Bridge Series

We are starting a bridge series. The idea started when we were in San Fran on the Golden Gate. We took some pictures of ourselves and we love them. We are now doing that same thing on other bridges. It will be neat to look back at these pictures and memories! Here are a few from our 2nd set. These were taken in Waco, Tx on the Suspension bridge.

The beautiful bridge

Gavin - fishing and the taco barrels

We got to take Gavin fishing for the first time over the holidays. He absolutely loved it and was interested for about a good 30 seconds. He did like the casting part but was not so into the waiting for the fish part :). It was a cold day and the fish were a bit lazy. I was determined that he was going to catch a fish though so we stayed and waited. Gavin was walking around a bit while we were waiting on the fish to bite. He happened to find a cockaburr bush (taco barrels is the way he pronounces it). At first we was scared of then because they were poky but then he loved that they stuck to his clothes. He even brought a collection back to show Nana. So in the meantime I am still trying to catch a fish for him. Greg is walking aorund the field with him and playing with the taco barrels. We finally did get something to bite and he caught his first fish!! It was a catfish and it was a nice size one too. He thought it was awesome but he was scared of it. He did finally touch it on the head though. We had a fun time! Hope you enjoy the pictures :)

baiting the hook
castingfishing it up

fishingthe taco barrels
the fishthat is a scary looking thing
finally touched it

Gavin and the ducks

So we were out at the park this past Saturday shooting some pictures with Santa. After we were done we took our boys for a walk down by the pond. Gav and Fin like to look at the ducks. Well evidentially Gav had to go potty and these pictures tell the rest of the story.

realizes he needs to potty


pants drop FAST! so fast that i did not have time to react.

thinks it is hilarious that he almost peed on the ducks

still trying to get them.
Those were some lucky ducks! It is pictures like this that are priceless! Definitely keeping these for when he is older... :)

just a word

It has been crazy around our house for the past few weeks. We have been battling the cold/flu season here like crazy. It seems like every time we get better one of us gets a bug and it starts all over again. We are now dealing with ear infections with both boys. I am praying that they will be better by tomorrow. We are going to a day out with Thomas! I am sure they will have fun even if they are not 100%. We planned this trip about 4 months ago and Gavin is really looking forward to it. I will let you know how it turns out :)

At the park

Here are a few pix from the park today...

Gav and Fin playing on the slide

Fin... I just love his tongue!

My sweet little Gav

Sera and Fin having snacks :)

Downs Calendar

Here is the calendar that I have been working on lately. I am very happy with the way it turned out and I can not wait to see it printed! It was so much fun working with all of these awesome kiddos and I am looking forward to seeing them all again at buddy walk!


Back cover
















Front cover

just an update

it has been a while since my last blog... i am so bad at keeping up with this thing :). we have not had much going on really besides being sick. that has been no fun! i am hoping we will all get well and stay that way soon! we are going to get flu shots next week. i sure do not want that floating around the house.
so what else is going on with us...
we started mops this past week. gavin has started soccer this week. griffin has started to run and talk a bit. he can now say "wow, ohhh, meow, mama, dada, up and pup". i just love this age! we have also been enjoying this geat fall weather and spending more time outside!
well this has been a random post. i guess that is all for now.

My little Fin is O-N-E today!!

Happy birthday to my little man. Mommy loves you very much. You are such a blessing to us and such a joy to watch. I am so thankful that I am here to share your special day with you. I am thankful every morning when I wake up that I have at least one more day to spend with you, Gavin and Daddy! It has been one heck of a year and one emotional roller coaster for me. I am certainly the luckiest mommy in the world to have such a wonderful, loving family and to be here to love you back. (drying eyes now)

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY GRIFFIN!!

Before and After

So I finally got around to re-touching an old picture for Granny. It is actually an old painting done on tin... not sure about the actual date it was painted. I do know that is was sometime in the 1800's. It was framed by "house of Art, INC." in Beaumont, TX. I did take some pictures while I was taking it out of the frame. I will post those later along with the back story of the picture. I have to get with Granny and get the scoop. I am very interested in it's story. The lady in the picture is named Molly Moody Day (1862-1895). Here is a before and after.

Gavin riding his bike w/ out training wheels

Here are some pics of Gavin and his latest accomplishment. HE LEARNED TO RIDE W/ OUT TRAINING WHEELS!! He is getting so big and doing so many new things. I just had to brag for a minute :)

he is so happy that he is doing it


Falling over


Back up and riding


this was him getting his trophy... so cute what he comes up with sometimes!

Our Bluebonnet Adventure

So we finally ventured out to take bluebonnet pictures a few days ago. I had been saying that we needed to go for weeks but we just never did. So I decided to get the boys ready and head out for a quick photo shoot. So this is how it went...
Take 1
Gavin fell asleep on the way there. That is never good because he is a grouch when he gets woke up. I let him sleep while I did Griffin's pictures and that worked out pretty well. Griffin was in such a great mood and we got some cute pics. Then it was time to wake Gavin up. Well that is when the adventure began. He was not happy at all! He would not look at me and he was very mad. He even started to run away from me. That made for a cute pic by the way ;). So after I got him to stop running I knew this was not going to work. I had to think of something to make him happy. So we go back to the car and we decide to go get ice cream. On the way I have 2 screaming kiddos in the back seat... and we were WAY out in the boonies with no store in site to top things off. So we drive for about 10 minutes and finally I see the savior of the golden arches. Yes! Mickey D's. I never thought I would be so happy to see a fast food restaurant. So I proceed to go to the drive through and still have 2 screaming kids. The drive thru guy can barely hear my order over the yelling and at this point all I can do is laugh. So we get Gavin's ice cream and finally get him to stop crying. In the mean time I try to get Griffin to calm down to. It is now his nap time so he is cranky and ready to go lay down. He does not want his bottle and he will not stop screaming. So after trying everything I get back in and drive us back to the bluebonnets for take 2.
Take 2
Gavin is now a happy camper so I am doing good on that end. On the other hand now I have a upset and tired 8 month old... no fun. So I try to put Griffin in the stroller so that I can have 2 hands for the camera. Well he is not having that! So I then have to hold him and try to take Gavin's picture while holding him. Let me tell you that is not easy. So I can not get the shots I want because it is impossible while hold baby brother. I finally set him down for a minute so that I can get some pictures of Gavin. So then I have a screaming baby and a wild 3 year old who is now chasing the bees. I do end up getting some great pictures after all but man did we have quite an adventure. Here are a few pictures from our day. Hope you enjoy!

My HAPPY boys! - Take 1


Here is Gavin running away from me - Take 1


Here is Gavin pouting and being mad at me - Take 1


Here is Griffin. Happy during Take 1


Griffin again in Take 1


Griffin - Take 1


Gavin jumping - Take 2


Gavin with his hay - Take 2


Gavin - Take 2

things

well i have not been blogging on a regular basis lately so i thought i would blog today. just a little update on life and things.

griffin is getting bigger and learning more everyday. his most recent tricks are pulling up and crawling. he started doing both within days of each other. he was just sitting up for the longest and then all of the sudden he was doing EVERYTHING all at once. he is also getting more teeth. he now has 4. 2 on top and 2 on bottom. he loves to eat and feed himself. he is such a great baby and i love to see his little personality coming out. he has the sweetest little smile that you can ever imagine. he is my little darling. his nicknames at the moment are bubba bear, little lolli and as gavin calls him baby brother.

gavin is getting bigger and smarter each day. he is on his way to being fully potty trained too. he is full of energy and life. he loves to be outside playing in the dirt with his cars or trains. he has quite the attitude lately too. i do not know who said terrible 2's... the 2's were wonderful compared to the 3's. so far 3's are fun but very trying. he is a very vocal and outgoing child. he always has an opinion and boy does he voice it :). he is a sweetheart though under all this attitude and all. he is a very loving child and loves to sit in my lap and read books. he also loves to sing and dance. he has a great memery and can remember all most anything. he definitely can not forget a train or a car's name... and yes he names them all. he also go tsome rabbits a few weeks ago for easter. he named them henry and pox... isn't that the cutest? this little bot has stolen my heart and he gets a bigger piece everyday. he is my sweet little boy. i refuse to say big boy. i want to keep him little as long as possible!

i love my life and my family. i am blessed to have the greatest and most loving husband along with my 2 sweet darling little boys. well this is about as much free time as i get so i will try and update more often...

Some fun pics of the carnival rides

Here are some fun pictures that I took while we were at the carnival :)

The zipper


The Ferris Wheel


Zipper again

Fun at the Carnival

Gavin has been asking to go to a carnival for a while now. I told him that the nest time we saw one we would stop at it... well there is one in town this week. I also have my nephew Daniel visiting for the week so they both wanted to ride. I was not sure at first if I should buy Gavin a wristband (unlimited rides) or not, but I went ahead and got it for him. Thank goodness that I did because he absolutely LOVED the rides! He is roller coaster crazy. The faster the rides went the better he liked them. It was great watching him enjoy his self! Watching him have fun is one of my great rewards of mommy hood :). The simple things in life are often the best it seems. We all had a great time and he was wore out afterward. I think that is the best he has slept in a while. My nephew was also worn out. He ended up sleeping til 11am the next morning. They have both been asking to go back ever since. Here are a few of the pictures from our trip. Hope you enjoy!

Griffin in his stroller


Gavin flying the plane


flying again


Gavin riding the flying elephants


still flying :) Look at me!

Music class

We have been going to Mainly Music the past few weeks. It is a music class for children under 5. They have a great curriculum. It is mostly songs with actions and props. It is great and the parents get to participate as well. Gavin and Griffin both really like it! It is very fun and it keeps their attention which is sometimes hard to do :). Gavin loves to dance with the teacher and interact with the other kids. He is such an outgoing and friendly child. He is full of life and love. Griffin loves to bounce and jump to the beat. He is a very active baby. These two boys definitely keep me busy! I am so thankful that I get to spend this time with them. I am so happy that I am able to be a SAHM to my boys. They are growing up so fast and I do not want to miss a minute of it. Here are some pictures from our class today.

Gavin blowing his feather


Griffin eating his feather :)