Summertime!!

Wow, so much has happened since my last post. School let out at the end of May, so we have been super busy with fun stuff the last month. We went to Disney World and Daytona Beach with Nana and Papa; we also visited with Sammy and CJ on that trip. We had a great time! Then YaYa visited us and we went swimming and relaxed at home, which was so nice. On Father's Day we went to the zoo, then last week I had APSI (training) at TCU all week. This weekend Nana and Papa are visiting for the Fourth, then Clayton's birthday is on Monday the 6th of July. I'm hoping to post again before Colin turns six on the 25th...we'll see!

The boys have gotten to be so funny because they're like little people rather than babies. Their personalities are hilarious! Colin is all about animals: he caught a bird the other day and let it go because it was "whining." (Ya think?!) I wouldn't have believed him if it weren't for the little gray feathers in his hand. When we go for walks he pretends to be a lion in the tall grass and he'll try to sneak up on and tackle our lab Cooper, the other day he picked up a dead snake like it was a piece of string, and he prays for God to bring him a "baby fawn." Colin's favorite place to go is the zoo; he particularly loves the area where he can touch sea creatures like horseshoe crabs and starfish. He loves sea creatures like the octopus, sting ray and whale shark. He'll be heading back to kindergarten next year and he is already excited about his animal project!

Carter is our quiet, sweet, sneaky one. Carter is still convinced he is batman and will correct anyone who mistakenly calls him Carter instead of batman. He wears his mask and cape around the house (and the grocery store, and church, and the park) all the time! Carter is fine playing by himself whereas Colin is a social butterfly. Also, if there are ever sweets around the house (homemade cookies or brownies) I can count on Carter waking up late the next day with chocolate smeared on his face. He's very honest about his sneakiness, though, if that's possible...
"Carter, did you sneak brownies?"
"Yes."
"Well, please don't do that any more."
"Ok."

Clayton is almost two and he definitely has a big personality. He is more like Colin than Carter, I think, although his interests are more similar to Carter's. He loves sports and trains. If I ask Clayton to put his own dirty diaper in the trash, he wrinkles his nose and says, "Ewwww." He is starting to potty train because he wants to do everything like his big brothers. Clayton says his name is "Tayton" and the big boys have fun getting him to say words. (I always hear: "Clayton, say ...!") He loves balls and books and, like his big brothers, he is a total Daddy's boy!

In the upcoming weeks we have birthdays, Museum School and swim lessons! We are LOVING summertime!

Happy birthday to Nana!

...and a Happy New Year!

First of all, I apologize for not getting Christmas cards out to you this year! I promise next year I will send the most amazing Christmas card you have ever seen...well, a good one anyway.
We hope you have had as wonderful a year as we have and we wish you all the best in 2009!

Tis' the Season to be Jolly!

We wish you a merry Christmas! We wish you a merry Christmas! We wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!!

I didn't get around to a Christmas card this year...so here are a few pictures of our day today. We have spent time with Nana and Papa, Uncle Matt and Aunt Nina, Aunt Bertie and Uncle Nick, and Uncle Dukes (Micah). Santa brought Colin a new bike and Clayton a golf set. Nana and Papa got a new John Deer four-wheeler for all the boys but guess who is using it the most...Carter, of course! We love you all and hope you are enjoying this fun holiday as much as we are!!

Colin Swallows Penny/Andy Catches Cooper's Tail on Fire

Howdy, all! Sorry it has been so long, but here we go...
Andy caught Cooper's tail on fire, and many of you have already heard that story. (Cooper never had a clue...Andy just smelled smoke...)
Then there's our financial situation: on Thursday night in the middle of the night Colin reached onto his night table, grabbed a penny, and ate it. I freaked out, but apparently it's common. And now he calls it, "my penny." "Mommy, my penny is hurting!" We've tried to stop him from flushing the potty so we can see if anything shines, but instead we hear the flush and Colin gasp, "Oh no!"
Other than that, Colin is doing well! He is doing especially well in school where he is learning his vowels--he is sweet, he does sign language while he sounds out each letter.
Carter is his usual serious self. He asked me where my mole came from and I said from God and he said, "Did he come to my home and give it to you?"
Clayton is talking all the time now. He says the following words fairly well: Daddy, Mommy, ball, balloon, shoes, juice, there he is (during peek-a-boo!), down. Clayton laughs all the time, he opens his mouth really wide and throws his head back-he is a really happy baby!
We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend with Aunt Bertie and Uncle Nick, who celebrated their first anniversary today!!

This is a funny conversation...

Carter: Colin, where does God live?
Colin: God lives in our hearts.
Carter: But, Colin, God does not live in Mexico.
Colin: No, Carter, God does not live in Mexico.

Soccer

Over Labor Day weekend we spent time with our neighbors and also went out to Plano to visit Uncle Nick, Aunt Bertie, Doyle, and new family member Dixie (an American Bulldog)!
Tuesday we hosted a new life group through our church (New River Fellowship) and had a great time with some new friends! Colin had a really great time playing with his friend Noah, and Carter got a ton of ant bites...you win some, you lose some.
We started soccer practice this week...Carter on Wednesday, Colin on Thursday. Carter's coach is pretty intense and the team did a good job. There were a lot of water breaks but there was also a lot of running, kicking, etc. Carter played sharks and minnows and had a fun time playing soccer. Colin, on the other hand, mostly collected bones. Yes, that's right, bones. So anyway, here is a cut and pasted copy of Coach D.'s latest email to the team regarding Thursday's practice:

"Good afternoon everyone, Thanks for the practice last night. I think it was an overall success for our first time; a little kicking, running, getting to know each other, and we found 7 bones."

Colin Starts KINDERGARTEN!!

This has been a very busy week--we started school on Monday and Colin had his first day of Kindergarten! He looks SO precious in his uniform! Throughout the week they hunted for gingerbread men and finally found them (and ate them!) on Friday. He loves his teacher Ms. Purifoy and was (mostly) a very good boy. ;) Carter is in K3 and Clay is with his SuSu until he moves into the K2 class in January. Carter is desperate to be in Kindergarten and brought his belt to me the other day to ask if I would put his "seatbelt" on like Colin wears to Kindergarten. My classes are awesome--the kids are great and I am looking forward to an exciting year!
The boys start soccer this week, so this weekend (along with a few FF drafts, picnics, and pool parties) we'll be purchasing our first real sports equipment--shinguards and (how do you spell kleats?) kleats!
Have a fun Labor Day weekend!!

Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?

The other morning Andy and I woke up to find cookie crumbs on the office sofa, cookie crumbs on the living room sectional, cookie crumbs on the floor of the dining room, and cookie crumbs (but no cookie container) in the kitchen. Hmmm...a traveling cookie eater who has left a major trail. There are three potential culprits. Now Clayton hasn't yet learned to climb out of his crib (I'm sure it's a matter of days, but this simple fact exempts him as a suspect). So...this leaves TWO...and both, who have less than perfect records in the areas of tomfoolery and ballyhoo, are equally qualified to commit the crime. But who would do such a thing? Make such a MESS? I mean, really, who eats cookies in every room in the house?! This is actually another clue because Colin is not necessarily concerned about having a clean record, but he is most definitely interested in having a clean house. A-HA! This can only mean one thing.... "Mommy, my tummy hurts," says sweet, sneaky little Carter.