Getting ready for Christmas...

Adaline has really become a Daddy's girl in the last little while. The babbles she makes almost even sound like dadadada, but there is a lot of babababa in there too (not much mamamama). Anyway, we are excited that she is beginning to "talk" more, and it is fun listening to her play in her crib and on the floor. Adaline has been a bit under the weather in the last week, battling a fever, congestion, and her first tooth. The tooth hasn't quite broken the surface, but we can certainly feel the edge of it and know it is coming any time now. This last week has been a bit rough on all of us sleep wise, so we are all ready for the tooth to appear. We did take her to the doctor after a few days of the fever and found out she is now over 17 pounds. Wow!



Almost two weeks ago, we took a trip back up the mountain to celebrate Christmas with the camp staff in Sparta. The folks around camp that keep the place running throughout the year all gather together annually to eat dinner and enjoy the holiday spirit. Shane went up early with a few folks to get this picture of Santa at camp for the Cheerio Christmas card. Then we met up with him in Sparta at the dinner. Shane and his fellow office staff performed a song in silly hats to amuse the guests, and Adaline tried out one of the hats. She was not happy about it.


Shane and I take turns on weekends sleeping in. One morning I woke up to find this! :)



We have been getting ready for Christmas around our house. We got the tree and decorations up, and even had our annual Christmas party. It was great to see some friends and spend a little time catching up. Adaline did so well at the party and, after visiting people for a few hours, went right to sleep so that Shane and I could remain with our guests. Adaline has been sitting with me and playing on the floor while I wrap packages and get them ready to ship out. Just yesterday we were getting a box ready to ship, and Adaline got a bit excited about seeing what was inside. She toppled over from her sitting position, hitting her face on the corner of the box. So, she now has her first big boo-boo, right on the side of her face! :(

Friday afternoon, the forecast called for some snow and winter mix. We were released early from school, and I got to spend the afternoon at home playing as it snowed and iced. Yesterday, Shane and I took Adaline outside to experience her first snow. She was not a bit interested! Perhaps we will get more snow when she can appreciate it.

Hello all. We have not posted in a little while. It could be we are all just too tuckered out to post, but I am going to make an effort to catch up a bit. As you can see even Adaline is worn out! Several weeks ago (mid Nov.) Adaline had her 9 month check up and is now weighing in around 16 lbs, 10 oz. It is really hard to believe it has been that long. She is a little behind on some of her milestones, but nothing to be concerned with...just regular preemie stuff, and she is still catching up.



Bath time still takes both Shane and I because although Adaline is sitting up well, she still has some trouble in a slippery tub. However, she is still loving the kicking and splashing around in the water.



We have been working on more variety of textures with food, and even bigger pieces. Adaline loves the puffs and does alright with her chewing skills, however, she still needs more practice picking them up and getting them to her mouth. Mostly, she picks one up and if it doesn't make it in to her mouth right away she forgets it is there. She has gotten pretty good at taking one from my hand and putting it in her mouth...I do help position it a bit as she grabs!


Granddad Brown with Adaline / Jeff with Trixie all dressed up for the holiday season

Thanksgiving was a good time with family (although we were missing many of you). We spent the holiday here in High Point at mom and Jeff's house. Jeff prepared most of the meal (as mom was still in CO with Josh, Michelle, Tallison, and the rest of the family there) and we all spent a restful and just plain full afternoon enjoying the company of family.


Marsha, Jake, and Ken with Adaline and Trixie competing for attention / Adaline's Thanksgiving dinner...not too different from other dinners, but there is always next year


just cute

Shane, Adaline and I did go to High Point's Christmas parade with some friends, but left the camera at home. It wasn't too exciting, so you didn't miss much, but Adaline did see Santa (at a distance), some lights, and an interesting crowd. I think she enjoyed watching some of the Macy's parade with me on Thanksgiving morning more????

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving as well!

closing up camp for winter and sitting up

This past weekend was the final fall weekend at Cheerio and it was a perfect way to finish up at camp for the year. The weather was just beautiful and the groups were pretty laid back. Above are a few pictures Shane took around sunset.


Adaline hanging out on the carpet ...and the dining hall table.



Although Shane was up at camp to work, Adaline and I were able to spend the weekend playing a bit more. We walked up to the climbing towers where Aaron was working with his dog, Gus. Adaline enjoys Trixie (mom and Jeff's dog) and Nugget and Tallulah (our cats), so I knew she would want to pet Gus. Gus was really good about letting her, too. We also couldn't stay in our apartment at camp because that building was already shut down for winter; so we stayed in Michaux and Michelle's place. It was kind of them to let us use their camp home, and so we made sure to keep everything as we found it. Adaline helped me do a load of laundry and we got in a lot of cuddle time.



I have managed to capture Adaline sitting in photos. These are two different days, and every day she is sitting longer! Yay!

In other news...Shane and I are now an aunt and uncle. My brother Josh, and his wife Michelle, just welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Tallison, into the world over in Colorado. I am so excited for them and wish them the best in this wonderful new experience!

East to West

So, the Brown family has had a busy several weeks. We have not had a weekend at home for some time, but have had lots of fun.


AW, Craig and Shane enjoying a beer at the brewery / tummy time with Kay and Adaline

A few weekends ago, we traveled to Clayton to visit my college roommates and friends (why do I not have a picture of all of us???), Anna, AW, Emily, Craig, and baby Kay, for the weekend. Anna and AW were kind to have two babies staying at their lovely home, and Adaline and Kay had a nice time meeting each other, finally. Mostly we hung around the house, caught up, and played. However, we did get out for awhile on Saturday for a yummy lunch and a brewery trip. I think people thought it was crazy to bring babies to a brewery, but Adaline enjoyed watching the people, and Kay just slept through it all. It was a fantastic weekend and perhaps another visit will not be too far off.


Guster!!! / our crowd Zach, Lauren, Shane, me, Jennifer, and Ryan

Last week, one of our favorite bands was coming through NC on a brief tour that we could not miss. Guster did a weeknight show in Charlotte that was a double set, and to date their longest performance. It was in a small venue (Neighborhood Theater) with great acoustics, and I think the best show of theirs we have seen. Although it was a late night, and tough getting up for work, it was worth it.



Adaline has been practicing her sitting skills lately, and although she can sit for a few seconds at a time without help, I haven't captured a still photo where one of us is not grabing hold of her as she tips over. I believe she is being a little lazy about it too, because when I try to sit her up she stiffens up so that I can't bend her at the waist. Soon though. Adaline has also been through her first ear infection, but according to the doctor it was not a bad one. She did have a few slight fevers, but she went through her antibiotics and is all better and feeling well now. In her trip to the doctor we did find out that she is just over 16 pounds now! She has her 9 month check up and shots in less than 2 weeks and that is very difficult to believe.


Lauren, Jennifer and me on the saddle stools / the night Martyn stopped in to play

Last weekend we traveled to Boone/Blowing Rock to visit more college friends and family. It was Shane's turn to have a weekend with old roommates. Zach and his wife Lauren flew in from Texas for a NC visit and Lauren kindly opened up her family's mountain home for us, along with Shane's brother Ryan and our sister-in-law Jennifer. We packed the weekend complete with games (from poker to hide and seek, yes at our age!), food (including Mellow Mushroom and Kilwins) and people watching in Boone and Blowing Rock on Halloween. No trick-or-treaters mangaged to tackle the mountain we sat atop either, so we had no interruptions to our visit.


Zach, Lauren, Jennifer, Ryan, Adaline, Cheri, and Shane / giddy-up Brown's

We have enjoyed all the time with friends and family and miss those of you we haven't seen in awhile! We hope to get in some more travel time in the not so distant future.

Keeping Busy

As usual, we have been staying pretty busy here at the Brown household. Adaline is continuing to enjoy tummy time much more and rolls all over her blankets to play with her toys. Also, she is continuing to drool constantly (with no teeth to show yet) and chew on everything and everyone that gets near her mouth.


We were able to go to our friend Nikolas' 1st birthday party recently, but of course mommy forgot the camera, so we don't have any photos. However, we got a picture of our party dress when we got home. Silly mommy.


Adaline is getting bigger everyday, but our cat Nugget still has a little size on her. Adaline is just beginning to notice the cats and she finds them pretty distracting while we try to feed her, resulting in food all across her face. Adaline has been trying many new foods these days as well, some with success (broccoli, zucchini, and prunes) and some without (olives and a bit too chunky spaghetti sauce). It is no fun watching her gag. :(


We were back up at Cheerio last weekend and had great weather and a great time. The air was crisp and it really felt like fall.


Adaline had fun hanging out with Jamie and showing her Wolfpack pride in his hat...and she seems to have a certain knack for leadership with the weekend staff! ;)


Shane is gone all this coming week for Senior Adult Camp at Cheerio, so Adaline and I will be on our own. It should be quite an adventure, and I hope we make it!

Doing Work and Family Visits

Things have been going well for the Brown Family. I think we are finally settling after out return from Cheerio and we are beginning the work on our house again. I spent a good part of this last weekend pulling up peel and stick tile and old linoleum to reveal the wood floors in our hallway. I am looking forward to a little quality time behind a floor sander this coming weekend to begin to wrap up the floor phase of the project.

Adaline has not seemed to notice the work going on, but maybe one day she will enjoy the new floor under her feet as she begins to crawl and walk. She is still loving rolling over and even sleeps on her stomach every night. She does only roll to one side, but she has got that side on lock. I am hoping soon that she will realize that it is also possible to roll from front to back.



My Mom visited from Texas about a week ago and it was really nice for her and Adaline to spend some time together. We have found traveling with an infant to be quite a bit of work, but always welcome visitors to our house. We spent most of the weekend relaxing, but did manage to get in some pretty good walks in the nice neighborhood near our house. The visit was over too quickly, but I am sure it will not be too long before Grandmom visits again.

surf and sand at Atlantis Lodge

For Labor Day weekend we took Adaline to the beach for the first time. We went to Atlantic Beach, and stayed on the ocean at Atlantis Lodge with some family. It was a good trip and Adaline enjoyed her introduction to the ocean and new family members.



Mostly we hung out under the beach umbrellas and watched all the people, pets, and kites on the beach. This seemed satisfying enough for her, and we enjoyed the relaxation.



We did get to take her down to the water for a little bit so that she could feel the sand and waves under her feet. The water was a bit too cold to go in much more than that, with her at least. A little hat is pretty nice for keeping the sun off sensitive skin. Of course, we all wore plenty of sunscreen so nobody got burned. Lucky for us Nana and Pops were there as well and took a turn hanging out with Adaline under the umbrellas, so Shane and I did get to go for a bit of a swim.



Shane even got a chance to get in a little kayak time in the ocean.


Nana, Pops, and Trixie with Adaline


The second day we had several more clouds and a few showers, so the weather was not as good for lying in the sun. However, we especially enjoyed the chance to do a little walking up and down the beach on this day. Shane used the baby bjorn carrier to let Adaline get in on the fun too. I had used it many times this summer at camp, but it was his first time really using the carrier. I think it made him feel a little weird, but my back was happy to have a little break. Adaline doesn't have a preference as long as she can look around and see everything going on! It was a nice time for the family to get away from work for an extended weekend, and although we are back into the swing of things again now, we look forward to going back in years to come.