Birthday Party!

Today we went to Tanner's 1st birthday party. He is such a big, handsome boy, and he is walking everywhere! We had a wonderful time! I can't believe Ayden will be having his first birthday in less than 4 months! As most of you know, Tanner and Ayden were conceived 16 weeks apart and we called them "belly buddies". It seems like just yesterday that Christy and I were pregnant and listening to both their little hearts beating together while at work!

Telling the birthday boy hello

Cute as a bug! Big sister Taryn
Sweet big sister Taylor helping unwrap gifts

He's getting the hang of it!

Cake!

Let's try some icing first...

Ready to take off!

Helping Tanner break in his new toys

Don't worry girls, there's plenty of me to go around! :)

Way to go Chris!

Okay, so I have to admit I have been feeling a little guilty about the fact that lately all I have done is complain about the fact that Chris has lost THREE TIMES more weight than me, 65 pounds to be exact! The truth is, I am super proud of him. He has worked so very hard, and has been extremely dedicated, and I decided he deserved a spot on the blog! High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and pre-diabetes are things of the past for him now! And if I do say so myself, he is one handsome man! :)
P.S. if anyone wonders how he has done it, he has eaten 1000-1200 calories max per day, 7 days a week since Jan. 2nd.

November 2007

Today! April 24th, 2008

Movie reviews...

This week I have watched 2 very good, vastly different movies. If you have not seen them, you should. First-Finding Nemo. Yes, I am aware that it is an old movie, but I have always heard how good it was. It came on the Disney channel and I thought I would see what all the fuss was about. It was so good! I laughed, I cried, it was a super movie! Forget the kids, this movie is great for adults too! I actually watched most of it while Ayden was napping! :)

On the complete other end of the movie spectrum-Atonement. This is very powerful romance set in WWII- era Europe. The plot is very captivating and the movie ends with a twist. I watched it alone but I plan to watch it again with Chris because I know he would enjoy it too. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen! I highly recommend both of these movies!

Ayden saying Bye-Bye

The video turned out very dark because it was taken on my digital camera, but if you look very, very closely you can see him waving! (p.s. I am accepting donations for a new freakin' camera!!!)

Crawling Cutie

Sweet Snapshots

Storytime with Daddy

Enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the park

Look who else showed up to play!

Enjoying his new play yard

Can't they come out and play too?

Just some thoughts...

I am an avid Oprah show fan, one of the reasons I love her show so much is because the majority of the time she focuses on ways we can make our world and better place. Today's show was about how Americans live lives of excess and how we overuse our resources (water, electricity, food, paper, etc). It made me look at my own life and all the areas where we could cut back and see a real difference. Some of the families featured on the show talked about how much more enjoyable their lives were once they started focusing on only using the things they really needed.

It made me really think about how fortunate I am for what I have right here and now and how I should appreciate it more instead of always focusing on what else I might need or want. Quite simply, I have everything I could ever need to be happy for the rest of my life right before my eyes. A nice home in a safe neighborhood; a beautiful, healthy, thriving child; a husband who spends almost every waking hour working and bettering himself to secure our future and who respects me and loves me and Ayden with all his heart; a wonderful education that has resulted in job security for life; a network of family and friends who I can turn to at a moment's notice for anything I might ever need. I think it is perfectly natural and the "American way" to want more and aspire greater things in life, but I also think that we should not forget the advantages we have right now and how many people in this world would love to have the things we have. Just some thoughts...

Playgroup

Ayden and I joined the Fort Smith playgroup, today was our first event to attend. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we went to Ben Geren Park and met several other moms and babies. A school bus full of kids showed up to play on the playground and Ayden was absolutely mesmerized while watching them all run around and play! We had a good time and look forward to playing again soon!

Testing out the swings
I could do this all day!

Watching all the big kids play

8 months old!

Ayden is 8 months old today! He is getting so big and strong, I can hardly believe he is the same little 6 lb 12 oz baby we brought home from the hospital! He can wave bye bye and clap his hands when we play pat-a-cake (when he feels like it!). He is constantly on his hands and knees now, rocking and lunging forward. He wants to take off so bad he can't stand it! He is such a good and happy baby, we are so thankful for him!

I am even more rotten than I appear!

Learning to play the keyboard with Uncle Nick

Not loving my hat...

Family weekend

Ayden's Grandma and Pappaw came for a visit this weekend, they haven't seen Ayden since Easter and were going nuts!! Uncle Nick also stopped by for breakfast and to see his favorite nephew! Ayden just could not get enough of all the attention, he entertained us all! He also got to get up close and personal with Sunni, my parents' beloved Cocker Spaniel, he loved her! He is definetely going to be a dog lover, although Sunni was not too thrilled by it all!

They are totally wrapped around his little finger, can you tell?!

Super Proud Uncle

Wearing Daddy's silly cowboy hat

Sunni reluctantly posing for a picture

Worn out from all the fun!

Sweet potato mess...

Ayden is loving this self-feeding thing!

It's okay, everything here is completely washable! :)

New Book!

I bought Ayden a new book called a TyBook, it is so cool! It looks and feels like a regular paper book, but the pages are waterproof and virtually indestructable! He loves it, although I think he is a little disappointed that he is not tearing it into shreds!
http://www.tybookinc.com/

Ready, Set, (almost) Go!

Ayden has perfected the crawling stance, he rocks back and forth several times and then is actually able to crawl one or two steps forward before falling to the floor and hollering with frustration before trying again! I'm sure it's just a matter of weeks before he will be chasing us all over the house!

Perfect postion!

Getting frustrated!

Cheerio Challenge

Ayden has reached the age to begin expanding his repertoire to include some finger foods! This of course is more about developing fine motor skills and independence than nutrition! I started him with a few cheerios and he took right to it, although it was a lengthy process to get one to his mouth!

Hmmm, what do we have here?

Come here you!

Almost...

Got it!

Mom, I need more!

Lounging on the lawn

Ayden loves being outside in this beautiful spring weather!

Daddy's home!
Telling daddy all about his day

Weekend in Houston

We had a wonderful time visiting Melissa, Ricky, and Lily Kate in Houston this past weekend! Ayden was an amazing little traveler, he slept for most of both plane rides, and when he was awake he was a little charmer. The other passengers absolutely loved him! We had a great time visiting the Houston zoo and Katy Mills mall. Melissa and Ricky live in a beautiful neighborhood with lots of huge oak trees .We got to enjoy the beautiful weather playing outside with the kids and pushing them in the tree swing. Lily Kate was so sweet, I can't believe how big she has gotten! She shared all her toys and played very nicely with Ayden. We will definetely be visiting again and hopefully staying for longer!

Ayden saying hello to Lily Kate

Day at the Zoo

Stroller buddies

Ayden watching the Sea Lions

The sea lions were so cute!

The zoo was so pretty!

Chris getting friendly with the wildlife

Pajama pals :)

Ayden's 1st Carousel ride

Smiling at Daddy and Ricky

Playing in the grass

WEEEE!

Little princess

Little prince charming

Ayden in the big tree swing!

Ayden enjoying (and sometimes eating) the grass



Having a blast with a cup

Chillin' at the airport

Ayden missed seeing us takeoff, but he didn't mind :)

Going home!