Happy Birthday Kevin

Today Kevin turned 33!

He actually spent the last 4 days in Vegas so he was a wee bit exhausted when he got home...but we still celebrated! The boys were happy to see him!

My sweet little guys

And a family pic! It's hard to get their attention when I'm holding a BIG balloon. 

And Yiayia and Bob sizzle. 

Ryan helped me make a raspberry cheesecake per Kevin's request. I decided to make one of Ina Garden's recipes...goodness. She sure does have a lot of time on her hands...I guess you probably shouldn't start one of her recipes at 6 o'clock in the evening. There was so much care that went into this bad boy that I found myself up at 2am tending to it. 

The Hales and Joe were able to join us for dinner. We had spaghetti, salad and garlic bread for dinner (per kevin's request) and it was yummy! Kevin was holding Ryan while we sung happy birthday and Ryan was not happy....so he screamed .... so we took a picture of Grayson instead. 

And then Kevin had to blow out the candles...whilst Ryan screamed in his ear...

Luckily he calmed down and was able to enjoy some cheesecake. Although he doesn't really look all that happy here either. I should mention that Ryan helped me make this cheesecake and he was SUPER excited about it! He asked about it all day long - super cute! 

So happy to have daddy home! 

My little model

Back in the beginning of May my photographer that I love, Chelle Cates,  emailed me and asked if Grayson wanted to be a model at a photography school she was attending. They needed a little boy, 6 - 10 months old and she thought of him first - so sweet. She said that I would basically get a free photo shoot by a world renowned photographer...so I was like ummmm yes, we will be there! You know me, I love pictures! 

When we got there they set up a scene and Julie Klassmeyer started taking photos while explaining what she was doing to the class. She gave them all sorts of info from how to set things up, how to get their attention and of course how to get the best pics. Once she snapped some pics, everyone else got a turn too. It made me a little nervous because he started to get a little fussy...no one wants a fussy baby! Luckily after a little break and a set change he was good to go!

I was busy holding him on the props so I couldn't take any pics - but I grabbed two. 

That's one juicy little tushy!

And here are the images from Julie Klassmeyer. These are the copyright images that I took off the website (hmmm that might be illegal, but I'm not trying to pass them off as my own) Anyhow, I need to select which ones I want and just haven't done it yet!

Chevron backdrop - ummm did they know I was coming??

Don't let this pic fool you - he actually hated this rug. He did so much better with the other scene. 

Anyhow, fun times with little g!

Miss Audrey

We love living so close to the Hales. And Ryan LOVES living so close to Audrey. He is so taken with her right now...every day he wants to play with her. When he wakes up in the morning he asks "Where's Audrey?"

We picked up Audrey one morning on our way to the park and Ryan went down the big slide with her. This is pretty big because Ryan NEVER goes down slides...but he did it with her.

One morning he woke up and out of the blue told me "I miss Audrey".

When we were making Kevin's father's day cake I asked Ryan what he wanted to write on it, he said "Audrey". I explained that it was a cake for daddy, so thankfully he changed his mind.

When we drive or walk by the Hales house he refers to it as Audrey's house.

Uncle Michael is "Audrey's Michael"

He thinks his top bunk bed is Audrey's bed and he tells everyone.

With all this love he has for her he also knows how to push her buttons. Last time we watched Audrey I let Ryan skip his nap so they could watch a movie together. They finally decided on Ratatouille, which I am pretty sure Ryan is pretty indifferent on. However, once he discovered that she didn't like it/was scared by it he decided he LOVED it. Now when she comes over she says I don't want to watch that rat movie...and Ryan says let's watch Ratatouille...over and over. Then they argue about it! So silly!

They truly act like brother and sister...which I think is a good thing for him. I am so happy they are so close and love that they will grow up together.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!

Ryan LOVES helping! When he gets to help he gets very excited and grabs his little chair...and pushes it across the room to the kitchen. It squeaks a horrible noise but he will not allow any help so you have to just let it happen. Anyhow, after I measure everything I let him pour it into the bowl, which he thinks is pretty great. I even let him try and egg. Clearly, I didn't quite think that one through. I cracked the egg then gave it to him to open into the bowl...Instead of just letting it fall out, he quickly crushed it in his sweet little hands. I didn't expect that. I think he was trying to squeeze the egg out...so we had a little bit of shell but who doesn't like a little shell??

Daddy's breakfast

Anyhow, Kevin was please with the final product. 

And Ryan approved - he cleaned his plate, which doesn't happen often. Although it does happen often with sweets. hmmm....

After breakfast we went on a little walk and played at the park for a bit. While Grayson napped Ryan and I baked a cake for daddy. Once again...very exciting stuff. 

When we put it in the over Ryan pushed his chair over there so he could watch it bake. "Look Mom - it's getting bigger" he kept yelling! So cute!

After nap time we decorated it. It was great that I could set the cake in the sink for him to decorate...I am sure you can imagine how messy a toddler with sprinkles is. 

So happy!

And for dinner we had Joe and the Hale's come over. We had brats with sauerkraut per Kevin's request. Great day with friends and family! 

So thankful for Kevin - he is such a wonderful daddy to these boys! We are so lucky to have him!

9 months

Happy nine months to my little man! It's been a busy month for you - officially started crawling and also got three new teeth! Wowzers! Not to mention our big move!

You are kinda ridiculously handsome and I'm kinda obsessed with you. Today I was able to comb your hair over...but it didn't stay for long. That cowlick is some serious stuff. 

You are really loving the new house and crawl everywhere. (You started crawling at about 8.5 months! Basically a couple days before we moved into the new house.) We don't have a baby gate on our stairs yet but that will need to happen pretty quickly. You often try and climb up the three stairs that go from the dining room into the kitchen/grand room area. Gotta keep our eyes on you at all times! And with this crawling you sure are getting your hands on everything...and it's all going right into your mouth. I keep finding all sorts of things in your mouth that don't belong. It's scary and I do my best to keep stuff up off the floor but you seem to find everything.

Constantly on the move

Oh hey...you looking at me?

Your favorite stairs

Teething like crazy. Top right incisor came in May 19 and your top two front teeth are basically almost through. Maybe not officially but they are pretty close! Either way you have been teething all month...

Check out those chompers!

Eating everything...basically anything and everything (as long as it's not a choking hazard). At your nine month appointment the doctor said you can have anything now with the exception of honey. So that means peanut butter, eggs and any other food that before was typically not recommended until the age of one.  Apparently since the recommendation of waiting until one to try these things, allergies towards them have increased.  So now they are saying if your child has been exposed to these things go ahead and give them if they want them.

You get so angry if there is food around and no one is giving you any. When daddy eats his cereal in the morning you stare him down until he gives you some. You want ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. It's crazy. I am not use to it.

What else did we do this month?
- Went on vacation to the beach
- You got sick for the first time with a 103 fever
- We went to dermatologist for your eczema and got you some perception lotion which seems to help.

Loving:
- You love riding on toys - like the little red push car and the thomas the train.
- Bath time with daddy
- Any toy that your brother is playing with
- Ball pit
- Blowing rasberries
- Your orange & yellow paci (still have it!)
- Peek-a-boo

Not so much:
- Changing clothes
- Being left alone (Not that I leave you alone in the house but if I set you down and run to the bathroom or grab something from another room you aren't a huge fan - you really like to be held a lot)
- The car seat - sometimes you are fine but sometimes you are so angry!

This might be my favorite pic! You are so happy!

Been such a fun month! Love you bunches!

Vandy - Sneak Peak

So I keep getting requests to post pictures of the new house, so I will. The only reason I haven't posted anything yet is, well, because I haven't really taken any. I lie. I actually did sneak over here the night before we moved in but the lighting wasn't great, plus there was still a bit of work to do. Anyhow once we moved in it was a mess. Of which of course I did not want to take pictures of. Now it's clean, but just so unfinished. PLUS I have run out of space on my computer and can't download any more pics. I need a quick trip to the genius bar...and I am not sure when that will happen. Excuses excuses...So anyways...to make a long story short (or not) I do have some pics...but they aren't great.

The entrance:

This picture is taken standing at the front door right as you walk in. Looking straight ahead you can see all the way into the backyard and if you look to the right you see the stairs.

This is one of the first spots I need to decorate! I have a few ideas but it is a tricky little spot so if you have any thoughts please send them my way!

And this is a pic standing on the stairs looking down at the entry way.

The dining room is the first room you walk past as you make your way to the kitchen and great room. From the dining room you look out into the courtyard (which was not landscaped in this pic)

Next up is the kitchen/great room. 

Standing in the kitchen looking at the living room. 

The living room also has a view of the courtyard.

This is the vanity in the guest bath downstairs - there is also a shower but obviously not pictured here.

That's all I have of the downstairs - obviously missing a few areas including the office/craft room, butlers pantry, courtyard, back porch and yard. 

On to the upstairs

This is standing in the game room looking over to the stairs/entry. 

This is the view from the front of the house looking to the back (upstairs). On the right side there are three bedrooms and on the left side there are windows that open to the courtyard. In the very back it is the entrance to the master suite. 

View of master bedroom from entrance. I am obsessed with the view.... when you lay in bed and look out it feels like you are in a tree house!

This is looking the other direction. We have windows that open to the court yard. We really love all the windows and how open the house is. 

And lastly I have a picture of the master bath...we were missing the shower walls at this point...and the mirror but you can't tell in this picture. I love my chandelier! 

So there is a little sneak peak. Trust me there will be many more pictures as I go through and finish each room...it will probably take a little while though!

And I also have Grayson's 9 month post ready to go...just waiting on snapping a few pictures of the little monster!

Vandy

So we moved in Tuesday, May 21st and have been LOVING it! The boxes are unpacked and most items have been put away but there is still so much work to be done. With that being said I have no desire to rush and get it all done ASAP. Maybe it's because I chase two kids around all day or because I just spent the last 8 months making selections for the house, but for now we are enjoying being here so much that it's nice to sit back and take a break...

We are so thrilled with everything ... so far we haven't regretted any of our decisions/selections, which is a good thing. We still have workers coming and going but it really hasn't been an issue. We are just glad to be moved in. 

The Sunday after we moved in I was already itching to have some friends and family come over. We ended up having a little pot luck party with some family and friends. 

Cousin Audrey, Grayson, Ryan, Dominic, Blake and Cousin Lyla. 

The next weekend we had Rob & the Pearson's stay with us. Since they were in town from Austin (and don't make too many trips up here) we decided to host a little get together with Kevin's high school gang. 

But before Saturday night we headed out to Plano for Jack and Rhone's birthday party

Grayson was very confused by this doll...is it a baby???

Jack and Ryan running off together. Ryan had fun at the Pirate party and loved going on the treasure hunt through the woods!

And then that evening everyone headed down to Dallas to see the new casa. I didn't really that many pictures so here is what I got. 

Some of the guys hanging out back

Jack and Ryan played nonstop

They were really cute together

And the ladies! 

There were so many babies over which was so fun..although I am a little worried about our 4th of July trip! It's going to be chaos!