Our Generation Vol. 1 No. 25 Growing and Growing Some More...

Even though Benjamin is already 6 1/2 months old- he finally had his 6 month checkup. Dr. Magavero said that he is in great shape both physically and developmentally. He smiled and flirted with her during his exam and even though it took almost 2 1/2 hours, he was in such a good mood. What was most impressive is how Ben reacted to his FOUR shots. He cried for about 30 seconds, then smiled again...no joke!
Ben's new stats are:
weight: 16 lbs. 6 oz.
height: 27 1/2 inches
head circumference: 17 in.
New to Ben's dining menu: chicken, turkey, corn, lentils, mixed veggies, raspberries

He also loves his sippy cup filled with water--thanks Grandma Brown!

We had a VERY BIG weekend for our family. We let Ben cry it out at night time (doctor's orders) to help him learn how to self soothe which then leads to better sleep. He did pretty well and even though he wasn't too happy when he woke up in the middle of the night- he's getting used to it.

Mia also wore big girl underpants this weekend! She did SO well and even though there were two accidents, she managed to make it out to lunch and Target with no problem. She's very much into earning stickers for her potty chart. When the timer goes off she simply says, "It's time to go potty!" The only problem is that once she sits, she thinks she has to sit until she goes which sometimes leads to a 30+ min. potty session (with no potty) and major frustration. We're all working on this.

Mia and Ben (daddy, mommy and Ulla too) had a great walk to the park this weekend. Mia and Ben played in the tunnel and Mia loved walking home like a big girl while mommy pushed Ben in the stroller. Later, just before bedtime, mommy caught daddy and Ben having a moment. :)

By the way...Mia might be one of the funniest people we know. She made a face and a little gassy sound. Mommy asked her if she passed gas. "No I farted in my chest, Mommy!" was what she replied [It was a burp].

Stay tuned to next week: Halloween!

Our Generation Vol. 1 No. 24 The Whites Visit the Browns

Usually people come out to the D.C. area to see the White House but our cousins, The Whites, decided to come out and visit the Brown House. Our colorful group had a TON of fun! We started off their visit with a trip to the Corner Pub, then came home and played around. We are seriously impressed with the large amount of site-seeing that they jammed into their week here with us (Gettysburg, Archives, Natural History, American History, Georgetown, monuments, memorials, zoo, etc...). It was fun to hear about what they did during the evenings when we were hanging out.

Ben decided to show off a bit while they were here visiting-- he learned how to sit for long periods of time without any help. Way to go Ben!


The weather, some might say, was not very cooperative but the AZ folks didn't seem to mind. The girls had fun trying on scarves and hats (yes, mommy has quite the collection) and the guys were forced to actually put on jeans for once. Mommy and Daddy had Friday off so we all decided to head to the zoo.

The odds seemed against us: it was raining and 42 degrees, we had a late start and we arrived in parking lot B at 1 o'clock (Mia's normal nap time). But as you know, we like adventure and adventure is what we got. We couldn't help but laugh at the fact that there was NOBODY there! Well, maybe two other small groups of people but seriously... we had the ENTIRE National Zoo to ourselves. We found it hilarious that the Panda exhibit (usually the most crowded attraction at the zoo) was desolate. So naturally we had to take some photos. The animals were out and were quite active. At times when it got to be a little too wet, we headed inside. One popular exhibit was the Small Mammal House. We all enjoyed watching the meerkats and elephant shrews. Oh so cute!





Saturday was a big day for Texas Football fans- the Red River Shootout against OU. We had some people over for a little game day fun. Allen, Elaine, Owen, Nora, Jess, Dale, Andrew, Claire, Luke, Lisa, Brett and Samantha did their best to root for the horns. Texas won and it might have helped that we had our own personal Longhorn cheerleader in our midst (thanks to Aunt Kim and Uncle Dan for the burnt orange pom poms!).



Bernadette joined us for a few days of fun at our house and it was reminiscent of hanging out at the cabin. The Whites sure loved playing with Mia and cuddling with Ben.


Emma took true initiative in starting her own rock band! She played lead guitar and had every one of us try out for our parts. Mia and Emma had a real live jam session that was actually quite good for a six and two year old duo.


The rain seemed to taper off just in time for the Whites to head back to sunny Arizona. So, we took some time to play around in our backyard and had a little photo shoot to remember all the good times we had. After they left, the house was uncomfortably quiet. We certainly look forward to a reunion at Christmas in sunny, warm Arizona.

Our Generation Vol. 1 No. 23 Pumpkin Patch

We recently drove out to Butler's Orchard with friends, Karina and Jason, and their two little ones, Cameron and Emelia. The morning was a cool and rainy one with not much promise of drying out but we decided to hit the patch anyways. Boy were we glad we did- there was hardly anyone there and there were plenty of pumpkins left for picking. Usually when we go there, it's so crowded you can hardly walk but not today. We had high hopes of attending the fall festival there but with the continuous rain, we decided to skip out and go to lunch. Mia and Cameron had the most fun at the Orchard Market where they could sample apples, look at scarecrows and play on and in a giant pile of pumpkins!

The next day, we met Brandon and Anneke for a delicious lunch. There just so happened to be a Rita's Water Ice and Custard stand within walking distance. Well, we simply couldn't resist. Here's Mia enjoying a scrumptious custard cone.