Colt's 3rd b-day party

Colt is at that age where he LOVES birthday parties. It wouldn't have been right to not throw one for him! Since he is really into trains right now, we threw a Thomas the Tank Engine party and had family and a few kids from church over. It worked out really well not to throw a huge shin-dig like last year b/c it ended up raining, so having a small group was perfect inside our house. 

Colt had fun trying out his new toys and decorating his own cupcake. 

Levi was chillin' in his train conductor's hat. This kiddo loves to wear hats! 

Mommy and the Birthday Boy. I sure do love him! 

Colt had a fun time at his party. He still talks about it all the time and is eagerly awaiting birthday #4, which we have to keep reminding him is quite a ways away. Poor kid still has yet to figure out time concepts. Everything is "last night" (referring to anything in the past) and "next week" (referring to anything in the future). Three is proving to be a fun age!

Preschool!

Today was Colt's first day of preschool this year. He was excited to go, and a bit nervous, but had a great day. We went last week for Meet the Teacher night, and Colt was confused as to why he didn't have the same teachers and why none of the kids from last year were in his new class.

However, today he marched into his classroom and put his backpack in his cubby, then headed to a table to play. As I left the room, he ran after me to give me a big hug and kiss, which melted my heart. In the car on the way home, he didn't talk much about school. He couldn't remember any of the other kid's names and asked, "Why do you have to be quiet at school?" Anyway, his teachers seem great and we are looking forward to a great year. 

L at 18 months

I realized I haven't taken Levi's ACU Today picture yet. The onesie ACU sends is size 12 months and Levi currently wears size 24 month clothes, so he wore it more like a t-shirt since it wouldn't snap! It really wasn't a great photo session as he was really preoccupied with feeding leaves to the dog next door, but I figure it gives a great glimpse of L on his 18 month b-day. Levi is a funny kid. He's figured out that if he waves to people he gets a nice reaction, so he stops and waves to everyone. 

For the last 2 weeks I haven't had to change a poopy diaper because he's been going in the potty! Gotta love it! He isn't great about telling us he needs to go, but will look at us with this mischievous smile or will start to take his diaper off, so we will rush him to the bathroom. Plus, he's regular, so I know what time to be on the lookout. This makes cloth diapering so much easier and more pleasant (especially with having a pregnancy nose). Way to go, Levi!

  

Fun in the Sun

I have a bunch of random pictures, so thought I'd do a post about some things we were up to this summer. Ty and I took a Babymoon to Tampa, FL, while our parents watched the kids. It was AWESOME! I really needed a vacation from my 24/7 job! I ate like a queen, which probably attributed to my 7 pound weight gain (yikes!). Don't worry though, I've hit the gym since then and only gained one pound in the last 2 weeks. I enjoyed laying out at the pool, reading and visiting with some friends in Tampa. Of course, what trip would be complete without seeing the Rays in action? We watched them play New York and Ty enjoyed getting to see Lance Berkman's first at-bat for the Yankees. We even ran into James Shields in the mall and could've met Evan Longoria, who was signing autographs at the cigar bar next door to our restaurant, but I didn't want to inhale all that smoke while preggers. 

We've also enjoyed spending much time in our blow-up swimming pool in the backyard. A friend suggested that we put our slide into the pool (Thanks Sunee!), so Colt has been loving the new ride. Unfortunately, Colt also likes to splash Levi, so Levi doesn't spend much time in the pool. He just walks around it putting toys in and out. 

Colt celebrated his 3rd birthday in July. I still need to post pics from his party, but for now I'll post the mess that was supposed to be his birthday cake. I attempted to make a Thomas the Tank Engine Cake from scratch. I started about a week before the party and made/froze the 3 layers of cake. A few days before the party I made the fondant Thomas face. Then the night before, I put the whole thing together. Thing is, the 3 layers were so tall, the cake started to fall apart. My dad and I tried to balance and support the cake, but as I kept frosting, the situation looked more and more dire. The dowel rods I used were making the situation worse :( Anyway, about 10pm, the front of the cake fell apart from the back, and the cake was completely lost :( I ate a yummy piece, took pictures, then threw it in the trash. The next day we made cupcakes and had the kids frost their own cupcakes at the party with all the leftover frosting! 

The Austin Symphony puts on an event every week in the summer called Austin Art Park. We went a few times to enjoy the music, story time, balloons, face painting and snacks. Here's Colt watching the musician sing silly songs, a picture of me with the kids (just cause I don't have many pics of me with them), and one of Levi eating his first popsicle (love the face!). 

Here's a common view of Levi from my perspective. He loves to be held! :) 

We also frequented some indoor Bounce Houses since the weather got hot. Colt likes to bounce and slide, while Levi is perfectly content just climbing up and down the stairs. 

Colt got a turn hitting a pinata at a birthday party and loved it, especially gathering up the candy. He loves birthday parties and will talk about them in detail for weeks/months afterwards.  

Colt is starting to enjoy pretend play a bit more. Here he put Levi's training potty on a chair and said it was his "treasure." Then he climbed on top, put on a "pirate hat," grabbed a sword we colored earlier in the day, and played pirate. Ahoy, Matey!

 

Levi's first haircut

I recently took Colt to Cool Cuts for Kids to get his haircut before his preschool starts. While I was there, I decided to get Levi's hair cut too. It was getting a bit long in the back, plus he's at such an active stage right now that I didn't want to attempt to cut it myself any longer! The whole time Colt was getting his hair cut, Levi threw a fit. I almost threw in the towel, but as soon as Colt got out of the chair (or car in this instance), Levi wanted in, and sat there quietly for the duration of the haircut. Apparently, he just wanted to drive the cool car and watch The Backyardiagans! Now, Levi looks sooo much more grown up - it kinda makes me wish I hadn't gotten his hair cut! Oh well, it'll always grow back, plus, he's still my baby for a few more weeks :)