Calcium...it's good for the bones and teeth!

Poor little Braeden. He was sitting, not standing in the bathtub, so Mommy still doesn't know exactly how he did this, but he banged his front teeth on the back wall of the tub. It scared her to death, and she thought for sure his teeth were knocked out, but there was no blood. Still there was so much white stuff in his mouth that she thought for sure most of his teeth were missing. Nope just a few little chips to give his smile more personality. All the white stuff in his mouth turned out to be porcelain from the tub, it got some nice teeth marks.

Hello Dolly...Hurricane Dolly that is

While Hurricane Dolly didn't hit Houston, we sure did get a lot of rain, so mommy decided to do something that Mimi used to do with her on rainy days....make a fort!

Even ordinary toys and games seem more fun when you are in a fort.

The Circus

We had such a blast going to the circus last weekend! Daddy got to go with Mommy, Braeden, and Austin, so it was a real family outing. We got there an hour early and got to go really close to see the elephants (elements is what Austin calls them), tigers, horses, zebras, clowns, stilt walkers, and all sorts of other performers. The kids obvious favorite parts were the animals. Here are some shots of their favorites. Sorry for the picture quality, it was dark in there.

These beautiful horses were all standing up together.

This is a picture of all the tigers standing up together. They also jumped over each other and all around the cage.

This is a picture of the adorable dogs who by far had the most amazing tricks. They are in a line doing the conga here.

And of course the elements. Braeden went crazy with excitement every time he saw them.

Before the show started we got to go see the elements really closely, and I think they were watching all of us!

Born on the Fourth of July!

We welcome with love....Landon and Landry! Born on the Fourth of July! These two little firecrackers are the newest additions to Mommy's friend Susan and Austin's friend Addison's family. They came a few weeks early, but are home with their family now!

Also born during this time was a young love....Addison and Austin shared a "date" so Addison's daddy could visit her mommy and baby brother and sister in the hospital.

It began with Austin driving Addison around town in his tractor.
I think she likes him, what do you think?
Obviously Austin likes her, since he let her drive his truck!
After a pizza dinner, a bath was shared (Don't worry David-Addison's daddy, Susan told me I could let them share a bath, and I used lots of bubbles, so no one noticed anything under the water) and a movie was watched. A good time was had by all!

The Fourth of July

The Fourth of July began the night before with sparklers and "firecrackers" that Austin could throw at the ground and they would burst making a pop noise (I think they are called pop rocks or something). That was the first taste of firecrackers for him, and he loved it. Braeden loved watching the sparklers, but had a hard time with the fact that mommy would not let him hold one in his own hand.....but she knew if he had it in his hand, it would go in his mouth, and how do you explain that one in the emergency room without going to jail?

The day of the Fourth began with a trip to our park where a parade happened, and there were games and a firetruck. Austin was excited to "drive" the truck.


Braeden looks less than thrilled about trying to drive the truck. Probably due to the fact that the steering wheel was way too hard to reach, and he could really only sit there.

Scene: Austin sees the Chic Fil A cow across the parking lot from the fire truck, runs over, nearly tackles him with a hug, poses for a few shots for the Chic Fil A employees, tells the cow to "come on, come see the fire truck with me" and starts back toward the fire truck again.

Well, that cow actually followed him! I think Austin thinks that the Chic Fil A cow is one of his bestest friends in the whole wide world.

After naps the kids played in the swimming pool, and drew with chalk outside unitl Grandma and Grandpa, came over for barbeque. We also got to have Danny over to play too! After that eventful day, Braeden welcomed a bath and bed, he had had enough.

Austin got the bath, put on his P.J.'s and stayed up to watch the firecrackers with us. We are lucky that the Redstone Country Club down the street has a great show we can see from our driveway.

Daddy also had a few firecrackers to show in the street, and mommy finished with one last sparkler before Austin couldn't stay awake another minute!

Bad Parenting...or is it?

Ok, so we never thought we would be THOSE parents, who use bribes to get their kids to do what they want. Well, I guess we are. Not in all circumstances, believe me, the boys have expectations, and they will do what is expected without bribes, but Austin really works well with bribes, so what is a parent to do? If we want him to eat vegetables, we have cookies out on the table, and he'll eat them if we give him a cookie. He has always had a strong gag reflex, and even when we first started him on solids, he didn't like veggies, so the only way to get them in his body (and not have him throw up) is to bribe him. Well, we took this method and applied it to potty training as well. I bought a bunch of small dinosaurs and every time he used the potty, he got one. Well that worked for a while, then I saw that getting him to actually commit might take something bigger. On a trip to Toys R Us to get a birthday gift for a friend, he saw the cars and tractors, and told me he wanted one. I explained the fact that they were so expensive, we couldn't just buy one, but would have to earn it. So, getting to the point, he was told that when he was fully potty trained, he could get one. Two weeks later, he got one. Here he is on his John Deer tractor! So we don't really care if others think we are bad parents for bribing, the point is he is in underwear, and the cost of diapers we no longer buy for him will quickly pay for the expense of the tractor!

Do you think he likes it, I don't know, it is kind of hard to see with the gleaming reflection of his white teeth!

Braeden really is excited that Austin is potty trained too!

See, Braeden, this is how you honk the horn.

It rained the day we got the tractor, so the next day we were able to get out and drive it outside. Braeden doesn't look too thrilled, but the camera is lying, he cracked up the entire time, which made Austin go crazy trying to make him laugh more!

Future wife???

So with two boys in the family, Mommy hopes that one of them chooses sweet Addie for their wife one day....waaaaaayyyyyy in the future. She is so much fun, and just look at her on that horse, she is a natural cowgirl. What guy can resist that? We had fun playing with her, and expect to play a lot more to help her mommy stay off her feet until her twin baby brother and sister get here!

Seriously...I want to eat

I have this little obsession. It is with food. I want it all the time. If I could open these refrigerator doors, I would eat anything I could get my hands on in there.

Maybe I'll just eat the refrigerator.

Auntie Jenna...this one's for you!

All those lessons mommy got from Auntie Jenna in yoga must have passed on to Braeden. This is a pretty good downward facing dog!

Strollerfit, here we come!

Drinks....check! Sunglasses....check! Snacks....check! A million dinosaurs in Austin's hands...check! We are off to exercise! Well, mom exercises, we just watch and enjoy the ride until she is done, then we play with our friends.

Super Austin!

Our hero is out to avenge his brother against the evil Jack the toy destroyer. Take that!!! ZZPPPOOWW! I blast you with my mighty laser, and your evil eyes glow (look closely at Jack's eyes). That should do the trick....now what else does this world need Super Austin to save?

Ok, so I know it is a risky shot for me to put on here, but Austin looks so dang cute in his Spiderman underwear and rain boots. If he could wear this every day, he would. Besides, I am so proud of him, now that he is potty trained. That's right I said it. It has been a little over a week since he had an accident, so I guess it is official. I didn't want to post anything out of fear that I would jinx it, but he is doing so good!

Harry Nilsson -

Theme Song

For those of us who remember the TV show "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," above is the theme song that comes to my mind whenever I see the boys play with the dogs or when they are sweet to each other...so cute!

People let me tell you 'bout my best friend...

People let me tell you 'bout my best friend,

He's a warm hearted person who'll love me till the end.

People let me tell you 'bout my best friend,

He's a one boy cuddly toy, my up, my down, my pride and joy.

People let me tell you 'bout him he's so much fun

Whether we're talkin' man to man or whether we're talking son to son.

Cause he's my best friend.

Yes he's my best friend.

Austin is blowing bubbles for Braeden and also for Jack.

Ok, so when you see this picture, Maggie looks a little ferocious. Just watch the video below, though and you will laugh for sure!

Fun times with Mimi

We decided to go to the Woodland's Mall for a day indoors and out of the heat with Mimi. We were going to go to the play area, but Mommy's friend Jill called and said that her daughter just went yesterday and caught a nasty stomach bug...whew, glad she called when she did. Mom says God was looking out for us so we didn't get sick. We still rode the carousel (twice) and played in the Disney store, then ate lunch together. It was a blast!

In a castle!

The first ride Braeden was on the Zebra and Austin was on the kitty cat.

The second ride Austin was on the frog and Braeden was on a horse.

Don't fence me in

Give me land, lots of land under stary skies above, but don't fence me in.

Let me ride over wide open valleys that I love, but don't fence me in,

Let me ride to the ridge where the west commences,

and gaze at the moon 'till I loose my sences,

I can't look at hobbles, and I can't stand fences, so don't Fence me in!

Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle underneath a western sky,

on my kyuse let me wonder over yonder till I reach the mountain high.

I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences,

gaze at the moon till i loose all sences,

I can't look at hobbles, and I sure can't stand fences, so Don't Fence Me In.