Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was such a nice, relaxing day. (It was Saturday that was the toughy- I was a heart attack waiting to happen- ask Jerod, he got an earful that night...I was a little stressed.)

Jerod's side of the family came up for Mass and it was especially nice because we were able to see JB's brother Heath and his wife Alice. They flew out to Iowa from West Virginia for Easter and the next week. We hadn't seen them since their wedding in Pennsylvania almost 2 years ago, they looked great and very happy, it was wonderful to catch up with them.

Cailyn had a special visit from the Easter Bunny, aka Great Aunt Cindy, who was dressed in full bunny attire. Baby girl was a little wary of that bunny though and clung to Grandpa Bret pretty tightly, but she still got some treats in the form of a new cup and snack container with princesses all over them.

3 of the 4 generations, Great Grandpa Charlie, Grandma Deb, and Cailyn, where's Jerod you might ask?? Watching the Masters golf tournament in the basement....all day. All. Day.

Enjoying her Easter treats from Heath and Alice, some new books, one of which quacks incessantly when you push the button, which, of course, she loves :)

I snuck some pictures while she was playing with Uncle Heath. She received a new John Deere mower from Gma and Gpa Brown- and it comes fully equipped with noisy buttons!

Saying goodbyes. This is Uncle Tanner, when I first started dating Jerod I think Tanner was in 6th or 7th grade. He is graduating from high school this year and is so much bigger now, but he remains as big a smarty pants as ever- a trend among Brown brothers. However, he IS so sweet to Cailyn- another trend among Brown brothers, I love my brothers-in-law :)

She warmed up to Heath and Alice and had a really great day, all around, with everyone. Hope your Easter was just as grand!

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9 Months Old

Can it have already been 9 MONTHS since this chick made her entrance into this world?!

I think the recurring theme of her life will be that she thinks she's older than she really is. At nine months she:


*Is sick of baby food and being spoon fed- which makes mealtimes interesting, she eats a lot of strawberries, kiwi, bananas, bread, sometimes some soft, overcooked pasta
*Is moving into a size 4 diaper-she's got a bit of a ghetto booty ;)
*Is able to open any drawer in the house, basically, and learning how to open kitchen cupboards....great....


*Loves to dance, which consists of sitting on her feet while bouncing up and down and waving her arms
*Loves to laugh when she sees mom dancing- I'm sure that laugh will eventually turn into screams of embarrassment


*Has cut her top two teeth and cracks us up every time she smiles!
*Loves to play outside on the front stoop and inspect the flower pots
*Can stand on a stool and watch Daddy mow the lawn, she just follows him back and forth, squealing and smacking the window


*Enjoys wrestling WWE style with the throw pillows from the couch
*Loves to read books that require mom and dad to make animal noises


*Is the light of our lives and she doesn't even know it, we love you baby girl!

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Palmer Candy Store

One of my favorite places from back home in Sioux City is the Palmer Candy Co. candy store. There is SO MUCH candy, and the store was remodeled to look like an old fashioned candy store but with some newer areas also, including a history of old time candy making and old machines on display. We don't go every time we're back visiting my parents, but probably at least once or twice a year, and I get nostalgic every time.





Coincidentally, this trip also happened to be over my mom's birthday party weekend and so my Aunt Michelle was in town from Washington, that's her on the far right with my mom and sisters and Cailyn.

This is just two sections of the jars of candy, there were still another 3 or 4 sections I think, plus boxes upon boxes of chocolates, nuts, gummies- you name it- on the tables, PLUS plenty of prepackaged candy on MORE shelves!

My favorite part of any candy store is their truffle selection and I will spend good money on truffles, they are my weakness.....

One of the antique candy mixing bowls on display at the front of the store

Just for fun we popped her into one of the mixers on display. We knew she was sweet but for this there are no words!

Jerod's brother Beau plays ball for Briar Cliff in Sioux City and happened to have a game that Saturday that we were in town and his parents were up for the game so we stopped by for a little while.

Unfortunately, somebody didn't get a very good afternoon nap in, and so she was a grouchy, sleepy little stink at the ball game. I love holding her, but goodness it was HOT that day so it was getting uncomfortable. Not to worry though, Grandma and Grandpa Brown were happy to cut in :)

I told Beau that if he wanted to he could take her for a walk around and go "fishing" for chicks! He declined. We found out that day that apparently he is in the top 10 in the nation (I think nation) in saves as a Closer, way to go Beau!

Ahhhhh.....resting up for a night of big fun at Grandma Jacque's 50th birthday party....

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Dancing Queen

This is what happens when you don't let Cailyn play Just Dance on the wii and you try to trap her in a laundry basket instead......silly mommy, don't you know how smart your girly is??

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Wheeeeee!

Weeks ago when this gorgeous, atypical spring weather appeared in March, Cailyn had her first ride on a swing at the library park in town. She was a little timid at first, staring at the ground with her arms grasping the swing and her legs rigid. We went very slow, and she ended up really enjoying herself, take a look:

That is most definitely a Jerod face!

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