Week 3 -- Nicknames for Nicknames

Christian Alexander = Follower of Christ and Defender of Man
We chose his name to reflect the character we hope to see emerge in him as he grows. While we really like the name Christian (and yes, it is the name from my dream), we don't want him to be called any shortened form of his name. However.... at this point in the game, he's just so adorably scrumptious-- we've already come up with multiple nicknames, and even abbreviated some of them (can you do that???)
Here are a few of the more common ones:

Buddy
Preshie (short for Precious) or Preshie Boy
Munchkie (Munchkin)
Nakey Boy (When Naked)
Mr. McGoogle
Little Man
Tiny Boy
Little Tiny
Froggy
Scrumptious or Scrumpy
Puppy
Schnuhkie
Buhby
Cuteness or Cutie
Sweetheart or Sweetikins or Sweetness
Sleepykins or McSleepy
Hungry Hippo
Piglet or Piggy
Loviekins or Lovey or Little Lovey

(I'm sure the more masculine nicknames will come later...)

Yesterday we had our first major outing and visit to Gramsy and Poppy's house for Memorial Day. We wore red, white and blue, but forgot to take a family picture. oops. It's hard to remember the camera at every turn! Christian got to meet some new friends, and hang out with the great grandparents... he was slightly adored!!
We all sat around Dave's laptop and skyped (i-chatted) with Seth, Kelly, and Willa. It was a treasure of a time with all the great grandparents...
Here is our slideshow of some of the better moments of week 3 of Christian Alexander's little tiny life :).

Note: a few of the pictures feature Poppy's OTHER new baby-- Harley.

Christian's First Movie

Here is a little "Christian Debut", put together by his daddy.

Willa Rose Allison

and her proud parents....

She's Here!

2 weeks and 1 day apart:

Willa Rose Allison
May 21, 2008
6:55 pm
7 lbs. 7 oz.
20 in.

22 hrs. of labor!
a full head of dark hair...
pictures to come...

A cousin is born today!

As I type this, my sister-in-law has been in labor for 16 hours! I am so proud of her-- and can't wait to see this little bundle of joy that will grow up side by side with ours! It's funny that in a couple of hours we will know her name, weight, height, etc... but for now she is still "Baby Girl Allison". . . a stubborn little mystery... Come out, come out!!!

2 weeks young

It has been a beautiful 2nd week of life for our little man. And that's just what he looks like much of the time-- a little old man. In the midst of his little baby cuteness, he has a lot of little old man faces and it's hard to capture his true baby cuteness on film. Still, we are overwhlemed with his sweet personality and his adorable little features. It has been nice to rest and have some rainy days for napping. Blogging isn't high on my list of priorities, but i thought i'd at least refresh the slideshow for those who want to see more highlights of our new world. . .

BruNoMore

Introducing:

Christian Alexander Brown

May 6, 2008

9:56pm

7lbs 5oz

22 inches

The spitting image of his Daddy--

Happy One Week Birthday!

We are all doing great-- just a little tired!

Enjoy the slideshow ~

A preview?

We found some baby pictures of Dave the other night-- I can't help but wonder if our little boy will resemble these in just a few days/months!

Getting There...

I just returned from my weekly check-up, and not a ton has changed. The Doctor said I'm about 1 and a HALF Centimeters !! But she also said that I'm very "thinned out" and "ready to go"....and she thinks it will be soon. !!! :)
I can't believe it-- as I sit here and type this-- that I could have a baby any minute! ie, this week. It's barely hitting me, but the little that it is, is amazing! Of course I could be sitting here next monday in the same place; but the reality is seeping in little by little!
Guess we'd better narrow down that name, huh!?
Will keep posting if there's anything more to report...

Welcome to Week 40!

It's gone so fast, I can hardly believe it! In fact, the closer our due date approaches, the less real it actually seems that we could have a living, breathing (crying, sleeping, excreting) baby in our arms at any moment! This morning he's been so still, it is almost unnerving. Perhaps the calm before the storm? I just ate some lunch and he's starting to move around more normally-- phew. Let the maternal instincts of worry begin!
It is fun to imagine that his birthday will be sometime in the next week or so. Will it be May 6-- Uncle Sethy's bday? Or perhaps 05/07/08? Or May 08, 2008? I like 8's. That would be fun. Or perhaps it will be much later, like the 13th or 14th -- whenever it falls, it's funny that it will then be permanent, when it is now such a mystery.
Again I am reminded and refreshed of God's soverignty and purposeful choosing of the details of our lives. From the hairs growing on his tiny head, to labor, delivery, and raising him up, to the date he will someday leave this earth, there is no amount of maternal worry that can ultimately change the course of his life. The good, the bad, the pain and pleasure of living in an ever-increasingly dangerous world all lie inevitably before him. How ironic that there can actually be comfort and assurance in the midst of that-- that this child does not truly belong to me, but to his Maker. We are simply his caretakers, his guides and his role models. What a mysterious, adventurous, and awesome privilege to have been given!
I am so in need of grace and strength for this task-- more than I could imagine... Oh Lord, help me! Keep me in this frame of mind. I will most often not know what I'm doing, or what is best... but you will. I am sooooo thankful for this. Remind me of it daily!

Pretty Amazing??

"There are two kinds of people in this world... those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't." - Bob Wiley (What About Bob)

Well, I just heard his new single (Neil's, not Bob's) "Pretty Amazing Grace", and while I'm not one for writing reviews of things... I have to come right out and say that somethin ain't right with this song. First of all, if it's supposed to be about God's grace, I'm pretty sure the first famous song written about it did a better job of conveying the Amazing factor. What's up with adding the word "pretty"? What exactly does he mean? In the English/American language the word "pretty" has taken on several different connotations.

1. it could mean something akin to "beautiful", but not quite worthy of that title. In other words, "Nice looking or somewhat attractive Amazing grace."
2. it could be used in reference to something that's mediocre. . . like, "I'm doing pretty well." Again, conveying that you could be doing better.
3. you could say something like, "that's pretty darn amazing." . . . and use the word "pretty" to emphasize the adjective, trying to make it more powerful than it would be by itself.

Assuming Neil is doing the latter, and really believes that Grace is pretty DARN amazing-- you'd think he'd create a song that had a little more, how do you say, "umph" to it? His lyrics, while pointing to some nice truths about being saved and restored from his dark and empty life, are accompanied by some "pretty corny" repetition, both in the melody of the song and the chorus-- which, you guessed it, is simply the words "Pretty Amazing." ... which again, leave you wondering just how amazing he believes this grace is.
I only watched the lackluster clip of him singing it on American Idol (from last night)... but you'd think of all moments in time, they'd be doing their best to "jazz" it up and make it everything it could possibly be for its big debut... Not only did he look malaised at best, but his band barely had any notes to contribute and his back up singers (dressed in some scantily clad black dresses) had ONE "pretty amazing" line the whole song. ... perhaps you can guess what that was... (hint: it was during the chorus)... The audience swayed their arms in the air in classic fan fashion, but it almost looked like they didn't know what else to do with the cheezey beat.
I don't know the story behind the song... maybe Neil has had a significant encounter with God and has truly been transformed into a new man. But watching him perform the song made me wonder if his encounter was more with a depressant or a hypnotist. If you've ever seen the movie A Mighty Wind, it reminded me of the song "Never Did No Wanderin..." -- which was meant to be a mock on all folk music, half sung/half spoken lyrics to a pretty simplistic and unexciting tune.
I'm all for getting the message of God's TRULY Amazing Grace out there to the world. And I think people like Neil are terrific vessels to do so... I just think it's a shame that when all is said and done, we're left with a non-descriptive chorus stuck in our heads that is really just pretty annoying.
If you love the song, please don't be offended-- I'm actually still in the category of those who like Neil Diamond. In fact I think he's pretty darn great. Which is why I'm pretty darn disappointed... and can only hope that people aren't turned off to how pretty darn amazing Grace truly is!

Made it to May!!

Here we are at 39 weeks: this is the only shirt left that is long enough... barely...
I love that Bruno will be a May baby. It is such a beautiful month-- and now there will be 4 May birthdays in our family! Seth, Kel, Baby Allison, and Baby Brown! In fact, I'm a little jealous...

Went to Target this morning to get new curtains for our bedroom...
had to stop in the Outdoor
Living department to rest a bit on a lounge chair. People kept
stopping to ask me if i was ok, when i was due, etc...
It was so strange to be able to say, "any time now..." or "6 days!"
One saint of a woman told me I looked tiny.



I think I'm going to keep that one in mind next time
I see a huge pregnant lady.
Somehow when you're this big, it just makes your day! :) :)