IOU some photos...

Yep, I missed last week, and all you get this week is an IOU for some pics... It's been a little crazy, aka I'm trying to get some craft projects done. I know, I know -- you're totally surprised that I'm up to my eyeballs in fabric and paper, glue and thread. I'm always a happier girl when I'm busy with fun stuff.

A little update: Bryn now has two little chompers on the upside of her gums (Can I get a hallelujah?! No more teething for the time being), and they're growing in quickly! She turned 8 months yesterday, and she wants to crawl so very badly. It won't be long now and she'll be cruising all over the house...

Drew had a big day yesterday -- my little man is FOUR! We did all kinds of fun things -- like headed to the amusement park with our friends, had an egg hunt with lots of friends and had a piratey-good present treasure hunt, complete with a pirate outfit that he didn't take off the rest of the day. Aaaaarrrgh!

Alright, just so you're not totally disappointed, here's a little sumthin'-sumthin' for ya... Drew has been dressing up like a pirate for weeks (he just has the official garb now), so here's his makeshift bandana he's been wearing. He actually wore this bandana to soccer practice the other night, and he didn't look like a pirate -- he looked like a dancer out of an '80s music video.  Man, I love this kid...

It's been so nice around here, that we go out and enjoy the small patch of nice grass in our backyard. This little girl just adores her daddy. In fact, when we were in the car on the way to softball on Friday, she was practicing her newfound babbling. She kept saying, "Dadadadadadada," and I told her that I'm not cool with that. She needs to say "mama" first. Then the baby actually laughed at me. Yeah, serious trouble with this one, I can feel it coming...

Sorry, but that's all you get. I've got a sister-in-law in Ohio who will probably come down and pelt me with buckeyes if I don't get her photos edited this week (sorry I'm slow, Mel! I haven't forgotten you...). So I have some editing to do before I can even download my next batch of pics -- come back for birthday photo fun next week! :)

Ah, April...

April is going to be a fun month for us -- and busy! I'm enjoying the warm weather, but not the wind. Oh, well, I'll take what I can get -- enjoying some spring weather before it becomes ridiculously hot. This week has been busy with craft projects and sports. Drew has soccer practice on Thursdays and games on Saturdays, and Brent and I are playing softball Friday nights with our dental and ward friends.

Look at that soccer pose! Drew has really started liking soccer. He was really sad when he had to sit down; he told me, "Mom, I just want to play..." When he gets out there, he's so anxious to kick the ball that he doesn't use his small kicks, just kicks the ball hard; that unfortunately means the ball usually goes out of bounds.

A little story behind this awesome photo: This kid on the other team, the one falling to the ground on the right side, was deemed "the bully" because he took down a kid by his jersey -- from his own team -- to get to the ball. Sure, this kid might be nice usually and just really wanted the ball, but we didn't feel so bad when Drew took him down (not by the jersey, just by getting in there and getting the ball). Go Drew!

We took some team pics after the game. I got some good ones of all the kids, just not together. :) Haha! Don't worry -- there's a team photo, just don't expect all the kids to be smiling. I was just happy I got a few where they were all looking in my general direction...

Also this week I did another shoot with Bryn for a little project I'm working on (which I'll share after the first of May, ahem, so as to not ruin any surprises). But I had to share this -- Bryn got her Easter dress early because when the baby grows inches every week, you have to wear those cute clothes while they fit! This is what she wore to church today and she looked pretty cute!

And this is from last week when Julie stopped by for a quick visit. Drew loved having Ace around, even if it was only for a few hours. He was throwing his toy for him in the back yarn, then he'd tell him very sternly, "Drop it!" He was so excited Julie came to see us -- I don't know how much he remembers her, but when he woke up and I told him Aunt Julie was here, he went straight to the living room and snuggled up to her on the blow-up mattress!

More Spring Break...

Not much happened this week until this weekend -- my sister-in-law stopped by for a very short but very appreciated visit on her way to Ohio this weekend. We'll see her again in September, though, so we'll at least have that to look forward to. :) Love you, Julie! Bryn's two bottom centrals are coming in and she's not a happy teether, but she's otherwise doing great. I turned Drew's paperwork in for preK in the fall -- how weird! Also, Drew's second soccer game (yesterday) went really well. I'll post some soccer pics soon...

A funny moment this week: Friday morning, Drew woke up crying (he seems to usually get his nightmares right before he wakes up), so I went in to comfort him and make him feel better. I tried to get him to tell me what his dream was about.
"What did you dream about?"
"I was dreaming about... noodles."
"Noodles?"
"Yeah, I was finally having the noodle dream."
Haha! We were having a conversation directly out of Kung Fu Panda, Drew's current fav movie. He was just crying, and he went straight into the movie quotes. He cracks me up!

So more catching up on Spring Break. My brother- and sister-in-law came down from Ohio to spend a whole week with us, and we had soooo much fun! We went to Bricktown, the zoo and Lake Arcadia. I got to spend time spoiling my three nephews, and I was so happy to meet my newest one who was born just a few weeks after Bryn.

Our newest little chunky monkey -- I'm glad he likes to snuggle, because mine doesn't!

This is my new favorite picture. Drew had sooooo much fun with his cousins -- he still keeps talking about them. We were up at Arcadia Lake, and the boys were being so silly. I'm glad I had my camera because this is one of those priceless moments.

Their hands and faces are covered with smores. They just all sat together on the picnic table and were giggling. I asked them if they liked smores, and all three yelled, "Yeeeeaaaaaaaaahhh!" So I kept asking them questions and they kept giving me the same answer while they showed me their messy fingers. They had such a good time together.

Seriously, what's better than your cousins?

This was in Bricktown along the Riverwalk. We fed some ducks, ate some barbecue and enjoyed hanging out...

These boys and their daddy... What a lucky bunch to have each other!

This is also a favorite! It makes my heart almost burst to see the way Drew and Bryn look at each other sometimes. I was so concerned that Drew would be jealous, that Bryn would be indifferent, and yet in such a short time, they really adore each other. Bryn will laugh for Drew like she will for no one else -- I just love it!

We also had to visit the zoo -- our elephants are back (they were gone before we moved to Oklahoma, so we're excited they're finally in the zoo).

Haha! This is why I miss you guys so much... :)

Really, they're normal... sometimes.

 

My sister-in-law's sister also lives here, so we got to hang out with them a lot too. Bonus: They had a pool and fed us smoked ribs and chicken. Heavenly...

It was cold, but Drew had a blast, and he's getting so good swimming on his own (with life jacket, of course).

All the boys loved the zoo, especially all the fun statues to climb on.

But walking around a giant zoo is tiring. I had Bryn in my single, so these guys had to compete for space in the double. :)

L is showing me what a tiger says... ROAR!

Oh, so much fun seeing them again! Thanks again for coming to see us -- it was an awesome Spring Break, and we miss you so much! For a few more pics (if you're not already sick of them all), check out my new craft blog to see a fun project I did with the boys while they were here.