I Knew This Day Would Come!

For several months, we've known that ONE day, one or both of the boys would figure out how to climb out of their cribs. It's inevitable, right? They tease us almost every day by swinging a leg over the side of the crib, or lately, actually straddling it like a horse! As soon as they see us walking toward them, they either jump back in the crib or suffer with the consequence of a swat or a timeout. Many friends have shared the advice to "keep your babies in their cribs as long as you can!" - especially noted from friends with "multiples." At nap time and bedtime we let the boys pick out a toy or book to take to bed for 5 minutes. We set a timer and when the the timer goes off, they know it's time for sleep. This seems to make the transition a little smoother for us. Well, Bryce chose the red tractor that Drew has been really fond of lately. Jimmy walked out of the room, closed the door and when he returned 5 minutes later, Drew had climbed out of his crib and was scaling up Bryce's crib to steal the tractor! Thankfully, he made it out of his crib safely! Today, when I put them down for their nap, Drew swung his leg over the side again and acted like he was going to climb out. Bryce started shaking his finger at Drew and with scrunched up eyes and a very concerned look, shouted, "Dew, no, no, no. Mama! Mama! Mama! Dew - back in bed!" It was SO funny! I guess that's a big brother's job to look out for his little brother!

We aren't too surprised that Drew was the first one to climb out of his crib. After all, he's our "little monkey!"
For you parents out there reading this, do you have any funny stories to share about your babies climbing out of their cribs? Please leave your comments so we can all enjoy!

Girls Weekend!

I am SO excited! Two of my dearest friends are traveling from Forth Worth today for a 4-day girls' weekend! I am so honored that they would travel to see us! Thank you to their sweet husbands who will be staying home to take care of their 3 boys - all under the age of six! Thank you to Jimmy, too, for staying home with our 2 boys so I can go have fun with the girls. I'll be back next week with some updates.

Have a great weekend y'all!

36 Years Ago!

36 years ago my sweet husband was born. Thank you to my in-laws for raising such a loving, thoughtful, compassionate, respectful, God-fearing boy and for all the other friends and family along the way that have been a positive influence in his life. I am so blessed & honored to be Jimmy's wife, best friend, and mother to our children.

Jimmy on his 1st Birthday!

Jimmy has been working hard around our house the past few weeks. He has been "falling" lots of trees and clearing leaves and underbrush from our back yard. He wanted to spend the day splitting the wood and hauling it to a friend's parents house. His boss offered to come over and help him...what a great boss huh?!

I gated the boys in the back deck area so they could "supervise" the work party when it started to sprinkle.

The sprinkles quickly turned into torrential rains, thunderstorms and lightening. Keep in mind, here is 2 intelligent, professional men - throwing wood into the back of a truck underneath trees while it's storming around them!

I love to cook but really don't enjoy baking very much. But, since it is Jimmy's birthday today, and he loves baked goods, I thought I would attempt to make an apple cake - my mom's recipe that he LOVES (recipe below.) Bryce and Drew love being in the kitchen with me so they got to help mix in some of the ingredients. Note: the cute polos they're wearing are from their Uncle Jeff - he had their names embroidered on them and the logo of the fire department he works at. Aren't they handsome!

Apple Cake
4 cups apple - galas work well (peeled and diced)
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg

3/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix together apples and sugar; set aside.
Sift together flour, cinnamon baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add flour mix to apples; add oil, egg, vanilla and nuts. Mix well. Turn into well-greased 10x10 pan (I use a 9x13). Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60min.

Spring Break

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Nana and Papa R and our niece and nephew (Teal and Drake) came to visit us from the Seattle area for their Spring Break. We spent half the time at our house and half at a condominium in a nearby resort town. Even though the weather was crummy most of the time, we had lots of fun.

On the nicer days...

The boys had fun outside playing with Nana and Papa

Playing tennis for the first time - well, just holding the rackets!
We went shopping

Painted pottery

But probably the boy's favorite thing was "swimming" in the hot tub. It was heated to bath water temperature so it was perfect! They were like fish kicking, going under the water and blowing bubbles. I need to get them some swim lessons!

On the "not-so-nice days" we...

Had fun playing indoor miniature golf

Explored around at The Bass Pro Shop
Caught flying shrimpwith our mouths, watched eggs tossed into the air and onion volcanoes at the Japanese Steakhouse!
Went to a dinner/show with horses, wild pigs, ostriches, horses, long-horn cattle, dancing and lots of music - the boys were captivated!

Teal and Drake were so sweet, loving and attentive with Bryce and Drew. They were so helpful. Thank you kids...Auntie Karen loves you and I'm so proud of you both! Bryce and Drew love their Sissy and Drakey too!

Thank you Nana and Papa for all of your love and for a fun vacation. We will cherish these memories for a lifetime! We all love you!

Birthday Party #1

On Saturday, we celebrated the boys' 2ND Birthday with a party. We did a Thomas The Train theme

and bought the boys a bounce house so that we could entertain all of the toddlers in the back yard. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. We had torrential rains, thunderstorms, hail and really cold temps.! So, we backed our cars out of the garage, blew up the bouncy house for the kids and stayed indoors. I was so thankful to have the help of our family with decorating and set up because the boys were so excited and into everything.
We were trying to keep the bouncy house a surprise until the party started so it was very difficult to keep the boys contained.

They wanted to run around with their balloons
And wanted to swipe the icing off their cupcakes (they haven't had many "sweets" in their lives so this was a real treat!)

Our friend Amanda, her mom and the triplets were our guests. They came dressed for the occasion in their train outfits - striped overalls and conductor hats. It was so cute. Even Amanda was dressed up!
The boys LOVED the bouncy house. I think the adults loved it too!
I was very proud of my boys. They shared their new cars very well with Grayson, Andrus and Liam.
We brought the toddler picnic table in the house and decorated it so all the boys could eat together. They looked so cute together!



Having fun with presents
And a Thomas pinata

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY BRYCE AND DREW. Mommy & Daddy and your family and friends love you SO much!