I had to give in!

Sunday night he asked, Monday morning he asked twice. "Can we now? How about now? Monday night he asked. Tuesday morning he asked, "Can we now? Then again on Tuesday night. First thing this morning he asked. "Please can we today, mom". So after 3 days of begging, I had to give in. Instead of making bread today this is what we did:

Sorry the pictures aren't great! I have never seen a kid so excited to clean out the fridge! He just kept saying "see how long my arms are?", "I am making it sparkle and shine." When we had it all done and the food put back in, shut the fridge, he said "I did a pretty good job". What a kid, I hope this is just the beginning of the Fantastic 4's!

HB, HB

Happy Birthday, Heath Brown

Can you believe my baby is 4! He now has the power to CLAP the lights on, amazing

He is still determined and it takes a lot to change his mind!!! They sang to Heath at church and he was convinced Sunday was his birthday after dinner he asked for his cake! I wanted to do a little get together with a few of his little buddies but I was having a hard time balancing everything school and time, so we were going to try and squeeze it in to our busy Saturday! Well there are some amazing people here in flagstaff and they put together a little party for him on Friday, so that his buddies could come.

It meant a lot to me. Thank you all so much for coming.

I hope it was fun. All I did was the cake (which looked better in my head).

Heath's Birthday was SUPER special!

I think each phase seems to get more fun as they grow up. Heath keeps me on my toes and is so very funny. We are so glad he joined our family. Happy Birthday to my SUPER Kid, Heath Marlin Brown Bear!

I am really not one of those mom's who cries when their kids go off to school. Maybe it is because Rianne was 4 when Heath was our little baby. But seeing him grow up does make me want our next baby to find our home, soon.

Heath is sort of our little miracle max. I'm about to share some details of how he joined our family, it is just good to have them recorded. If you don't want to know, don't read on.
I had my 2^nd miscarriage on the 23^rd of December; I was unable to get into the doctor. In January the specialist that we had been on the waiting list for called and had an opening in February. She asked us to take a pregnancy test before we came in so the day of the appointment I took a pregnancy test, it was positive—Which spooked me because the last 2 tests that were positive led to miscarriages. I went in nervous but we really were pregnant! However, there was a cyst about the size of a baseball in my uterus, so the doctor said "it was good I could get pregnant unfortunately I would miscarry this one as well". She put me on some heavy drugs, I asked how it would affect the baby she said It causes birth defects like clef pallet but don't be concerned "your body will keep the cyst and loose the baby". I had not shed any lining from the miscarriage because I was holding the cyst (later we would find out that is how Heath was able to stick). We'll see you in 3 weeks; call if you miscarry before that. The drugs were making me so dizzy and sick that I told her I just couldn't keep taking them. Brant gave me a blessing that my body would be strong enough to keep the baby. We went back in three weeks to take a look at the cyst the ultrasound found the cyst which had shrunk to the size of a golf ball and then a tiny flash on the screen the doctor seemed shocked and said we have a heartbeat. We were on careful watch for those first few weeks but the cyst kept shrinking and the baby was growing! We were warned about the possibility of clef pallet and about 75-80% chance this baby to be a dwarf. Brant assured me that in his family that is about 5'6" J I was so worried about the drugs I had taken and when we went in for another ultra sound Heath pressed his mouth up, perfect little lips, it was the reassurance I needed. Brant and I had our battles through this pregnancy, He went into protector mode, and he practically had me on bed rest before the doctor did! I don't think I did a single load of laundry through my pregnancy. Why did that bother me? It was a good thing I was coaching because I think I may have gone crazy! (He did sneak in and check on me in the gym). After as much bed rest as I could stand, bumpy rides,spicy foods, blue cohosh & everything else we could think of:) Heath came 2 weeks early weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and was 21inches long (not a dwarf)! He was healthy and happy! It shouldn't surprise me how determined he is, he came that way. From my first contraction until his birth was 2 and a half hours, we were at the hospital checking in at 7:30am and He was born @ 8:04am. What a kid!

Grandparents are Great!

Thank You Grandma's!!!!
This is the best Grandma picture. Grandma Brown fixed the skirt, grandma Silly Sally found a perfect shirt to match and Grandma Mary provided the perfectly matched hair accessories.

Labor Day weekend Brant's Parents came to visit. We absolutely loved having them here. We showed them all around Flagstaff, and Brant's new work place. We also took them to Mount Eldon Ruins. They are such good sports. They brought us yummy food from the garden and we watched some football, Grandma explored with the kids finding wild Gourds, and treasures in the chicken coop. Grandpa helped make a little bike path for Rianne. We had Grandpa & Grandma crawling through and over fences for pictures.

Grandma Mary came this week and it was great to have her we love all our grandparents. Rianne has so many new hair accessories thanks to Grandma Mary! She was also great to help get things ready for Heath's Party, she made all the superhero masks! This week we also got quick visits from Tyson, Wenda and Tayla whom we've been missing so much! Quick visits from Travis and Grandpa Jeff too! We love to have visitors and hope they know how grateful we are to have them, come anytime!

No Blood, No foul

I'm not a nurturer by nature, I usually say things like are you bleeding? or Live or die what do you choose. Rianne has it rough because she came first and I'm figuring this out as I go. I remember when Heath was cutting teeth and I'd let him suck on popsicles, she kept saying her mouth hurt, I was like you're not having another popsicle they are for Heath, she whined but I ignored her, when dad got home Brant said, "Jana her mouth is a little swollen", then that night while brushing her teeth, she cried. The next day we took her to the dentist and she had an abscessed tooth! I never claimed to be good at this mom thing, although I do really love my kids!

Any way in more recent news: Let me start that on September 1^st our insurance coverage began here at NAU. That same day at recess before the start of school, Rianne was playing on the monkey bars and when she was getting down she jumped off, lost her balance and hurt her arm. (She is adamant she did not fall off the monkey bars) She went class when the bell rang and it was still hurting and her eyes were filling up with tears. A little girl at her table asked what was wrong she said her arm hurt, the little girl told the teacher, who sent her to the school nurse. (I later ask Ria why she didn't tell the teacher, her response "it wasn't bleeding"- Nice parenting Jana) The Nurse takes a look wraps it and says if it still hurts after lunch come see her. After lunch Ria goes back and tells the nurse it still kind of hurts, so the nurse calls me, I ask should I come get her the nurse asks if she wants to go home Rianne insists she'll be okay, she stays at school the whole day! Rianne gets off the bus I take a look at her arm and it is pretty swollen, I have her ice it and when dad gets home we decided it didn't look very good, Rianne says "its okay I don't want it to be broken". We give her some Motrin and send her to bed. The next morning it is still swollen, she still wanted to do chores that morning she actually cleaned the bathroom (her choice, I did not make her). We take her into the clinic, (we don't even have our insurance cards yet, so Brant is calling HR for the numbers while I'm filling out the paperwork, I'm so grateful for cell phones and text messaging and insurance!) The nurse asks Ria what happened the nurse says something about falling off the monkey bars happening to lots of kids. Rianne corrects her and says I did not fall! When the doctor came to take a look she repeated the fact that she did not fall, he moved her arm around pushed on it and asked if it hurt she said a little and kind of, He looked at me, I said I don't know I guess she has a high tolerance for pain. After repeating that she did NOT FALL to the x ray technician, we have x-rays taken and her arm was in fact broken, and that is when she cried, because she didn't want it to be broken. They referred us to an orthopedic and we were off to explain to at least 4 more people that she didn't fall. She has a compound buckle fracture in the big bone and a hair line in the little one. They couldn't cast it that day because of the swelling and they have to make sure in stays aligned or they have to set it. So she was in a splint and sling for a week.

Luckily it stayed lined up on 9-9-09 @ 9:00am Ria was eating 9 M&M's getting ready for her cast. That nasty break is now casted!

Dad was the first one she wanted to sign it. Later that day she was out riding her bike and trying to pogo stick. I think she was glad to have her elbow back. She asked me if she could do the monkey bars again, I said yes when your grip is a little stronger (maybe when the cast comes off!). I'm all about get back on the horse but Ria is crazy! She also has not enjoyed the added attention she wanted a shirt that said what happened so she didn't have to say it a hundred times! It has not slowed her down!

I must add some tender mercies in addition to the insurance, it is her left arm, summer is over but we are not yet into long sleeves. Her cast should be off by her baptism although her cast is waterproof, how cool is that? Stayed aligned even with Heath. I think she is pretty tough, and I am proud of her for handling it so well!

Weekend Adventure

On Friday our friends Matt & Susanna invited us to the movie at the square. The kids loved the outdoor adventure. Before the movie started Heath was jammin' with the band it was so funny. He is such a rock star! Apparently Bolt wasn't action packed enough for him; he fell asleep not too long after intermission.

Then on Saturday we went to a BBQ @ the park, our kids loved the inflatable toys, ice cream and of course the lizard they found near the playground. Next it was off to "the desert". Heath says he loves the desert, in our job search adventures he kept saying he wanted to move to the desert!

We drove to Scottsdale to watch our Nephew Brandon play a football game (He plays for Snow). When we got there the kids immediately said it is so hot, the sun went down and they still had red sweaty faces. If you know me you know I was in heaven, I would even say I got warm! I could so live in the heat but my family would melt!! Another reason why I think Flagstaff is perfect for us! When we picked up the program we saw that the head coach for the fighting artichokes was a guy Brant played football with at Utah State. The Badgers won and why wouldn't they were playing a team with the mascot of an artichoke, I found that very amusing. After the game we got to visit with Brandon it was so great to see him. Also we visited with Coach Mad Dog, who was amazed with how big Brant has gotten! When Doug was a senior Brant had just returned from his mission to play and was maybe 205 lbs! We returned early Sunday morning (1:30am). On Sunday Brant was called to be the cubmaster. What a weekend! Can I just add I love, love, love that it is officially college football season! Let the games begin and bring on the BOWLS!