Merry Christmas 2011

It's the last day of the year in 2011.  We have just returned from the frosty north in New York after a long, long ride in the car from Washington, DC (more on that later).   We enjoyed a whirlwind Christmas with the boys and Sam, Andy and his family, and Tina and Neal and their son, Hanson.

Christmas really took hold of TJ this year, and now that he "gets it" was super, super excited on Christmas eve and was bouncing off the furniture.  I can only imagine this behavior amplifying in the years to come when both boys are ready for Santa.  We put on a small get together for the families on the street and had an hour of cocktails, milk and cookies, caroles, and topped it off with reading, Twas the Night Before Christmas.  We have been trying to find a family tradition that fits the holidays and this seems like it. I was spent by 9:00pm and fell asleep on the couch.

For some reason I was the first one up on Christmas morning and made sure that Santa Claus stopped at the house.  I was able to make coffee, start cinnamon rolls, and check Facebook before the other stirred.  We followed my mother's tradition of one-present-at-a-time and watched TJ's excitement getting his Bakugan toys and his Beyblade while Grant seemed thrilled with shiny wrapping paper.

We enjoyed a full breakfast and got on the road by 10:30am to drive to New York to see my brother.  This was the first time Andy had met Grant and the first Christmas with my side of the family since at least 2003.  The kids; Alyssa, Luc, and Samantha are all teenagers now.  Its scary to see just how big they are, especially when Alyssa can drive herself!  Seeing the three of them with the two little ones reminds me just how much I miss my parents. 

We celebrated Christmas with everyone on Monday after Sam joined us in the early afternoon.  Samantha really enjoyed her Harry Potter House of Slitheren hat and scarf set that the boys got her.  The cold and the wind kept us inside for most of the three days we were there and reminded us that we do not miss New York. 

We headed out for Washington, D.C. on Thursday to visit with Lisa's grad school roommate (and our maid of honor), Tina along with her husband and son. Three boys in a house.  Another reminder why we should not try for a third child!  TJ, 4; Hanson, 2; and Grant, 1; made the evening fun chasing one or the other to make sure toys were shared fairly and no one fell over, rolled down the stairs, or poked the other.  The adults spent the night drinking beer or very good bourbon and talking until we almost fell asleep on the the couch. 

Friday, we took the kids to the Smithsonian Air and Space Annex out near Dulles Airport.  The two smallest tagged along so the old roomies could catch up.  TJ ran from one plane to the next - especially the ones with g-u-n-s!  Of course, I was right with him!  There was a shuttle, a SR-71, a Concorde, and dozens of planes from WWII.  It was a really cool way to spend a few hours.

We drove home through a parking lot called I-95; an absolutely miserable experience from D.C. to Richmond.  I was not at my best. 

We are home!  We are cleaning and washing and tidying and sorting through a week of holiday stuff.  The New Year is less than ten hours away!  We pray for a safe and happy 2012.

Redemption

I have made many mistakes in my life.  I have fallen down to the point where I did not know if I could ever get up again.  I have seen the worst in man, and the worst in my self.

This holiday is about redemption and second chances for God so loved us he sent his only son to come unto this world to die for us.  What an amazing gift.  And while I typically keep my spirituality to myself, this is the night and tomorrow is the day to share the good news.

I have my second chance and I live it every day with a wonderful wife and three beautiful children.  In no small part thanks to the grace of God.

Merry Christmas to all. 

Happy, Happy. Merry, Merry. Joy to the World

Making Cookies!

Pretty Lights Outside

Pretty Lights Inside. Too!

Our Lovely Staircase.

TJs Pre-K Concert!

It's Time to Play the Music, It's Time to Light the Lights

I wonder what's in here?

I get the bottom half...

The holiday season is firmly upon the Brown household and once again we are working to catch up.

How does it get to be mid-December so quickly after Thanksgiving?!

We are now only a week away from Christmas - too much, too soon, too little time. 

Even though we feel like we are constantly being overwhelmed by events we have been busy. The first good news is that we got our Christmas Cards out. Wow. I think we set a record on how early the majority of them hit the post office. Good teamwork.

Next: outdoor lights are out. . . Rich started the process in November. We made an agreement that it would be much more pleasant to hang them when it was 65 degrees in Novemember as long as we didn't turn them on until after Grant's birthday. So we waited. Yet, the yard still seems to be a work in progress. TJ quickly exclaimed that he wanted as many lights as our neighbor. Sigh. If you ask mom, the neighbor crosses the line toward tacky, but for a 4 year old, I guess tacky is cool. So, mom acquiesced. There are now glowing snowman heads around our tree. . . and worst yet, they change color. Ugh!

The other major accomplishment is that we put up the tree! TJ was a big help this year with the hanging of the ornaments. He wanted to touch each and every one of them. Grant even did his part by trying to hang one of his toys on the tree. It was really quite cute. . .he crawled over and lifted up onto his knees while reaching toward the tree with his little wobble toy. Its like he knew what we were doing and he wanted to take part too.

Dad get's the top half.

He puts 'em up and I take 'em down.

Next, we made the ever important visit to see Santa. This year we went to Fort Bragg. TJ was a little shy at first sight, but when it was his turn he went right up to Santa and got on his lap. He knew the drill. He posed for a picture and then talked to Santa. Not so sure what words were exchanged, but I am pretty sure that TJ asked for bey blades, a laser truck (whatever that is), and bakugans. Then it was Grant's turn. At first, he had a deer in the headlights look of "where am I and who is this dude with the beard?" and then the tears came. He was not too happy being separated from daddy so quickly. We did the best we could with a picture and let it go with that. And we went to see Santa so TJ could tell him what he wanted and Grant could cry at the man with the white beard and big red suit.  Plus lights are up on the outside of the house (but we did that in mid-November).

This year, we are attempting a new tradition. . . a Christmas Eve gathering with the neighbors (yes, even the ones with the tacky lights). Cookies, cocoa, and a reading of the "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." We hope to even try some caroling. And Lisa already is scheming a day when the boys are a bit older to arrange a door-to-door caroling tradition too.

So, with a few days left until the big day, a lot of things are checked off our list. . . but some big things still remain. But isn't it always that way come Christmas?

In case you don't hear from us sooner, Merry Christmas and may the blessings of God be upon you in the New Year!

Grant Robert Brown is One Year Old

  

 Grant turned one on Thursday, December 1, 2011.

Ready for My Party

I'll get the specifics out of the way and let Lisa reflect on the what the milestones were.

Jessica and Emma!

Grant's birthday started with Lisa, TJ, and I coming into his room while he was still asleep.  He looked blissful on his belly, in quiet slumber.  We launched into "Happy Birthday" and Grant immediately sat upright and rubbed his eyes.  He turned to see the three of us singing to him and broke out a huge smile to greet us.

Mmmm, cake!  Frosting!

Mommy dressed him in a "My First Birthday" outfit and at the usual time we were all on the road to work, school, and the nanny.  We met up again at Moe's for dinner and Grant engaged everyone who would look at him with a great big smile as if to say, "hey, it's my birthday today!"  The rest of his birthday was quiet before bedtime.  Unlike a year prior, it was a generally quiet and simple day.

Can You Eat the Plate Too?

However...

On Saturday we had Grant's birthday party; a small hoop-dee-hoo get together.  Our invite list was small but significant in the people who have been important in our son's life over the last three hundred sixty five days.  Emma and Jessica, Grant's babysitters from Camp came up for the weekend.  They had only seen him for the last four months in pictures and at that time Grant wasn't even crawling yet!  The Newtons; Tammi, Alec, and Tucker came down from North Raleigh.  Ellie and Nika came from down the street.  Meredith, Grant's nanny, and her daughter also made it. 

Hooray!

Grant was awesome.  He understood, somehow, that the party was for him and that he was the center of attention.  He did not disappoint his fans.  He tore into presents and showed everyone his new ability to clap on request.

Grant learned about cake.  Cake is not just something you eat.  I turns out that cake is something you wear.  On your face.  On your clothes.

It's my reflection that it is a minor miracle to see your little boy bring joy to friends and strangers alike with nothing more than a big smile.   On this day - as with most every day with Grant - he caused a lot of people to smile and be happy.

Happy birthday, Grant Robert.

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Post-Thanksgiving in pictures and words.

We drove to Orlando and stayed at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort right next to Downtown Disney.  The kids are still too small to enjoy road trips the way Lisa and I do; looking for funny sights along the way.  Our latest is a bunch of billboards throughout Florida for a doctor who does vasectomies.  The ad isn't funny, but the picture of doctor - with one big, bushy unibrow is.  In fact its hysterical to think that the last thing you might see before you go under the knife is his eyebrow poking out over the top of his mask.  When you are driving for seven or eight hours you need to make it fun or you can really jeopardize the entire trip.  I am thankful that they boys travel so well and Lisa and I still enjoy the time in the car with them and one another.




The resort had two great pools with slides for the big kids; Lisa, Sam, TJ, and me and a great water play area for Grant.  Since we deliberately decided not to go into any parks (Disney, Universal, or Sea World) making the most out of the resort was key.  In true Disney form, we were able to have a great time with what we were provided.  The pools took up most of our time, Samantha, TJ and I went to the outdoor movie by the pool, and we all walked through Downtown Disney to get dessert at the ever crowded Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop.  In fact, Lisa and I got a nice morning run through Downtown Disney and  Grant even got in his first slide ever and it was a water slide!  I am thankful that we have our timeshare with Disney and the memories it brings.

We came across the Christmas decoration where Samantha had her picture taken in 2005.  It's hard to believe that the little kid from six years ago is this grown, young woman now.  She is TJ favorite and vice-verse.   Whatever bond those two have in their later years will be much stronger than between Sam and Grant.  By the time Grant is TJ's age his big sister will be in college and really turn into a mystery and an enigma who only visits once a year or so.  I am glad the boys have one another but I am even more thankful that Sam has TJ.

TJ got to visit Once Upon A Toy with just his dad as a reward for having dry pull-ups over night for five nights.  This is a big milestone for a child and he deserved something special for working on his "star chart".  He knew just what he wanted and didn't waste too much time locating the Star Wars toys. I see a lot of a young me in TJ; he's happy, funny, aloof at times, a bit of charmer, and 100% kid.  I am so thankful that he is turning into a good boy and great big brother.
 
That was the end of Orlando and we drove out to Homosassa for the rest of the week with Betty. 

Betty is in the process of moving out of her big house and into something more manageable - most likely here in North Carolina.  Lisa and I had our list of chores waiting for us once we unloaded the kids on grandma.   I really don't mind, and actually enjoy being a useful son-in-law, now that my parents have passed.   I thought I might have to take of my mom in her old age but she never got there.  Helping Betty is a close second.

We spent Thanksgiving dinner at Lisa's cousin's house in Clearwater, Florida.  The last I saw many of these people was in 2005 at Christmas time.  Although we are not all particularly close to any of them, we had a really nice time, too much wine, and plenty of food.  Grant entertained everyone with his new clapping trick and big grin.  The magic that boy's smile is how his whole face manages to smile.  His mouth opens, his eyes twinkle and squint, and his nose scrunches up.  It is wonderfully infectious and makes everyone around him happy because Grant will smile at everyone and anyone.

We had some "lasts" on this trip.  The last time we would see manatee from grandma's dock, the last time as a family at grandma's big house, the last time we'd go to the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park, and probably the last time we'd see some of the family gathered around the dinner table.  Yet, you have to rejoice in all that you have and this year was no different.

There was a lot to be thankful for this year.  In fact - Grant is one year old now!  A blog entry in it own right after his party on Saturday.