Me & My Boys

Back To School

2011-09-14T09:48:00.001-07:00

We are back to school and loving it! Both Colby and Brody love school so much.

Colby loves having a routine and keeping track of his schedule all day. He has his day planned down to the minute. Routine and rigid schedules are comforting to him and we have learned this summer that Colby loves to check the clock. He has me on a schedule. He will even tell me when I need to start preparing dinner. I just bought him a "silly band" watch, and he has loved wearing it. He will say, "mom it's 7:07, 23 more minutes until I get to leave, or mom it's 4:24 - 36 more minutes till dinner time..you should probably start dinner."

I can't believe how grown up Brody looks in this picture. He loves his school. He is our social butterfly for sure! Where Colby loves school because he loves to do school work, Brody loves school because he loves people and "friends." We started at one school that just wasn't right, but now have settled at a great school. Discovery Day (at the Episcopal church up the road). He only has 7 kids in his class, and Mrs. Longo his teacher is incredible! He goes three days a week - for a long time (8:30-2:30), and even though I miss him; it it is perfect for him. We are so proud of Brody. He needed to be potty trained for school, and he did it! In less than a week! He has only had 2 accidents and they were now more than a week ago!! I am so glad not to have 2 in diapers anymore! We are hoping for a fantastic school year!

Big Stuff

2011-09-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Brody turned 3 this August, but has been "big" for quite a while now. He gets really angry if you call him "little" and don't ever, ever say b-a-b-y. He is NOT the b-a-b-y anymore. We just won't tell him he will always be my baby no matter how big he gets!

Poor Brody has gotten the shaft 2 years in a row. His birthdays, because of the move last year, and this year because of Kellan have been pretty low key. Thankfully Brody is such an easy going sweet boy - he doesn't expect more or know any different.

This year we started off his birthday celebration with a few presents as soon as he woke up. Then I went on the adventure of a lifetime and embarked on my first journey out of the house with all 3 - alone. I am happy to report, I survived and so did the kids. We went to "Hoppin House" and Brody and Colby bounced, climbed, hopped, and slid until they couldn't anymore. Then afterward I took them to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. I tried to take some pictures at the "Hoppin House" but between holding baby and my phone freezing every 3 seconds...nothing really turned out.

Matt brought home Rudy's (BBQ) for dinner and then we went to Dairy Queen for birthday ice cream!

As you can see Brody is in full on Ham mode. This is my Brody. He is our socialite, totally silly, and loud, very loud! We love him so very much!

A few days after Brody's birthday we had a party. We just invited a few neighbors and friends and watched RIO in the backyard. Brody picked out a batman cake, and we had popcorn and way too much candy. Brody was so excited! He had the best time.

Some things we absolutely love that Brody says right now (justice can't be done unless you hear his sweet little voice and inflection...but I don't want to forget it):

"Watch this...hurry...your gonna miss it"

"That's a good ideal (idea)"

"What the heck!"

"I told you"

"Whatever"

"Smarshmellow" (marshmallow)

"Tis-morning" (this morning)

Brody still is in love with his "bear bears" -he strokes the tags on the back of the bear to fall asleep.

His favorite things to play with right now are cars, guns, balls, and his dog Benji.

He is still a really picky eater - no vegetables at all really -but his favorite foods are of course all junk - pepperoni, most any cracker or carb, chocolate, Rudy's BBQ, smarshmallows, french fries, and macaroni & cheese.

Favorite color - blue

Favorite Tv Shows - America's Got Talent, America's Funniest Home Videos, Tom & Jerry

Happy Birthday Brody! We love you!

Benji

2011-09-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

Our little puppy has grown into a very large puppy! Now weighing 68lbs at 7 months.

He is still truly a puppy. Eating and Chewing everything he can sink his teeth into. He really has been a Marley at times. No joke...maybe worse :) But the fun we are having with him is worth all that. Maybe. Don't let me think about that too long.

Here he is in all his lanky glory about a month ago. Now he is totally filling out and we are beginning to see his beautiful form we searched so long and hard for when we were looking at breeders. He loves to chase and play with the boys, and they love to play with him and give him treats.

Weekend before last we ventured out to the pond for the first time. The times I have gotten out the hose, he has been deathly afraid of the water, and I was bound and determined to have a lab that loves water...what lab doesn't, right? It was a perfect morning. When we got to the pond we happened to meet another lab "Boss" there who was able to show Benji the ropes, and teach him a thing or two about who really is boss...which was perfect for our "energetic" puppy who still needs to learn his manners.

He took right to swimming, and fetching and we have been back several times with the boys.

2 Months

2011-09-06T11:04:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that my precious baby is 2 months old. Our house had a revolving door of guests from the week before Kellan was born until he was almost 6 weeks old. At times it was a little chaotic, but I am so glad that everyone got to meet him and love on him a little. Michelle and Mom came at the end of July when he was about a month old.

Mel, was really the first one to hold him "so long." He was such a sleepy baby the first 3 weeks, we didn't hold him all that much, because he was happy to be laid down and sleep for several hours.

Colby and Brody have been the best big brothers. Colby especially has been such a helper, and is so interested in his new brother. He loves to help with diaper changes.

By the time my mama got here, he was nearly 4 weeks old, and he was beginning to show the signs of a true Greenwald baby - what I mean is - all my babies have had their fair share of difficulties as little ones, and he was now no exception (darn it). He loved my mama though, and she new just how to hold him and get him to sleep. It was so good to have our Gram here!

Colby and Brody both think that giving him a bath is the coolest thing! They both loved to help wash him with the wash cloth, and the minute he peed in the tub - it was mayhem. We got a major case of the sillys- gotta love boys!

Brody has been a very sweet big brother. He has gone through a little bit of a rough time adjusting to new baby, but he really has worked most of that out now. I love this picture. Even though you can barely see Brody - you can see they are both smiling- at each other.

This is our sweet boy truly 2 months old.

Where does the time go? With Brody and Colby now in school, it is really strange just me and baby - all alone - kind of nice - but I can't help but feel something is missing. I am reminded of Pres. Monson's conference talk where he talks about children growing up and leaving the house, and how all too soon we will dearly miss the things that might have been challenging in the raising of our children. I do...I already feel it...time goes by too quickly.

Even though time has slipped away, the days have really seemed so long at times. I am trying my absolute best to cherish each moment, and be grateful for the gift of family and motherhood.

It is truly a blessing.

Welcome Little One

2011-09-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

"On the day you were born it was love at first sight. I welcomed you, little one, and held you so tight.

My heart simply grew bigger in size, the first time I looked into your sweet eyes.

Hope and happiness danced in the air. Joy filled my heart and spread everywhere.

I made a promise to you on that very day. This, my precious child, is what I had to say...

I'll cherish the things that are uniquely you- Your talents, your hopes, and your wishes, too.

I'll rock you to sleep as I sing you a song. I'll read you stories as you follow along.

I'll show you the beauty of the stars in the sky. My love will be with you as the years go by.

I'll teach you to see life from different points of view. And be there to help make your dreams come true.

The world became a more wonderful place The moment I saw your beautiful face...

Welcome Little One! -Sandra Magsamen-

I am in love with these pictures and of course my sweet Kellan. It is the first time I have ever had professional pictures taken of my babies, and I owe it all to my dear friend Tara. Thank you so much for this amazing gift, Tara, that I will treasure always! Thank you Mama for this sweet book you gave me!

http://www.foreverblissphotography.com/

The 4th

2011-07-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

Our fourth of July was a simple one. The boys and Matt kicked it off with a bike parade that our neighborhood sponsors. The kids all decorate their bikes/scooter and ride from the welcome center to the rec center with fire truck and police car escorts. Colby and Brody had a lot of fun decorating their bikes and got ribbons for participating. At the rec center they had bounce houses, cotton candy, water games, and all kinds of fun things for the kids to do.

That afternoon Matt's mom (Taya) came in town to meet Kellan and help. It was so great to have her here. I don't know how we forget, but we never get many pictures. This was right after she got here - and we didn't take another picture! How sad is that? We will blame it on sleep deprivation and two other monkeys that never let you rest one minute :)

Thank goodness we bought a bunch of fireworks at New Years and had extra b/c in our county fireworks were completely banned because of the drought. No one even put on shows. So we obeyed the ban mostly - we didn't do our other fireworks, but what would the fourth be without a little sparkle? We had about 20 sparklers- and we used all of them!

A few days after the 4th was my birthday. It was pretty quiet too! That was fine by me - Taya really took care of everything for the boys - so I think I got a couple of naps - got to open all sorts of packages from friends and family and had a nice dinner with everyone that night. Taya even bought me a cake! One little package arrived a month early. It was a great birthday. I have so much to be thankful for!

The Calm Before the Storm?

2011-07-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ha. Before Kellan was born it seemed like we never stopped moving. I remeber thinking - let's just make it through this or that - or finish this project or start that one. It was crazy. And just before he was born - I remember saying several times...I just needed to finish things up so I could have a week or two to rest before he was born. Ha. It seems like even this post is giving me some trouble. I don't have time or energy to fix it either...so you'll have to bear with the few sideways pictures.

In the month of June we did have a great time even though we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. We got to do some pretty fun things - and I am glad...bc now we are stuck at home...so for us the saying should be the "storm before the calm...."

At the beginning of June Intel paid for all of us to go to Schlitterbaun (The world's biggest water park). What a treat. Both boys had a blast. I took our old camera in hopes to get a few pictures, but we were having too much fun, and the camera stopped working about 10 pictures in.

The boys waiting for one of the rides. It was a fun lazy - but bumpy river ride, and I was impressed Brody stayed in his tube. Matt lost his Oakley sunglasses on this ride! Uggh - poor daddy the water always seems to take his nice sunglasses.

I didn't know how long I was going to last here, but despite the weather being pretty miserable at 100 degrees that day, we were nice and cool staying wet all day, and we stayed at the park from about 10am until after 6:00pm.

The following week Matt's parents came in town after we begged them to come before we had baby. Little did we know just a week later he would be born. Colby and Brody got these gigantic teddy bears from Costco. They were so much fun - and bigger than ever once we got them home - we had to take a family picture.

We did lots of fun things with Mimi and Papa - ate out dinner at lots of fun places - went to the movies - got toy prizes at the toy store across from the movie theater - played at the pool - and even went to Sea World San Antonio one day.

Mimi and Papa babysat the boys one night, played games with them, and took them to one of Colby's favorite hamburger places - Mighty Fine. Matt and I got a much needed date night, our last - probably for a long while.

We had a great time at Sea World - but almost melted! It was a very hot and sticky 104 degrees that day! Uggh. I started off in normal clothes but a few hours after we got there I changed into my swim clothes - to hike my big belly around the park!

We got to feed the dolphins. Colby was quite fearful of falling in the water, but managed to get a few touches. Brody on the other hand was fearless on that wall - and even picked up one of the fish to feed to the dolphin. Colby was not afraid of the big rides. He rode one of the big water roller coasters with Matt and had a great time!

Colby and Brody both really loved the water park. Let's face it - we all did since it was so hot - that water was cold and it felt fantastic. There was a nice shady chair that I parked in for a good while and just watched them play. We were having so much fun - we didn't take many pictures - but the boys favorite show was an acrobatic dolphin and beluga whale show.

Sunday on Father's day we gave Matt his presents and had a good lazy Sunday with Matt's parents before they headed back to AZ that evening.

Mike and Matt took a few pictures of everyone.

Just a few days after Mike and Taya left - my dad came into town to help with the baby room and the rest of June - well - it's history I've already shared....

Labor of Love

2011-07-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

Due Date: 7-23-11

Last Doctors Visit: Tuesday 6-21-11 (3cm 50% effaced)

Last Ultrasound : Tuesday 6-21-11

Last visitor: Dad - who thank goodness was still helping us with baby room

Last Project: Baby room: Umm still a work in progress

Last rant at poor Matt: Friday 6/24/11 something like this - "Why does no one understand the urgency of getting this baby room done? If I have to stay up until 3am on Sunday morning this thing is getting done by this weekend - I'm serious. I am having this baby soon."

Last meal: P. Terry's Hamburgers with everyone at 6:30pm.

Last helping hand: 6:45pm - head to Marcie's place to take care of her cat. As we turn down her road (which is a dirt road that is slightly (major understatement) washed out. I turn around and say: " Boy dad, if I want to go into labor all I have to do is come drive down Marcie's street a couple of times" Feed cat. Barely make it to car -tired and having a hard time walking. Sit down and think....uhhh I need to rest...

Car ride home: Contractions begin - one huge one then 7 min apart about a minute plus long. Then by the time we get home 4-5 min apart. Really? No! It can't be!

In denialville: Get the boys ready and down for bed despite everyone saying just sit down - contractions now 2-3 minutes apart - Matt now getting upset with me firmly tells me we need to call the doctor and I need to sit down!

First real panic attack: "I have nothing ready!" The baby room isn't done, the boys have no clean clothes, I have washed nothing for baby, I have no bag packed. This can't be happening right now. Just let me put this load of laundry in the washer -I'll put it on the express cycle - I have nothing for the bag - I need to wash this."

Call doctor 9:20 pm: Who says- you may not have the baby in the car, but if you don't come now you may miss your chance for an epidural. "Oh - well - in that case - let's get to the hospital."

Sit still with Dad Let Matt Pack the Bag : I finally sit still and let Matt pack the bag all the meantime - still thinking - I am not ready yet!

Arrive at the Hospital: We got to the hospital I am totally guessing probably about almost 10pm. Doctor comes in and says she still wants to determine if this is false labor. "What? Are you serious? No - this is it woman - this is my third baby! I know this by now. I am not believing it but I know this is the real deal."

Long Story Short: My water breaks about 11pm. I finally get my epidural about midnight or 1am after waiting on labs and getting more fluids and antibiotics. I am crazy numb in a few minutes - can't move my legs. Labor all night. Don't sleep and haven't progressed passed 4-5cm and 60% effaced. Give me pitocin (lots). I have hard contractions now that I can feel but are not painful. Doc comes in to check me and finds another little bubble of the bag of waters in front of baby's head that is blocking the way. She breaks it. Soon after I get horrific pains with contractions. Baby's heart rate drops significantly. Nurse is trying to figure out what is going on with baby. I am reduced to tears- lots of them - then sobs- as each contraction gets harder and excruciating despite the epidural. Nurse calls doctor. Doctor checks baby and gives the okay for me to have more medicine, but asks, "have you checked her in a while." -"no" says the nurse. Doctor lifts sheets to find baby on its way out with about half the head out. PANIC. Doc runs into the hall to grab anyone out there. Nurse holds head in. It's kind of all a blur from there. All I know is that my sweet baby was delivered on the bed in chaos with me sobbing. Crazy, amazing, and yet, somehow beautiful amid all of it. So don't judge me...In most of these pictures I have been up for over 24 hours - ratty haired, no makeup, in my glasses(can't believe I'm posting those pics), and sometimes not so decently dressed.

Kellan Carter Greenwald

6-25-11 6:43am

6lbs 8 oz 20 in

Just about 45 minutes after Kellan was born - Matt and I totally exhausted - completely in shock, but very, very happy!

Colby and Brody were so cute that first visit. They both just couldn't believe Kellan was out of mommy's tummy. Colby couldn't get enough of holding him, and kept talking about how his head looked like a peach (all fuzzy). Brody takes a few looks now and then, but decided playing with the buttons on the hospital bed was more fun.

My sweet, early, and totally hairy baby boy! He came out with his little faux hawk already done! It stayed that way for several days and then flattened out a little, but as soon as I gave him his bath it popped right back up. It's natural cuteness, what can I say!?

Kellan loves to be swaddled. Loves- it! I'm getting better at turning him into our little burrito. Because he is a "late" preterm infant he has issues with keeping his body temp regulated - this and his little hat help him stay nice and warm.

No one was here that we would have trusted to take our kiddos, much less ask at 10pm to watch them while we headed to the hospital. Our sweet neighbors were out of town, Marcie was out of town, and most of my sweet friends from church were still at girls camp. Luckily Dad had come in to town on Wednesday to help me work on the baby room. His plan was to leave early (really early - like 3am early) on Saturday morning. That all changed Friday night, and I am soooo grateful he was here. Not just because it was convenient and much needed, but b/c the boys were so happy to have their grandpa here to take care of them.

Marcie came to visit as soon as she got home from here fabulous trip to the virgin islands with her boyfriend Kyle.

Grandpa and Kellan.

Finally, all showered Sunday night, and loving every minute with Kellan! I espeically loved all the alone time I got to spend with Matt. It was really nice to just be together with Kellan and have lots of quiet precious moments.

We had to stay and extra day so that they could make sure Kellan was safe to go home. They had to do a car seat study to make sure he could breathe right in his car seat, check his bilirubin several times, monitor blood sugars, and his weight, his feeding patterns, and his temperatures to make sure he would not have to return ( I guess a large number of late preterms end up back in the hospital for all of these things). Anyway - I really was not itching to get home. Since when did the hospital feel like a spa? My hospital was really nice, but it was definitely not a spa. Well, the truth is, I knew what I was going home to. Not that it is bad, its just so nice to have quiet, have someone take the baby at night so you can rest for the 1.5 hours you get to sleep between feedings, and to have someone to remind you to take medicine and rest. Being home now is great, but there are so many easy temptations to work and do, and rest is hard. The boys have been fantastic, but they still require a lot of attention. So as crazy as it sounds-I kind of miss the hospital.

Tuesday 6-28-11 Kellan comes home. The boys came up with Matt to pick me up. Our help was gone, and reality was settling in. I have to admit, I was happy, but a little fearful too. The boys crack me up in these pictures bc they of course are never looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. I love these pictures though even more than if they were perfectly posed.

Hey- look we did get a one of them looking and smiling! Amazing!

Colby took this picture. Pretty good job Colbs!

Ready, set, here we go. Wish us luck!! It's going to be a wild ride, I imagine.

IT's Official...I'm a Bus Driver

2011-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Bye Bye Armada! - As much as I hated it...it was time to say goodbye to this beauty! I seriously loved this car...had no desire to get another one. But...with the baby on the way, we needed a little more space, especially space in the back, and a way for Colby to get into the car on his own without having to fold a seat every time we got in and out. Isn't it funny how we get attached to things like this? It was really weird to let it go after having it just about 6 years.

Hello Suburban. Yikes...is this really what I am driving now? Yep, I am a bus driver...not only because this thing is a beast, but because pretty soon I will be hauling around three rowdy boys.

I do have to admit, I like shiny things :) It is fun to have a new car with all the bells and whistles (especially when your hubby makes deals like nobody's business), and it drives really nice! And yes, I know black is the stark opposite of my white Armada, and yes, I know it will get dirty often and it's going to be hot, but isn't it pretty when it's all clean? I'm a blessed girl!

Here Comes Summer!

2011-06-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hooray Colby! You made it through Kindergarten!!

Colby getting his award from his teacher, Mrs. Laws, for being the "best artist." His absolute favorite center time was free art. His favorite special was art class.

Brody gets so excited to go up to school and see Colby. He is so ready to start preschool. He listens and follows all the instructions, lines up with kindergartners he really thinks is one of them. On the last day it was "Movie Day" and the kids got to dress up like their favorite movie characters. Brody had to join in of course.

Colby's is opening a DVD that his teacher made them. It was pictures of all of the fun activities they had participated in throughout the year set to music.

All the kiddos signed autograph books. Since there are 7 kinder classes at his school the likelihood he will be placed with the kids from his class in first grade are pretty slim. But they will still see each other on the playground and at lunch.

Colby and his favorite buddy Charlie. Charlie is a really sweet kiddo. He lives just down the street from us, and he has been such a good friend to Colby.

When Colby and Brody got home, they had an all out gun war in their costumes. I guess Brody is finally over his fear of masks! They played really well for about 10 minutes, and then the brotherly love began.....

and....I just about had a panic attack thinking of how I was going to manage these two rascals and a new baby this summer! I love my sweet Colby, and it really has been fun having him home, but one less to manage for 8 hours a day isn't bad either :)

The Party

2011-06-03T13:44:00.001-07:00

I don't know a little boy, or a big boy for that matter, that doesn't like Star Wars. Colby wanted the theme for his party to be Star Wars again this year. Only this year, he was very specific about how everything would be set up. Jengo Fett seemed to be his favorite character this year...so as hard as those were to find...we found him (thank you amazon) and made sure he was the central part of the invitation and cake.

Colby designed his cake. A few weeks before we ordered it at the store, b/c last year I learned my lesson about his birthday and a little thing called graduation. We purposely went into the store early so that we wouldn't be told they were too busy with graduation cakes, but when Matt went to pick it up - they had made it the weekend before despite what the order said - and were out of buttercream. What? Oh my goodness! What will we do? No cake-we would have had one severely disappointed birthday boy who had put quite a lot of effort into designing it. But our local store pulled through. Had buttercream sent from another location and made it in a few hours so it would be ready for the party.

Colby is comfortable with the familiar. So his plan was very similar to last year as well. His request was a big bouncy slide with water. After looking at rental prices, we decided to just buy one because it made more sense. Rain was in the forecast for the entire week and the day of, so we were very worried we were going to be rained out for the 4th time out of 6 years of parties. Colby got to experience his own little miracle after praying that it wouldn't rain at his birthday - the sun shone and it was hot, hot, hot - perfect for playing in the water.

Colby and his best buddy from school - Charlie - he seriously loves this kiddo.

Matt and I made these light sabers from pool noodles, duct tape, and electrical tape. I found the idea on several blogs and totally copied it, but made it my own. It was easy, just a little time consuming tearing tape, but not bad, and the kids loved them!

Another idea I found online was to play a "free Han Solo" game. We froze two Han Solo action figures and had the kiddos relay race dumping water on them to thaw Han Solo.

We made them a little too big because after lots and lots of running....

and running....and dumping...and dumping...we still had not successfully freed Han Solo.

So Daddy brought out the hot water and we melted him out of there as fast as we could. The kids loved it anyway, and were so excited to finally get him out of his icy trap.

We had a giant water balloon fight, that lasted less than 5 minutes. You know how that goes - you spend what feels like hours tying hundreds of waterballoons - and they are gone in two seconds. After drying off- we heading inside for cake!

Then we had some wild light saber fighting - Holy Moly- it was crazy fun!

The kiddos that came to the party were - Anna, Keely, Zack, Charlie, Champ, Calvin, Case, Cooper, 2 of our darling new neighbors Tommy and Sammy, and of course Brody.

We wrapped things up with presents....

and then Mom and Dad passed out! :)

Happy Birthday Colby

2011-06-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

6 years old, really?! Where does the time go? Happy Birthday Colby! We couldn't be more proud of this not so little guy!

Colby had his birthday planned out to a "T." It wasn't just his birthday day, no, he had his party planned - every detail - the day it would be, exactly what the schedule of events would be- when we would celebrate on his real birthday - and what our whole weekend would be like - since his birthday was on a Monday. The plan (without all the crazy details) - Friday we would be going to Dave & Busters (or the like), Saturday - birthday party and Monday the big day - Rudy's for dinner and chocolate eclaire cake for dessert.

Here we are at Rudy's on the night of his birthday. This boy can pack down some Rudy's. Colby's favorite meal: sausage, extra lean bbq brisket outside cut (to keep the bark on the brisket), bread, and beans. This location is our favorite because it has a huge backyard area nestled in all the trees.

Matt and I both love these pictures so much! Colby doesn't love the camera so we were so happy to get some great pics with him on his birthday.

In the morning before school, I promised Colby he could open one of his presents from us, one from Mimi and Papa, and one from his Auntie Brandi. He tore through them and was so excited about every single one. He couldn't wait to get home from school to open the rest. He ate his favorite breakfast - donuts and orange juice.

Colby asked me to bring his special birthday snack for the class- guess what he chose? - donuts (chocolate covered with sprinkles of course). Daddy was kind enough to go get 2 dozen from only the best place to get donuts (The Donut Taco Palace I), and he stood in line at 6am to get them. I got to drop them by the room, but all the kids were out to recess. Brody and I headed home for a bit, then picked up lunch for Colby at Sonic and brought it to school to eat lunch with him. It was pretty crazy in that cafeteria, but we had a great lunch, and Colby was eager to ditch us for lunch recess when the time came.

When he got home from school, he could hardly wait to tear through all the rest of his presents. Some of the things he asked for this year were a StarWars ship, Boba Fett and Young Boba Fett, Imaginext Robots, Jengo Fett, more circuits to add to his board he got at Christmas, and Harry Potter DS game. He got all kinds of fun science experiments from MiMi and Papa, and a really cool battery charged watergun (don't worry we got Brody one too so they could have wars in the back yard). Those have been so much fun.

Brody was so excited. At first he didn't quite understand that the presents were for Colby, but he was such a good boy, and Colby shared with him after a little help from Mom & Dad.

The chocolate eclaire cake - who knew- I thought it was so fun he asked for this because it is his Daddy's absolute favorite too!

Colby is such a fun boy. Some of my favorite things about Colby at this age are - He absolutely loves art. He draws the coolest pictures and brings home the most adorable things from art class at school. He is so dang smart - no surprise to his proud mama - but he will say things like "that's in 15 minutes mom - which you know is a 1/4 of an hour" and laugh a little sneaky laugh afterward, or he will just ramble off all kinds of subtraction, addition, and multiplication facts. He is a total numbers guy - again just like his Daddy. Believe it or not, I love all his tall (I mean really Tall) tales. I'm not sure if he ever stops talking. Really. At dinner no-one can get a word in edgewise, and its always some crazy story about things that happened at school, or all the fun science facts that just seep from his little brain. Even though it drives me absolutely nuts, I love that he is a collector - he appreciates every piece of dirt, plant, and crazy thing he can get his hands on, and he wants to treasure it and keep it forever - especially rocks- yes even dirt rocks have a special place in his heart . I love - I mean really love- that he still wants me to sing him songs and rub his back at bedtime (his favorite is It's a Small World -but we have to go in order - Twinkle Twinkle, Frere Jacques, and then It's a Small World). He still has a favorite bear that he has had since he was born. He is an amazingly complicated and wonderful kiddo and we couldn't be more blessed. We are so glad he is a part of our family. Happy 6th Colbs, we LOVE YOU!

Field Day

2011-06-02T08:57:00.001-07:00

Do you remember field day? I remember having so much fun on field days. It seems like every year of elementary school they got even more fun - and we always had water games. Colby didn't have any water games, but they did have a blast. The only bummer was we had gotten some rain and the sprinklers had come on too, so it was a little muddy, but of course the kids didn't care.

They played a really long time. From early in the morning until lunch time. I only stayed for part of it, but got to see Colby do a baton race, jumping rope to music, parachutes in the gym....

Frisbee toss

and an egg and spoon race.

One of Many

2011-06-01T11:30:00.001-07:00

I am so proud of Matt. One of our many projects was to build a gigantic deck off the back of the house. Let me tell you, I would never have called Matt handy before, but he is now Bob Villa in my eyes :)

The planning probably took just as long, if not longer, than the actual build. Second step, delivery of materials. That, I must say, did not go off without a hitch. Lowes brought the special order, but didn't deliver any of the special order pieces, and failed to tell us that they were not being delivered as planned. Oh, minor kink since my dad was driving up from out of town to build this with Matt. No worries, after a day of calling literally 30 lumber places who laughed at us every time we asked if they had any of the boards in stock...we were able to locate the boards we needed and they were only a 1.5 hour drive away. Oh, just kidding - the boards were 24 feet long - no way to get them -

After lots, and I mean lots, of frank talk with Lowes, they did deliver - literally- they had their truck drive the 1.5 hour trip and were able to deliver part of the wood 2 days later and the rest of it several days later...so my dad and Matt were able to squeak by and finish most everything before Matt left out of town on business.

Third step- build - well not really - Matt had to plan out exactly where all the support beams would go, and dig post holes - fill with concrete - and attach the posts to these babies. Yep, there were 16! And if you know anything about Austin - you know that we literally sit on rock - so digging these 16+ inches was no simple task. We did luck out...as our sprinkler guys were finishing up reworking the lines - they offered to pour the concrete for Matt, so in about 15 minutes they had all the concrete mixed and poured saving Matt hours of work.

Next up went all the ledger boards and frame. And if you can't tell by now, our yard has all kinds of slopes and hills (that seem subtle -that is until you build something that needs to be level). Again - props to Matt on the planning!

Dad - couldn't have done this without you! My dad really is Bob Villa in his own right. This man built two rooms onto our house growing up - and renovated our cabin that was seriously damaged by fire. He knows just about everything there is to know about everything! We were so glad to have him here, and although I tried to keep him from doing to much - he of course did too much! He really did help Matt to have confidence in the things he had never done before and taught him a thing or two along the way.

It was so fun to see the joists go up and to see it begin to take shape.

Everybody pitched in! Including me. I couldn't do much - obviously no lifting boards - but I kept the kids out of the way as best I could - filled up water and tea glasses - sorted screws - helped snap chalk lines - and caught smaller boards as they fell off from being sawed. The boys counted and lined up literally hundreds of screws as Grandpa and Dad screwed in the deck boards.

Even when Matt had to leave for work - dad was out there working. We kept telling him - we didn't ask for his help so he could be our slave while Matt was gone - but he kept going like the energizer bunny. Shhh, don't tell him, but I think he kind of liked all the hard work - and we sure appreciated it!

Whoo hoo - after 3 or 4 days this is what we had! Not finished, but we could walk on it - and envision it! After many little snafoos along the way - we were thrilled to be this far and have done it ourselves!

Just after Easter weekend - Matt began to work on the railing. I had to get a little action shot in here! There was so much sawing, hammering, drilling, screwing, and leveling!

Bob The Builder.

Benji the destroyer

Don't be fooled by this darling little boy - he chewed and ate just about everything involved in the build - even the neighbors skill saw electrical cord - oh yes - I almost killed him - he is lucky to be alive. Just kidding. No - really.

Matt completed all the rest of the deck all by his lonesome. Again - I tried to give a helping hand when I could - but it was probably mostly annoying to Matt who just wanted to finish - instead of hearing me say - "is that a little loose, or crooked -or does that need to be tightened" I do have to make a comment about my hubby's rockin calves though. Check out those muscles! Whew!

Hallelujah! It's finished - well - almost - the stairs proved to be a big pain - but now they are finished too! Thank you Matt and Dad for building this awesome deck! Now all we need is landscaping - hmm -that will have to wait till the fall - or at least until Benji the destroyer learns some manners :)

The Bump

2011-05-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

The bump is hardly a bump anymore. In fact, it is quite large now. Holy cow, I really do forget sometimes how ridiculously large prego bellies get! Last week, I had a doctors appointment and I knew Mel was going to be in town for a few hours, so I actually got dressed in real clothes. I thought since I had no pictures of this belly, I better take one. I really don't like posting pictures of myself, but what the heck, just this one time won't kill me.

There it is, that little alien that is supposed to pop out sometime in July! We still have no name, and have not even started the baby room yet, but that is because we are crazy people, and have been consumed with all kinds of other projects (more on those later) in my second trimester energy boom (that sadly has now ended).

This pregnancy has had its fair share of crud. My first, easy-peasie really, except for the gestational diabetes. My second, harder, sicker, gestational diabetes, and one yucky hospital stay and blood clot - short lived, not too bad. This one- not so much fun. Lots and lots of sickness in the first and very beginning of the second trimester, and lots of little concerns that have just been not so much of a fun ride. But I really can't complain, b/c this little guy is healthy and most everything has turned out just fine. That is except for the gestational diabetes, AGAIN! I had to test early so I got the absolute pleasure of doing yes, count them 2 one hour glucose tests that I failed and oh yes that means 2 -3 hour tests. Last week was my second 3 hour that was just really no fun! I love my doctor and all the staff including the lab, but either my body was just saying "not this again...oh no you didn't" or the guy in the lab had it out for me that morning, b/c this is what I ended up with, and now a week later...it doesn't look much better. Yep, 3/4 sticks totally exploded and hurt for a few days after. I really am fine. It's just super ugly isn't it? I knew it was coming and next week I go see a perinatologist & nutritionist to give me the run-down on the fun diet and other goodies I have to watch for the next two months, but, other than being a pain, having lots of swelling and numb feet, I can still count my blessings :)

Anyway, Brody was so excited to see his cousin Amber, I had to throw this picture in too. He adores my sweet niece! I wish that my phone took a better picture....and the one of Mel and I just didn't turn out, but having her to distract me from the gestational diabetes blues was great!

Oh, yes, and last week Brody and Colby both went to the dentist, and I can happily report that they both did awesome! Totally awesome! I didn't get a picture of Colby but I managed to snap one of Brody saying "aaahhh"! Colby was a good sport when he got some sealant put on all his many permanent teeth, and Brody was just an angel!

Easter

2011-05-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Our Easter came and went so quickly, I almost didn't even have time to get out decorations. I have to admit, I have a hard time deciding what pictures to blog about. I know most of you probably don't need or want to see all 8 million I post each time, but mostly this is for me anyway right? We started out our Easter celebration on the Friday before with our Primary egg hunt at Founders Park in Dripping Springs. It was so much fun. The Primary Presidency did such a great job. They had breakfast for the kids, games, and an egg hunt. It was a super windy day. All the kids cups and plates were blowing everywhere. Juice was spilling and food was flying, but no-one seemed to care, it was really lots and lots of fun!

I love that the kiddos look like they are in the middle of no-where-land.

I kept trying to get Brody to get more eggs, but he just wanted to stop and open every egg to eat it.

Easter morning Colby woke Matt and I up super early and he had already scoped out his basket. He was so excited to tell us what the Easter bunny had brought for he and Brody.

Brody was the cutest, most excited little boy. Totally animated. He held up everything he got yelling out what it was and jumped up and down with sheer joy.

Later that morning we had our traditional backyard egg hunt. The boys LOVE it. Colby remembers that every year there are one or two eggs with a little money surprise in them. He gets so excited to find this, that he races as fast as he can through the hunt so he can open up all his eggs and find the one with the money.

Can you tell Brody loves chocolate? Isn't he yummy? He is my chocolate. I could totally eat this little boy up. I love him so much.

After Colby found his money egg, he sorted and organized all his candy. He is sizing up how many chocolate coins he got. They were his favorite this year because they had krispies in them.

After church, we were able to get a picture all dressed up thanks to Auntie Marcie!

Marcie came over for easter dinner. I promise we didn't try to coordinate, but we look pretty cute, hugh?

The ginormous chocolate bunny was such a hit! Look at its crazy eyes...seriously this was the least getto one, the easter bunny could find. And he even went back to his factory to exchange said bunny for one that was not cracked, and got the VERY LAST ONE at 9pm at night! It was totally worth it!

Bluebonnets

2011-05-04T13:45:00.001-07:00

I absolutely love this time of year. About a month ago, things were beginning to bud out, turn green, and the wildflowers were starting to pop up. This year the bluebonnets were not as thick as years past, but there were still plenty for me to drool over for a several weeks. To say it was an adventure to capture bluebonnets, the boys, and Benji in any posed picture is an understatement. The bluebonnets cooperated just fine, but getting the boys and Benji together, well, that was less than spectacular cooperation as you can imagine.

If Benji was looking, the boys were goofy.

Most of time, no one was looking

Just when the boys started to behave, Benji was not. So then they got silly.

If Colby and Benji were looking, then Brody wasn't.

In the end, out of 233 pictures, we had about 20 that were worth editing, and you know what, it was okay by me that they weren't posed and perfect. These are the moments I will remember, not the ones of perfectly posed children, right!?

What a beautiful neighborhood we live in! Really. It is awesome. This is just down one of our streets. I am just loving all the trees, flowers, and and green wide open spaces. It is total eye candy!

Wok On Fire Miracle

2011-04-03T13:16:00.001-07:00

It's not everyday that a miracle occurs in our house, so I thought it was appropriate to share this inspiration with all moms out there. It was indeed a broccoli miracle. Brody has NEVER eaten veggies, and that is the truth. He really didn't even like fruit until just recently, and there are still many fruits he won't eat. He doesn't like juice, none of it, in fact all he drinks is water (which isn't a crime, right). We have gradually tempted him by slipping him smoothies and things like that, and he has been broken with fruit, but never has he eaten anything green or any other color that represents vegetable material, that is, until our BROCCOLI MIRACLE!!! And I have the pictures to prove it.

Friday night, we ate at a little restaurant called Wok On Fire. It is in fact the restaurant I ate my last meal at before embarking in the journey of motherhood. Yes, right before I delivered Colby - just a few hours in fact, I ate at this restaurant. Little did Matt and I know it would be our last quiet meal, sigh :) but I digress...Brody ate his usual "Chinese" fav - Sesame chicken and rice, then he discovered some unusual vegetable on the plate...and low and behold that child picked it up, dipped it in leftover sesame sauce and went to town, trimming that tree!!! OH MY GOSH! I think he kind of liked it, because not only did he eat the tiniest piece on his plate he went back for more of one of the big pieces.

I can't be sure if it was only because we were at a "brand new to them" place, or because he was in some kind of sesame seed coma, but I will take it!! Now, I have pictures to prove that he ate a green vegetable and didn't die from it being on the same plate with the rest of his food!!

PS: The fish tank was really cool at this place, and Colby really loved that. Colby on the other hand has always loved broccoli - his name for it - "trees" He likes to eat the tops off! Love those boys. Love em!

Another Surprise!

2011-03-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Several months ago Matt and I decided to take the plunge and get a dog for us and the boys. Colby had been asking since before Brody was born, and now seemed like the right time for us. We searched for months to find the right breeder. Having grown up with labs my whole life and my parents breeding several litters of chocolate labs, I was pretty picky about what type (English), and who I would get a pup from, and we chose right! Colby had in his mind that he was going to get a puppy for his birthday, but we knew when we found the right breeder it would need to happen sooner so that we had time for lots of training and attention before baby is born. It just so happened that he was born in January and that meant that he would be ready to go home with us just around Spring Break. So we timed our trip just so, and drove to Cleburne, TX to pick him up the day after we got back from Disney. It was a crazy fun week filled with all kinds of treats and this was the icing on the cake! Again we didn't tell the boys until the morning we left to get him so it was a total surprise.

Meet Benji! We let the boys pick the name...it took a couple of days. Matt and I narrowed the choices down, and we both really liked the name "Toby" but neither of the boys liked that. I think Benji fits him just right.

I love, love this picture! So far he has been an excellent puppy. We had only one night that he cried and it was seriously for only a few seconds. He was pretty much potty trained when we got him at 8 weeks, and today he is 9 weeks old and getting the hang of house-breaking. His favorite toys, are the ones the boys picked out (a duck and a stuffed puppy, and ewwwh one the breeder gave him - some sort of disgusting hoof).

He loves to be outdoors, which is a good thing, because that is where he will spend the majority of his time in a few weeks, but for now he is inside with us and we are loving it.

Here are a few snaps shots of the boys from the first day we got him. Excuse the weed explosion in the backyard! We had been gone a week and the weed & feed mostly fed the weeds I think!

I have a bunch of pictures of Brody with Benji because he is home all day with me...Colby needs some more! They are both doing a really great job of helping to take care of their new puppy, and are quickly learning how to train him too!

Brody will always say to me, "I wanna love him mommy" and he will get down and lay his head on his back and then kiss his head, it is the sweetest thing!

The weather has been amazing and last week we had so much fun being outside with him.

I'm sure there will be plenty more pictures to come! We just wanted to introduce our newest family member, and can you believe it...it's another BOY!? What have we gotten ourselves into?

SURPRISE!

2011-03-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

For spring break, Matt and I totally surprised the kiddos and took them to Disneyland. We didn't tell them until a few hours before we left! It might have even been more fun for us to plan it, than it was for them to receive it! I love surprises.

Our first day we got to the park early and were able to ride several rides without a wait. It was great. We rode the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean twice, and Winnie the Pooh twice all in an hour and a half. It was a perfect start to our trip.

The boys really tried hard to pull that sword from the stone.

Brody is such a good sleeper. He always has been. He tried so hard to stay awake, but each day he crashed in the stroller for a little while. Nothing like his normal 2+ hour naps, but he managed to get a few z's.

While he was sleeping he missed the ice cream treat we all had, so afterward, while daddy and Colby rode Indian Jones, he got his treat too!

On the second day we started at Disney and then headed over to California Adventure. It was kind of a mess to be honest. The whole park was under construction, and so lots of the rides we enjoy were closed. But the boys didn't care. I think we only did three things over there, and then headed back to Disney. One of the funniest things was when we were in the 3D Bugs Life show. Colby and Brody did pretty good until the seats made you feel like there were roaches crawling, and when the spiders dropped from the ceiling Colby freaked out and started yelling "Exit, Exit, Exit" over and over and Brody started crying. It took a minute to calm them both down, poor kids, but it was pretty funny.

A favorite was the jungle cruise. Colby and Brody both loved it, and the line was never too long, so we went several times.

Each day we got a treat for a snack. The second day they both wanted popcorn, which I thought was funny because the other choice was ice cream, but they gobbled it down. Of course they loved my frozen lemonade too, which I was happy to share. How could I not, look at this face!

I wish I had more pictures (especially of Colby - he just doesn't do great with lots of pictures right now)!! We had such a great time, that we forgot about the camera most of the time. But some of the things I loved the most, were just seeing the boys so excited and happy, being able to spoil them rotten and not feel guilty about it, spending each day not worrying about anything else but enjoying my family, and soaking up the beautiful California weather and landscape! More on our last day next....

Day 3 & Some Beach Time...

2011-03-26T12:31:00.001-07:00

Every day at Disney was busy. We expected that, but we really truly experienced it on day 3. All the other days the park opened at 8am, but on our last day the gates opened at 8am but not the park. So it was literally a marathon start, until they took down the ropes and allowed everyone to disperse off main street. It was crazy, but by day 3 we were used to the waiting.

Four was such a fun number. We all stayed together for pretty much every ride, and riding buddies emerged. I think I only got to ride one ride with Brody, the rest of the time Colby and I were joined at the hip, and Matt and Brody the same.

Brody's expression captures it all...he loved it and was a little unsure of it, all at the same time. He loved Nemo, but was a little scared of the shark part, and he loved Pirates, but was a little timid to go down the hills in the dark.

He loved Star wars...but was afraid of it. He didn't want to leave the show, but didn't want to leave daddy's arms either. We got great seats for the Star Wars show and I think it was one of the favorites...we had so many...but they really did love this show.

Brody's favorite character - Darth Vader

Colby's favorite character, Darth Maul, sure gave him a scare. He kind of snuck up on Colby and got right in his face. Scary isn't he?

I don't know how he did it, but the random stranger we asked to take a picture actually got a good one!

Hamming it up in front of the castle! These boys were so good! It was such a fun bonding experience for us as a family! We really had a great time!

Each day the boys got a prize for being good and waiting in the long lines. They each picked out stuffed animals on the last day. Colby saw a little boy with a puppy from 101 Dalmatians and we searched the park high and low to find that thing! Believe it or not, that was one of the things that wasn't in every single shop or cart...they only had them in one store.

Brody chose the dog from the movie Bolt, which he quickly renamed Gracie, because he had recently met his Auntie Shell's dog Gracie and her puppies a few weeks before. Thank goodness Bolt doesn't get a say, he might be pretty upset. :)

Our last day was lots of fun, but we cut it short to go see the beach since we won't be able to make it this summer (tear).

We thought we would make a quick stop and maybe grab a treat, but I think we ended up staying over an hour. I didn't want to leave, they didn't want to leave... it was so nice just being on the empty beach after the chaos of Disney.

Can little boys resist water and getting totally dirty in the sand? Of course not!! Matt and I tried to keep them semi-clean for a few minutes and then gave up. By the end of our little excursion they were wet & dirty, but grinning ear to ear.

We had kind of a long trip home the next day. I couldn't resist taking this picture of Brods. He was so tired from us running him ragged with no naps, he was just sacked out on the airplane. I think he stayed just like that for over an hour. So cute!

IT'S A....

2011-03-09T13:44:00.001-08:00

BOY!!!

Yep, another Boy! I couldn't be happier! This is what I know, and love so much. Not that I wouldn't love a little girl to pieces too, but I am content with boys! Remember? My ridiculously long blog title: I'm-building-my-dream-team (Me & My Boys)? Won't be needing to edit that anytime soon! :) One more and I have a basketball team (including Matt, of course)....I'm not making any plans yet though! This little guy is due to arrive late July, but I bet he comes close to my mama's birthday around the 15th.

Marathon Kids

2011-03-05T06:13:00.001-08:00

Colby got to participate in this really cool event this year called Marathon Kids. Marathon Kids is a free program that challenges children to run or walk 26.2 miles over 6 months. Since school began he and his classmates have run 1/4 to 1/2 mile each day and last weekend they completed their marathon at the medal ceremony!

It was a really rainy Saturday, but Colby was so excited to get his medal that we decided to brave the drizzly mucky weather for over an hour as we waited for our turn to run our last lap!

Through the finish Line Hooray!

Of course we had to have something for Brody too. Colby gave Brody his medal he got from swim lessons last year so that he wouldn't feel left out! Isn't that sweet? Colby we are so proud of you for finishing your first marathon, and for being such a great big brother!

Puppy Love

2011-02-22T12:00:00.001-08:00

I walked in the kitchen the other day to find Brody sitting like this, and the first thing that my eyes saw, were those cute little feet crisscrossed and those tiny toes just waiting to be kissed! I have major puppy love for my kiddos. I just love them so much, all of them, even their toes!

Yes, Even their dirty little toes. I can't help but think how they grow up too fast and these are all the little things (literally little things) I will miss as they get older! We still call Brody's little toes his "blueberries" and we eat them up whenever there is a need for a giggle!

This weekend we took a last minute trip up to Plano, to buy a new mattress actually, how weird is that, but we got to see my family too, and my mom just happened to be taking care of my sister's dogs and the puppies that are now about 7weeks old. Needless to say, the boys had some major puppy love going on!

There were 4 all together. One white, two black/brown, and one tan! And, yes, they were scrumptious...And, no, we did not take one home!

We also got to go to our favorite park, just around the corner from my mom's house. We call it the Barney Park b/c it just happens to be where they filmed the new opening for Barney, and Barney's headquarters are in Allen, where the park is.

"Barney Park" is so huge, I can't even tell you how big it is! The boys always have a great time b/c it is and endless maze of slides, ladders, ramps, swings...and climbing thingys and then on top of all of that a splash pad. The park grounds that surround it are expansive with ponds, and giant gazebos covered with sails that look like boats. It is fantastic.

Both of the boys were total monkeys. Brody is definitely more of a climber than Colby was at his age, and he confidently climbs everywhere, sometimes giving mom and dad a heart attack. He has no fear. Look at Colby, never have I ever seen this boy climb like this. He has made leaps and bounds in strength this year in therapy, I am so proud of him!

Colby made sure he covered every square inch of the play-scape even the "baby" rides. Brody's favorite thing was the slides.

By the time we left we were truly tuckered out!

From 80 to 18

2011-02-09T11:44:00.001-08:00

From 80 to 18. Yep the day before it was right about 80 degrees outside and then "bam" 18 degrees and snowing at 2am. Nothing like Texas weather! Snow is pretty rare in Texas, but up in North Texas near Dallas it snows and ices a couple of times each winter, and much more heavily than here. Occasionally here we get ice so to see this soft white snow was so much fun...and yep we had a snow day.

Our street was so quiet last Friday morning. Pretty much everything here shut down until after lunch (its best that way since no one ever drives on snow and ice here). We spent the morning playing with all the neighbor kiddos, sledding down the driveway, having snowball fights, and just marveling at our little miracle. It was to Colby anyway, who had prayed the night before that it would snow on Friday.

Here we go, sledding down our driveway. Love, those Austin hills!

Down by the creek right across the street from the house it was so pretty. The boys had fun crossing the icy creek and going on an "adventure." Good thing 10 minutes is a long enough adventure for them :)

The snow didn't last long. The sun came out and by lunch time most of the snow in the grass was melted, by the afternoon, it was all gone except for the shady spots and some parts of the roof.

We had so much fun. Things warmed up quite a bit over the weekend, and this morning I woke up to a similar situation, although a little less extreme. Yesterday it was 65 degrees or so and this morning it was sleeting, snowing and 18! Brrrr. I don't think I would survive living in a really snowy place...so for now I'll take the Texas weather that swings just about as bad as my prego mood swings! Yep, it's official. If you didn't catch the ultrasound pictures on my Christmas post (they were super subtle), I am expecting a ??? in July. It's been a rough go so far, but I am starting to see the sunny side, and we couldn't be more excited to be a family of 5!

Precious to Me

2011-01-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

There are so many times I wished I could have been the fly on the wall...when the boys were playing well together, or could have just heard something cute the boys said or told to me one more time. I love this. We were all going to bed in our hotel room when we were at the Gaylord Texan for Ice. Never are we all in the same room. Brody in the port-a-crib, Colby in his own Queen Bed, and Matt and I in another. Lights off. Bed time.

Colby - "Brody"

Brody - no answer

Colby - "Brody"

Brody - no answer

Colby - "Brody, will you protect me?"

Brody - no answer

Colby - "BRODY" - much louder now

Me - " leave him alone, he is trying to sleep. So are the rest of us."

Silence......

1 minute later....

Brody - "Colby"

Colby - no answer

Brody - "Colby I go night night"

Colby - no answer

Brody - "Colby??!?"

Colby - " Yes, Brody...will you protect me?"

Brody - "Ok"

Colby - "Ok good"

Silence.....

1 minute later....

Snoring...both of them....

Colby and Brody asleep.

Mom and Dad snickering...trying really hard not to burst out in full laughter as they have this conversation.

Priceless Parenting!

I absolutely treasure these moments as silly and probably insignificant as they are. These are the moments that make all of the hard work and craziness that goes with being a parent totally worth it. Little precious moments of time like this. I need more of this!

ICE

2011-01-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

A few months before Christmas my mom called to tell me she wanted to take the boys to this new exhibit of ice sculptures. The theme this year was Snoopy. We decided to go a few days after Christmas. It was so much fun!

It was 9 degrees, yeah, you heard me, 9 FREEZING degrees in the place. It was at this beautiful resort/hotel called the Gaylord Texan. I know, horrible name right? All you can think of is Gaylord Focker right now, am I right?

I could lie and say this was Colby making a freezing face because he was so cold, but no, this is just Colby when he has to wait in any line or when there are crowds to deal with. He is actually really mad. In fact, we are about to be in melt down mode. Grrr.

Yep it is all ICE. Every thing in the exhibit was ice, except for the blanket, and some metal railings. The resort brings sculptors from Harbin, China in to create these displays each year. Each year has a different theme. Yes, the ice is colored. It is dyed during the freezing process. Some of it is clear, but the characters were mostly all colored ice. They used 400lb blocks of ice, and received two truck loads per day for 3 weeks while creating the exhibit. c-r-a-z-y!

Oh yeah, and because it is 9 degrees they give you these special coats to wear. We had on sweaters, our own winter coats, gloves, hats, and then the special coats on top of that, and we were pretty warm. But by the end of the tour we were ready to be back in normal temps!

My mama and her hubby John. It was great to have John there, and I was impressed he braved this kiddo day with us! Thanks John.

In the middle of the exhibit they had these ice slides that you could go down. They were so fun. It was hard to take pictures because the lighting was so dim. Colby went down too fast so I didn't get a picture of him. Matt went, and I caught him at the end of the slide. Darn my heels, had I not been in boots I could have gone, but no heels were allowed on the slides.

Snoopy's dog house. We actually got to crawl through this icy dog house.

The boys loved the ice cave!

The end of the exhibit was incredible, it was just breathtaking. The picture above is a gigantic angel, and then, the entire nativity scene. Beautiful.

Afterward, we all ate a yummy dinner at the Cracker Barrell, and then Gram and John left us and went home. We stayed the night at the Gaylord. It was and incredibly fancy hotel. This is what you saw from the lobby. The atrium in the middle of the three towers of rooms was decked out. It looked like the River Walk- in San Antonio, and it was decorated with incredible Christmas decorations.

This was a real gingerbread house. I kid you not, real gingerbread bricks, icing mortar, and candy everywhere. It was so much fun. Click on the pic below and read the stats be. Pretty cool.

Two huge fireplaces, with fires lit, scaled either side of part of the massive lobby. The guy that took our picture, seriously might have used a camera for the first time, but we thank him anyway. It was such a fun way to end our Christmas vacation. After a ridiculously expensive breakfast, the boys swam in the indoor pool for an hour, and then we headed home for Austin.

Thanks again Mama, it was an awesome idea, and worth every penny!

A Texas Christmas

2011-01-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Christmas with my family in the Dallas area. I say that, because we literally span the whole area when we visit, with family members in Parker, McKinney, Frisco, Dallas and beyond. We had a really special Christmas Day this year. Matt & I didn't take many pictures this year Christmas morning because we just wanted to soak up all that this special time is with the kiddos. So we just let the video camera roll, and when I edit that I am sure it will be pretty funny.

Brody got just what he wanted from Santa. Every time I asked him what he wanted he said, "candy" with an impish little grin on his face. This boy loves candy and he asks for it morning, noon, and night. Of course Santa knew he wanted more than just that, so he got a new scooter and a big trash truck too, but he honestly was thrilled to just eat candy in the morning!

Colby's wish came true when he got the two toys that were at the top of his list. The imperial shuttle with a red imperial guard, and Darth Vader, and number two - a rubber shark. Can you believe the size of this ship. The best part about him asking Santa for this was the comment he made to Matt and I. He told us that he was going to ask Santa for this because it was expensive and Santa doesn't have to pay for anything.

After we had fun with all our Santa toys, and opened presents from Mimi and Papa, we headed over to my brother's house and had brunch and presents. And, no that is not me with my brother, it is my "twin" sister Marcie who lives here in Austin with us.

This is my niece, Amber, and my sweet sister-in-law Angela. I cannot believe how beautiful she is, and what an incredible young woman she is turning out to be.

Everyone was there. It really was a miracle. Every single one of us. It was so special.

It was a progressive Christmas. It always has been and probably always will be. We went to my Grandma's house. Again, the whole family. Everybody. All my cousins. Everyone. It was so special, especially for my Grandma. She was just glowing the whole evening.

Pictures like this are ingrained in my memory from childhood. We have a great family. Most meals when we gathered were at this table, although, now that I'm and adult I have moved on up to the big table :) But - if you notice everyone is laughing. There was, and apparently still is great company and hilarious stories to tell each other. This one in particular is about my cousin Brian who has had an incredible life going to school overseas. He was telling us with his brother, Collin, about a time he was photographed for what he thought was an insignificant shoot (to earn some money and do someone a favor) and ended up being on the cover of some published oriental magazine in a lab coat with a hilarious expression on his face.

Nothing, not a thing, has changed about this living room, from the Christmas tree (which I have to add looks a lot smaller now), to the gold velor couch. We all open gifts, and hold up a few funny ones that Grandma has inevitably pulled out of storage. My cousin Scott in the black shirt, was even here from Puerto Rico. He plays for the Islanders and is an amazing soccer player. Meghan, my cousin, has moved back to Dallas after graduating this past spring from college in Colorado. She announced her engagement and will be married in Colorado this coming fall.

This year proved to be extra special. Mostly because we were all gathered together, but also because my Grandma gave each of us girls a very special gift. She gave my sister's and I all rings. Marcie's was the first ring that my Grandpa had ever given my Grandma, Michelle's was another ring that my Grandpa had given my Grandma, and mine was one that she had made using the stones that they had collected during their years of travel to amazing places around the world. My Grandma used to get rings almost every Christmas from my Grandpa. She gave my boys stock certificates which was a tradition that my Grandfather started years ago with each of us. Not only were the gifts incredibly meaningful and generous, but it was just really amazing for us all to be in the same place at the same time.

My sweet mama came and braved it among all the Lyman family, Love you Mama! My dad also gave us girls very special gifts. We have a tender daddy, but it is not very often we get to see that side of him, and it was really special to share that with him. Enough good things cannot be said about this day.

Before The Magic

2011-01-03T01:14:00.000-08:00

Decorating the tree. Memorable moments: Colby organized the whole process and was surprisingly good at putting ornaments on this year, Brody helped this year - instead of throwing the "balls" off the tree and onto the tile like last year, Brody's contribution to the tree was a gigantic pile of ornaments on one branch that we all discovered after he had put about 10 ornaments in one spot - cute, being able to see our Christmas tree through the window on the front porch was really neat.

One of our neighbors dad's just happens to be the #1 rated Santa in the country, and he flew in to visit from Michigan. He really is the real deal, we are talking owns his own reindeer, teaches classes on how to be a Santa, has played some roles and everything. The night he came into town, he got all dressed up and carried a huge lantern up and down our street. He was "looking" for all the boys and girls to make sure they were being good. He sang songs with them in the street, gave them candy canes, and then literally disappeared as he walked down the street. Our neighborhood is so dark and wooded all he had to do was turn off his lantern and he really did disappear, but all the kids thought it was magical and were trying to find him. It was a real treat.

Here are the boys - all grins - after Santa left.

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, well, except at our house. The night before we left town Matt and I were crazily wrapping a gazillion packages. Matt went to the garage to get more paper, and I think he almost screamed, b/c this little guy was stuck in our garbage can and was trying to jump out. Kind of cute. No. Matt is more humane than me, my suggestion was to dump this thing in the drainage culvert, so it would never escape...but Matt kindly walked it down to the creek and let it go. All I can say, is you better not return little mouse, especially inside my house! :)

The boys in their new PJs Mimi gave them this year. I am for sure Auntie Mallory picked these out, and the boys loved them! Thank you Mimi and Mallory! We actually got several good pictures, b/c the boys were a little delirious and were calling daddy all kinds of funny things.

Now, who would have thought that big messy puddles in the freezing cold weather would have been sheer joy? Must have been boys b/c I wasn't out there, and they had so much fun. I do remember doing the same thing as a child in this very driveway in the spring time though. They played for a good while just throwing rocks into the giant puddles. Don't mind the electrical cord running through the puddle in the background, it's totally safe?!?!?

I love this picture. I know these are the pictures I will really treasure someday and so will the boys. I just don't get enough of them. Priceless. Gram reading to Brody. LOVE IT!

What would Christmas Eve be without making cookies for Santa. I was so thankful my mom remembered and bought us some cookie dough. We didn't have time to do the whole homemade cutout cookies this year, but the boys had just as much fun decorating with a little frosting and sprinkles.

This is where my mom's tree has been set up since I can remember. I still remember lining up down the hallway in order of age waiting to run in and see what Santa brought us. This year the boys got to do the same. There's a little something special on the tree this year. Do you see it?

Gratitude

2011-01-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Back in November we were able to go back to Arizona to visit family and friends for Thanksgiving. It was again bittersweet. Because it had only been about 4 months since we left, we kind of felt like we were coming home. It was strange, but so good to see family - in a weird way because we stayed with them and didn't have our own place.

We were grateful for absolutely beautiful weather. Of course what else would we expect? And for the incredible growth our little ones have when we venture out on trips. Colby started riding one of Mimi and Papa's bikes without training wheels, which, if you don't know Colby is a serious accomplishment. We are so grateful for his therapist and all that he has braved this year! He is one fantastic kiddo.

As a side note...he has even started riding his own bike at home this month. Again, another huge accomplishment since his bike is much taller than this one, and because nothing is flat in Austin. He has also managed to ride around lots of other kids, and has even mastered his razor scooter!

Brody literally grew. I swear they grow over night, literally sometimes! He is turning into such a big boy. He loves nursery, and this trip proved he really doesn't care which nursery, even if it's unfamiliar he just jumps right in. He really tries as hard as he can to keep up with all the big kids, and he does such a good job. We are grateful for his happy, and huge personality....although we could do without the tooty two's that have inevitably dropped in for a little while.

One of the best days, was when we got to participate and attend Madisen, our niece's, baptism. She is such an amazing girl, and beautiful spirit. It was really special to have all the family there. I can't believe I don't have one picture of this girl!

We are really thankful this year for our family's little miracle, Braxton. He is so incredibly cute, and is practically a mini-me of his daddy, Jesse. Colby was just enamored by him. At 9 months old now (6months adjusted) you would never guess he was a preemie. We continue to keep this little fireball in our prayers, as he struggles with a few challenges, but are so grateful he is a part of our family.

Oh, and yes, we are grateful for family pictures, even though we took more pictures, than any of the kids (or adults for that matter) care to take again. We all survived the gigantic family picture with 28 people, 10 of which were kids. I'll post that later. And what a fantastic memory we will have later.

I was especially grateful to spend time with everyone, especially my sweet "kindred spirit" of a friend! I love that girl and her family. What an awesome trip, and hallelujah praises to me for finally beginning to catch up on this blog thing! :)

The "Keleton" & The "Cowboy"

2010-11-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

If you are as tired of Halloween as I am, you probably don't even want to read this post! The day after Halloween I took down all of the Halloween decorations, I don't know what it is about Halloween, but I just don't care for all the junky decor, and gross lawn decorations. The night before Halloween we had our Ward's trunk or treat and it was really fun. I think the boys had more fun there than the little block party and trick or treating on Halloween.

Mimi sent the boys a darling package with Halloween t-shirts (to match their cousins of course).

Brody decided he wanted to be a cowboy this year. Imagine him saying it with the thickest Texas twang, and your heart would melt just like mine did. He would say "Colby a keleton and Brody a cowboy"

Of course the best part about this costume - oh yeah baby- the holster and guns.

Our new neighbors were kind enough to include us in the block party they have each year. This is all of the kiddos dressed up. Pretty much all of these guys are out and playing in the street every afternoon and evening.

Here he is the scary skeleton. Colby was going to be Darth Vader, but changed his mind a few weeks before. Brody screamed and cried no matter what costume he put on, so it didn't matter.

Auntie Marcie was my hero, it was so fun to have her there to see the kiddos trick-or-treat, but it was even better to be able to hang out with my sister and chat, amongst so many new faces.

There are all kinds of hills and steps here, and on our side of the neighborhood the houses are pretty far apart, so we went to about 8 houses and were done!

This year I did get a little crafty. I saw an idea in a Lowes add for Ghosts made out of small glass lamp shades. I couldn't find the add when I needed it, so I googled, and found this adorable idea.

I bought old glass containers from Goodwill and then modge-podged the inside, sprinkled with fine glitter and then painted on the faces. Okay, so I did have a little fun. But I am really glad its all done.

2010-10-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

This month has been full of fun adventures. We found a turtle in the middle of the road, and when I finally convinced Colby to hold it, it stuck out its legs in an attempt to flee. It scared Colby to death who dropped the poor turtle and cried for a good while. We finally made it up to Dallas. It is hard to believe it had been over a year since I had been home. Colby and Brody got to go see their cousin Drew play soccer. Then we all got to hang out at my brother's house and have dinner. We even made a grand adventure to the Texas State Fair with my brother and his wife Angela. Besides the horrible crowd, and an unmentionable train ride to Fair Park, it was a lot of fun. We even got to visit mom's award winning pickles in the hall of fame. This year she won first prize for whole dill pickles, and canned tomatoes. She also won 3rd place for zucchini relish and sliced dill pickles. And what kind of yummy Texas State Fair food did we eat? We all sampled and shared, fresh squeezed lemonade, corn dogs, chicken fried bacon(to die for), fried butter, fried cookie dough, fried peanut butter and jelly, sausage on a stick, and ice cream. All of it was fat free! One of the highlights for me was visiting my Grandma. It was so good to see her, and be in her house. There are just so many memories still wrapped up in her house. It was fun for her to see the boys. The best part was when she picked Brody up and then played "this little piggy" with him. He loved it! When we got home we were all about the Halloween decorations and pumpkin patches. And just when we thought we could slow down... this weekend is Halloween. It's crazy to think that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. We are headed to AZ in a few weeks! If you are in town let me know, we would love to stop by and say hi.

Keep Austin Weird

2010-10-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

Austin is a unique place. We have been couped up doing projects at home since we moved, so we thought we would finally have some fun for a Saturday.

One thing Matt and I love about Austin, is that everyone is always outdoors, and there are a million places to enjoy the fantastic Texas landscape. One of those place is smack dab in the middle of Austin. The Greenbelt. There are several places to enter it, but most are off a couple of the main highways through town.

You would never know you were in almost the heart of the city. People love to bring their mountain bikes down here to ride, and walk their dogs. It is shady and the trees are stunning.

The weather couldn't have been more beautiful.

I love these little unexpected beauties. It's little things like this that remind me of God's presence here on earth. These beautiful berries were so vibrant and there were just little patches of them scattered here and there.

They were fun for throwing too! I had told Colby a story about how his mom used to pick all the holly berries off her grandma's bushes and have holly berry wars with her cousins. It didn't take long for our own berry war to start.

Matt and I knew we were walking to the twin falls, but we had forgotten about this awesome little swimming hole. Darn, should have brought our swim suits!

Who needs swim suits? They are boys...right? We tried to keep them from getting too wet, but you know how that goes.

I had so much fun, and it was pretty awesome to share with them all the fun stories about how my mom and dad took me to do things like this all the time. We grew up in the woods, no I am serious, we really did grow up living 95% of our childhood outdoors. It was so much fun, and I am glad that they got to experience a little piece of that.

After naps, we continued the fun, and took them downtown. Austin prides itself on its "small town" feel, and love of all things unique. In fact right before we left 5 years ago, the city was trying to keep a new Super Walmart from being built and they succeeded. Aside from a few necessary chain stores (and I do love Walmart) there are lots of fun one-of-kind eating and shopping experiences here. Every where you go, you can buy shirts that say "Keep Austin Weird."

Matt and I had been wanting to try this little place called Home Slice Pizza...we will now be regulars. The wait for the actual restaurant was too long so we went right next door and ordered from the to-go window by the slice. It is seriously the best New York pizza I have had. Yep, ate right there on the dirty sidewalk. Totally awesome. The boys loved it.

This was our view across the street. All the fun shops on Congress. And...better still live music. Austin is all about live music, and across the street someone was singing at another restaurant so we got to hear that too.

After dinner, we walked just one street up to all the mobile food vendors (very popular here - and totally awesome) and had an amazing cupcake at Hey Cupcake! Once again there was a guy with his guitar playing and singing (he might have even been homeless). The food and music were fantastic and the boys got to experience what we love so much about this city!

I'm all about keeping Austin weird!

Knights of the Guild

2010-10-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

This morning Colby's school had a special assembly called Knights of the Guild. It was the kick off to a special program they do at school to promote good character traits, especially service over self.

They bring in horses and knights and do a whole presentation about how the knights of old had exemplary character traits like respect, integrity, loyalty, honesty, compassion, and self-discipline. Throughout the year the kids have opportunities to earn medals and rewards that will be presented at an Assembly of Champions later in the year.

The knights had a sword fight, and jousted rings that were held by "squires" and then thrown in the air. There was music, and a knight that narrated everything. Look how close they were! It really was incredible.

Brody even got to watch. They invited parents and siblings and we got to sit right behind Colby's class.

Yep, there's the playground, right there! Pretty awesome, hugh?

This is going to be a great school for Colby. We have been working closely with the vice principal, his teacher, and the other staff, to make this be a really positive year, and so far, he is doing fantastic!

At the end of the assembly they brought out a little horse that they adopted last year who is being trained to take part in the ceremonies! All the kids loved him! They told a story about his adoption and how over time, he was accepted and loved by the other horses even though he was different.

We are so blessed!

Belated

2010-10-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

I seem to be making a habit of forgetting to post...but we couldn't go without a Happy Birthday post to our amazing daddy! He really had a humble birthday, but the chocolate eclaire cake made up for it, right daddy? We love you!

Rain Rain Don't Go Away

2010-09-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

Today it is just dumping buckets of rain. It hasn't stopped all day, thanks to tropical storm Hermine hitting the Texas coast last night, and I don't want it to. I might change my mind though when I have to pick Colbs up from school! One thing I really missed about Texas was the rain and thunderstorms.

I love the sound of rain. Brody and I spent a lot of time this morning just sitting on the front and back porches listening and watching the rain! I love the views from our new house. I promise to post pictures soon!

This past weekend. We had so much fun with Matt's parents. Mike took all the pictures on his camera, so I will post those soon. Matt and Mike spent the majority of Friday and some of Saturday morning building the boys new play-set! Isn't it adorable? My job was helping Matt organize all the hundreds of parts, count all the screws and bolts, and call customer service to order all the pieces that were missing (oh yes, there are always missing parts)! But the boys absolutely love it, and the weather was beautiful on Friday.

First Day Of School

2010-09-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Colby's first day of school was August 23rd. It started early because school starts promptly at 7:45am, and of course we had to have the classic first day of school picture out side the house. Cooperation with pictures at 7:20am - keep dreaming! But we got a few good pictures.

The walk to school is not all that far, but far enough to make driving worthwhile on hot and rainy days. He was so excited to get there and find his class we were on a serious mission that morning. He couldn't wait to get to go to recess and lunch in the cafeteria.

Each room is really nice. They have their own locker and cubbyhole built in, a restroom, and a water fountain in each room. And, I'm not sure how this happened, but it seems like all the tall kiddos ended up in Colby's class. We went to meet the teacher night and there were probably 5 kids almost as tall as Colby...even a girl! He also has 2 or 3 of our neighbors in his class which is fantastic considering the boundaries for his school.

So far he has done absolutely fantastic! He talks about his friend Ben all the time, and we hear all kinds of stories about he and Ben's adventures each day in kindergarten! I have to admit it was a little emotional for me. I really thought I was ready for him to take off to kindergarten. The first week was rough, realizing that he was out of my hands and in the care of strangers for 8 hours a day. I no longer had control over everything he heard and saw, and Brody and I were pretty lonely. Change is never easy, but we are settling into things now, and Colby is really loving Rooster Springs Elem so far!

Happy Day

2010-08-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Brody turned 2 this past Monday. We began our celebration early because Matt had to leave out of town and was going to be gone on his actual birthday. Saturday we kicked off the celebration with my mom still in town, and all week he has been spoiled rotten by family and friends. He loves to sing Happy Birthday, but he can't say birthday so he just says "Happy Day." So in honor of Brody I will share a little bit about what it's like to be Brody at two.

TwO iS: joyful SQeaLs at the simplest of pleasures, an ExPlosIoN of new words,

EnDleSs energy, knock down Drag-out FigHts with my brother "Kaabee", InSaTiaBLe aPPeTitE for all things junk - a.k.a. "shhnaaks,"

TeRRiBlE tAnTruMs that quickly change to LaUghTer, BiNkeRs and BeAr bEaRs, fLirTacIouS and FiCkle, and best of all...ChuNkAliCioUsly ADoraBle!

Some things we love so much about Brody right now are:

His love for his blue "bear bear." His Great Grandma Shirley gave him this bear and he has loved it since he was tiny. His favorite part of his "bear bear" is the silk tags on the back. He runs his fingers through those tags and carries it by the tags so much that he won't accept the original bear anymore because the tag is in shreds. Oh, yes, there are 4 additional backups that are rotated, two of which he has determined are frauds because the manufacturer changed the tag and took away the tail!

His incredible vocabulary - some of our favorite are; no way, watch this, I do it, mine, happy day, Baaahney (Barney), Punge Pob (Sponge Bob), Shhnaak (snack), panpake (pancake), I dit you (I get you), I miss you, La loo (love you), and how he says sentences, he says the noun first and then the adjective or verb. So he will say " Kaabee (pause) push" or "bus (pause) big (pause) yellow"

His sweet temperament. Despite normal tooty two tantrums, he really is a sweet boy with a very mild temper. He often says uhhmee (excuse me) if he bumps into anything or toots. He loves to give kisses and hugs, and we swear he is European because he insists on kissing both cheeks. His favorite foods are all junk food - snacks, pizza, bacon, yogurt, apples, rice, sketti (spaghetti), chokit (chocolate), and water. Nothing but water. Occasionally he will splurge on a little chocolate milk but he won't drink juice, he tries to be healthy after all the junk food I guess. :)

On his real Happy Day we woke up and had his favorite bacon and cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Colby gave him some rides on the blanket. And then we headed off to the mall for a surprise.

Build a Bear! It was fun, but I have to laugh because he was totally creeped out by the floppy lifeless bears (can't blame him). He insisted on holding the display bear until I could secretly swap it for the one we had stuffed. He wanted nothing to do with the stuffing process. Colby did better with it, and they loved the rest of our time there.

We ate pizza at the food court and found the little train to ride.

After the train ride we got chewy cookies at a little place and headed home.

After nap, we finished off the day with presents and ice cream at Amy's ice cream with Auntie Marcie. The boys finally got to see what I have been telling them about Amy's. They do all kinds of funky things to put your ice cream in the cup. This time the girl threw it up about 4 ft in the air and caught it in each of their cups. I have a heard a little rumor that sometimes they throw it across the street run and catch it. Seriously is that not insane? We had so much fun.

It really was a Happy Day! Happy Birthday Brody! We love you!

Cheerio

2010-08-18T11:02:00.001-07:00

We had to say too many goodbyes, to way to many amazing, neighbors, friends, ward members, and family members when we got back from vacation. Time literally slipped away from us, and it was incredibly hard for us to say goodbye. This move was seriously bitter sweet. It was an answer to prayers in so many ways, but on the flip side it was also completely devastating to move away from Matt's whole family. We love them so much. The boys have a special relationship with their Mimi and Papa and we miss Sunday dinners and being so close that we can visit whenever we want. We miss our cousins so much too! There just are not words.

We tried for about a month to figure out what to do with Colby's fishy "Blackie." A mention of giving him to a friend brought him to inconsolable tears. The thought of him not making the trip to Texas was unbearable, and the likelihood of him actually surviving an hour out of his tank without an aerator was unrealistic. Matt and I seriously googled humane ways to take care of this problem if you know what I mean. Bleach came to mind. But we never could bring ourselves to do it. My dad had a great idea. He said to let him go in the Power Ranch pond and make it a party. So we did just that.

We made cupcakes, had bubbles and balloons, and we sent "Blackie" off in style. Colby was still sad. There were many tears before and after but he was very excited that his fish got to go live in the big pond.

Literally the night before I left my sweet girlfriends and I went out and had a girls night. I can't thank Jen enough for the awesome send off and all my girls for their amazing friendships! I miss you guys so much! Katie thank you so much for bringing your camera so we could take this picture. It was really awesome to be able to spend one last GNO with you all! Love you all and please keep in touch!

Newport Beach 2010

2010-08-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

So first, let me apologize for the novel that is about to ensue, but I haven't blogged in like forever, so you will forgive me right?!? So this year we went a little later in July, we rented our own house, and Matt's fam stayed in another, and things were different, but still great. We were determined to have fun before our life was literally turned upside down with the move and we did just that!

Matt and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in Newport this year. It was really great. We woke up and started our day with Colby locking Brody in the master bedroom that had no key, and later that night on our date, the battery died in our car. But the good news is, thanks to Papa's handy wood whittling skills, and Matt's smooth hand with a credit card Brody was free in about 15 minutes. Even better news, Matt and I were still able to go to a fabulous dinner at Ruth's Chris, enjoy a movie, and get the car home before the battery totally died.

This year the boys played so great with their cousins and we actually got to lay on the beach and chill, so I took entirely too many pictures of them! I just wish the sun would have been out, I came home still white as a chicken!

Colby could not keep his pants on, it was too funny.

It's not very often that I get both of them to cuddle on the couch. I love this picture!

We spent hours looking for crabs in the rocks. We learned that crabs are super fast, the rocks are stinky and super rough, kitchen tongs make the best crab catchers, and falling into 4ft crevices head first is no fun.

The day before we left I turned around to get our bucket and tongs and ask Colby to come down lower with me because he had ventured too far. Mistake. He tried to climb down, got distracted and fell head first into a crack. By the time I turned around he was no where in site, and as I looked for him I heard a faint, "mama" When I found him he had fallen about 4ft and was lodged inbetween two rocks. Luckily though his head was down first it missed all the rocks and he was wedged from his chest to his feet. In fact, all I could see was his feet when I came up to him. Yeah, heart attack, ya think?? I was so scared. We thought he might have broken his arm, but he turned out to be just scraped and bruised. We were so thankful!

Brody flying a kite.

I love those chubby little foot prints.

After a few days on the beach we discovered that some neighbors from Cortina, the Opfels, were right there with us. Our kids were actually butting heads for part of the time, but they worked it out. They built this giant hill one day and our kiddos thought it would be fun to make it a slide with their boogie boards! I love the faces they are making!

I'm not sure how this picture got here, but I am too lazy to change it...Matt built a seriously awesome sand castle one day with Colby and Andrew. Their arch nemesis was Brody who tried with all his might to crush everything they built.

The boys played so hard in the water. Brody loved it, but wanted Matt or I to be right there with him. He loved when we would hold him down in the water and lift him up just as the waves would hit him. After a few days he did venture out on his own.

The waves were huge this year. Bigger than we have ever seen. It was great!

Colby absolutely loved the water. He didn't care if he was freezing or got knocked down, or completely wiped out by a wave. He and Andrew were buddies. We sure do miss our family already.

Brody loves babies, and he did not want to let go of Braxton. Check him out. Seriously that kiddo is a beast! He is such a miracle and totally a mini me of his daddy!

We always walk down to the pier, and this picture cracks me up, number one b/c the boys are wearing their cools (sunglasses) and number two b/c we all look very serious and concerned.

Our last night at the beach was perfect, ate fantastically greasy beachy food for dinner at Jane's corn dogs, had the best lemonde, walked on the pier and saw all kinds of fish and a sting ray, ate dessert (mmm frozen bananas are my fav), and then were able to have a sweet stranger take a great picture of us!

We had a great time, and it truly was just what we needed before the move!

Swim Lessons

2010-08-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

This year week took swim lesson much later than we have in the past because of all the craziness we have had going on since we decided to relocate to Texas. It was hot, hot, hot, and that was no fun for me, but the boys sure had a great time, and they absolutely adored their teacher Tamarah!

When it was all said and done, Brods could jump in, jump off the step and attempt to swim to his teacher, and was beginning to monkey walk. He loved every minute of it, and thought he was big stuff!

Colby was so lucky. He only had one other little girl in his class, so it was almost like a private lesson. He is just a little fish, but he likes to cheat because he is so tall. He mostly bouces off the bottom with his feet and likes to float, but by the end of lessons he was kicking stronger and working hard at coordinating his arms and legs!

One awesome thing Colbs can do is hold his breath for a really long time. It is amazing! He loved his teacher and especially loved the little army guys she had as prizes every day! Seriously they were so spoiled! Thanks Tamarah! This sure was a great way to end our summer in Arizona.

Holy Moly I Have a Five Year Old!

2010-06-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Colby turned 5 almost a month ago! We had a Star Wars birthday party in our backyard this year. Simple, no frills, just snacks, cake, and water. The kids had a blast!

We almost didn't get this adorable cake. Friday I spent at least and hour and went to 5 stores before one agreed to make me a cake! Thank You Fry's and the sweet bakery lady! Everyone else turned us down because graduation cakes were more of a priority.

We bought a simple little slip n' slide and turned on the splash pad and the water fun began!

I was pretty impressed with some of the moves the kids were braving on the slip n' slide. Especially Meghan Winward! Holy cow that girl can jump!

Is there a safety code against this? I am sure there is...don't worry...as soon as I got the picture we made them get down.

What would a water party be with out good ole' water balloons.

Some of Colby's friends around him are: Cassidy in the pink bathing suite, Meghan in the turquoise, Jacob right behind him, Andrew next to Jacob, and Carter Wyeth behind Cassidy.

On Sunday his actual birthday, Colby had lots of fun setting up his trick tracks and playing with Brody!

At Mimi and Papa's Sunday night he got another cake, and had another birthday celebration.

He had a great birthday, and so did we for that matter. Our love for our sweet Colby grows more and more each day! We are so glad he is a part of our family. He is funny, silly, and too smart for his own britches! I can't believe he will be in kindergarten next year! We love you so much Colby!

I Give Up!

2010-06-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

I gave up a long time ago on being showered every day, on putting on makeup every day, on not growing up and older, on taking naps, on eating a quiet meal, keeping things organized just so, and on doing most of what I want to do when I want to do it.

Today I am adding to the list! I give up on keeping up to date with my blog, trying to remember all the details of the zillion things I have to get done in the next two weeks, and feeling guilty when my sweet boys do not have my attention 24-7. Ahhhhhh, life is crazy, there's too much good to be worried with all this stuff. Will I still worry about it? Sure, I would't be me if I just didn't care, but at least for tonight I am gonna forget it! Well, okay not the blog part...tonight that's my escape!

We have been incredibly busy the last several months and things are just getting started around here as we prepare for our move to Austin.

Today Colby was totally rude (unintentionally of course), and brutally honest with me. This morning he told me that he didn't like my hair down because I "looked like and ugly man." Nothing like hearing you look like and ugly man to start the day off!! Then this afternoon we were out on an errand and he crawls up under my arm and is looking up and laughing and says out loud in the store, "uh mommy you have a lot of hair under your elbows." What he meant was arm pits. He calls most body parts elbows. He used to call boobs elbows :) Now shoulders are elbows. Not sure why because if you point to the body part he gets it correct everytime, but any way that's beside the point!(I know, spare you the details), but mind you this is out loud in the store with people around. All I could do was laugh and explain to him that mommy doesn't have time to shave every day. There ya go! I'm gross and I give up!

What I don't give up on, are these two incredibly adorable and precious gifts I have been entrusted to raise! In fact, I would gladly give up all the things I mentioned and enjoy a laugh with them, even if the target is me just so I can see their smiling faces one more day!

I walked into the kitchen one morning to find Brody like this. He wanted to be pulled around in this block tub. He has done this before with the laundry basket, but I thought it was hilarious that he crammed himself into this tub!

Guess who loves daddy's size 14 shoes? He puts them on and then walks around squealing and say "shoe, big"

My crazy smart Colby just graduated from preschool last Monday. I can't believe he is headed to kindergarten next year! He is knows all his numbers (counts to 100), reads, and adds and subtracts! We are so proud of him!

Lately his favorite thing is Star Wars! He doesn't go a day without playing with action figures, begging to watch the movies, or playing lego star wars on his DS. Colby also turned 5 years old. Oh, how time flys! Hopefully, I can post more soon. I would really like to post Colby's birthday pictures and some other fun stuff, but I'm not guaranteeing anything and I'm not feeling guilty about it! :)

All Dressed Up

2010-04-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's not very often that I get to have the boys all dressed up AND get a picture of it. They both actually cooperated a little bit on Easter Sunday and we snapped a few pretty good shots.

Easter

2010-04-25T14:23:00.001-07:00

Dying eggs with Grandpa. The trick this year was keeping Brody from drinking or dumping all the die out.

Colby wanted all his eggs blue, and I think one of his eggs is still in the fridge, and no one is allowed to touch it. I'm not sure how we will make that disappear, but one day it will have to go, I'm sorry Colbs.

Brody's language always seems to be exploding, and of course this was no exception. He learned to say "egg."

Easter morning, they boys got bubble guns from the Easter bunny. Brody was happy chasing Colby's bubbles, and just turned his one without bubbles attached.

Colby has always loved to go on hunts, and it doesn't really matter what kind...the hunt is his favorite part about Easter. In fact, I remember the first easter he could really understand it, he was like a candy fiend on his egg hunt. It was hilarious..really his hands were shaking as he was opening eggs, and he could hardly wait to get to the next egg so he could open it and shove more candy in. This time, he just found all of them as fast as he could then, plopped down on the grass and sorted all his eggs...then he indulged in a somewhat orderly fashion!

Brody loved the hunt too, and by the time we had the second one at his Mimi and Papa's house he was hauling booty to grab all the eggs he could see. He of course was a chocolate mess, and ate everything he could get open. We have even found a few eggs still in the yard over the last couple weeks.

April Showers Bring Grandpa & Flowers

2010-04-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

The boys and I have gotten some serious Grandpa time in over the past month, and as a result we have been on many adventures that we would not have otherwise been on. Since Late March he has come twice two weeks apart, but for about a week each time! He had to work more this last trip, but the first one out we were able to go on several little fun trips (San Tan Mtns - blogged earlier), and then to the botanical gardens and a fun restaurant out in the boonies called San Tan Flats. Here are some of my favorite pictures...

I love Brody's face in this pictures, he always seems to have something smeared on his face and most of the time he is flashing this sweet smile. He's a pretty happy kiddo especially when he has chocolate.

Okay, so this restaurant is so cool. It reminds me of Texas, and it has pretty darn good food, but the atmosphere is what is so fun. You can eat inside if you want, but most of the seating is outside (first come first serve) and there are these pits everywhere. When you are ready they light up a fire for you and you can roast your own marshmallows and make smores.

Colby's first pyro experience, he was thrilled when his marshmallow caught on fire!!

As for most things outdoors this is the perfect time to go to the botanical gardens. The weather was fantastic and everything seemed to be in almost full bloom. This tree was so cool, When it fills in its leaves it will be even better. It was like a cave underneath it and we played under it for a good little while.

The flowers on this cactus were unbelievable. I am positive I have seen pictures of them before, on calendars and stuff, but to actually see this amazingly beautiful flower bloom out of something so thorny and wretched was really neat. This one was at the botanical gardens, but when Dad and I went back last Sunday morning to hike the San Tan mountains for the second time (this time without kids and at the before the crack of dawn...you know dad) we saw these in full bloom in their natural environment. It was awesome.

Needless to say, we had a great time, and you know me and my love for plants and flowers, this whole place was eye candy for me. There were so many neat spots to just park it in the shade and take in the scenery. Well, maybe next time I can enjoy one of those spots instead of chasing kiddos, but they really enjoyed it too, at least the first 15 minutes or so anyway :)

My Skin is Crawling!

2010-04-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? Seriously? Ewwwwhhhh!!!

Time: way too late for this crap! Location: Office. Method of Attack: silent and totally creepy!

Ahhh I am totally freaking out. This is the first scorpion I have ever seen alive, in the 5 years we have lived here, and none, in or outside my own home. Matt and I were both in the office working and I was on the floor working on the laptop, I just happened to look up at Matt and out of the corner of my eye, saw this little *$##@! running at me!

Thank goodness we were up, and got it before it stung one of the boys. Yuck, I feel creepy crawly and I can't go to bed now! Dang scorpion, I hate you, no really I do!

March Maddness

2010-03-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say that this post was about b-ball and how I was leading in my bracket, but even if I did follow the March madness with Matt, I probably wouldn't be leading in my bracket. Our tournament however began in the middle of February, we have been going non-stop since We have had our fair share of leaps and hurdles along the way, but we have come out better athletes in life:) So what have we been up to for the last month? I'll spare you the stress and fill you in on the good stuff.

March 7th Matt's sister, Mallory, gave birth to our sweet nephew, Braxton, at 28 weeks, almost 3 months early! Tiny little Braxton and the circumstances surrounding his arrival were truly a miracle. He was delivered at Banner Gateway by one of the best neonatal specialist that just happened to be at the hospital when Mallory arrived, and was then care-lifted after delivery to Banner Desert. Mallory and her sweet hubby Jesse have been incredible new parents and Braxton is doing amazingly well! He is now, 3 weeks old and just made it to 4lbs. He is off the ventilator and CPAP and is breathing on his own with just oxygen now! Here are a few pictures....

Every time, I see these pictures, I just want to cry because he is so precious and such a miracle.

Braxton at 1 week old.

Mal and B just a few days ago! Look how sweet and tiny he is!! So beautiful! He is so tiny now, but he will probably be a tank just like Brody and Colby. There were no short genes available for this kiddo! I'll let you know when this sweet boy gets to come home, but as for now we think he will be in the hospital until around his due date mid-May. My guess at Mal's shower this weekend was May 10th...we'll see!

I think one night after taking Mal and Jesse something, we were in the car coming home and it was way past bed time, Brody was so funny. He loves trains, trucks, and all animals now, and on the way to Mal and Jesse's we had seen a train. This little boy couldn't let it go, so on the way home he kept saying "choo choo eeee ahh you?" looking for the train we had seen earlier. Colby was trying to tell him the train went night night and he was yelling "noooo" at Colby. The video is horrid, it was on my Iphone and the every bump of the car made the video blur....but here is Brody in true form; absolutely adorable, indescribably cunning in trying to get Colby in trouble, and very defensive about his choo-choo.

It seemed that amidst all the chaos of what was happening in our lives this month, almost everyday, the boys made me laugh. Most days they also made me fuss at them more than laugh at them, but isn't it amazing how even a few seconds of silliness can make all those grumpies disappear! I especially laugh when I see this picture, because it just captures these too boys as I see them everyday! Colby there with his classic crazy faces in pictures, and Brody looking pudgy and adorable as a little toddler.

Only a mother could love, what I loved most about this picture, Brody's feet, I love those little feet so much, I kiss them multiple times a day...poor kid! And Colby is such a ham, to see him doing this crazy face, makes me love him even more, because his motivation is to go back later and laugh himself silly while he looks at his pictures over and over again.

So what the heck else have we been doing? Well, we really have been trying to stick close to home. I have really just felt drawn to be at home more. I really have enjoyed being a homebody this month. I have always kind of been this way, don't get me wrong, I love to get out too, I have too, but this is what we needed this month.

The weather has been phenomenal so, we have been enjoying the outdoors as much as we can. We have been to several parks, and even got to play on the splash pad several days. I love it, b/c I can actually cook dinner without two whiny boys at my feet, and they have so much fun.

Colby has been learning to read. Thanks to his incredible teacher Jennifer Vanderpool, he has just excelled. He loves school, and he has always loved to read books. There is not a time that we go to the library that we have not checked out more than 20 books. We read him at least 3 books a night after his scripture and prayer and often he is begging for more. This just might be one of my proudest moments so far as his mom. So try not to laugh too hard when you watch the video and hear me saying "good job" every 5 seconds. Last night he even decided he wanted to read his own books and say his prayer alone and then invited us in to do scripture and say good night. He is just getting too big.

I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ice cream! One afternoon we were outside and heard the familiar sound of an ice cream truck. Of course Colby recognized it and went nuts, and I have to admit I got a little excited too, but the protective parent kicked in pretty quickly too, that is until it rounded the corner. It was seriously the cutest thing I have seen, and the ladies selling were super nice and very mindful of the kids safety. Brody now runs screaming to the door if we hear it. What have we started????

If you get bored enough at home you get a little creative...Colby and I used a box we got in the mail to create this little ditty. Who knew that a box could turn into a mansion? We had so much fun creating this little house, and they are still playing with it!

After running one day a few weeks ago, I dared Colby to climb this big rock pile, he had so much fun sneaking up it as fast as he could for a picture before the Power Ranch, landscapers came and shooed us off!

I have been working on projects for what seems like the entire month, sewing heating pads, making baby gifts, and a gift for my niece. The boys were tired of being ignored and shopping for things for my projects so we ate lunch in the park and played for a while to give them a much needed break from me and my projects!

Last Friday night we went to McDonald's for dinner (I know, yuck), but Matt had a meeting to got to that ran late and I needed the boys to be happy and have a break! Brody saw the other kids with these ridiculous hats on, and monkey see monkey do, he had to have one. So we made his happy meal box into a dragon slayer hat and he screamed cheese for the camera. He was so happy.

Even though life was crazy and there seemed to be no time for anything, Matt and I made time to go to the temple a few days before it closed. We had not been in what seemed like forever and good intentions aside, we just hadn't been even though we wanted to. It was fantastic. I was able to put some names in for prayers, and we attended a session. It was great. I really have a testimony that we learn things in the temple that we cannot learn anywhere else, and we came out with questions answered, and with renewed strength to press forward.

Remember the projects? This was one of them. I made a hooded towel for Braxton's shower this past weekend. It was so fun.

One Saturday morning we were at Lowe's and one of the employees in the garden center turned Colby's attention to a new resident. A great horned owl had made a nest in the top of one of the mulch bags. He said that she comes every year. We only had our phones so the pictures didn't turn out, but she was huge! So this week we went back with our camera and took pictures and someone else had arrived too. Three baby owls. It was incredible. If you have a chance you should go check it out.

My dad came in town this past weekend and will be here through Easter. Monday we went to check out the Santan mountain regional park. It was fantastic. Colby was really grumpy most of the time, Brody was an angel, and the weather was incredible. We hiked for a while, and enjoyed the amazing bluebonnets and wildflowers along the trail. On the way back, dad and I heard a familiar rattle....a little too familiar...and wow right in front of us probably less than a foot off the trail was a diamond back rattle snake. Yikes! Had Colby been out in front my story probably would be different, b/c as soon as we figured out where he was it was almost too late. He was already coiled up and ready to strike, luckily enough, we froze and waited for him to chill out, before taking a different path. We were blessed to see him though, and not only not be bitten, but get to explain to Colby what to do if that happens again. It was incredible.

Taking a break, for a snack. Brody just made himself at home.

Some of the crazy beautiful bluebonnets. I didn't even know they grew here.

Yikes here is the snake. You will have to click on the picture to see it, b/c I took it with my phone. And it really doesn't do it justice. We were entirely too close for comfort. Dad said he was about 8 years old. Just in case you are wondering. Of course this is only something Dad would do in the face of immediate danger, count the sections of the rattle on the snake to see how old it was.

So that's it! I think this month the thing I have learned the most, is that when I lose myself in service to others, I forget my own problems, even if it is just for a little while, and life just seems to keep moving. I know that we are truly blessed, and I am grateful for life's little moments of greatness!

Full Bloom

2010-02-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

All things are in bloom at our house. I was and still am a little too excited about my peach blossoms. They are so beautiful, and last year our peaches were so yummy, but they were tiny. So I am totally hoping for bigger ones that taste just as sweet this year. My purple mallows are blooming like crazy and we are about to have orange and lime blossoms too!

We also planted a garden and Colby is so excited to watch it grow. I guess it is the anticipation to watch as a little seed turns into a plant and then produces something you usually get at the grocery store. I get it, I feel like my boys bloom too. Sometimes they grow overnight. I swear I put them to bed and they grow a few inches or gain/lose a few pounds. It is such a trip to watch them grow, not only in stature, but also to see those little personalities develop.

Brody turned 18 months old, and I am still taken a back when I think that my sweet baby is almost two. He is such a good an obedient boy, but just like weeds in the garden we have had some tootie two behavior cropping up over the last month or so. He likes to tattle on his brother and say "he not being nice." He has learned if he screams it usually gets Colby in trouble, although I'm figuring this little sneaky boy out and Colby is thankful for that. Tantrums I'm sad to say are becoming the norm now when he doesn't get what he wants, but they are short lived and ignored most of the time. But aside from those few little bits that every kid goes through we can't complain. This is him saying "tcheeeeeez" for a picture. Every time he sees the camera out he is posing and ready to go.

He is very social, loves to say "hi and bye" to people and is ever so fascinated with other babies and children. Brody loves to play outside, any opportunity he can get.

He loves climbing up the playset in the back yard and sliding down the slide. He will say "lide" and then count "one, dooo, weee." He likes to get in and out of the swings, but doesn't swing for very long. Of course anywhere there is dirt or water it is a total magnet for him. Very slowly we are learning throwing sand, dirt and rocks is not good. The words he is saying are too numerous to list, but we love it when he says " I wan nack" and then says "ummm" as he opens the pantry door, debating what his tummy is hungry for. We laugh when you ask him questions and he answers appropriately with "yep" or "right." He does like to say "No!" at his brother, and we try to keep our snickering under-wrap when he is saying "mine!" Lately he loves to play hide and seek and he will whisper "where doh."

Okay, his stats...he is 35in long, and 27.5lbs. That puts him in the 97 plus percentile for height and a I think 75 percent for weight. He is the same length Colby was at 18mo. BUT Colby weighed 4 more lbs that him. Yeah, he was a tank, still is...And of course Colby is right there with him outside. We love being outside this time of year. If we are not in the back yard, then we are out riding bikes or playing in the parks. Thanks for watching us bloom!

Firsts

2010-02-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

This was one of the many firsts we had this weekend. It was so much fun. From the video you can see, our first first, was Colby's loose tooth and then his lost tooth :) He first told me it was loose last Wednesday (2-3-2010) and it came out just before dinner on Friday night. The tooth fairy brought him a nice crisp $1 bill (hey I think I got quarters...what tooth fairy did I have?)

Colby got lady bug larvae from his cousins for Christmas well, they did in fact morph into lady bugs and Monday we released them out of the plastic dome they had been in for well over a month. Brody nearly squashed all ten and let a few out before we were ready, but we still got to play with them!

My beloved purple mallows started blooming and I just want to be out there all the time staring at their total beautisimusness (yeah that is my word). Which reminds me, I must be turning into my mom...ahhh...she used to make up gigantic words, especially when she was mad at us....funny...good times....anyway...here is my beautiful flower...and if you look close enough you might even see our lady bug on there.

Last, but definitely not least, Brody went to his first day of nursery this Sunday and did fantastic. It makes me teary looking at how big he is and how incredibly smart he is. He just has this incredible zest for life and is totally my little adventuresome boy! I love it. I am so happy that he will be happy playing while I get to soak up some spiritual renewal that I desperately need at the end of the week :)