San Diego

We were able to take a quick trip to San Diego to take Tanner and Trey to Sea World.  It was Tanner and Trey's first airplane ride and they both did fantastic.  Tanner loves flying and every time we landed he wanted to know "fly more mommy?"  We were able to spend three days playing at Sea World.  Below is a glimpse into our trip.  

Tanner with the penguin when we first entered Sea World.

Tanner with the killer whales.  With the floor to ceiling tank walls we were able to get really close to these huge animals.  Tanner was in awe watching them swim and then couldn't stop talking about how the big whales splashed him during the show.

Beings we were on vacation we let Tanner pick any dessert he wanted.  He picked this chocolate pudding with cool whip and sprinkles.  The funny thing is he doesn't like chocolate and really just wanted the sprinkles...but he was happy.

Tanner loved being able to touch and pick up the sea stars in the tidal pool.  He did such a great job of keeping them in the water and pointing out the various colors.

Tanner, Grandma Mary, and Trey in the shark tunnel.  After going through the first time Tanner and I left Grandma and Trey with the stroller and we went through again.  

Tanner with "Snappy" the turtle.  

Tanner with Shamu the whale.  After waiting in line to see Shamu, Tanner ran up to him and gave him a huge hug.  He was then all smiles while giving him high fives and holding his fin while I snapped pictures.

This kid has no fear.  There was an area in the middle of Sea World with rides and splash parks for younger kids.  We decided to take Tanner on the rides and he loved every single one of them.  Here is Tyler and Tanner on a sea boat ride the went back and forth and twirled around.

Tyler and Tanner on the airplanes.  The ride went round and round while Tanner was able to control when the plane went up and down.  Needless to say, he spent most of the time as high as he could be.

All of us (except Trey) on the sea star spin.  We couldn't get the sea star to spin fast enough for Tanner.  He loved all the rides and truly couldn't get enough.

Even though most the pictures don't show it, Trey did come on the trip with us.  He was great with all the hustle and bustle and slept almost the entire time on both flights.  Here is Grandma Mary, Trey and Tanner in front of the sea turtle pool.

Here is our family.  It was such a blessing to get away for a short while and spend time together.  I can't begin to describe and pictures don't do justice to the joy we saw on Tanner's face the entire trip.  

Here was Tanner and I's favorite animal.  The turtles were so peaceful and big.  We loved watching them swim around and we were able to watch them above ground as well, sleeping on the sand.

Tanner with the turtle.  I think it was his favorite place to sit.  He needed to stop and visit every time we were in the area.

Here is how Trey spent most the trip.   He was able to look around while being protected from the sun.  

Tanner and Trey hanging out in the hotel.  Trey was quite suspicious of Tanner laying next to him.

Brotherly love.

Tanner playing a game with Tyler.  He had to pick a duck and then that determined the prize that he won.

Here was the duck that Tanner picked out as his prize.  Due to the size of Tanner's prize, we traded it in for a smaller version so that he could bring it home with us.

Here is Tanner running through the splash park.  The water would shoot up from the holes in the ground. I love the look of pure joy on his face.  He thought it was fun to get wet and tried to anticipate which one would shoot up next so that he could catch all the water.

This pretty much sums up every night of our trip.  Tanner did so great during the day and truly went nonstop that by 7:30 at night he was asking to go to bed.  

I love the peaceful look on his face.

Overall, we had an amazing time and can't wait to go on more vacations with our amazing little travelers.

Special Visitors!

Last week we had some very special visitors.  My cousin and his family drove the extra miles to come see our house, have lunch, and visit for a while.  The house was full with 5 kids, 3 of them being under the age of 1.  Before the afternoons was over Tanner and Cassidy had riden motorcycles, shot hoops, eaten pizza, tackled the adults, driven the remote control car and entertained us all.  Rylee, Sawyer, and Trey weren't sure what was taking place.

Grandma/Aunt Mary with all the kids.

Cassidy and Tanner giving us their best cheesy smiles.

Showing each other their tongues.  We had so much fun with our family and can't wait to see them in a couple of weeks.

Just Us...

With the sun finally making an appearance, it meant we were outside soaking it up.  We packed a lunch and hit the park.  Here is Trey enjoying the shade while Tanner played on the playground.

Tanner running in the park.

On the playground.

We pulled out Tanner's pitching machine and Tyler attempted to help him with batting practice.

To his credit he did hit one ball into our neighbors yard.  I am just waiting to hear a broken window.

Trey in the bumbo chair.  He enjoyed being able to sit up and see everything that was going on.

Brotherly love.  Tanner is full of hugs and kisses for his brother and Trey seems to love all the attention.

The three loves of my life.  Life in a houseful of boys is crazy, busy, loud, dirty and silly but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

With Tanner becoming more verbal his personality has also been in full bloom.  This boy is full of love and hugs but also laughter and silliness.  He truly is an amazing kid and blows me away everyday with all the new things he is learning and doing.  Lately it is "I do it myself" and lots of "Why's?"  Tanner is almost completely potty trained and is curious about everything.  He is a kid after my own heart loving everything outdoors and I can't wait for summer to show up so that we can spend our days outside playing.

Tulip Festival

This past weekend we were able to travel south a little bit to visit the tulip fields.  Both Grandmas, all the boys and myself climbed into the car to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and colorful fields.  Tanner loved running in the fields and enjoyed all the activities.

Here is Grandma Mary with Tanner and Trey.

Tyler, Grandma Carole, Tanner and Trey. The boys did so great with being patient while we took advantage of the great backdrop for photographs.

Tyler and Grandma Carole took Tanner to pick tulips to surprise me.  There was one purple, one yellow, and one red one.  He was so proud of himself...it was really cute when he gave them to me.

Here is Tanner smelling the tulip...which quickly turned into hugging the tulip.

Luckily the flower survived.

Tanner waiting patiently for the cow train.

Riding the cow train through the fields.

Oh yes...that is Tyler behind him also riding the train.

The beautiful fields!  It was such a wonderful way to spend a gorgeous day!  A big thanks to Grandma Carole and Grandma Mary for entertaining Tanner and spending the afternoon with us.

Two month update

WOW...I can't believe I am already writing Trey's two month update. I know I didn't get his one month picture on the blog but I can't figure out how to get it off my phone so here is his two month picture. He had his check-up today and he weighs 12 lbs 5 oz. and is 24 inches tall. That means he is in the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight. Everything looks great and the doctor was impressed with how strong he is.

Trey has been sleeping through the night for about a week now and is still eating well.

Here are the boys after baths tonight. Tanner loves getting his picture taken and Trey is starting to smile and coo which makes pictures and everyday interactions more fun.

Tanner is quite the stylish little boy. After his bath he chose to wear his bathrobe with his camo shoes. He truly cracks me up with his sense of humor and giggles.

As soon as I took the camera out tonight, Tanner ran to put his glasses on and wouldn't put his water bottle down. The picture below completely captures his personality. He is such a great big brother and overall a great kid. Tyler and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful boys that bring smiles to our faces and fill out hearts with love.