Parents
Kristen & Benton Brown
An Unexpected Start
Parker Trimble Brown was born April 9, 2010.
I'm One Year Old
Parker will be 14 months old on June 9th.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Parker's First Girlfriend
We had our second playdate with Julie & Olivia Gossett yesterday. It's fun to see how much they have both changed since we got them together three weeks ago. They also seemed to notice each other - not quite interacting, but they would grab the other one's toes, ears, hands, etc.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Get Motivated
I had the pleasure of going with the seniors from New Tech High (where I worked the last two yeas) to the Get Motivated seminar at American Airlines Center on Monday.
We got there late and missed Troy Aikman, but we were upgraded to VIP floor seats, so it was worth being a little tardy. We caught the end of Zig Ziglar, then saw Laura Bush live on stage about 20 feet from our seats. My iPhone doesn't do it justice!
Most of what she discussed was from her book, Stories From the Heart (which is great if you haven't already read it). She was so polished and poised - what I imagine Jackie Kennedy Onassis would have been like on stage.
Emmitt Smith and Terry Bradshaw also spoke. Emmitt was very spiritual like a preacher and some of his stories sound like they are from his book (I will be reading soon, I love biographies). Terry Bradshaw was the most entertaining and really performed like a stand up comic.
Rudy Giuliani also spoke, but I was disappointed in his content and delivery. It was almost like he took old political speeches and pieced them together. He needed more practice and it was obvious that he couldn't ad-lib. I can see now why he didn't make it any further in his presidential campaign.
I found several complaints about this conference online as a money-making scam. Yes there were some infomercials for items, but we got 200 tickets, VIP floor seats, and 85 free lunches all for $9.95. I'm grateful I was able to see these people in person and share the experience with 85 of my favorite kids :)
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We got there late and missed Troy Aikman, but we were upgraded to VIP floor seats, so it was worth being a little tardy. We caught the end of Zig Ziglar, then saw Laura Bush live on stage about 20 feet from our seats. My iPhone doesn't do it justice!
Most of what she discussed was from her book, Stories From the Heart (which is great if you haven't already read it). She was so polished and poised - what I imagine Jackie Kennedy Onassis would have been like on stage.
Emmitt Smith and Terry Bradshaw also spoke. Emmitt was very spiritual like a preacher and some of his stories sound like they are from his book (I will be reading soon, I love biographies). Terry Bradshaw was the most entertaining and really performed like a stand up comic.
Rudy Giuliani also spoke, but I was disappointed in his content and delivery. It was almost like he took old political speeches and pieced them together. He needed more practice and it was obvious that he couldn't ad-lib. I can see now why he didn't make it any further in his presidential campaign.
I found several complaints about this conference online as a money-making scam. Yes there were some infomercials for items, but we got 200 tickets, VIP floor seats, and 85 free lunches all for $9.95. I'm grateful I was able to see these people in person and share the experience with 85 of my favorite kids :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
No Peas Please
This week Parker has tried green beans, squash, peas, and sweet potatoes. He is still spitting up almost constantly, which is really gross now that it has fun colors that stain like green and orange. He started prescription Prevacid tablets that dissolve in his mouth, so hopefully we'll see some improvement soon since a month's supply was $77 (with insurance)!
Green beans were okay, squash was super yummy, peas were yucky and induced more spit-ups, and sweet potatoes are yummy too. We're eating three meals a day of food for three days before moving on to the next flavor.
In reality, Parker really just wants to stick his fingers in his mouth and eat the spoon (tooth número two appeared on Tuesday). He also reverts a his purple-faced tantrums if you try and wipe his face off with a wet paper towel.
Not a big deal, unless you're meeting a new neighbor and have to apologize that your child has sweet potato streaks of orange across his forehead and up his nose.
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Green beans were okay, squash was super yummy, peas were yucky and induced more spit-ups, and sweet potatoes are yummy too. We're eating three meals a day of food for three days before moving on to the next flavor.
In reality, Parker really just wants to stick his fingers in his mouth and eat the spoon (tooth número two appeared on Tuesday). He also reverts a his purple-faced tantrums if you try and wipe his face off with a wet paper towel.
Not a big deal, unless you're meeting a new neighbor and have to apologize that your child has sweet potato streaks of orange across his forehead and up his nose.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, October 15, 2010
6 Month Check-Up
We got a great report at Parker's check up this morning. He now weighs 17lbs, 11oz (50th percentile), he is 27 inches (60th percentile), and he still has a big 'ole noggin, but at least now its round and he won't need a helmet!
We got the go-ahead from the doctor to start introducing foods. I told her that he hasn't been a fan of rice cereal, so she said to forget it and get to some yummy vegetables instead. He had green beans for lunch and liked them, when he ate them cold for dinner, he gobbled them up and begged for more. I now need to invent a feeding smock to protect myself from green mush splatter - I only thought always wearing spit up on your shoulder was gross!
Parker wasn't too fussy about his four shots and oral vaccine. He had a blast trying to eat the paper on the table and staring at himself in the mirror.
We got the go-ahead from the doctor to start introducing foods. I told her that he hasn't been a fan of rice cereal, so she said to forget it and get to some yummy vegetables instead. He had green beans for lunch and liked them, when he ate them cold for dinner, he gobbled them up and begged for more. I now need to invent a feeding smock to protect myself from green mush splatter - I only thought always wearing spit up on your shoulder was gross!
Parker wasn't too fussy about his four shots and oral vaccine. He had a blast trying to eat the paper on the table and staring at himself in the mirror.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Boot Scootin' Toothie
Parker is scooting his way around trying desperately to crawl - even if it's in his crib! We also discovered that his first tooth poked through his gums in Monday. He hasn't been fussy, so hopefully the rest will be this easy too!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Decatur
My last two posts were written in the car while Benton drove us home from Wichita Falls. Apparently, cell service isn't strong enough on 287 to load pictures, so here they are!
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Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, October 11, 2010
State Fair
Parker took his first trip to the Fair and had a blast (or as much fun as you can have for a six month old). I wasn't expecting him to be overly cooperative with the crowds, noise, lights, and smells. Turns out that he loved observing the chaos of it all and we stayed much longer than we planned. We later decided that it was the best age to enjoy the fair since he can't eat the food, ride rides, play games, or walk through the crowds.
Mom and dad had fun too - we ate our way through the fair since we hadn't been in a several years. We had Fletcher's corn dogs, fried Oreos (amazing!), a funnel cake, fried queso, fried guacamole, a cheese quesadilla, fried margarita, adult beverages, and Pappasitos for dinner! Oh my gosh - it sounds so much worse when you list it all!
Parker though the powdered sugar looked pretty good.
)
I had a lady stop me because she though I was letting Parker get too much sun with his pink cheeks.
Best part of the Fair was the lottery tent. A $20 scratch-of purchase got you entrance into the cash cage. Benton won more scratch offs and ended up only losing a $1. Nothing like gambling at the Fair!
Great purple pimped-out scalade with front row valet parking.
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Mom and dad had fun too - we ate our way through the fair since we hadn't been in a several years. We had Fletcher's corn dogs, fried Oreos (amazing!), a funnel cake, fried queso, fried guacamole, a cheese quesadilla, fried margarita, adult beverages, and Pappasitos for dinner! Oh my gosh - it sounds so much worse when you list it all!
Parker though the powdered sugar looked pretty good.
I had a lady stop me because she though I was letting Parker get too much sun with his pink cheeks.
Best part of the Fair was the lottery tent. A $20 scratch-of purchase got you entrance into the cash cage. Benton won more scratch offs and ended up only losing a $1. Nothing like gambling at the Fair!
Great purple pimped-out scalade with front row valet parking.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Half Birthday
Parker was six months old as of Saturday. We spent the weekend in Wichita Falls and got in some good grandparent time and took 6 month pictures with DeEdra.
Parker's latest tricks are slapping people's hands away like a little boxer and sucking his bottom lip. He's also close to crawling - he gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth. Then he gets fussy and frustrated until someone sits him back up in sitting position.
He's still sleeping great - down by 6:30pm and up around 7am. Daytime naps are really 30 minute cat naps, but at least he wakes up in a better mood.
We're quickly outgrowing size 3 diapers and 9-month outfits. For now, Parker is pretty skinny through the waist, but thick in the thighs (wonder where he gets that from!).
He loves to be outside in his big new backyard. We can easily kill an hour in the evening hanging out on a quilt in the back.
We go for our checkup on Friday - so check bak to see if we've hit the 20lb mark or not! We'll also get the go ahead to start introducing food, so we should have some messy pictures to share.
Here is a picture by Parker's babysitter, Elizabeth, from last week. She put him in his swing with his bottle while she got situated to feed him in his chair. He was too hungry to wait and decided to hold the bottle and feed himself the whole thing!
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Parker's latest tricks are slapping people's hands away like a little boxer and sucking his bottom lip. He's also close to crawling - he gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth. Then he gets fussy and frustrated until someone sits him back up in sitting position.
He's still sleeping great - down by 6:30pm and up around 7am. Daytime naps are really 30 minute cat naps, but at least he wakes up in a better mood.
We're quickly outgrowing size 3 diapers and 9-month outfits. For now, Parker is pretty skinny through the waist, but thick in the thighs (wonder where he gets that from!).
He loves to be outside in his big new backyard. We can easily kill an hour in the evening hanging out on a quilt in the back.
We go for our checkup on Friday - so check bak to see if we've hit the 20lb mark or not! We'll also get the go ahead to start introducing food, so we should have some messy pictures to share.
Here is a picture by Parker's babysitter, Elizabeth, from last week. She put him in his swing with his bottle while she got situated to feed him in his chair. He was too hungry to wait and decided to hold the bottle and feed himself the whole thing!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The Blue Bitch
I'm sad to announce that we're selling our favorite blue denim sectional. In some ways, I'm still hoping that its not true and we can hang on to it on our garage for a few more years until we can find somewhere to put it.
Maybe its because it was the first furniture we picked out as a couple, or because it's seriously the most comfortable couch ever made that I'm so attached to this gigantic sofa. Benton had just graduated from Tech and got his first apartment in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas. We went over Christmas break to go furniture shopping at Wier's Furniture Store with his parents. Benton was immediately drawn to this huge overstuffed denim slipcovered sectional and he spent most of the shopping trip laying on it. His mother didn't like it and thought it was too comfy for grown-up furniture. He stubbornly bought it anyway, saying that it would be great for a playroom someday when we had children.
I think his mom was hoping I'd take her side, but we were still dating at the time and when he referenced future children and implied that we were getting married someday, he could have bought a purple leather bedazzled lazyboy recliner with my support. It took up almost all of his 900 square foot apartment, but he loved it. It was also an added bonus that it was over 10 feet long and could sleep two people comfortably. Our friends and family would later fight to sleep on the blue couch rather than the guest bed.
Our first apartment after we got married was on the third floor, and we hauled the Blue Bitch up three flights of stairs. It barely fit, but we still thought it was the best couch ever. We brought our Westie, Jack, home as a new puppy to the blue couch where he proceeded to sleep, play, and wrestle on it. Don't worry though - the couch was made with slipcovers that can be removed, washed, and even dried! This was now our family couch and Jack loved every inch of the Blue Bitch.
Two years later, we lugged the Blue Bitch down three flights of stairs and into our first house. We tried to put the couch in our living room, but the blue denim didn't go very well with our beautiful new Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors. After a couple of months, we bought a new sofa and love seat and the Blue Bitch was relinquished to the back guest bedroom. We'd visit her every once in a while to watch TV or take a nap, and our house guests still loved to sleep on her.
When I was pregnant with Parker and went into full nesting mode, I made Benton move the Blue Bitch to our much smaller third bedroom. It took up every inch of the room, but I put my desk in there and called it an office. I washed every inch of the sofa and febreezed it in preparation for Parker's arrival. I wanted him to love this couch as much as we did.
In July, we moved into a new home, and so the Blue Bitch was transported a measly 1.8 miles to our new location. We hoped to use the blue sectional in our seating area off from the kitchen. We were finally in our "family" home with one of the children Benton had referred to at Wier's so many years before. Unfortunately, we don't have a playroom or hidden den for comfortable and relaxed denim slipcovered furniture. We also really need an L-shaped arrangement for optimal TV viewing. So this brings me to my sad announcement...the Blue Bitch must find a new home with other house guests, children, and puppies to comfort. Did I mention that I slept on this couch for almost three weeks of my third trimester?
Here's a picture of her, please contact us if you think you can give her as good of home as we have for the last eight years. She was made by LEE Industries, and you can even order a new slipcover for her if you want to make her feel young again.
Maybe its because it was the first furniture we picked out as a couple, or because it's seriously the most comfortable couch ever made that I'm so attached to this gigantic sofa. Benton had just graduated from Tech and got his first apartment in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas. We went over Christmas break to go furniture shopping at Wier's Furniture Store with his parents. Benton was immediately drawn to this huge overstuffed denim slipcovered sectional and he spent most of the shopping trip laying on it. His mother didn't like it and thought it was too comfy for grown-up furniture. He stubbornly bought it anyway, saying that it would be great for a playroom someday when we had children.
I think his mom was hoping I'd take her side, but we were still dating at the time and when he referenced future children and implied that we were getting married someday, he could have bought a purple leather bedazzled lazyboy recliner with my support. It took up almost all of his 900 square foot apartment, but he loved it. It was also an added bonus that it was over 10 feet long and could sleep two people comfortably. Our friends and family would later fight to sleep on the blue couch rather than the guest bed.
Our first apartment after we got married was on the third floor, and we hauled the Blue Bitch up three flights of stairs. It barely fit, but we still thought it was the best couch ever. We brought our Westie, Jack, home as a new puppy to the blue couch where he proceeded to sleep, play, and wrestle on it. Don't worry though - the couch was made with slipcovers that can be removed, washed, and even dried! This was now our family couch and Jack loved every inch of the Blue Bitch.
Two years later, we lugged the Blue Bitch down three flights of stairs and into our first house. We tried to put the couch in our living room, but the blue denim didn't go very well with our beautiful new Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors. After a couple of months, we bought a new sofa and love seat and the Blue Bitch was relinquished to the back guest bedroom. We'd visit her every once in a while to watch TV or take a nap, and our house guests still loved to sleep on her.
When I was pregnant with Parker and went into full nesting mode, I made Benton move the Blue Bitch to our much smaller third bedroom. It took up every inch of the room, but I put my desk in there and called it an office. I washed every inch of the sofa and febreezed it in preparation for Parker's arrival. I wanted him to love this couch as much as we did.
In July, we moved into a new home, and so the Blue Bitch was transported a measly 1.8 miles to our new location. We hoped to use the blue sectional in our seating area off from the kitchen. We were finally in our "family" home with one of the children Benton had referred to at Wier's so many years before. Unfortunately, we don't have a playroom or hidden den for comfortable and relaxed denim slipcovered furniture. We also really need an L-shaped arrangement for optimal TV viewing. So this brings me to my sad announcement...the Blue Bitch must find a new home with other house guests, children, and puppies to comfort. Did I mention that I slept on this couch for almost three weeks of my third trimester?
Here's a picture of her, please contact us if you think you can give her as good of home as we have for the last eight years. She was made by LEE Industries, and you can even order a new slipcover for her if you want to make her feel young again.
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