Our Generation Vol. 1 No. 5 A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

This week was fun filled and jam packed with house work, yard work and four playdates in a row this past weekend.

Friday: Mia played with Thomas and big brother Dustin. Thomas is a former classmate and his parents invited us over for a BB-Q. Mia enjoyed jumping on his couch, climbing his new play scape, taking numerous laps around his enormous house and taking a wagon ride around the block. What she didn't like was when big brother, Dustin was playing with the hose and accidentally sprayed her in the face and body with a power hose and she got soaked...nope not so good. Mia and Thomas both got "hit" and needed wardrobe changes. Sorry, no pictures- we forgot our camera.


Saturday: We did yard work during the day. Mia was so helpful planting flowers with mommy while Ben watched and Daddy did everything else. That night we enjoyed a visit with friends, Dori and Javi, and their kids, Isabel and Johan. Mia and Isabel took a few minutes to warm up to each other. While they were scoping each other out, Mia found Isabel's baby doll and a bobby pillow. She then proceeded to "feed" the baby (see picture) Oh so cute! When the girls warmed up to each other it was nothing but pure giggles and sharing of corn on the cob. Johan took an interest in Ben from the moment we arrived and was super sweet and smiley the entire time.



Sunday: we went to Wheaton Regional Park for Lydia's 2nd birthday. We all took a ride on the train and took turns riding the carousel with Mia. Lydia had a Dora cake (made by our soon to be famous cake making friend, Jess) and Mia LOVED the icing (who wouldn't?). After the birthday party, we headed over to the neighbors' for another party where Mia spent most of her time on the potty reading books and playing in their sand box.




Monday: we spent the evening with Allen, Elaine and Owen. Mia and Owen shared countless giggles playing in a large cardboard box and taking turns on the piano. They put puzzles together, built block towers and spent some time out back playing ring around the Rosie around their outdoor umbrella. Ben got a good nap and probably doesn't even know he was at their house.

Other big news:
Mia:

• First field trip: She rode a charter bus to the National Zoo and saw two elephants and a hippo, made up a story about two giraffes under water (we asked her teacher about this one), and ate her entire sandwich during lunch (none of the other kids even came close!). She came home and was so tired that she took a nap until dinner time, then fell asleep after she ate.
• Says the darnedest things: "Mommy, I think we need some music on." "I'm Mia Brown, you Marro Brown, daddy is Bwad Brown, Ben is Bejamin Brown and Ulla is Ulla Bulla Dippity Do"

Ben:

• Smiling has been confirmed by anyone who interacts with Ben, not just mommy anymore
  
• First trip on a train
• First faux hawk
• Weighs 10 lbs. 15 oz.

Our Generation Vol. 1 No. 4 Just Hanging Out

Life at the Brown's is pretty noisy during the week due to the construction but very mellow on the weekends. This past week, we just watched Ben grow a little longer, wider, stronger and wiser. He showed hints of smiles last week (mostly directed at Mia) but they were not entirely 100% cheesy grins. Today however, he gave an ear-to-ear smile that melted mommy's heart! Let's hope Daddy and Mia can get some super sweet smiles soon!

Ben really likes to lie on his back and kick his feet and wave his arms. He's starting to make some AHH and GAA noises to show his excitement. Big sister, Mia, loves to rub his hands, kiss his head, and talk to him. She is in charge of his bouncy chair and turns on all the buttons. She's in charge of announcing "Ben's awake!" and "He's sleeping!" and "He does/does not need his pacifier!". Mia also gets to ride in the front jump seat on our double stroller and she serenades us during our walks with varying renditions of Baa Baa Black Sheep, ABC song and often made up songs to melodies of familiar nursery songs just as a big sister should do.


This weekend we went to our neighborhood community yard sale and found this perfect little desk for Mia. She loved it so much that she sat at it for almost an hour on Saturday coloring and opening and closing the drawers.


Last Saturday we did a little photo shoot of the kids on the deck. Here's some pictures of Ben doing his thing: sitting.

Mia is dancing and singing. She's practicing her "Happy Birthday Abi" song.

Our Generation Vol. 1 No.3 Twas the Night Before Mother's Day...

...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for Ben. Yep, he was so excited about celebrating his mama that he was up for most of the night, sweet and cuddly, but UP! So Mommy tried her best to soothe him and then Daddy took a turn.

Mother's Day was a beautifully sunny day. We had a nice lunch at home and then spent some time on a walk to the park. The playground wasn't too crowded and Mia did her best to climb, swing and slide as much as she could before crashing out in the stroller. We took a family nap afterwords... oh so wonderful! Then on to the Home Depot for numerous items to help move the remodel along-after a hunger meltdown (Ben) and a small tantrum later (Mia), we headed to the Fajita Coast for a great dinner.

Ben is more awake to the world these days. He's starting to lift his head for longer periods, coo, stay awake longer, and has recently tried and loved his bouncer chair and his swing (yeah!). He kicks his legs and waves his hands in the air. He's gotten out and about more but probably won't remember where he's been since he sleeps through most of our errands.

Mia is quite the Mother's Helper. She helps mommy give Ben a bath by washing his feet and hands, pours water on his belly and she even enthusiastically unsnaps his clothes for me. She hands me diapers and recently she's been showing Ben each page of her book by saying, "look Ben!" and holds it up for him to see. She tries to pat his back to burp him and rubs his hands and head and often kisses his forehead. She also tries to play with him as best as she can. She helps daddy too in the yard and around the house. So SWEET!




Mia has had a chance to see some old friends of hers such as Lydia, Tom and Luke this past week. We certainly missed being around the neighborhood and for her to have some little friends to play with. Our favorite new change with Mia is that she has added her own special reading time to her bedtime routine. After we say goodnight, she surrounds herself with books and flips through them until she simply passes out. Often we'll find her uncomfortably lying on top of several books... our sweet little "nerd". (see below)