All posts in category Family

The Story of Us

My friend Brittany over at A Healthy Slice of Life had this as the topic of her post yesterday, and I loved it!  It got me thinking and remembering moments in my own relationship so…in honor of Valentine’s day I decided to borrow it from her 🙂   

  1. How long have you and your significant other been together?  7 and a half years and counting!

2.  How’d you meet (What’s your “love” story?)  My best friend and I were trying to decide whether we were going to move  here or to Atlanta after we graduated from College in 2004 and we were in town visiting for a weekend in May.  We went to a friend of a friends house to “pre-game” (they knew each other from OU) and Carly and I were just hanging out talking on the porch when in walked this tall, dark and handsome man (solo may I add) who didn’t even stop to say hello or introduce himself, rather just beelined into the apartment and sat down at a table in the back with his buddy.  I immediately thought he was rude and unfriendly and really didn’t think about him again until we got to the bar and all of a sudden his liquid courage settled in and he offered to buy us shots, and beers, and probably a few more shots 😉  After we had a few drinks he finally came up to me and introduced himself and we hit it off.  We danced at Buckhead and talked and then walked back to our friends apartment together because the cab was full , and had our first kiss at a crosswalk.  We hung out for the remainder of the night and exchanged numbers but he didn’t call….for a while.  Actually he accidently called me (when he meant to call his friend Jim one night several weeks later) apparently our names were next to eachother in his phone book.  He was slightly intoxicated and swore he tried texting me a few times before (but I didn’t have texting on my phone yet so I never knew)  However he called the following day…sober 🙂 and we began our courtship over the phone and internet. Carly and I decided that Charlotte was going to be the place for us and the Friday after I moved (August 20, 2004) Dan and I had a date set up.  He brought me a bottle of wine (which had never happened to me before) and took me to a restaurant uptown called Harry and Jean’s.  We had a very nice dinner and he dropped me off afterwards.  He was to meet up with his friends and Carly and I were headed out as well.  We ended meeting back up later that night and the rest is History!

I remember Carly being so bummed because we were new to the city and hoping to have a while of being single together and lots of time to meet and date different guys but Dan wowed me in every way possible and I was smitten immediately! 

3.  If married…How long have you been married?  We celebrated 2 years of marriage this past September 5th

4.  Where did you get married?  Big or small wedding?  We got married in Willoughby Hills, Ohio at Manakiki Country Club on Saturday September 5th 2009.  It was a pretty big wedding with about 235 people and a picture perfect day

5.  Do you have any nicknames for eachother?  He sometimes calls me QT, I call him babe

6.  Name 3 things you love about your honey.  It’s hard to pick only 3 but He is one of the hardest working men I’ve ever met in my life.  He does so much to make sure our family has everything we need and that Garrett and I are taken care of.  He’s extremely intelligent.  So much so that he’s earned the nickname Ernie from several of our friends 🙂 He knows so much about so many things and if he doesn’t know the answer to a question he reads until he figures it out. I learn from him every day.  He’s an AMAZING father.  Honestly before we had Garrett I had never really seen him around babies, so I didn’t know what to expect, although I had no doubt he’d be great.  He’s patient, and caring, and loving and he is as amazed by our little man as I am.  I couldn’t ask for a better husband or father to our son.

7.  Tell us how he proposed.  Dan is anything but cliche so when he proposed to me on Valentines Day 2009 I was completely shocked.  We had been dating for 4.5 years before he popped the question but lived together for 3.5 and I wanted it to happen and thought it would at some point…I just didn’t know when and I was getting a little antsy 😉  One of our favorite things to this day is to cook together and drink a great bottle of wine.  He’s an amazing cook and we had a very nice bottle of wine that we’d had for 3 years but were “saving” for a special occasion.  I didn’t even know he’d taken it from our wine rack on Valentines Day when we both set out to run a few errands.  We said no gifts so when he handed me a box before dinner I was a little perturbed.  He insisted that I open it before we ate so I obliged.  It was a box from Crate and Barrel and inside of it there was a wine decantuer (which we actually needed) so I wasn’t too bothered anymore.  However, next to the decanteur was a bottle wrapped in tissue paper.  It was our “special” bottle.  A 1998 Bottle of Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon and when I turned around he was down on his knee in our dining room and asked me to marry him ❤

 

 

 

8.  Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?  More of a card and nice dinner kind of a guy although he likes to change it up here and there 🙂

9.  Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?  Definitely have the opportunity to be the pop in a movie and relax on the couch more than a sunset dinner on the beach.  Not to say I don’t enjoy both 🙂

10. Tell us one thing you’d like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?  So much.  Raise our family and put them through college, and travel as much as possible.  I’d like to take our family to Germany one day

11.  Tell us what you plan on doing for Valentine’s Day.  Cooking dinner, putting our baby to bed, and relaxing with a glass of wine by the fire.

12.  Are you asking for anything this Valentine’s Day?  Nope, I have everything I could possibly wish for!

13. Give us one piece of advice for keeping a relationship strong and full of love.  Don’t forget to put yourselves first, take time to talk and make sure you are on the same page.  Dream together, work as a team and love unconditionally

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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by Jenny on February 14, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Holidays, Life

Posted by Jenny on February 14, 2012

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2012/02/14/the-story-of-us/

So Much to be Thankful For!

I realize this is a little late in coming but I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday filled with lots of great food and spent with the people who mean the most to you.  I also hope you took some time to reflect on some of the things you are most Thankful for.  I have several but here are a few.

My amazing husband who works hard to put a roof over our head, food on our table, and a safe place for our perfect little Angel to grow

My parents, and my hubby again 🙂

Our sweet boy who has made our world so much better : )

I am so Thankful for all that I have and I count my blessing every day.

We had a smaller Thanksgiving this year (we are used to cooking for what seems like several ppl every year) but it was nice to only have to prepare for 5 and really get to spend some quality time together.  My parents came down from Ohio, and my brother came up from the city too.  As usual…we indulged in some delicious food and may have over-eaten just a little bit!

Stuffed : )

Friday morning a family tradition lived on as my Mom and I braved the crowds and shopped on Black Friday while Daddy and Grampa Paul watched Garrett

Showing Grandpa how I roll

and Saturday we picked out our Christmas tree and decorated the house (one of my all time favorite things : )

New Things!

I absolutely Love the Holiday Season and I always try to enjoy every minute because it seems to pass by too quickly every year, so….I like to get a jump start : )

Our baby also turned 5 Months old on Thanksgiving Day but I will devote another post to that so this one doesn’t run on for too long!

Have a Great Evening!!

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by Jenny on November 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Holidays, Life
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Posted by Jenny on November 29, 2011

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2011/11/29/so-much-to-be-thankful-for/

Typical Weekend…Brewton Style

Everyone says that when you have a baby your life changes, and I 100% agree with this statement; life is different.  Everything takes longer, and spontaneity pretty much goes out the window(at least right now it does.)  We have to plan everything, and then adjust our plans if Garret decides to throw us for a schedule loop.  And although our son (and our little family) play the most important part in our life we don’t want to let go of the things that we have always loved to do.

There are a few things that are pretty common around our household on the weekends.  We always do some things around the house but this weekend was extra special because our new dining room set was delivered!  Mind you, my china cabinet is still sparse because I haven’t put our dishes in yet, and our chandelier still needs to be lowered : )

Yay!!

We  enjoy spending time outside, by the lake!

One of our family photos taken by http://www.photographsbyandrea.com

And taking our dogs up to our dock so they can play catch with Dad.  (Garrett hangs out in his Baby Bjorn and we walk around and sometimes take pictures)

Ready

Set

 Go
 
 

 Repeat

We also love to entertain!  We do it as often as possible and that usually means I get to bake : )

Saturday evening we had some friends and their son over, but I had a busy day and didn’t have time to bake anything homemade so I bought some chocolate chunk cookie mix, that took 5 minutes to throw together, and called it a day.  Not homemade, but still made the house smell delicious!  Now Sunday is a different story, but more on Sunday’s dessert next time.

It is late and this Mommy needs to get to bed!

 

What are some of your favorite weekend activities?

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by Jenny on November 7, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Uncategorized

Posted by Jenny on November 7, 2011

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2011/11/07/typical-weekend-brewton-style/

Our Baby Cakes is 4 Months Old!!!!

One year ago on the 22nd of October, I found out that I was pregnant…and as of the 24th our Baby is 4 months old!!!  I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by and I am doing everything I can to treasure every moment with him.  Looking back on pictures, he hardly even looks like the same little baby we brought home from the hospital in June.  He’s grown so much and is able to do so many things now, and I swear he woke up this morning and looked different than he did yesterday!  It really is bittersweet, and in some ways you wish they could stay that small forever, but in other ways there is so much to look forward to and it’s such an exciting time in his life.

2 Days Old

4 Months Old

We’ve really been enjoying the cooler fall weather for so many reasons.  It’s one of my favorite seasons because of the temperate weather, the beautiful colors, the tasty beers, and Thanksgiving : )  I also love it because when we do our daily 3 mile walk with the buddies a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt with a light weight sweatshirt are the perfect clothes, and I’m not covered in sweat mid-way through!

We Love our Walks!

We had our 4 month well check this morning and the Doctor says that Garrett continues to be a very healthy little boy.  He eats about 4.5-5oz every 3 hours and naps consistently 3 times a day.  I’ve been working on his daily schedule and it finally seems to be paying off though it’s never spot on.  But I believe that being flexible is key to his routine.  We do what works best for us, and it seems to be going really well!

This rolling stuff isn't so bad once you get the hang of it!Look how big I am!

Here are his monthly stats as well as the milestones he’s accomplished (or working on accomplishing : )

  • Sleeps 7 or more hours straight every night
  • If he eats in the middle of the night, it’s only one time right around 4 a.m. and he is changed, fed, and back to sleep in about 15 minutes then sleeps another 3-4 hours
  • Rolls from his tummy to his back with ease
  • Rolls from his back to his tummy occasionally
  • Holds his head up for extended periods of time
  • Reaches for and grasps objects then brings them to his mouth(especially his fingers)

    yummy!

  • Follows objects and sounds
  • Starting to take interest in the Dogs
  • Talks ALL of the time
  • Smiles and laughs in response to lots of different things
  • Makes Dan and I smile and laugh several times a day : )

    Handsome little man!

We are so blessed to have such a perfect little man and we are so proud of him!

*I’m hoping to blog about some recipes I attempt to bake in the near future.  Just have to figure out when I can squeeze in time to bake with this little monkey who requires sooo much attention : )

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by Jenny on October 24, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Baby Cakes, Family, Life
Tagged , , ,

Posted by Jenny on October 24, 2011

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2011/10/24/hello-world/

My Floating Weekend

A Slightly Different Summer

So I’m almost 35 weeks pregnant, and it’s been in the upper 80’s to low 90’s for the past few days.  My feet are swelling up to what my lovely younger brother called “Nutty Professor” size, and Baby Garrett is about 20 inches long now and weighs about 5.5 lbs.  There isn’t much I can do to feel comfortable, but floating is NOT one of those things.  We’re lucky to own a boat and live so close to Lake Norman, and for the past 4 summers have spent a great deal of time on the lake.  Now I can’t exactly say that my boating days are what they used to be, and it’s hard for me to have to ask to slow down so I’m not wincing in pain or feeling like I’ve got to pee ( I don’t like feeling like a burden, and not being able to do the things we normally do.) We spend more time idling than cruising and I’m doing much more floating than swimming. Yep, that’s me attempting to tan my big ol’ belly while floating away off the back of the boat, pretty funny….I know.

 I can’t slap a refreshing Bud Light Lime in a coozie and sip to my hearts content for obvious reasons, actually I can’t even imagine sipping a BLL with the heartburn I’ve been experiencing lately but hopefully soon heartburn will be a thing of the past and I will once again be able to enjoy a nice cold one with friends…until then…I will embrace these last few uncomfortable weeks…

Enjoy the beautiful scenery…
…and dream about the day when we get to take our little man out for picture perfect evenings like this : )
I have my 35 week check up tomorrow morning so I will post an update afterwards!  Have a Great Day!
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by Jenny on May 24, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Life, Pregnancy, Uncategorized

Posted by Jenny on May 24, 2011

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2011/05/24/my-floating-weekend/

Ohio Baby Shower

Garrett Paul Brewton

On Thursday, May 5th, we had our first baby shower!!!  My Mom, My Mother-in-Law Lynn, and my Sister-in-law Amanda worked together to plan it, and they did a Great Job!!!  When talking to my Mom about the shower a few months ago we decided that we would try a Thursday evening shower rather than a Saturday shower for a few reasons.  One, it was Mother’s Day Weekend, and two, we liked the idea of having more of a “Baby Shower/Social Gathering” rather than a straight up Baby Shower.  Don’t get me wrong, the Baby Showerness wasn’t played down at all, but we put our own twist on it, and I’m very happy with the way it turned out. 

The shower was held at my Grandparent’s old home which happens to be on top of the funeral home they started, but it was not morbid in any sense at all.  I have some very fond memories of that house because it’s where my Dad grew up and it’s also where we spent almost every Sunday and several other days/holidays throughout the year, growing up.  As a child, it was one of my most favorite places in the world so you can imagine how special it was to have it there.  The Brunner’s have since transformed the “house part” into a party center, and it looks fantastic!  There was plenty of space for all of the guests to mingle and relax, and honestly, you wouldn’t even know that it is on top of a funeral home if you didn’t have the giant sign out front : )

My Mom and I spent a little bit of time earlier in the day checking out the space and adding a few decorations…

Mommy is going to make a scrap book for me!

…while Amanda picked up the yummy cupcakes and Dan then spent some time with Lynn as well. 

Delicious and Adorable Cupcakes!

When they got to the party place, they added a few special touches of their own, Gramma Marge hand-made all of the favors.  She’s so crafty!

Gramma Marge’s Masterpiece : )

and then it was time for the guest to begin arriving! But not before we got a shot of the fam!

Gramma Lynn, Great Grandma Ruth, Mommy, and Aunt Mandy

Like I said, we decided to add our own little flare to the Baby Shower to allow everyone to interact as much as possible, so rather than opening gifts after everyone ate and towards the end of the shower, we set up more of a receiving line type thing where I was positioned at a table in the back of the main room and as everyone came in they formed a line and I got to say hello, open their present, chat a little bit and then display their gift on a giant table beside me, for everyone to see! 

Happy as Can Be!

My Mom was positioned towards the front of the line to welcome the guests and Lynn and Amanda were at the end of the line greeting guests and keeping the gifts organized and looking pretty!  This is what it looked like after everyone had been through!  Garrett got lots of Goodies and I can’t wait to get everything organized and set up this week!

Lots of Goodies!

Since the gift part usually takes up a good bit of time, especially when you have 50+ guests this worked out really well for us.  After everyone went thought the line and gave their gift, they got a drink and some food and sat down and enjoyed each other’s company, and they were free to leave when they needed to.  It worked out really well, and it gave me and Dan the opportunity to walk around and talk with all of our guests for the remainder of the evening.  We had lots of family and good friends celebrate with us, and our evening was very special!  Thanks to everyone who made it : )

Aunt Mandy, Daddy, and Gramma Lynn
The Robare’ cousins!  Do you think Garrett will be tall????
Mommy and Daddy to Be : )
Madison Clan!
The Brunner Cousins

So…..as you can see, we got to spend a lot of time with our guests and really couldn’t be happier with the way everything turned out!  Garrett is so very loved already and we’ve still got about 7 more weeks until we  actually get to meet him!  He is already such a blessing to us, and we can’t wait to start our family together!

Check it out……His Daddy is already a natural : )

Daddy and Julien!

Thank you Melissa and Sarah for letting him practice with your adorable son Julien : )  We hope our little man is as handsome as yours!

Somehow, my Mom managed to not make it in a single picture!!!!  Don’t worry Mom, we’ll get you next weekend at my Charlotte Shower : )


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by Jenny on May 8, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Holidays, Pregnancy, Uncategorized

Posted by Jenny on May 8, 2011

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2011/05/08/ohio-baby-shower/

Easter and Vacation in Florida!

Me and my Handsome Hubby : )

          One Last Hurrah!
Dan and I left on Friday morning for Florida.  We flew into Pensacola to spend Easter with the Brewton’s and we had a Great time!  It was 80+ degrees and Sunny every day so our weather was perfect!  We spent a lot of time in the sun by the pool and we got a little bit of beach time as well.  I worked on tanning my big belly and also figured out a way to tan my back!  A raft with a mesh middle or an inner tube work wonders.  So even though I spent a lot more time on my back then my belly, I was able to even everything out at least a little bit. 

I always forget how important it is to get away from home with your significant other every once in a while, even if it is only for a few days.  I feel that at least in our case, it allows us to re-focus on each other, and rather than finding things to keep us busy around our own house, it gives us the opportunity to talk and spend time with one another.  It was just what we needed before Baby Garrett gets here in 9 more weeks!

I took a lot of pictures, so here a few that sum up our weekend!
Walking along Johnson’s Beach in Pensacola

Major Boy!
Otto obsessing over his rings
Otto is Dan’s parent’s Weimaraner, and he is AMAZING in the water!  His favorite pool toy is his rings, and he loves to have you throw them in the pool so he can go and dive for them.  Seriously, he is the only dog I’ve ever known who can literally dive under the water and pick up his rings from the bottom of the pool.  I haven’t figured out how to upload a video just yet, but as soon as I do I will post for everyone to see!  

My favorite spot for the weekend!

Lynn, Amanda, and Dan
Happy Camper! I really hope Garrett gets his Daddy’s dimples : )
On top of all of the relaxing we did, Baby Garrett got a few presents from a good friend of the family’s, Carla, and Grandma Lynn!  Carla lives across the street from Lynn and Rich, and she knitted Garrett a Beautiful Blanket, Booties, Hat, and Sweater!  I am so excited that he will have some authentically hand made things!  Look how cute!!!!
Grandma Lynn also gave us a few things for Garrett.  This one is my favorites : )
Love it!

His first pair of deck shoes!

All of his gifts

And also a favorite!

Would you believe that this was actually Dan’s when he was a baby!  We can’t wait til we have a 70’s themed party to dress him up and take him to!

 I know there are a lot of pictures in this post, but I was really excited to share with you all!  Garrett is already one of the most loved people in this world and I’m so excited to introduce him to his wonderful family!  
So we had a warm and wonderful weekend and I cannot wait until we get to take future family vacations to the beach!  I have a Dr’s appointment tomorrow, so I will do an update post afterwards!  I have a feeling this whole not working thing is going to make me want to blog a bit more : )  I can’t help it, I’m just so excited for him to get here!!!!!  Come on Baby Garrett!  Momma can’t wait to meet you! 
Until tomorrow…
 Have a Great Evening!
2 Comments
by Jenny on April 26, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Holidays, Pregnancy, Uncategorized

Posted by Jenny on April 26, 2011

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2011/04/26/easter-and-vacation-in-florida/

Christmas and the Big Announcement

Since having my 12 week appointment the previous week and getting out of the first trimester, my chances of having another miscarriage greatly decreased and I really got the ok from the Dr. that it was in fact “safe” to tell people. Dan and I had a White Elephant party at our house the week before Christmas and we had a really nice time. We had about 30 friends over and we were finally able to tell everyone that we were in fact expecting! Some people already knew, some had their suspicions, and some had no idea at all so it was very exciting, and everyone was really happy for us!

Friends!!
Santa Dan and I at our party!
The following week we headed up to Ohio with the dogs to spend Christmas at my parents house and I decided that it was time to share our news with everyone. I was pretty much bursting at the seams, and I had been finding out that more and more of my friends were pregnant and some were having their babies that I just wanted to be able to talk about it with everyone. So I made the Big Announcement to the facebook world on Christmas Eve and it felt so good to have it out there. Now I could talk to friends, and ask questions, and be excited with everyone I knew!
                    megaphone                               

Christmas Eve was spent with my family and some very good family friends of ours in Madison. We had our traditional fondue, baked potatoes, salad, and bread with lots of yummy desserts and Midnight Mass to top it all off. I was exhausted by the time we got home and I slept like a baby.

My Family : )

Christmas morning we opened presents at my parents house and then headed out to Mayfield to spend some time with Dan’s family at his Grandma’s place, and then had Christmas Dinner back at my parents house. It was a busy day and I was struggling towards the end of the night but it was totally worth it : )
The following day, Dan braved the cold and snow at the Brown’s tailgate with my brother and Dad and some friends, and I relaxed before heading out to my Aunt Martha’s house for the Extended Brunner Family party. It’s always so nice to see my Aunt’s and Uncle’s and Cousins, and unfortunately for some of them, it’s the only time I get to see them in a year. I had wonderful news to share with everyone and it was great to get to talk with everyone about our Baby! It’s amazing to have such a big support system and to know how loved we are, and sometimes I forget how blessed we really are. This is going to be the most loved and spoiled baby that every walked the face of the earth : )

                                        

We headed back to NC on Monday and flew to Pensacola on Tuesday to spend some time at Dan’s parents house and have our Christmas there. We shopped and ate and relaxed for 4 days and it was exactly what we needed after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Dan and I walked to beach a few times, we watched movies, and we just spent time with his parents. Definitely a great way to end our break. So…although it was a very busy Christmas/New Years, it was worth every minute!
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by Jenny on January 16, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Holidays, Life, Pregnancy, Uncategorized

Posted by Jenny on January 16, 2011

https://sweetbakesandbabycakes.com/2011/01/16/christmas-and-the-big-announcement/

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