Want a ride?

Tyler got this fun four wheeler when he was two and could barely reach the peddle to make it go. Now he is a pro and Dylan has gotten tired of just watching him, so Tyler now gives rides. Come on down and he will give you a cruise around our yard.

Hope you had a Happy Valentines Day

Here is my sad attempt to get my kids to take a cute Valentine picture together. Tyler has always been good at sitting still and posing for a picture, but Dylan doesn't care so much, therefore Tyler is trying to force him. Good Times!

Dylan Thoughts

Dylan thoughts...What else can I pull down off the table? Oh man... that cup is just to far away.

Lately when Tyler forgets to take his dishes to the sink Dylan has found it the best opportunity to chow down a little more. This kid loves to eat and he doesn't care if it is soggy or off the floor. It is driving me crazy. I guess I should be a better mother and pay more attention, but he is getting so fast.

Look how proud of himself he is. I guess I just need to work on getting him better at the clean up. LOL He always also seem to get so dirty after I just get him ready for the day in the last clean shirt. I think kids have radar for this.

Dylan thoughts... This is the last clean shirt and pants mom has for me. I know this because I picked all the dirty clothes out of the hamper and threw them all over the floor and around the house just a few minutes ago. Let see what she is going to do now!

Texas Vote!

For some reason Texas is deciding again to change the license plate. I swear just a couple years ago they changed it to have all the little outlines on bottom and sky scene on top. Anyway, I am one of the few who voted to just leave it the same. Go here to make your voice count for something http://apps.dot.state.tx.us/services/vehicle_titles_and_registration/vote_plate.htm

Wipe out

These pictures are from Christmas, but I thought they were definitely worth sharing. This is Tyler on Christmas day with his new scooter that he loves.

He wanted to go down this small hill and totally wiped out. The picture is a little blurry, but a great shot of the wipe out. He did hop right back on, but didn't want to go down the hill again. I don't blame him, he was going pretty fast.

Toilet Time

What do you do when you have a 3 year old who is becoming more independent, thankfully, going to the bathroom alone, but have a 1 year old that thinks the toilet is just a fun splash pool? Arg! This is a favorite thing for all babies right? For a while I just always made sure that the lid was down, training Tyler and Jeff to do this took some time, but now Dylan has figured that out. So just train them to shut the bathroom door? Right. Easier said than done with a 3 year old. He is so good at going all by himself and not screaming for help anymore and I know that I don't have to check on him. The problem is Dylan has this sense that he knows when you are heading for the bathroom and Tyler is a much better target to forget about the lid down and dragging Dylan out to shut the door so he can't have so much joy in splashing around and throwing things in... It is actually almost funny how much he enjoys it. If it weren't gross and I didn't have to stop it immediately I would probably take video of him smiling and giggling away splashing my, now old, hair brush around in the two inches of water. Hopefully this is a faze, something I never had to do with Tyler cause the door was shut all the times, but it is killing me. Also, he is getting fast. "Tyler, where is Dylan? Did you shut the bathroom door?" Running.... "Dylan NOOOOO!" Favorite roller clips all dumped in, now boiling to sanitize. Oh, and can I say how much I hate reaching my hand in the toilet to fish things out, even when I know that I just cleaned it. Still yucky. Maybe I just need to teach him that if you put it in there you have to take it out. :) Yeah right. Sad sad times.

George Strait and Texas

Jeff and I went and saw George Strait last night. Never seen so many wranglers, hats and boots in one place. IT WAS WONDERFUL! I love him. Something about a man in cowboy boots, hat and tight wranglers singing just to you, okay... well thousands. And there is something about that smile.... We got home after midnight, but all I wanted to do was put in Pure Country (if you haven't seen this movie I am going to cry) and fall asleep watching him. We didn't take a camera, and I am pretty sick, but it was still the best night of the year so far. It was fun because George Strait is totally Texas. For many of you who have not been to Texas there is something here called Texas Pride. It is like something I have never seen before. How many of you fly your state flag in front of your house? I don't recall growing up seeing one Washington state flag outside anyones house. Here in Texas though, the flag flys hand in hand with the American flag. People from here love it here and never plan on leaving. It also seems that after you have been here a while (8 or so years) you start feeling these Texas Pride feelings and all of a sudden find yourself with Texas flag in hand. In the words of Tyler and a whole stadium of George Strait fans "GO TEXAS!"

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone has a great new year!

We wish you all the very best for 2008!

Christmas

We visited my Grandparents in Nashville for Christmas. My parents met us there and we had a great time.

All Tyler asked Santa for was a "BuzzLightyear and a shooting gun" He must have been a really good boy this year because he got both and couldn't have been a happier. G & G got him a scooter with helmet and pads we took it to the park and tested it out, but I don't have any pics of the major wipe out. When I get it I will add it in. You may think I am a bad parent, but in the picture he is in mid air coming down a hill, really quite the shot, and worth sharing. Notice the gun on the back of the scooter, he didn't want to let it go.

Dylan loved the scooter too. He also looked really cute getting ready for the park in his new winter hat from GP.

These are all the pictures I had on my camera. Jeff needs to download his and then I will get some from my dad and put more up. We hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Trail of Lights

Last night we went with our good friend Cameron Scott to the Trail of Lights! Every year at Zilker Park here in Austin they close the road through the park and light it up. This was the first year we have taken the kids and all Tyler could say was "oh my gosh!" It really was better than I remembered and it was the perfect night to be there, 70 degrees outside. They also have this huge tree made of lights. The lights spiral up and when you stand under it and spin looking up the lights move. Watching everyone under the tree hold hands and spin around is almost more fun than doing it. Tyler wasn't a huge fan of doing it, but really liked watching the other people and just being under this huge tree.

Cameron is Tyler's 3rd best friend. We love Cameron!

We also saw Santa there. You can see that it didn't go so well for poor Dylan, maybe next year. Tyler was happy though and told him everything he wants, a Buzzlightyear and a shooting gun. Cameron got an even better pic of this, with Dylans arms out stretched for Jeff who is to the side and Tyler making a really funny face.

"You're going to go blind!"

This is Tylers new favorite way to watch TV. It drives me crazy! I leave him on the couch and two seconds later when I get back he is a foot away from it. ARGH!!! I tell him he is going to go blind which then he replys with "why?" and it turns into a 5 minute conversation with me making most of it up, and putting him back on the couch. I hate saying this, the first time I had flash backs to my childhood. It was like the first time I said "because I said so" which I hate saying, and feeling really old and very parentee. It is just one of those phrases that I swore as a child I would never say to my kids. What do you do? I guess turn off the TV completly and no more watching until he can do it properly sitting a good distance from it. Sometimes I hate being the grown up.

Waiting...

Tyler runs inside and gets his chair and plants himself in the driveway. Me- "Tyler, what are you doing?" Tyler- "Waiting for Santa!" At playgroup the other day we made Magical Christmas Dust (uncooked oatmeal and glitter). You aren't suppose to put it out until Christmas Eve, but Tyler wouldn't leave me alone about it so we did it early. Now all we can do is wait.

What year are you?

I don't think I want to be 12 again, but maybe at 27 it would be fun.

You Belong in 1992

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

No more mullet

Jeff has wanted to cut Dylans hair for a while now and I have refused. I finally told him that after he turned one I would take him. Well, the time came, and I agreed it really did need to be cut. A few weeks ago Dylan was crawling around and I realized my baby had a mullet. You all have probably notice too, that he has crazy hair on top. He actually has a cowlick in the back that forces his hair to stick up and unaturally go the wrong direction. Everyone goes on and on about how cute it is and it looks like he has static in his hair all the time, but he is getting older and it was time to bite the bullet and get it cut. The poor kid has serious hair issues and we can only hope that the crazy bed head look sticks around for a while. He was really good at the hair cut place and sat all by himself and let the lady cut away, unlike when we took Tyler for his first hair cut and Jeff had to hold him down screaming and crying while the lady worked as fast as she could to cut something. It is so funny how different there personalities are.

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Today was Dylan's first birthday. Poor baby has had a rough day though. He woke up with a 102 degree fever and just wanted to be held. He slept most of the day but by the time Jeff got home for our little family party he was doing a little better. At least well enough to eat cake and play with some presents. Tyler and I made the fish cake or shark if you have an imagination like Tyler's.

When Tyler turned one he got his yellow riding dump truck and Dylan loves it. It is usually a cause of fighting between the two of them, but not anymore. Dylan's is a fire truck and when he saw it he lit up and didn't see anything else. They are both happy and had lots of fun riding together. Thank you G & G D!

Baby Dylan '06

We are so thankful that one year ago little Dylan joined our family. He is a sweet little boy and has grown so fast, we can't believe a whole year has past. He is such a blessing to us and brings so much joy to our lives.

"I Love You Through And Through," thank you G P!

Baby Kisses

Candy

I have been trying really hard to control Tyler's candy consumption. Since he is a "Big Kid" he thinks that means he gets all he wants whenever he wants it. I have tried hiding, fighting, wrestling, chasing, and the sneaky kid still seems to find it. I am now in, the just leave it out and he will begin to get bored with it, we'll see. This is what he did while I was in the shower the other day. I couldn't believe he fell asleep. Notice the chocolate melted on the couch too. I didn't find the rest of that so I am hopeful that he actually ate it. This kid cracks me up!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Carving Pumpkins & Great Hair

We carved pumkins for FHE. I love carving pumpkins! Thank goodness I do because I was the only one doing it. Jeff had to work late and once Tyler saw the inside he wanted no part of it. I thought I did a good job and the three year old agreed. I only know how to do faces and happy ones at that. I have also decided that I love Fall. I love that it is finally cooling down (mid to high 70's), the leaves are falling, and the Holidays are coming. Did I mention it is finally cooling down, which also means humidity is gone and I am having great hair days. I love the fall and winter just so that I can have good hair here in Texas. I love using my rollers and having good volume and bounce through out the day. It just make me feel good. WOOHOO for Fall, Carving Pumpkins, and Great Hair!!!!

Halloween Parties

We had our Ward party on Friday night. Cake walk, games, haunted house, and of course trunk or treat. Our trunk got second place, you can never go wrong with lots of lights. The first picture is of Tyler and his best friend Jaeden. They are so cute.

We also had our neighborhood Halloween party on Saturday afternoon. This the only picture that I got. I actually joined the neighborhood social commitee and have been helping out with the events. It has been fun getting to know the neighbors and plan parties.