The George Family

Hello Summer!

2010-06-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well I think I can finally say that summer is here! We've (the boys and I, poor Ryan's been at work) have been enjoying being outside the last two days. Yesterday we did the sprinkler and of course my water babies loved every minute of it. Today we decided to go get our annual pool (LOL, seriously you have to buy a new one every year) and the boys spent all day minus a couple hour nap in the middle of the day after playing. Then it was right back out there after they awoke. I spent the day reading basking in the sun and enjoyed it to the fullest. However I'll be doing some major homework catch-up tonight but it was well worth it to spend some quality time with the boys. It's amazing how much better they get along and are so happy when they can just be outside playing all day. I absolutely love watching them together! It's gonna be a long summer trying to get homework done when I'm having so much fun already with them. As for my photos, I wasn't trying to get a million of the cheeser man but I swear he just sees me with the camera in my hand and all I have to do is say "hey Austin" and he turns towards me and says cheese! It's so funny! Hayden on the other hand will give me a cheese while he's doing something and doesn't look at me. He's not so much into getting his photo taken right now. And try and get one of the two of them...pretty near impossible! :)

Here's some pics of our recent water fun!

Sprinker!

I absolutely cannot get enough of this little man's grin! Or his little cute bum! :)

Handsome Hayden

Pretty much the best I could get...they turn their head so fast!

P.S. I have a lot more to share but I'm just pooped from the sun and don't have enough patience to upload photos right now! Maybe this weekend! And feel free to pop on by Saturday...we're having a garage sale and got lots to get rid of! :)

Life Update

2010-05-26T19:54:00.001-07:00

Another month has passed by and honestly nothing has changed...we are still crazy busy! I'm anticipating the end of this term and am knee deep in work that still has to be done by June 9th. Subbing is extremely busy this time of year as teachers are taking all those days off they've still got. Then tomorrow is Hayden's last day of Punkin Seed for this year. I'm so glad he still has another year there with the same kiddos next year. He's going to miss it dearly but thankfully his class will be meeting up to play two times a month at the park! I'm not sure who set it up but such a great idea that Hayden is going to LOVE! Baseball finally ended yesterday for Ryan so we've got him back! I'm anticipating a fun summer with the boys and can't wait for this weather to change so we can get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Anyways, I'll try and get pics posted soon of Hayden's last day tomorrow. I'm sure it will be a bittersweet day! Oh and I'll post pics of the cute teacher's gifts Hayden and I made. Hope all is well with everyone!

Life is so crazy....

2010-04-23T21:03:00.001-07:00

So life has been super crazy lately between my schooling, working on my work sample and unit I'm about to start teaching on Monday, Hayden's school, Hayden's speech, both boys in swim lessons, subbing, trying to be a good wife/mom, Ryan's baseball schedule and everything in between. I feel like I don't even have time to breath lately and I know it's not going to get any easier within the next couple months. As I'm preparing to do my teaching of my unit, I'm also going to be in the classroom full time almost for 3 weeks. Thank goodness for grandparents, you all have no clue how much I appreciate you! As well as the boys appreciate you playing with them. Mom isn't much fun when her head's constantly buried in homework or grabbing her keys to head to the classroom. I just can't wait until it's all over with and life can be back to somewhat of a normalcy. I also can't believe I almost have 1 of 2 years of this part time masters in teaching program under my belt. It's went by super fast and it feels like I was just stressing over my application to the program yesterday.

So, sorry friends and family that it may feel like I've been neglecting you (cause I feel that way)...I'm not trying to, I just don't have a whole lot of free time lately and when I do, it's being spent with 3 special guys! :)

Anyways, as for the two little men, they are continuing to grow like crazy and are loving these sunny days we are getting here and there. They can't get enough of being outside playing. We took them hiking last weekend and it was a blast. Austin rode along in the backpack and Hayden raced through the entire thing, never letting us get even one step ahead of him. He's been talking about going hiking to see the butterflies all week since so we will be making a lot of trips to McDowell creek this summer! Oh and Austin has been telling us here and there that he has to go potty! We are so excited but not pushing the issue at all and just letting him go at his own pace. We pushed with Hayden and it didn't work and once we stopped pushing him he went on his own so that's the route we'll take with Austin. :)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Bonus...just a couple cute pics I couldn't resist!

2010-04-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

Lately Austin has been wanting to cuddle in bed with Hayden and one night I went in and found this so I just had to take a picture. It is the sweetest thing ever to see your babies sleeping peacefully together! I have this feeling that Austin is going to want to be in with his brother soon because for a bit every time we would mention bedtime he would grab his stuff and run to Hayden's room. :)

And this cheese ball...he is just the funniest little guy! His favorite thing to do when you take a picture is say "cheeseburger." He is such a little ham and I can't believe how big he is getting and how much he is chatting away! Such a fun little boy he is!

(As soon as I can get a picture of Hayden smiling nicely like this for the camera I'll post too! He likes to play games and act like he's gonna pose and then you go to take it and he turns!)

1 of 4...Our sleepover with Colton!

2010-04-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Last week we got the chance to have Colton come stay at our house for a couple days. It was so much fun and it made me think even more just how much I miss him being around. The boys are so much fun together. Austin and Colton are only 8 months apart so they really have a blast together and play so well. It was so cute to hear them giggling and playing. It's gonna be super sad when my brother goes out to sea in a few months and the chance that we won't get to see Colton until he gets back almost 8+ months later. Can't wait to see him again! Here's some pics from our time with him:

The 3 boys

Bathtime with the cousin! They look so much alike!

Nothing better than bathtime and then a movie and popcorn!

Colton riding the horse at Grandma and Grandpa George's

Pizza night!

Cousin cuddles watching some Elmo

2 of 4....Easter!!

2010-04-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

This year we did a couple Easter celebrations, one with my fam and one with Ryan's fam. Usually we end up doing most holidays together (lucky me I know!) but my parents were going to be gone Easter weekend so we did theirs the weekend before. Plus my brother and nephew were able to be down that weekend so it worked out nice. The first celebration it was actually sunny out so we were able to have the boys in some new outfits and hunt outside for eggs. It was nice to have all 3 boys together. Hayden was the egg hog, as the two little ones spent most of their time just walking around. Hayden would find an egg and run till he found another. It was so funny. The night before actual Easter, Ryan, Hayden, Uncle Drew, and I (Austin pooped out) died eggs and did some Easter crafts. It was so cute to see Ryan and Drew making crafts with Hayden. They worked for hours on them. Thanks for humoring your nephew Uncle Drew, your the best! Easter Sunday we went to the George's for egg hunting and dinner. The boys got so much stuff from the Easter bunny between all the grandparents and our house. Spoiled little boys for sure! They ate so much candy over Easter weekend! I'm just glad it's over and the candy eggs are GONE! Time for a diet! :)

Isn't this just the sweetest face?!

My nephew Colton

Checking out the filled eggs...we already had taken their real eggs out of their baskets. :)

Someone was so excited to color eggs!

How cute is this?!

The Easter bunny came to our house!

Egg hunting at Grandma and Grandpa George's

3 of 4....Spring Break Trip to the Beach

2010-04-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

After Ryan got done with all his baseball duties on spring break, we decided to pack up and head to Lincoln City for a couple days and take Ryan's parents with us. Our trip started off with Hayden puking as soon as we got into town. This is his second time getting sick after the drive to the coast so we are thinking the poor guy gets car sick. So after a trip to Bi-Mart to get some cleaner for the car, we headed to the hotel to unload and wait for the grandparents. We spent the next couple days eating, shopping, swimming, and playing on the beach. It was so much fun and so nice to get away for a couple days. The weather was pretty much the usual for the Oregon coast the first day but the second day it was beautiful! Here's some pics of our time there:

The best spot at the beach...you can drive right down on it and don't have to haul the million things down to your spot that you have when you go with kiddos! :)

My boy is getting so big!

Austin enjoyed his first time actually getting to really play in the sand.

Burying daddy's feet. Such teamwork!

Hayden's turn of course!

4 of 4...Visit from our favorite girl!

2010-04-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, we had a visit from our favorite little girl, Miss Ellie! It was so good to see her as it had been so long! She was so cute and came right in and it was as if she owned the place...just like it was when she was here with us 4 days a week. :) We got to keep her while her parents went to a dinner and the boys and her had a blast playing. Hayden and Ellie were inseparable. It was so cute. They got to play together all weekend. I hope we can start meeting up with them more often so the boys can get their "sister" time in. :)

Love this little face!

Such a great picture of her and Hayden

Then her and Austin.

Cute little readers

I can't believe how big they both are now

Snackin' away

Drawing with Hayden. She followed him all over the place!

Ok, perhaps tomorrow will work!

2010-04-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

I lied...the hubby went to bed too early in order to get up at 1am for work so I can't go dig around in the bedroom for the camera and the cord to upload pics. Dang! I was looking forward to sitting here for hours updating. Tomorrow, yes tomorrow is the day!

It's coming soon.....

2010-04-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Promise....I'll post a new blog with tons of photos by tomorrow night! I'm holding myself accountable this time...just gotta finish up some homework! :)

It's been a while...

2010-01-27T21:53:00.001-08:00

So it's been a while since I last posted! I need to download some new pics from Sunriver and such so I can put them on here. Just being lazy I guess. Not much new is going on. We are all finally getting healthy around our house despite one left with a snotty nose. It's been a rough couple weeks! Needless to say I can't wait for Spring!

School is going good for me and it feels so good to know I'm getting just that much closer to being done! Hayden is in love with going to Punkin Seed still and I seriously don't ever see that boy move faster than on Tuesday and Thursday mornings when I wake him up and tell him it's time to get ready for school! It's so funny! He's about to start swimming lessons again. Austin is growing so much and talking up a storm! His new thing is telling me "no" and shaking his head no at the same time. He loves following his brother around and doing/saying everything he does. He also has quite the personality. Ryan just got back from Vegas for 4 days for work and he had a blast. Unfortunately it rained while he was there but he still was able to have a good time (imagine that).

Baseball season is just around the corner and that means Ryan is about to be super busy! The boys and I'll be spending time at the field when it's nice. Hayden LOVES going and hanging with the big boys at baseball.

Well, I'll try and post some pics soon!

Holidays...get ready for some pictures!

2009-12-30T22:01:00.001-08:00

I'd have to say this holiday season has been by far my favorite! Hayden is at the perfect age where he is excited about it all and that just made Christmas so much more fun for us as parents to watch. We kicked off the holidays with his preschool program/party. It was super fun to watch all their adorable songs they had for us and they gave us super cute gifts (homemade calendar), as well as Hayden got a fun new book and Clifford ornament from Linda and Lori for Christmas. The kids were all super cute! They did a cookie swap as well which was fun to bring home a bunch of different cookies! I just love Punkin Seed and am so glad Hayden gets the chance to go there! The teachers are fabulous and Hayden constantly tells me who his friends are and asks if he's going to school almost every day. I love that he is so excited about it!

Here's all the details!!

Singing some songs

Teacher Lori & Hayden

Teacher Linda & Hayden (thanks for not looking buddy!)

Checking out the cute calendar Hayden made!

The next holiday get together was at my parents house with all the grandparents, my uncle and cousins, and my brother and nephew. Justin had duty on Christmas so we were lucky enough to do Christmas with him the weekend before because he also happened to have Colton. We love the time we get to spend with that little guy and only wished it was more often! I've never seen 3 cousins who look more alike than my boys and Justin's. They are so cute and fun together!

Colton and Austin

Hayden and Cooper (my cousin/Hayden's 2nd cousin)

3 cute little toe heads in their matching pj's

Austin loves his new slide from Nana

The closest we could get to a pic of them together. So funny cause my dad was laying down on ground to take a pic and so Austin copied him...that boy is so funny!

Colton watching Hayden play games

So concentrated

Moving on was the Beaver's bowl game...which was a total letdown for sure! Guess we will hope for better next year! I didn't take many pictures but I did happen to get a cute shot of the boys all in their jerseys!

How cute would that be if Hayden was looking!!

On Christmas Eve morning we did some fun things with the boys. While Austin was napping we did a gingerbread house with Hayden. He loved it and took his time placing each piece of candy on it. Then I baked yet another batch of sugar cookies (#5 I believe for this season) and the boys decorated some more. It was Austin's first time decorating a cookie...very messy! But he had fun!

Hayden and his masterpiece

Not quite sure at first

The more frosting, the better Hayden thinks

Christmas Eve was spent with Ryan's family and it was great. We had dinner and opened presents. Hayden and Austin of course scored once again...super spoiled kiddos! I didn't take many pictures because Ryan did a lot of videoing.

This kid is always the center of attention...

Silly boys

Hayden and Grandma Debbie

His new thing to be silly is to close his eyes during a picture...so annoying! :)

Austin trying out Hayden's new hat.

Christmas morning Austin was up bright and early but Hayden had plans of sleeping in. We had set up their "Santa" gift the night before and we didn't want Austin going out before Hayden so we tried to wake Hayden up. He wasn't having it and kept rolling his face into the pillow. Finally we got him out and they came out to see what they got. They were super excited! We spent the day with my parents. We cooked breakfast and then mom and I made a huge turkey dinner. It was so nice and relaxing to just stay home and let the boys play with all their new stuff and play games.

Mr. Bright eyes ready to go!

This kid however was not so ready yet...

Santa brought them a train set/table

They loved it!

Like I said...center of attention all the time! He's so silly!

A few nights later we had some friends over for games. Papa was holding Dylan and someone got a little jealous!

Now he's happy to have his papa to himself!

It's the holiday season!

2009-12-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

We've been super busy these days trying to gear up for Christmas. We did our annual trip to the snow to cut down our tree but sadly it was too cold to trek around much so we weren't successful! I think this is the first time this has happened. It was when it was freezing here, making it even colder up on the mountain. So we ended up at good old Poor Richards getting our tree. We've got it up and decorated thanks to all Hayden's help. He absolutely had a blast putting ornaments on the tree and is super excited this year which makes it really fun. We finally get to use "Santa" to keep him on good behavior. :) This was our first year we have taken the kids to Storybook Land and they loved it. We went with Lins, Ryan, and Dylan. Hayden was especially into it and wanted his picture taken next to each exhibit, while Austin just pointed at everything and ran around. It was too cute! Austin hates Santa and has freaked out both times he's seen him. It's funny though because he always points to him on TV and says "Santa." What a great free holiday event to attend with your kiddos. After Storybook Land we had Lins and the boys over for dinner and cookie baking. Lins and I baked sugar cookies with Hayden and it was so much fun for Hayden. He got to cut them all out and definitely enjoyed decorating them...loves sprinkles! We attempted at our Christmas card picture with our boys and needless to say it went as expected. At least we got a good picture of each of them even if not together, that we were able to use. I got Hayden, Austin, and Dylan matching Xmas pj's and we tried to get a picture of all 3 together but I think we waited too long into the evening when they were all tired and restless. Oh well, we still got 10 days to try right? :) Here's some pics of our holiday fun we've been having:

Up in the snow

Spongebob!

Such a ham

Watching the trains go by

My sweet boy

Austin would prefer not to see Santa...

Our attempt at a pic of us 4

Tummy time with Dylan

Hayden loves his Dylan

3 of the cutest boys ever!

Hayden trying out the bumbo

Attempt #1

Still not working...

Mr. Cheeser

Baking cookies

2 adorable little boys!!

Yay Me!!!

2009-12-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO!! Just submitted my last assignment in my first term of graduate school. It feels so good to know I'm finally on "Christmas break." Now I can get some Christmas shopping and stuff done! I feel so behind having only bought one thing so far for the boys and not a thing else! I feel great about this last term and can't believe I'm one term down from being finished! Only 6 more to go! LOL

GO BEAVS!!!

2009-12-03T13:34:00.001-08:00

What an exciting day for Oregon school football fans! This day may just be one of our favorite days of the year next to watching our kiddos open Christmas presents! We've been flying our beaver flags all day long and we've got Benny blown up in our front yard. Hayden's super excited to cheer on the Beavs tonight and we are hoping for a sweet victory! I think it's going to be a really great game! GOOOO BEAVSSSS!!!!

Here's some pics from our house this morning and a past beaver game this year (vs. the Huskies) that I'm just getting posted. :)

2 of the cutest Beaver believers!

"OSU"

Hayden and Mama tailgating

Kam and Hayden cheering on the Beavs

I need help!!

2009-12-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

So I absolutely cannot change my background! I've tried everything and cannot get the dang thing to revert back to minima so that I can change it. Does anyone have any tips? I've never had trouble until I changed it to the one I have and from there on I've never been able to get it to change. SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Happy Veterans Day

2009-11-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Veterans Day to all those who have or are serving for our country. Thanks could never be enough for all you and your families do! Thanks to my brother Justin for helping protect our country by serving in the US Navy.

Happy Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

Halloween this year was so much fun with 2 kiddos! The boys were great and didn't complain once about their costumes or anything! Hayden as I said was a turtle and Austin was a dinosaur. They were too cute! We started Halloween by hitting the downtown trick or treating. It was so crowded! And we got hit with a downpour on our way back to the car...thankfully the boys didn't even care about the rain...their suckers were much more important. :) After downtown we hit up family friends and family before dropping the boys off at Grandma & Grandpa George's house for the night. Ryan and I had an "adult" Halloween party to attend that night. Ryan dressed as a Rasta man and I was an 80's prom queen...my costume won for best costume for the girls at the party! It was fun to see how everyone dressed for the night.

My babies

Cutest little dinosaur around

Papa and the boys

Cheeser

Trick or treating at Grandma & Grandpa George's

The hubs and I

Lins in her funny costume, the tooth fairy, & prom queen

Brett's sweet side (with baby Dylan)

Hallie & Ryan

Kitty, UPS guy, and Ultimate fighting guy?

Jennifer always out does her self with the food!

Brett looks good in lashes!

Punkin Seed Halloween Party

2009-11-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Thursday before Halloween Hayden had his first preschool Halloween party and it was so much FUN!! Hayden was a teenage mutant ninja turtle (Raphael) obviously and he loved his costume. He had it on before we even made it out of the store when we got it and he wore it all day. Glad he picked out one he wanted to put on more than just for one day! So at the party all the kiddos were super cute and they did so well with their trick-or-treating each other. All the kids had a "house" to sit at (a colored mat), and 2 kids at a time went around to each house and trick or treated. I'm telling you it was so cute and I really was shocked how well they all did with it. We had a lot of fun watching it and Hayden enjoyed it all of it!

Our turtle all ready to go!

His adorable class

Passing out candy to Lexi

Hayden doing his trick or treating

Passing candy to Trent

Doing the story "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything"

Hayden patiently waiting

Hayden and his buddy Trent

And with his friend Lexi

Pumpkin Carving 2009

2009-10-27T21:30:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin carving was absolutely hilarious this year! We started out by giving the boys markers to color on their little pumpkins and thought we'd carve the big ones (with Hayden helping). Well we have never given Austin a marker before and there's definitely a reason why...lets just say he enjoyed decorating his face than the pumpkins face! All it took was one swipe on accident onto his face and he felt it so he kept doing it, until his whole side of his face was green. We couldn't stop laughing as he did it cause he was so serious looking. We decided to then bathe him and put him to bed and finish the carving with Hayden. Ended up carving all 4 pumpkins, even the 2 tiny ones. Hayden had a blast. Last year he didn't want to touch the gooey insides but this year he dug right in. He was super excited to put candles in them and put them on the porch. I love it! Holidays are so much fun when you have kids and they are old enough to get excited. So here's some pics from our carving night. Hayden's school Halloween party is Thursday and I can't wait! Pics will be up soon of that!

Hayden is excited!

He never says cheese and he wouldn't stop posing for pics this night!

Boys all ready to go

Started out pretty clean with just a bit of marker on his mouth from putting the colored pumpkin in his mouth...

One mark led to...

More! This is the look he gave me when I said "Austin...what are you doing?"

Digging out the guts

His end result on his face :)

Austin's pumpkin

Hayden's pumpkin

My (Amber) pumpkin

Ryan's pumpkin

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago we headed over to Heavenly Harvest pumpkin patch with the kids and Brett, Jen, and Kambrie. We had a lot of fun and the rain held off the entire time we were there thank goodness! They had a lot of great activities for the kids to do and they really enjoyed them. They did the hay maze, corn boxes, corn cannons, face painting, raced rubber duckies, rode the hayride out to the pumpkins and got some, and enjoyed some corn on the cob! Austin had a blast running around this year and we got some great pics of all 3 kiddos! Amazing to come out with a few (or even 1) where they are all looking at the camera! Had a great time and loved building on our memories together!

Amazing that they are both looking!

This is one of my most favorite pics of Austin. This picture shows his personality so much. He's such a funny boy and is always smiling! Of course he loves to eat so the corn on the cob was so much fun!

The kid had never had a juice box and oh did he think he had something special!

Showing each other their faces

Hayden wanted the spider

This pic is funny cause Hayden is looking at him like "what's your problem?" Austin did not want to sit down...there was way too much for him to explore for that!

Helping dad search for one

Can't believe we got one of the 4 of us looking! Now only if Austin was smiling!

Jen, Brett, and Kam

Waiting for the hay ride

3 cute little piggies

My little piggies

Hayden and Kam

The kiddos enjoying the corn box

This is his "OH" look...cracks us up every time!

Such a cheeser!

Racing their ducks!

Such a cute pic!

Beavs Vs. Stanford!!

2009-10-12T19:25:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a perfect Fall day for some Beaver football! They did fabulous!! We tailgated with a bunch of Beaver baseball boys/fams/girlfriends/etc. and it was a lot of fun! The boys brought corn hole and it was a hit like always. We were in the Hilton parking lot so it was right across the street from Reser which made it so convenient to come out at half time. Hallie and I were on the jumbo tron which was fun! After the game we hit up good ol' Pineway which was fun as well. Always nice to see old high school classmates. My camera died though about 20 minutes after we got to our tailgate so I don't have many pics, but the few I got are great ones! Oh and Lins and Dylan even made it over for some tailgatin' so we got to go to theirs and hug on him for a bit before the game as well. :) Lins looked fabulous in orange and black!! :)

Boys playing some corn hole
Drew and Linz

Hallie Kay and I

Me and the Hubs

Hallie and Aaron

Good times with good friends and cute babes!

2 of my favorite people!

Isn't he just adorable!

GO BEAVS!!

Hayden's Birthday Festivities and GO BEAVS!!

2009-10-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

So here's a little recap with some photos of Hayden's birthday festivities. On his birthday he had school and it was his snack day. We took dirt cake cups and banana caterpillars. Some of the kids apparently thought it was "real" dirt and just couldn't get past it to eat it! If they would have only tried it...they woulda known it was yummy chocolate! Oh well! Guess I gotta remember how "unadventurous" 3 yr. olds can be sometimes. Many of them did love it! I thought it was a cute snack. Anyways, I spent the day with Hayden at school and it was a lot of fun to see how all those little ones play and interact. Linda and Lori are definitely some saints! I don't think I could handle that many of them at one time, they are so busy! After school we picked up Hayden's best friend Kambrie and my mom and headed over to Corvallis for some wacky bounce fun. Hayden loves that place and could be there all day. After wacky bounce we went to lunch and then to the toy store. Hayden got some new stuff including 2 real frogs in a little ecoaquarium (I'll post pics of them later). They are really cool and neat and the best part is you only clean it once every 6 months and feed them twice a week...talk about low maintenance pets! They are super cute. After the toy store Hayden ended up staying the night at Kambrie's. I think his birthday was a great one! The weekend of his birthday I had class all weekend long so we last minute decided to do a little birthday celebration with just a few close friends and family. We did cake and Hayden opened presents. It was great and he got some really cool gifts that he's been enjoying a ton! Thanks to everyone! Anyways, it's beaver game day so I need to get ready! We are headed over to cheer them on today!

On a side note: isn't this the cutest little beaver fan you've ever seen! :) This was this morning as I was preparing my game day stuff! He decided he wanted to start cheering extra early this morning. GO BEAVS!!

The kiddos and their cake

Austin was hilarious eating his cake!

He is so cute!

Singing Happy Birthday...he even sang the entire song to himself!

Hayden LOVES Spongebob

Austin helping out with the unwrapping

So excited for presents

The closest thing I got to a pic of them together at wacky bounce

Climbing up with Grammy

Snack time at school

The birthday boy!

Preparing snack

Linda giving him his birthday book!

Feeling the different textures with their bare feet (hope you like this one Lori! :)

Happy 4th Birthday Baby Boy!

2009-10-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th birthday Hayden! You are one of the lights of our life and we feel blessed to have you! No matter how much you push our buttons or push your brother :), you still have such a sweet loving personality and are a ball of fun! I hope your special day was perfect!

(I'll post pics later of Hayden's day at preschool and other fun we had on his birthday) :)

Happy Birthday Dad/Papa

2009-09-29T12:40:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to a wonderful Dad and a fabulous Papa! We're so glad we have you in our lives!

Such a fun Papa!

Phew finally finished updating!!!

2009-09-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

So I finally finished updating...I won't get that far behind again! It took me like 2 hours! Here's a few fun pics from the park the other night...one is kind of blurry but the boys were having so much fun sliding down together! Tomorrow starts my journey to my Master's in Teaching! Not so ready to start school again but so ready to do grad school and be finished!!

This is Austin's "oh my" and excited look. It's so funny! He does it whenever he hears something or finds something or sees something exciting. He's such a funny boy!

Foster Wedding

2009-09-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we attended the wedding of our friends Kyle and Ashley up in Woodland Washington. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've been too and was a lot of fun! The wedding was at the Lewis River Golf Course and it was right on the river. So beautiful! Ceremony was so pretty and the reception was fabulous as well. I wish I had pics of all the decorations cause they were so neat and pretty. Ash did a great job! It was so fun to see little Ellie cause we haven't seen her since July and she was pretty much a part of the fam all last year since we had her four days a week. She is so cute and funny! Can't wait to get her and Austin back together sometime for a little play date. We camped about 500 yards from the wedding at a campground that was right on the river as well with Ryan's parents and a bunch of Drew's baseball buddies and their girlfriends. It was a lot of fun! Oh I forgot to mention...these 2 have been together since 8th grade! Crazy!!

The beautiful couple
Ryan's parents

Ash coming down with her dad

Little miss Ellie

Such a cute pic of the fam!

They did it!!

Ryan and DJ's girlfriend MeganRyan and Brayden

Ryan and DJ

Cute little Ellie

Ryan and Ash

We love Ellie!

DJ and I

Baby Dylan :)

2009-09-27T22:35:00.001-07:00

So this little perfect man decided he didn't wanna wait for his auntie to come back from Vegas to make his arrival into the world...Saturday I was on my way back from the pool when we got a call from Lins that her water had broke! At first I don't think I really believed it was happening while I was gone until later that evening when it finally clicked it was real! I was so anxious the entire evening and all the next day waiting for every update possible! Poor Lins went forever (just like I always do) and finally ended up with a C-section late Sunday night. The minute I got the text of his arrival I was sitting at a machine playing and the guy next to me probably thought I was crazy when I started crying! HA! He is so perfect and has already stolen my heart!! I can't get enough of his little cute face and the snuggles aren't bad either :). I just can't wait to one day see my boys and Dylan playing together and being as great of friends as Lins and I are. We've been through so much together and now finally get to share the mommyhood experience together! She is such a fabulous mama and Dylan is so lucky to have such loving parents! I look forward to watching him grow and spoiling him rotten! Oh and I forgot my camera when I took him but Hayden is absolutely in love with Dylan! He was so sweet with him and loved holding him and trying to soothe him when he cried. Melts my heart! Now only if he was so loving to his own brother! :) Anyways, here's some cute pics of the little guy...I need to take some new ones cause these are all of his first few days but he's so cute!

Holding little man for the first time
Gorgeous

Such a peaceful little boy

All stretched out

Snuggled with his mama

Bundled in the bililight

Sweet boy

Auntie loves Dylan!

Vegas!!

2009-09-27T22:18:00.001-07:00

Vegas was a blast! The weather was fabulous and it was great to have an "adult" vacation! We got off to a rocky start at PDX...ha. So we had boarded our plane and were sitting there wondering when we were gonna take off! So then one of the flight crew got on the intercom and said that there was a security breach at the airport and all flights were grounded but that it had nothing to do with our plane and we just had to sit and wait for the ok for take off. So we are sitting and waiting and all the sudden police come onto our plane. They are walking along with a picture of a man that they are looking for...well guess what? Yep that man just happens to be on OUR plane!! This man snuck under a security rope and totally bypassed security! Talk about a little unnerving when you're flying the day before 9/11! So they tell us we have to get off the plane so that they can bring on dogs and search the plane to make sure all is ok...half the people get off and they decide that everything is ok and we don't have to unload. Not sure how we feel about this! I'm not sure what the full deal was but they said the man (I swear he was like 90 at least) was pretty out of it and so I guess that made them feel safe to let us fly without checking?? I'm thinking they should have unloaded us all! Well anyways, away we went and all was safe in the end! Thank god! Once we were there it was so nice. Our room was great and we spent all day at the pool. Ryan and the guys went to the Beaver game on Saturday and had a blast. Nobody won any big jackpots but it was fun. Monday felt great to get back to the boys though...4 days is about perfect to be gone from them.

Just arrived and enjoying our limo ride to the hotel
Brett and Jenn at Dick's

First night there eating at Dicks

This day we rented a cabana at one of our pools...it was a ton of fun!

Hallie and my mom

The girls!

The hubs and I

Good ol' Levi

Hallie and Aaron

This was at like 5am or something...they had just come back, and were so funny!

The lovely cake my mom had made for us while we were there for our anniversary

Such pretty ladies :)

My dad's goofy pose he insisted we do...not so easy when I'm so much taller than all the rest!!

Hallie Kay and I...love her!

Had to take this for Hayden...he loves this nutty guy!

Hayden's 1st day of preschool

2009-09-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

The time has come for Hayden to start preschool!! Hayden is going to Punkin Seed which is where Ryan went many, many moons ago...ha! No but seriously Ryan had the exact same teacher at the same school like 28 years ago. (Sorry Ryan that makes you sound so old!!) :) Hayden is having the time of his life there! Every morning when it's time to go he is so excited and basically kicks me out when I drop him off. It's a lot of fun watching him grow and become this boy who is no longer "little" anymore. He's becoming so independent and full of life. Here are a few pics from the first day!

All ready to go!!
SO excited on the way!

Loves the slide in the room!

I came back a little early to watch and he was playing away!

Nana got to come with me to pick him up and here he is such a big boy leaving school!

Lake Billy Chinook 2009

2009-09-27T21:58:00.001-07:00

In August we took our Lake Billy Chinook trip and it was a blast!! We were gone for 8 days and had all three little boys with us which made for tons of fun. The weather was so nice and we spent our days on the lake on the boat and evenings at the camp fire. Thankfully all the kiddos were so worn out from the days activities that they went to bed early EVERY single night and the adults were able to relax and hang in the evenings. It was really funny because most nights Hayden would beg me to put him to bed. The other 2 little ones would already be in bed and we would try and get him to hang at the fire for a bit but most nights he didn't want to...he'd just beg to go to bed. So weird! I don't know any kid that begs to go to bed...however that boy loves his sleep! We had 3 camp sites with family and friends and Ryan's family was even able to make it over for half of the trip which was great! I always feel so blessed that my family and Ryan's family get along so well and are able to hang out together so much! We are already planning next vacations together! So nice for Hayden and Austin to be with both of their grandparents. One of the nights we had a porcupine in our camp. He didn't bother us at all and the guys even were standing right next to him. He had his head buried in a tree and so his hind end was just sticking out. It was crazy! Anyways, great trip with great memories and I can't wait to go back next summer!

This boy likes water more than anyone I've ever seen!
All the kiddos hanging out on our floating island

Hayden tubing with mama. He loves it!

Austin hanging out on the tube with Papa

Colton and Hayden in the tubes

2 of my cute boys

Handsome little Colton

Colton and his daddy Justin

My little boaters

Big blue eyes

Lindsey's Baby Shower

2009-09-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of throwing Lindsey's baby shower and it turned out fabulous!! She's done 2 for me so I had to make sure I made it perfect! It was a lot of fun and she got some great gifts!

The great food!
The cute little cookies

All the gifts!!

Such a pretty mama

Fabulous friends!!

Best friends for life! Love her!!!

My first diaper cake...I think it turned out fabulous and I had a ton of fun making something personal and special for Lindsey.

Jamboree 2009

2009-09-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Jamboree was a blast as usual!! We spent the days at the lake and the evenings at the Jamboree. It was so nice to be in the sun and have a weekend with my friends!

Just getting to our camp spot
2 of my favorite girls!

Uncle Larry and I

Mom and Dad

Day at the lake! Ryan came and brought the boys!

The last day we left the lake and took the boys with us to the jamboree. They loved all the goodies they got and loved dancing to the music!

Austin's 1st Haircut

2009-09-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

About a week after Austin's first birthday he got his first haircut. It was such a different experience than Hayden's first one (he cried the entire time)! Austin actually enjoyed it and was so funny! He sat there like a perfect little boy and let Jennifer cut away! He really liked the spray bottle. I loved his fresh new look but he looks so much older now. Oh how they grow up so fast!

All ready for the cut!

He thinks Jennifer is so funny!

Such a pretty boy!

Cousin Fun!!

2009-09-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

So this summer has been filled with fun with Colton. It's so nice that he finally gets to be a part of the family and the boys are getting the chance to build memories. They have a lot of fun together and I just love him to pieces! It's so funny cause all 3 boys look so much alike. Ryan and I had all three of them on a walk one evening and a lady looked at us like we were crazy having 3 boys all so small...she even said, "boy you have your hands full" and I just laughed and said they weren't all mine. 3 boys, ages 1, almost 2, and 3! They are so close in age, it's so fun! I even told Ryan before going on that walk that people probably thought they all were ours and we were crazy! Anyways, we've had a lot of fun adventures with all the kiddos together this summer and I look forward to all the new ones coming up!

Colton and Hayden loving each other

Such cute little boys

Colton and Auntie

Taking the kiddos on a walk

3 of my favorite boys!

Oh man...finally gonna catch up...gonna be a long few posts!

2009-09-27T21:19:00.001-07:00

Ok so first off...way back in July (gosh I hope I never get this far behind again!) we had a wonderful 1st birthday party for Austin! He got tons of great gifts and had a blast with his cake! I made his own personal cake and it was a beach ball since his theme was kind of "beach" like. It was a blast!

Grandma George made this sign for Austin out by their deck.
Some of the party guests

My nephew Colton...he's such a cutie!!

The Birthday Boy!!

His personal beach ball cake

So yummy...

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!!!

2009-09-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow at 2:50 pm we will be leaving on a jet plane to Vegas!! Whooohooo I can't wait for a vacation! Don't get me wrong I love my kiddos to death but this mama is ready for a little break! Also...Friday is mine and Ryan's 5 year wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary Ryan!! I love ya tons and can't wait for many more to come! Anyways, I've been horrible about posting and so I promise when I get back I've got lots to catch up on! P.S. My best friend Lins is due in about 14 days or so...I'm praying she doesn't have little Dylan while I'm gone! Keep your fingers crossed :).

Happy 1st Birthday Austin!!!!!

2009-07-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

This past year has been by far the fastest one of my life. I cannot believe that right now at this time last year (8:44pm) I was just a few hours away from giving birth to my baby Austin. Today he is one years old and it has been blowing my mind all day. He's not a baby anymore and it makes me so sad. Bittersweet really. I love the little boy he is becoming but will miss his babyness. He has been such an easy baby from the day he was born and has continued to be pretty well mannered still. Unlike Hayden, Austin isn't quite walking yet. He loves to stand up and has even started dancing while standing up today so I think it's in our very near future! I know he'd love to be able to keep up with Hayden. Tonight I bought him a cupcake to enjoy after his dinner since his party isn't until this weekend. Needless to say (this boy loves any food) he loved it!! As soon as I placed it on his tray he swooped it up and started eating it. He's so funny! Well anyways, here's just a few picks so you can see just how big he's gotten since he was born!

He was so precious!
His new favorite "hobby" is helping with the dishes. LOL

Tonight with his birthday cupcake

Riding with big brother

McQuistan Wedding/Early High School Reunion

2009-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was a blast! Jana and Paul (friends from high school) got married on Saturday and I have to say, aside from my own wedding it was one of the funnest ones I've attended. It truly was like a high school reunion. It was great to see everyone from the good ol' days! Everyone is so grown up and most are married now and starting to have kiddos. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast! I'm finally recovered today! :) Thanks Jana and Paul for a great wedding! Good luck to you both. Here's some pics from the night:

MIA

2009-07-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

Apologies for being MIA lately...school has me super busy and when I get home it's time with the kiddos! Next week is my last week for a while and then I'll be posting more of my cute precious boys! Can't believe Austin is gonna be 1 yr. old next week!! How time flies by!

This boy is getting so big!!

2009-06-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

He's done it again...this boy is pooping on the potty now and is well onto his way of being fully potty trained FINALLY!!! It's so crazy because he just woke up Mother's Day and decided to pee in the toilet and does it every time (unless he's outside then it's on the fence or in between Grandpa's sheds LOL). Well now he has decided since yesterday that he's going to poop in the potty and he's done it ever since yesterday! This boy amazes me how stubborn he is! He doesn't wanna do it when you want him to...he'll just up and do it on his own! It is so nice to not have to worry about changing his diaper or asking him constantly if he's gotta go potty cause he just goes in and does it on his own, hand washing and all! Such a smart boy I have. So since I'm thinking about how old he's getting, I started looking at pics of him at around Austin's age (I'll post pics of Austin tomorrow after I upload some recent ones). It's amazing to me how much older Hayden looks at this age. Austin is just so baby looking to me still. Maybe it's because he's not walking yet and Hayden was cruising all over the place at this age. Austin's more of a mama's boy too than Hayden was at this age. Hayden was so independent and wanted to do everything himself all times. It's also crazy how much they look alike! Hayden was a bit skinnier and taller than Austin is but those big eyes and the bleach blonde hair make them look almost like twins! Anyways, here's some pics of my "big" boy when he was "little."

Finally...or at least I'm hoping!!

2009-06-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today I got back from my run and Ryan said Hayden got up on the toilet and went #2!!! Finally!!! I'm really hoping this sticks! Usually he goes right in front of the toilet when going #2 and I've gotta clean it up and he says, "bad boy go in the potty" every time to me after he does it. So funny! Anyways, hallelujah he went today "in" the potty instead of "in front." He's got the peeing part down awesome!

Exciting Stuff!

2009-06-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

So lots of exciting things have been going on lately, like the good ol' 100th Strawberry Festival, Austin getting new teeth, pulling himself up, and copying every word we say, Hayden doing great on potty training still, Hayden spelling out his name and even wrote it on his own the other night!! (well he wrote the H, A, & Y perfect and then the D, E, N you totally got when you saw him write it but he needs a little work on them still), and lastly...I just booked my hotel for Vegas in September!!!! I booked our airfare almost a month ago maybe but was kind of deciding still where to stay and finally decided! So now it's just waiting till it gets here! I haven't been to Vegas for a couple years and can't wait to go back! We are going with a bunch of our great friends/family and it's gonna be a blast. While we are there Ryan and I will also celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary! Wow I can't believe it! So I'm feeling great tonight...knowing there is an adult trip in the near future!! Love my kiddos, but a vaca with adults is calling my name!! :) Anyways, I hope to post some new pics of the kids this week as we've been having lots of fun outside. Just when I'm not feeling to lazy to put the memory card in the computer to download!!

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all those who have or are serving for our country!! Especially my brother Justin!! Hope everyone enjoyed this fabulous weekend we had! We filled ours with spending time with family and friends. I'm loving this great weather we are finally starting to have because it means lots of BBQ's and get togethers. We've been playing a ton outside too which the boys love. Hayden is still going strong with the potty training and we are STILL working on the pooping on the potty so if anyone has any suggestions that would be great!

POTTY TRAINING UPDATE

2009-05-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Potty training is going fabulous!! I never imagined it would be this easy once he finally decided to do it! We are on our 4th day I believe and we've only had 1 accident which was last night when he was playing with his friend Kambrie last night and got busy running around. He knew right when he did it though cause he came running out and looked at me like "oh crap" and was holding himself. So that's great he knows it's wrong now when you potty in your undies! He woke up completely dry this morning despite wearing a pullup. Then today he took a nap in his undies and woke up dry!! Tonight at swim lessons he hopped out of the pool in the middle and needed to go potty, which he also did on Tuesday night. He's mastering the "peeing" part so quickly! The pooping part however we need to work on. He either doesn't wanna sit on the toilet or he doesn't know his body well enough yet to know when he's gonna do a #2. He has done it just in front of the toilet all 3 times. So we've gotta work on him actually making it into the potty. But I'm just gonna try with praise and encouragement and let him run this show because he seems to do so much better when I let him do things on his terms. I'm so proud of my little boy, becoming a big boy!! It's so nice to not change diapers anymore...not nice that I had just bought some though! Oh well I guess someday Austin might need them! So we'll keep on truckin' with this and I'll keep ya informed on how it's going. Way to go bubba!!

Potty Training Day 2:

2009-05-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

So we are onto day 2 and he's doing very well. He woke up with an almost dry diaper and then went straight to the toilet about 15 minutes after getting up and went. I then put a pull up on him while he went to school for 2 hours and he came home dry. So off went the pull up again and we did the naked thing again today because it really seems to be working and I want him to continue getting to "know" his body before letting him wear clothes all day. Maybe later in the week we'll try the whole underwear thing. As far as the pooping issue goes...well he finally went. I could hear him saying "icky" so I jumped up and ran into the bathroom and he had went, just right in front of the toilet. So he almost made it there! I think we are gonna have more trouble with the whole pooping in the potty thing. He has been kind of a "hide and poop" boy lately so it's just gonna have to be something we work hard at for a while. I'm totally content with how we are moving along! It's been so nice to not change a diaper and see him run for the bathroom each time hes gotta go. He really likes to just go in there and do it with nobody watching him so I give him his "time" (as I peek around the corner each time and secretly watch him) and then as soon as he's done we wash our hands. So I'm working on the whole routine with him. Potty training is not a lot of fun and I'm hoping Austin just sees his big brother doing it and wants to be like him and just "gets it." haha I doubt it though! I'll keep ya posted on how tomorrow goes!

He just may be finally getting it!

2009-05-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

So today Hayden has finally decided to take to potty training I'm hoping!! Yesterday on Mother's Day he gave me the best gift of going potty in the toilet all by himself! We left him naked after taking off his pj's and he just went in there and went all on his own, I couldn't believe it! I have felt like he was never gonna get it now that he is 3 and still wasn't showing any signs other than not liking a dirty diaper...but that was as far as he would go with it. People and his pediatrician keep telling me to not worry or push it because when he was ready he would do it. Well today I decided to leave him naked all day and the bathroom door open and ready. Well he has went potty in the toilet all day! No accidents at all!! And now I've finally got him to not pinch his little manhood, meaning he isn't peeing all over the toilet! :) He doesn't wanna sit down and pee, he wants to do it like a man and stand! It's so funny. He has yet to do #2 today which isn't normal for him cause he's so regular right in the morning but I think he may have some slight stage fright with that and the potty. I'm still anxiously waiting to put his pj's on tonight to see if he'll do it or just wait till I put the diaper on for bed. What a week it's been! Austin starts crawling and now I'm thinking Hayden is finally ready to potty train! Keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll let ya know how it goes the rest of the week!

He's on the move...

2009-05-07T20:56:00.001-07:00

My little baby boy is finally on the move!! Yesterday he just woke up and started crawling, not army crawl or anything, just full on crawling! He's getting so big and it makes me so sad (and happy). :) Such a bittersweet feeling when your baby starts hitting these big milestones! It is so much fun to watch him and Hayden together now though. Hayden loves to get down and crawl around with him and they just laugh and laugh at each other, it's great! Lately I have just been absolutely even more in love with my boys (if that's even possible). I find myself just sitting and observing their every move thinking just how lucky I am and how much I love them. Maybe it's cause they are growing up and really starting to play together and it makes me fall in love with them all over again each time I see it. Children are such a miracle! Well anyways, I'll try and do some major photo posting this weekend so you can see my little man on the move and the other pics I promised a few posts ago! LOL

Overjoyed with excitement I tell ya!!!!!

2009-04-29T20:32:00.001-07:00

So....I got the go ahead to post my extreme excitement that my best friend Lindsey is giving me a little nephew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right, she's having a boy!!! Having 2 boys of my own this makes me think of all the fun we are going to have in our future with her adding another boy into the mix. And how fun that little baby and Austin are going to be just 1 year apart! Fun times ahead with sports, birthday parties, sleepovers, oh my mind just keeps going and going!! She's gonna be such a great mama because she's such a great 2nd mama to my boys! I can't wait to see this new little precious boy and love him to death! Congrats Lins and Ryan, we love ya guys!!

So just a quick note....

2009-04-24T20:52:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was an absolute blast! We jam packed our weekend full of fun with the zoo, the beach, family/friend get together, and family pics! I'll try and post a TON of new pics from all the boys together (Austin, Hayden, & Colton) sometime this weekend. Boy did I take a ton! It was so great to be able to see my nephew finally and I'm sad my brother left today for deployment and I'm sure we won't see Colton till he gets back which is in 3 months. He is such a cutie and we had so much fun with him. It would be great for the boys to grow up together but such is life and it makes us really feel like we need to take advantage of every waking moment we get with them all together. I know they'll be great pals growing up so close in age. Anyways...on another note, I never mentioned that I applied for graduate school to get my master's in teaching finally. Well, I WAS accepted!! I'm so excited to start in August and get this show on the road. I opted for the part time program which will take me 2 years instead of 1 because I just couldn't fathom the thought of leaving my boys 5 days a week all day long to be in school. They are just too little yet for me to be gone so much. So, I'll take the slower route but I'm sure when I'm done I'll be itching to get into my own classroom finally! Not to mention take advantage of 2 paychecks instead of 1!! All I think about is all the extra things we can do once we are bringing home more moola! (Can you say bigger house??) I love our life right now though, spending so much time together since I'm home with the boys. I know I'll never regret it!! Speaking of boys, I had to take Hayden to the doctor today after being up with him all night screaming last night (well Ryan ended up with the brunt of it). Ear infection and conjunctivitis...he just got over an ear infection about a month ago...SO ANNOYING!! Anyways, Doc said we were the 4th child with conjunctivitis today and that it's going around. Yay. So another round of antibiotics and hopefully a restful weekend for the Hay-Man. Well, like I said, I'll get some pics up this weekend. I'm just too lazy right now to do it! :)

Yay!!

2009-04-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

So Justin and Colton will be on there way home tomorrow now instead of Saturday night!! I'm so excited to play with my nephew and to see Hayden and him get a chance to play and to capture more moments like this! Just thought I'd share my excitement! :)

I've got ALOT to talk about!!

2009-04-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

So I apologize for the "lack" of posting lately. We have been so super busy that I haven't had the chance to sit down and download my pics and then try and put something together on here. It's baseball season so not only are we busy all week long, our weekends have been jammed packed also with lots of fun things! Life is going great! The boys are continuing to grow like weeds (I seriously would like some weed killer sometimes to make them stop!!) and I'm amazed everyday by how much they interact more and more and I can see the love and bond growing stronger. It melts my heart to see them laugh at each other and play together. Hayden is so good most of the time and Austin is even starting to get mad at him when he takes things from him. Hayden will grab a toy from him and Austin will look at me and scream, like "mom, help me." Hayden is becoming such a big boy and finally he's starting to talk. Today he stepped on my foot and turned and said in his most sweetest voice, "sorry" and it was the first time I've heard him genuinely say it and it was so sweet. It's so nice to finally feel like he's getting somewhere with talking. He's a late bloomer in that area for sure! Austin is growing bigger and bigger and I cannot believe that today he is 9 months old. It seems as though I just gave birth to him yesterday. So bittersweet. He loves to eat and has even started to get some tastes of "grown up" food and boy does he love it! Anytime he sees you eating in front of him he yells at you to give him a bite. It's so funny. He's still not crawling which is so weird for me cause Hayden was almost walking at this point but that's ok, I'm totally fine with having one less mobile child running around right now. He's really trying though so I know it won't be long. He gets really frustrated when he gets in position and then tries to move and plop onto his belly he goes. His main way of moving is by bouncing on his bottom across the floor. He can go clear across the living room doing it. Austin is my huge mama's boy. Well I could go on forever but instead I'll do captions to my million pictures I've posted to update a bit:

So Ryan's college baseball team (Lane Community College) had a 10 year reunion last weekend and we had an absolute blast! I was a little nervous going into it because I knew no one but I had a ton of fun with the other wives and Ryan was like a kid in a candy store around his old baseball buddies. It was super cute to watch and made me even want to tear up a bit thinking about my own boys doing this down the road. So here are a few pics I took.

Oh to reminisce...

This is Hayden and Austin's first tub together experience. Needless to say it didn't last long. Austin is like a fish outta water in the tub and goes crazy bouncing around and Hayden just isn't quite careful enough yet with him. It was cute to see them in there together though!

Hayden loves to love on Austin (for now anyways)

Just a random pic of my little man. He loves to jump!

OSU Baseball season is here! One of our favorite times of the year!

I can't believe my baby is 9 months now! He's so cute and I fall more in love with him everyday! How could you not with those big beautiful blue eyes??? Oh and his cute little chubbers!

First try at a sippy cup, not too sure just yet but he thinks they are fun to chew on! :)

Still just has those 2 teeth...Hayden only had those 2 at his 1st birthday so Austin is looking to be the same. Love how they stick out in pictures now.

"Who me?

These next few are from a fun morning recently where the boys played together and I got to take a few pics of them loving on each other as well...my favorite times!

Look at those eyes!

My 2 sweet boys

Brotherly Love...These ones melt my heart!

And this one...love to see them interacting and having fun!

One of our new favorite things is to take wagon walks when we get the chance. The boys both love being able to ride together and it's fun and different than the usual stroller. Can't wait to get some more nice days in to do it more often. (This particular time it was freezing!)

Ready for a ride!

Ellie and Austin are catching up! They love each other and I love to see them play now more as well. Ellie is more into Hayden and messing up his things :) than Austin but soon Austin will be able to follow the big kids in the big kid room...

Sweet baby hugs!

Now that Uncle Drew is living back at home, Hayden gets to take advantage and hang out with him when he goes to Grandma and Grandpa's house to play periodically during the week. He loves playing sports with him. We try and get him over there when it's nice to play outside because their backyard is a lot of fun for him with lots of sticks to pick up, tree house to climb, lots of room to run and the basketball court. Every little boys dream...

Uncle Drew explaining something to Hayden

Of course there's always baseball!

So baseball has (of course) became one of Hayden's favorite things these days. He's constantly talking about it and every time we go to leave the house he says, "go watch baseball" and he pretends everything is a bat and ball and hits things around the house constantly. He got to go to practice once and we've been to a few of Ryan's games now too and Hayden loves it. He loves to be in the dug out and around the "big kids." When the games are over and it's time to leave he's not so much a happy boy though. Ryan laughs because he tells him he loves that he is loving baseball but he needs to not throw fits when it's time to leave the field. On this particular day Ryan had to go down and mow the field so we walked down and Hayden hit balls off the tee and practiced running bases while daddy mowed.

Taking a capri sun break.

Daddy taught him the trick to picking up the balls after you hit by using your hat to carry them back to the bucket. This was so cute to watch!

Austin got his first glimpse of a Beaver baseball game at the Civil War games up at PGE park for the weekend. He did perfect both Saturday and Sunday. The first night he slept most of the game which you can see in the pic. Game started shortly before his bedtime so he was ready to snooze soon after. He slept almost entire game. Then on Sunday he fell asleep before it started and slept most of the game again and then was up for a bit and then back asleep at the end. He was so good and had so much fun watching all the fans!

Such a trooper beaver fan!

We are getting ready to redo our front yard so every chance we get we've been busy tearing out the old stuff. We took one day and really got at it and Hayden was the best little helper. He stuck with it all day long, raking, shoveling, and throwing stuff in the yard bin. It was kind of fun to have the whole fam out there. (Austin in the pack and play being our foreman)

Such a hard worker!

Easter egg dying was a lot of fun this year as Hayden was actually into doing it. He was a perfect little boy taking his time and being ever so patient for each egg to sit in the dye. He would check them with the spoon and say "not ready" and drop them back in. It was so cute!

He was so careful at placing them in the drying box.

This picture makes me laugh because Hayden accidentally dropped one into the dye and it splashed out of the cup and we laughed...so then it was a game everytime he put an egg in he dropped it so it splashed out. It was fun!

Easter day Hayden examining all that the Easter bunny had brought him.

Bad choice on the confetti stuff...he had more fun throwing that everywhere than checking out his stuff!

Hayden was so into egg hunting this year! What fun it was to watch him seek them out. Everytime he'd see one he'd either say, "there's another one" or "there's another egg" and it was so funny to watch him get so excited about it! Poor kid had to egg hunt by himself being the only kiddo there and able but he had tons of fun. Excited with each and every egg he found!

It was so funny because everytime we put Austin up to see an egg, Hayden would run right up to it and snatch it! Austin didn't really care about them anyways!

Back to working on the yard, Hayden and Ryan are busy spreading the dirt for the new yard. Hayden again being such a big helper!

On a very exciting note...my brother finally has went to court and is getting to see his son and gets to bring him home this weekend! We are so excited to see our nephew after 6 months and can't wait for all the fun with the kiddos together! Sunday we are hitting the zoo and then lots more fun stuff while he is here for a few days! I'll be sure to post pics of our fun!!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

2009-03-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

Happy "31" daddy/hubby!! You are the greatest husband and father and the boys and I love you very much!! We are so lucky to have a man like you in our lives. Can't wait to spend many more birthdays together. Love ya!

Oh how we miss this little guy!

2009-03-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

So many of you know my brother is currently going through a battle to see his son. It's been 4 long months now for our family and especially my poor brother since he's seen him. I can't imagine being in my brother's shoes right now and I just hope and pray that it can get resolved soon. Please everyone keep him in your prayers!! Colton is just so cute!! He's 1 now and I can't wait till the next time him and his cousins can play! 3 little boys in the family brings such joy and craziness!! :) Here's some cute pics of Colton and Hayden. They always have a lot of fun together.

One of my favorite pics!
Colton was just learning to walk then.

Waiting for my brothers ship to come in

DOUBLE TROUBLE!!

ALOT to catch up on.....

2009-02-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so I've been slacking on the posting for a while but we've had sooo much going on lately between all of us (minus Austin) getting the nasty flu bug that is going around and trying to squeeze in some extra family time before baseball started. So Austin is now 7 months old as of last Sunday. I'm in complete shock of how fast this fall and winter has flown by! He's not a little baby anymore and I miss it!! Although I'm loving him so much right now because he is so much fun at this age, it's my favorite age by far!! He has finally outgrown his infant seat (by weight of course) and has gotten 2 teeth in the last few weeks. Those of course aren't fun times. Austin is really into watching Hayden and loves to grab onto him when he is near. They are so cute together these days interacting much more. Hayden can say Austin really well actually and loves to say "hi Austin" when he wakes up in the morning and give him a kiss. It's so sweet. Those times are definitely my favorite. Austin is really enjoying Ellie these days too, although she's taking more liking to following Hayden around and playing in his room. They play really well together and she lets him know when she's mad at him! Austin can't wait to be able to crawl around and play with them more. So here are some things we have been up to lately, along with some cute pics of the boys...

He still has those beautiful blue eyes!
These are some typical times with the boys. Hayden loves to have Austin lay on him and they hug and kiss on each other and Austin pulls Hayden's hair. It's so cute!

Austin loves his big brother so much

A walk with Ellie and Austin on one of the sunny days we've had. They are so cute!

Austin had his first big boy bath on Valentine's Day and absolutely loved it!! He is such a water dog already and loves to splash around! He did great in the big tub!

No bath toys can beat a washcloth!

Just some picture taking fun in his room. He is always so happy and loves to smile for the camera. I can't help but take a million pics of him.

This picture is so funny to me. Again I love his blue eyes but he has the funniest look on his face!

Can you see his teeth?

Hayden went to his first OSU basketball game with Daddy and Grandpa George. He almost made it the entire game and loved all the junk food that came with going to a game. (geez he needs a haircut!!)

Good times with Grandpa

Last Friday we took Hayden to Wacky Bounce in Corvallis after the boys had shots. Hayden loved this place and I recommend it to anyone with kids! It's only $7 a kid and parents play for free!! We will be making many more trips here for sure! It was so much fun for Ryan and I to get to play too!! Hayden loved having us interact with him, making him feel special since we haven't got to do too many fun things like this since we had Austin. Sliding into a ball pit was so much fun! We started our weekend with this as baseball started today and we wanted to have a weekend spent with the boys doing fun things before it did. What a great weekend we had!!

Wacky Bounce also has an infant/toddler play area for those too small to participate in the big inflatables. Austin enjoyed some of the cool toys before taking a nap.

Hayden and I having a blast!!

He loves the ball pit

Saturday we headed over to the coast for a night away. We stayed at one of our favorite hotels and the boys (including Ryan) all enjoyed the swimming pool as soon as we got there. It was Austin's first time in the pool and he loved it! He even got mad when we took him out. Hayden surprised us and was jumping off the sides into the pool and remembered everything from the summer and swimming. He really enjoyed the pool! Ryan and Hayden stayed in the pool a little later while I took Austin back to the room to get ready for bed. Then the boys came back and we hung out and ate junk food. What another fun day!

Austin loved swimming! He's so cute in his little boardshorts and rolls!

Laying on his back in the water

Sunday morning we got up and ate breakfast at our favorite spot, Sambos. They have the best pancakes ever!! Then we headed towards Newport and hit the waterfront so Hayden could see the sea lions. He was fascinated by them. Since he was so into them we decided to hit up the aquarium. We hadn't been there with him since he was younger and not so interested in it.

These things are so loud and fat!

Hayden finally decided to try out the toddler foot stand on the stroller so he could hitch a ride!

Loved seeing all the different types of fish. The jellyfish were so pretty.

Watching the sea lions and seals.

The fun little play area at the end was a lot of fun for Hayden. He loves to climb!So now baseball has started so Ryan will be pretty busy! I'm excited to take the boys to a game or two as soon as it starts getting nice out. I'll try and post sooner rather than later!!

So this is funny!

2009-01-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

I took Austin for his 6 month check up last Friday and his stats are a little different than Hayden's at 6 months old:

Austin-
weight: 20 lbs. 10 3/4 oz.
height: 27 1/2 inches

Hayden-
weight: 18 lbs. 14 oz.
height: 30 inches

At this point Hayden had already been in his convertible car seat for over a month because he had outgrown his infant one by height requirement. Austin is still in the infant one with just about 2 lbs. and 3 inches left to go till he makes the switch. It's so amazing how they are so different! I thought I had remembered Hayden being chubby like Austin but he wasn't really. Austin is a great eater, much better than Hayden. On Monday Austin's first tooth started to pop through. It's the bottom right front tooth. It's not all the way through yet so we've had a few fun days of teething! I can't wait for it to pop through and get some cute "tooth" pics. Onto Hayden, he is changing everyday lately! I cannot believe that he is finally starting to talk! I never thought it would happen and that we'd just listen to his own language forever! He is repeating everything we say!! I have to remind Ryan to watch what we say because Mr. repeat could be hearing just waiting to copy! His favorite thing to do right now is play the wii we recently bought. He also loves to just watch us and cheer us on also which is too cute! I just feel like he's growing up so fast right now and changing so much. I feel like I just had him not long ago but it's already been 3 years! Crazy how fast time goes when you have kiddos. I'm really starting to realize that I wanna take my time and really enjoy them because I see how fast it goes and before I know it they'll be men!! Anyways, we are all great and hope you are too!

Oh my 6 months already!

2009-01-15T22:38:00.000-08:00

Wow I really cannot believe that my sweet baby boy is 6 months old today! It doesn't seem like all that long ago I had him. Time is just going by too fast, I feel like I've forgotten so much already and it's only been a short 6 months passed. It makes me feel so blessed when I look at him and Hayden these days. Austin just adores Hayden and gets so giddy and bouncy when Hayden is around him. Hayden can be such a pill and pick on him and Austin still lights up when he walks in the room. It's so sweet to watch your babies interact and love each other so much. Austin is getting so big! He goes for his check up next week so I'll post the measurements then. He is now sitting up on his own, just mastering that on Monday finally. He absolutely loves that he can sit up and play with his best friend Ellie. I love that he has someone to play with almost everyday. He really loves her and loves to watch her move around and talk. Austin is also pretty much mastered the eating thing with having tried just about everything now. Next week I'll start giving him more than just a taste around lunch time like I've been doing to get him ready. He still has his HUGE blue eyes that I just can't get enough of! They've stayed so far so I'm hoping they will stay this way. His cousin Colton has huge blue eyes too! Many people say they look alike. I've got him on a great schedule where he goes to bed anywhere between 7-7:45. It's so nice! And Hayden follows him around 8 most of the time. I'm finally getting some "me" time at night with some peace and quiet. Oh so nice!! We are just loving these little boys and watching them grow everyday!
'

His beautiful blue eyes!
So much fun to play sitting up!

Just lounging around chewing on a spoon

He fell asleep here the other night. We have the same picture of Hayden doing this when he was a baby too!

Best friends

Such a big boy now!

Happy 6 months baby!

I'm making this private...

2009-01-11T21:26:00.000-08:00

So I'm gonna make our blog private soon so if you would like to continue to view it please email me your email and I'll add you to the list to view amber.george@hotmail.com. Sorry for the hassle!!

Thanks!
Amber

Sunriver!

2009-01-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

So 2 days after Christmas, we loaded up and headed to Sunriver for 8 nights. We had a bunch of family and friends who joined us and it was a fabulous vacation! There was a ton of snow and we had so much fun! Our days consisted of being lazy, playing in the snow, playing games, watching football, taking walks, and whatever else we felt like doing! It was so relaxing and such a great break from the grind at home! Hayden absolutely LOVED the snow. We made a snow ramp off our deck and groomed a trail off it that went through the back. Many of our days were spent outside sledding with Hayden. It was so nice to have everyone together having fun. We had us 4, my parents, my brother, Ryan's parents and brother, and our good friends Levi, Hallie, and Aaron. It was a house full but so much fun!! I was not ready to come home! Ryan and my brother spent a day at Bachelor skiing and snowboarding and had fun as well. I can't wait to plan another trip! Here are just a few (a lot) pics from our trip...

Our beautiful house covered with snow!
My baby boy and I

Grammy and Austin getting bundled for our walk

Marley taking advantage of the stroller

Hayden's 1st hot tub experience and he loved it!

Little snow bunny!

The back of our house, Hayden's headed back up the snow ramp we built

Hayden and Uncle Drew sledding

Down he goes...no fear whatsoever

Mama and Hayden

Uncle Justin giving Hayden a push off

Us minus Austin

Us on Beaver game day

One of our many walks

Hayden at Winoga Snow Park

Papa and Hayden headed up the hill

Sledding makes ya thirsty!

Papa and Hayden

Blue eyed baby!

Christmas...

2009-01-07T20:19:00.001-08:00

So I haven't blogged in forever! The holidays were crazy busy and I'm just finally sitting down to catch up. So there will be a couple posts today cause we did lots of fun stuff to tell ya all about! Christmas was awesome this year with Hayden being so excited to open his presents. He opened them, shoved it aside, and found another one to open. Fun for him but I didn't even get a chance to really see what was from whom cause he was moving so fast. So fun to watch though! Both boys were extremely spoiled as always and now I'm thinking we need to get rid of some stuff to make room for the new stuff! Austin liked to eat the paper and that was about it. Christmas is so much fun now that we have our kids to share it with. Here are some pics from it: (they're all mixed up so I apologize but I didn't wanna take the time to sort through them and put in order!)

Austin with Uncle Justin on Xmas

He loved this bear

Austin playing with Hayden's new drums

Xmas morning at our house. Hayden playing his new leap pad computer with Uncle Justin

Austin on Xmas morning with his new very hungry caterpillar

Paper makes him happy!

Very blurry pic of us on Xmas Eve

One of Austin's favorite gifts, his drums!

Happy 5 months Baby Boy!!

2008-12-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

I really cannot believe it has been 5 months already since I gave birth to this precious little boy! Time is going by too fast! He has totally stolen my heart. Austin is so sweet and is getting so big. He is now rolling over from his back to his tummy and yesterday rolled from his tummy to his back. We are enjoying all his smiles and giggles, especially the giggles he gets from his big brother Hayden making him laugh. I swear Hayden can just walk by him and Austin lights up with excitement. Hayden loves to cuddle him and give him kisses all the time. It's so funny because we always say "awhh" when he kisses him and if we don't, Hayden makes sure to look at us and say it. He always wants to make sure we see him being sweet to Austin. Austin is sleeping pretty well, taking 2 long naps a day (for the most part) and sleeping from about 8-9pm until 6-7am. Every now and again he throws us for a loop and gets up to feed in the middle of the night but it's very rare. He still really enjoys being held all the time but has taken to the jumperoo so that gives us a nice break if we need to get something done. He now has that jumping motion so when you hold him that's all he does is bounce. We have started to give him some 1st foods mixed with rice cereal at lunchtime and he is enjoying that. So far he has tried pears, apples, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Still hasn't totally mastered keeping it in his mouth but he's getting better and chews and swallows most of it. He seems to be happier during the day getting that extra bit of food. Anyways, we are loving every moment with the boys and can't wait for Christmas to get here!

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

So I always make sugar cookies a few times throughout Christmas time and I decided that I would add Hayden into the mix and make it a tradition to start letting him help in one of those cookie baking times. He was very excited about getting up on the counter and getting in the "mix" of things. So it actually wasn't as messy as I thought it was gonna be. He cut out all the cookies with the cookie cutters for me and then once they cooled I gave him his own little bowls of frosting and some sprinkles to decorate. He absolutely loves frosting and sprinkles. I don't know what it is with kids and sprinkles (I hate sprinkles), but for Hayden, the more sprinkles the better! He would put some on and then pick them off and eat them and put more on. It was funny. Hayden also has a weird thing where if he doesn't know what it is, he won't eat it! So I made the frosting and wanted to give him the beater. There was no way he was gonna lick it. So I had to place some frosting in his mouth first and once he got the taste of it, he loved it! He kept trying to dip it back in the frosting to get more (Don't worry these were our personal cookies and not ones that I have given out). All in all it was a good, fun experience that we will continue to have every year. I love having kids because you get to start all your own holiday traditions with them!

Christmas Tree Fun

2008-12-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

So I haven't blogged for a while so now I'll add a few! First off is our tree! We went up like we always do in the mountains to chop our own tree but there was NO SNOW!!! I don't remember there ever being no snow in all the years I've been going to get a tree in the snow. So it was as fun as it usually is but Hayden enjoyed riding in the back of the truck with Benny and the guys while in search for the perfect tree. Putting up the tree is more fun now that Hayden is interested in it. He was so excited when Ryan brought it in and got down and wanted to help with everything! He really was into putting the ornaments on and was very focused and serious as he placed them on the tree. It was so fun to watch! He was not very happy however, when there was no more ornaments left to put on. So he turned to taking them off and then putting them back on. An everyday fight with him since we put it up. Oh well it keeps him busy. There are no presents under our tree yet. Hayden thinks every time he sees a gift that he has to open it so we'll be waiting for "Santa" to place them under there Christmas Eve after he goes to bed. :)

Helping Daddy get the tree in the stand
Placing the ornaments on the tree

Our finished product!!

Not so much the outcome I was hoping for, but it was fun...

2008-11-30T16:07:00.000-08:00

So the beaver game didn't end up how we all had hoped and thought, but it was fun. None of us even had tickets but we set up a tailgate and all ended up getting in anyways! It was so much fun hanging out with friends and family and having some great food and drinks. And nothing is better than tailgating, but tailgating when the sun is shining is even better! I can't wait for next season, we are for sure getting season tickets again cause I've missed the whole atmosphere and fun we had last year going to all the games. Civil war is just such a fun time! Here are some photos of a little bit of our fun...

My little beaver fan dressed for the day
Best friend and I having some yummy homemade Kahlua and coffee. (Don't mind her duck attire, she's a confused fan ha ha)

The hubby and I

What a bunch of cute girls!

Some of the peeps at our tailgate

Rivalry Love

Hello Gene Simmons...

2008-11-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

This picture is so funny!! We are convinced that Austin has a tongue like Gene Simmons. He can stick out to just about the end of his chin. He loves to play with his tongue so it's always sticking out. He is just too funny!!

4 months old already!

2008-11-16T19:12:00.000-08:00

My little love bug is 4 months old!!! He is getting to be so big and so much fun. One of the things he is finally doing is sleeping from about 8-9pmish until 7:30! It feels so great to get such a good nights sleep. Hayden is finally sleeping in his own bed too so I've also been getting to sleep without getting a foot in the face here and there. Now to just keep both the boys in their beds and life will be great! Back to Austin, he is still not rolling over yet but he gets about half way. He's not too fond of tummy time! Something he is taking the liking to is spitting. It is super funny cause he will imitate you doing it as well. He's also starting to chew on his fingers and drool quite a bit so it's bib time for him! We are just having so much fun with him as he's getting to such a fun age where he really loves to interact with you. Hayden loves to make him smile and giggles every time he gets him to. It's so cute!! Everyday is a play date for Austin with us watching Ellie. I love to watch him look at her and smile. Pretty soon he'll be really interacting with her. We'll be in trouble when they are both crawling around!! :) I can't wait though to see it. Life is going great right now and I am getting excited for the holidays!! It's such a special time of year when you have kids of your own. We look forward to spending lots of time with the family these next few months. Here's some super cute pics of the boys...

Always has his tongue sticking out!!

He has the biggest blue eyes that I am in love with!

Austin loves his big brother
Hayden loves his baby brother...so precious!!

He's just too cute...

2008-11-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

I took this today with my phone and just couldn't resist posting it! He is just getting so big so fast and is such a happy little boy. He looks bald in this picture, however he is not. :) And his hand looks a bit funky cause he moved it as I shot the pic. It's amazing to me still how he looks nothing like Hayden. Anyways, just wanted to show you just how cute he is getting! I can't believe he will be 4 months in 3 days!

Happy 1st Birthday Colton!!!

2008-11-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday Mr. Colton!!! We cannot believe a year has already went by. We miss you lots and hope your day is super special!

Oh and I forgot to mention...

2008-10-26T20:40:00.001-07:00

Austin is trying to roll over and has started grabbing for toys!! He's getting so big! That's all. :)

Very long overdue I know...

2008-10-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ok so I've been soo super busy lately and haven't had a chance to do any updating so this post is gonna be large!! We've been up to a lot lately, starting with welcoming my brother's ship home from the Persian Gulf. After 7 long months, we welcomed it (along with hundreds of other eager family and friends) at the Everett Naval Base on October 12th. It was extremely exciting seeing the ship come in with all the sailors lining the edge in their dress blues. Very emotional not only for yourself but to see other waiting for their moms, dads, husbands, etc. filled with excitement. Our family got interviewed by the news and that was exciting as well. We waited for hours down on the pier for Justin to arrive and step off the ship but it was well worth it! Since Justin was home that meant we got to also see our nephew Colton for a week and the boys had such a blast together! Their first day included trouble as you can see in the pics! Hayden and Colton are truly two peas in a pod. While he was here with us we took a trip over the mountain to Crooked River and hit up the pumpkin patch over there. It was definitely the best one I've ever seen complete with pumpkin patch, hay ship fort, corn maze, pumpkin cannons, zoo train, pony rides, petting zoo, feeding horses, hay rides, and lots of vendors with yummy food! It was a blast. We also celebrated Colton's 1st Birthday a couple weeks early with a party for him. He absolutely loved his cake!! He had it all over his face and it was so funny watching him dig in. It was fun to be able to celebrate with him since we don't see him much with him living so far away. We enjoyed our time with him and can't wait to see him again! Once we were back home we hit up the local pumpkin patch we always go to as well and got 4 pumpkins that we carved. Hayden got his hands dirty pulling out the guts to the pumpkin. Last year he wouldn't even get close to it! Another reason for our busyness is we have taken in watching our friends little sweet girl Ellie 4 days a week. Her and Austin are just over 2 months apart and are having lots of fun having stare downs and smiling at each other. It actually has turned out to be quite easy watching her and having my boys. She is such a little sweetheart and so easy. It's kind of nice having another girl around! Other news includes Austin turning 3 months on the 15th. He's just getting so big and so fun!! He's very observant of all that's going on around him now days and loves to be talked too. I seriously cannot get enough of his laughing and talking! He has finally started to sleep all night as well so that has been a great change!! I recently got the boys pictures taken and I will post them on here as soon as I scan them onto the computer. It was quite a challenge getting Hayden to cooperate (as it always is getting pictures taken with him) but they turned out really cute. So our life has been pretty full lately but I'm loving every second of it. I couldn't be happier than I am having 3 perfect men to share my every day with!! Here are some pics from what I've told you about...

Waiting for Justin's ship to arrive

Ship has pulled in finally and all the guys are on the edge.

The moment my brother was waiting for, to hold his son!! Colton fell asleep just before Justin got off.

Nothing but trouble together!!

My big sweet boy!

Colton loving his 1st Birthday cake!!

Opening presents with daddy and cousin Hayden helping of course!

Papa with all his grandboys camping out in Grandma's living room

Daddy and Hayden at Central Oregon Pumpkin Patch in the hay maze

The slide in the middle of the corn maze

The boys getting a ride in wagon

Hayden picking out the perfect pumpkin

Austin's got his picked!

My brother and nephew, my kids, and I

Austin and Ellie playing

Grandpa's Pumpkin Patch back at home and our perfect little family

Helping get the "guts" out

My cute little sweet Austin!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hayden!!!

2008-10-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

Wow! 3 years ago today right now (9am) I was getting ready to head to the hospital because my water had broke! I cannot believe that my baby Hayden (well not a baby anymore) is 3 years old today!! Ryan and I have never felt so much love since having Hayden and Austin. Hayden is getting so big! Most people think he is a 4 yr. old because of how tall he is. So to celebrate Hayden's birthday we had a party this last Sunday with some close friends and family and had the greatest time. It was really exciting because the last 2 years Hayden had no interest in opening his presents and this year he was trying to open before his guests even arrived! He was very excited about them all. One of his gifts from Ryan, Austin, and I was a power wheels quad. He LOVED it!!! It was so funny to watch his reaction. By the end of the night he was maneuvering it perfectly. We also did a pinata at his party. He was fascinated by it! Every swing either he or his friends took he would turn to everyone and say "wow." We all cracked up at him! The party was a success and I know Hayden appreciated it all. So thank you to all who came and celebrated! Here are a few pics from the party:

Playing in his bounce house with Josh
His "wow" reaction to hitting the pinata!
I'm pretty sure this was a "I'm cool" move
Riding his quad for the first time

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2008-09-29T22:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad!!! Your such a great dad, dad-in-law, and Papa!! We love you lots and hope you have fun in Hawaii!

ALL I CAN SAY IS.......

2008-09-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

GO BEAVERS!!!! THEY DID ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS TONIGHT!!!!!

Little Man's 2 Month Checkup

2008-09-19T09:41:00.002-07:00

So my little man had his 2 month check up yesterday. He's bigger than Hayden was at 2 months!! He had a couple shots and was such a good boy for them. Cried at the poke and then stopped. Definitely hurt me more! I can't believe he's bigger than Hayden was at 2 months since Hayden started out almost 2 lbs. heavier than Austin did! Austin is so much more of an eater than Hayden was though. Good job Austin!!
Here are the stats:

Height: 24 inches 86 percentile
Weight: 14.7 lbs 96 percentile (Mr. chubs!)

Hayden at 2 months:
Height: 25 inches 97 percentile
Weight: 14.2 lbs

The Portland Children's Museum

2008-09-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday Ryan, the boys, Nana, and myself took a trip up to Portland to the Children's Museum. I have been wanting to take Hayden for a while and was so excited to see what it was all about. It was truly one of the greatest children's places I have visited and I can't wait to go back. Ryan and I had just as much fun as Hayden did I think. There are so many cool rooms there that are filled with learning. Some of Hayden's favorite places were the water works room (couldn't get him out of it), the dig pit, and the construction zone. We spent the majority of the time in the water works room however; he loves to play in water! It was really fun to watch Hayden explore in the different parts of the museum. Here are some pics from our fun.... (notice Ryan playing as well) :)

Hayden in the 2 and under play room
Waterworks room

Brushing alligators teeth
Ryan having fun in the tree house

Construction Zone
The dig pit. All recycled rubber.
Daddy and Hayden playing in the dig pit

Some Zoo Pics...

2008-09-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

Austin is 2 months old today!

2008-09-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

So I can't believe it!! It has been 2 whole months since I was in labor with my sweet little Austin. I'm already starting to forget the pain I had to go through to have him and the uncomfortableness of those first few weeks. All I can think about now is how much I love seeing him smile and coo at me all day long and how I love watching Hayden and him interact. He is getting so big (and chunky) and turning into such a sweet little boy. He likes to cuddle and loves being held all the time. I'm still trying to adjust to getting anything done with him but I'm learning how to do a lot while also holding a baby and watching a toddler (and puppy). Ryan calls me supermom. It's such a busy job but I love it! Thursday he will go see Dr. Wong for his 2 month checkup so we will see just how big he is. On other notes, we have been super busy lately with the boys. Sunday we took them to the zoo (I'll have to get pics from Grandma Deb) and then surprised Grandma and Grandpa George with a 35th wedding anniversary party. It was so much fun holding the secret in and then seeing their faces when we pulled up. They are such a great couple and so many people look up to them and their relationship. I hope Ryan and I are still as happy and full of life as they are when we hit our 35th anniversary. Ryan and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary this last week. I think I love him now more than ever! On Wednesday we are going to the Children's Museum in Portland with my nana and I can't wait for Hayden's reaction to it all. I'll be sure to post about it!! Here are a few new pics....

At the zoo

Austin meeting his friend Ian for the first time. Ian is 6 weeks younger than Austin. We can't wait to see them grow up together and play!

Hayden and Austin hanging out in big brothers room.

Such cute boys!!!

8 weeks and stuff

2008-09-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Austin has been with us for 8 weeks now and he is doing great! Still no constant sleep pattern at night but my body is finally adjusting to not getting much sleep. :) We took a trip over to the coast for the night. It was just Ryan, Austin, and I for a little early anniversary getaway for Ryan and I. Austin only woke up once the entire night and I thought that there was hope for more sleep in the future. However, the next night he woke up 3 times so I guess we are not there yet. Oh well. The boys are doing fabulous together and Austin is really starting to smile and coo at Hayden when he's close to him or giving him kisses and cuddles. It melts my heart when I see it. I just can't wait till Austin is crawling around and they are playing with each other. I know Hayden can't wait to "play" with him either. Austin goes to the doctor next week and I can't wait to see his growth on the chart. We tried standing on the scale with him to get a weight and he was 12 lbs. last week. So big! His 0-3 month clothes are starting to get smaller and smaller everyday, with some not fitting anymore. It's so sad to see them move out of those super small outfits! Ryan and I hit the outlets in Lincoln City and got both the boys some really cute new stuff that I can't wait to see on them. It did make me a little sad to know that Hayden is a 4t now and that only means he's not far from the actual "little boy" section and no longer the toddler section. Not much going on right now besides planning Hayden's birthday which is coming up so quick! I can't believe he's gonna be 3! We are hitting up the zoo on Sunday so I will post about our trip after. Here are some new pics of little Austin. I feel bad cause I don't have any new ones of Hayden but he just never will let me take his picture! I'll try to get some this week!

Snoozin' away in his swing

I love this close up

Checking out the sky

This was supposed to be tummy time!

Austin and his future girlfriend Ellie. She's 10 weeks older than him :). What a big boy we have!!

A little on Hayden..

2008-08-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

So Hayden has become our little water dog in the last few weeks. He's always been on the boat so he knows the water well but for some reason at the beginning of this summer he was a little skeptical of it. Last summer he loved it! So a couple weeks ago we were at our friends' pool and he just got in and started swimming around. He even jumped off their diving board to someone. We were so excited! Later that weekend he went up to the lake with Grammy and Papa and just got right in there too, jumping off the boat to Grammy as well. He loves it! Last week he was camping with Grammy and Papa and did lots of swimming. It's definitely time to get him into swim lessons for sure cause he is loving the water. Once he gets in it's hard to get him out. He's getting so big and independent these days. It's sad but exciting at the same time.

He loves Grammy's new puppy Marley.
Loves Jetskiing!
Swimming with Papa

Hayden and Kambrie
Goobers!!!!
He loved the goggles!

6 weeks old already!

2008-08-26T10:05:00.001-07:00

So Austin is 1 1/2 months old today. He's starting to change in so many ways. His neck is getting stronger and he can hold it up somewhat. More and more smiles are coming out of him everyday, it's so cute! He is still loving to be held all the time which is challenging with Hayden and trying to get anything else done. Last night he slept in 3 hour increments and only got up at 2:15 and 5:15 which was a blessing for me!! The night before that he was up every 2 hrs. on the dot and I was exhausted! So we still don't have a good sleep pattern down yet but hopefully he will get on it sooner than later. He's getting so big and his newborn clothes are starting to not fit anymore. Last weekend we took a trip up to the lake to visit my parents and Austin did great. He pretty much slept the whole time unless he was eating. My dad dipped his feet in the water and he wasn't too excited about that. Hayden's been on the boat since he was born so hopefully Austin will enjoy it just as much as him. Here's some new pics of Austin from the last week....

Enjoying the fresh air
Brotherly LoveTummy time! He loves being on his tummy.
Fresh and clean!
Out on the boat
Out on the boat hanging with Papa.