Cutest picture of the century

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite pictures. My 2 little girls, aren't they adorable?

Fun with Oma Cyppy

I'm so glad that I have my mother-in-law here to help me with Jillian and Annabelle. Annabelle is so energetic and needs a lot of attention and it's been nice to not have to be the sole entertainer these days. Yesterday, Annabelle and "Cyppy" played in the snow for over an hour.
Today, they are down in the basement, Annabelle riding her bike and Cynthia getting her daily workout. Check out the video.

Here is a video of Annabelle singing her ABC's and showing off her new baby sister. Jillian is doing really well. She has now been asleep in her bouncer without needing anyone to hold her for about 3 hours. It's great! (Now, maybe that's not actually a big deal for a newborn to sleep that long without needing to be held, but the only person I have to compare Jillian as a nwborn to is Annabelle as a newborn, and she didn't sleep for 3 consecutive hours even after she was months old.)

She's here!

Jillian Rose Brown is here, weighing 7 lbs, 19 inches long.

Baby update (no, I haven't had her yet)

Okay, so sorry I haven't updated my blog for a while. It's been pretty crazy around here. No, I have not yet had the baby, but I'm scheduled to be induced Wednesday, Jan 27. Other than the baby being small, she looks healthy and strong. We are all anxiously awaiting her arrival and hope that all goes well with the delivery.

Snow play

We had some more snow dumped on us last night, so I let Annabelle take advantage of the new snow suit I got her and we played in the snow this morning. When we first had snow a few months ago, Annabelle was not very adventurous when playing. That has now changed, as you can see from this video. She loves to fall and roll around in it.

Crazy week, Leisure Saturday

Last week was a little crazy for us, as every week will continue to be from now on. Michael was called to be the Young Men's President in our ward last week and just in one week's time, his free time (which was already pretty limited) has become practically non-existent. He had something going on almost every single night of the week that would keep him out until well after Annabelle went to bed. He was obviously exhausted from working all day and then attending meetings at night. I, of course, am always tired. So, by the time he gets home for the night, we're both ready to crash. Then, he leaves for work the next morning before Annabelle and I get up. Thankfully, Saturday he had nothing scheduled (other than some leisure basketball playing and lots of football and basketball watching) and we got to hang out as a family all day. It was fun to have us all together and forget (as well as we could) about the stresses of life. Here is a video of some of the activities Michael and Annabelle did. I would have joined in, but I think that would have put me in labor.

Baby Prep

Usually I get kind of depressed once the holidays are over and it's time to put away the Christmas stuff. I love Christmas and New Years, and to go back to life as it is 10 months out of the year is always hard for me at first. However, as I was packing away all of our Christmas stuff today, I didn't feel the usual sadness that accompanies this time. I've got something big happening in the next few weeks to look forward to. I put Christmas away and unpacked baby stuff! Yeah, we are finally beginning the preparations for the baby, even though she is only weeks (we hope) away. It's crazy to remember how much stuff a baby needs. I've only opened 3 boxes and I still have several more to go. Here's a picture of just half of the clothes that I need to wash.
There's a lot more to do, but at least we're starting to make some progress.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

First of all, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that 2010 is a great year for you. Here at the Brown household, there's something that accompanies the new year- Michael's birthday! We had friends over yesterday and the husbands watched sports, while the wives chatted. Michael's not one who gets into birthdays, especially his own, but he did allow me to make an ice cream cake for him, and even went as far as to let me put a candle on it making it an official birthday cake. Today on his actual birthday, we had more of a family celebration, including having his birthday dinner and opening gifts (with tons of help from Annabelle). In fact, Annabelle was way more excited about opening his presents than he was.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHAEL!