The Brown Family: January 2011

~Wow! I cant believe the first month of the year is already half way through and I haven't even gotten my Christmas pictures posted. This would be due to the new addition to our family. Jack!! We all love him to pieces. He is a little fur ball and oh so fluffy! Between taking care of an almost 5 year olds needs, watching a 22 month old's every move and taking the puppy out every half hour and also watching his every move. I have not had a whole lot of free time. We went to St. Louis last weekend and the vet recommended keeping him there since he has not had all of his shots and shouldn't be around other dogs. The whole family missed him like crazy. He is doing pretty well with "potty training"...... Now "poop training" is another story for Jack. Who knew they did not go hand in hand. He is doing excellent with his crate training.

~Kate will be 22 months on the 17th of January. I had forgotten what 22 months brings....... Screaming, frustration with not being able to communicate, fighting with siblings, temper tantrums, and BITING! This is my first time dealing with a biter.

~Sam will be 5 on February 7th. This blows me away that we have had her for 5 years. What a bittersweet year it will be. She is growing up so fast and this fall will be the year for the big Kindergarten.

~New Years eve was pretty uneventful this year we had some of our great friends (the Tansel's) stop by for a bit. This kids played and We had a few eve cocktails!

~Christmas was Soo much fun this year with the girls. Santa left all of the presents under the tree on the main floor. Zane and I got up and cranked up the Christmas tunes as we knew Santa had left another surprise in the basement and it was making ALOT of noise. It was actually very funny to open presents at 7AM to blasting music and we kept yelling to drown out the sound of puppy yelp. Haha! I took of video on my little video camera of the girls coming down stairs to see what was waiting under the tree. I just need to figure out how to download it. Christmas day was a success. My second year hosting. I made a tradition to come up with a fun drink every year. Last year it was champagne with pomegranate seeds. This year it was candy cane martinis. I have a picture above of just how pretty they turned out.

~With the new year here I have a few resolutions I'd like to focus on:

1: Worry less

2: clean less and spend more quality time with the kids

3: appreciate what I have and not take it for granted

4: We also began going to church at Sam's school right before Thanksgiving. We have been going almost every week and the girls are loving it. I hope to continue this.

I think 2011 will be the best year yet!!!! :)