Hugs and kisses and hearts all around!

This lil man is the light of my life! And man is he photogenic!

He insisted that we go outside (how did he know when the sun came out, I would be a sucker?).

So I told him he had to have his jacket. He kept running around grabbing his arms and motioning for his jacket...so I found the first one I could find...to bad it didn't match his hat. He looks a little unmatched, but oh the pictures I am in love with!

Was it the camera, the person behind the camera, the lighting, the cute kid or all of the above?

I have to say it is one of my favorite photos this month! That one photo will sure make up for a months of not so "photogenic" photos. :)

But while we were at it we were also making the family's valentines day cards...those pictures will have to wait, otherwise it would spoil the surprise! Enjoy!

A fun playdate!

After a reschedule of a play date for the boys, we finally got to meet up with the Fenter's for a play date for Dylan and Bryce!

It's amazing they are getting so big, 2 years has sure flown by!

We met up at Northshore park for some fun, it was a cold and breezy day but the boys didn't mind. D thought that the toys in the sand were the best thing ever...to the point he would not move. Maybe we deprived him by not taking him to the beach last year? We will definitely be there as soon as it gets warm, I think this was a great indication that he will have a great time.

The boys thought it would be fun to play chase...1,2,3 GO! Back and forth the to mom's and dad's.

We ended up at Grimaldi's for some yummy pizza and then a walk along the waterway (which got really chilly - daddy forgot his jacket and thought it would be a good idea to wear flip flops!). Oops.

We found a cute little maze of Aesop's Fables that the boys had fun chasing each other through.

Good times were had by all and we definitely need to do that more often!

A look at the past...Lacrosse style!

I forgot to mention (how could I) earlier in the month about Daddy's Lacrosse alumni game.

It was great to see Daddy out there playing in what he loves to do best! It's been a long long time since he has picked up the stix but it's just like riding a bike! He got to play the entire game and...he was the oldest alumni player out there! It was quite funny, especially the digs some of the guys were saying "Dude, I was in like 2nd grade in 97"! Ah well, he had a good time and that is all that matters.

I was happy that he didn't get hurt. Of course, D only had a patience to sit in the sun while watching the game for about 3/4 of the game. The last 1/4 we made it over to the playground in which D thought it would be fun to try to lose me...goodness its hard to get around those playgrounds as quick as the lil ones!

After the game, they had bbq for all the players. So Daddy helped to clean up and well of course stand around and catch up with some of the guys. In the mean time D found the volleyball court, and loved the sand! He had quite a good time AND it was a beautiful day for it all!

We wish Daddy could do that more often so we could get out to cheer him on!

Ribbit, Ribbit...

I am in awe! Shock and just can't believe that our lil man is not even two yet and I learned today that he caught a frog! Yes, a slimy little green frog!



I wish I could have seen the excitement on his face when Daddy picked him up from school. He said that he was so excited to show him and to tell him (in his words of course) all about it!



How was he even fast enough? How did he even find such a thing? Why was he not playing on the playground but was over in the corner getting a frog? My goodness, do we have a boy on our hands our what?



I guess it was only fitting that they showed him the frog sign in sign language and now he does it anytime I even mention the name "frog" and says "RIBBIT RIBBIT"!



Goodness gracious...let the slimy, insects, reptiles adventures begin. I am not sure I am ready for this but I guess its here whether I like it or not! :)

Our pop star...

As we were getting ready for work/school yesterday morning...D decided he didn't want to watch cartoons...so I popped in his "So you think your baby can read" video. Yes, folks he actually likes these videos better than NickJr, Sprout or Baby First TV!



If he doesn't like something, he says "All done". So...his wonderful video alternates words with songs...and on came "If your happy and you know it".



He always claps, but this time....he had to get down off the bed to stomp his feet....then to my surprise shouted "hooray" for the last part of the song! Really? Did that just happen? Wow...I guess maybe he has listened to it enough at daycare?



So then tonight we were driving home from work and I start to sing "Wheels on the bus" and he would chime in on the part "All day long". Then silly me, I started to do the same verse over again and as I was saying round and round, he said beep beep beep!? Wow...I guess he wanted me to move onto the next verse. I didn't think he was listening to me sing? So we moved onto the next verse...and all the way home we had to sing the beep beep beep verse. He would say it with me just like the song and then say "All day long". I was flabbergasted! I was shocked and amazed.



All while this is going on and he is quit the repeater of words for songs, Daddy and I were having a conversation while getting ready this morning and I said "where are the dogs"? He said outside, before I could turn around he was gone. Where did he go, I go down the hallway to find out he was letting the dogs in for us and came running back to the bedroom! Wow...this is happening all to fast, how, why, what and where?


I guess the moral to the story...he really does listen to us (even though we don't think he is listening or paying attention)!

Fun bath time...

Again...if I could figure out how to load iphone video to a blog, I just might load the video version of this.

Daddy was apparently quite funny during bath time on this night! D couldn't stop laughing and the rumbling and giggles from the tummy were endless!

I love his silly face!

Is that your belly button?

Picture of D trying to look at my belly button, while I was trying so hard to get a picture of him smiling. I think he wanted to tickle me....that is one of his favorite things to do these days!

A beautiful sunset...

Well, again...I couldn't help but try to take advantage of a beautiful sunset to test out the camera skills. I do have to give credit to D as he was the one that spotted this site in the sky as he was letting the dogs outside...and kept saying "sun" "sun" for me to come look.

This is what I saw...

Just plain silly...

First it started with laughter because he got the apples out of the refrigerator. Like, hahahaha...look at me. Or wait, did you just catch me doing that?

Then it was a fun and cute "Daddy and Me" time. He was smiling so cute at the camera....like he was so proud to be in "Daddy's" lap.

Then he thought it would be funny to take a sock off of his foot and use it as a hand puppet(thanks to daycare).

He was quite proud of himself having one sock on his foot and one on his hand. I thought it was cute....

Then he was enthused with the dog water bowl he has seen numerous times outside, but this time it was intriguing.

He sure loves to make sure Titan is well taken care of...and here he was watching him drink water. Oh the things that make us happy!

Whose chasing who?

When the neighbors got new carpet...Daddy asked if we could have the leftover carpet pad for our rug in our dining room.

Well, that meant D thought it was part of his playground (play area) and that it meant it is in his area he can do as he chooses.

It was quite funny because he and Gunnar were having quite a fun time. You would hear thump, laughter, giggles then a bark....then foot or paws walking all over the pad. D would run after Gunnar, fall....then Gunnar would pounce and antagonize D and it would happen all over again.

These are just a few photos. I wish the camera wasn't dead or I would be loading video! But that I hope you can see from the pictures that these two were having quite a good time!

Freedom...

So, as D is getting bigger...he is finding more and more ways to do the things he wants to do.


Like climbing on the couch and standing up in the chair.




Putting together toys in his bedroom, reading books, playing music and just plain entertaining himself.


Or, being silly and playing on his playground outside.



He knows when he wants to be out there and when he doesn't...and well this day...we hung out in pj's all day and we told him he could not go outside without shoes...so he went to find shoes.



Nothing like walking around in your pj's and wearing your fuzzy crocs...eh...your in the backyard...no one can see you, right? Well, that is until Mommy decides to post picture on FB and her blog!? :)

Clean helper...

Not sure where it came from but this infatuation that D has of wanting to clean everything is getting rather hard sometimes.

He loves his spray bottle and "sponge"...and now its the "towel" for paper towel. I think he has seen me clean up his overly zealous water spraying with a paper towel one too many times.

Well, below are the times I love when he helps...he decided the windows on the back door needed cleaning. (of course from the doggie smudge marks from their noses). Have at it lil man! :)

Surprise, Surprise...

I don't think a surprise gift from Cuckoo and Papa could have come at a better time. But to lift D's spirits and provide us some warmth when we were all sick!

The day that D was feeling completely horrible, a package arrived. With all the excitement that D loves Trains and Fire Trucks...cuckoo and papa made two blankets for D. They are Thomas the Train blankets! Soft and cuddly...one for home and one for daycare (or grandparents houses). :)

Poor D, he was excited, he really was...but the excitement was short lived b/c I think it was just too much energy. Part of me wishes we would have waited until he felt better but then the other part of me was happy that they provided him comfort when he didn't feel well.

See for yourself, his excitement...then well temperament change...then tiredness.

Thank you Cuckoo and Papa...we all love them! CHOO CHOO!

Sick and tired...

We have been very fortunate in that ever since we have had tubes in those little ears of D's that he has not been sick (with ear infections, colds, etc). So when he wasn't sleeping well, started to get dark circles under his eyes...I knew something was coming.

Sure enough we take him to the doctor, to our surprise to get to see the nurse practitioner who said all the gunk that was in his eye (I was paranoid it was pink eye), that it was just a sinus infection. So onto antibiotics we went. The antibiotics started to help right away...green cleared up and he seemed to be sleeping better.

Until, the stomach bug hit not even a week later. And it was a nasty bug that was later caught by Daddy and I. But with him it was bad. He wouldn't eat, he had a fever and he just plain didn't want to do anything. My little cuddle bug...I miss that but sure hate when he is sick. The doctor took a look at him and his sinuses were better to stop giving him the antibiotic that was probably hurting his stomach bug issue.

So off the medicine we went and almost 48 hours the dude was back to normal. Full of energy, like nothing every happened. That's always the case right? Yeah, well too bad the day he felt better was the day that Daddy and I were sick at the same time. When does that happen? NEVER. It was quite a challenge and well I have to say that our boy saw more TV and colored more in his high chair that day than he has his entire life! Wow. That was an experience. Thank you Grandma B for going to the store for us and getting us all of our goodies we felt like we needed to survive and well the surprise for D to make him want to "color" more. I think it took us almost 4 days to get back to normal with lack of sleep and well keeping up with him.

Sure enough though, not even by Monday he had the green stuff again. So we kept his follow up appt. and the doctor ended up putting him back on antibiotics. Said the sinus infection was back. This time 15 days of antibiotics and start him on Zyrtec. What? Really? For 4-6 weeks. See if that helps is what he said. hmm...ok. I guess they might think it is allergies.

I tell you what, we sure can't wait for this month to be over and to say goodbye to all the germies...I sure have cleaned the house up and down, but it has been one thing after another.

Are you tired yet from reading this post?

T minus three months and counting...ok He's 21 months!

So, here we 10 days into the new year...and our lil man in 3 months time will be two years old! I just can't believe it! He is absolutely a doll, a godsend, an angel, a ham, our lil man, a love and so much more!

Everyday is a new day and every minute is a new word. I can't keep track anymore. I try, and really try to make mental notes of all the new things he says or is doing and it just is old as fast as it was new! Wait, does that make sense?

The lil man is still averaging about 27 to 27 1/2 lbs. To me, I think he is tall. Already growing out of his clothes in length. He is in that fun in between stage! The weight doesn't constitute the next size up but the length does. He's got almost all of his teeth. Thanks to the past month of sleepless nights, his canines are in and man he looks like a piranha with all those pearly whites! Brushing teeth is getting better but still sometimes a battle...again because he is so independent...you can't help him! We are getting there. But it is much nicer not having to worry to chop up all his food into small bites. He loves to sink his teeth into apples, carrots, chips and anything crunchy that makes sound when his little chompers chomp down.

He can still eat. Some days pickier than others, but he can eat! Still always a trustworthy food are his fruits and vegetables. We did finally get him to eat asparagus...just took trying over and over again. He loves, and I mean LOVES, to dip anything and everything in "sauces". First it was ketschup, but I was determined that he wasn't only going to like that...so he likes steak sauce, ranch dressing, green Tabasco, salad dressing, etc. The list goes on. If he sees you put it on your plate, he wants it on his. Oh boy...here we go.

He's enjoying drinking out of straws in cups, and can now drink from a cup without (almost) spilling. He climbs in the refrigerator and grabs whatever it is he wants to eat. So that means re-arranging things to the top so he doesn't ALWAYS wants tomatoes "tato", grapes "geeps", cheese "cheese" or juice boxes "juice". We have started to stock the apples and more easily eaten and less messy fruits in those drawers so he can grab what he wants when he is hungry. It's amazing, he's almost self sufficient...almost! j/j :)

He has an infatuation of coloring "coco". And well, lets just say its time we get new coloring books...the ones Nana got him for Christmas are well worn. His lil pip squeak markers that Santa left in his stocking are his favorite. He almost doesn't even want anything to do with Crayons anymore. He's become very good at taking the tops off and putting them back on...and all I have to say is it is well worth the extra $ for the washable! Maybe he is the next Monet??

His vocabulary is just blossoming, probably not so much for everyone else to understand clearly, but it sure is there. From colors ("geen" "boo" and "orange") to numbers (two and nine) to the alphabet (HIJK). It's Titan and Gun Gun, "Ight" for light, "Keen" for clean, fish, shoes, firetruck, police car (with a silent P), car, truck, nose and eyes to name a few. He loves Hi and Bye Bye, which now has an extra bye bye...for a total of four. Daddy has taught him how to say "Peace Out" and he almost has the hand signal to go with it.

He's getting good at swing the golf club, and throwing the ball and shooting the basketball. He scan scoot around on his ride on toy rather quickly...enough to chase Gunnar down the hall and back to where they are both laughing (of course Gunnar can't laugh but you know he's having a good time). He is starting to like the 1,2,3 go game...thanks to Bryce.

Oh did I mention he loves fire trucks and trains? He will say "choo choo" with a fist pump, even while he is sleeping...he will wake up to say it in the middle of the night when he hears it coming!

As you can tell I could write forever...I'll try to be better about updating the blog. It's just been a little tough these past few weeks/months. So...here goes nothing. Enjoy.

And before you know it, I'll be writing again about his 22 month birthday. :)

Hook em Horns!

We were all geared up for the game, despite all the naysayers and all the talk of us being the underdogs...I was determined and just new the Horns would win this year. I had high hopes.

And to tell you the truth I don't think I was far off. The first 5 plays of the game, we dominated and I think it would have continued through the rest of the game if it hadn't been for my man Mr. McCoy getting hurt. We didn't give up and I wanted so badly for our true freshman to pull us through. He did a great job of leading the team, but I think the "captain" the "leader" of our team really hurt them when he got hurt. My heart goes out to them...and I may sound strange saying this, but it does.

I've always been a good, energetic, positive support for whatever sports team I'm cheering for. Whether it was being the cheerleader at my brother's all star games when I was 7, to cheering on the Highlanders when I was a Highstepper...to following my Longhorn sports teams throughout college. I love it, Thank you Mom, Dad and Dave for making me such an avid sports fan (even though I'm a girl)! :) I wouldn't change it for the world....with that being said. My heart broke when my team lost. It wasn't an aching, gosh I can't believe they didn't win aching but just a heartfelt loss. Better luck next time. Colt will go on to be a great quarterback in the NFL and we have a promising young quarterback for our Horns!

Hook em! I bleed ORANGE!

And with all of that said...our little man is going to be quite the sports enthusiast (I have a feeling). :) He loves to watch football and play basketball. He's not that attached to baseball yet...but he definitely loves sports that involve "balls".

So, once again we had to get our family picture taken (yet again) sporting our burnt orange! Here's what we got...(please disregard the dude with no pants)!

And when D sees the longhorn emblem...he tries his best to say "onghorn"! Too cute!

New Year, New You?

Ok, so we had a very low key New Year's Eve and New Year's Day...then weekend.



We were able to hang out with some very good friends, the kids got to play and we got to see family! What's a better way to start off the New Year but with friends and family, right?



Of course, it was our luck at the strike of midnight for our lil man (who had been battling sleeping through the night for weeks) to wake up crying at 11:50 pm? I like to think it was b/c of all the fireworks but I'm thinking it had a combination of teething and not being in his bed. Ah well, Daddy was a trooper and sat with him through the stroke of midnight, while I got to toast with friends.



We did however stay up waayyy too late! Wow, I don't think we can do that anymore...we are too old, right? j/j You just can't hang anymore...you are wiped out for two days following.



We have high hopes that this year has great things in store for us. We woke up New Year's Day thinking this year was going to be great. The first seven days however, were very trying! But we are strong and at this point can make it through anything, so BRING IT!



Happy New Year, everyone!