My Little Helper - April 6

All of my kids like to help in the kitchen, Sabrina is the one who wants to help with the entire meal, start to finish. She grates cheese, washes fruit and vegetables, helps with the dishes and sweeps the floor. While she is working she will say "Mommy, I'm your helper!"

Our Backyard Cat - April 5

The kids looked out the window this morning and found a cat sitting in the backyard. Wyatt and Colter, being boys, decided to run outside and chase it away. Apparently this kitty just wanted to play, because as the boys ran closer he just sat there and watched them. It surprised the boys that the cat didn't run away (like the rabbits that they usually chase!) and they came to a screeching halt right in front of the cat. They all just looked at each other for a couple of minutes and then Colter walked up to the cat and started petting it. He has always been our animal lover (both stuffed and real!) and tends to be cautious, but not frightened of animals. The rest of the day the kids kept watching to see if the cat (who belongs to one of our neighbors) would come visit again.

Playdate Swap - April 2

Some of our good friends in town have a son in Wyatt's preschool class and a daughter in Sabrina's preschool class. They all get along really well together, and their friendships are such a blessing to my kids. We set up a "playdate swap" for a couple of hours after preschool one day. I brought all of the boys to our house to play and Sabrina went to their house so the girls could play together. All of the kids had fun on our "swap" and keep asking me when we are going to do it again!

Wyatt and Brooks enjoying their pizza.

An all boy playdate just isn't complete without some dirt!

Eight (and a half!) Months Old - April 1

Zane turned eight months old on March 20. If came so fast I almost forgot to take his eight month picture! Here are eight random facts about my sweet baby boy...

1. He LOVES Cheerios!
2. He still doesn't have any teeth (although he has been "teething" for months!).
3. His favorite activity is sitting on the floor with his basket of toys, picking up each toy, putting it in his mouth and then throwing it on the floor.
4. He's not crawling on his hands and knees yet, but he's pretty good at sliding across the floor on his belly.
5. He love to read (and chew!) on books!
6. I found him sitting up in his crib the other day - time to lower the mattress again!
7. He is really ticklish and has a great belly laugh.
8. He is a true "Mama's Boy" and will rarely let anyone else hold him if I am in the same room.

Baby Aerobics - March 30

This scene just made me laugh! Somehow Zane got his favorite teether stuck on his leg while he was playing. The funny part was that he didn't get upset about it. He just pulled it to his mouth and kept chewing on it anyway!

Spring Dirt - March 30

It's springtime and our family is enjoying the warmer weather. Of course it wouldn't be spring in our part of the country without dirt - both the kind that blows through the air (something that happens when there are lots of bare fields around and very few trees!) and the kind that you use for planting. Today the kids helped Danny plant some trees in our front yard. Maybe someday (many, many years from now!) those trees will help block some of that blowing dirt!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! - March 29

I'm sure if I'd asked Danny 10 years ago what he would be doing on his 32nd birthday he would never have guessed this would be the scene! But here he is surrounded by two of his favorite things - his kids and mountains. Life doesn't get much better than this!

So Much Like His Daddy - March 26

Over the past couple of weeks I have been keeping a mental list of all the ways Wyatt is like Danny. For example, he wants to keep wearing his old tennis shoes because they are more comfortable (despite the fact that there are holes in the toes), he LOVES being outside (no extra toys or playground needed, just being outside is enough) and he can spend long stretches of time by himself. I can describe Danny using those exact terms!

I love this picture because it shows another one of their similarities - their love for place. Whenever we are driving somewhere Wyatt always asks, "Where are we?" He doesn't want a vague answer, but a specific location, which can be difficult at times. It is also interesting to watch Wyatt while we are driving. He is usually looking intently out the window (not reading a book or sleeping like his siblings) and often points out different trees or mountains that he sees. He is so much like his daddy!

Ruidoso - March 26-29

Here we are - ready for our four-day backpacking adventure! Danny has lots of pictures and more details about our trip on his blog and I also have a couple of stories on my blog. Click on the links to the right to check them out...

Easter Pictures - March 23

Some of our favorite Easter pictures...

Zane, Monique, Colter, Sabrina and Wyatt

Our five plus Abi

The Girls

The Boys

Colter, Danny, Monique, Wyatt, Sabrina, Jen and Zane

Megan, Cathryn, Jerod, Kim, Craig, Abi and all of us (do I really need to type is again?!)

Zane, Gummie, Robert, Wyatt, Sabrina, Colter, Monique, Dedaddy, Abi and DeJoyce

Our Easter Day - March 23

Our Easter Day in Pictures

The kids enjoyed the treats in their Easter baskets (not from the Easter Bunny - just from Mom and Dad!).

We arrived at church and took a quick picture out in the snow (it didn't snow much, but this is our second Easter in a row with some flurries!).

Here they are waiting for the Easter egg hunt at church. Aren't they cute?

Monique trying to find more eggs.

Colter showing off his Easter goodies.

After church we drove to Lubbock to eat Easter lunch with all of my family (everyone was there - Noni, Papa, all the aunts, uncles and cousin, and even both sets of great-grandparents!). We also took Easter pictures which are on another post.

Gummie (or "Gummie Bear" as Sabrina called her!) kept the kids entertained with stories while Daddy hid the eggs in the backyard.

Wyatt was excited to find his favorite egg!

Sabrina quickly filled her basket with lots of eggs!

It was a fun day for everyone!

Tootsie Pops - March 21

A visit with Gigi would not be complete without Tootsie Pops! Whether we go to Colorado, meet them somewhere in New Mexico or they come to visit us in Texas the boys know Gigi will come with Tootsie Pops in hand. She even sent them with G-pa when he met the boys and Danny for a backpacking trip last summer! Wyatt and Colter had fun sharing this little tradition with their sisters during Gigi and G-pa's recent visit last week.

Happy Spring! - March 20

Some "signs of spring" in our backyard...

sunglasses...

hats...

sidewalk chalk...

balls...

and lots of outside fun!

Creeping Along - March 20

Well, he's not actually crawling yet, but Zane is definitely moving - and moving fast! He is very confident going from sitting up, to all fours, to creeping across the floor. The picture below is one in a series of pictures that I took of Zane creeping along to get his moose. However, when he got there he went right past his moose and kept going without even a pause. He reached the camera lens cover, picked it up and started chewing on it! The kids are quickly learning that nothing is safe from Zane when he is on the floor!

Cousins - March 15

After the birthday party, we stopped by Noni and Papa's house for supper. Sabrina and Monique were able to meet Uncle Craig, Aunt Kim and Abi. We tried to get a picture of all six cousins together, but getting everyone to look at the camera and smile was not an easy task! Maybe on Easter...

Science Spectrum - March 15

The kids were invited to a birthday party for one of their good friends, Belle, at the Science Spectrum in Lubbock. Wyatt and Colter love going to the museum, so it was a great opportunity to show Sabrina and Monique all of the fun things to do there.

Monique pretended to call Daddy on the phone and tell him about her day.

Sabrina and Belle playing in the "water works" exhibit. We spent a lot of time here - it was everyone's favorite.

Wyatt and Colter pretending to fly an airplane - complete with commands and sound effects!

Easter Egg Hunt #1 - March 12

It was a little crazy trying to get pictures of all three kids Easter egg hunts, especially when they were in two different locations! But with the help of a sweet friend who watched Monique and Zane at our house, and the kids' teachers who staggered the hunts by just a few minutes, I was able to enjoy the parties and get lots of cute pictures.

Colter's class had their Easter egg hunt on the playground. He had fun and found lots of eggs!



Thankfully Sabrina and Wyatt's classes had their Easter egg hunts at the same house. They hunted on two different sides of the yard, so I just stood in the middle and got pictures of both of them. Sabrina was very proud of all the eggs that she found!



Wyatt did a great job finding eggs that everyone else missed, especially the ones by the fence. He also avoided the hard-boiled eggs (every child brought 6 hard-boiled eggs and 6 plastic candy-filled eggs) and only picked up the plastic eggs! He knew where the good stuff was!

Easter Eggs - March 11

It seemed a little strange to be dyeing Easter eggs so early, but the kids' Easter parties at school were this week because Spring Break is next week. We'll dye eggs again before Easter for our own egg hunt. All the kids had fun, especially Sabrina and Monique who hadn't ever dyed eggs before!

Monique didn't hesitate to use her hand to retrieve her egg from the cup!

Wyatt was, of course, very precise and serious about dyeing his eggs!

Sabrina's favorite egg was her pink one!

We had to work hard to get Colter to give us a real smile and not one of his silly grins for this picture!