Audrey Rose Brown is born!

Audrey Rose Brown was born at 4:59PM on Sunday December 21st, 2008 at St. David's hospital. She weighed 7lbs 15oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has dark hair and brown eyes and the most adorable little smiles that melt my heart. We are blessed to have her in our family.

Aidan and Alex on Santa's lap

Aidan and Alex enjoyed sitting with Santa and telling him what they want for Christmas.

Fall Weekend trip to Dallas 08

We had a very busy weekend in Dallas!

It started with trick or treating, we had 2 Batman Super Heroes!

The next morning the kids went out to ride bikes and Aidan decided he was ready to ride without training wheels! We were so proud!!

Then it was off to the Bengtson Family Ranch to celebrate cousin Brady's 3rd birthday with some fishing. It was a first for Aidan and Alex. Alex caught his first fish!

More Pumpkin Fun!

We had fun at Sweetberry Farm today. The boys insisted we get more pumpkins since the 2 that we carved last weekend went bad already!! It was really hot outside, and I'm not just saying that because I am 7 1/2 months pregnant! But, the kids enjoyed the kid maze, pumpkin ice cream, and lots of picture taking!

Picking out Pumpkins

Alex and Aidan were so excited to pick out a pumpkin this year! :-) We still have a trip to Sweetberry Farms planned for the weekend!

Grandma and Grandpa Lerma's house

This is a picture of my Grandma and Grandpa's house. I've grown up going there for years. We've celebrated holidays including Christmas mornings, dying Easter eggs with Grandpa and grandma at Easter, watching the big Macy's Day parade on Thanksgiving morning....need I say more?? I stayed with Grandpa and Grandma for half a summer when I went to summer school and they took such good care. I can't tell you the wonderful memories that come to mind when I look at this house.

2 weeks ago I was at this house because my Grandpa passed away suddenly. He had an aneurism that took him with no warning. We were going to be celebrating his 80th birthday this Thanksgiving, it was just so hard to believe. I guess I am writing this because I miss my grandpa dearly and when I see this house I see him. My grandma is going to be coming home from the nursing home soon and an uncle is moving back to help take care of her in this home again. I can't believe that I will never see him standing outside waving goodbye anymore, but I will always have him in my heart.

Alex's Meet the Teacher Day

Alex was ready to go meet his new teachers Ms. Carla and Ms. Ana on his first day of STM Preschool.

He was finally over his rash that he'd gotten from his allergic reaction to amoxicillin. It looked terrible. I am so happy that he recovered!

Aidan's first day of Kindergarten!

Aidan had a great first day of kindergarten drop off this

morning. I can't believe my little guy is off to the big schools. I think that it really hasn't set in yet. The next 12 years are going to fly by I know it. I'm so proud of him. He was so excited to go in and play at his new classroom! Aidan had his orientation and meet the teacher last Thursday night. That is where he met Mrs. Brightly for the first time and took a picture with her. :-)

Jeremy and Alyssa's birthdays August 08

Jeremy and I celebrated our birthdays with a few friends at Volente Beach. It rained but that didn't stop us from having some fun! Aidan overcame his fears of the big tall slide and went down it with Jeremy. He was very brave!!

August trip to Atlanta 08

August has been a BUSY month for us!! Aidan, Alex, and I went to Atlanta for a week. We went to a Braves Game, Six Flags, the zoo, the boys learned to play guitar with Uncle Arthur and the boys just had an overall fun visit. Aidan and Alex had some great bonding time with Gammy!

Summer Galveston Trip w/ IL Family

We spent last week in Galveston. Jeremy flew in on July 11th at midnight from having spent the previous couple of days in IL attending his Uncle Bill's funeral. He said it was a beautiful service.

On July 12th I drove in with Aidan and Alex to Santa Fe to Jeremy's parent's home. That evening we went to pick up Julie's extended family that had just flown in from IL for a week of fun! The next day we drove into Galveston and stayed at Inverness by the Sea which was on the seawall across the street from the ocean. We spent all of Sunday night getting settled. On Monday we started off at the pool and ended the evening at the ocean. Jeremy's mom took Aidan back to her house almost every evening we were there which was a big help.

It was Aunt Doris, Aunt Mary, Cousin Jenni Hunt with the twins Madelyn and Gibson and Cousin Randi Kay with Chase and Lincoln. On Tuesday afternoon Christy showed up with Jonah and Laurel. Jeremy also surprised us that night when we were at the beach. I wasn't expecting him to be driving in until the next day!

We took morning walks along the sea wall. One morning we walked about 2 miles to a souvenier shop. I was never so glad when Julie came to pick us up. It was just so HOT!!

On Thursday we took the kids to Schlitterbaun. We went in the late afternoon and stayed until 8PM. That was the perfect time. Aidan and Alex really liked going down the water slides where we could ride along with them. We went on a couple of big family ones that scared me crazy. They were ok to ride while pregnant I thought. The didn't really jostle me too much. The week before I rode a kiddie roller coaster with the boys at Sea World and I did alright. The kids also liked the Lazy River and the Raging River. They had these double tubes that had mesh on the bottom of one side so that your child didn't fall through. It was perfect for the boys.

Friday was another fun day, except at near midnight. We all started to hear a car alarm. Jeremy decided to go down with our keys to be certain it wasn't ours. It wasn't, but it was his mom's car. Someone had tried to brake in. They bust a hole in her driver side window, intending to break the whole thing. It was her tint job that kept the whole window from shattering. They didn't steal anything. I can't imagine that they were really trying to steal the car seats though.

It was an eventful week. Alex, Gibson, and Chase may or may not have been stung by jellyfish and Aidan did get a bee sting. Christy removed the stinger. We put a bandaid on Aidan's neck where he was stung. One side came undone and was flappy on his neck. He cried, "Ah, ah, what's on my neck?!!!" Poor thing, he was so frightened about getting stung again. At least we know that he's not allergic.

There were a couple of other crazy stories. Should I say something about a picture taken on Aunt Doris's camera? Or a particular bucket that got left in the shower for Aunt Doris to find. But I'll keep those as inside stories.

All in all it was a fun trip! We rushed home early Saturday morning for Sofia's birthday party and then crashed for bed early that night in an attempt to catch up on sleep!!

A Night at the Ballpark with Cousins

Aunt Kathryn came into town with Maura and Brady. Cousin Chris Troy shared his company's box seats with us for the Round Rock Express baseball game. Cousin Pat and his girlfriend were there too! It was a fun night!

Brown family cousins

Alex and Aidan in our front yard tree with cousins Jonah and Laurel

Aidan's 5th Birthday

Aidan had a great 5th birthday. He loved all of the sportball games that the coach played with his friends. It was really neat that he turned them into Star Wars games to match his theme. It was a fun day!

My little Aggies in training!

Aidan looks like he is in mid-yell...

Farmers Fight!!

Alex Turns 3

Alex turned 3 on April 12th. My little boy is growing up!! He had a really fun party at Extreme Fun. Aidan enjoyed helping him celebrate! He got lots of cars and trucks, some airplanes, a train set and some other fun things. He really enjoyed having all of his friends playing with him. ;-)

Party and Wedding wknd March 08

The last weekend in March was super busy. My parents came into town and we celebrated Maura's 5th Birthday and went to my dear Cousin Jackie's wedding in New Braunfels on the same Saturday.

Our weekend started off eventful as early as Wednesday when my dad's journey, bound for San Antonio, got changed. The only way into Texas was to fly into SA and drive. So, I picked up my mom from the airport, then later that day he took a rental to my home. Several family members from Ohio also were affected by cancellations and flew into Austin instead. I got home from the airport at 1AM Thursday morning with Aunt Kora, Uncle Bud, Aunt Michelle, and cousin Maggie. The next morning Aunt Lucha, Aunt Barbara, and her son Josh drove in to pick them up and take them to San Antonio. What a journey.

It was worth it. Jackie was a beautiful bride. It was a fun wedding and we all enjoyed celebrating and see each other again. Alex had a ball dancing with Cousin Felicia's daughter Ferra who is 4. Aidan, Maura, Brady, and Mark all had fun on the dance floor too!!

Easter Week 08

We had a fun Easter this year. Jeremy's parents were in town the week prior and we went to Longhorn Caverns in Burnet. The boys actually did fairly well through the hour and a half tour. Aidan and Alex did a lot of egg hunting this year. They went to an Easter egg hunt Elizabeth Milburn Park, then they had a hunt at school, then they had a hunt at Kay Radden Park behind our house, then they hunted after church on Easter morning. That added up to too much candy! I think they have been on a sugar rush for over a week straight! Aidan learned a lot about Easter. He learned about the tomb that Jesus was in and His rising to life again. Very big stuff for a 4 year old. Alex just enjoyed dying eggs in the backyard with Poppy and Grandma Julie.

Brown Family February 2008

Alex and Aidan enjoying spending time together. They really are each other's best friends these days, despite Alex deciding to romp all over his big brother and wrestle! Alex is interested in playing ball these days. Aidan is enjoying being back at gymnastics.

The boys surprised me with a chocolate fountain for Valentine's Day. It was all set up and waiting for me in the kitchen the morning of Valentine's Day. What a special treat. Apparently it was all Aidan's idea! He LOVES chocolate!!

Brown Family Bowling!!

We took our first family trip to the bowling Alley where Aidan and Alex bowled for the first time! They had a ball. Literally! I think we started something!!

Dad's ordination weekend in Atlanta 08

This was such a special weekend for my father. It was his birthday on February 8th, the night of the ceremony. We missed not having Jeremy, Aidan and Alex. When I wasn't celebrating I was getting over bronchitis though so it probably worked out for the best. Go dad!

Aidan and Alex's mardi Gras parade

Loving brothers on Tuesday Feb 5th, for their Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras parade!