I don’t want to talk about how late this post is. Or how 2011 has been an embarrassing year for onbeingbrowns.  Don’t mention it.

In another last-ditch effort to get caught up and breath some life into this site, here is another month in review.

For my 30th birthday, I had pressured Doug (for the last five or so years) to throw an epic party for me.  But, as it turns out, the closer the day got and as I entered the third trimester, a party was feeling a little less exciting.  There’s something about celebrating while wearing panel pants, wondering if my protruding belly button is showing, and imagining looking at pictures a year down the road and wondering why I never realized how much weight I had gained in my face.  Something about all those things made my birthday bonanza less appealing.  Maybe it was an overreaction.

Instead, to celebrate, we took our first ever family vacation to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Colorado in the summer/fall is maybe my favorite place in the world, and it did not disappoint this year.  We drove overnight from Austin to Pagosa Springs and Rhett was a champ.  He fell asleep around 10:30 PM in the car and slept until we arrived around 7:15 AM.   We stayed for four days, three nights and mostly just enjoyed being a family.  We cooked most of our meals, we went hiking, we sat outside and talked.  We did normal family things without having the pressures of cleaning the house, work, doing laundry, and (my final mention of it) the heatwave of 2011.  It was perfect and definitely a highlight of the whole year.

On our way back home, we stopped in Amarillo to see Doug’s grandparents.  Rhett had never met Grandmother and Pa Brawley, so it was a big treat for everyone.

The day after we got home from Colorado, Rhett had his first day at preschool.  He is going just one day a week from 9-2.  The drop-off was difficult for both of us.  I was pretty sure I would be able to hold it together, but I underestimated the power of my hormones.  He cried when I dropped him off, and I cried when I got in the car.  Turns out that we both made it through the day, and neither of us show the signs of separation anxiety anymore.  A few pictures from his first day.

And finally, I’m still pregnant.  At the time of this picture, I was 28 weeks pregnant.  The closer we get to adding a new member to our family, the more emotional I get about this little man.  I am anxious about the transition for him.  How will he do with a little brother or sister?  I wonder if I am going to miss just having him.  It hurts my heart how much I love him.  I am so thankful for the nearly two years that we’ve had with just him and thankful that God isn’t done growing our little family.