Busy little sunday

Here are some before shots of Ryleigh's little mop.  I didn't want to cut it, but it keeps getting in her eyes and her nose when she has the sniffles.

"Just a little off the sides please"

This is the "After" shot.  She was at the styling table trying to finish he new hair-do!  She did a great job while she got her 1st haircut.  No major meltdowns and not too much squirming as long as I was standing in her eye line.  She even let her blow dry her hair when she was finished.   Such a little girl, I love it!

Aiden has had his hair cut probably a dozen times now and I think it was only cut well ONCE.   Somehow he always gets these wild pieces that still stick up or remaining longer than the rest.   Not sure what it is, but he still looks pretty darn cute.






This was our first trip to Chuck E Cheese's since Chandler and I were kids.  It was a bit overwhelming for the kids.  There were lots of toys they couldn't play with or that didn't work.  They both just wondered from game to game touching the blinking lights and moving on to the next game.   When it was time for the birthday girl's celebration with Chuckee, they both seemed to be mesmerized.   Ryleigh ate 3 slices of pizza and cake, while Aiden had 10 carrot sticks, celery, the crust of one slice of pizza, and of course cake.  Then we headed home to place in the boat and ride on a space ship.

Haircuts and more

Aiden is getting his mop cut and eating lunch with dad today.  I will be taking Ryleigh for her first haircut, probably more like a trim.  We will post pictures later!

The day will wrap up with a birthday party for Aiden's friend Riley at Chuck E Cheese.  This will be the first time we have ever taken the kids, so it should be entertaining to say the least.  Pizza and Ski Ball here we come!

Its been a while...

Its been quite a while since I posted to the blog, so lets just cover a few highlights.

Watching The Grinch on Christmas Eve

Aiden is now 3.  He loves dinosaurs, Star Wars, Toy Story, Batman, Spider Man, playing with Ryleigh, wrestling with daddy, and just having fun in general.  We are always laughing at the funny little things he says and the grown up way he tries to behave.  He is definitely 3 and tries our patience as he attempts to assert his independence.  Its so much fun to watch him grow and change.  Sometime soon we plan to get him involved in some kind of activity to burn off the immense amount of energy he has.  Its phenomenal how active he is.




Ryleigh is 1 1/2 years old now.  She LOVES books and her baby dolls.  Aiden is her personal hero right now and she attempts to imitate everything he does, from what he eats to how he plays.  He is a great big brother because he usually indulges her while she follows him around.  She loves for her daddy to give her body slams and tickle her, her laughs are the best.  Everyday she amazes us with the words she is learning and the fact that she started counting out of the blue.  "1-2-3-5-6-..." yup she missed the 4, but it was very sweet.


Chandler is super busy at work, but he manages to still be super dad (and husband).  It is so cute to watch him with the kids.  Wrestle, reading books, and running are some of their favorite activities.  He started running last year, competing in 5ks, and even ran a half marathon a few times.   He has already started signing up for some 5ks this year and really seems to enjoy it.

I started working on my MBA in the fall and expect to graduate in July 2012.  Its still a long road, but I am excited about getting it completed.  I am going to SMU and concentrating in Strategy & Entrepreneurship with a secondary concentration in Operations Management.  No, I don't plan to open my own business, but it goes well with my career goals.  It keeps me pretty busy, but "Super Dad" is a big help and I couldn't do it without him.

Well, that about covers the family these days.  More to come soon!

Skool Daze

So many kids are off to school this week, ours included... well sort of.   Aiden moved to the Early Pre-School room with the 2 year olds.  He is one of the youngest in the room at 21 months, and is finally one of the smaller kids... for now!  He seems to be enjoying it, and Dad and I are excited because he starts potty training.  For now he just sits on the toilet to get used to it, but they take him regularly so we are starting the process at home too.  We got him his own potty chair to start training with us.  He was a little apprehensive at first, but now he thinks its a chair and drags it from the bathroom to the family room just to sit on it.  We have our work cut out for us to teach him the potty stays in the bathroom.


Ryeligh also started school.  She is visiting the baby room at daycare for a few hours today and tomorrow so I can get used to getting both kids ready for school before heading back to work next week.  The teachers enjoyed visiting with her and she surprised them with her lovely reflux moments!  Poor girl!


Ultimately it was a wonderful morning for me, because both kids were at school and both dogs got dropped off at the vet for their wellness exams.  It was so quiet just for a couple hours... ahhhhhhh.


  

Pictures of Ryleigh

We are very lucky and have two friends that take wonderful pictures. Our neighbor Katie is starting a new photography business and will be putting Ryleigh on her website. Go to this link to see the wonderful pictures she took of her at 1 month. http://www.photobiz.com/slideshowbiz/slideshow.cfm?slideshowID=75884&photographerID=14293

Our friend Stacie was sweet enough to drive up from Austin and take her pictures as well when she was 3 weeks old. Here are a few of those to enjoy.

Aiden's 1st Birthday (November 16, 2008)

Aiden’s 1^st Birthday was so much fun. Mom and Dad got him a tricycle with a handle we can push until he is big enough to reach the pedals. He loves to ride that thing all the time…and still can’t reach the pedals. We got up and went to breakfast as a family and then came back to the house to get ready for the party.

Both of Aiden’s great-gramma’s (Carolyn and Ludell) and his GiGi (Audrey) were there to celebrate along with his Great Aunts and Uncles Betty, JD, and Shirley. His Aunt Jodelle and Grandpa Bobby made special trips to be at his party. Lots of his other friends (mostly our friends) were there to celebrate as well. We had a great time visiting with everyone and especially opening presents!

Then it was time for the cake! He was a little slow going at first, but once I showed him how to dig in he went after it. It was too funny and all over him!

We can’t wait for Birthday #2, which is just around the corner!

Time to catch up

Our little Rock Star!

Since it has been ages since I updated everyone I Aiden I figured I would just do a brief summary of the last 10 months!

Took his 1st step on September 29, 2008. He was 10 months old.

Started walking on October 8, 2008...still 10 months old.

His 5th and 6th teeth came in on October 11, 2008.

On October 17 (11he went to his first Fall Festival at school and played in a petting zoo and rode on a train! He loved petting the animals and almost ripped the fur off a poor bunny.

He had his 1st Birthday Party on his actual birthday, but we'll share more in another post.

Since he turned one his vocabulary has grown so much. He talks so much, some of it you can understand and some of it you can't. We worked with him a lot to be able to say his new little sister's name, which sounds so sweet when he says it. We tried to get him to say "sister" but he didn't seem to grasp the concept.

Well I am sure a lot more happened but mom forgot to blog about it. She will try to do better so everyone can keep up! Here are some pictures from the last few months:

This was Aiden's Christmas Present, a new table to sit at like a big boy!

This is Aiden reading books with his Grandpa Bobby the weekend of his 1st Birthday.

Aiden was getting kisses from Emma and Payton at his Aunt Jodelle's baby shower, he wasn't too thrilled about it. I guess he'll like them better when he's older.

Our little monkey was a monkey for Halloween! He actually wore the costume to school and stayed in it to go trick 'r treating. Too cute!

We tried to carve pumpkins, he just played with all the pumpkin guts!

Just like his Dad, he loves to save his pennies for retirement!

He had a Spring Parade at school and made all of the little bugs and flowers hanging around his neck. It was so cute to see him marching around waving his clover.

The first haircut. We are not professionals, but we got the job done. More thanks to Dad than Mom, who chopped off a little too much in front.

He loves to eat animal cookies with his Dad!

He got this Charlie Brown shirt from Marisa and Jason on his birthday and we just had to take a picture because he looked so cute. It doesn't fit him any more, but thats the way kids clothes are :(

This was Aiden in July swimming in the pool with his Dad. he loves to float in the rafts.

Just being goofy!

This is his new smile when we take pictures. He keeps closing his eyes.

We went to a carnival at school and they spray painted his hair green.