"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