They don't come any cuter than this...

Thanksgiving 09

This year my mom invited us to have Thanksgiving in Tulsa, which was an offer we couldn't refuse. So we loaded up our car and made the LONG trek! All I gotta say is thank God for DVD players and sisters who agree to go along for the ride. We had a great time. My grandparents used to live in Tulsa, and all I remember of it as a kid is that it was so ugly. This time, however, it was beautiful with all the leaves changing colors. Glad I had an opportunity to change my mind about this town :) And Thanks Mom for hosting us!

Levi had a blast pulling down ALL of the books off my mom's bookshelf in her living room. He did this about a million times. No joke :)

Andrew, Alethea, my mom and me

My mom moved to Tulsa mainly to assist her 94-year-old aunt (left). Aunt Madaline took us to Luby's, which ironically is Ty's favorite restaurant. Yes, we ate at 4:45.

My mom lives in this cool complex that has riding trails, a garden for residents to grow their own plants/food, and, of course, a tree with a face on it.

Andrew and Amy. Aren't they cute?!

Ty's great uncle, Bill, also lives in Tulsa, so we took an afternoon to visit with him. He loved Levi! What's not to love?

On the way to and from Tulsa, we stopped in Ft. Worth to stretch our legs at my grandparent's house. Here we are with my grandad. He's been in poor health recently, but I think it lifted his spirits to see Colt and Levi for a bit. He's also a UT Longhorn fan (can't you tell from his burnt orange sheets?).

Well, that about wraps up our Thanksgiving adventures. We had a great time with family and are very thankful for all of the blessings that have been showered over us this year.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Toddler Time

Took some fun pictures of Colt recently. Thought the blue hat was kinda fun.

Also, I walked into Colt's room during nap time the other day, and found him asleep reading a book in his rocker. Sometimes reading is hard work!

I'm baack.

Hello blog reading friends,

I've been gone for so long that I hardly remember how to post. There are probably just a few readers remaining, and I'm so grateful you still remember to check in! Last month, my computer decided to call it quits. Fortunately, my amazing husband had created a computer fund to buy me a new computer for Christmas, so he was able to swoop in and get me a new computer in a jiffy. Unfortunately, all of my pictures are left stranded on my old PC. (Although our friend, Shiva, is trying to recover them for me. Keeping my fingers crossed for you, Shiva!) This whole event has made me realize how fortunate I am to have posted so many of my favorite pics on the blog. At least I can print them off of here if I need to. That said, I have a renewed sense of purpose in my blogging (which was sorely missing before, if I do say so myself). So, now that we are back in business, let me get to those pictures!

At the end of October, we took a trip to a pumpkin patch. It sure is hard to get Colt to look at the camera these days, and Levi was super entertained with these strange orange ball-like things I kept asking him to hold. The good news for Levi is that I forgot to buy a big pumpkin to sit him in (unlike Colt here). Ha!

7 months

Before my little boy turns 8 months in a few days, I guess I should post a few of his 7 month pictures.

What a pair! Not the best picture, but the only time I could get Colt to give Levi a hug. Colt is still adjusting to having a little brother, and more so now that Levi wants to play with Colt's toys.

What a cutie!

See, Colt does share occasionally. Levi loves bubbles as much as his brother.

This month:

Separation anxiety has begun.

Levi went to his 1st baseball game (to watch Uncle Dusty).

Levi loves to put TINY things in his mouth... leaves, grass, etc. We have to sweep his mouth often when he chokes :(

Started waking up more often at night. We know you aren't hungry, and we really aren't very interesting to be around at 4am, so just do everyone a favor, and stay asleep.

We try to only give Levi a pacifier when he sleeps, although he really doesn't use it much. However, since he's gotten 4 teeth this month, he seems to like the paci during non-nap times too.

Happy Halloween

Here we are at a Halloween party last night. Colt was funny b/c he didn't understand why everyone was dressed up. But he sure was excited to be at a party... which to him means CAKE! He hovered around the dessert table until we pried him away crying.

My little football player

And little baseball player. Can you tell I didn't want to spend money on costumes this year? I figure we have so much sports stuff around the house, why not utilize it. I bought the helmet off of Craigslist. It was advertised as a youth, but it definitely fits Ty and myself. No wonder Colt never wanted to wear it - that helmet is HEAVY!

This is the best pic of the boys together that I could get.
Can you guess what we are? ... I'm H1 and he's N1. Swine flu.

Hope you enjoyed dressing up yourself!

For DaDaDaDa

This one's for you, Ty.

Argh! and Florida

I get so frustrated because I have a ton of blog post ideas... that I never get around to posting! I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post. (Sorry to all 2 of my readers ;)

With that said, here's a bit of what we've been up to.

Ty's co-worker, Keith, has an awesome tailgate at all the UT games. A few weeks ago we loaded up the kids and went to hang out and eat some of his great sausage. Look for Shiner Smokehouse Sausage next time you are at HEB to taste this amazing food. Here is a picture of us that Michelle, one of my 2 loyal readers, took of us at the tailgate. Just so ya know, tailgates aren't very kid friendly. Doubt we'll be lugging the kiddos along with us next time. Navigating the crowds with a double-stroller just isn't any fun.

Also, we went to Tampa a few weekends ago. It was a fabulous time of reconnecting with old friends and visiting the people who will always hold a special place in our hearts. Ty and I went to a Tampa Bay Rays game with our good friends, Kristel and Noah. It was great to be back at the Trop. Games are way better in person than on tv! We were able to leave the game with them through the player's exit. This was an incredible experience that I will always remember. As we were in the waiting area, several of the players walked by... B.J. Upton, Gabe Gross (my favorite), J.P. Howell, etc. Kristel had told us before hand that we shouldn't ask for autographs or take pictures, so we didn't (just incase you were wondering). Now that I know how the other half live, going to a major league game will never be the same again! Thanks guys for this great time with you guys.

We also had a nice breakfast with our friends, Jesse and Kristin. Jesse has started his own word press customization business that is booming. Awesome! Check him out at www.jessepetersen.com.

We also got 2nd row seats to an amazing concert! (Granted there were only like 15 rows total.) Juliana Zobrist, an up and coming Christian musician, performed at our church. Her style is kinda Indie Rock and she put on a great show! You can check her out on itunes if you want. Her husband is Tampa Bay Ray's player, Ben Zobrist. They were awesome and stayed after the concert until everyone had left to talk and sign autographs.

We also had a special night with our old small group. We ate, played Wii, and just talked. Of course I didn't get any pictures, but it sure was great to catch up with everyone! You guys hold a special place in our hearts. I think we will always have high expectations for small groups because of the koinonia we shared :)

Ok, for those of you who don't like to read, but just look at pictures, here are what everyone wants to see from a Florida vacation... the beach!

We headed to the beach with our friend Kristel and her kids, the day we left. It was a great way to wrap up our short Florida vacation. We are so grateful to everyone who hosted us (yes, Joyce, this means you too). We love you guys!

Brothers

First Foods

My baby is growing up so fast! I can't believe it's already time for him to experiment with solid foods. His first food was mashed bananas with breastmilk. Not a big fan. He wouldn't even open his mouth for more! He just closed his lips together tightly.
And I thought maybe he'd like the sweetness of bananas.
Since we videoed Colt's first experience with food, I thought we should video Levi's 2nd time, since he's the 2nd child. Ok, so I just forgot to do it the first time. Anyhow... here it is.

In other food news...
Colt has finally taken a liking to VEGETABLES!!
Every mother's dream.
I was dicing tomatoes and gave him one like I'd done a million times before... but this time, he actually ate it, then ate all that were on Ty's salad and my cutting board. Tonight he devoured steamed carrots.

Maybe I should show a picture of ME smiling, because this is a day I've been praying about for a long time. But here's a picture of Colt loving the positive reinforcement we've been giving him, I mean, the delicious taste of VEGGIES.