Santa baby hurry down the chimney tonight....

We are very excited for Christmas this year as it will be Ryan's first Christmas. More importantly it will be the year that we have two children that believe in Santa Claus! I have been annoying my boys with playing my favorite Christmas music and movies all month long and dragging them out to look at all the beautiful lights and nativity scenes. I just love this holiday! We have made our countless trips to Starbucks for the lovely pumpkin spice late and peppermint mocha and have filled our cabinets with their holiday blend coffee that I love. The shopping is done, presents are wrapped, the childproof tree is up, meet and greet with Santa is done, letters to Santa sent off, and our family Christmas cards have been mailed. All that is left to do is take our yearly vacation home to spend the holidays with our loved ones and to have our first snow for Ryan. Happy Holidays!!!!

Thanksgiving Take 2......

We had Thanksgiving at my sister Michelle's house this year and it was so much fun. Here is Aunt Michelle trying to juggle two fussy babies and host. Go Michelle!

Awe....look at baby Brody on his first Thanksgiving. So sweet!Aunt Nicole cheesing!

Uncle Barrett avoiding the camera!

Ryan and daddy eating

Such a model

Grandma and Brody

Uncle Barrett carving his turkey

Thanksgiving Take 1

Beautiful baby Jeanette was such a darling. We met for the first time on Thanksgiving and she was such a happy baby. Really, she was. After hours of being awake and excited to play with her cousins she finally had a melt down. She wasn't alone because Ryan was on his way out too. So cute!

Here are two brothers that are always gunning for each other. It makes me laugh every year and I cannot wait to see my two boys goofing around like this when they are grown. Pay attention Ryan.

Til next season.....

Grant had a lot of fun playing for the Lawton Soccer Club this year. He was the team's goalie and he did an awesome job helping his team have a winning season. We are so proud of you Grant!

Here is Grant's team. We were the smallest team starting out with 6 members. The poor kiddos had to play the entire game as we were too short to have substitutes. We were very happy to get two new players to help give us a break. They lost 2, tied 1, and won 8 games. Most of all they became friends and had a lot of fun....can't wait til next season!

Every player got a trophy presented to them by their coaches Adrian and Erica.

Look who's 32....

This is Mia, the little girl I watch from the downstairs apartment. Mia worked very hard on picking out birthday decorations for JR and even harder at putting them up. She is such a sweet little girl and Ryan and I love having her around to keep us even busier.

I think JR was more shocked that I was able to purchase a Kindle without him noticing.....I think he will be paying closer attention to what it is I do all day...LOL.

Happy Halloween!

My little soldier boy.....Ryan was supposed to be Tigger for Halloween but mommy forgot to pack his costume. Luckily we had this little outfit in the diaper bag. Ryan had so much fun visiting family in Missouri that he passed out in the car and never made it out to trick-or-treat, but I know he had a lot of fun getting laughs in his costume.

Madeline was a beautiful Geisha and crazy Ava was obviously Thing 1 from Cat in the Hat. Perfect match up here!

The trio loves to go trick-or-treating at Halloween together but it hasn't worked out every year because we usually are in Washington. We live a lot closer this year so we decided to take it on the road to Missouri and hang out with the ones we love. The grown ups had a great weekend of football and wine drinking while the kiddos got to hang out and go to a Halloween party. Thanks to JR for being generous we stayed Sunday evening for the kids to go out. We left around 7pm and started our 8 hour journey home to OK. JR slept in the car as much as possible and was able to get 4 hours of sleep at home before going into work the next morning. Thank you babe for letting us be home for Halloween and being a good sport.

Grant, Madeline, Taylor, Ava

Ode to Fall

We thought we would take advantage of all that Lawton, OK has to offer......this would be it. Mount Scott located on Fort Sill is very beautiful and the boys had a lot of fun climbing around. It's not Rainier but it will do!

Count'em 1 2 3, Left Right Left!!!

We had a very exciting night on the fourth. Ryan was hanging out with me in the bathroom while I was scrubbing the bathtub. He was standing up next to the door and balancing himself against the wall. Once he felt stable he let go. He has been doing this for some time now. I was just talking to him like I usually do and to my surprise he started to take a step. I held my breath because he has attempted this before and usually bites the dust. Instead, he took one step forward with his left foot, then another with his right, and another with the left. He got so excited that he fell down, but it counts....Ryan took his first steps!!! I realize he is only 8.5 months old but I have a feeling he will be perfecting his new skill over the next couple of weeks. Needless to say there was a lot of clapping, cheering, and very proud parents in the house. Go Ryan:)

Bad habbits already!

Ryan started teething months ago and has only two bottom teeth, however, he enjoys gnawing on everything in site. This includes humans. He usually just nibbles on your finger or your hand, and occasionally bites a toe that is hanging over the couch.....Ouch! He has now started full on biting. This video captures an innocent father doing his homework when out of nowhere a baby attacks him......he he I can't help but laugh right now but I see future problems here!

What a tease

Grant is the typical older brother, always teasing his little brother. I have dreamed about the day when I would have two children playing together. It took a little longer than planned but I light up every time I see my boys hanging out. Yes, I would prefer that it was always peaceful, but I will take it either way. Someday our house will be quiet, the boys will be grown, and I will truly miss these precious moments. Here is a video of Grant teasing Ryan by placing his fingers under the bathroom door. Ryan seems to think that he should go wherever Grant goes. If Grant shuts the door Ryan falls apart. Grant has found that if he plays with him on the other side of the door then Ryan calms down. Too Cute!

Just another day

Weekends are the best

This is my favorite part of the week. Weekends full of family outings, soccer games, great dinners, and spending the evenings watching movies and snuggling. Ryan was worn out from the day and fell asleep in his favorite spot.......mom or dad's arms.

Soccer Season!!!!

It was hard finding a sport that Grant would be interested in playing but we did it. He played twice for the YMCA in Missouri and is now playing for Hugh Bish under the Lawton Soccer Club. Practices started last week and he had his first game last Saturday. They played the toughest team and the league and held their own! We were very proud of his team because they only had 6 players so they had to play the entire game while the other team of 12 had subs. Go Grant! Dad's been outside working with Grant on straightening is foot. It worked because he was doing awesome at his game today!

He's been working hard at practice and it paid off today as they had their first win. More importantly the entire team has improved greatly. We welcomed two new members so we actually were able to give the kiddos a break out in the brutal heat. Silly momma forgot the camera two games in a row. I caught some pics on my iPhone so I'll get those on here soon.

Caution: Children's brains are hard at work!

After the trip to the zoo we stopped off at the science center. It was full of activities for kiddos of all ages. Here's Ryan learning about those teeth that have been coming in!

Say cheese! Ryan was so hot from the zoo that he just looked out of it for the rest of the day. It made for a nice quiet ride home.

Grant enjoyed playing with the exhibits and viewing the planetarium. We learned about planes, trains, and automobiles....outer space and even attended a theatrical show on chemistry. That was the best part for Grant because they blew things up:)

Watch out Paul Blart, we have a mall cop in the making:)

Lions, and Tigers, and Rhinos??? Oh my!

With all of us having lovely allergy issues from being back in the Midwest we developed cabin fever. Labor Day weekend swooped in to save the day and we headed to OKC for some fun. First stop was the OKC Zoo! We saw all kinds of animals like Rhinos, Gorillas, Giraffes, and even some snakes(okay so Grant and daddy looked at some snakes while Ryan and I checked out flamingos, owls, and swans)

The Children's Zoo was Grant's favorite by far. They had several rides, sprinklers, and an adorable petting zoo.

The day didn't end here so stay tuned for the next post:)

Order Up!!

We found this cute onesie when we were out the other day and I couldn't help myself. It's a 3-6 month and Ryan is in 6-9 months or even 12 month clothes so we are very lucky that it even fits. Out little tot has grown into a Fry:)

Will the real Ryan Garrett please stand up!

Daddy has been working hard to get Ryan to stand on his own. Lately he has been doing it on his own for about a second, but today when JR balanced him and let go we easily counted a good 5 seconds. Now that's progress.....It is so cute and I know our little guy will be walking soon!