Our zoo at the Zoo today!

 "I walk by myself, mama."  Oh my big boy!

 They loved the petting zoo!

 Luke and Ana...so happy!

 Aunt Ana is so fun!

 The boys checking out the animals.

 Sweet Hannah!

 Uncle Aaron giving Luke a boost.

 Elephants!

(I don't know how to turn this picture...oh well!)

After Isaac's morning soccer game we all loaded up and headed to the Houston Zoo.  Uncle Aaron and Ana gave us zoo tickets for Christmas, so we decided today would be a great day to use them.  It was beautiful weather, so most of the animals were moving around.  The boys don't remember the last trip to the zoo, so it was like their first time...so much excitement!  Isaac's favorite was the lions and Luke's favorite were the birds. 

We are so thankful for our sweet family and the precious memories we made with them today.

Soccer Pictures

 Last week Isaac had a GREAT soccer game!  He scored two goals and almost made another!

 Here he is scoring his first goal!  He did the kick off (or whatever it's called in soccer) and he ran it straight down the field for the goal!

 Here is is in the middle, he got right in with the group, stole the ball, and made a huge run for another goal!!!

I am so proud of him, he is becoming less timid (not quite aggressive, but definitely not as timid) with every game!

 Three good friends...and three soccer stars!  :-)

Isaac's cheering squad and his biggest fans!

Trail Riders!

 Cookie break while we wait for the Trail Riders

 My boys...they love trains...

and firetrucks! 

 Isaac "driving" the train.

There are those Trail Riders we've been waiting on!

The Rodeo starts next week and boy are we excited!  My boys would wear their boots every single day if I let them, and Isaac has recently discovered a cowboy hat that fits him...it's his favorite thing these days.  As the Rodeo comes to town, so do the trail riders.  There is a group that camps out real close to our house, so we've seen them a couple of times this week.  I found out that many of the Trail Riders were going to make a stop in down town Tomball today, so I knew we had to be there!  We got there at high noon, which was when they were to arrive, but unfortunately they were running late.  It's okay, we had fun, the boys played on the train, checked out the firetruck, watched some square dancing, and enjoyed a yummy cookie.  Emmy, Mariah, and Aunt Leah joined us, so it was a lot of fun!  It was the most beautiful day for this kind of fun, too!  Unfotunately, we had to leave before the riders got there, so we were sad to miss them.  As we loaded in the truck the riders were coming down the street, so we parked on the side and watched them come by.  They kids all watched, and they boys were so excited!  It was a great start to the Rodeo fun that lies ahead! 

No Tears!!!

You all know that Luke is shy, Luke does not like change, Luke does not like strangers touching him...so as you can imagine, a hair cut is tough on him.  He has never liked them, and has cried for every single one.  You all know that Luke is calm, even when he cried at his haircuts he sat very still and just cried.  Thankfully he has great hair, and we all love it long, so he doesn't have to get hair cuts often.  Today was the day though, his hair was so long and in desperate need of a trim.  As soon as I opened the door to the place he stopped, he would not cross the threshold.  Poor guy, breaks my heart, but I don't have a choice.  We have found an amazing lady that is so sweet and so patient (she has cut Isaac's hair and Luke's hair from the beginning), she was there waiting for him and immediately welcomed him in.  He was not buying it.  He said, "Mama, this not fun."  Ugh, a little more heart break.  Finally, in we went, back to his car, and up in the seat.  He was about to cry, he was not happy at all, but our amazing lady offered Mickey Mouse on the tv and a lollipop for him to eat while she cut his hair.  He accepted both and she started cutting.  He quietly sat, licking his lollipop, watching Mickey, and NOT crying!!!  Woo Hoo!!!  She even used the razor to trim the sides and back, then the hair dryer to clean him off...still no tears!  Have I mentioned how amazing she is!?!  I am so proud of Luke, he is really growing up!
Speaking of growing up and being proud of Luke...today he wore pull ups!!!  Okay, again, the boy does not like change, so getting him to wear a pull up instead of his normal diapers was not easy, but with some bribery and sweet talk, I was able to get him to wear it!  He did so well, he only wet the pull up twice today.  Not bad for the first day, and a day when we were out and about.  I am so proud of this little guy!  Wish us luck as we continue on the potty training journey!

Pedaling all around...

My boys have always loved to be outside, all my kids really.  And as always anything with wheels grabs their attention. Luke has recently started pedaling the tricycle and has fallen in love with this new activity.  Isaac can't get enough of his bike, so we spend a lot of time on the driveway these days as they race back and forth on their wheels.  Luke has shown his competitive side lately as he gets really upset that he can't keep up with Isaac when they speed down the driveway. 

My boys and their need for speed...it makes me nervous!

Baby Girl is 11 months!

By calculation Hannah is 11 months, but it just can't be right!  How is that possible?  Oh sweet girl, these have been an amazing 11 months!  Hannah is full of life, she is sassy, but also so sweet and cuddly, she is silly and smart, and boy is she passionate.  Hannah loves being the center of attention, she has a funny personality and enjoys making people laugh.  Another thing, Hannah has a lot to say!  Some of her favorite words are...Mama, Dada, night night, uh oh, hi, bye bye, Isaac, Cole, Tex.  I mentioned that she is passionate, which sounds like a funny thing to say about an 11 month old, but the girl knows what she wants and when she doesn't get it she passionately lets you know she is upset by throwing herself on the floor and screaming...some people call that throwing a fit.  :-)  Hannah enjoys her food, this month we started more solid pieces that she eats on her own and she is really enjoying that independence.  Some of her favorites are breakfast sausage, pancakes, bananas, and peas.  She still isn't walking, but she is crawling so fast and pulling up on everthing.  She will also walk behind a walker and cruise along furniture, we are waiting for the day she starts walking.  Hannah loves being outside, the swing is her favorite outside activity, but she also enjoys trying to sit on the boys' tricycles (I think it makes her feel big and she can't wait to be big).  I think Hannah's favorite toy is her baby doll.  The girl gets so excited when she finds a baby doll, she hugs on her and talks to her, it is precious.  Last week we had a friend over to play, she had brought her doll, Hannah spotted it on the couch and made a mad dash for her, squealing the entire way!  Once she got to the couch she quickly pulled up and walked over to the doll, she couldn't wait to hug on her!  It really was so sweet!  It's so funny to see how much she adores dolls and even real babies, even at such a young age.  Hannah's newest trick is rolling her tongue, like you do when speaking Spanish and you roll your r's.  I cannot do that to save my life, but she does it all day long!  It's her go to car noise now, but she also does it at random times.  It cracks me up every time!  Our baby girl, is a big Daddy's girl, he may just be her favorite person...it is a precious bond.  Last week Carl was out of town for a few days, when he walked in the door she crawled as fast as she could to him and pulled herself up on his pants.  She adores him!
I'm so thankful for these past 11 months, they have been wonderful, I just wish the months wouldn't go by so fast.

Soccer

After Isaac's soccer camp this summer he has talked a lot about wanting to play soccer and go to camp again.  We decided that this was a good time to give that a try, so along with some other friends we signed up for soccer at the YMCA.  Isaac was thrilled to start playing soccer and to be on the same team as his friends.  Monday was the first practice, it went well, it was very basic soccer skills, nothing intense, just good ole fun.  The practice ended with quite a big lesson on how to do the "Good Game" line at the end of the game.  We left there knowing that if nothing else, the team would at least know how to do the "good game."  Ha!  On the way home from practice Isaac asked, "Why is soccer practice so long?  I don't like that it's so long."  I just laughed in my head and told him it wasn't that long.  He did say he enjoyed it and he was excited about the upcoming game.  All week he was talking about his game on Saturday, he told everyone about it.  Well, today was the big game!  As I mentioned the one and only practice they had was very basic, and did not even talk about how to play an actual game of soccer, so we were a bit nervous.  As you can guess, it started about painfully slow.  Our team, the Columbus Crew, was standing around, not really doing much.  I think the other team scored on us 4 times in a row.  During Isaac's first break we talked a lot about running after the ball, trying to get to the goal, and staying close to the ball.  Luckily, the second group that went in was a little better, so Isaac watched them and got a better idea of what to do.  Isaac and his friends went back in and wow, they improved dramatically!  They started to really get after it, Isaac was still very timid, but once he got the ball he did much better!  He even had one break down the field with the ball, his buddy was with him, once they got to the goal his teammate/friend kicked it in for a goal!  It was very exciting for us parents.  :-)  During the next break Isaac couldn't sit still, he wanted to get back out there!

I was proud of Isaac for sticking with it, and even though he was timid he stayed on the field and gave it his all!  I think this will be a great growing experience for him.

I'm excited for the fun and memories this season will bring!