Austin's first t-ball game

Austin's first t-ball game was a couple of weeks ago, but I never got the pictures posted. Before the game they took their hats off and said a pledge.

Austin "catches" a ball. This is pretty funny, because all of the boys run to get the ball off the ground, and they kind of fall all over the place until one of them gets the ball in his glove.

Daddy gets to be on the field with him during the game to help coach (all the parents do).

Waiting on the sidelines to bat, next to best buddy Owen. I am sorry to say that I didn't get a picture of him batting, but there will be lots more chances to do this.

All of the kids together!

This is a common sight, all four of the kids looking out the window together in the morning at the birds and squirrels on the bird feeder. Maggie and Jack are dying to chase the squirrels!

Driving the tractor!

The weather has been beautiful this week making it possible to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. The boys had a blast the other day driving their tractor. Stopping along the way to look at a bug or puddle doesn't happen often, but Braeden was really interested in the bug he saw on the ground. Austin hasn't taken his cowboy hat off since we got it at the rodeo, too cute!

Chatting as he drives, Austin doesn't really watch where he is going!

This is right before they ran into ME!! Notice Austin is excited with this notion, because he thinks it is funny. Braeden appears to be bracing for the fact that they are about to collide.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Kiss Me, I'm Cute!

Not Lucky, Just Cute!

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2009

Every year is always so fun at the rodeo. This year it was cold and rainy, which made it a little crowded inside, but that didn't stop the fun! Here are the boys waiting so patiently to ride a pony.

Finally, after all that waiting, they had a blast riding the ponies. Austin didn't need any help, but Braeden wanted me nearby, so I got to walk with him. The ponies were going pretty fast, and snapping a picture was pretty tough. Andy got this picture with both boys on their horses. Braeden was interested in the mechanics of the wheel that spun around as the ponies walked....hmmm, future engineer? We'll see!

Petting the piggy!

The sheep had just been sheered when we got there. They must have been cold without all their wool!

Of course, what's a trip to the rodeo if you don't drive a John Deer?

Notice the skill Braeden has with this. He has one hand on the wheel, and one on the stick!

Bump, sick, sick, and sick

Last week wasn't such a fun week around here. It all started when Braeden somehow "fell" down and bumped his head on the dog bowl (Austin said he "fell" but I have my reasons to think otherwise). Notice the blue and purple knot on Braeden's head (between his eyes). Poor kid has had quite a number of bruises on his head in the last few weeks.

Then later in the week both boys were sick prompting two separate trips to the doctor...not an easy task with both of them when they don't feel well. At least they LOVE Dr. Miller, so they don't mind going, it is just trying to keep them away from all the other sick kids there so they don't catch something else that proves difficult.

Blue the Hippo can make Austin feel better. Austin was diagnosed with a sinus infection.


Braeden had an ear infection. It didn't stop him from having a great time pulling all of the tissues out of the tissue box (look behind him on the couch and floor)! I should have known that it was too quiet in the room and something was going on.

This is something you can rarely see. Austin laying down on the couch. He rarely sits still long enough to capture a picture.

Even more rare would be two boys laying down on the couch together!

Lastly, the second trip to the doctor was because Austin got this horrible red rash on his cheeks. It started with the cheek on the right, and then went to the other cheek. I thought it was fifth disease (a virus that causes a rash like this), but it never spread from his face to his body. Dr. Miller said it was probably either due to the sinus infection or the crazy weather we were having (freezing cold one day and then in the eighties the next day).

Andy and I also got sick with them. I was lucky enough to get a visit to the Doctor to get some medicine for an ear infection, but poor Andy is just riding out his sniffles and cough on his own.

Eeeeewww!

Braeden is such a blessing in that he will eat just about anything. Well, he'll try just about anything at least. The only thing is that he likes some pretty weird combinations of food. Here are a few of the disgusting combinations from recent meals.

• refried beans with vanilla ice cream (this got a big "Mmmmm" from him).
• vanilla creme cookies with ranch dressing (dipped not just once, but several times).
• and BBQ sauce with mandarin oranges.

It sure is a good thing that he will try just about anything, but YUCK! These are combinations I would never put together.

A little chat

For those of you who read into things and think you know more than us about our lives, let me start by saying this has nothing to do with any status of Andy and I . We are NOT trying to have a baby. This is just a conversation that Austin and I had after I was explaining to him that I have two brothers and he has one brother.

Mom: Austin, how many brothers do you have?

Austin: two

M: No, you have one brother, but there are two of you.

A: No, I have two.

M: Ok, whatever.

A: I have a sister too.

M: No, you don't have a sister.

A: Oh, you are right. When we get one, we have to throw him (pointing to Braeden) in the trash can.

M: What!?!?! Why do we have to throw him in the trash? We can't throw our baby brother in the trash can, we love him!

A: A pause, then no answer to my question. Momma, can I have a snack?

This is a true conversation, and I am not sure what he meant by that, but I wasn't going to press into it. He immediately went over to Braeden and hugged him and said "I love you Braeden" so I don't think he wants to get rid of Braeden. I just thought it was cute.

Jesus loves the little children

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world!

After church today, Austin kept singing it over and over. So cute, and I was lucky to get it on video. Most of the time he won't do this stuff when I pull out the camera. It may help to push pause on the playlist music on the bottom right of the blog first so you can hear him better.