July was a busy month. Will turned 4 and we had lots of fun at his swimming birthday party. He was so excited about his birthday this year. A day did not go by from May to July when the party took place...that there was not a great deal of discussion about his impending party. It was a "pirate" themed party and he was very excited. He even told Papa, that he wanted him to dress up like a pirate for the party! He did not, but did wear a shirt with a pirate looking guy on it. Will was distracted enough that he let Papa slide on that one!

Sea World and San Antonio Trip

Cousin Caitlin, Nana Anne and Pop Pop Taylor came to visit in June. We had lots of fun! While they were here, we took a trip to San Antonio, to include Sea World, of course. A good time was had by all, except for Jeanne, who did not expect or appreciate our seat in the splash row for Shamu. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of her face, as she bore the brunt of the splashing, she was on my lap. Ooops...there goes my mother of the year award. It had been a long time since I had been to Sea World, I forgot that you get a pretty good soaking! Will loved it and as Shamu swam around the tank, he would yell, "woo hoo"...it was pretty hilarious!

The dolphins were also a favorite, we all really liked the idea that you could lean over and touch them. However, clearly there was not a mother of a toddler or preschooler involved in the creation of this process. It was all we could do to keep Will from actually diving head first in to the tank of fishy smelling water, by the way. That was fabulous on the ride back to the hotel!

The bean....enjoying a show with less splashing!

Summer Fun!

We were very busy this summer, hence the fact that I am just sitting down now, to update the blog. The kids both had a great time. We did lots of swimming at Gigi's house. Will is getting to be a really good swimmer, he can do the freestyle and has figured out how to swim underwater and can swim down to the bottom. Jeanne loves the pool too...she has actually learned quite a bit, just by hanging out with Will. She will literally throw herself into the pool and kick her legs and move her arms. It is pretty amazing...but it means that whoever is on duty, has to keep all eyes on her. She is liable to just jump in or let go of the side at the drop of a hat.

Ridem' Cowboy!

I love my brother and my rocking horse!
This is fun...
....uh oh....
...not so much fun for 1 member of the team.
What did I do? I don't know why she got off!

Soccer

Will played soccer this spring and I was the coach. I use the terms, played and coach loosely. What I quickly discovered was that "coaching" 3 year old soccer more closely resembles herding cats. My main function was to fish kids out of net, hug the crying ones, and make sure that we always had 5 kids on the field, since they had a tendancy to just go sit with their parents mid game. It was hilarious. As the season went on, it began to more closely resemble an actual game, but not too closely. Here are some pics of our future soccer star?

Guess who?

3 Years ago...how time flies and hair grows or recedes, I guess it depends on who you are talking about. Just thought this was funny!

More pics.....much to the kids dismay...

When in Texas...make your kids take pictures in the Bluebonnets. We also thought that Madisyn could show these to her friends back in Boston.

Another satisfied customer...it isn't really a good session unless someone cries..right?

Will is posing for all of his fans....I am not sure where we got him from! But I think we will keep him.

Madisyn Visits_Trip to the Zoo

Uncle Michael and Madisyn came for a visit, so we all headed to the zoo.

Uncle Mike was a good sport and rode all the rides with us. We had a lot of fun!
Our little Monkey! Jeanne did not ride the carousel but was perfectly happy climbing all over her stroller. We have to keep an eye on her, she is a real dare devil. She may have a future as a stunt woman!
They decided to make a silly face....much to the photographers dismay!
Daddy's little girl....
Jeanne really looks like she is enjoying the photo session!

Easter Part 2---Easter Sunday

There was a lot of excitement around the house today. The Easter Bunny, church, easter eggs! Where do we begin. Will came running downstairs at about 7:15 am, a bit earlier then mommy and daddy would have preferred, but we got our caffiene and carried on. The Easter bunny had come and left an egg in Will's bed. Much to his delight, he began to notice that there were eggs all over.

After collecting those and begrudgingly leaving a few for his baby sister, we all had breakfast and got ready for church. As many of you know, church with a 3 and 1 year old can be a dicey proposition, but we gave it our best shot. Will was very excited to go to church and see Jesus rise from the dead. He has been learning a lot at school, and it is amazing, how much he absorbs. Bible class is one of his favorite classes, along with recess and P.E. of course.

Happy Easter! Part 1

The neighborhood easter egg hunt!
Jeanne was in heaven. We had to do a quick lesson, about taking the wrapper off of the chocolate eggs before eating them. She eventually figured it out.

We had a lot of fun this year, getting ready for Easter. There were lots of eggs to be hunted! Both of the kids had a great time.

Texas Snow Day!

Will and his snowman!
Sledding in Texas?
A Texas sledding hill?

AKA: our driveway!

Yes, it is Texas! Will was thrilled to get a real snow storm. Earlier in the week, we got about an inch of snow overnight, that was melted and gone by the time Will got finished with school! It was quite a disappointment. Well, mother nature cooperated and gave us a second chance and this time, a lot more snow. Like all good Texas kids, we got dressed up in our Winter Coats-- which of course are not water proof- the only pair of mittens and hat that we own-- and the closest thing we could find to water proof pants! Here is how it worked out:Jeanne was not too sure about this cold, wet, white stuff....not to mention the layers of clothes.
Will thinks that he is going to like it!
Making a snow ball...
...throwing it at my sister...
Trying to figure out why she is crying?

Priceless.