The Brown Family Buzz: 2013

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS….

What a day….

Christmas at our house began at 4:51 a.m. when Oliver decided he was done sleeping for the day. I grabbed him from his room thinking he might fall back to sleep snuggled beside us in our bed but no such luck. He was more interested in "chatting" and squirming around. Charlotte and Jacob thankfully slept until shortly after 6 a.m. and we were able to keep them amused in our room until 7 a.m. when we decided it was time to head downstairs to see if Santa had visited. Luckily we all must have been good this year because we were greeted with many treats under the tree and in our stockings!

The kids wasted no time tackling the loot…and by 8:15 a.m. we had unwrapped every stocking stuffer, present, eaten and cleaned the kitchen from our breakfast of eggs, bagels and bacon!

We headed to my mom's where we were greeted with more presents and stocking stuffers. After more mass unwrapping we returned to our house for a two hour nap followed by a fun visit with Grams and Grandpa. We then returned to my mom's for a Christmas feast of turkey, cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies, rolls and Andrew's special gravy.

The day ended with a quick bath and story for the kids and some wine and TV for Doyle and I. It is hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone for another year. I am amazed at the generosity and want to thank Santa, Doyle, my mom (Grammy), Andrew, Michael. Dad (Grandpa), Sandy (Grams), Jal, Cristin (Grandma) and Doug (Grandpa) for the many gifts they shared with us. We appreciated your kindness more than you'll ever know! Thanks for making Christmas 2013 such a memorial event!

First glimpse of the Christmas loot under the tree

Jacob and Charlotte checking out their stockings

Oliver opening his new bib from Santa

Charlotte's Hello Kitty from Santa!

Jacob's new Thomas Train Set from Santa

Oliver's new doggy suitcase from Santa

Charlotte with Uncle Mike and Uncle Andrew

Grammy and Jacob

Charlotte with Grams and Grandpa

Charlotte and Jacob at Grammy's

Oliver at Grammy's - what a difference a year makes!
So big now...

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS….

It is extremely hard to believe that it is Christmas Eve 2013. Where did this year go? It has certainly been packed with endless memories and fun filled adventures. Charlotte and Jacob were so excited when they went to bed tonight. I can only imagine how chaotic and over stimulating tomorrow will be - but that is one of the many joys of celebrating Christmas with kids in the house!

I'm thankful we have power and that we never lost it. I can't help but think of the many families that will be celebrating Christmas away from their homes or around a tree in a cold living room. I wish you the best of an unfortunate situation. It's times like these that the true meaning of family / togetherness come through despite how dark and cold it may be.

So…as you settle down for a long winter's nap…I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings….

Monday, December 9, 2013

14 MONTHS AND COUNTING….

Playing with a bus at the
Central Eglinton Community Centre

Today marks 14 months since Oliver joined our family. We have seen the biggest changes in Oliver the past two months and all reinforce how quickly he is growing. Since his first birthday on October 9 Oliver has:

Started walking on his own
Increased his vocabulary and uses simple words such as bubble, bap (for bath), nap, hi, dickle, dickle, dickle (tickle, tickle, tickle), nana (for banana)
Began pointing at things he wants
Developed more of an attitude when he doesn't get what he wants!
Begun interacting with music and dances whenever he hears songs on the radio or the songs on the toy piano we have
Become more interactive with Charlotte and Jacob and swats back at them when he doesn't like what they do!
Made us smile and laugh every day since his arrival 14 months ago!

We truly can't imagine life without him - he's an absolute delight and the perfect third child.

We can't wait to watch him change even more over the weeks and months ahead!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

SANTA CLAUS HAS COME…TO TOWN

Today we took Charlotte, Jacob and Oliver to the Santa Claus Parade. It was a pretty special moment for me to the share the parade with the kids. I have loved the Santa Claus Parade ever since I can remember - I even participated in the parade for two years once as a greeter elf and the second time as a poinsettia - so bringing my kids for the first time today was really neat!

Seeing the looks on their faces as the marching bands, clowns and floats came by was priceless. Jacob stood mesmerized by the fence for the full 2.5 hours of the parade, Charlotte was a little less focused but still enjoyed it none the less. Oliver also enjoyed it but fell asleep for some of it too! Nothing against the participants of course ;)

We had a fantastic viewing location thanks to passes we were given for the Rudolf VIP section. It was a great way to see the parade and we can't help but feel a tad bit spoiled by our experience today!

We are very excited that holiday season 2013 has officially arrived. We can't wait for Christmas and we are already looking forward to next year's parade!

Eating hot dogs and waiting for the parade to begin

Mommy and Oliver with the parade in the background

Charlotte meets a clown through the fence

Parade collage

Welcome back Santa…

Thursday, October 31, 2013

HAPPY HALLOWEEN....

What a difference a year makes....Charlotte and Jacob were really into Halloween this year. They were excited to carve the pumpkins, couldn't wait to get dressed up in their costumes and LOVED getting and handing out the candy! Oliver even enjoyed the festivities as well!

We enjoyed spending this evening with our little Monkey, Lion and Tiger and can't wait to see what next Halloween brings!

Halloween Eve...pumpkin carving fun

My little lion and Boston man

Heading out to get their loot

Trick or Treat

Little tiger

Roar!

Selfie with Aunt Jally!

Daddy with his Monkey and Lion

Boston Strong!

Mommy and my little tiger!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY OLIVER....

Silly face in honour of his 1st birthday!

What a great day we had celebrating Oliver's 1st birthday!

It has been an amazing year and we wouldn't have changed a thing about it. Oliver is such a delight to have around - he is alway smiling and laughing and we can't imagine our lives without him.

We continue to see huge changes in Oliver's developing - from September 9 to October 9 he has:

Grown and gained weight: His official 12 month stats - 32" and 23 lbs 9 oz (a far cry from his 21" 7 lbs 1 oz at birth)
Officially started cruising: Chairs, push toys and boxes are Oliver's new friends - whenever he sees these objects he takes full advantage of pushing them to get to where he wants to go. Although crawling is still his mode of preference cruising around the main floor is an exciting opportunity for him
Expanded his vocabulary: Oliver recognizes dada and uses the phrase when he sees Doyle. He has also started saying ma ma ma although I'm not sure he's 100 per cent sure what that means just yet but he does love saying it :0
Continued to crawl up the stairs: Stairs are no longer an object for Oliver. Gates are a must in our house now. Oliver wastes no time climbing the stairs outside and inside the house. He even knows when he's gone beyond the gate (if we've forgotten to close it) and looks back at us with this sinister little grin ;)
Loved pulling himself up on everything: Chairs, the potty seat, boxes, our bed frame, stairs, the coffee table and the stroller are some of Oliver's fav places to pull himself up on. No obstacle is too big for him now ;)
Eaten everything: There hasn't been a food we've introduced that Oliver doesn't like.
Taken to story time at Mables Fables: Oliver loves going to activities with Claire, Charlotte and Jacob - story time at Mables Fables is on of his fav activities!
Activities outside the house: Playdates with Claire, Charlotte and Jacob, walks in the neighbourhood and a visit to Whittamore's Farm