Back to the grind

Wes and I enjoyed a MUCH needed vacation to Destin, FL this week.  We left the kids with my mom and although it was really hard to be away from my babies, I knew they were in great hands.  It was so relaxing and we enjoyed ourselves so much! On the first night we ran to target at around 8:30 to grab some beach things and we were laughing at how we haven't left the house together at 8:30 in over 3 years!  We enjoyed not having a schedule and doing our own thing and actually sitting at a restaurant and eating instead of trying to entertain two little ones!

We were gone from Wednesday to Sunday. On the way to Destin we stopped in New Orleans. Neither of us had ever been there and we just wanted to check it out.  We weren't there at night, but we walked around Jackson Square and got to see some jazz bands and eat a little brunch.  It was fun to see a new place.  

While in Destin we enjoyed some fun restaurants with super yummy food.  We of course loved sitting on the beach most of the day.  We ate at a restaurant that was connected to our hotel for lunch a couple of the days and it was such a pretty view. 

One evening we went to a place called the Harbor Walk and it was a fun little boardwalk with lots of little shops.  This is also where you rented jet skis, went parasailing and took boat cruises.  While we were there that night we saw a sunset dolphin cruise and that sounded like fun so we went back the next night and made it on time for that.  

It was SO COOL to see the dolphins so close.  We are geniuses and forgot our nice camera on the cruise and our phone pictures don't do justice  to how beautiful the sunset and dolphins were. But...one afternoon Wes took his camera into the water and got so close to the dolphins.  It was so neat to be laying on the beach and just see dolphins swimming around.

We had a really good time at a piano bar one night that was within walking distance from our hotel.  It was a fun, new experience for us and we had a really good time.  Between laying on the beach, staying up late, sleeping in, eating great food, seeing the dolphins and enjoying some alone time, we didn't have much time to think about the kiddos (although I really thought of them like crazy the entire time). We sure were happy to see them when we got home, and they enjoyed their white sand from our fun trip!

Thanks Granna and PawPaw for taking such GREAT care of our babies so we could enjoy ourselves.  We had such a great time that we may be calling on you more often! 

New things

Now that school has started we are back in the swing of things and I feel like I have a little more time to plan out fun things for me and the kids to do.   There have also been some fun things that have started this semester.

Part of turning 3 means it's time to visit the dentist.  Hannah was SO EXCITED to go to the dentist and thought it was so funny that her male doctor has a pony tail.  Hannah had a great experience at the dentist and we're looking forward to going again soon for our first cleaning!

Hannah and I also made brownies together for the first time last week.  She enjoyed pouring the mix into the bowl, stirring and most of all, licking the spoon.

Wes and I recently worked in the church nursery and I saw a bucket of raw noodles, beans and rice. I thought that looked like fun for the kids and thought it would be fun for both the kids ages.  It was a hit, although Ethan ate a few bites.  They both have enjoyed this activity several times.

Marley came over to play the other day and we made some bead bracelets.  The girls had a great time doing it and it kept them occupied for a while.  They loved showing off their new bracelets when they were done.

And probably the hilight of our year was on Monday when Hannah started dancing.  We've been watching London through the window at dance for months and Hannah has been so excited to be old enough to start dancing.  She was ecstatic to put on her tap and ballet shoes.  Each class the do 15 minutes of ballet, 15 minutes of tap and 15 minutes of tumbling.  I wasn't the best dancer as a child, but tumbling was my thing and after class on Monday Hannah said tumbling was her favorite part. Maybe she will take after her momma!

Love new things with my sweet kids.  So glad cool weather is coming and we can do more fun things outside!

Our summer - in phone pictures

I seem to capture a lot of our memories on my camera phone.  Anytime we're out and about I have my phone, so that's where alot of our pictures end up.  I was looking through  my phone last night and I thought to myself "we've had a fun summer!" - so I thought I'd share.

We started off the summer in not such a fun way - Hannah had to get an x-ray of her throat because of a swallowing issue. Everything turned out fine and the only reason I'm sharing this picture is because I thought she looked adorable in her hospital gown.

Hannah and I attended London's dance recital.  Hannah loved watching all the dancers and she's excited that she will be starting dancing this Monday!

Ethan had his first bike ride.

We went to the Fort Worth zoo and Ethan was worn out!

....and so was Hannah!

We have enjoyed several trips to the nail salon.

We've enjoyed some sweet treats....

...and some messy treats.

We have stayed up way past our bed time acting silly and had many midnight snacks.

We've played with sweet friends.

Played outside every.single.day.

We made home made sunflower seeds, thanks to Mrs. Ashley for the sunflower plant. 

and we've partied like rockstars!

We have made countless trips to the zoo, parks, playgrounds and had multiple play dates with great friends.  We've gone on several vacations with family. This truly has been a really fun summer and I love spending time and making memories with my family.  I'm excited to see what next year holds when the kids are a little older and can enjoy even more!

First Day of School

Today was a big day at the Tyler House.  Hannah woke me up at 6:53 a.m. and said "Mommy!! Wake up, today is schooooool!!" She was so excited and went to her room and got her dress and she was ready an hour and a half before we needed to leave.  I love that she loves school so much!  An added bonus this year is that Aunt Jenn is her teacher! Her good buddies Judson and Emily are in her class, and of course her best friend and cousin, Marley.  I think it's going to be a good year!

Another HUGE thing is that Ethan is starting school one day a week, too! My heart doesn't know how to handle this quite yet and this morning while I was doing my weekly grocery shopping I felt a little lost without my side kick. I think he will love school, though. He loves being out of the house and exploring new things.  I'm a little anxious about nap time, but I know the women in his room have seen it all, so I'm just hoping he's not the worst they've ever had. Ethan's a great napper at home, but he doesn't seem to do so well anywhere else. Fingers crossed!

I can't wait to hear all about Hannah's day, and I'm hoping Ethan's teacher sends home a good report.  I sure miss my sweet peas, but I'm also enjoying a quiet house!

Here's to a great year!

Ethan - 15 months!

I haven't done an update on Ethan since his 12 month post.  He seems like a different baby from that time! Ethan is walking running everywhere and he's VERY active.  My mom stayed with me a few weeks ago and she got a taste of what a handful this little guy is.  She agreed with me that it's easier to leave the house with him and either have him strapped in to a car seat/stroller or in a non-dangerous climbing zone. I spend the majority of the day chasing him and taking him off the coffee table, down from the fireplace hearth, helping him climb onto chairs, etc. He's a little monkey and he gets so proud when he reaches the top of wherever he's headed.  He may or may not have climbed the attic stairs last week and hung out in the attic for a few minutes before we found him.

Ethan babbles alot and has several words that you can understand. Some consistent words he uses is: momma, dada, Hannah, puppy, diaper, hello, no-no, outside, milk, night-night, mouse, snack, pawpaw, vroom vroom, duck and book. It has  really helped that he's starting to use more words and pointing. I think he's happy now that we somewhat understand what he wants.

Ethan is definitely a daddy's boy.  This little guy LOVES his daddy and wants to be where he is at all times.  When Wes gets home from work Ethan darts for the door squealing and saying "daddy! daddy!" It's precious to me and I know the time they have together is so fun for Ethan.  If I had to guess, I would say Ethan is going to be handy like daddy.  He's always got a screw driver or some tool in his hand and his favorite "toy" is our riding lawn mower.  Maybe it's just curiosity, but I think it's in his genes to want to fix things.

Ethan has turned into a pretty decent night sleeper. I would say he still wakes up once or twice a week, but he's only up for a short time and then he's back to bed.  He sleeps from 8:00 p.m. to about 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. Yes! You read that right...that boy can SLEEP.  He usually naps for 3 hours in the afternoons. He sleeps ALOT!

Ethan's eating habits are good - in the fact that he eats constantly.  That boy never turns down food and is always wanting what we have. He's become a little more picky though.  I wasn't able to hold off with all the "junk" food as long with Ethan as I did with Hannah. Mainly because when Hannah has something, Ethan ends up getting a taste.  Now that he's tasted cookies, cheetos and pop corn, he wants in on that most of the time!

Ethan, you are so sweet to us and every day we talk about how we love you more and more. You are such a delight and you keep us laughing with your personality and funny faces.  We are treasuring our time with you so much, because you seem to be growing up so fast.  We love you little guy!

At 15 months you:

• Are in size 3 diapers
• Wear a size 4 shoe
• Wear 12 months tops
• Wear 3-6 month bottoms
• Drink 2 sippy cups of milk a day - rest is water. No juice for you yet.
• Weigh almost 20 pounds - you are so small
• Not sure how tall you are, but will find out Monday at your appointment
• Love books. You bring me book after book and sit in my lap for me to read to you - LOVE this!
• Sleep really well - 14-15 hours at night, 3-4 hours of naps during the day
• Eat pretty well - all table food
• Love wheels and trucks
• You love playing in the sandbox
• Have developed a strong personality and you arch your back big time if you are mad
• Sleep with your blue puppy and paci - very attached to the puppy
• LOVE being outside

Happy 15 months, Ethan. Love you so much!

Wednesday Fun Day!

Ethan slept until 10:00 this morning.  When that boy decides he wants to sleep, he is a great sleeper.  Anyway, when he finally woke up (Hannah had been up since 7:30) we went and ran some errands and ended up at the pet shop.  We came here when Hannah was Ethan's age, but I don't think Hannah remembered.  It was a fun, new thing and both kids enjoyed themselves.

Hannah's favorite thing was a little kitty cat.  Wes and I aren't fans of kittens or cats, so we will most likely never own one, but Hannah thought this kitten was really cute. 

Ethan liked everything.  He was pointing to everything and was even able to pet a bunny.

It was a fun time! Towards the end Ethan was getting sleepy again and so we headed home for lunch and naps.  Ethan has been asleep for over 3.5 hours (he must be having a growth spurt), so Hannah and I decided to have a little fun without him.  It was starting to rain outside so I went to pinterest to find an idea and I found this fun milk/soap/food coloring idea.

This was a fun activity and kept Hannah busy for about 45 minutes. 

(Note: Hannah is, of course, in pajamas)

Now, if my sleepy boy ever wakes up, we are planning to make a castle out of paper cups. My guess is that our castle won't get too high before it's destroyed!

Love at home time with my kiddos!

Beach Vacation 2012

This past week we went to the beach with my family for our annual trip.  I grew up really close to the beach and I've been going since before I can even remember.  It's been such a great memory from my childhood and I'm happy to say, my kids love the beach, too!

This little guy had a big time.  He loved the sand, the water, the shells, the seaweed, the birds and the waves.  He was all about EVERYTHING.  He didn't sit still at all, which  made for an exhausted momma, but it made my heart so happy to see him having such a good time.

Hannah loved playing with her cousins, as usual, and when she loved the beach, she loved it and when she had enough she was READY to go back to the cabin, often resulting in a melt down. But overall, she had a really good time and has been asking about the cabin ever since we left.

One of Ethan's favorite things to do was destroy the sand castle neighborhoods that Carter and London spent so much time creating.  

My beach beauty. She looks SO grown up to me in the picture below.

Wes took Ethan out on the kayak a couple of times.  They didn't go far, but Ethan liked the movement of the waves. Although, I think Ethan liked the kayak just as well on shore.  He's such a monkey and spent a lot of time just climbing and sitting in it.

We really had such a fun time and looking at the pictures makes me want to be right back on the beach relaxing.  I always anticipate the trip so much and then feel sad when it's over.  We are already excited for next year and I know it's going to be so fun with a 2 year old and a 4 year old  (gasp!) Hannah loved the water slides at the beach this year, too.  Almost immediately after hitting the bottom she would say: "I want to go again!" I love making these memories with my family.

Until next year...