And the winner is...

MY MOM!!!

I promise you there was no nepotism involved. She was as "in the dark" as the rest of you. This was completely a computer generated contest, and all the scoring calculations were out of my hands. I guess she's just that good.

It figures it would be the one person I constantly get free babysitting from and totally doesn't share my design style. Oh well, Mom, I'm sure we can work something out. Maybe you can come over and watch the kids WHILE I paint you something.

Congratulations to a well deserved winner :)

The baby is HERE!!

Well, all the guessing is over, and all the questions are finally answered, the newest Brown is here and it's a...................BOY!!!!! He was born at 12:31 pm, weighs 8lbs 4oz and is 21.5 inches long. A week early and still a big boy. Name is still in the works as we had only narrowed our list and didn't come to a final decision before the ol' water broke.

We could not be more excited...especially Adam. A boy, holy cow!! I have no idea how to be the mom to a boy. I guess I'll figure it out soon enough, I'll have to.

Details and pictures to come, but for now here's a side by side comparison of Harper and her new brother so you can see the family resemblance. My 2 babies on their first days of life :)

This may be your last chance...

or I could go another 3 weeks.

That's one thing about labor I HATE, not being able to predict or have any sort of guarantee. Funny that based on that character flaw I possess, we didn't find out the sex either. What are we doing to ourselves??!!

Anyway, anyway, back to the point of this post. I just went to the doctor today for my weekly check. I am 38 weeks (14 days to go) and almost 4cm dilated, 50% effaced, and still at -2 station (meaning the baby hasn't dropped at all yet). My thought process is...another week, maybe. I am sending you all this friendly reminder so that you will get your Baby Pool guesses in before it's too late. As soon as this baby sees the light of day, the pool is closed for business. Remember, if for some strange reason you don't want to babysit as your prize, or you live out of town, I have decided to do a Painted Peacock piece for the winner. Now who would pass that up??

Good Luck :)

Click here for the link.

Too...many...posts. Running...out of...time!!

Well hello there captain obvious, I've been neglecting the blog. I really have no excuse either. Pregnancy would be a great one, except how do you use the same excuse for being too lazy to do the dishes, laundry, or grocery shopping, aaannnd sitting on the sofa, playing on the computer. Seems like maybe I should be able to muster up the energy to do one of those things. Well...I'm madly catching up on posts this week, so guess which one I chose?

After going through our phones for pictures and downloading our camera from the past 4 months, I have found a ton of pictures. Most of them weren't vital enough to get their own posts. However, several of them were definitely blog worthy. So I've decided to just do a mass catch up post and give a very small commentary for each picture or group of pictures. We did have a few events that were given an entire post so make sure to read down through all the new ones :)

Back in July, Harper made the switch into her big girl room (more on room design later). We decided to keep the nursery as is and move her into our old guest room. Surprisingly, she took right to it and has never turned back. She, for whatever reason, never gets out of her bed. She will talk, sing, or read to herself, but has been good as gold since the big move. Love her!!! Here is our little girl and dada on "night 1".

Life these days is all about the mouse. If Mickey isn't there, it isn't worth doing!

Oh, and Minnie too!

We are potty training. Well we have BEEN potty training. Harper was a fast learner right from the start, as long as it was warm out and we could go bottomless. She then seemed to have a little setback when we moved to just underwear. Still was still doing really well, with only the occasional accident. The problem came when poop was involved. This was evidently a concept she didn't agree with. It's a work in progress. I will say, in the last week or so, we've had a few issues. This, I'm sure, is due to my lack of ability to "play" too much, and Adam always studying. Once Adam's test is over, and the baby is here (allowing me to get back down on the floor) we will find our new normal and she will get back into her groove.

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

Everything looks better in heels...even potty training.

We haven't had a ton of rainy days lately, but those that have found there way to us have definitely been utilized to their fullest around here.

"I want to look like dada."

"Baby or not...I'm sitting on your lap!"

We made our own pizzas. It's no brick oven but it'll do.

We held a baby for the first time!!

Speaking of first times, dad brought us to Krispy Kreme to enjoy the incomparable taste only the hot light can bring. This was a moment I didn't get to experience until college, she is already waaaay ahead of me!

This was a mistake. Though a brilliant idea at the time, not all stores have the "shopper in training" carts. That does not make for a pleasant time.

When all is said and done, we had a great summer, and the most important thing was...we stayed safe :)

Well, when you have 14 different devices that take pictures you're bound to miss a few!

I had forgotten to download all the pictures from Adam's and my phone. Therefore, I'm "forced" to post a supplemental collection of pictures from Colorado. Enjoy :)

First day there, enjoying pizza at one of the family's favorite watering holes.

Harper's traditional picture with Buff. My how she's grown!

Adam's dad was one of the highlighted donors to the event.

How could you have a bad day on this course?

Our champion traveler on our way home.

Another year, another baby, still no Adam

Well, you could go back to my post from last year and it would explain everything. My year after year excursions to the beach, husbandless. First there was work, then there was school, this year it was the dreaded DAT that kept my other half from our annual mini family vacation. In case you are unfamiliar, the DAT is the dental admissions test. Obviously, it's a huge part of the application process, and has Adam studying 8 hours a day, everyday. Unfortunately, even the beach could not interrupt this madness.

Alright, now that my rant is over, lets move on to pictures.

Juris and Harper checking out the view from the upper deck.

The pool last year was such a hit with all the kids, we were excited to see the house this year also sported a blue lagoon.

Harper was, as always, quite the little fish. She has become very independent in the water thanks to her new little life jacket. Getting in, out and all about all by herself.

Kids: Harper, Cameron, Forest, Juris, Jada (the new recruit this year), & Westly.

Harper, Forest, and Juris observing the starfish they found on the beach.

Harper showing off her tan lines from the day.

To the Butte and Beyond

This post is a long time coming. I have gotten really bad about keeping up with my posts. I'm not a writer. I was always the student that would write 503 words for the report that had to be at least 500. I love posting all the pictures and I love TELLING the story, but I HATE writing!! Maybe I should just become a video blogger? That way I can just sit here and tell you all about it without having to touch the keyboard. Ugg, but then I would need to do my hair, and make up just to sit in my living room. Forget that!!

All 3 1/2 of us headed out to Colorado back in August for a much need "escape from reality". What better place than the insanely beautiful Crested Butte. Now, it does require 3/4 of a day and planes, trains and automobiles to get there, but well, well worth it. Not to mention, staying with Adam's dad and stepmom is always like being at a 5 star resort equipped with fun excursions.

One of the main reasons we went out there that particular week was for Adam to participate in the Crested Butte Open golf tournament. He hasn't played in this for years so it was really awesome for him to be back playing with his dad. During this week/end the entire town participates in the fun. They have art festivals, crafts, and an auction you really need to be a part of to fully understand.

The week was beyond fun, and despite a couple of swollen ankles from the altitude, we would have stayed forever.

Here she is, the adorable little town of Crested Butte. It's just about the cutest little place you've ever seen. And doesn't the down town look like the set of a movie from the old west?

The down town, though quaint, has everything you could ever desire as far as food. We ate everywhere from a little hole in the wall mexican joint (awesome by the way) to an upscale sushi bar which has become a staple for our trips out. They also have a toy store, a baby boutique, and plenty of trendy shopping for the ladies. Oh, and ice cream!!

After the tournament we all got dolled up and headed out to the "barn" for the big auction. This barn is personally owned and always offered up for the charity event. It's by far the most spectacular barn I have ever seen and held literally millions of dollars in horses. Little did I know the millions of dollars it also held in people. There were items available as part of a silent auction you bid on at the beginning, and then the dinner, before the real auction began. They were auctioning off trips, dinners, and jewelry all going for upwards of $10,000. I didn't think my mouth could drop anymore, until they got to the end, where people just gave with no prize to be had. $50,000 was thrown out there as the first bid, followed by my "are you freaking kidding me" laugh. Two seconds later 5 peoples hands went up!! That was the fastest $250,000 I've ever been a part of. The fact is, it was all donated for an awesome cause (The Adaptive Sports Center) and goes to show the selflessness and unity of this special place.

Adam's Uncle Mark was also out there for the event. He's tremendously fun guy and Adam and I were so happy to get to spend some time with him that wasn't at a wedding reception.

Even the centerpieces were cute!

The rest of our trip was spent, visiting the horses, picnicing, and enjoying the beautiful 75 degree days.