Ringing it in...

We spent New Year's Eve with the Elite 8 (plus Forrest, Amy and Ephraim who joined for a bit at the beginning of the evening). Melissa put together a delicious baked potato bar - loaded with all the best toppings. We had lots of snacks, sweets and an assortment of drinks that all together should have lasted 8 people at least 2 weeks. 

Everyone else left their kids behind, so Gracie was the lone child (after Ephraim left). She was entertained by the two little dogs, and even fed them dinner. We think she consumed a piece or two of dog food herself, but we aren't too concerned (now that the hives are gone). She went to sleep, a bit late and with some fussing, but she slept well and didn't wake up through all the noises we were making inside and out.

We rang in the new year watching the ball drop, kissing our spouse, and a quick toast before the boys ran outside with two bags full of fireworks. I was slightly worried that they would get in trouble, or hurt, but everyone kept all 10 fingers, and no police showed up. Ironically, two other neighbors were also shooting off big fireworks, so between the three groups, we had quite the show! 

Roman candles were the last part of the fun. By this time the four girls were huddled inside for warmth (and safety). 

One shot of the pretty explosions. 

The boys played video games most of the night and early morning. At one point they were gathered around the TV and used a dry erase pen on the screen to mark the answers to a puzzle they were working on. The girls sat and talked (and talked, and talked) until Melissa was so exhausted we decided to call it a night (okay, morning). We headed up to bed, grabbed our tooth brushes, and then sat in the hallway upstairs and talked some more. We are so blessed to have such great friends in our life, and this group isn't any different. It is nice to have friends who have known you long enough that they know your past and (most of) your secrets. It makes talking until 3:30 in the morning much easier. 

Happy New Year!

The 2008 review...

When looking back at this past year, it is hard not to be thankful. Though we experienced some stress, hardships and heartbreaks, we easily remember everything we have been blessed with, all the people we love (and who love us in return), our friendships that continuing growing deeper, and the many experiences we have had as first time parents. 

It has been fun to look back through our pictures and pull out some of our favorites that capture a specific time and trigger specific memories. Though there are thousands more we are not able to share, we hope you enjoy a glimpse at our year. Yes, they are almost all of Gracie, but frankly, she is our life right now. Enjoy! (*Click any link to follow back to the original blog entry.)

January Highlights

• Having RSV, but recovering very quickly
• Learning to crawl on her head (aka snowplowing)
• Eating new food
• Becoming aware of friends
• Enjoying arts and crafts
• Experiencing her first Blazer game

February Highlights

• Learning to eat with her hands
• First piggy-tail in her hair
• Loving bath time and bubbles
• Visit with my cousin, Bethany, and time with lots of other extended family
• First trip to the Oregon coast, and learning why you never turn your back on the ocean
• Trips to the park
• Playing at home
• Really starting to crawl

March Highlights

• Standing up
• Playing with new toys
• Exploring 
• First ear infection
• First Easter
• Finding new ways to play with old toys
• Discovering music and dancing
• More trips to local parks

April Highlights

• New friends entering the world
• Millions of tulips
• First teeth
• Learning to play peek-a-boo
• Visit from Emmett (and his folks)
• Going to a wedding with mommy, grandpa and grandma
• Getting the 28 car from church
• Learning new tricks
• Perfecting the art of ruining
• Pictures with Soren
• More time at the park with friends
• A long overdue weekend in Eugene

May Highlights

• Sleeping like a baby (she's always been a really good sleeper)
• A surprise birthday party for Merrick
• Merrick, Hannah and Kelsie running the Eugene 1/2 marathon
• A fun cinco de Mayo birthday party
• Continuing to LOVE food and eating
• Trying to stay cool on hot, hot days
• Hannah having a stress fracture (from above mentioned 1/2 marathon)
• Swimming for the first time
• More exploring - this time in the kitchen cupboards
• Playing in the sprinkler
• Getting a big girl tooth brush
• A trip to Texas to visit great-grandpa
• A weekend with the girls at the beach
• Feeding the ducks at "our" pond
• The Starlight Parade

June Highlights

• Climbing
• First steps - though full on walking comes next month
• Spending days with friends
• Family pictures in the Rose Garden
• Dancing to anything with a rhythm (aka the dishwasher)
• Swimming at Sophie's house
• Turning one
• Enjoying a birthday party with family...
• and one with friends
• Growing like a weed
• Finding out about allergies - the hard way
• More exploring and ruining

July Highlights

• Strawberry picking and blackberry picking
• Fourth of July on the Willamette river
• Enjoying loads of hand-me-downs from friends and family
• Precariously perching in funny places
• A great week in Yakima with friends
• An emotional baby shower for Kristen
• Mandy and Murphy moved home
• A family zoo trip
• Adopting Gracie's twin in Honduras
• Another month older and amazing us with her new skills, vocabulary and personality
• Still a messy eater
• The county fair - twice

August Highlights

• Hannah's 28th birthday
• A trip to the zoo with Dahlia
• Feeding the geese
• A concert at the zoo
• Climbing on everything in site
• Getting the first big owie - right on her face
• An unexpected visit from great-grandpa
• After a year of waiting, meeting Tigist and Mihiretu when Jeff and Kristen brought them home from Ethiopia

September Highlights

• Another visit with Emmett and crafts with Hannah and Shannon
• Anthony and Bethany's wedding
• A "reunion" in Seattle and all four great-grand kids in the same place for the first time
• A week in the Seattle area with Amy and Bethany
• Saying goodbye to Ellie and Bethany, not knowing when we'll see them again
• Enjoying time around home with friends and family (farmer's markets, birthday parties, time at grandma's house, playing with new friends)
• Hannah's 10-year high school reunion (which was a blast!)
• Learning to climb the stairs 
• Having Gracie tested for allergies
• Hannah learning to knit

October Highlights

• Learning that Gracie is definitely allergic to eggs and peanuts
• Celebrating 5 years of marriage
• Trying new and delicious recipes with fall flavors
• Experienced the biggest blowout diaper of her life - while at church
• Started the weening process
• An apple picking adventure in Yakima (and celebrating Amy's 30th birthday!)
• Family trip to Multnomah Falls
• Making 150 gallons of cider at the Moody's house
• Showing an interest in potty training... and learning quickly
• Climbing, climbing, and climbing some more
• Lots and lots of apples sauce
• Celebrating Halloween with Sydney and Tigist

November Highlights

• Enjoying new clothes from grandparents
• Having a special date with daddy at the zoo
• Being introduced to Pump-it-Up with Brooke and Nicole
• Marisa's 30th!
• Another day at the zoo (this time with just mommy)
• Our first bouts of Pink Eye (yep, all three of us)
• A fantastic week of giving thanks will lots and lots of family

December Highlights

• Playing with Sophia 
  
• Funny conversations with Gracie
  
• Picking a Christmas tree
  
• December sunsets
  
• A week of fun with Emmett, Hannah and our in-town friends
  
• Pump-it-up (again)
  
• Zoo lights - boy was it cold
  
• A delicious dinner with our "family"
  
• Snow
  
• Decorating for Christmas
  
• More snow
  
• Turning 18 months old
• Singing Christmas carols
• Christmas in Lake Oswego
• A quick visit with Kelsie
• Christmas in Eugene
• Christmas at home

Like I said, we have had quite a year. We hope that you had an enjoyable Christmas and a happy New Year. 

Christmas at home...

After weeks of snow, three days at my parent's house, a baby shower, and a quick trip to Eugene, we were glad to be home for a night. We enjoyed a quiet evening, and were able to open the gifts we had gotten for each other. Gracie ended up with wooden food for her kitchen (the velcro kind that you can cut apart), lots of books, a new froggy towel (that she picked for herself while shopping a few weeks ago), and a bird feeder(sounds crazy, but she loves it). Merrick's biggest gift was the Wii, which he opened in Eugene, so he didn't have much left here (a few Wii games and accessories, a pizza stone, nothing too exciting). I got almost everything I asked for! New gadgets for the kitchen, kitchen towels, a big measuring cup... and Merrick surprised me with a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring. I love it so much and wasn't expecting anything like that, so it was a great surprise.
We have had an amazing Christmas season, and though it wasn't at all how we had planned it, it was perfect. We have a great family - both sides - amazing friends, and so much to be thankful for everyday of our lives. We hope that you all enjoyed this season as much as we have. Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Eugene...

Our Brownlee family Christmas celebration was delayed by a week due to snow. So, on Saturday we packed up and drove south to Merrick's parent's house. My very favorite part of Christmas in Eugene is dinner at the Oregon Electric Station. I only order prime rib once a year, and this is it! I literally start craving it around the first of November and then count down the days until we go. This year (as we have done in the past) Merrick and I decided to share the big serving of prime rib. It is a more economical way to buy it for sure. I love the mashed potatoes, but Merrick can't have them, so we get him a baked tater on the side. Since we knew Gracie would eat off our plates, we also got a side of steamed veggies to round out her meal. Well, she didn't need much rounding because I'm pretty sure she ate half of my potatoes and about 12 ounces of our 16 ounce prime rib. She loved it. I think next year we will have to get two servings after all. 

Back at the house we took some time to get some group pictures. 

The silly seven... 

Brennan (3 1/2), Kyler (7 1/2), Mariah (11), Maleah (8), Melaney (20 months), Ella (5 1/2), Grace (18 months)

Our family (minus Matt who couldn't be with us this year)

She must be getting tickled. 

Family kiss

Blue-eyed cousins. Ella, even though she really enjoys playing with the older girls, does a really good job with the little two. Gracie adores Ella (the same way Ella adores Mariah). It is pretty sweet when they are all together. 

We had lots of yummy treats and opened presents throughout the evening. As the family grows, every year seems to get a little crazier, but it is always so much fun. We were all very blessed with the gifts we received. I got a little vacuum that I really wanted, Merrick got a Nintendo Wii (and was really shocked) and Gracie got this fun Lionel train from her grandparents and Merrick and I. 

Quick visit...

Kelsie and Alex were able to get home briefly to celebrate Christmas with family. On Friday we were able to get a small group of girls from high school together to catch up and celebrate the upcoming arrival of Kelsie's baby girl. I took pictures, but not many, and was using Kelsie's camera, so I have nothing to share. Perhaps someday I'll convince her to email me one or two to post as proof... (hint, hint).

**Update: Thanks, Kels, for the pictures! 

Christmas day...

We spent Christmas with my family in Lake Oswego. Gracie loved waking up at grandma and grandpa's house.

Grandma made cinnamon rolls special for Gracie with no eggs, so she really enjoyed her breakfast. 

We had some time to kill before Craig and Kristin could join us, so the "kids" spent a lot of time staring out the window watching all the birds. Notice how Bentley is standing nicely, and Grace is the one licking the window. 

Someone started getting impatient, so we let Gracie open a few presents early. This was her first Christmas morning gift - a remote control dog! 

When it was time for all the other gifts, Gracie did a great job of passing out presents and "helping" everyone else unwrap. 

This soft bear mat might have been Gracie's very favorite gift - until...

She opened her very own kitchen!

Before bed time Kristin made Gracie a really nice spot to rest (while we were all playing the new credit card monopoly and getting killed by Merrick). Gracie got up for just one second, and Bentley took the opportunity to snag the good spot for himself. I love that Gracie was okay with it and just tried her best to snuggle in next to him. 

Buckle bells...

For the past few days Gracie has been walking around the house singing "buckle bells, buckle bells..." It took me a few times of hearing it before I figured out that she is singing Jingle Bells. 

Today we have been "stuck" at my parent's house in Lake Oswego. We came out last night hoping to see the play we had tickets for, but the snow was still too yucky, and we didn't make it. Anyway, Merrick was able to head back to Hillsboro this morning to pick up our car. He chained up and drove back to LO just fine. We have spent the rest of the day here with my mom and dad watching movies, playing games, eating cookies, just being lazy. It is nice to be out of our house, but the weather has sure changed how we will celebrate Christmas this year. More about that later.

For now, here is a short video clip of the singing we have endured - I mean, enjoyed - for the pasted few days. I don't know about you, but I think her piano playing really makes the song grand. 

We hope you all have a very merry Christmas.

18 months...

Today Gracie is 18 months old. I say this all the time, but I can't believe how fast this is going. At this time last year Grace had her first taste of solid food - rice cereal...

Tonight we ate tacos - one of her favorites. For some reason she had to eat all the parts separately. First the olives, then the meat, the avocado, the beans, the red pepper and last a few bites of tortilla. She is such a good eater, we have no complaints. It is amazing to look back at these pictures and see how much she has grown. I had no reason to snap a photo tonight, other than to compare. At least I got a half smile.
Our other big news is Gracie's renewed interest in the potty. I guess it might be partly out of boredom since we have been holed up for the past week. Yesterday she tinkled on the potty 5 times! I was amazed. At one point she looked at us and said "poop." We asked if she needed to go potty, and took her to the bathroom. Sure enough, she peed right away. That happened two more times yesterday. This morning she didn't have much interest, but by this afternoon she was asking to go, and then going! She had a dry diaper from 2 pm until she pooped at 8:30. We don't quite have that business down yet. =)

There are so many other fun things happening at this stage...

• She knows her friends, and asks for them by name. She will say "Pia home. Emmett home" To which we will answer, "yes, Sophia and Emmett went home." Today she got very excited about Sydney, I think because she saw her picture on our fridge. She was calling her name over and over and then running to the window to see if she was here yet. 
• She is learning her ABC's. If you sing the alphabet song, she knows a, b, c, d, q and w. The first four and the two after the little pauses in the song. 
• She likes to count - probably because we count to play hide and seek. She will repeat all the numbers from one to ten, but if she is counting alone we will only hear "two, two, two, two... "
• We have been singing some Sunday School songs with her, and she is learning hand motions and some words. She will say "My God is" and flex her muscles (for My God is so great, so strong and so mighty...). She will also sing "i.b.i.b.i.b" for The B.I.B.L.E. If she is grumpy we can usually cheer her up with singing. 
• She wants to "help" us with whatever we are doing. Her favorite is unloading the dishwasher. She will take out the silverware one and a time and say "tank you" as she hands each item to us. We are working on knowing when it is full of dirty dishes and not unloading those. She also loves to help with the laundry. We'll bring a big pile of clean clothes into our room and she'll help sort and fold. She saw me shaking out shirts before hanging them, and now she will pick up any piece of laundry - dirty or clean - and shake it fiercely. I find it quite funny. She knows which drawer house her pj's, and we can hand her pajamas and they will get put away. It really is quite helpful.
• Is very fair. If she gives me a kiss, she will then say "daddy, tiss" and run to kiss him too. Same with hugs and high fives. 
• She loves balls, and will kick them up and down the hallway with her daddy. She also loves to play pop-a-shot with Merrick and calls it ba-ball. When we watch the Blazers on TV she will get really excited and say "ba-ball, ba-ball!"
• She loves to read and will carry around anything with writing on it saying, "bead, bead, bead." 
• She loves the water. She will ask for baths, or crawl in the shower with us. Lately when we've been done showering she'll say no and stay in for a few minutes longer. 

I could go on and on. This has been such a fun stage with Grace. There are changes every day, and she is constantly keeping us on our toes. We can't wait for the next day, month, year to see what is in store. We are so blessed to have her. 

O Christmas tree...

Our tree has been decorated for quite some time now, but I hadn't thought to take any pictures.I love that if you look closely, you can see the mounds of snow outside the window. For the most part, Gracie is doing a good job of leaving the tree alone... the bows on the packages are a totally different story. 

A long week inside...

It has snowed, and snowed, and snowed, and snowed. Now, just when we thought we were done with this mess, the freezing rain has started.

I can't say that we were completely home bound this week, but it was pretty close. I HATE driving in the snow, and am perfectly happy saying home if it means not driving in it. That being said, I had some serious Christmas shopping left to do, and I had to get out as soon as I could. Luckily, things melted a bit and I was able to get out on Thursday. I still have a few gifts to buy, but am close to done. And, I am not really complaining about the snow. It is amazing how a blanket of snow completely changes a city. People are forced to slow down a bit. Take a day (or week) off school and work, use public transportation, or, heaven forbid, walk to get groceries. Snow makes the streets glow - even after the sun has set. It makes cars quieter, and footsteps silent. I really do like it - occasionally. I am very happy that I don't live in a part of the country that this is an every day thing. I love it because it is uncommon.

I wish I knew how to write the way Gracie says "snow." She somehow says the "s" sound way up in her nose so it is barely audible. It almost sounds like she is just saying "no," but there is a difference. I need to get it on video before this melts because we might not get any more snow this year. She is sure loving this - even though it is cold. She will bring us her gloves or hat asking to go outside. She has chairs and other items strategically placed in front of window so she can climb up and peer outside. We can't figure out how to explain that this isn't here for good, and I wish we could spend more time out playing in it, but the temperatures are too much for her little hands, feet and nose to handle. I guess we'll just do our best to enjoy it while it lasts and hope that we get a little more snow before end of the season.

Here are a few pictures from our day (Saturday). I last measured at 5 pm and we had just over 7 inches. It snowed steadily until about 11:30, but I am too cold to go back out and measure it again to see how much accumulated.

Trying snow angels... she didn't like that too much.

Fun with daddy.

Kisses for daddy.

Taking a break to warm up, but still wanting to see it all. 

As the sun went down, the snow kept falling.

The front of our house - buried in snow.

The neighborhood - I love the glow.

"Sleigh" ride.

Just chillin'

The snow was up to her knees - you can't even see the bottom of her coat. She was okay on the packed snow, but she did not like walking in the deep snow. 

Let it snow, and snow, and snow...

Sunday morning I woke up bright and early to check outside. The local weathermen had been predicting a snow storm, but at 7 a.m. our grass was green and the streets were bare. I crawled back in bed, a bit disappointed, but still needing sleep. By 9 when we were all awake, there was about an inch on the ground and everything was pretty and white. 

Emmett and Gracie, thinking they were playing Nintendo.

We had a lazy morning, ate breakfast and talked about the rapidly changing weather, then bundled the kids up and let them head out. Well, Emmett bundled, I dressed Gracie in her Christmas clothes hoping to get a good Christmas card picture. 

What is this stuff?

Happy about it at first...

A little unsure of what to do with this fluffy white stuff...

Don't touch it, aaahhhhhh, it is cold!

The snow was still coming down, so Brent and Hannah spent the next little while deciding what to do. By 11, Portland was requiring chains, there were accidents everywhere, some roads were closed. It was nasty. After checking the forecasts, however, and seeing that it was now or never(aka Tuesday or Thursday), they packed up and decided to head out. 

As Hannah and Brent were driving away, the Riders were pulling in. They live really close, and since we had so much food left over (half of which they cooked), they joined us for lunch. After we ate, we headed back out into the snow. This time a little more prepared. 

The 28 car is total weather proof... perfect!

"Hey Soph, isn't this fun?"

"I'll show you, you grab some snow, pack it together, then throw."

Our cold family

"I think you need to put chains on this thing."

The girls.

Even dressed a little better, we didn't last long. It was really cold, and snowing sideways. We headed in to warm up and take naps. Matt and Shannon went home for the afternoon, but came back at night for dinner. I'm pretty sure that made 6 straight nights that we had eaten together. It wasn't fancy, but we did finish off almost all of our left overs. Sometimes those make the best meals though. 

I talked to Hannah that night, and they made it home safely around 7. It took almost twice as long as normal to get home, but they were happy to be home. Seeing what the weather did the rest of the week, it was a good thing they left when they did.