San Antonio or Bust!

Two weeks ago we packed up the kids and headed to San Antonio for Todd's Twenty-Group meeting. It was Henley's first road trip. She was a rock star!!! We headed out around 9:30 after I fed her. Stopped to get the boys Chik-fil-A breakfast and popped in Toy Story 3 and we're on our way. We stopped at an indoor Sonic (strange?) in Ozona, bathroom break, and a bottle, and were off with three sleeping kids for the remainder of the trip. HOORAY! SUCCESS!

We stayed at the Westin La Cantera. The boys loved running around the fish pond and pointing at the fish.
Uncle Jody brought the family down from Austin to see us and meet Miss Henley!
That's Papa D and Uncle Jody

Our sweet cousin is four months younger than the boys. He was much more interested in Henley than her brothers are. He was all about the sweet kisses. Love him!

Aunt Kathy gave Henley her first set of pearls. Notice the necklace and bracelet.

So stinkin' cute!

Sweet Jacob could not wait to get his hands on Henley. The only person more eager was Aunt Kathy. She came in and tried to play it cool saying hello to Me, Todd, the boys...I knew she just wanted to snatch Henley from Todd's arms. She totally played cool though.

I love this picture. Gotta love how babies can turn grown-ups goofy!

What do you do with three 2-year olds? CARS!!! Aunt Kathy saved the day with tons of HotWheels cars.

Thursday, while Todd was in meetings, my parents and I took the kids to the San Antonio Zoo. This was taken in the butterfly garden. The boys were so excited to go in because they enjoyed the futterfies (butterflies) that hung out in my plants by the pool all summer. Whoa, slow down...they were not expecting monster butterflies! Some of these guys had a five inch wing span. Owen was swatting at them and dodging them like they were killer bees and Brody just giggled and ran around. It was so fun!

I really wish this was a video. Moments before this picture, Brody was nose-to-glass just looking around trying to see what was in the cage. Then out of no where this leopard was nose to nose with Brody. Neither one moved. BUT when the cat did...Brody took off! This is him going back to investigate. I was proud of him for going back.

Nana showed Henley the fish. (Look at that cheek!)

Owen loved the L-phant.

Owen, "Brody, you touch it first"

Between the goat and the boys, I don't know how Papa D got any food out of the machine

Brody was not too sure about feeding the goat. He kinda teased it

Owen loved feeding the goats. He thought it was great!

Of course he did, he let Brody test it out first.

After this, the sleepy-melt-down started. Wow! It came on fast. Brody was on Papa D's shoulders using the top of his head as a pillow, Owen was screaming because I strapped him into Henley's stroller because I could not carry him, Henley was sacked out in Nana's arms. Why did we park so far away!!!!

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We had a wonderful time in San Antonio. When we were leaving, they brought our car up to us with an extremely low tire. They got an air pump to fill it up and Todd took the kids and I to the mall to play on the park while he went to get the tire checked. My parents stayed to help me and continue our fun visit. An hour later with the help of terrible directions he returned with no help for the tire. The warning sensor had gone off so we figured it was fine. We inhaled PF Changs and hit the road. Again, Miss Henley was amazing! She slept the entire time, only to wake up and enjoy a bottle for 5 minutes and then back off to dreamland. The boys, as usual were super travelers.

Henley's 3 Month Photo Shoot

My amazing friend, Erin Black, took Henley's 3 month pictures a few weeks ago. They were so beautiful! Henley was a great little super model diva. She slept as if this job was no big deal, refused to follow the director (Erin) when prompted to smile, demanded her favorite (and only) beverage be provided on demand, suffered many outfit changes, and...only smiled when her main man, Dad, stopped by the shoot to check on his girl!!!

Love it!!!!!

My sweet little angel!
She did a great job. I have a feeling this will be our last shoot with a sleeping model. While it's fun to be able to pose her and make her do what we want, I'm already SOOO excited to see how those 6 month pictures turn out. I think she'll be a blond by then like her brothers. Her hair has started growing in blond. She has light roots! Too cute!

TGIF

Wasn't sure we were gonna make it to Friday. We had a less-than-perfect night last night. Brody, not Henley, was up "creepin" all night (2 to 5) and refusing sleep. He yells out right as he's about to dose off to ensure he does not fall asleep. I guess it's payback for the years I crept into my parents room and turned on their tv and slept at the foot of their bed.

Grammie rescued Brody from his sleep-deprived mommy. She took him to look at a country listing, to the office, McDonalds, and all-about the town. Apparently the umbrella in her backseat was pretty exciting too!


Sissa had a rough day of sleeping and eating. She looks a little milk-drunk here!


Owen hung at home while Brody hit the town. He got Daddy all to himself at lunch. They read a stack of books and did a quick little walk to scope out the neighborhood. Then he and I made cupcakes and he sat in Henley's Bumbo to play on my computer. We watched, sang and danced to The Princess and the Frog. There are a couple of different scenes with snakes in the movie and everytime Owen yells "sneeze". Nope. Those silly "sn" words all sound the same.


Here's who really belongs in the Bumbo. She kept me company while I cooked spaghetti-pie for some friends.


Oh my! If the non-sleeping-ness was not proof he is my child, this photo is. This was cupcake number two. He is my icing man. His daddy was totally grossed out at our wedding cake taste-testing when I grabbed a spoon and ate cups of icing!


The leftover. Anyone hungry???

Ladies Lunch

Henley was so glad she had her girlfriend, Blair, at lunch today! They had so much to catch up on!

Size 3 Please

Guess who moved up to size 3 diapers after 3 blowouts during the night?

Life and Times of Brody

Brody is 32 months old (Almost 3!) and changing every single day right before our eyes. He is definitely my...I don't know child. He is different every day and always has me guessing what I'm going to get from him today. I love that he keeps me on my toes.

Brody is hot and cold. He can change his moods in a blink of an eye. He is not my communicator and I think this is why he gets so frustrated. I know he knows what he wants, but he just doesn't know how to tell me. He doesn't like to talk. For example if he wants something, he will take you by the hand and lead you to the object of his desire. It's funny because if you push him hard enough (and he's in a good mood) he'll give in and say what he wants. Todd was shocked yesterday when Grammie gave him a cookie and without prompting, "Thank You Grammie". At least we know he can do it! He loves to work over his Mama and Daddy. I catch that little grin he cannot contain when he gets his way. He loves to think he's pulled one over on us.
, He is not a fan of grooming. Haircuts are the worst thing in my life right now. Brody just completely melts when he gets his haircut. Todd is convinced his hair must have feeling in it. The finger nails and toenails are the same. Gotta love this guys because as soon as the "torture" is over, he's a cuddle bug and not mad at all. It's like it never happened. I never want him to look back at pictures of himself and be mad at me about his awful haircuts, it was him, not me! I took him last week and found a new person who was stern and use clippers to speed the process along. Much better!

My SUPER eater!

As of right now, Brody is the eater in the family. Of course, his food of choice is candy, but he's also trying new foods. Brody has been open to new foods these last few months. He's willing to try whatever Todd and I are eating (I guess if we eat it, it's safe?).

His favorites: Bananas, Tortilla Chips, French Fries, Chicken, Fruit Snacks, Watermelon, Mexican Rice and French Toast, Cookies

Brody has become the aggressor. For the last year it was clearly Owen. This last month the roles have reversed. Brody goes after Owen out of nowhere and takes him down. Owen loved and welcomed the attacks at first. Not so much now. It's really hard to feel bad for Owen since we've watch him go after Brody for a year.

Fun Facts:

• my vampire child. Brody's seat is in the middle in the car so he is blinded by the sun. He literally acts like it is burning his flesh. I hate to laugh but he tries so hard to squirm away while being strapped down
• Tom & Jerry are his new buddies. He laughs, giggles, and squeals when he watches it. Absolute Favorite!!! I enjoy watching him watch the cartoon as much as he likes watching it.
• His favorite part of the day is taking off his socks. If you ask him if he wants his shoes off, he giggles with glee. As you slowly pull them off, he squirms with excitement. Then those sweet toes wiggle like crazy!
• Favorite word "Coooo-key" Cookie is his favorite word and food. He loves Oreos, Nilla Wafers, Sugar Wafer, whatever

Brody is my "Creeper". He is so quiet and curious. I find him all over the house investigating. The other day he was supposed to be taking a nap. I was doing laundry so I was up and down the stairs, in and out of my closet and all over the place. I thought I heard one of the boys, but they usually come get me. I had been downstairs and ran up. When I went back down he was standing quietly at the bottom of the stairs. I have no idea how he got past me. I wake up and he's quietly standing next to the bed waiting for me. He can sneak up on you very easily.

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Brody's smile can melt my heart and he loves to snuggle with his Momma!
I love you B-Boy!

Catching up with Owen

Owen is 32 months (Almost 3) old. He is such a joy and we love his craziness. Owen is definitely the older brother. He constantly has me laughing. I'm never quite sure how Owen is going to react to a new situation. He keeps me on my toes, for sure! Favorite foods: bananas, raisins, grilled cheese, french toast, ice cream, fruit snacks, popcorn

Current "Favorites": Toy Story, Dinosaurs, Shoes (he has a very strong attachment to his current Nikes. He shows them off to everyone even though they're months old), Monster Trucks, squealing, chasing Brody

Key Phrases: "Monsta Truck" Monster Truck, "Baby Sissa" Baby Sister, "Oct Tuss" Octopus, "Stuck", "No-Wen" Brody (Owen always referred to Brody as Owen and I would so "He's not Owen". Therefore Owen calls Brody "Not Owen" or "No-Wen"), "Bayou" sit by you, "Futter Fie" Butterfly

He is definitely my talker and he is so loud, I can't imagine who he gets that from????

Tricks

• hides his toys, but always knows where they are. If we are leaving the house or heading to bed and he protests, I let him go get whatever he wants. He grabs the toy and is happy as can be.
• Hands. He chases Brody and says "hands". He wants Brody to hold hands so they can dance. He loves the music from The Princess and the Frog and wants to dance.
• My little parrot. We have to be very careful about what we say around this guy. The repeater.
• Fish Kisses. Owen loves to give kissed. He puckers up like a fish and goes for it. He finishes each kiss with a load smack noise. Love it!
• The boys love to play chase. We have a brick column they love to run around and we have two doorways into our kitchen/family room area they make a great race track. It's so funny to watch them chase one another because I have no idea who is chasing who and I really don't think they do either. They just squeal and run and laugh!

This man loves a hat, but only for a minute. This is the only one he will leave on, but never on command. It has to be his idea. This goes for everything. I offer juice, "NO" and he pushes it away, then cries when I set it on the table, give it back to him, screams, I give up! I set it down and let him work out his issues and get the cup whenever he decides he wants it. This is not a fun trick we are doing now, and I am hoping it's temporary.

Yep. That's Owen. You just never know!

I love you Owen! Your imagination is wonderful. Your smile is priceless. I love your kisses!

Happy Halloween 2010

We had a great Halloween with our three little monsters!

Henley was a pretty little peacock

Owen trying out his helmet

Sister in outfit number 2

Coach handing out the equipment

"Brody, it's time to get your head in the game, Son!"

Family photo, FINALLY!

getting ready for the hayride. I was really nervous they were going to leave me with all these kiddos!!!

Owen was so excited about his first hayride

Brody is curious what's going on

Mom and Coach are having fun making sure all the kiddos stay on the hayride

Pretty girl

Coach rounding up the team

Brody favorite place in the world

Owen's favorite treat of the whole night

Trick or Treat

"What's going on?"
"Just follow that girl"