Charles Noir Brown

Or Charlie, for short. Yep, we did it again...we got a cat!! We didn't know if we had it in us after saying goodbye (or good riddance as the case may have been) to our beloved Jack (more famously known as Jackie Joe Johnson Brown). But a friend from our Ward was moving and needed to find a home for her 3-year old, all black, neutered, male cat asap, so I/we agreed and took the plunge into cat ownership again.

So far, so good! There were some big eyes, and tears, and sticking out of the bottom lip by Parker Faye, but now she thinks he's pretty cool. She's even reached for him a few times..the real test of his cool-ness will be when she actually makes contact and puts the baby death grip on a nice big chunk of his fur or (gasp) his tail!! I think (I hope!) they'll get along just fine.



The girls are, of course, IN L-O-V-E. Avery picks him up and carries him around every chance she gets, while Maryn draws illustration after illustration of her new BFF.



Hopefully this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Wish us luck!!

Senior Citz

Nie Nie calls old people "senior citz", it makes me laugh. I thought of her today while Mark and I had lunch at Subway...the senior citz were out in full force there for some reason. It's not like they get a discount at Subway, do they? Anyway, there were at least 6 couples (not together mind you) having their lunch at the teeny tiny Subway in Oglesby. There was no tour bus headed to Vegas to play the slots or anything, just a bunch of old couples dining on cold cut combo's.

ANYWAY, we had Miss P with us and they were all in a tizzy over her. "Oooohhh, what a cutie!", some of the old ladies would coo..."how old is she?" they would inquire..."Oooh, I have a grandchild who's about that age...they're so precious, aren't they?" I can handle these kind of remarks about my baby...they don't catch me off guard...it's the other remarks that I just have to laugh at.

Across the aisle from us was an old geez, oops I mean gentleman and his wife. The wife had commented on how sweet Miss P was, and then comes her old grouchy husband..."well, he certainly hasn't missed any meals, has he?" What the!?! His wife corrects him, "she, dear". Oh, I didn't know it was a girl! (Regardless of the fact that she's dressed in a frilly yellow shirt today and has a pink carseat!) "She's rather chubby isn't she?", he asks. Mark chuckles and says something to the effect of "well, she certainly likes to eat!" Then another senior citz walks up to our table...actually walks up to us as we're eating and says, "She'd look better with a White Sox cap on" as he motions to his ball cap. We both kind of smile and nod and continue eating our food...wondering what in the world is happening...it's like a senior citz smack down on our baby!! Just keep eating! We get closer to finishing up and start to get Parker back in her carseat...she starts to protest and squawk a little bit. The geez, I mean gentleman across the aisle says, "she certainly has healthy lungs, doesn't she?" Mark once again smiles and agrees, saying, "she sure doesn't like getting buckled into her seat." And we make our way out of there...blocking our baby from any more insults or attacks. As we leave, Mark looks at me and says, "is it just me or did that guy basically call our baby fat, loud, and boyish? I can't say anything...I'm too busy laughing.

What the heck?!? Since when does being old give you permission to be rude and say whatever the heck you want to?

Can I get an amen?!?

6 Months

I can't believe it's been a half a year since Parker was born. I know everyone says that..."it's going so fast", but in this case it really is. She has grown a lot in the past 3 months especially. For a baby who started out life in the 5th percentile, she is now in the 95th for height, and 90th for her weight!! She caught up fast and it has been a blur!! Her big milestone this past week is that she is rolling all over the place. I put her on her bedroom rug so I could run to the bathroom for something and when I came back she was gone!! All of a sudden I saw her little arm poking out from under the guest bed in her room...she had rolled right under the bed!! It was hilarious and horrifying all at the same time. It won't be long till she is crawling all over creation...I need to start baby-proofing!!

Anyway, I took a little photo shoot with her on the morning of her sixth month birthday. These are little snapshots of her at 6 months I never want to forget.

Enjoy!!

Roll Call

When Mark calls roll in his classes, rather than have each kid say "here" or "yo" after he reads their name, he asks them a "question of the day". He made these questions into a blog meme and tagged me...here are my answers...what are yours?

1. What is your middle name? Marie.

2. What is your nickname? As a kid, my friends would call me "Suzy-Q" (oh wait, some really smart folks who think they are super original still call me that!!)

3. When you were a kid, what did you want to grow up to be? An interior designer. Mark's answer was an architecht. Can you imagine the possibilities that could have been? Instead we both wound up as underpaid English majors.

4. Name one thing you're really good at. Organizing.

5. If you had one superpower, what would it be? "Feng Shui-ing" a room in under 10 seconds.

6. What's the last book you read all the way through? What to Expect When You're Expecting...sadly I don't "finish" many books these days. I start lots though.

7. What's the last movie you saw in the theater? The Princess and the Frog.

8. Name one song you think everybody should listen to. "New York State of Mind" by Alicia Keyes and Jay-Z.

9. Name one guilty pleasure. Watching "16 & Pregnant" or Casey's Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies...it's a toss up...then again, gimme both and I'm a happy girl.

10. Name one thing you're terrified of. Bats. Ever since that incident in our backyard pool when I was a kid, I've never been the same. Oh and raccoons too.

11. What is the sickest you've ever been? After eating all manner of shellfish at McCormick's in Portland after Papa's funeral...and having a massive allergic reaction.

12. Are you in love? Yes.

13. Mountains or beach? It depends on the season we're in...during the winter I crave the beach, during the hot and humid summers I crave the cool mountain air.

14. Name one thing that makes you happy. Knowing that there's no place I'd rather be than with my little family, whatever we're doing...feeling blessed and complete.

15. Who is your celebrity crush? Hugh Jackman, fo sho!!

16. If they made a movie of your life, who would play you? According to my celebrity look-a-like thingy it would either by Nicole Kidman (in my thin days), Lauren Graham, Jodie Foster (?), or Laura Bush (another 20 years from now).

17. Name a pet peeve. Being ignored, people who flake out, and unswept kitchen floors...all those crumbs!! (Help me!)

18. Where would you go on your dream vacation? I would love to go back to the Czech Republic and just wander around my old stomping grounds. But I'd also LOVE to go to NYC someday.

19. What was your first love? Strawberry Shortcake, Barbies, Swimming, Rollerskating.

20. Name one person who broke your heart. Buddy Kennedy...young 15 year old love.

21. Name one thing you do when no one is looking. Check out the size of my rear end in the mirror.

22. What's next? Need to write a talk for church on Sunday.

Jumpin' Bean

We got Parker a "Jenny Jump-Up" last week, and she is in heaven!! She absolutely loves it and would jump all the live long day if we let her. I'm not even kidding...this is the only thing that she doesn't get bored with within a few minutes nowadays. I think it's cause it allows her to see everything around her, with that little crane neck...surveying her kingdom if you will. I also think she just likes the jumping motion because now when I hold her on my lap that's all she does. OUCH! She's being a little camera shy here, but trust us, she can J-U-M-P!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

This man is turning 72 today! And he barely looks a day older than when this photo was taken! (ha ha!) This was Dad's mission photo...he served in the "England" mission...back then it wasn't divided as it is now...I think the boundaries were literally the whole country.


This was Dad in August of 1965. I think that's SLC after he and Mom were married. Right?



And this was Dad's pride & joy...the one car he got to choose himself without having to be brand loyal (cough, Ford, cough). I must say it's a pretty sweet looking set of wheels.

I hope you have a fabulous birthday Dad!! You're the best!!

Make Your Plate a Rainbow

Parker has been expanding her little feeding repetoire over the past month. As you may recall she had her first rice cereal at the end of January. Since then we have gotten adventurous and introduced oatmeal and applesauce, and today SQUASH! I know, I know...I'm supposed to introduce the veggies before the fruits, but it just didn't feel right. When I was faced with the decision of giving something to my little baby who still pushes back out as much she takes in, the idea of green peas just doesn't appeal. (I may or may not have seen a disturbing movie way back when involving peas spewing out of somebody's mouth is all I'm saying.) ANYWAY, applesauce it was. I mixed it in with her rice and she gobbled it down. Then again, she'll gobble anything down if it's on a spoon. She loves to eat!! But unfortunately, it's at the expense of nursing and bottle feeding nowadays. She is just not interested in drinking now that she has this cool spoon thing feeding her new textures and keeping her belly fuller longer..."no fank you!" is what she says when it comes time for bottles. And she either bites on the nipple (which is another reason the nursing is now almost done), or she pushes it out with her tongue and twists and contorts her squirmy little body. I guess she doesn't want it. If she could talk, I have a pretty good idea what she would be saying.

Anyway, as I fed her the squash today I couldn't help but take a little taste off the spoon (did you ever do this?) and I was reminded, I love squash!! But I never eat it. Why not, I ask myself?!? Because I'm too busy eating garbage is why not! And it got me thinking...

How we feed these little babies is how we're supposed to eat ourselves...throughout our lives. We're supposed to eat only when we're hungry. We're supposed to make grains, vegetables, fruits and healthy proteins (dairy) the foundation of our diet. We're supposed to eat meat sparingly and in moderation. And for heaven's sakes, sugar!?! We don't really need it at all when it all boils down to it. How do we get so off the mark? How do we let our own children get so off the mark?

I remember when Maryn started eating solids on her own...she would sift out the chunks of the baby food blends we fed her. If it said "noodles with peas and carrots", she would swish that mixture around in her little mouth and within a second or two out popped a pea onto the tray of her high chair, and then "pop" out popped a carrot, until her tray was covered in bits of vegetables intended for her consumption. I was so paranoid as a new Mom that my baby was going to STARVE that I would resort to giving her just the noodles at the next meal because 1.) I wanted her to actually eat something and 2.) I felt like throwing away all those uneaten veggies was such a waste and couldn't bear to just watch that money go out with the trash. Sue me! But that's where it started. Eventually the plain noodles became mac 'n' cheese. Eventually the healthy chunks of boiled chicken became deep fried nuggets (dipped in RANCH!), and the story goes on and on. AAGH!

So the reason we don't eat squash (even though I actually really like it) is because our plates have become too full of junk we don't really need. If we ate like Parker eats: applesauce and oatmeal for breakfast, green beans and rice for lunch, plenty of fluids in between, can you imagine how good we would feel? And how healthy (and thin) our bodies would be? I'm ready to make a change. Not only for myself, but for my family. And I'll remind the girls there was a time, they would clap and grin for squash and sweet potatoes. Hopefully they won't spit it out or throw it at me this time though.

Here's the beginning of a healthy food makeover for the Brown's. My goal is just to simplify our meals. Less 1 pot meals filled with processed ingredients and more cooking simple meals from scratch...I may even roast a squash or two. I'm not throwing out our favorites entirely, just eating them in moderation. And instead of two servings of pasta, two servings of veggies or fruit. It sounds simple enough, right?

Who's with us?