A Joyful 2022 Christmas

/

A Joyful 2022 Christmas

It's December, and the holiday season is upon us. We are running (yes, with two boys, we are literally running) to all the Christmas events. It's also a time to step back and reflect on the year. It's been a wonderful year of splashing, adventuring, and enjoying our home in the Pacific Northwest. 

Caleb

I undoubtedly say this every year, but how'd Caleb get to be almost seven? My little guy is becoming a big kid; it boggles my mind. He graduated kindergarten this year, and in the fall, he started first grade with Mrs. Friske at Cor Deo. First grade is going so well, and he's especially interested in the science and history topics. He can spout out more Egyptian facts than I could at his age!

Caleb is our fun-loving but logical kid; he questions everything and loves to build things. His current career path is espionage - that's right, he wants to be a spy. Green and red are his favorite colors, and penguins still have a place in his heart. He loves rocks and even displayed his collection at the library. 

Caleb loves to swim and is in the silver level at Beard Swim. He can't wait to be Gold! This August, when we visited Balboa Island, he would have stayed in the water, swimming to the floating pier and jumping off - if we didn't remind him to eat. Caleb also joined the running club at school. He wants to run, run, run (forget those silly skill drills and stretching, let's go!). He also ran his first 1K race and earned himself a top spot at the finish line.

One of our favorite things is how he writes our initials and draws a heart around them. He's such a sweet guy, spunky and full of laughs. 

Wesley

Four! You read that correctly; Wesley is turning four in early December. He is such a love and is full of imagination and silliness. He can completely occupy himself with his little construction signs, cones, and cars and make a scene. If you listen closely, there is a whole story in the play. 

Wesley is in his second year of preschool, known as intermediate level, at First Presbyterian Preschool. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Smith, and walks into the classroom with a smile and, usually, a car for show-and-tell).

He loves his big brother and always tries to keep up with him. We are lucky in that they still enjoy playing together. 

Wesley's favorite color is blue, and he wants to be a ghost when he grows up (this might change tomorrow, though). We're excited to transition him to a pedal bike (his big birthday gift) because he adores riding his bike. Every day, rain or shine, he'll ask to go for a ride. 

We love how Wesley does the funniest little dances; he's got a good groove. And his puckery kisses are the cutest ever. 

Heather

I hit the four-decade age (eh hem, 40, cough). It was a big year for me. We celebrated with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law, along with some other milestone celebrations (more later). Still, Josh also threw me the sweetest, most fitting birthday party. Close friends surrounded me for a lovely patio dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, En Rama. My younger self would be pleased with where I've landed in life with friends. It truly was a special celebration. 

My stay-at-home motherhood gig is still in full force. The boys keep me busy, and I'm starting to feel like a transportation service going from school to playdates to activity after activity. But, let's face it, that's how I love it. It's truly my nature to do all the things and be active. 

I continue my Instagram hustle as well. Occasionally I'll be recognized around town as the Raising Tacoma gal. I celebrated 1K followers in the summer on Instagram. Most importantly, I still enjoy sharing my local finds and activities with those around me. Additionally, I assist with our church's Kids Ministry Instagram and volunteer in the kids' classes each month. 

Yes, I know you're curious about my sourdough starter. Sadly, my starter got trashed during a heat wave mishap. However, I now have a new starter, and she seems more bubbly. Besides sourdough, the kitchen happenings still happen ... occasionally. It's more cooking dinner than baking, but I'll be back in the kitchen baking for the holidays. I'm also hosting my annual cookie exchange again this month. 

Josh

Josh is the hardest worker I know and continues his dedicated work at Wimmer Solutions. He's been there a year and a half and is still enjoying the work and his co-workers. He has a new title this year as Director of Consulting Operations. He has a team of people that he manages and is looking forward to helping grow the consulting services for Wimmer. It sounds big like we're adults -- or something. 

He works most days out of our office shed in the backyard (we had it converted during the deep covid days). He travels to Seattle about once a week to work out of the company's real office in Fremont. 

When he's not working, he's on adventures near or far with the family. He can also mix up a mean bourbon cocktail for a weekend evening. He also enjoys going on a morning run. If it's an evening run, Caleb sometimes accompanies him. 

Asha

What can I say about our dog? She's the craziest pup we've ever known. Her favorite place is still looking out the front window and barking at anything that goes past, even a butterfly. The Amazon guy is her arch-enemy. 

In other news, she got two teeth pulled because she still is the Master of Destruction (you may recall this title from my last Christmas letter). This experience taught us that dental work for dogs is a fortune. We may change our career paths now that we have this information. 

Family Adventures:

You may wonder what you see in our slideshow, so let me share:

  • Visit Grandparents in SoCal: We got some Vitamin D with a visit to San Marcos to visit Mimi Jan and Papa John. The boys had a blast at Legoland and loved some beach time. 

  • National Parks and Easter in Utah: Mimi Nada and Papa Don pulled out all the stops for our Utah visit. We celebrated Easter at Tuacahn Amphitheater. Then we went through Zion and Bryce National Parks and the most thrilling UTV ride through the Coral Pink Sand Dunes near Kanab. 

  • Oregon Coast Celebration Trip: We drove down to Seaside and Cannon Beach, OR in June along with Mimi Jan & Papa John and Lindsay & Damon to celebrate everything—John and Jan's 50th Anniversary, Heather's 40th, John's 75th, and Lindsay & Damon's 3rd Anniversary. We enjoyed Tillamook Cheese Factory, flying a kite, and exploring the coast.

  • Balboa Island in August: This was our second year and so much fun. We joined Mimi Nada and Papa Don in Balboa (near Newport Beach) for a week of splashing in the sun. 

  • Nearby Family Outings: We walked with kids (baby goats) at Mountain Lodge Farm, picked tulips at Knuston Farm, dropped our jaws at the Venardos Circus, experienced space at the Science Dome, saw some animals up at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, and hit up the ice bumper cars and ice skating. 

  • Mom and Boy Outings: We picked some strawberries at Picha Farms, got slimed at the Slime Factory, and frequented the zoo and any water-based spot in the summer.

  • Camping in a barn in Sequim: We set up camp inside our friend's barn in Sequim. Wesley still talks about it. It was the best first camping trip for the boys. Our friends have the most beautiful farm! Oh, and if you see a buffalo in the slideshow, we did feed him at Olympic Game Farm (the craziest place in Sequim!).

  • Halloween Ninjas: This year was ninjas! We had a little neighborhood party and got a massive amount of candy trick-or-treating. 

  • Thanksgiving with the Brown Grandparents: We enjoyed the Hands-on Children's Museum in Olympia, taking the ferry to Vashon (and seeing Orcas!), and eating lots of turkey and fixings.

  • Christmas with the O'Neill Grandparents: We look forward to spending the Christmas holiday with Mimi Jan and Papa John!

  • The Everyday Stuff: We boys love all the jumping places. We went miniature golfing, had a zillion playdates, and enjoyed all the school events, like Father's Fest at the preschool and Reformation Day at Cor Deo!

It's a wrap:

Without a doubt, 2022 has been a hit. We are so thankful for the love of family and friends. We find joy and blessings in our kids and even our mangy mutt. 

We send you warm wishes for a joyful holiday season. 

Peace and love to you All,

- Josh, Heather, Caleb, and Wesley 

A Wonderful 2021 Christmas

/

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." — Elf

The Christmas songs are playing, the movies are being watched, we are snuggled with books before bedtime…Christmas has arrived here at the Brown family home. While this year (and even more so, last year) has been a bit masked of normalcy (see what I did there), we still have had a most wonderful year. A year full of growth, love, learning, goofy dancing, and ninja moves. 

We are still loving our home in Tacoma with our two boys and crazy dog. We've lived in Tacoma for five years now, and there is no doubt it's home sweet home to us now. We have built some strong friendships that we know will last a lifetime. We are truly happy here! 

Caleb

At the beginning of January, Caleb will be celebrating his sixth birthday. All parents know the saying passed down from older parents, "the days are slow, but the years are fast." And it is most definitely true. Our little baby is now a little boy full of feisty spirit and learning at an insanely rapid pace.

Caleb began kindergarten at Cor Deo school in the fall with Mrs. Inverso. His teacher has been the perfect fit — she runs a tight class but is also very supportive. Caleb loves to recognize all the letters in words and talk about rhyme. Currently, his favorite thing to do is write down the first letter of the name of everyone he loves and connect them with lines. 

Caleb still holds onto red and green as his favorite colors, carried over from last Christmas. He has a little love affair with all things penguins - he even begged for a penguin necklace when we were at Sea World. And his future career is as a police officer to protect the city. He insists he will be riding a monster truck police car to ensure he can crush the bandits. 

This year Caleb has taken an immense liking to swim. He's taking lessons at Beard Swim and loves to dive in for rings and dunk his head. He wishes his instructors would let him do splashy cannonballs, as he did at Balboa Island in August. 

He is such a character and certainly makes us laugh daily. 

Wesley

Can you believe it, Wesley turned three at the beginning of December?! He walks around and tells folks, "I'm a big boy!" Josh and I really can't believe he's three already!

While both boys are goofballs, Wesley has a whole new level of silly to bring to the family. He is full of dance moves and loves to belt out music. One of my favorite moments of the day is hearing him sing "Baby Shark" in the morning from his crib. And while Halloween has long passed, he still insists on telling random people that there is a spider in our house (there was a giant spider decoration on our window for October). 

This fall, Wesley started beginners preschool at First Presbyterian Preschool (beginners is just the name for the 2/3-year-old class). We all simply adore his teacher, Miss Michaela. It seemed natural for him to have her as his teacher because she was Caleb's teacher last year! He really loves Miss Michaela, and she has really made the transition to school so smooth. 

Wesley was three things for Halloween this year: a firefighter for Kindermusik, Batman at his preschool, and Boba Fett for the actual trick-or-treating (along with Caleb as the Mandolorian, Josh as a Jedi, and me as Jyn Erso). He loves to dress up, so we are often one of these three characters daily. Of course, there is dancing when one wears costumes and some reenactment. 

While Wesley didn't love swim class, he absolutely loves to ride his balance bike. He asked to ride his bike this morning even though it was still pitch black. He's our little outdoorsman and makes us laugh so much! 

Heather

I'm doing the stay-at-home gig these days still. Before kids, I would have laughed and said that's hardly a job…but now I know the truth. Gosh, these boys keep me busy! I run around from school to swimming to playdates to the jumping place…all in our new-to-us Toyota Highlander. I crash on the couch in the evening, and then it all starts again at 6am. I know I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's such a blessing to have the opportunity to be with the boys during these early years. 

My blog slash Instagram side gig is still going strong. The favor meter has moved towards Instagram for all my Raising Tacoma happenings. I just hit 750 followers and love it when someone approaches me and asks if I'm "the Instagram gal" and then thank me for sharing all my ideas. I try to keep posts going on the blog, but finding the time has been challenging. Speaking of Instagram, I also just started to help with posting our church kids program, Resurrection Kids. Maybe all this will keep me in the "market know" for the someday return to the work world. 

Don't worry, I still have my kitchen happenings in the mix of life. Rico, the original sourdough starter, hit the trash when we had the big heatwave in the summer, but fear not, I've taken up new sourdough life with Sarah starter. I also enjoy making all the cookies, bread, and cakes when I can. Of course, there is dinner magic daily! 

Josh

There were big work changes for Josh this year. In the spring, he transitioned from Director of Digital Transformation and Membership at Washington State Nurses Association to his new role as Practice Director at Wimmer Solutions. Wimmer's office is based in Seattle, but Josh gets to work from home except for one day a week. His home location moved from the tiny desk upstairs in our bedroom to the newly transformed shed. This summer, the shed was updated from mangy storage to mid-century modern home office, including a sit-to-stand desk. 

Josh is one of the hardest workers and is dedicated to Wimmer's success. The company is working to build a larger professional services branch. He spends a lot of time making fancy decks for potential and existing clients (and that's slides, not actual decks, ha!). When he's not building decks, he's our very own Mr. Family Man leading us on our family adventures.

Shh, don't tell Josh I shared this, but he turned 40 years old this October. Over the Hill has been moved to 50 years, so he's all good. I'll have my turn next year. We did a combo 10th anniversary and 40th birthday getaway to celebrate. My dear in-laws took up the charge of the boys for a night to allow us to head to Whidbey Island for a fun island getaway. We stayed at a hotel we once said before we were married that we'd love to stay at someday - and now we have! It was the Inn at Langley in Langley, WA. We did what we love best - roam around towns and make random stops while driving around. We scored breakfast-in-bed with an ocean view, whiskey tasting, cozy coffee shops, and long piers in stormy weather. We had a magical time! 

Asha

Yes, we will share about our dog, Asha. She's our little Asha pup, master of destruction but still has that angelic innocent look in her eyes. As Master of Destruction, she earned herself a brand new indestructible crate. It's her little cave for when we leave the house. Otherwise, her favorite part of the day is her morning walks with Josh. Then she sleeps in Josh's office or keeps watch out the front window. She'll be seven this December. She's still our lovable pup and is so wonderful with the boys.

Family Adventures 

We had a lot of fun this year, which you'll experience in our slideshow below. Here's what you'll see in all those lovely photos:

  • Snow Fun in Winter: We had two snowfalls here in Tacoma (we don't get much and sometimes none), so we enjoyed sledding and snowman building. We also are lucky that snow is just a car drive away, too!

  • Port Angeles Trip in March: We spent a long weekend out in Port Angeles for a small family getaway. Port Angeles was our home base for exploring some of the Olympia National Park like the Madison Creek Waterfalls, Crescent Lake, Ediz Hook split, and just roaming the town.

  • Summer Fun: Full of BBQs, beach play, playgrounds, pools, splash pads, Horseshoe Lake, 4th of July Air Show, going down the Point Defiance Chutes & Ladder Slides, robot & astronaut camp for Caleb.

  • Knutson Farms in May: We went on hayrides and ran through tulip fields at Knuston Farms.

  • Brown Grandparents Visit in May: We loved the Port Orchard live steamers train ride together and exploring the pond and gardens at Point Defiance.

  • O'Neill Grandparents Visit in June: We explored the Foss Waterway Museum and visited Remlinger Farms, including the boys' first pony ride and fair rides. And celebrated Heather's 39th birthday!

  • Museum of Space in August: Josh took a day off, and we saw all the planes and space things. The boys were in awe.

  • San Diego Visit in August: We visited Mimi Jan and Papa John in San Marcos. We enjoyed two big days - one at SeaWorld (Aunt Lindsay & Uncle Damon joined along, too!) and the other at the San Diego Zoo.

  • Balboa Island in August: We joined Mimi Nada and Papa Don in Balboa (near Newport Beach) and had fun in the water. Caleb loved swimming to the floating pier. There were arcades, a Ferris wheel, family gatherings, and Josh and I got to sneak away for an incredible evening at the Pageant of the Masters.

  • Sequim in October: Our friends have a gorgeous farm in Sequim, and we love to visit in the fall to enjoy the apple harvest!

  • Whidbey Island Getaway in October: We celebrated our 10th anniversary (eh hem, 18 years total) and Josh's 40th birthday on a nearby island.

  • Thanksgiving with the O'Neill Grandparents: We enjoyed the LeMay Car Museum, seeing the lights sparkle at Zoolights, and eating lots of good food.

  • Christmas with the Brown Grandparents: We look forward to spending the Christmas holiday with Mimi Nada and Papa Don!

  • Everyday: We love to keep busy at Defy Trampolining, the Children's Museum, bowling, playdates, and all the school events like Mother's tea, PJ day, and Reformation Day at Cor Deo!

And that's a wrap on the Brown 2021 novel. I imagine you've finished your coffee by now! All joking aside, we have lots to share because we have lots to be thankful for in our lives. We truly feel blessed with our two sons, who bring us such joy. We hope this year has brought you joy and blessings.

May the Christmas season bring many tidings to you and yours. 

Peace and Love to you All,

- Josh, Heather, Caleb, and Wesley 

 A Very Merry 2020 Christmas

/
“I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”
— Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Well, this year sure hasn't been a walk in the park. It has definitely had some hardships, and our heart goes out to everyone who has experienced tragedy. 

But it's also been an amazing and blessed year for our family. And the truth is, we've taken many walks in the park; it was one of the few things that kept us sane during lockdowns with two crazy kiddos. 

Caleb

Caleb is going to be five years old in less than a month. Yes, you read that correctly. He's almost five. 

Caleb has really grown this year, and it's been incredible to watch. In the spring, he learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Now, he zooms around like a pro. To keep up with him, mom had to get a bike and put a seat on the back for Wesley. Much of the summer was full of bike rides around town. 

First Presbyterian Preschool, where Caleb attends pre-kindergarten, was shut down for the first part of the year. But he was able to return in-person schooling in the fall. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, and is learning all about the alphabet and numbers.

Seeing Caleb discover music has been a crack-up. At the start of the year, Caleb loved the song Ghostbusters. His love of the song was so deep that it led to his decision to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween. Wesley played the part, too. Now, his taste has led him to rock to Metallic's Enter Sandman and Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal. 

When he didn't want to be a Ghostbuster, Caleb focused on how he could become a Mars-bound astronaut. This winter, he switched majors again. Now he's exploring a career path that will allow him to become a ninja Policeman. In fact, he took a ninja camp during the summer for some training. 

He is such a joy and goofball. We love him so much.

Wesley

If you can't believe Caleb will be five, then wait until you hear this: Wesley turned two on December 7th. That's right, two. 

Wesley has developed in leaps and bounds this year. He started walking at the beginning of the year and now runs everywhere. 

He's also about to make the linguistic jump into full-fledged discussions. His favorite words to use right now are "I'm done" and "shoes!" (note that "shoes" has an exclamation point because when he says it, he throws his hands up in excitement and runs to the shoes).

Needless to say, he loves going outside. Earlier in the fall, he started riding his little balance bike (it's not quite a balance bike, but very close). He loves to "ride" around and then get off to explore, then back on again to the next point of interest. Oh, and if you stick an apple in his hand, he won't be unhappy about that either. 

There's another thing that's been a joy to watch. Wesley absolutely adores his big brother. He follows him around wherever he goes and does what he does. Lucky for us, Caleb is all about taking care of his baby brother (most of the time, that is). They are good buds, and that makes mom and dad proud. 

Heather

I'm still staying at home with the boys these days, which is a busy job. My time is dedicated to finding things to do to keep my two little adventurers busy. Boy, do they have a lot of energy! Every day is full to the brim with new discoveries and messes.

Rico is alive and doing well. Who's Rico, you ask? Oh, he's my sourdough starter. I started making sourdough back in the spring of 2019, and I'm still baking about a loaf a week. It's a fun way for me to continue baking in the kitchen and adds to the chocolate chip banana bread the boys love so much. 

I'm also still keeping up with my local blog, Raising Tacoma. Sometimes I'll run into someone around town, and they'll recognize me from a blog post or Instagram story. One person even said they were "star-struck," which cracked me up. The blog focuses on sharing things to do and see in the area and other kid-related crafts and activities. The number of young families in Tacoma is growing, and it's been great to grow with that wave.

Josh

Josh continues to work at the Washington State Nurses Association as both the Director of Digital Transformation and Membership. With the lockdown in March, he's spent much of the year working from a desk in our bedroom. It's been such a blessing in disguise to have him here instead of in traffic. It's great for the boys to see him pop down for lunch and a hug. 

Josh has managed to maintain his early morning workout routine, alternating between running and yoga most days of the week. When he's not squeezing in a workout of work email, he's Mr. Family Man joining the whole crew on weekend adventures.  

Asha

We can't forget an update on Asha. She'll be six years old in a few days, but we still get asked if she's a puppy when we're out for a walk. Unfortunately, she completely tore the ACL of one of her hind legs this summer. She spent most of the fall recovering from surgery. While she can no longer join Josh on his early morning runs, she gets her exercise by running from Wesley, who seems to think she always wants to play tag.

Family, Fun, and 2020

What 2020 Christmas Letter would be complete without mentioning the impact of the coronavirus on our family. Like many of you, Washington went into lockdown in early spring. With everything but the essentials closed, we had to get creative to keep Caleb and Wesley entertained.  

Unfortunately, our gallant attempt at a family garden ended in weeds. But we did spend a lot of our time outside on bike rides and walks. We are also thankful for the houses across Tacoma that decorated their windows with teddy bears. It was easy for the whole family to go on bear hunts when naps didn't go as planned and afternoons got long.  

We still managed some fun in the year as well. Before the coronavirus closed everything down, I managed to get a trip down to San Diego with the boys to visit my parents. It was so nice to escape the winter weather and enjoy family and the sunshine.

Later in the summer, the family took a vacation to the Washington Coast. We stayed at a pirate-themed Airbnb in Ocean Shores. The beaches on this part of the coast were very long, and everyone has room to drive their cars onto the sand and park. For two Southern Califonian transplants, the practice of driving onto the beach left us uncomfortable at best (shouldn't that be against the law or something?). But it was great to have a dry spot with extra changes of clothes for the kids, who loved playing in the sand and water. 

We also traveled to the Sequim area twice this year to see our friend's farm and explore the area around Dungeness bay. In the summer, we had fun relaxing at the farm and taking the boys to the Dungeness Creamery down the road. We also returned in the fall. The first time we got to enjoy apple-picking on a wonderfully crisp afternoon. The second time, we were able to show Josh's parents the area and explore the town. 

In addition to our trips to Sequim, we took some other Washington state day trips. At the beginning of October, we took a ferry ride over to Vashon Island. We spent a wonderful day discovering this island. Later in the month, we had the opportunity to explore our part of the Sound on a friend's boat. While the fish weren't biting, the seals were curious, and the whole day was magical for the kids. 

While not without its challenges, I feel we've been blessed as I look back on this year. Our boys are growing up so fast, and it's the most incredible thing to be their parents. We are thankful for good health, family, and your friendship. 

We hope you have a wonderful holiday full of cheer and good blessings. 

Peace and Love to you All,

- Josh, Heather, Caleb, and Wesley 

Our 2020 in Photos

Merry Christmas: A Magical 2019

/


I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful and very merry Christmas. I am so thankful for you all.

Check out our family Christmas letter below with 2019 slideshow (or linked here!).


XO, Heather

Merry Christmas - 2019

It's the Christmas season again, which is the perfect time to remember all that we're thankful for and look back at what a magical year it has been.

HOME SWEET HOME

We've now lived in Tacoma, WA, for three and a half years. In that time, Tacoma has embraced us and won our hearts. It truly is our home, and we've developed some great friendships along the way. 

Tacoma is a fast-growing city that has kept much of its small-town charm. When we go to the market, it's not unusual for us to run into a friend, or three, from different neighborhoods. And yet, a walk downtown is punctuated by new restaurants, shops, and neighborhood events. Its been really fun to be part of this growing community.

WESLEY — 1-YEAR-OLD

Our little guy grew so much this year. As of December 7th, he is officially one year old.  

His transition into toddlerhood has been marked by moving and grooving. He cruises all around the house, wants to climb any stairs he sees, and shimmies to music with a smile on his face. By the looks of it, he'll leave cruising behind and start walking very soon. 

I have to admit that I have mixed emotions about seeing him walk. Its an unmistakable sign that he's growing up. It also means I'll be much busier chasing him around. However, I can't wait to see him run with his brother. They are adorable together! 

In addition to becoming more mobile, Wesley's personality has also started surfacing in the last few months.  

He's curious and determined.   

Leaving the back door open for a minute to bring in the groceries? 

You've just allowed a tiny explorer to escape the confines of our house and explore the backyard. 

Putting away the ice cream?

You've just allowed a budding engineer to test the mechanics of the freezer door hinge by swinging it open and close with a gleeful squeal.

Trying to draw a bath of him and his brother?

You've just invited the pitchman for the Splash-o-Matic to give you a private demo in your bathroom. 

Wesley bookends all of this mischief with the best belly laughs and a twinkle in his eye. If you want more of his cuteness, then check out his 0 to 9-month blog post and 10 to 11-month blog post.

CALEB — 3-YEARS-OLD

Whelp! Caleb is almost four years old. He'll turn 4 on January 2nd. He can no longer be called a toddler because he isn't toddling anymore. 

Instead, he runs and jumps everywhere he goes. He's one active kid and doesn't stop until he crashes at night. All along the way, he's dodging cracks in the sidewalk and avoiding hot lava (the white floor tiles in our favorite coffee shop).

He's also a ham; not a day goes by when he doesn't make us laugh! He has the cutest little dance when he's happy. He also loves to sing about his alter-ego "cool Caleb," his baby brother Wesley, mom and dad…and sometimes our dog Asha. 

When he's not being a goofball, Caleb is in class at First Presbyterian Preschool.

His teachers Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Carr, have introduced science to the kids this year. This means Caleb has turned in Mr. Inquisitive at home. He asks a lot of questions and wants to perform a lot of experiments. Especially if the questions and experiments involve M&Ms.

Beyond science, Caleb also seems to enjoy show-and-tell a lot. He always brings a car or some type to show off and spends a long time in the morning, choosing the right one from his collection. 

Preschool has also been an excellent place for Caleb to build his first friendships. Many of this year's classmates were in his class last year, so it has been great to see their friendships deepen over the two years.

Looking back at the year, age three has been quite the ride. We now understand why some people call this age "threenager." Caleb is impulsive, emotional, curious, and ... just the sweetest little guy. 

HEATHER

I am now approaching my fourth year as Senior Director of Home Operations. That is to say, I'm a stay-at-home-mom. It's definitely a 24/7 job, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Most mornings, we are juggling school, playdates, the YMCA, the Children's Museum, the park, several indoor play spaces, and crafts at home. After lunch, we try to push the stroller while walking to the dog and calling out to Caleb to slow down on his bike.

This spring, I picked up a new hobby - baking sourdough bread. After a few false starts, I was able to keep some sourdough starter a friend gave me alive. We named him Rico since, as I understand it, you're supposed to give your starter a name. 

I've got a good basic bread down, and the waffles are delicious. Of course, I'm still into my usual baking and cooking, but having two kids has slowed things down a little. Caleb often offers to help. But, somehow, when he does, our jar of salt gets poured in with the flour, and all the chocolate chips go missing.

JOSH

Josh is still working away at the Washington State Nurses Association. There he acts as the association's Director of Digital Transformation and Membership. In that role, he enjoys helping build the capabilities of the membership team. He also serves as the association's chief technology officer, leading the adoption of new technologies and digitizing workflows. 

In the early part of the year, Josh started picking up running and yoga this year. This helped him to lose more than 30 pounds. Asha is his early morning running buddy and is thrilled about his new routine. Although she admits, she gets a little distracted, sometimes pulling him off course to chase a rabbit or deer along their route.

FAMILY, FUN & TRAVELS

Now that you know about us, here are a few highlights from the year. These are the event's captured in a little slideshow below:

  • Snowmageddon 2019: Early in the year, Tacoma was blanketed by the most significant snowstorm it had seen in years. Since Tacoma and Seattle lack enough snowplows to clear the streets and we won't use salt, we found ourselves stranded [strike through] spending quality time together. We had fun building snowmen and sledding at a neighboorhood park.

  • Family Visits: We enjoyed a couple of visits from both sets of grandparents. It's such a blast for everyone when they are around. We get to spend quality time together, and the boys really love it.

  • Going to a Chapel: My sister got married in June to Damon, so we made a trip down to Pasadena to join in the wedding festivities. She was married in Pasadena, CA, and got the best toast from her maid of honor (cough, me). It was beautiful, and we are so glad to have Damon in the family. 

  • Sundiego: Afterwards, the boys and I went down to the San Diego area to spend time with the O'Neill grandparents (sadly, Josh had to return home for work). They live about 20 minutes from Legoland, so we got to bring the boys there for their first amusement park experience. We discovered Caleb is a thrill seeker and loved the fast rides the best.

  • The Circus Came to Town: the Venardos Circus was in town, so we got to see performers do some pretty amazing things. 

  • Come-to-Jesus Meetings: We also go to Resurrection Church on Sundays. On Father's Day, we dedicated Wesley there in front of the congregation. 

  •  But Wait! There's More: We went to the Spring Washington State Fair, visiting our friend's farm in Sequim, a local pumpkin patch, our neighboorhood's farmer's markets, and lots of walks and parks. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We hope this holiday season finds you in good health and full of happiness. And our door is always open for family and friend visitors.

Love, Josh, Heather, Caleb, Wesley, and Asha

Our 2019 in photos!

Wesley's 10 and 11 Months

/

We’re almost there, almost to the big ONE year birthday! This year went by so fast (and yet each day seemed so slow, funny how that works). The little guy just melts my heart. He’s got big smiles and belly laughs and it’s the best thing ever. I’m not going to get any more mushy…I’ll save that for my one year post.

Go to my earlier post, A Look Back: Wesley’s 9 Months, to see 0 to 9 months!

October - 10 Months Old

  • Sleep training Round 3 - Ugh, does it stop? Let’s sleep dude!

  • Cruising - He’s walking along tables & able to move from one thing and then across to another

  • Standing for like 3 seconds without any support

  • Short distances with toy walker independently

  • Loves to play with water - splish splash!

  • Tongue side to side - Funny blub sound with tongue going back and forth (so cute)

  • Climbs up to stand grabbing the back of mom’s legs

  • First Halloween! Went as Batman’s (Caleb) sidekick, Robin!

November - 11 Months Old

  • Getting down from a standing position to crawl or sit

  • Loves the freezer especially opening and closing it on his own

  • Walking around with the toy walker (but not great at navigating, yet)

  • When mom sits down, he loves to walk around her again & again

  • Bee lines to the laundry room, freezer, or front/back doors to go outside when opened

  • Wheels, wheels, wheels…all the wheels

  • Walking and pushing the stroller!

  • Climbing up the stairs

  • Started the standard crawl (still does the army crawl, too…but this crawl is faster)

  • Almost walking, so close…

  • First Tooth! (on the bottom left)

  • First Thanksgiving - didn’t really eat much of the food. A bit of a roll perhaps and then playing with the rest.

A Look Back: Wesley's 9 Months

/

Have you seen the meme (this one) where the photo of the first child is all done up with cute props and then the second child just has a post-it note? LOL. I’m not quite at that level, but I didn’t get to post monthly for Wesley as I did for Caleb. I did get monthly photos, though. I also took my monthly notes on development and other things I wanted to remember. All that said, now I’m going to play a bit of catch-up and share some photos and notes of Wesley over the past nine months. Better late than never!

Look how much he’s grown. He’s now almost eleven months. Life has sure been busy! Life with one kid really changes your life, but having two is another ballpark. Free time? What’s that! And that, my friends, is why this blog has been so quiet this year. I’m sure I’ll pick it back up, but for now we’ll have a lot of “Looking Back” posts. (FYI: I also have Raising Tacoma that I’m trying to keep going, too). But I absolutely adore my kids and cannot imagine life without them. They are my heart. Can you see why?

Wesley Photos: The Past 9 Months

December - First Month

  • Born on Saturday, 12/7/18 - Read the post here

  • First Outing was to Caleb’s Preschool Christmas concert

  • Lots of sleep

  • First bath at home

  • At four weeks we saw tears (so sad), but also smiles, and opening his eyes more

  • Holding head up a few seconds

First Christmas

Wesley’s first holiday is my favorite, Christmas! We thought he’d be in time for Thanksgiving, but instead it was Christmas.

January - 1 Month Old

  • Only waking once at night (but sometimes two).

  • Lifting head high up when on his tummy

  • First cold (with a cough, so sad to hear)

  • Rolling from tummy to back at 7 weeks

  • The dreaded fussy time: 9-11pm! Ugh!

  • First time experiencing Snow (2/4/19)

February - 2 Months Old

  • Big snow storm, 8-10 inches! Crazy for Tacoma

  • He’s really lifting his head high when on tummy (higher than before)

  • Lots of smiles and coos

  • First step in his transition to his own room - taking his naps in there!

  • Loves chewing his hands

  • So wiggley

  • Crazy kid, lots of back arching making almost hard to hold him

  • Grabbing for toys and things

  • At 11 weeks we’re starting to feel a rhythm to the day…maybe we’ll survive after all

March - 3 Months Old

  • Very curious

  • Lots of coos and smiles when you talk to him

  • Grabs everything!! Everything.

  • First night in the nursery (in his bassinet next to the crib)

  • Finally down to bed in his bassinet and not doing the fussy time in the carrier (whew, our evenings might be back!)

  • Turning into his side trying to roll from his back to his tummy

  • Score! He slept 8.5 hours straight

  • Loves the Mirror

  • Laughs

April - 4 Months Old

  • Breaking out the exesaucer for some jumping & activity time

  • Distracted eating…mommy grumbles

  • Teething (we think) & everything goes in his mouth

  • Sleep Troubles…dreaded 4 month sleep regression

  • His first night in the crib in his room - room transition complete!

  • What do you know, he sat in a high chair (sorta)

  • Found his feet!

  • Laughing loud - cracking witch laugh (too cute, though)

  • Shimmy from one corner to the other on his play mat

  • Commence Rolling: He rolled over back to belly

May - 5 Months Old

  • Oh my, sleeping on his belly (He rolled over while sleeping)!

  • Grabbing for everything…including during diaper changes

  • Down to 4 naps with 1.75-2 hrs wake time

  • Sleep seems to be getting a bit better, gosh that regression was killer (2x wake up)

  • Pushing his butt up trying to wiggle & crawl

  • Wiggling enough to make movement around; he’s getting places!

  • Consecutive roll overs…wheeee

  • Start sleep training (yup, gotta do it)

  • Kicks his legs and flaps his arms when happy and excited

  • Starting to shriek

  • First Food was sweet potato then carrots and banana…he was unsure about it all

June - 6 Months Old

  • Sleep issues again. He stopped sleeping through the night and back to waking up once a night

  • Sooo close to crawling - getting up on all fours!

  • Wants our food and will grab for it…watch up!

  • More foods to try and oatmeal baby food

  • First time on a swing…loved it, yippee!

  • Babbling, Ba Ba Ba Ba Babbling

  • First trip on an airplane and down to California

  • First time experiencing the beach & ocean

July - 7 Months Old

  • Army crawling everywhere - room to room, pokes his head in and smiles (so proud)

  • First time in child care - it was at the church’s nursery and went great

  • Speed army crawling and going everywhere

  • Down to two naps a day

  • Sleep Training Part 2 - by night 3 he was sleeping through the night again

  • Now he’s sitting up for long periods independently

  • A favorite activity: the swing at the park

  • He enjoys making a clicking sound with his tongue

  • Standing up while holding onto the table independently

  • Goodbye pacifier

August - 8 Months Old

  • Said “hi” and “ma ma” (or at least I think he did)

  • Pulling himself up

  • Standing for a longer time holding onto things

  • Sleeping through the night

  • Enjoys sausage, yogurt, sweet potato, bambas

  • Diaper changes are the worst - he won’t stop moving and wiggles…help!

  • Wants to be doing everything, being everywhere, and moving

  • Starts steps with the walker toy (with assistance)

  • Brings things to you…let’s play

September - 9 Months Old

  • Dancing (head and shoulder bop) when music plays or singing

  • Flaps arms in excitement with toy in hand, pretty funny (especially the little dog toy with string arms)

  • Da da da da & Dada (we think)

  • Able to do one or two stair steps

  • Cruising along tables and furniture

  • His mom is his jungle gym - she can be the support for standing, walking, pulling, etc

  • Loves opening and closing things - again and again

  • Pushing cars/balls/toys/anything around the house

  • Loves wheels and inspecting them, testing them, seeing what they do

  • Standing - all he wants to do is stand. No sitting! And loves to stand at the little activity table.

  • Still Mr. Wiggles and won’t stop moving

  • Sometimes he’ll sleep through the night, sometimes he won’t (argh)

Now I need to get working on the last few months. I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Christmas 2018 Snapshots

/

Wow, what a Christmas! It’s been a whirlwind for sure with a newborn and toddler, but it’s been a most wonderful holiday season. My parents came into town for Christmas and we’ve been spending some quality time with them. They are soaking in all the baby cuddles from Wesley and getting to play trains with Caleb = happy grandparents.

We’re behind on getting our Christmas card out this year, so we’re aiming for a New Year’s card. Thanks to technology, though, you can read our Christmas letter right now (<—just click!).

Wesley is getting hungry, so this post is going to be mostly just photos. Here’s a slideshow of our Christmas holiday this year! (To see the slideshow you’ll need to click into the post directly. I don’t think you can view it from the main blog page!)

A Most Wonderful Year: Merry Christmas 2018

/

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! This year has be pretty magical and full of cheer. We feel so very blessed. 

Baby Wesley

In the spring we found out we would have an addition to our family and we were overjoyed. Wesley Jackson Brown just recently joined the family officially on December 7th. He has proven already to be his own person by arriving later than the due date — unlike his brother. We were waiting and expecting him the whole month of November, only to find he wanted to wait until December!

Caleb is doing great as a big brother. He wants Wesley to come with us everywhere, which of course he will. He also runs to him in the morning and after nap to say hello. I have a feeling they are going to get along just fine. Here’s a video of some of their first interactions.

Wesley is our sweet, little Christmas-time baby and we are so in love. Being a family of four is already proving to be great.

Caleb

This year we got to experience the terrible twos with Caleb. Which, strangely enough, ended up not being too terrible. Oh sure, there are days where he may have been difficult, but that’s life raising a kid. Right?

Caleb is full of personality and he makes us smile everyday. Our hearts melt when he tells us, “I love you,” or hands us a dandelion. He is such a smiley, happy kid and we feel so blessed. 

This year Caleb started beginner’s preschool at First Presbyterian Preschool here in Tacoma. He had no trouble transitioning to the school life. He ran right into the classroom the first day and had enjoyed school ever since. Mom enjoys the break two times a week for about three hours. One of our favorite moments was the school’s Christmas concert where Caleb’s class got to sing. In our opinon, Caleb was the star of the show (watch it here).

Beyond school, Caleb’s biggest development this year has been talking. He talks in full sentences now, although some of them are in a yoda-like in structure. When he’s not talking up a storm his favorite pastimes are running, jumping, riding his bike, and climbing especially with his friends.

This coming year will be fun as he turns three on January 2nd!

Asha 

Our pup is now four years old! Although, she still acts like a puppy (she’ll forever have the nickname, “Asha Pup” with us). She is so great with the kids for which we are so thankful. She still enjoys her walks and chuck-it sessions at the field. But most of all, she enjoys just being around the family. 

Trips & Visitors

We had some pretty special trips and awesome visitors this year. 

Caleb loves his time with both sets of grandparents, and we got to spend some quality time with both this year.

In March, Caleb and I (Heather) enjoyed a week in San Marcos with the O’Neill grandparents. Not only do we love getting time with the grandparents, but the weather isn’t too shabby either. We visited a second time in August (check out more about the August trip here).

In April, the Brown grandparents visited us here in Tacoma. We shared some of our favorite places with them and spent some great time playing together. 

We headed to Chicago in June to attend my cousin Scott’s wedding and visit family. It was Caleb’s first time in Chicago, and was fun to introduce him to the O’Neill and Merkner relatives. We got to enjoy some fun Chicago activities as well - Navy Pier, Millennium Park, strolling downtown, and taking the train (Caleb’s first train ride!). But we really loved the family time with aunts, uncles, and cousins! (See more on the Chicago Trip Snapshots post!)

In September, we tackled an almost six hour flight to Kauai with a two-and-a-half year old toddler and a 30-week pregnant mama. This might sound crazy, but it was so worth it to see the Brown grandparents there. They are living the dream in Kauai for a year and we snagged the opportunity to visit. We had the time of our life especially Caleb. He couldn’t get enough of the beach and ocean. He was practically surfing on the boogie board. Our time there was so special and we made some great memories. (See more on the Look Back: Kauai in September with the Browns post!)

In addition to the big trips above, we also had some of our own little adventures around the PNW and some nice visits from friends. We really take joy in exploring our little corner of the country. 

Work

Josh continues to work for the Washington State Nurses Association. He was brought on full-time last year as Director of Digital Transformation and Membership after having them as a client with his former employer. The office is in Tukwila, so luckily he doesn’t have to commute all the way up to Seattle. He enjoys mentoring and growing his team and working on new technological capabilities for the association. 

As for me, I am just about to head into my third year as Chief Operations Officer of the Brown Household, aka a Stay-at-Home-Mom. I work hard on keeping Caleb busy and getting his energy expended each day. We still enjoy heading to the YMCA, Children’s Museum of Tacoma, or a nearby park. I also try to keep the house tidy and get some delicious, nutritious meals on the table. Now, if only Caleb would eat those meals. #momlife

Our year has been full of merriment and joy. We hope you had a wonderful and memorable year. We love and miss you all. 

Joy & Good Tidings,

Josh, Heather, Caleb, Wesley, and Asha

Welcome Little Wesley

/

Josh, Caleb, and I are proud to introduce you to our newest addition to the family, Wesley Jackson Brown. Wesley was born on Friday, December 7th, 2018 at 3:31pm. He came into the world weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces and at 19 inches tall. We couldn’t be happier to have this new, sweet bundle of joy.

Wesley is already showing his individuality from his brother by arriving past his due date as opposed to over two weeks early like his big brother. In fact, I had to be induced! I’m going to write the whole story sometime soon, but for now I wanted to share some the moments we’ve had so far with Wesley.

The Birth

Wesley was delivered at Saint Joseph Hospital in Tacoma, WA. I was nearing 41 weeks, so he ended up having to be induced. Once things got rolling, he came quickly and naturally. More on that story later as I need to write it all up and I didn’t want to wait to get some photos out to you all because Wesley is too cute not to share immediately (or at least, that’s what his mama thinks).

Big Brother Caleb Meets Wesley

Caleb got to meet his new brother on Saturday morning, the day after his brother was born. He was super sweet with Wesley - patting his head, looking down at him. It was all very new to him, but he did a great job and made his mom and dad proud. But I think what he liked the best was when his baby brother gifted a totally rad astronaut helmet. Caleb wore that all the way out the hospital after his first visit.

Coming Home and First Outings

We came home from the hospital on Saturday, 12/8 evening. I wasn’t as scared driving in the car with an infant this time. Funny how the second time around you’re a bit more confident. We put Wesley down and Asha sniffed him, and then went to her mat to sleep. I think she is thinking, “oh man, another one!” But she’s so good with the kids. Caleb was at our friend’s house and came home and ran up to Wesley and just looked at him with a sweet smile.

Having a second baby is definitely different than your first. With your first you take weeks to get out of the house, with the second you’re out of the house the next day practically (well, maybe the second or third). Our first outing was for Caleb’s preschool Christmas Concert, which I’m so glad we got to attend because Caleb was the biggest ham and the cutest performer. (Watch his performance here).

Over the course of our first ten days home, we’ve done some small adventures out like the grocery store, the farmer’s market, the toy store, a bakery, the bookstore, and seeing Santa. Wesley is a trooper with it all and is nursing on-the-go with me. This is big for me since it was so hard for me to nurse outside the house with Caleb.

Caleb is already proving to be an awesome big brother. He loves to pat the “tiny baby” or his “baby brother” (as he says) on his head and give him kisses. He wants to help mom and dad with the baby and checks that “baby comes, too?” when we go out. He says cute things like, “baby blue eyes, Caleb blue eyes, mommy blue eyes, daddy blue eyes.” Or, “baby tiny lips, me big lips.” Then just last night he did the “kiss monster” (something mom and dad to do to him - basically it’s just showering someone with lots of kisses) to his brother. Ahh, my heart melts. Watch a video of some of Caleb and Wesley’s interactions.

One Week Old

Time is already flying by! Wesley is now over a week old, but I had to take some one week photos. He’s definitely going to move some mountains.

I hope to continue to share more about Wesley and our life as a new family of four. Also, I post a ton of photos on Instagram if you need a Wesley and Caleb fix.

Love you to you all!

Look Back: Visiting O'Neill Grandparents in August

/

So Caleb and I went down to San Diego to visit the O’Neill Grandparents way back in August. We had a great week full of fun with Mimi Jan and Papa John. We even got to see Aunt Lindsay. This mom (me) caught a few breaks, too. I’m pretty sure these photos can tell the whole story of the trip: yummy food, wedding dress try-ons with Lindsay, beach shenanigans, wandering Encinitas & Carlsbad, and Caleb’s first visit to the San Diego Zoo. Now, photos take it away…(click on the photo to enlarge)

Look Back: Kauai in September with the Browns

/

Holy smokes am I behind on posts here. I went to work on our Christmas post only to realize I haven’t even shared anything about our Kauai trip. In fact, it’s been quiet on this blog for five months with nothing, zilch, absolute no posts. How dare I? But maybe you follow me on my other blog, Raising Tacoma. Hopefully some of those posts tied you over for the time being (like the Visiting Kauai with a Toddler post). Well, here I am now! Let’s share Kauai times…

Our 2018 Kauai Trip (…mostly in pictures)

At the end of September we had the most wonderful opportunity to visit the Brown grandparents in Kauai. They are living it up there for the year and we just had to join in on the fun. We took up every parent’s worst nightmare (or one of them anyways) and took an almost six hour flight with a toddler and the mama being 30 weeks pregnant. Caleb went the longest span of time ever being awake as the little sneaker didn’t want to nap on the plane. The return flight Caleb had croup and was terrible until he finally fell asleep for a good nap. We survived and it was all very much worth it because we are left with precious, sweet memories of our time there with Mimi Nada and Papa Don.

Beach Time

You don’t go to Kauai to sit inside. The fun is outside especially at the beach. Caleb found his own little heaven at the beach. There was sand to play and run in, water to boogie board and splash in, and “crabbies” in the sand. I’m pretty sure if we stayed longer, Caleb would have basically learned to surf.

The Train at Gaylord's at Kilohana

Another highlight of the trip was the train ride at the Plantation Railway at Kilohana. Caleb has a love for trains, so this was quite the thrill for him. Not to mention, a stop halfway through to feed the pigs.

Grand Hyatt Hotel

We enjoyed two nights at the the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort down in Poipu and had a complete blast. The best part: the pool. The pool there is absolutely amazing and we really loved the lagoon-style pool and floating around in the inflatable tube.

We also enjoyed a memorable and delicious meal at Tidepools to celebrate Don’s birthday. We felt so honored to get to spend time here at this beautiful resort.

Kilauea Lighthouse

It was so humid the morning we went to the lighthouse, but we still enjoyed the tour into the lighthouse even though we had to bow out early given a noisy toddler and a nearly fainting preggo mom. But the views were gorgeous!

Family Times

The beauty of the island cannot be described, but the family time is where it’s really at. It’s the best part of the trip, in fact. We had some awesome times just hanging out with Mimi & Papa and each other for the week.

Dining

Food was consumed, of course. Some favorites were the shaved ice, juice and kombucha, coffee, and donuts. Not pictured were some delicious hamburgers and pizza and the best meal of all was at Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt to celebrate Don’s birthday.

And that face Caleb is making…it’s “why do we have to take this photo, I just want to eat the shaved ice!”

What an amazing trip!! We are so blessed we had the opportunity to take this trip and make great memories.

Chicago Trip Snapshots

/

Last week we got the chance to go to Chicago for my cousin's wedding and to visit family. We also snuck in some time exploring downtown Chicago. We had a great trip and I was wonderful to introduce Caleb to my family and to a very cool city. Here's a few snapshots (okay, a lot of snapshots) from the visit. I'll let the photos do most of the talking.

Uncle Chuck & Aunt Sue

As you can see my Uncle Chuck loves trains. He's got quite the setup in his house and we got to see the trains go choo-choo (video!). Caleb is throuoghly obsessed with trains now. We also enjoyed a lovely brunch with the Merkner crew. 

Wedding and Rehearsal

We were invited to the rehearsal dinner, which was great since we got to play some mini-golf. Caleb's first time and Grandpa John was proud to teach him how to golf.  The wedding was beautiful and took place on a lake. The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. 

O'Neill Family BBQ

My cousin Erin hosted an awesome family BBQ on Sunday afternoon. All the aunts, uncles, cousins, and little cousins (technically 2nd cousins, I think) got to hang out and catch up. Caleb had A BLAST with all his little cousins. 

Morning with Zerth Cousins

We got to spend one morning at the Morton Arboretum with my cousin Erin's boys, Ethan and Henry. This arboretum was so cool and the kids had some much fun even though it rained! 

Chicago Navy Pier

Grandma Ruth would be pleased as punch to see that we took Caleb to Navy Pier. We didn't go on the "world's tallest ferris wheel" (so says Grandma Ruth), but we did to remote control boats and the merry-go-round. As you can see, Caleb was pooped by the end of the day.

First Train Rides and More Downtown Chicago

Caleb had his first train ride from Downers Grove to downtown Chicago (video!). He thought it was the coolest thing ever. Then we grabbed coffee and breakfast and walked to Millennium Park. We ran around Maggie Daley Park, walked by the bean, and then enjoyed lunch at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. 

Flight and Downers Grove

We stayed at a trendy Home Away (similar to AirBnB) in Downers Grove, which is near my cousin Erin's house. There were some great parks to play in and we also checked out the Saturday Farmer's Market. And the flights...well, we survived. 

Soon to be Four

/

You are reading that title correctly. Soon there will be FOUR Browns in this family. Josh, Heather, Caleb, and....another little boy! Baby Boy Brown #2 is expected sometime late November or early December -- official due date is December 2nd, 2018 (we'll see!).

It seems not so long ago we were announcing my first pregnancy and birth of Caleb. Now, we're adding another to our family crew. We're all very excited and can't wait to meet this little guy. I'll try to keep you in the loop as the year progresses! 

Caleb Update: 25 to 28 Months

/

Have you missed the monthly Caleb updates? I have, but I'm his mom and I love anything that involves Caleb. It's a mom thing. May I also say, how has it been four and half months since I wrote one of these posts? I totally intended to do it quarterly, but somehow that slipped. But, have you been to my lastly blog adventure, Raising Tacoma? I'm trying hard to post weekly there. Plus, if it's Caleb photos you're looking for, he's the star of that blog basically. 

Caleb has grown and developed a bunch since my last post. Doesn't he look like a little man now? To keep up with his constant growing, I do two things: (1) I write little notes throughout the month on my "notes" app about things he is doing hence the bullets you see here. Then (2) I got thorugh periodically and pick my favorite photos and save them to a "CAB Favs" album in my Photos. Hopefully I appreciate all this effort sometime. Actually, I already am in a way! 

28 Months (May 2018-partial since we're still in May)

  • Words: Smoke (he's really into Fire Engines right now and putting out fires), ball, shark
  • Stairs without using his hands to holding on (mostly, sometimes I reaches for him hand)
  • Shaking hands with people. If Josh and/or I shake someones hand, he needs to shake it as well.
  • When being scolded, he starts kissing my face all over. Ahhh, how can you stay mad/stern???!!!
  • Jumping off and climbing everything. This scares mom everytime; he's taken some big tumbles. He's definitely better at both, though.

27 Months (April 2018)

  • Words: Ball, poop, Mimi & Papa (Grandparents names), hot, mine/me, help, milk
  • Favorite phrase: “Ok mommy” / “Ok daddy” / “Daddy Mommy”
  • Foods: Taken to liking his mom’s granola.
  • If he sees a scratch or bruise on mom or dat, he'll kiss it (Mom kisses his hurts, so I guess he feels we need it, too)
  • Came running out naked into the kitchen for me, brought me into the bathroom, & show he’d peed. I think potty training will happen soon.
  • Double feet jumping - oh boy! Jump over and off everything.

26 Months (March 2018)

  • Words: Purple, blue, green, hot (fires are HOT HOT HOT), sock
  • Food of any kind and water is called "Nom Noms"
  • Loves to put his hands in his socks 
  • Enjoys holding dandelions and keeps them in his hands for a long time and/or gives them to mama
  • Holding onto gummy vitamins, yogurt raisins, m&ms (little foods) in hand for ~30+ minutes. Ha!
  • Trying to use fingers to show 1-2-3 

25 Months (February 2018)

  • Word: Hat, up, duck, broke, bye bye, cheese, stuck or truck?, hook
  • Calls his diaper "bubble" - not sure why???
  • Said “Bye Bye Daddy” & “hi daddy” / “hi mama”
  • Another top canine teeth came in
  • Walking steps up/down with railing
  • Imitating Asha: Squatting when the dog poops, bending to drink from the dog bowl, or sticking his tongue out panting
  • All women are Mom & all men are Dad
  • Fish go "blub blub blub"
  • Flight-compliment to me/mama: "I can tell you’re a good mom; your son is so well behaved!" (go me!)

24 Months (Jan 2018)

  • Words: Nom nom (“Mom, nom nom”), bubble, duck, Shhh (Asha), Ack or Gawk (truck) 
  • Pulling the Radio Flyer wagon & lying flat in it
  • Dancing - especially with his toy guitar jamming and jumping on the couch while nodding his head
  • Nap was pushed to 1pm (from 12pm) - Terrible 2-year sleep regression!
  • Bottom canine teeth breaking through
  • Started gymnastics class
  • Upped to a size 6 shoe size

The Busy Life: Toddlers, Blogs, and More

/

Hello Stranger, 

And that's totally on me. I  feel so guilty that my personal blog has been so neglected. I have these dreams of getting lots of fun posts up for you, but then life happens and whomp whomp. I'm sure you're curious as to what's keeping me so busy. Well, for starters, everything, but here's a few.

Caleb

This kid has me like whoa. He is so active. I am that mom chasing her son everywhere - the grocery store, the zoo, the park, the library...anywhere you can run which is everywhere if you ask Caleb. I'm working on getting him to listen to me, bahahaha. He's too cute, though. The cuteness makes up for all of it. Not to mention, I get a good work out. I feel like he's been on and off sick with croup or a cough since February, but I think we're starting to get over it. Gawh, winter and the sick season with toddlers is terrible. I'm so glad for spring and summer on the way. I'll write more about Caleb soon. Can you believe he's two and a quarter already? 

New Blog

I've started a new blog adventure. It's called Raising Tacoma. Basically it's about raising Caleb up in Tacoma. I am trying to write about places we go and things we do in the area, but also more genetic toddler things so if you don't live in Tacoma you still can get something out of it. Maybe someday it'll make money, bahahaha again. But for now I am just looking to create a little space on the web for mom friends to get ideas and connect. So come on...read it, share it, love it!

O'Neill Grandparents in San Diego

The last weekend in February, Caleb and I flew down to San Diego to visit my parents, aka Grandma Jan and Grandpa John. Caleb was a champ on the flights there and back - best yet! We enjoyed the sunshine, the beach, bubbles at Balboa Park, the Railroad museum, shopping at UTC, visiting Grandpa John's work and just chilling.

Easter

Easter was pretty low key here. Sadly, Josh caught the stomach bug Easter morning, so Caleb and I went to church together. Then we let dad rest as we walked the park and enjoyed the sun that showed up in the afternoon. He also refused to wear his adorable Easter outing. Apparently collared and buttoned shirts are not a thing right now. 

We also did an Easter egg hunt at the park down the street. We were joined by our friend, Sebastian. Luckily Caleb didn't realized there was candy inside the eggs until after the hunt was over. Then he was thrilled to discover chocolate inside. I think he would have picked up like two eggs had he known what lie inside. Caleb also discovered temporary tattoos and bouncy houses. Woo Hoo!

There was also some Easter egg coloring fun, too! Read about how we did it on my Raising Tacoma blog!

Brown Grandparents in Tacoma

About two weekends ago Mimi Nada and Papa Don visited us here in Tacoma. Unfotunately there was a ton of rain, but we still managed to have a great time. We went down to Olympia for breakfast and the Farmer's Market, we did some Southcenter Mall shopping, and strolling in Sumner (with crepes at Craft 19, of course). Josh and I can thank the grandparents for a date night, too! 

It's so cute because with both grandparents, Caleb got super attached. We so glad to have such loving family and the opportunities to see them. 

The Everyday

Don't discount the everyday, it's busy. I have laundry to fold, dinner to make, a house to clan, a dog to walk, a toddler to chase...all of which keep me away from the blog world. I hope you understand! I'll try to keep up with updates, but for now I hope this fills you in on all the happenings. 

XOXO, me.

New Years, Getaways, and Grandparents

/

A few days after Grandpa Don and Grandma Nada left, Grandpa John and Grandma Jan arrived. They came up to visit for New Years and for Caleb's Birthday. We had a great time having them visit. They even babysat Caleb overnight so this mama and dad could sneak in our first night away from Caleb and have a getaway! 

New Years 

Guess what a mom and dad do for New Year's Eve with an almost-two-year old? Nothing. We go to bed at 10:30pm, open our eyes due to fireworks and then close them again. Then you wake up and it's another day. Who's with us on this one? 

But we did have a fun last day of 2017. Grandpa and Grandma O'Neill joined us for a trip to Point Defiance Zoo on a beautiful day. So clear that you could see Mount Rainier. It always appears so much smaller in your photos then it is in real life. The elephants and walruses were a hit as was a ride on the carousel. Weee! 

Basically Another Christmas

Considering Grandpa John and Grandma Jan's visit was so close to Christmas, we basically celebrated it again. I got to make the meal I had actually planned for Christmas since we finally got our oven (read about the oven fiasco on this post). It was delicious! And Caleb got MORE presents. 

Our Getaway

Since Grandpa John and Grandma Jan were game for a night with Caleb, Josh and I decided to take a night away from the little guy for the first time since he was born. We opted to stay nearby...just in case. We chose to stay in Gig Harbor at Raft Island. We found the most darling AirBnB. It was decorated with a nautical theme and still had Christmas decorations. 

Raft Island reignited our love for exploration. We had no idea this little island existed. It is a small island about 15-minutes from all the Gig Harbor action. You just cross a small bridge and you're on this quite, beautiful island. It was our little sanctuary for the night. It seems secluded and romantic yet not far away from fun activities (and home).

During our getaway we enjoyed a nice dinner and then saw the third movie we've been to in two years (others movies included Beauty and the Beast and Dunkirk). We saw The Last Jedi. It seemed fitting since it was New Year's Day and the last Star Wars film we saw in the theaters was The Force Awakens which we saw New Years Eve 2015. It just so happened the next day the story of Caleb began. Caleb must be bound to like Star Wars.

We spend the morning in downtown Gig Harbor. We ate at the pizza place I've wanted to try in forever, but has been impossible with a noon nap schedule. We also enjoyed a sampling at Heritage Distilling. 

Grandparents

Caleb spent some fun times with the wagon with Grandpa John and Grandma Jan. We also took them to the Children's Museum for a fun afternoon. It was a great visit, as always!

Instagram Best

So 2017 was pretty awesome. I took lots of photos, as usual. Here's the most liked from Instagram. Caleb, family, and food...seems about right.  

And now we can move into 2018 fun and posts!! 

Snapshot of our 2017 Christmas

/

Well, gosh, this is embarrassing. I'm only just now posting about our Christmas. It was super busy, but it was wonderful. We watched Christmas movies, listened to Christmas music, ate cookies, and most importantly, cherished our time together as a family. We loved that we were able to celebrate Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Brown. Having family at Christmas is so special.

Caleb was pretty stoked about Christmas. I think every third picture has him throwing his arms up in excitement. He wanted to help everyone unwrap their gifts and was thrilled with each gift he received. He was at the cutest age for Christmas. We loved watching him!

I got hasty there just jumping immediately to Christmas. Let's step back and look at all the Christmas preparations and festivities.

For Christmas Eve, we all went to the Christmas Eve service at our church, Resurrection Church. It started to snow during the service!

Later that night, Grandpa Don and Josh put their handyman hats on and put together Caleb's train table gift. Go Team Brown!

The snow continued through the night and Christmas morning came as a white Christmas. I've never had a white Christmas and it just made it that much more fun. But more surprising for Caleb was to wake up and discover a blanket of gifts under the tree and a totally awesome train table. Check out his Christmas morning video.

For our family, Christmas gifts are opened Christmas morning. We were all smiles! 

We took advantage of the snow and went for a fun, little walk. This wasn't Caleb's first snow experience, but it probably felt like it for him. He was so young last year when it snowed. He was unsure about it on his rain boots, but otherwise seemed to think it was pretty cool.

Before Christmas, we got to see some good friends of the Brown family up in Seattle. 

Josh, Caleb, and I also got to see our good friends, Jeff and Melissa, with their son, Thomas. They were in town for the holidays and we got brunch and a quick stop at the park together (but ultimately, too cold to be outside for long!). If you can't tell, Thomas is Caleb's doppelganger. 

Photos thanks to Jeff Herbage

Caleb is in a major train kick right now. We all went to the Model Train Exhibit in town and he LOVED it. Chooo Chooo! Chugga Chugga! (That's all Caleb seems to say these days)

After Christmas, and after Grandma and Grandpa Brown had headed back home, we got in a lovely family walk at Titlow Park. We got to see a beautiful a rainbow!

Then there was the oven fiasco. OMG, friends. This is the longest, most annoying story. So our oven broke the first week of December. Of all the time in the year, it broke during the highest oven-needed month. UGH! The stove worked, but the oven wasn't heating. We had some repair guys come look to discover there was an electrical fire in the wires where you turn the knobs. It was going to cost more to fix the oven than to replace it, unfortunately. 

So we decided we would make the switch to gas. We had a plumber come get a gas hook-up for us (yes, a plumber, they do this apparently). When he was in our crawlspace, he found a leak from a corroded pipe with a HUGE crack. So we had to fix that. (Not sure why the guys we had come out to get rid of the mice didn't see that down there *scratching our heads*).  Then when the plumber pushed our stove back into place, the stovetop cracked and became unusable. 

We bought a stove/oven from Best Buy. It was a great deal, but when we came home we realized it wouldn't fit with the microwave cabinet that's above the oven. (side note: Josh went to go back to Best Buy, and his car wouldn't work). Finally, we found a gas stove that would fit, but it was more money they we had hoped since we needed a special kind that isn't as widely available. 

Story goes, Best Buy comes to deliver - days later than they could originally since they messed up - only to discover they packed the truck with a washer. They didn't know where our oven was! Luckily, it was found again. And they delivered it the Friday after Christmas (it was supposed to be delivered before Christmas, mind you). So no cooking for Christmas except for a hot pot and crockpot. 

And that's that. I immediately made Christmas cookies (after Christmas) and a loaf of bread. I missed my oven. This one is pretty awesome, though.

Long story--and that was my effort to shorten it...I warned you.

Caleb's 24 Month Update

/

Here we are at two years old. He's such little toddler and it warms my heart. Yesterday, he actually started to participate in the Wee Ones class at the Children's Museum. He's growing up right before our eyes. I would say these two years went by fast, but time with a baby/toddler is a a weird thing. It seems fast if I just quickly think about it. However, with further thought of all the days, all changes, the struggles, and all the joys, it also seems incredibly long. Life before Caleb seems like a different reality, a different life. Does that even make sense? I guess that's why everyone says. "the days are long but the years are short." I totally get that now. Eh, I'm getting way to deep here, I'll stop.

Well, I think I am going to retire the blocks now. My thoughtful mother-in-law gifted them to us before he was born. They were the cutest thing to do each month. I will probably break them out again at 3 years and maybe even for the school years. I was shocked for this last photoshoot that he actually stood still. It was a miracle. I told him to go stand behind the blocks and HE DID! I almost fell backwards in shock, but not before grabbing a few snaps. The moment was fleeting, but luckily I did capture a few snaps before he grabbed the camera and decided he wanted to take the photos. The lure of pushing a button is too much for a toddler dude. (And side note: Are you as happy as me to get my DSLR camera back working?).

The above & below photo collages is what happens when you can't decide which photos you like the best. For each one I think, "well that shows his [fill in the blank] side." Like this determined nature, or silliness. He's such a character!

Monthly Update

Here's everything he's done during his 23rd month. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year 

December was a great month full of spirit and joy. Grandma Nada and Grandpa Brown visited for Christmas. This Christmas so so much fun with Caleb. He was so excited about the tree, presents...everything. We had a great holiday season. And yes, I still need to write a blog post about Christmas. 

During Christmas, we went to the Model Train exhibit at the Tacoma History Museum. Caleb is on a serious train kick right now. Everything is choo choo. This basically blew his mind. I think it was paradise for him. 

Then Grandma Jan and Grandpa John came for New Years and Caleb's birthday. We spent New Years Eve at the Point Defiance Zoo, which also has a carousel. We had a great time together. 

He's Quite the Ham

This kid is fully of the sillies. I laugh everyday with him. I feel like these photos need captions. 

  • Caleb "drank" from the Starbucks cup ornament on the tree. 
  • Caleb decided to go into a dog bed at Petco while we waited for Asha's grooming to finish.
  • The stickers were given to him at USPS store. The lady put one on his hand. Then looked at it, smiled, and then gave her his other hand. He kept them on all day.
  • Stickers go on your face and the top of your feet...apparently.
  • Caleb enjoys sitting at the computer and pretending to type. The parental guide popped up, which I found hilarious.
  • Our oven broke (long story and frustrating). While we were at Best Buy looking at new stoves/ovens, Caleb thought it'd be fun to go inside a dryer. 
  • He will literally watch YouTube footage of trains. 
  • He makes a stink face on command. He also does this if you ask him to smile.

His Eating Habits...Mainly Cookies

I didn't give him cookies, but he suddenly developed an obsession for cookies. Everything is a cookie - crakers, circles, donuts. He is also very messy. He seems to suck on things rather than bite and chew. I'm not sure how to correct this one. Mom fail? 

Always Finding a way to Play

Wherever you are, Caleb will find a way to have fun. The store has a yoga mat, then let's lie down on it. Carts at Costco become rollercoasters. Or how about piling yogurt lids on your toy car?

Rolling with his Homies

We've made such great friends and it's such a delight to see Caleb interact with friends. He gets excited if you say we're seeing a friend, it's so cute. An older friend had a party at the local theater. We came at the end, so he had his first theater experience. He was unsure at first, but was having fun by the end. 

Those Eyes, That Smile

He has the most addictive laugh and smile. Such a joy. Wait...joy, that's my middle name. I must have passed that on to him.

He'll wear any hat but his own

He'll wear mom's hat, dad's hat, the hat at the store...but NEVER his own hat. 

Caleb's Chalkboard 

I did this chalkboard infographic type thing for Caleb's first birthday, so here it is again!

Now we're living the life with a two year old. Hold on tight, it's gonna be a wild ride!

The big T-W-O

/

Can you believe it?! My little baby boy is two! TWO!!!! Of course, we had to celebrate with fun, friends, family, and treats. 

Poor guy, he basically has a holiday birthday. He was born January 2nd, so he's not quite a New Year's baby, but for me it all started on New Year's day so I say it counts. By his birthday, everyone is burnt out from Christmas and New Years. But this mom won't let the fun stop until after we party for his birthday! In fact, we celebrated twice - once on his actual birthday and again with friends at his party.

The Actual Birthday

This year Grandpa John and Grandma Jan were in town to help celebrate. Then Dad/Josh took the day off of work. Lots of family around to give Caleb birthday hugs and laughs.

As for treats, Caleb has two loves: frozen yogurt/ice cream and cookies. I think frozen yogurt beats ice cream only because it sticks to the spoon better so it's easier to eat. So, we all headed to Black Bear for some froyo. 

Caleb got some more gifts so we opened them. He LOVES his guitar from Grandma Nada and Grandpa Don. Seriously, he has his own jam sessions. Check out this video of him dancing. 

Grandma Jan and Grandpa John got him a wagon. We intended for him to sit and be pulled around, but he had something else in mind: pulling it. We should've know.  

I tried to get a cute picture of Caleb with this new sign, but he was more interested in playing with the sign. I usually take the birthday photos with the blocks, but the past few times he's thought it funny to knock them over - our wood floors fear him.

So the birthday was a nice day of treats, music, and wagon walks. 

The Big Party

Saturday, January 6th we celebrated his birthday with friends. We had the part at the Children's Museum of Tacoma. This is one of his favorite places - we go at least once a week. It seemed fitting (and easier than having it at home!). I called his party, "Ready TWO Play!" 

We partied for two hours. The first hour was in a party room. The kids played with play-doh, the parent's chatted, and then we all ate cookies.

Yup, cookies not cake. This kid loves cookies. It's probably the number one word used these days. He will randomly say it, too. Not to mention he thinks many things are cookies - crackers, circles, etc. He takes his fingers and pretends to eat and says, "cookie cookie cookie."  It's too freaking cute. So I put frosting on a cookie and used that for the candle. I made Cake Batter Chocolate Chip cookies and Funfetti Cookies Supreme. He grabbed both cookies - two hands, two cookies, two years. 

Here a video of us singing happy birthday to Caleb. I love how he sways with the singing and then tries so hard to blow out the candle.

Even though there is holiday burn out, we still had good friends show up to party! We are so thankful for such great friends. Caleb gets so excited these days when he hears his friend's name. We had Xola, Johann, Theo, Sebastian, and Liam. Yay for friends!

The second hour of the party was free play fun out in the museum. Caleb's face was red and flushed from all the running and playing...a true sign of a good time. He was all giggles. As we were all leaving, the kids all sat on the little blue couch and said, "cheese" for a picture. It was the cutest thing ever. 

Wow, just too much fun - this mom is tired out! But what a great celebration. Caleb is my little toddler, now. So grown up. We love him so much and can't believe how fast time has past. We are loving every minute with him (minus the tantrums...well ok, we will even take those as well, just because we love him that much). 

And I can't resist, here's Caleb at his two year check-up. He loved the paper on the bench. And he checked out great. Up to 8% from 2% in weight. Then up to 21% from 11% in height. My lower back knew he was growing. ;)

P.S. See all the birthday party photos here!