Gigi's Visit - July 8-16

Gigi drove down from Colorado for a visit with the boys before the baby was born. I enjoyed have the help and the boys enjoyed having someone new to play with them!

Danny's Bike Ride - July 14

There are lots of bike rides in our area during this time of year. Danny rode in a 60 mile ride earlier this summer, but decided to do the 40 mile ride this time (just in case I went into labor while he was gone!). The boys really enjoyed it because the bikers rode right in front of our house. They had their own "bike ride" in the driveway while we waited for everyone to come back!

Underwear and My Silly Little Boys - June 9

It has been wonderful that both Wyatt and Colter take care of getting themselves dressed in the mornings. One morning I heard lots of laughing in their room and went in to check on them. What I found was two little boys wearing their underwear like "hats" and laughing hysterically at each other. They really are silly boys!

"Do 'way, Mama!" (aka "Go away, Mama!") - July 7

Colter has become very independent over these past few weeks. He can get himself dressed and buckle himself in his car seat. The moment we try to help him he says, "No, do 'way!"

Wyatt and "Baby" - July 7

Wyatt is very excited about our baby's arrival. He talks to the baby often and always tells him where we are and what is happening. Wyatt loves feeling the baby kick and likes to "snuggle" with him during his rest time. The other day he said "When baby comes we will have one big brother, two grown-ups and two little brothers!".

Wyatt's Pictures - July 6

These are some of Wyatt's latest pictures he has taken with his digital camera. He took an entire series of pictures of the ceiling fan - this was his favorite.

He has also photographed every plant in our yard and most of my houseplants! This picture of our baby aspen was another favorite.

And the picture below is of Colter - Wyatt calls it his "silly picture!"

Hamburgers and Hot Dogs - July 4

Noni, Papa, Aunt Megan, Aunt Cathryn and Uncle Jerod all drove up from Lubbock to celebrate the 4th of July with us. We had hamburgers, hot dogs and watermelon - all big hits with our boys!

Our family of four - almost five!

Swimming - July 2

Keeping cool in the hot Texas sun - swimming pool, slip 'n slide and popsicles!

Cousins - June 23

My sister-in-law, Kim, is due with her first baby (a girl!) just one week after my due date. My family doesn't know what to do with all of the baby excitement going on right now!

Wyatt's Box House - June 20

I bought most of the items we needed for the baby online, so we quickly amassed a large collection of boxes. One day Wyatt decided to put them to good use and built a "box house" complete with a chimney!

Colter's New Skill - June 20

Colter has finally decided to start using the pedals on his tricycle! For the past nine months he would just use his feet to push himself around because that is how he could go "fast!" Finally one day he was outside with Danny and said "Dada, look!" as he started pedaling down the sidewalk.

Of course this new skill isn't without it's hazards. I guess it's not quite as easy to stop a fall when your feet are on the pedals! But, as you can see, he's still pretty happy about his newly acquired skill!

Colter and "Bear" - June 18

Colter and "Bear" have been inseparable for the past year. One day not long after we moved to Dimmitt, Colter was going through the stuffed animal basket when he discovered Bear who had been part of our stuffed animal collection since before Colter was born. Soon Bear was requested at both naptime and bedtime and Colter began carrying him around everywhere! He has traveled with us from Florida to California and always helped Colter feel better, whether it was an uncertain trip to the church nursery or feeling bad from a stomachache.

All was going well with their relationship until the boys returned from their backpacking trip to New Mexico. As Colter was climbing into bed their first night back he asked for Bear. Danny and I quickly discovered that Bear was missing and Danny decided Colter must have taken Bear out of his backpack when they got back to the truck and left him at the trailhead parking lot in New Mexico. We thought he might be OK without him, but quickly discovered that wasn't the case. We explained to Colter that Bear had so much fun on the backpacking trip that he decided to stay for a few more days. Then we found some "stand-in" bears to get us through the night and began to search the internet for another "Bear". Thankfully I found one rather quickly and in one week Bear (fresh and clean from a "shower") was "returned" to Colter through the mail.

Father's Day - June 17

Danny spent his Father's Day afternoon taking a nap with Colter and working in the yard with Wyatt. What could be better than that!

These two little boys are so blessed to have such a wonderful Daddy!

Big Boy Underwear - June 15

Much to my delight, Colter has decided that he likes wearing "big boy underwear" and basically potty trained himself this summer. Having a big brother to model (and a slightly more compliant personality!) made the process pretty easy. Now we'll just see if it lasts through the excitement of a new baby!

Ice Cream Cones - June 11

Ice cream cones - what better way to keep cool in the summer heat!

The Caterpillar - June 11

The boys were thrilled to discover an entire caterpillar colony in our backyard. Colter had to learn to be gentle and not step on or squish the caterpillars (hopefully a lesson he will remember when playing with his baby brother!). Both of them enjoyed letting the caterpillars crawl all over them and then put them safely back among some green leaves.

Backpacking in New Mexico - June 7-10

Danny and the boys met Grandpa (Danny's Dad) in New Mexico for a long weekend backpacking trip. It was their last chance to get away before baby's arrival and also gave me some time to get things done at home. For more pictures and stories from the trip check out Danny's blog at www.griffisfamilyoutdoors.blogspot.com

One Cute Kid - June 5

Just a cute picture of Wyatt that I had to share - look at that smile!

The Thunderstorm - June 2

We always get our share of big thunderstorms this time our year, but the one this evening was exceptionally big. We had big wind, big hail, big thunder and REALLY big rain!

We have a concrete ditch that runs in front of our house. You can see from the picture that it was full of water. We had heard stories about the ditch turning into a rushing creek, but we hadn't seen it until tonight. After the rain stopped some of the high school boys were out "rafting" the creek!

We also got lots of hail, but thankfully the pieces were small so our flower beds (and most of the cotton and corn crops around us!) survived.

Summer Fun - May 27

Our boys are thoroughly enjoying the warmer weather. Wyatt has become an expert tree climber (it's a great way to see the leaves up close!) and Colter loves to help Danny water the plants (it's a great excuse for getting wet!).

A Visit to the Greenhouse - May 25

The boys spent a couple of nights with Noni and Papa in Lubbock and took a field trip to one of Noni's favorite greenhouses. Wyatt loved looking at all of the plants and Colter enjoyed watching the fish in the pond.

Both boys agreed that the best part about the greenhouse was getting to pick out a plant to take home!

It's a Boy! - May 24

Here is a picture of "Baby" - the original name that Wyatt and Colter decided to call their little brother - from a 3D sono we had at my appointment last week. Wyatt has recently decided that we should name him "Juniper" because he is going to like trees! Hopefully he won't be too disappointed when we tell him the baby's name (which was decided upon many months ago, but will remain a secret until after he is born!).