Long Overdue...

Greetings from the Browns!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Apparently I have waited way too long to update the blog because I even forgot my login information...ha! It was my goal to update this frequently to keep friends and family far away in the loop, but this might be as good as it gets. :)

Things around our house have been BUSY! I went back to work on February 1st and it has been an adjustment for all of us. My kids were very excited to see me back so it made the transition pretty smooth. The days at school just fly by so it keeps my mind off wanting to be home with Clare (and of course Chad too). Clare is doing fabulous at daycare...she gets to spend her days with Grandma. I don't know who is enjoying it more...Clare or Grandma. I know she is in great hands when she is there, so it makes being at work much easier. She also gets to spend lots of time with her cousins, Timmy and Maggie. They are always excited to see her. I think the person who has had the hardest time adjusting is Chad. I guess his biggest adjustment is being able to actually get work done again since we aren't in the house with him. I'm sure he misses us coming in to his office to fill his coffee cup, check in on him, ask him where we should go for lunch, update him on tv shows, and just harass him. He did say it was lonely during the day without us....not sure if I believe him or not! ha!

Clare is such a wonderful baby! We are so lucky. She is sleeping in long stretches at night, but not quite through the night yet. Many nights she falls asleep at 7:30 for the night and won't wake up until 2 or so. Then we feed her and usually we have to wake her around 6:45 to get her dressed and fed before heading out the door at 7:15. I'm learning to live on less sleep, but some nights I find myself going to bed when she does. It makes for a pretty short evening when I get home around 5:00 and go to bed at 7:30. ha!

She is growing like crazy and we can't wait to see how much she weighs at her 4 month appointment in a few weeks. At her 2 month appointment she weighed 11 pounds 9 ounces so she is "filling out." Clare smiles and makes all sorts of noises! She loves her daddy's silly noises and games. She is an active baby and loves to just lay and kick.

We have had a busy month so far and it will continue to be busy the rest of the month! Chad's sister, Beth, finished her last session of chemo so that was a huge milestone for our family. She had such incredible strength and faith throughout the entire thing. We traveled to Branson for a couple days a week ago. Chad's brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly. Luckily, Clare fell asleep as soon as we left town and she was still asleep when we pulled into the hotel 4 hours later. Ahhh! This week I am on spring break so Clare and I went along with Chad on a couple business trips. We went to Wichita, KS and then to Oklahoma City. She did an amazing job in the car and sleeping in the hotels. Next week we leave for 5 days to head to my brother's wedding in eastern Iowa. It will be lots of fun to get to spend time with family! Clare will get to meet her Great Grandma and Great Grandpa for the first time. What a special time! I think I counted up and we will be sleeping somewhere other than our own beds 8 nights this month. Whew!

I've rambled long enough! Hopefully I can update this more often so I don't have to make the posts so long. We hope this finds you well! Enjoy the pictures of our little muffin below! We think she is pretty cute!

This would be one of the times we interrupted dad during his workday! Oops! I think he enjoyed it though.

Maggie, Timmy, & Clare

Snuggled up with Dad in her big girl jeans

A stroller ride up town to the post office! We love to take walks!

Ready for summer...