Jamison's Going Away Party

Kyle, Dayna, and little Kylie are off on their new adventure of dental school in Vegas. Even though it's a good excuse for leaving, it's been a hard pill to swallow. The night before they left we had a send off party for them and wished them well. It was a bittersweet night, but we'll see them at Christmas! (Right, Kyle??!!)


The future dentist and soon to be mommy of 2.


Jason reading the quiz results (we made a quiz to test everyone on how well they know the Jamisons). Excluding the parents....Becky Fellows won!


"Grammy," Dayna, and Kylie. Cute girls!


The guys mapping out the trip to Vegas in the morning. Too funny.


Norah misses her friend....


And I miss mine!

It was a fun night and I'm glad we could send them off with smiles instead of tears. We all miss you! Hope you're settling in and getting ready for baby Treagan. We hope you like Vegas enough to enjoy the years of dental school, but not enough to stay forever. :) Who's going to plan all of our fun activities now??

Summer Stuff

We've had an eventful and fun summer and it's bitter sweet to see that it will be coming to a close soon. We've had lots of fun but part of me is ready to get into a more normal schedule....and to have the weather cool off. Playing in the backyard isn't fun when it's 97 outside, or even higher. Here's a quick catch up on some of our other summer activities.


Celebrating Norah's birthday at Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house (She's a lucky girl- 3 parties for 1 birthday). What's a birthday cake without a little bit of birthday-girl spit on it?

Stealing a lick of frosting.


We had a party with her and some of her friends at the house. She had a blast! This is the most accurate depiction of her. She was either running, bouncing, swimming, sliding, or eating and wasn't willing to pause for a photo.


Babies and bubbles are a winning combination.


On her actual birthday we had my family over to celebrate. Grandma Mary scored some major points by getting her the gift she wanted most....the classic Little Tykes car. Uncle Eric scored even more points by painstakingly putting it together. Wasn't as easy as you would think, especially with an anxious 2 year old who couldn't wait to take a spin. She was SO excited.


Such a big girl. And a very happy one. She had a GREAT birthday. (Pay no mind to the ladybug cake. I wanted to do something cute, but ended up having to do it in 10 minutes to feed the hungry uncles. She seemed to like it though. More for the sugar than the decoration no doubt...)



Norah's had TONS of fun swimming this year. Once we converted her to a human floatation device she could "swim like a big girl" all by herself. We discovered later that all she needed were the floaties (minus the inflatable swimsuit) to be able to get around on her own but the marshmallow look provided a lot of laughs.


The Edmond's (Jason's sister and her family) came out for their annual summer visit. We love them! Their 5 boys are so sweet with Norah-- she's constantly asking to play with Colby and doesn't quite grasp that they live 13 hours away. They got to meet Ellis and we all went to Six Flags/Marine World (am I the only one who still calls it Marine World?) one day. Can't wait to see them again at Christmas.


Norah got her face painted for the first time at our stake Pioneer Day Celebration. It was momentous occasion for her. She's STILL talking about it.


Spent lots of the summer oodling over our not-so-little baby Ellis whose already 4 months old. Here he's working his charm on Grandma Mary. It's hard to get anything done with his cute little face staring at you like that.


A business associate of Jason's owns a horse ranch and invited us to bring Norah out for a pony ride. We gladly accepted of course.


No cowgirl is complete without pink boots. (Thank you Target- $5!)



She was a pro. Jason didn't even really have to hold her. She especially appreciated the horses name: "Princess Princess."


More to come from our trip to Southern California...

Norah's Vote for '08

So, last night after dinner I was cleaning up and Jason had turned on the live broadcast of the Democratic National Convention. As he turned it on they announced that a "special guest" had arrived, and without saying who it was Barack came out on the stage. Norah looked up to see what all the fuss was about and said very excitedly, clear as a bell:

"It's Barack Obama!"

WHAT?! We paused the TV and asked her what she had said and sure enough, she said, "Look, it's Barack Obama!" I have no idea how in the world she knows who he is. Well, it's clear that at least she's not undecided for the November election. Too bad Mommy and Daddy still aren't thrilled with either choice......

Haircuts

It's been haircut season at the Brown's. Ellis got his first haircut at a young 2 1/2 months back in July, and Norah got her first haircut at just over 2 years old a couple weeks ago. Here's the story:


So, our sweet Ellis had crazy hair. Basically it was the classic male-pattern-baldness. LOTS on the side, lots in the back, and nothing but peach-fuzz up front. To be honest I thought it was cute, he was like my little old man. But eventually, it was getting out of control. Case 1:


Case 2: This is totally the standard I'm-so-unhappy, I'm-so-chubby, I-hate-my-life "before" picture that people always use for make-over shows and advertisements.


And so, the haircut began.....


And ended....


And Mom was a little sad....at first. I quickly grew to like it, but he just looked so different at first. And plus it made him look so much older. I mean, he's only 2 1/2 months in these pictures, but he looks like he should be crawling!


And Daddy loved it. He's not shy about showing his emotions. Sorry about the goofy picture, honey. It's partially my fault--I told him to look excited. Mission accomplished. :)


So then it was Norah's turn. She really just needed a trim. When her hair was down it had started looking a little straggly and unkempt. It's so hard to cut off those baby curls though! Here's the before:


During:


After:

She did very well and sat relatively still during her haircut (thanks to crackers and a sucker). She refused to put on the smock, which even had cute penguins on it, but oh well. I made a pretty big deal about the whole thing and kept telling her she got to go to a "fancy salon" to get her haircut. Two weeks later she is still talking about it. "I got a haircut, Mommy." "Yes, Norah, you're hair looks SO pretty." "Thanks, Mommy." Here's the best picture I could find of the back of her hair now. Still has curls!


Well, that's all for the baby makeovers for now.

Norah's 2!

Our sweet, lovable, funny girl turned 2 last week. It's hard to believe that 2 years ago on July 15th at 8:03pm she joined us. Funny how it seems like yesterday and so long ago all at the same time. So, here are some of our favorite things about our favorite girl:

1. How affectionate she is. She is truly the most affectionate and loving little thing. Everyday I get tons of unsolicited hugs and kisses from her. "A hug, Mommy! A kiss, Mommy!"
2. Her squeezes. For a long time we've played the squeezing game with her (who can love squeeze the hardest). I keep thinking that someday she's really going to figure out how to squeeze, but no luck so far. She makes this face like she's squeezing really hard and even shakes a little but you feel absolutely nothing on your arms.
3. Her dimples.
4. Her dancing. She would dance with me all day if I would agree. By the way, how come all those years of dance classes don't make ANY difference when I'm dancing at home with my 2 year old. I couldn't feel more ungraceful. She doesn't care one bit though so I guess what does it matter....
5. Instead of saying "music" she calls it "muse-e-mock." Don't ask me why. I love it though. Jason tries to correct her and I won't let him. It's just too funny. She's a ridiculously good talker, no need to correct her on that one. I also love "Cindabrella." She says it with such authority, like, "Yeah, that's her name mom. Why do you keep asking?" I also love that she says "No way." All the time now. She uses it when she thinks something is silly or can't believe it, "No waaaayyyyy." "Mommy, I want some chap-chip" is also fun (her request for chapstick).
6. How much she loves her Daddy. Today she asked me where Daddy was and I asked her where she thought he was. "Church?" No. "Grandma and Grandpas?" No, he's at work. "Daddy's at work. Daddy a doctor?" Don't know where she got that, but it was pretty cute. She's THRILLED when she hears the garage door opening. Definitely a Daddy's girl.
7. How much she loves her brother.
8. Her singing. I think Sunbeam is my favorite. Twinkle, Twinkle, Wheels on the bus, the Frowny Face song, and Jingle Bells are some of my other favorites. (see post below)
9. Her prayers. They are so tender and honest. They always include lots of family members and things that happened in the day, including things that are important to a toddler like presents, playdough, carebears, park, etc. She never let's us forget to say them before going to bed and even frequently requests a prayer before nap time.
10. Her love of books. She's my bookworm. I can't tell you how many times I hear "Mommy, read books? Mommy, let's read books!" in a day.
11. Her enthusiasm. She gets excited about just about everything. If I say, "Norah, would you like to go to the store with Mommy?" her typical response is to bend down, jump up really high while yelping "Yes! Yes!" and pumping her fists in the air followed by a "That sounds like a good idea!"
12. Her belly laugh. When we tickle her she says "No tickle MMMeeeeEEEE!" The inflection is so funny.

Happy Birthday, Norah! We love you to pieces. Today I was reading her books and as she was getting off the bed to get another one I was smiling at her and thinking of how much fun she is. She got off the bed and turned back to me and said "I make Mommy happy." So true, Norah. You do make us happy. We're lucky to have such a darling girl (tantrums and all). We love you!!!

Norah Singing

Kiddos

Geez, I love my kids. There are no words. I just LOVE them. Take a look at these pictures and you'll see what I mean. How could I resist those dimples?! Being a mom is the best. It's work, but it is the best....