Sweet Ian

Seeing that Ian had his first birthday this month, here are some things that I always want to remember about Ian when he turned 1:

* He's a BIG Baby~ he weighs in at 25 lbs 14 oz and 30.5 inches long and wears 18-24 month clothes.

* He's off formula and drinks whole milk (thank heavens that expense is gone!)

* He takes 4-6 steps consistently, yet when he realizes that there is nothing close by to hold onto, he just sits down. He's such a chicken!

* He says "dada" when Don's around and "mama" for pretty much everything else.

* He eats all table food now. Mashed Potatoes with gravy, Oatmeal with applesauce, Bananas, and yogurt are his favorite foods.

* He loves to shut himself in rooms, particularly the pantry and his bedroom.

* He chews on everything in sight. Books, toys, letters, magazines, furniture. It's like we have a puppy. I'm going to have to replace the coffee table and side tables because of all of the bite marks all over them.

* He loves taking bathes in the tub with Nolan.

* He loves to get into every cabinet and pull out everything, especially my hairspray and gel.

* He is my little escape artist. I'll leave him in the living room to change the laundry and he makes a bee line for the pantry or stairs.

* He can climb the stairs and has even partially mastered going back down the steps.

* He blows raspberries to make you laugh and "clicks" or "wags" his tongue to get you to do it too.

* He loves to watch outside (esp. now that there is a house being built right across the street). He never wants to miss out on anything!

* He loves the camera. Whenever he hears the click, he always turns around and smiles, then crawls to touch it.

* He is the happiest, easiest going baby I've ever had. He's content to watch me cook and clean or play by himself for a few minutes.

* He adores Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Baby Einstein movies. All he has to hear is the introduction music and his head turns to see where it's coming from. It's great that I can buy 20 minutes to clean the kitchen or take a shower.

* He loves to wrestle with his brothers and dad. Crazy huh?

* He is super-duper ticklish and will laugh when you growl or even pretend to start tickling him.

Isn't he just the sweetest?

Just Like My Big Brother

I know that growing up, I wanted to be just like my big brothers and sisters. Anything they were doing, I wanted to do to, so it comes as no surprise to me that Nolan wants to do exactly what Brennan does. Sometimes, he can't quite get the hang of things (like video games and building Lego's), but other times, he can mimic Brennan to a "T". Like this picture:

Brennan is doing his reading homework for school like he does every night. Most nights, Nolan just watches him, but lately, he's really gotten into reading his books too. I'm glad that Nolan is picking up good habits to go along with the craziness that seems to exist in our house!

I bet you're wondering what Ian does during this time?

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Mute!

Can you believe it?!

My Ian is 1!!!

To celebrate his first birthday on his birthday, we had our little family party. Nolan and Brennan helped make Ian's birthday cupcakes and picked out their present for him.

Here's our small celebration to celebrate the birth of our littlest family member:

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Ian. He loved Don's singing (I'm glad someone can appreciate his tone-deafness).

We all clapped at the end of the song and Ian decided that it was great and clapped too!

He wasn't really interested in the cupcake or the frosting.

What he was really interested in was the plate.

Yep, he really loved the plate!

Brennan and Nolan picked out his presents (a giraffe guitar and singing steering wheel), I wrapped them, and Daddy unwrapped them for Ian. While it wasn't a gigantic party, it was cozy and fun.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY IAN!!

Ian's 1st Birthday~ Little Rock Style

The day we flew back from Vegas, Janet and Don were kind enough to throw Ian a small family birthday party. As far as I knew, it was just going to be our little family, Don's parents and Gram. About 5 minutes before we started the party, Danny & Carolyn, Trisha, Calvin, and Genna, Elaine, and Shannon & Matthew showed up! It was such a great surprise.

Ian wasn't really into the cake, but Nolan sure was. He kept getting upset that Ian got the cake and he didn't!

As always, Ian was spoiled by his Papa, Gigi, Gram, and the rest of Don's family. He didn't like the unwrapping, but he really liked the toys. Nolan even got a great puzzle. Thanks everyone!

Don, Janet, Elaine & Gram

Shannon & Matthew (Ian's closet relative): He'll be celebrating his 1st birthday in a couple of months!

Thank you to everyone for making Ian's 1st birthday GREAT!!

All About Don

As I was blog-stalking (a girl's got to catch up on everyone's blogs sometime) this morning, I found that I had been tagged in a "get-to-know-your-hubby" sort of way because, lets face it, not a lot of this blog is dedicated to my sweet hubby. In fact, I don't think he gets much face time at all.... sooooooo I am going to fix that!

Here goes:

1. Where did you meet your husband?

I met Don in Houston by chance. Chance took a few phone calls to coax me to go on a date, when I finally said that we could meet up. One date led to another and another and here we are!

2. How long did you date before you got married?

We had our first date on October 8th, got engaged on January 29th (he tried to make it to Valentine's Day but couldn't wait!) and got married on May 12th, 2006. So it was about 7 months from meeting to marriage!

3. How long have you been married?

It's been almost 4 years, but I don't really judge our marriage by years~ I choose to mark it by kids and houses. We've been married 2 births, 1 adoption, and 4 houses in 3 states, so I feel like we've been married 10 years!

4. What does he do to surprise you?

Don actually surprises me more often than he knows~ sweet things like doing the dishes or making dinner. He's also really good at planning sweet get-aways (like our trip to NYC and Las Vegas) and special occasion celebrations.

5. What is your favorite feature of his?

His smile (thanks for the braces papa & gigi)

6. What is your favorite quality of his?

What has always stood out about Don is his enormous sense of integrity and the desire to do what is right. I can't tell you the number of times that he has said that "it may not be what we want to do, but it's the right thing to do". (which is frustrating, because honestly, who can argue with that!?)

7. Does he have a nickname for you?

Honey, Babe, Sweetie~ nothing too extreme.

8. What is his favorite food?

To eat out? Buffalo Wild Wings. That I cook? Beef Stew, Chicken Tortilla Soup, or my Kung Pow Chicken with Pot Stickers.

9. What is his favorite sport?

HOCKEY!! My life revolves around the Rangers and their schedule. Heavens, we only have the HD package so we can get the NHL package in High Def. He wants to see the individual blood droplets when they get in a fight! Luckily, he has his man-cave to escape to so I can enjoy my Glee and SVU while he watches his hockey with the boys.

10. When and Where did you first kiss?

October 8th~At the end of our first date while sitting on my couch in my tiny apartment in Houston.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?

Don and I enjoy just being together. We like to watch the entire season of a television show so that we can talk about it. We enjoy going to plays and sporting events and just being together and playing with our kids.

12. Do you have any children?

We have 4 boys~ Brennan, Dylan, Nolan, and Ian. Dylan lives with Don's ex-wife in Oklahoma; Don adopted Brennan 2 years ago; Nolan and Ian complete our family of boys!

13. Does he have any hidden talents?

I'd like to say to my hubby could play an instrument or could sing... but he's never been taught to read music. I'd have to say that Don's hidden talent is his power of persuasion. He can get almost anyone to do what he asks before you realize that you didn't really want too! As you can see, it make him very good in business.

14. How old is he?

My hubby is a cradle robber~ he's 33 (5 1/2 years older).

15. Who said "I love You" first?

He did!

16. What is his favorite music?

Anything that was cool years and years ago. He still thinks that music from when he DJ'd is still in. Honestly, honey, "Big Booty Hoes" is NOT a good song! Although I will say he is getting more trendy in his older years :)

17. What do you admire most about him?

I'm going to go with his ability and desire to fight for what is right, whether it is in business or his personal life.

18. What is his favorite color?

Ranger Blue and Razorback Red

19. Will he read this?

Oh I'm sure he will!!


People I tag? Stephanie, Tammy, Brendalyn, Lyndsie, Sarah, & Melissa (even though you may not blog, you can still post in FB!)

Charlie Brown ICE!!

One of my favorite Holiday Traditions we've started is going to the ICE! showcase at Gaylord Opryland Resort. Last year was The Grinch, this year was Charlie Brown. It was exactly like the movie and reminded me so much of my childhood. Very nostalgic.

I made sure and planned ahead this time. We were all wearing our warm coat, beanies, gloves and scarves. Soooo much better than last year! Ian was all bundled up he was awake for about the first 5 minutes and then slept through the entire show.

Isn't he so cute all bundled up?

Inside the building was 6 degrees. Yes. We paid lots of money to walk around INSIDE a building where it was only 6 degrees. Sounds crazy huh? It was actually quite beautiful. It had all of the scenes you remember: The sad little tree, the piano playing Schroder, Linus and his blanket, the singing while holding hands, the stage. All the main scenes from the movie. Those were my favorite.

The boys and Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

While I enjoyed the artistic side of things, the boys enjoyed the ice slides.

Brennan and Dylan walked around and talked about the movie and what parts they remembered while Nolan was just in awe of the colors and decorations. He had to touch everything and tried to get into the scenes.

While we didn't get to meet Charlie Brown because we went on a weekday, we still really enjoyed the Ice Carvings. And just like last year, my absolute favorite part was the Nativity at the end. Can you imagine the amount of ice needed to make something so spectacular?

Family Birthdays

Happy Birthday Brennan and Dylan!

Brennan turned 8 on December 28th

Dylan turned 6 on December 25th

For our family birthday celebration, we keep things pretty low key. The boys got to pick out the cake (ice cream from Dairy Queen...and yes, I realize it has a Christmas Tree on it, but that's what they wanted) and open their presents (a razor scooter for Dyl and Lego's for Brennan).

It's insane how fast these two boys have grown up. It seems like just yesterday Brennan was born and I still think of Dyl as the little toddler he was when I first met him. Happy Birthday Boys!