Fun-Filled Family Time!

Brown Family Reunion 2008

This has been an amazing Christmas! I added a link to the Brown Family Reunion blog on the right-hand corner of this page but to make it easy the link is http://brownreunion2008.blogspot.com/. It's a work on progress but will soon be a place where we can all post pics of our time together here in Redding.

Christmas Day 2008!

Merry Christmas! The family fun has just begun! Joel, Emily & Ella arrived late last night after a delayed trip out of Indianapolis/Denver. They were happy to report that Ella was an angel on the trip and did very well on the way out. Way to go Ella!

We went over to Mom and Dad's in the morning and were happy to see the reunion of Ella and Priya. they had both just woken up so it took them a while to warm up to each other again but all was well and we had a wonderful time watching them follow each other around the house with various sizes of teddy bears in hand. Grammy and Grandpa Penner basked in the glow of seeing their grandchildren together in the same place. For them this was a 1st time experience.

At about 4pm we had the Brown family gathering (those who had arrived thus far). We had a deli-supper together and had fun with a gift exchange. We enjoyed watching the growing number of kids milling around and enjoying each other.

Below is Cristi and baby Samaria (daughter of Jeff & Kara Brown).
Priya cautiously checks out Grandpa's new Homer Slippers.
Priya enjoyed hanging out with the Meredith family. She is pictured below with Holli. TJ is behind her and Caleb Brown (Kara and Jeff's 1 1/2 year old) is behind Priya.

Ashish had a wonderful time seeing Priya enjoy herself during the evening.
Ella had a grand time playing in a rather large Christmas gift bag. Priya eventually joined her and was a little less enthused.

Let the Christmas fun begin!

This year is a very special year for our family. We are having a huge reunion here in Redding. My mom comes from a family of 6 kids and all of them will be here with their spouses, kids, and grandkids. All of my siblings will be here with their spouses and my niece. There will be 47 of us in all! My sister Judy and her husband Kyle have already been here for a few days. And tonight we went to a Christmas Eve-Eve service at the church my parents attend when they are in Redding.

Priya = Cuteness

Christmas decorating is fun!

Our camera has unfortunately bit the dust. Hence the lack of updates/photos on our blog as of late. But Grammy and Grandpa have come to the rescue! They returned to Redding last week and were able to get a few fun shots for us. They spent the weekend decorating their house for Christmas and Priya had a great time joining in on the action.

The youngest members of the Penner families!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas from the Christians!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Ashish's Surprise

Today was an exciting day for Ashish - after 4 1/2 years he got his braces off!!! Our camera is on the fritz so none of the pictures I tried to take turned out, but for some reason the video portion did work. So here is a small glimpse of his new smile.

Diaper Survey - Calling All Moms!

Moms - I need your help! I'm wondering if you'd be willing to share your experience with different brands of diapers. I've been using Target brand for most of Priya's diapering needs (with the exception of when she was first born and everything I tried leaked with the exception of Pampers).

Priya weighs about 17 lbs now and has been in size 3 for several months. This size is supposed to fit 16-28 lbs. But we have been having problems with leaking during the past few weeks. Almost every morning when she wakes up she is wet around the tops of the diaper (even when I double diaper her!). This morning after only wearing a diaper for 30 min I could see little trickles going down her leg - and the diaper was on right! I'm thinking about switching brands but I'm sad to do this for financial reasons.

Can you give me your thoughts on other brands you have tried and whether you liked or disliked them? Or is this a size issue? It's hard to imagine her in a size 4 when she's only 17 lbs. Thanks!!!

A continuation of cuteness from yesterday into today...

Chuck E. Cheese Adventure

Lots of Play = Good Quality Sleep!

Priya and Ashish enjoyed some fun play time this weekend. Her toy of choice wasn't a contraption with lots of bells and whistles but, yep, you guessed it, a simple cardboard box. She had a wonderful time climbing in and out of it, carrying it around & pushing it across the room.

All of that fun playing made for some really deep sleep for our little monkey (finally - after about 2 weeks battling sleep - Priya is finally back on track and is her old self again). When checking on her at night we regularly find her with half of her body hanging out of her crib. Well, maybe not half... Thank goodness for those bars that keep her secure!

Election Day

Today was an important day for my hubby!  Ashish voted for the first time as a US Citizen and was very excited about this new opportunity to have a voice in our country!  Ashish proudly became a US Citizen last February.  Priya wanted to get in on the action too...