...and to all a good night.

Where do I begin? It has been a bit crazy at the Brown's since the last update. We have had lots of fun playing and reading and visiting with friends and family. However, we have also been to the hospital twice (both for Shane), and have had excitement that was not as welcome that way. I am happy to report that things are looking well now, as we close out 2010 and head into a new year.

(Adaline playing in daddy's boots / reading a book)

Shane's first hospital trip was about 3 weeks ago when he was experiencing very bad stomach pain. It started on a Sunday night after he came in late from working on his car. He was unable to sleep at all and threw up all night long. He thought it might be related to the antifreeze somehow, but drove to the emergency room at 5 AM only to discover they needed to take out his appendix. Luckily, it did not burst and he was able to come home after only one night stay in the hospital. He has been resting up pretty well from that and was unable to lift anything over ten pounds for 6 weeks...but we shortened it to 3 because of my high risk pregnancy. My doctors seem to think that was a fine idea. It was probably the best time possible if it were to happen, because we had the holiday to help with the burden of work and rest time. Months from now would have been extremely difficult.

The following weekend, Emily and Craig, Anna and AW, and Lindsay (some friends from college) came to visit us and brought along the kids. Four old roommates, three with little girls, makes for some fun times. Adaline had a wonderful time looking at baby Laurel and playing with Kay. It will be so fun to continue getting them together to play as they grow up...and fun for us parents as well.

(Adaline admiring Laurel / Kay and Adaline giggle on the couch)

Then came Christmas! Along with Christmas came family, snow, and another trip to the ER. Shane's parents flew in from Texas to visit for the holiday and we had a great time together. They arrived on Christmas eve and we went to my parents for a nice dinner. All was well! Christmas morning we all woke up, and Shane complained of sleeping funny on his arm. It was numb...ten minutes later, still numb and more of his body was heading that direction (other arm and hands, tongue). Then he started to lose his ability to speak correctly and was disoriented (couldn't sit right, tried to get water without a cup). He was beginning to scare us and we headed back toward the hospital. He was showing signs of stroke, but after much testing and a MRI, the result was a complex migraine. He was given pain meds and sent home to bed. He stayed in bed all Christmas day and that night, but woke up the next day much better. We did our Christmas a day late, but Adaline didn't know the difference...this year.

(Adaline enjoying her new big girl table and some fun activities with Shane and Grandpa)

(Shane all warm in his new down jacket...ready for a trip out in the beautiful snow)

Here are some videos we have taken of some of Adaline's favorite things...eating and bouncing on the furniture.) :)

Fall fun

This past weekend was a busy one for us. We were able to catch a peek at the football game on Saturday and watch the Wolfpack win over the Tarheels between Adaline's lunch and during nap time. Later that evening we were joined by Ryan and Jennifer and went to Leigh and Stephen's wedding, while Adaline stayed with Nana and Pops. After we brought Adaline home and while we got her ready to get back into bed, she was able to enjoy the festive head-ware from the wedding for a moment.


Sunday was a beautiful fall day, and Shane and I were able to walk down to the neighborhood park with Adaline. She had a blast exploring the playground and leaves, sliding down the slides over and over, and swinging. We got tons of pictures, so here are some of them.

Adaline is getting good at climbing!

Weeeeee!


Adaline not only tries to climb and stand up on everything in the house, like the ottoman, her stand and play toys, and even Shane, but she has also been known to try to get into more tight places. She climbed into the bottom shelf of her changing table and became stuck between a container and a box of wipes. I got her out, but I wouldn't be surprised if she gets stuck again.


The pregnancy continues to go well and I keep getting bigger. I could do without all the extra doctor visits, shots, and mood swings (at least Shane could), but we are making it!

Bumps, Bruises, and Wild Hairs (Not in That Order)

We woke up on Saturday morning to a crazy hair day. It pretty much took half of the day for this look to fade and fall down. It was pretty funny.


Later Saturday morning, I helped to host a baby shower for my good friend, Tina. It was nice to get together with these ladies, and show Tina how excited we are for her new bundle. Overall, I think there were 5 pregnant gals there, so I suppose there will be much celebrating in the future.


In our pregnant news, I am now on my 19th week. I have been doing the progesterone shots for helping to prevent a preterm labor, so hopefully we can make it to April this time. I have had three weekly shots so far, and so far they haven't been terrible. My belly seems to be much bigger this time also, but I hear that is common, and in our ultrasound yesterday we only saw one baby in there. :) The baby looked great (according to the technician) and he or she is growing well and is a perfect size for 19 weeks. Keep praying for a continued healthy pregnancy!

I feel so weird taking these pictures :)

Adaline has been more and more on the move all the time. She takes off running as much as possible, and we really have to make sure the gates of her play area are closed or she would be into everything. With all of this running around, comes tripping and falling, and she has had a few falls on the hardwood floors of our house. She mostly ends up hitting her chin, and she has had a sad bruise on her chin for the past few days. You can kind of see it in the pictures below. Adaline has been working with her speech therapist, Carla, for a few weeks now as well. We are mostly working on signing and following simple directions over actual speech to begin with; then we can focus more on the actual vocal improvements. Shane and I find that Adaline seems to be more willing to make sounds and babble around us than others, but we still have a long, long way to go. However, I know we will get to hear a word eventually.

Coooookies

So not a lot is new around here. Shane and I went out the Saturday before Halloween, but Halloween night was pretty uneventful. Adaline was in bed by the time our first Trick-or-Treater showed up. We had a busy night of candy visitors, but no need for costumes yet this year. Our wonderful neighbor from across the street did bring Adaline over some festive cookies that she enjoyed very much the next few days. It was her first experience with sugar cookies, and she got pretty excited. She is her mommy's girl!

It is not just another car this time...

It has been quite a long time since I have updated everyone on the Brown household. We have had a busy time lately, and are finally getting back into the swing of things as normal around here. Shane has been away for awhile, first at camp for a work weekend, then Senior Adult Camp for a week, then Furniture Market for another weekend and week, and finally, another weekend at camp. Shane is back home now for some time, we hope. Although he was working the furniture market in High Point, Adaline missed her Daddy for the full two weeks because he was getting home after she was in bed and leaving in the morning before she got up. So, needless to say, it was a happy day when Shane was home at a normal time this week!


Around the house, Adaline has been keeping me busy also. She is continuing to grow and learn every day. We are working on lots of new skills, including stacking blocks, and she is always amazing me. She is still learning new sounds, too. Adaline met with a speech therapist for an evaluation recently, and she will be starting services soon to help her with speech development.


In other Brown news...We are excited to say, we will be adding to our family! Adaline will be getting a new brother or sister in mid April (hopefully April for real this time). All is going well thus far, and we look forward to this new experience with a little nerves and a lot of joy.

Michigan and 5 years!

The last weekend of September the Brown family took a trip to Michigan to visit the Lobdell family. We traveled to Grand Haven and Muskegon, MI to visit with Shane's grandmother, aunt and uncle. Shane's uncle and aunt in Florida, as well as Shane's mom and Jerry in Texas, also made the trip north, so we were able to enjoy their company, too! It was my first time to Michigan and my first time meeting Shane's grandmother. It was a nice visit, but way too fast.

(Bill, Bonita, Jerry, Betty, me, Shane, Betsy, Dave, and friend Angela / great-grandma Bea with Adaline)



The weather in Michigan was beautiful. It felt like fall! Mostly warm days allowed us to play outside a bit, and Shane and Betty were even able to get out on a bike ride. Betsy and Dave live only blocks from Lake Michigan. It was a bit chilly, but we made it out on the beach for a few moments one evening, and Adaline loved it. She got very excited to see the seagulls and feel the sand and water, and if we had let her go too long, she would have run right into the waves.



This past Friday (October 1st) was our 5 year wedding anniversary. We did not do a lot, but we did go out for a nice dinner, while Nana and Pops watched Adaline. It is hard to believe that the day we got married was 5 years ago, but I suppose we have grown a lot and much has come from our marriage!

Adaline is Walking and a New Family Member

Adaline is walking! In the last week and a half or so we have had a pretty major step forward in the baby mobility department. Adaline is finally mastering the delicate art of pushing herself up to a standing position from the floor. It has been a pretty awesome progression to watch as an adult. I (and I am guessing you too) have no memory of learning to walk, or even just to stand up and after watching Adaline, I have totally realized how much I have taken standing up for granted all of these years.


In other news...We have twins! No, it's not what you are thinking. It's twin Mercedes. Cheri was so excited to hear that I had found another 1985 deep blue 300TD and she could not wait for it to take the parking spot of honor just outside of the garage. The plan is actually to take the two medium awesome cars and create one super car. The Mercedes I have been driving has a few rust, dent, and old crash issues that the new one does not. Now I just need to decide what parts stay and what parts are going. Let me know if you are looking for some gently used Mercedes parts.

1 1/2 years old....and a few weeks!

Last week was Adaline's 18th month check-up. She is now 21 pounds and 31 inches long. She is still behind in many of her developmental skills, but is continuing to move forward, so we do not have much concern. Adaline now has 11 teeth, including 3 molars, and loves to show them off in smiles. Her hair is still pretty sparse, and seems to only be growing in a tuft in the back. It is so funny. Shane's mom's friend made a cute headband for Adaline (see below). Hopefully, when she gets some more hair, she will want to keep it on for more than a few minutes.



Shane finished up at camp last week and we spent the weekend getting settled back at home. We needed a new safe space for Adaline to play, since she is on the move constantly and is not content staying in one area and just playing with her toys. We got some new gates, drawer holds and such, and opened up a nice area containing her room, the alcove off our rooms, and the hallway. Adaline loves running up and down the hallway with her push toys. She continues to practice walking back and forth with us, but is still a bit nervous to take off on her own (even though she could). It is nice to be all together again at home.

New Car

Adaline and I have been back in High Point for about a week now, and we are getting back into the swing of things. Adaline started back to her school on Monday for at least a part of the day, while I was able to get a few things done. Today was my first day back at work, so Adaline had a very full day. After her second day back, she came down with a cold and we are still working to get past it....so I can get some sleep at night. I think she is close to feeling good again.

On Tuesday, Shane came down from camp and the Brown family got a "new to us" car. Since both of our cars were over 200 thousand miles, we figured it was time to have at least one that might not die at any moment. Shane found a deal in Georgia and the dealer drove this 2005 (what? less than 10 years old?) Honda Element to High Point, and then drove my car back. I am sure the return trip was a bit warm, and I hope he made it. It was so kind of him to do that, as it saved us some time, gas money and a babysitter. I have been enjoying the car...and the air conditioning!

Babies and Rainbows

Last weekend, Adaline and I went to Apex to help put on a baby shower for Anna, one of my college roommates. The shower was held at Emily's, another college roommate, home. Emily had most everything done by the time I got there on Friday night, but we still had fun making cake pops and some other food items. Adaline and Emily's daughter, Kay, had fun playing together over the weekend too, and they both are looking forward to playing with baby Laurel very soon!

This past week was also Adaline and my last week at camp. Shane will still be there this week, for the last session for kids, and next week, for senior adult camp. We will have a few visits throughout the week though. We did have a double rainbow at camp that arched all the way around and created a nice ending to the summer. In our CIT class we had "double rainbow" theme day to commemorate the occasion.


In other news...Nugget still think he is the baby.