Mother Dearest....

Happy Birthday to you!

You are so loved.

pictures of "peanut-man"

This is the woman who started calling him "peanut-man".....thanks, Grandma!

A very proud grandpa....

His amazing mommy!!

Have a great day, everyone! (I have ANOTHER snow day today.....woo hoo!!)

(Thanks to Daddy Joe who took these pictures, which I ripped off of Facebook.)

He's here!

Andrew Thomas Hughes is here! Katie had her sweet son on Thursday morning at 7:50. She did an AWESOME job delivering him with the help of her hubby, Joe!! I know what you are thinking, where are the pictures, Auntie Libby?!? Well, I don't have any right now. Boo! The Hughes live out in Columbus Ohio, so we have not been out to see them.....yet! We're going to head out there in the next couple of weeks, so we can let the happy family get a little more settled. Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) are visiting right now; holding, cooing, and reading with little Andrew.

Welcome to the world, Andrew! Here is a picture of how your parents normally act. You are going to have a GOOD life filled with fun, silliness, laughter, and a whole lotta LOVE, boy!

Katie Jane....

Most of you know already, but just in case you don't, my sister is about to have her first baby! I talk to everybody I know about Kate being pregnant, so this is not new news. But hey, this is my blog and I can talk about whatever I want! I want to celebrate how awesome Katie is and

dedicate this blog post to her!!

If you know me at all, you know that I adore my family. I feel blessed to have grown up in the Brown household. I think my parents did an amazing job as Mom and Dad. (They still do!) They taught Ben, Katie, and I to play, create, use our imaginations, and love to be together. That is why being together now is a JOY, and I feel pretty lucky to have that. As much as I love Ben (or Tootie, his nickname.....Gabe STILL calls him that!), this blog is going to be about Katie because, holy cow she is about to bring another life into this world!!

Here she is at 39 weeks!! I think this was just taken on Sunday.... I hope I look half as great as she does when I am about to have a baby! She's had an awesome pregnancy; everything has been healthy and on track. See the little pictures in the background. I helped her make the one with the little turtle and birdie.....it's just torn paper, modge-podged onto canvas! She made the other two pictures, and they look sa-weet!

We arethe original three Brown girls.....three peas in a pod, if you will. We are all very similar, yet God has designed us uniquely. Mom is a go-getter and makes things happen. She's a great decorator, and will be one heck of a grandma! She is also a woman of wisdom and of God. She's one of the biggest cheerleaders in my life! I am bubbly and like all things girly. I don't have an ounce of musical talent, but I am creative at times. Katie has a gentle spirit and a huge heart. She sees the best in people and that's why everyone likes being around her. She's an outdoors woman and loves Montana, fly fishing, hiking, and rock climbing. See, we're different. :)

These last two pictures were taken at my parents' house in Milford at her baby shower. I don't know how many weeks along she is at this picture, but isn't she just beautiful?? She's always been this pretty. She has always had freckles and I love them! She gets a ton during the summer, and my mom always jokes that she'll turn into one big freckle! I wonder if Baby Hughie (her last name is Hughes and this is our name for the sweet pea) will have her freckles.....we shall see!!

So, folks, this could have been a little too sentimental and "gaggy", but again I don't care because it's my blog and she's my prego sister. She's awesome and everyone should know! And don't you worry, I will be back shortly to announce the birth of my new niece or nephew and to post pictures. Until then, me and my hubby are praying for a quick and smooth delivery for the Hughes family!

We love you Katie, Joe, and baby H!

2011....

I've been thinking about making some resolutions for 2011. I don't know if I have EVER made any resolutions throughout my life. This is the year! I will try my best to reach them.....like I tell my second graders: just try your best!

Here's the list:

1. Write on our blog. Woohoo!! (Now, some of you may be laughing or saying, "Yeah right!" but I am really going to try this time!)

2. Eat more fresh vegetables and drink more H2O.

3. Try new recipes each month.

4. Do a Bible study (or studies) at church and get into the Word consistently.

So, today I am already reaching towards resolution number one and am quite proud of myself. I promise to start posting some pictures about our life and update you all on what's been happening. I know that pictures are really what people want to see on a blog.....well, maybe that's just me.

Have a happy first day of 2011!

Libby