Josie, Laynie & Ty @ 8 months

All of these pictures were taken within one week of Josie, Laynie and Tyler turning 8 months old, give or take. I wish I knew how to post the pics side by side, but I would have to say that Josie and Tyler resemble each other the most. What do you think?

Josie definitely wins for most chubs and most hair!

Laynie is rocking her beautiful blue eyes!

And Tyler is showing off his California roots, cheering for the Giants at Pac Bell Park!

My sweet babers

This little girl just melts my heart every day. She is pure sweetness. And thankfully her big brother and big sister think so too :). She is on the go, slowly and steadily crawling towards the things she wants. We can't believe that she will be able to go anywhere she wants to soon, sure makes you think about the bottom two feet of your house differently! She is at such a fun stage, playing with things with such curiosity, trying new foods and trying to figure out how to get around. She is just one month away from the age when Laynie had her first breath-holding spell, and we are praying that Josie will have nothing of the sort! Laynie's breath-holding spells caused us to protect her and shelter her from so much exploration because it seemed anything might trigger her. I am so looking forward to Josie crawling, cruising, walking and toddling around without any of those concerns!

Love, love, love her.

This stacking toy is her current favorite.

Laynie with her typical crazy smiley eyes :).

Josie with a pony tail.

October fun

It's been awhile since I posted pics of the rest of the family!

Ty and Laynie at the Kemah Boardwalk

Tyler, Josie and Laynie arriving at a local trunk-or-treat festival. Cinderella's wig didn't stay on for much longer...

Sweet Josie...she's such a good sport :).

Daddy and Cinderella

Daddy and Jango Fett

3 sweet kids in the pumpkin patch!

Mommy lovin' on her baby Unicorn :).

Josie's latest tricks

For some reason, Josie hasn't been interested in sitting up on her own. But these pictures show that she is getting better! She is super at "roley-poleying" around the floor and is starting to get up on her knees to rock back and forth. And today, when I latched her on to the basket (see the 3rd pic), she stood up all on her own! Way to go Josie! Whether she's rolling around, or trying to sit or stand, she's almost always smiling! Sweet girl!

Josie is 6 months old!

I'm way behind on blogging...and I wanted to catch up by posting Tyler and Laynie's first days of school, but I think I'm going to move on :). I'm not a fan of going out of chronological order, but I may sneak in a few school pics when I get a chance!

Josie is 6 months old and she continues to be sweet and delicious! Really, she is just full of joy and is growing so quickly! Ty and Laynie love her to pieces. She is eating like a champ, fruits and veggies, rice cereal and oatmeal. She is roley poley all over the floor (usually only to her left), and she is working on sitting up. Here are a few pics of her...full of smiles!

Hanging out in her bumbo

Playing in her exersaucer

Being sweet in her playmat

The girls and their "silkies" :)

Sweet sisters!

Celebrating 10 years and more!

Today is our 10 year anniversary! Jason and I actually started dating our junior year in highschool. We both went to UCDavis for college and graduated in June '99. We were married 3 weeks after graduation! Here are a few pics, looking back over the years :).

Senior Prom - May '95

Wedding day in Granite Bay, CA! - July 10, 1999

After the wedding in San Francisco

First anniversary in Lake Tahoe - July 2000

On a road trip to Iowa with friends...in front of the Grand Tetons (and pregnant with Tyler) - 2003

On a Mexican Riviera cruise with Tyler @ Cabo San Lucas - May 2003

And then we were 4! - February 2006

At Uncle Ryan's wedding - February 2009


And then we were 5! - March 2009

Look who found her thumb...just like big sis :).

I'm pretty sure it's official...Josie is a thumb sucker, just like her big sister :).

Josie in her bouncer at 3 1/2 months

Josie in the swing at 3 1/2 months

Big sister Laynie at 4 months

First visit from the tooth fairy

About a week ago, while we were at Mo Ranch, Tyler discovered he had a loose tooth! He was having a hard time eating corn on the cob because his tooth hurt. And lo and behold, he had a wiggly tooth! After dinner on Wednesday night, his wiggly tooth was hanging on by a thread. On Thursday morning, Tyler gave it the final tug!

Before bed on Thursday evening, Tyler found a "care package" from the tooth fairy on his pillow. It was a box set called Tooth Fairy Time by Susan Magsamen. It included a book about teeth, taking care of teeth, and the tooth fairy. It also included a pillow in the shape of a tooth with a little pocket for him to put his tooth in. He loved it! It also includes 4 charts to record 4 sets of lost teeth which makes it a great family tooth fairy kit. The tooth fairy was able to find his tooth without a problem during the night!

His loose tooth, hanging on by a thread

I missed the actual moment, but he finally pulled it out by himself.

When he smiles, you can barely tell it's missing.

But when he opens his mouth a little, there it is, a missing tooth!

MO Ranch

MO Ranch is such a blessing for our family.

This is what Josie does...smile! She is such a sweet baby. She eats, she plays, she sleeps. And for several days in a row now, she has been sleeping through the night. Like 9-10 hours straight. She is such a joy and she did so well in the MO Ranch nursery...as far as I know!

Laynie had a great time at MO Ranch, playing with her friends and "exploring". Sometimes she likes bugs, and sometimes, not-so-much. She particularly enjoyed sampling what the cafeteria had to offer...as in a little bit of this and a little bit of that. And she loved having ice cream after lunch and dinner...her dream come true :).

Tyler impressed us this year with his water skills. He went down the "rapids" for the first time this year by himself, without a swim vest, and he LOVED it! He couldn't wait to go back to the river every day. He had a blast exploring the river and playing with friends.

A family picture on the last day. With a baby in tow, we spent most of our free time "dividing and conquering." That usually meant J and Ty were at the river while me and the girls :) napped in the room...not a bad deal. I did get to go to the river one day with Ty and Laynie and it was so fun to watch them swim and play.

Love these two kiddos. Such sweet, silly, different personalities. Such a joy to watch them grow! And such a blessing to be able to spend the week in Texas Hill Country surrounded by other families doing the same!

Tyler's t-ball game

Tyler finished his t-ball season on Saturday. He enjoyed playing with several of his buddies from school. He's always a good sport, but never overly enthusiastic about chasing balls. But he has a good time, and of course, loves having snack at the end :). After his last game, they had a pizza party, and we brought "baseball" cupcakes. And now we are on to new endeavors. He'll do swim lessons in July, which he loves, and he's starting karate through the YMCA next week. We'll see how that goes, at the moment, he has been inspired by Kung Fu Panda!

Super Sidewalk Paint

We checked a book out from the library called The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions and it is full of easy "concoctions" for the kids to make. Today, we made super sidewalk paint, and the kids loved it. There are only 3 ingredients: cornstarch, water, and food coloring. It makes kind of a soupy liquid, and when you paint it on the sidewalk, it dries just like chalk. And after a while, the colors get even more vibrant. I'll put the recipe at the end in case you want to try it!

Mixing the water and cornstarch

Ready to go paint

Working on his name

Having fun!

Super Sidewalk Paint

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

6-8 drops food coloring

1. Mix cornstarch and cold water together in a small plastic bowl/container.

2. Add food coloring and stir.

3. Repeat this process to create different colors of Super Sidewalk Paint. (Can easily be washed away with water.)

4. Have fun!