Well, the Easter picture that everyone has been pushing for finally arrives. 

Look at Me 

Isn't she cute 

Asleep in Janie's Arms 

Abbie giving Emma Grace kisses 

Great Expectations

Well, Good Shepherd finally got Emma up on the web. Check out this picture.

A Haiku, by Uncle Jeremiah

Oh, Baby Emma
All you do is sleep and poop,
I wish I was you.

The Pics Are In!

Ok folks, after perusing the 100's of photos from the first week, we have put together the first of many albums. Enjoy Emma Grace's First Week.

Also, notice the new heading on the sidebar for photo albums, which will be accessible at all times.

Pink Cigars All Around!

BDB, part 2

So, Dad is reading the post, "Ok, Ok We'll Tell You!," about the name we have chosen for our progeny. He gets to the bottom and sees,"Say hello to little BDB!" His first reaction? Yeah, Big Damn Baby sounds about right!

Folks, you know longer need to wonder where I get it from.

Say Uncle

Brother Brown called earlier this week, and left a message to this effect:

"Hey Troy, I don't ask for many favors, but this is a big one. Can you please have the baby before March 17? Evan (our cousin) just called and invited my down to Austin for South by Southwest (a large music and arts festival), and its the 17-21."

Makes ya all choked up inside, doesn't it? Anyway, he calls tonight to say that he couldn't get the all access passes he was hoping for. He is only going to get to see a couple of shows now. I know what really happened though. He feels secretly conflicted, and really wants to spend time with nephew/niece Brown.

(those of you who don't know my brother, he was joking about the request)

What have I done?

Well, it's 2:30 in the morning, and I can't sleep. I keep wondering what Baby Brown is going to be like. What features of mine will they have? Will they like me? Will they look to me for answers? Will I know them if the do? So many questions, only one way to find out.

Janie has other issues on her mind, obviously. I think she is ready for this particular part of the journey to come to its end. She has been really great through all of this. I can't imagine trying to work full time with the pain and discomfort that she must be in. All I can say is that the baby will be that much stronger for it. She apologizes all the time for her moods and whining. I don't tell her straight out, but I notice the way she fights through things more, and know that the whines are legit because of that.

We made our last trip to Toy's R Us and Target today. Picked up the last minute items we are going to need in the first month or so. I can officially say that we are ready, as we have no more room in the apartment to put anything else.

The Last Shower!

Thank you so much to all of Janie's coworkers for throwing a wonderful shower on Friday. They came up with some great gifts, and now we don't need that much more in order to call ourselves ready! We didn't have the camera, but hope to get pictures from others and post them later.

DayCare, part 2

An update on the day care situation. We are so lucky! It turns out that a day care center in town is closing down in one month, and has just told the parents. They are calling all over, and snatching up every vacancy that can be found! The director at First Presbyterian told Janie yesterday that she had 6-7 parents coming later in the week to look at the facilities. I sometimes think about the way things always seem to work out, and wonder what made me call on Monday, and not on Tuesday or Wednesday. It's the little things that make all the difference.

DayCare, part 1

A real blessing occurred this week. I was calling prospective day care centers, when I stumbled on the First Presbyterian Church of Longview. They had one spot available, and I rushed down at lunch the same day to tour the facility. The staff was very caring, the facilities very clean. Every baby had a smile on their face (and the occasional green bean glob. They were eating), and they showed me the brand new facility they will be moving into next month. I signed up on the spot, knowing that an available place with such quality needed to be snatched up. In the back of my mind, I hoped Janie would like it. It bugged me a little that we couldn't look at it together. I bit the bullet and told her what I did, and encouraged her to go visit. In the back of my mind, I knew that I would have to eat the deposit if she didn't like the place, and probably never live it down either. At 5:15, I got a phone call. Crossed fingers and sweaty palms....

She loved it! whew!!!!