Disney World

We just returned home from an amazing trip to Disney World! We had the best time ever. A special thank you to Mr. Roger and Mrs. Candis (my wonderful In-Laws)! I will have to post pictures in separate posts...I took over 600. Drew got to meet his hero Buzz Lightyear! The look on his face was priceless, and I wouldn't trade the swollen feet and exhaustion for anything! He cried the day we left because Disney World was his "favorite place in the world" and it "was much better than his house". Bless his heart!

We arrived on Thursday night, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the sack. Woke up on Friday and hit Magic Kingdom. We watched the Monsters Inc show and as soon as we walked out, Buzz Lightyear was there signing autographs. My child was in HEAVEN!

We rode the Buzz lightyear spaceship ride, Drew rode his first roller coaster and he drove a race car. We also ventured into Mickey and Minnie's houses, and a few gift shops. We caught the parade and headed back to the hotel to change for trick-or-treating.

Now mind you...Drew went as Buzz Lightyear last year so he insisted that he wanted to go as Mr. Incredible. I asked him about 20 times if he wanted me to pack his Buzz Lightyear costume and he said NO every time. However, we had a minor melt down because once we started getting ready he wanted his Buzz Lightyear costume (of course...why wouldn't he?) He finally got okay with being MR. INCREDIBLE and off we went.

We Trick or Treated, met many characters, and watched another parade.

While waiting to meet Donald and Daisy, we were in line behind this nice couple with a little girl Arianna. She and Drew became quick friends, and she told her mom she had met her prince. It was adorable!

We ended the day watching the AMAZING firework show then we headed back to the hotel to get some rest!

I'll be back with Day 2 soon!

It's a.....

BOY!!! Alexander Sutton Brown (Alex) will join our clan in March. We couldn't be more excited.

We can't wait to meet our little man!

Top 10 Signs you are pregnant with your 2nd child...

1.) Your current one and only child all of a sudden becomes the biggest brat. Back-talking, not minding, yelling, hitting, etc. What the crap? Where did this little demon come from?

2.) At 8 weeks your regular clothes no longer fit, but you make your pants fit with a rubber band around the button for that extra inch or two because you know what everyone is thinking...

3.) People are asking when you are due and when you say March, they give you "the look" (the holy cow you are only 2 months pregnant look).

4.) Someone down the hall is cooking something in the microwave that smells good, you get a whiff and think about stealing their food. Or the opposite happens and it smells terrible and you want to vomit in their food so they loose their appetite like you lost yours. (Blaming hormones)

5.) You are craving a peach milkshake from Chick-fil-A, you get one and you are savoring the yumminess of it when all of a sudden a chunk of peach (which is usually your favorite part) hits your mouth and you gag. Never wanting another peach milkshake again!!!

6.) You sit in your office in the dark hoping and praying no one looks at you, speaks to you or even breathes at you. (I am blaming hormones again!)

7.) You want this pregnancy to stretch as far as possible because there are so many things that need to get done before the new baby gets here.

8.) No matter how long you wish your pregnancy will last it seems to be flying by!!!

9.) You can't hang on the beach for very long because it is too freaking hot and you have to pee constantly!!!

10.) Your child tells everyone there are two babies in mommy's tummy. A brother and a sister, and they all believe him because well you are only 8 weeks and can't fit into your regular clothes.

March 2011

Drew will become a big brother!!!!

Strange....

I have to give you a little background before I go into the "Strange" story:

Ever since Drew turned 2 he has had an "imaginary ummm...not really friend so we will call him person" he calls Jack. Jack appeared when Drew started his first daycare and apparently Jack is not nice and he scares Drew A LOT. I mentioned Jack to Drew's doctor at a random visit and Dr. H told Drew that Jack isn't scary because he lives in his noggin and he can make Jack go away any time. That seemed to do the trick, and for the past 8 months believe it or not Jack has not been with us.

However, a couple of weeks ago I picked Drew up from school and the conversation goes like this:

ME: What did you do at school today?

DREW: I played with all of my friends.

ME: Great, who did you play with?

DREW: (Naming some random children in his class) Johnny, Zachary, Alyssa, Jackson, oh and I have a new friend Mommy!

ME: You do?! That's great, what is your new friends name?

DREW: Strange.

ME: What? Strange? (Lightbulb goes off) Where does Strange live buddy?

DREW: In my foot.

ME: Why does Strange live in your foot?

DREW: Because Jack lives in my noggin, so Strange lives in my foot. He is really nice to me and I like him.

ME: Well, I am glad Strange is very nice to you. (Holding back serious laughter, mind you!)


*Sidenote: When we went back to see Dr. H for Drew's 4 year old check up, I mentioned Strange and he got a kick out of that and said that Drew has a wonderful imagination and that was a good thing.* :)


DEEP THOUGHT:

Drew doesn't talk about Strange near as much as he talked about Jack. When you asked Drew what Jack looked like he described a little boy with brown hair. When you ask Drew what Strange looks like he just takes his finger and draw's "lines and circles" in the air and says that is what Strange looks like?!? HMMM...does anyone think Jack may have been an actual spirit?Besides Josh, who absolutely believes that Jack was a ghost! I believe that children and animals can see spirits (especially angels). What do you all think?

Last year in my 20's....

On May 17th I turned 29. This will be my last year in my 20's and for some reason it is affecting me greatly. I am very sad that this is my last year in my twenties. I feel like my "youth" is being ripped away from me. Why is that?!? What is so bad about turning 3o? Is it the fact that I am starting to find random gray hair all over my head? Or maybe that it's much harder to shed weight than it used to be? Could it be that I am discovering the beginning stages of "crow's feet"? Is it that I don't want to tan anymore because I am afraid I will wrinkle earlier? STRESS!!!! Deep breath and we are going to move on now.

May is a big month for me. First, there's Mother's Day, followed by my birthday, then to wrap things up Dave and I celebrate our Anniversary on May 22nd. Bless my husband that is a lot of pressure!

My husband is amazing...let me tell you he exceeded all of my "expectations" and more this year! To start, we had a great Mother's Day celebrating with our Mother's. And of course I got to spend quality time with my precious son Drew. My birthday was on a Monday this year, but the Friday before my birthday my sneaky little husband told me he had a "meeting" for work in Trussville and wanted to meet me for lunch. I get up on Friday and Dave gets Drew completely ready for school (which is huge for me). I head to work and Dave heads to his "meeting". Around lunch time Dave shows up at my office with a big surprise...he had bought me an iPhone. I was so excited. I have been wanting one for a while. We go to lunch and then we pick Drew up from school and I go back to work while my boys head home.

I headed home after work and walked into a SPOTLESS house. Dave had cleaned up the entire house. BEST PRESENT EVER!!! He even left a bottle of wine on the table for me. He then hands me the most beautiful card with an Eclipse movie ticket inside (yes, I love the Twilight series) from him and a precious Mickey card from Drew that he picked out all by himself. I then proceed to the bedroom to change into my afternoon "uniform" (comfy pants, t-shirt, hair on top of my head...etc.) and Dave tells me to get ready for another surprise and don't change. Wait, there's more...what?!?!

About an hour later some of our very best friends show up at the house to celebrate. We ordered pizza, the kids entertained, we had cake and a few shots and enjoyed each other's company. I tell you what I was not excited about turning 29, but my wonderful husband made the blow much softer! Thank you my love for everything! You are truly AMAZING and I love you more and more everyday!!!

My dad, Tammy, Alison and Alex came over on Sunday and we went to dinner and had cake when we got back! My mom, brother and sister will be coming this weekend to celebrate with me. Hey, who says you can't celebrate your birthday for weeks at a time?! :)
I have an amazing family and equally amazing friends and for that I am truly blessed! I love you all very much!!!

Dave didn't feel well on our Anniversary so we took it easy and went out to eat. Then we went to visit Dave's parents, sister, nieces and cousin's (who were visiting from New Orleans). It was a wonderful evening! I enjoyed spending time with our family that night and meeting baby Camille (who is the most adorable baby).

Here are a few pics from my Birthday Surprise!



The best husband in the world!!!



Drew helping me blow out the candles!

Opening presents...thanks everyone!

I love my boy!


Entertainment!!!

FOR SALE

Anyone want to buy our house?!? Do you know anyone looking to buy a house?!?

We have officially gone on the market. We will not give up this time, ride or die we will sell this house. It's time for an upgrade that is closer to Dave's job. Just thought I would post to see if anyone knows anyone that would be interested in purchasing our lovely 3 bedroom 2 bath home in a cul-de-sac in an AWESOME neighborhood. Fresh paint throughout...trust me it's very fresh (this past weekend fresh). :)





Master Bed


Master Bath

One of the secondary bedrooms

HUGE living room

Please pray that we sell our home quickly and for a good price. Thanks all!!!!

Six years ago today...

I married my best friend! My husband is the most amazing man, husband, father, and friend. He has an amazing heart and I am truly blessed that he opened his beautiful heart to me. I cherish every day I have with my husband and I want to thank him for making me his wife and a mother to our beautiful son Drew. Dave you are an amazing blessing to me and Drew! I love you more and more every day. Happy six year anniversary and I am looking forward to many, many more! I love you BIG! :)

Our First Dance as husband and wife!

Amy, Mandi, Amanda, Andrea, Me, Alison, Natalie, Deanna, and Tina

Brandon, Rob, Tyler, Roger, Dave, Dan, Matt, Brad, and Adam

Jordan

Our honeymoon in Jamaica

David and Allison Brown

May 22, 2004

...Happily Ever After!

FOUR

***Warning...I am very emotional and this post may not make sense to any of you, but it is what I am feeling right at this very moment. It's long and has lots of pictures. Read at your own risk. :) ***

My baby is four years old today! It is a very bittersweet feeling. I love his personality and that he is growing, healthy and happy. I am having so many mixed emotions because he is getting too big way too fast. What happened to my baby? Drew no longer has the "baby" look. He is the most precious, tender-hearted, smart, handsome, outgoing, and loving little boy. He is our pride and joy and I look forward to many, many more birthdays with my angel.

It is so easy to get caught up in our own busy schedules and one day I look up and realize that my baby, my precious little baby turned four today! I catch myself saying: Drew I will read that book to you in just a minute, but I have to do the laundry first or load the dishwasher or exercise or something to that nature.

He always wants to play this game:
Drew: "Mommy, when I say silly words, you look mad at me and I laugh."
Me: "Ok, go"
Drew: "Ooka, looka, pooka" (or something silly that makes no sense)
Me: Giving him mean eyes
Drew: Laughing hysterically, which in turn of course makes me laugh hysterically.

I will surely miss these days when one day I will want to play with him and he will be too busy for his dear old mom. I feel like I need to soak up every bit of him as long and as often as I can. There are days that I want to call into work so I can just stay home with him and snuggle, play, read and laugh, but of course that won't pay the bills. I can guarantee you this, the very next time my little boy wants me to stop and play or read him a book I will let the laundry go un-done or leave the dishes in the sink for a while* (side note below) because I will one day long for Drew to want to spend time with me. This is my New Year's Resolution (in April), and a promise to myself and my child.

*If you know me at all you know that of course I could not go to bed until all of these things are done so it will just be a late night that night. *

He tells me all the time, "Mommy don't be sad when I get big. When I get small again you can still hold me!" God love his sweet heart. I will hold him for as long as he will let me. I will rock him, play with him, read to him and laugh with him.

Here are a few (ahem...63 to be exact) of my favorite pictures from the birth of our wonderful little blessing to his birthday party this past Saturday!

Enjoy and shed a tear, I know I did!!! :)

Bible Verse

Drew is learning so much at school. I love that he goes to a church daycare! He knows a ton of Jesus songs and now he's reciting bible verses. He can also tell you the story of how Jesus was born and just recently how he "woke up" for Easter. :) He is such a smart boy! I love him!!!

UGH

Have you ever had one of those days where you wake up in a great mood and you decide right then and there that today is going to be an AWESOME day no matter what?

Today was one of those days for me. I was in the best mood this morning and then I got to work. *Before I begin let me just say this: I am thankful that I have a good job and I like most everyone I work with.* Why must everyone pass everything off to someone else? Why do I have to do everyone else's job? What are they doing? When do I have time to do my job? Why does everyone have to be in a pissy mood? UGH!!!!! That's all I have to say about that. My AWESOME day has been ruined and my mood is less than okay at this point, but I will make it my goal to leave it at work when I leave and my AWESOME day will pick back up when I pick up Drew from school and I am greeted with "MOMMY" as he runs into my arms for the best and biggest hug/kiss ever!

Thanks for letting me "vent" I will go back to doing everyone's job now.

Crack and Cheezers

When I get frustrated sometimes depending on how frustrated I am, I will express that frustration with words. Seeing that I have an almost four year old that repeats EVERYTHING, I really have to be careful when choosing what words to express when I am frustrated. Keeping this in mind I tend to use the phrase, "cheese and crackers" a lot. Don't ask me why, I have no earthly idea where it came from I just say it. Hey, it beats the other choice (you know "naughty" words)! Yesterday I was on the computer and getting frustrated. Drew was in and out of the room and he could tell that I was getting frustrated so before I could even get it out of my mouth my baby looks at me and says, "Crack and cheezers mommy". My frustration melted as I laughed for a solid 5 minutes. I love my boy!!!

Seeking Your Advice Please!!!

I have a few things that I would love some advice on:

1. I am trying to decide between buying a Netbook or a new Laptop. I know netbooks are really small, but I don't want another large laptop. I need this for downloading pictures, internet, and a few word/excel documents only. The only people I know with netbooks are children because they are really small. My concerns are this...will the netbook be too small, and will it have enough "memory" to store all the pictures and editing of pictures that I do? If anyone has any knowledge or experience with netbooks please share. :)

2. Buzz Lightyear...my son's favorite super hero but a pain in my neck. The reason I feel this way is this: Drew is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story) and wants a Buzz Lightyear birthday party. Doesn't sound terrible right? Wrong! No place in the greater Birmingham area carries Toy Story or Buzz Lightyear party supplies. I have found Buzz Lightyear party supplies online which is great, however I am still left with one small issue. CAKE. There are no buzz lightyear cake pans, cake decorating kits, toppers anything. I have found one "kit" and it is not cute and I think Drew would be disappointed. Any suggestions?!?!

I would also like to ask for your prayers for our dear friends and their beautiful new baby! Addi is 1 week old today in the NICU and needs God's healing touch right now. I ask that you keep baby Addi and her parents in your prayers.

Thanks!

No Cavity Club!!!

I know, I know it's been a long time. I thought I would give a quick update. We took Drew to his first dentist appointment yesterday and he did amazing. My big boy sat in that chair and let them count, scrape, brush, and floss his teeth and did not move an inch. He had no cavities, which makes him a member of the No Cavity Club! He was so excited to have his picture made and put on the wall. He also got to pick a treasure from the treasure chest! While leaving he asked if we could go back tomorrow. :)

Later on the ride home Drew says, "Mommy you didn't have any cavities either." I said, "No baby, Mommy didn't have any cavities!" He asks innocently, " Why didn't you get your picture put on the wall?" That is a good question buddy, I will have to ask Dr. B. next time we go!