Christmas 2007

We had a great Christmas. We enjoyed a visit from Granny, Papaw and Nancy on the 23rd and my parents even dropped by. We popped a bottle of bubbly and had sooo much fun. It was so cool to see our individual "peeps" enjoy one another.
Suzanne and Larry joined us Christmas Eve for some yummy grub and spirits. Suzanne, I was so impressed to see you take that Jaeger shot like a woman!
The kids were so excited to go to bed and see what Santa would bring. Trey wanted to sleep in his Sissy's room so they could wait together for me to tell them they could come in and see their loot.
Christmas morning was great. Lindsey got a cell phone (Santa, what were you thinking?), Trey got a bike and Tyler got a brand new car! Trey learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Yea buddy!

Tyler's Growing Up

Well, Tyler is finally starting to talk. He can say, "Mama, Daddy, truck, ball, Bye-bye, Hi, Aw, Up" and I'm sure a few more that I'm forgetting.
He is also learning to run (now that I purchased some shoes that actually fit).
Unfortunately, he has developed the ability to climb on everything, open all the cabinets and run FROM us as well.
He is so cute!

A few more from the Arboretum

Both Lindsey and Trey had fun pretending to be in the pioneer days: Riding in the covered wagon,

Trey taking an old-time bath,

Lindsey pretending to farm the land ... look how deep that girl can dig!

The Arboretum, Part 2

Trey was so confused when we first arrived. I had told him we were going to this huge park, but there was no playground. He obviously omitted that part of the conversation from his brain because he kept asking, "When are we going to the park?"

His excitement returned when we got to the little villages set up like old houses of original settlers. He loved going into all the little houses, looking at all of the old things and even sweeping! He did not want to leave.

It was a great day. Do you think if I got a broom like that at home, he'd be as excited about sweeping?

The Arboretum

Well, we finally made it! I have been wanting to go to the Dallas Arboretum forever! The whole family went. We had such a nice time. The weather was beautiful ... freakishly warm ... but, beautiful.
The kids had a great time climbing on the big pumpkins (or balls, as Tyler calls them) until we realized they were kind of rotten and bugs started flying out from underneath ... yuk!

What?!? Is that a family picture? We are actually a family of five and there's the picture to prove it! I never seem to be able to get pictures of all of us.

There's my pretty girl. She was so interested that I had my bridal portraits taken there. I think she got into the "posing" spirit. So sweet.

The little man had fun too. He was way more interested in those trucks than exploring, but he got out of the stroller a few times and ran around.

Ah, thanks Mommy. I'm much more comfortable in my stroller. :)

Funny Man

Poor Trey has a mommy that is quite a homebody. He is always up for a play-date. As soon as he gets home from school or wakes up in the morning, he starts begging to go play with a friend. Well, today he was especially set on playing with a friend. Unfortunately, both sister and brother are a little under the weather. He was truly distraught by the news that we would not be having a play-date.
At dinner, he said, "Mommy, listen to me. We are going to get up in the morning and then we are going to go play with a friend ... Now, THAT'S IT!! (with hands in the "safe" baseball pose). I laughed so hard. This kid cracks me up.

The Big Boy!

My Trey man learned how to pump his legs and swing himself yesterday! He was so excited! He still can't get as high as when we push him, but he's figuring it out. Look at that sweet face, would you!

Silly Boy!

Is this guy full of mischief, or what? He is such a mess and he is now into the phase where he puts his little things inside other things and we never see them again ...
The other day I was asking Lindsey to put her homework away for school the next day. She kept saying that she couldn't find her bag. I was sure it was somewhere in the big pile of messiness we call her room. I told her to clean up her room and then she would find it. She insisted that it was not in there and finally went to bed. When I went to bed, there was her book bag sitting next to my computer. I took it to her room for the next day and figured she forgot she had done some work on the computer. The next day, when she got home from school, she walked over to the bar and put these two cars on the counter and said, "Guess what was in my book bag today?" Little Mr. Mischief had taken her bag from her room, gathered up two cars and put them in the bag and deposited the bag in my room WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING!! What a mess!! :)

Happy Halloween!

"Holy Trick-or-Treating Batman! Let's Go!"

As you can tell, Trey was Batman and Tyler was Robin. Yes, they were the same thing last year, but Trey's costume still fit and I just thought it was so cute, so we did it again.

Tyler had sooo much fun ... running from me as I tried to put that silly mask on him (notice the socks in his hands). I could only keep it on him for a second if he had something else in his hands and I somehow diverted his attention.
Trey would not wear his mask and cape at all this year ... he said it was itchy. Oh well, I like seeing his sweet face better. He only stayed in his costume for about 30 minutes. He LOVED handing out the candy though. The control freak in him loved making each child wait patiently for their candy, which he would only give them after they said "trick or treat" and they only got TWO PIECES! He's a mess!

We had a fun night on our first Halloween in our new neighborhood. I have never seen so many trick-or-treaters in my life. They were all so sweet and so polite.

The Best Big Sissy!

My sweet girl is getting so big! I just wanted to write how I'm feeling about her these days. And ... I was not doing another entry about the boys without one for Lindsey. Since she is at school all day, I do not have the opportunity to take as many pictures or experience as much of her life with her as I used to (boo hoo!). Anyway, this year she did not trick or treat with us. She went with her friends ... yes, boo hoo again. She did walk down the block with her brothers, but I think my mom must have those pictures on her camera. Anyway, she is getting so grown up.
But, I am so proud of her. She started Middle School this year and I was soooo worried about it ... new temptations, mean kids, naughty kids, harder work, etc. I just wondered if I would have the same sweet girl in the afternoon that I dropped off there in the morning. Well, so far so good. She loves the social aspect of school. She is doing well in her classes. She made the volleyball team ... phew! At this point, I still have my same girl who wants me to lay in her bed at night with her so she can tell me about her day. Yea!
I am not naive. I know there ARE many more temptations and I still am the reigning "Strictest Mom of ALL my Friends" and I will continue to be. But I am just so proud of this sweet girl.
I was getting acquainted with one of my neighbors last night (we just moved this summer) whose son had asked Lindsey to the Homecoming dance. She could not go as she already had a date (I know ... not a problem I had in seventh grade either). Anyway, the dad came out as I was standing there and the mom introduced me and he said, "Oh, you're Lindsey's mom!". At this point, I'm thinking, Oh Lord, they hate us because she broke their son's heart. Instead, they went on and on about how Lindsey was the nicest girl in school and everyone loves her because she is friendly to everyone and that their son thinks she is sooo cool. I was so proud.
OK, Louise ... here's a page totally dedicated to you. I love you!!!

CHILLY MORNING!!

We woke up yesterday morning and our house was FREEZing!!! I made Trey put on his silly slippers that his Grandmother Hudson made for him and I put a warm hat on Tyler. The boys thought they were so funny running around the house like that.

Since my little Tyler man won't keep socks on and he has outgrown all of his footie jammies, we ventured off to the mall to get him some warm jammies. He was very patient with his mommy since we made more than just one stop.
After shopping, we stopped at Boston Market for lunch. He had an exciting lunch because he DRANK FROM A STRAW for the first time! I had forgotten to bring a sippy cup, so I asked for a kids' cup with water. I was getting water into the straw and dripping it into his mouth. He started sucking, so I decided to see if he would suck from the cup and he did it! (Tim and I have been trying to get him to do this for months.) I was so excited. I was clapping and cheering for him. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at me like I was crazy. Too fun!

Brotherly Love

Many of you remember that I was a bit "concerned" when we found out that baby #3 was to be a boy. After all, I had spent EIGHT years with a sweet, calm, loving, and quiet (I know, it's hard for me to remember Lindsey as quiet too) little girl. We all know how much I adore Trey, but the thought of all that "boy energy" that he brings into my home being doubled was a frightening thought. Frankly, there sometimes is more energy and wildness than I can handle, but there are also moments like these ...
Trey and Tyler ADORE each other. Today, we were at the park and Trey was in a little tunnel shaped like a turtle with two other kiddos. Tyler waddled up and climbed in the turtle with the big kids. Trey said, "Oh, this is my baby. He can walk really good."
There is nothing to make a mama's heart swell like the boys laughing so hard at each other. We park at Lindsey's school and wait about 20 minutes for her to come out (crazy, I know, but it really is the best way to manage the traffic). By the time she gets out to the car, the boys are laughing so hard and usually have all the moms in the cars around us laughing with them.
Today, Trey was spending a little time in self-sent time-out. He had been playing a bit too roughly with his brother. I got on to him and he said, "I'm going to time-out!". He went in his room and shut his door. Tyler proceded to peek down the hall, walk to Trey's door and see if it would open, then lean against the wall next to the door and wait for brother to come out. So sweet!
So, as much as I hate to admit I'm wrong, I LOVE having my boys. They are so funny and so sweet.

What a Weekend!

The weather was gorgeous this weekend. We had all of these great plans to get out and enjoy it.
However, a tummy bug had other ideas. Mr. Trey got sick around 5:30 on Friday night and it was truly a 24 hour bug as he was almost completely back to himself by about 6:00 on Saturday. Fortunately, he was a great patient and he took a FIVE hour nap on Saturday.

Thankfully, no one else got it and Tim took Tyler and Lindsey went to my mom's for most of the day on Saturday so I was able to give Trey my undivided attention. Such a sweet boy! After resting and once I got all my babies back under one roof, we decided to get out of the house and ventured off to Target.

We spent almost all day Sunday outside on the driveway riding various toy vehicles. Tyler's favorite thing to do was go down the hill on the motorcylce (intended for 3 yr. olds) toward the alley screaming as a chase him. What a mess! Trey, on the other hand, likes to ride the scooter as fast as possible in circles ... scaring me to death. Meanwhile, Lindsey is practicing her volleyball serves on the roof while we are all dodging either the ball or her running after the ball. :)

Anyway, I was so thankful that Trey recovered so quickly and that no one else got the bug. Thank you God!

My First Blog!

Well, I guess I'm really doing it. My husband has wanted me to do this for years and I felt a little apprehensive about having pictures of Lindsey (we only had her back then) on the internet. However, after reading many friends' blogs, I feel like this is a great way to chronicle their lives. So here goes:



I'm actually starting this in honor of my third baby, Tyler. I feel like he is constantly getting "second-hand" everything. He gets all of his big brother, Trey's clothes, toys, etc. He even gets the food that we don't eat as he's in that shovel it all in phase and there is never enough food. Finally, he has worn out parents instead of the excited, parents that our twelve-year-old, Lindsey had. So, this is an all new adventure that is inspired by Tyler!

I've already become quite frustrated by trying to figure out this whole blogging thing. However, I'm feeling quite persistent...