ICE

Grandma, Aunt Jennifer, and Aunt Lisa took Austin and Braeden to Dallas to see the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel. It was Charlie Brown's Christmas, and from the pictures they took it looks amazing! Hard to believe that all of these things are made from ice. They used over 2 million pounds of ice to make this, and the rooms were a chilly 9 degrees!

Austin going down the ice slide.

These are huge gingerbread houses! Austin kept trying to eat the candy off the walls.

They love trains!

Family pictures 2010

We had our pictures taken this year in Galveston on the beach. We thought it was fitting since we now have a house there, and spend lots of time there. Enjoy!

Colton - 6 months old

This week Colton turned 6 months old. It is so hard to believe he is already half a year old. Seriously, stop growing everyone!! He has the most gentle spirit, and is so sweet. He smiles at everyone and rarely cries. He loves to cuddle, and is content to play alone too. He is rolling over both ways, and the other day I caught him rolling over all the way to the Christmas tree trying to grab an ornament. He is eating solids like a pro and is practicing sitting up. He weighs 20.7 lbs. and is 28.5 inches tall, nearly off the charts! He is wearing 12 - 18 month clothes already! We are still working on the sleep thing, but the fact that for the first 4 months of his life he never took a nap in a bed since he was always at the hospital with me, I'd say we are doing pretty good. He will sleep most nights only waking up one time. This week he started trying to talk to us. He has been saying "bu ba" and "ma mam." I am pretty sure Bubba will be his first word, since he adores his brothers so much, but maybe it will be Mama! We had our family pictures taken, and she really had no problems capturing the sweetness of Colton. I'll post more of the pictures after Christmas since some of them are going to be gifts. Enjoy....

And here he is when he wakes up. I tell you, I look forward to being with him because he just makes you feel good because he is so sweet. My absolute joy! Forgive the poor video quality, the lights weren't on.

Austin's birthday

The day started just like any other birthday around here, with our birthday pancake in the shape of our age. I must say, making a 5 shaped pancake is really difficult and requires two spatulas. He was so proud to show how big he is now because it takes a whole hand to show you.

It is so hard to believe that Austin is already 5 years old. What will I do when he goes to kindergarten next year? I can't even think about that right now. I can remember holding him in the hospital, bringing him to our New York Apartment, and cruising the sidewalks with the stroller like it was just yesterday. I am constantly telling the boys to "stop growing," to which they respond, "I can't!" Then I always say, "That's okay, no matter how big you get, you'll always be my baby!" I sometimes just wish I could freeze time and enjoy each moment a little longer.

For his party, we went to Jumpalooza. I got lots of pictures, but here is just a taste of the action. Austin and one of his best buddies Jacob. They were constantly on the go, and really had a blast jumping and jumping and jumping.

The birthday boy, just stopping to take it all in. I would say he looks like he enjoyed his birthday.

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Getting Ready for Christmas

We took the boys to Galveston for the weekend and went to Moody Gardens to see the Festival of Lights. They loved it and couldn't believe all of the lights. They didn't even mind walking the mile long trail through the lights. It was fantastic! We'll be going back again.

Just so you can get a scale of the size of the lights, here are the boys next to their favorite ones, the nutcrackers.

I had the boys pose for pictures in their Christmas pj's in front of the tree, planning to use the pictures for our cards, but Daddy didn't want me to send the pictures out in their pj's so we did another shot for our cards instead. Here are the pictures I liked.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was sweet, with all these children to be thankful for. We missed Mimi to the moon and back, but we were thankful for each other.....and for pumpkin pie.

Colton's Baptism

Colton's baptism was such a special day because it was on All Saint's Day. The church honored all of the people who went to heaven this year and lit a candle in honor of Mimi. It was a way for her to be part of the ceremony. Originally after he was born, Mimi said that she was going to join the church the day he was baptized. She was able to join in the hospital when she didn't think she would make it out of the bed again. It was an emotional day, but so wonderful as well. All of our family was surrounding us, and Colton was so good and didn't cry.

Bike Riding.....FINALLY!!

Ok, so we aren't totally riding, but at least we are trying. Austin refused to try to ride his bike ever because pedaling was just too hard. He finally is trying now! He always told me that he would try "when I turn 5." Well a few weeks short of turning 5 he decided to try. He pedals a little, and then just rolls down the hill, but it is progress, and that makes me happy. Braeden also joins in and tries to pedal his bike. So exciting!!

Just a little blackmail....

Halloween Time

Halloween week was a busy time. We went to the Fall Festival and had tons of fun at the petting zoo.

Our littlest Punkin'

The boys both got spray on tattoos.

Austin rode a horse.

And the most time was spent in the many bounce houses. Our neighborhood is so great, and they have so many activities for the kids each holiday. We are truly blessed to live in such a great place.

Of course Halloween just wouldn't be Halloween without carving a jack-o-lantern. This was the first year we actually got the boys to both reach in and help scoop out the slimy insides of the pumpkin.

For Halloween we had a crew of kids from Toy Story.
Colton's first Halloween costume...the squeaky toy alien.

Austin was Woody and Braeden was a toy soldier.

Austin's preschool class all decked out for the Halloween parade.

And Braeden's class too.

Halloween was a success, and we have more candy than we know what to do with.

Cereal Time!

Our little Butterbean has no problem eating cereal of course. His 4 month check up was fantastic. He weighed 17.9 pounds and was 27 inches tall. He is already wearing 12 month size clothes....keeping true to the big baby size of our Giffhorn boys! He has started to roll over onto his tummy, and likes to sleep there. He watches the dogs and his brothers so closely, I think he will be trying to get moving quickly so he can keep up!

Colton is the happiest baby! He smiles at just about everyone, and has the most expressive eyes. He is a charmer, a snuggler, and a precious gift from God! We love him so much!