Christmastime Pictures

I must apologize for the spastic nature of my post. My alarm didn't go off this morning which makes me feel behind on my day, coupled with a headache and two lively sweet kiddos...but I wanted to update my readers (all...5 of them) with new pictures from Christmastime.

We took a trip to Tulsa to see some family right before Christmas. I was too busy chas-er-playing with the little ones to take pictures, sadly, but we had a real nice time visiting and seeing Josh's side of the family. One of Josh's brothers had come all the way with his family from Germany! I enjoyed hearing stories of their adjustment to life in a different culture. Reminded me of my year in India. I was impressed the cousins all played so well together when the age range was from 2 to 17. At some points I felt more comfortable at the kids table than with the adults. I have to grow up, it's one of my New Years resolutions...

We left a little earlier than scheduled, driving through the evening back to Dallas, but we couldn't handle another night in the hotel room. Wesley is such a light sleeper that he kept us all awake and made for a couple cranky kids the next day. Annie did admirably considering her bothers night vigil, but we all decided being back in our own beds would be better than leaving the next morning.

On to the photos:



We had a surprise visit from my mom and brother over Christmas and New Years! It was great to see them and catch up.
While my family was here we had some friends over to play computer and card games.
Annie enjoyed having Grandma read to her. Note the flowers: Josh got them for me "just because." :)

Grandma gave Annie a froggy raincoat to match her boots. They came in handy this week when we had lots of rain and then snow. I think Annie would live outside all the time if I let her.
Wesley is growing up fast! He is crawling and "walking" while hanging onto things. He just had his checkup last week and is doing real good. He has lost a little weight so he is no longer 90th percentile but 75th. Yeah, we're starving him. ;)

His first word was "Dada." I was a little disappointed, since that was Annie's first word, too. But he quickly learned "mama" after that. Wesley is such a daddy's boy (which is good).

Annie helped me decorate some cookies after this picture. She dumped all the sugar onto them so I had to shake them off. They got a neat design from the procedure, I never would have thought to do on my own! :)
Annie likes to help us wash the car. This was before temperatures plummeted to the 20's and 30's.


Now back to your regularly scheduled programing. Don't mind me. I'll be drinking coffee in the corner.

Love,
Discombobulated in Dallas

Pictures from November/December

Annie learning to ride her tricycle. She loves to ring the bell.
I've been teaching Annie the piano alphabet, since she already likes letters and music. She so far is learning where to find "A" on the keyboard.
We have a train set that is held together by magnets, and Annie discovered they stick to the metal chair in the living room. She dangled the whole set on that chair! :)
"Awright, sit down. Do you want oatman for breakfast monkey?"
Wesley is almost always happy, only when Daddy crosses his line of sight does he start to fuss. He makes a beeline for the door and Daddy whenever Josh gets back from work, wanting to be held. Loves his daddy! :)Hey there citizen, have no fear - Wesley is here!
He almost escaped out the door one time. Now I'm more careful to watch him.

Thanksgiving day. Waiting for guests to arrive. Annie couldn't believe she was allowed to eat so many snacks and in the living room no less! She ate way too many olives than I care to admit...
Annie watching a game of Stratego.

"Should I tell Daddy I snuck another olive?"
The weekend after Thanksgiving we pulled out the Christmas decorations. Annie has been going around saying, "Remember Christmas? It's the Happy Birthday Jesus! We give Him our hearts. And get presents!"
Wesley just wants to eat the balls.



Alley and Wesley! Thanks for the pictures, Alley...
Josh has been Annie's horsey. She loves to ride around the house and say "Riding that horsey, don't get falled."
We made chocolate caramel cookies one day on a whim. The sad part was they were completely ruined! They were sandy and fell apart. Then the caramel inside became like little rocks. We had to throw them out and make another kind later on. Annie enjoyed licking the spoon, though.

Fall Pictures

Wesley is a big boy now, eating solid foods. He loves his veggies and has decided not to like rice cereal. I can't blame him...it doesn't taste very good. :)

For some reason Wesley has a love of table and chair legs. He is crawling now (!) and will play happily under the dining room table or coffee table.
Jessica took some pictures for me. I realized I didn't have many pictures of me with my sweet kiddos!
Look at those chubby cheeks!
I really like this one - I think less than perfect portraits are fun.

He's gonna break a lot of hearts... ;)

Annie loves to help me put clothes in the dryer. She comments on almost all of them. "whoa, BIG pants!" for Josh's slacks, etc.

We just got back from a trip to the park. Annie loves slides of all sizes, so I am trying to visit our local park more often. The weather is slightly cooler so it makes walking not a huge chore. Josh will play soccer on the weekends a lot of times, so we all tag along to play on the swings and "slippery slides" as well. It's a bigger park so Annie doesn't get bored very fast. She is always sad when we leave, but it seems to help if she says "bye bye" to the slides.

Annie is quite the chatty little girl these days! She is always talking or singing and asking questions about everything. She currently is learning the sounds letters make, and that prompts questions about the sounds other items make. For instance she wanted to know what a heart says. So I told her it says "I love you". Then she wanted to know what the living room says. I was stumped with that one.

Annie also likes to refer to herself in third person unless she is getting something or attempting some physical feat. ie. "I do it!" "I get the Tigger." Etc.

Her nemesis is a spoon. She is trying to master the art of getting that utensil to her mouth without losing the contents in the process. I have to give her step by step instructions or she gets super frustrated. So we will sit at lunch and she has a bowl of yogurt with blueberries and I'll tell her "Okay, look at your knuckles. Grab the spoon. Scoop! Lift it up! Bend that elbow. Bite!" over and over. I'm hoping she gets the hang of it before she has to eat soup or something at a friends house. haha

Wesley is quite the charmer. He likes to smile and coo at us (if he has eaten anyway). He is sitting up now and getting up on all fours. He hasn't quite figured out crawling but he is very close. He loves his daddy, too. If Josh walks by Wesley will kick up a fuss until Josh holds him, even if I'm already holding him. I'm trying not to let it hurt me. haha

He is also the proud owner of two new teeth! He was so cranky for about a week and then two teeth popped up. Go figure. He enjoys eating veggies and fruit, but has decided he doesn't like rice cereal. I can sympathize.

Wesley also likes to do things to Annie and see how she will react. I can't believe that has started already! He grabbed her foot one day and she squealed making Wesley look up at her with and expression of curiosity. He loves noise of any kind, so I'm sure Annie will supply him with plenty.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. It has been so busy here I haven't taken the time to snap photos. Hopefully I can get some up here soon!

Life with Kids (all 5 of us)

Wesley has learned to roll over onto his tummy. The only trouble is he gets stuck. Then I turn him over. Then he rolls over. Ad infinitum.
Moving his arms so fast it's a blur.
"where did i put my pacifier?"
love those cheeks!



My two favorite men.
This cute girl has been with us helping me lots around the house. It's fun to have another adult to talk to during the day after singing the alphabet song more times than I can count.
Annie likes playing with her inflated star floatie inside.

She has to have her favorite Tigger around wherever she goes. Here Tigger is out getting some sun. They spent a few moments of quiet meditation looking at the fence together.
Annie has loved all of Tigger's stripes off, and he is getting real threadbare. It reminds me of the velveteen rabbit.

Wesley is quite interested in food (and drinks). If we don't watch during dinner he will grab a fistful of potatoes...

Jessica made me a fall cake for my birthday. She did an amazing job!

Annie studying the funny pages in the Sunday paper.