Elmo!

Thanks to Aunt BranDee, Drew is in love with a wonderful little book about baby Elmo. I usually memorize his books pretty fast, just because I read them so much, but he actually memorized this book before I did. It's too cute, so I wanted to share his favorite book -- as well as his growing vocabulary -- with you all.

It's all about the red shoes...

I got an early birthday present and Brent took me to see Oklahoma City Ballet's production of "The Wizard of Oz" on the 27th. I very much enjoyed going; it was a treat for Brent to take me because he really does NOT like dance.

Because it was the Wizard of Oz, I -- of course -- had to wear my beautiful pair of red pumps. I was getting ready and the shoes were in the living room. Drew apparently shares my fettish for shoes. :)

In other miscellaneous life...

Drew and Ady are just the cutest. I love it when they play together -- not so much when they fight, and it's a toin-coss for which they're doing. Our friends came over last Sunday for some treats and to hang out for a while. Drew has a book about things that go that has a hole in the middle for you to put your face in so the story is about you. He got out his book, and Ady must have thought it looked like a kissing booth or something. We all laughed at their little smooch, so they did it several times. :) I love it...

Drew thinks he's such a big boy. He'll be two on the 23rd, so I guess he is getting to be pretty big. He's starting to say words more frequently now, and he loves to play computer games with us. The only one we let him play himself is Zuma, so here's our big boy, losing his game like 14 times in a row and loving it.

Finally, Drew loves taking his pants off. But this night, he also had a pretty soggy diaper. We were just going to throw him in the tub in a minute anyway, but he decided he needed to take his diaper off, too. Only kids can get away with this little ensemble of just shirt and socks -- I was laughing so hard as he ran around the house like this, the tears were rolling down my cheeks! Baby butts are the cutest. :)

SPRING BREAK! WOO HOO!

Yes, it's been a while since my last post, but nothing's been going on in our life. However, last week was spring break and it was a awesome!!!

Brent did well on his midterms the week before, and we completely soaked up every minute after. I had an afternoon to myself last Friday, did some writing and shopping and enjoyed some alone time. We vegged for the weekend, and then we had a day hanging out with friends on Monday. Ultimate frisbee, volleyball -- and sore muscles!

On Tuesday and Wednesday we went to Chickasaw National Recreation Area with our friends Jordan and Katrina, and Zack and Keri and their little girls. It was the funnest camping trip! We crowded all our tents onto one camp site, we had awesome food and yummy smores, and Drew and Ady got DIRTY!

Our camping spot was near the Lake of Arbuckles. The water was cold, but there was a big beach and we loved the beautiful weather -- in the 80s both days.

Drew and Ady, the diaper twins, loved playing in the water. Ady gave herself a mud bath and Drew splashed as much as he could. The big boys got brave and went out for a dunk.

On Wednesday we went to Turner Falls, did some rock climbing, kind of, and played in the water. We all got a little too much sun, but that's the sign of a good spring break in my book. :)

Drew and Ady found plenty of ways to get dirty. Drew ate some dirt, so Ady thought she should too. It looked more like fall than spring at the recreation area with dead leaves all over the ground, but it made for fun crunching and a soft landing spot.

(Yes, that's a dirt handprint on Drew's face.)

Both evenings we took a walk down along the shore of the lake and skipped rocks. Drew is truly happy when he's throwing things, and I think throwing rocks was probably the funnest thing in the world to him. He was so mad when it got too dark and we had to walk back to camp.

We watched the absolutely beautiful scene of the sun setting against the lake, and we caught these tiny frogs that swam in the shallows near the shore. I think that was my favorite part of the trip, besides enjoying time around the camp fire (although we didn't actually get to have a camp fire because of a fire ban -- we enjoyed the glow of charcoals).

Ady has one of these little frogs in her hands.

Zack and Ady by the shore

Thanks so much you guys! It wouldn't have been so great without you. :)


This was our first chance to get out of the city and see what Oklahoma has to offer. We needed the time off. It was the best week I've had since we moved out here. And Oklahoma has some beautiful spots. I can't wait to do something like this again next year!

His first haircut...

After two or three strangers telling us, "Oh, she's so cute!", we decided it was finally time to get Drew in for his first haircut. I don't think he looks like a girl, even with the long hair, as many of you have agreed. But it WAS getting long (when it was wet, it almost got in his eyes in the front and touched his back in the back), so it was time for a haircut...

(The before shot)

I took Drew to my friend Brandi, who does a great job cutting my hair (ironically, she grew up down the street from me in Brigham but I didn't meet her until I moved out here). I figured I wanted a professional to do it for the first time. I would have been way too nervous and probably took a chunk out somewhere. Drew cried a little at first, and fussed a little when she used the trimmers, but other than that, I just read to him and kept him distracted and he was very good.

Brandi put some folded up matts on her chair and put him in a cape that had arms. Everyone keeps asking if I was sad or nervous for his first haircut, but I wasn't because I wasn't doing it. :) Brandi did an awesome job, and I wasn't sad because I knew this was coming. I've actually been putting it off for a few weeks. Plus, I think most moms want their kids to stay little forever. I love this stage, but I don't want him to stay here. I'm excited to see him grow and learn, so this "rite of passage" into little manhood doesn't make me sad. He definitely looks more grown up and handsome.

I'm just glad that there's still enough to get mussed during his nap. I think it looks so good, but a little hard to get used to. It's quite short, but hey, he IS a boy...

(post-nap)

We're in the Army now...

It's even more official -- we're in the Army now! Brent swore in tonight and signed all his papers. He's now 2nd Lt. Brent Talbot. Weird, huh?

One of his professors is with the Army and he swore him, as well as our friends Dave Smith and Isaac Sebourn, in at the dental school.

It's a relief to know we're guaranteed money through dental school. I'm so grateful that we've had such a good feeling about the Army and we know it's the right decision for us. We could also end up living in some pretty cool places. :)

Good news...

Yeah! It's official: we've been accepted to the Army's medical scholarship program! And they'll start paying as soon as we can get everything signed, which means they'll pay this semester's tuition, books, etc. We also get the signing bonus and monthly stipend. :) This is great news for us, and we're really excited about the Army's program.

Brent will start out as an officer, but he does have to go to officer training. That might be this summer or it might not be until after school. We'll find out as we get into it. It also means we may qualify to buy a house... Either way, we're relieved to have the money sooner than later and know that we're doing everything we can to pay our way in school. Yeah some more!

Happy New Year's

We also had a great New Year's Eve at Brent's brother's house. Mitch and Julie have a new puppy; just add some grandkids and way too much food! We watched Kung Fu Panda, played pingpong and add lots.

Here's Drew trying to get Ace to bite his finger. He loves that puppy!

Mitch and his puppy -- Julie and Mitch are so funny! They're like parents of a newborn because they have to get up with the dog to let him out and are trying some discipline.