth! He loved it!

Haircut!!!!

Nick convinced me to cut Rylan's hair, but he promised me it wouldn't be too short. See for yourself!

His curls are GONE!!!!!

Daddy & Rylan - matching do's.
I'm getting used to it, but he still sorta looks like a different kid to me! I know it will grow back, but he's so grown up looking now. Where's my baby?!

Does he look like a girl?

So we were in a store today and this older lady came up and was commenting about Rylan's curls, but she kept calling him a 'she/her'. I don't even bother to correct people that I'll never see again, but it makes me wonder, does everyone think I have a daughter? What do you think? I think the outfit he had on today is a boy outfit, but maybe I'm way off? Here's the front; red sweatpants, a black and white stripe shirt and a red sweatshirt. It's all pirate theme. (I took all these pictures one after the other, but notice he's in different spots each time, I had to chase him around the house)

The back
The t-shirt, and yes, he's standing on the coffee table, it's the only way I could get him to stand still.

So is it the outfit, or the curls? Nick wants to give him a buzz, but I love those sweet curls! But I also don't want people thinking he looks like a girl!


The store that we were at is a local farming store, with a little bit of everything else too. We went there because I was looking for a certain diaper rash balm. Just today at daycare, Rylan had a nasty BM during his nap and now he has a really painful diaper rash. Poor guy, he wouldn't even sit down in the tub tonight. Luckily, it's not bleeding yet, but it's so red! A while ago, someone told me to try this certain ointment called Bag Balm. It's meant for cow udders, but people that have used it on diaper rash rave about it. But yes, you have to get it at a farm store in the livestock/veterinarian section. So we got some and I'm hoping it works wonders overnight. I think I will be checking him numerous times tonight to make sure he hasn't pooped in his sleep! I think diaper rash is the worst to deal with, because you have to keep wiping their little butts to get them clean, but it just hurts them! By the time we get a new clean diaper on, we're both crying! Here's the stuff that I got.

A day with Grandpa and Grandma!

I had the day off today and it was too wet for my parents to do any harvesting, so they came up to spend the day with us! My brother Spencer came too. We had a great day, despite not being able to go outside, because it rained all day. Here is the evidence!

Reading with Grandpa
(I guess it was a funny book)

Chilling with Uncle Spence


And here's Rylan playing "chase me" with Grandpa. They did this for a half hour, it was so funny!