What a season...

 Isaac had a huge cheering section at his second to last game!

 On his way to score goal #5 of the game!

 Hannah taking Oma for a walk.  :-)

Happy soccer boy!

Isaac's first soccer season has come to an end, but what a fun season it was!  We are so thankful for the great friends he got to play with, and for the blessing of a wonderful coach!  Isaac had a blast, and completely surpassed all of our expectations.  I had heard so many stories about kids' first seasons of sports being painful and not any fun, so I was preparing myself for some struggles.  There was not any of that from our boy, he was always ready to play and anxious to get to the next practice or game.  Isaac is timid in every area of his life, well except driving, but this experience was so good for him!  He was the oldest on the team, but quite a few months, and I think this helped his confidence.  He quickly came out of his shell, and by the last game we convinced him that it was okay to be a little aggressive and to take the ball from other players.  On the way to the last game he told us he wanted to score a lot of goals, so we told him to go for it.  We talked it up, reminded him to run fast, get that ball away from others, and get it to the goal!  We really tried to pump him up.  He said that if he scored too much the coach would tell him to stop, so we told him to score until the coach told him not to.  Apparently our peptalk worked, the first whistle blew and Isaac was off, he immediately got the ball and ran straight for the goal scoring his first goal of the game.  I'm not even sure the other players knew the game had started.  Ha!  Well, that was just the start, he scored two more in the first two minutes!  Isaac was on fire!!!  The smile on his face was priceless!  He continued to play well, but did get tired towards the end.  He scored two more throughout the game, then as the last quarter was about to start he said he wanted one more, he wanted 6 goals.  I told him to go for it, and he did try, he missed two attempts, but ended the game with 5 goals.  We are so proud of him!!!  Isaac loved this season of soccer, he can't wait to play again!  I love seeing his joy for the game! 

 Coach Seth presenting him with his medal and trophy.

We ended the season with a team dinner, where each player was presented a medal and a trophy.  The trophy is really cool, it even has his name on it.  ;-)  Isaac was so excited about it!  Although apparently we need to work on his humility.  He said to me the other day, "Why is my trophy so small?"  I said, "Everyone got the same size trophy."  Isaac said, "Well, I scored so many goals."  "Oh, do you think you should have a bigger trophy since you scored so much?" I asked.  "Yes," was his answer.  Oh goodness, let's start working on being humble.  :-)

Easter 2013

 

Cousins celebrating Easter together.

Colton helping Isaac find a final egg.



 Hannah had her own personal egg "hunt" and she loved it!  She knew right away that she needed to put the eggs in her basket.

 Me and my silly boys after our egg hunt at home.



 Daddy and his little girl before church.

 Luke studying an egg during our egg hunt.

 Off to church!

Luke with his Easter basket, he was so excited!

 Isaac wearing his Easter best for his school Easter day.



 The boys ready for their first egg hunt of the year.  It was at a friend's house and they were so exctied!



Easter was a lot of fun this year. (sorry for the picture overload)  We started our celebrations a couple of weeks early with friends, so that got us in the spirit and focused.  The kids loved the egg hunts, of course!  Even Hannah got the hang of it.  We really tried to focus on the reason why we celebrate Easter.  Throughout the last couple of weeks we read books about Easter, read the story in their bible, and did some activities to focus our hearts and minds on the resurrection of Jesus.  My favorite activity is the Resurrection Eggs.  There are 12 eggs, each has a little something to take us through His death and resurrection.  It really breaks it down for the kids and includes scriptures to go along with it.  Isaac also did them at school, so he had it down, and felt like he could lead us through them.  It was fun to see him take that leadership.  We celebrated Saturday evening with the Griffin family, but unfortunately I forgot my camera.  It was a fun night of dinner, outside play, and of course an egg hunt.  Sunday we went to church, then home for an egg hunt, and nap.  After Hannah's nap we headed to Oma and Opa's house for some fun.  It was a great Easter, another great time to remember the sacrifice He made for us and that He lives.

Bluebonnets 2013

 This one reminds me of Little House on the Prarie!  Ha!

 She won't walk, but she can stand so well!

 This is my favorite picture of the night!

We live in Texas, which means we must take our kids out to a field of bluebonnets and take pictures.  Okay, but really, it's beautiful so I can't resist.  Last year we went out with the Henderson family to take pictures, so we decided to continue that this year, I think it's our new tradition.  :-)  We found a great park in The Woodlands this year, there was a playground nearby, so the kids cooperated for us and then were rewarded with some play time.  They had a great time...and we got some great pictures!  The kids were so silly in the flowers, trying to so hard to not smash the flowers.  At one point a random little boy ran our way, pulled down his pants and almost started to pee right by us!  The mom was very embarrassed and upset, but we thought it was really funny!  I love these pictures and I love that we share the fun time with some of our best friends!
After the park we decided to grab some dinner.  We went to a great little place in Tomball for some for grub and then got ice cream at a sweet little ice cream parlor next door.  It was a fabulous afternoon/evening, it was a great reminder of how something so simple can be so special!

Luke Update

Luke is becoming such a big boy!  He is talking up a storm, even gives Isaac a run for his money sometimes.  Some things that he says are so unique to him, he definitely thinks differently than Isaac, so I love hearing his thoughts.  Then other times he does or says things that mimick Isaac exactly.  His words still aren't all completely clear, so sometimes he says things that we don't understand.  Just today, while playing in the play room, he said, "Mama, I need a big tit."  You can imagine our reaction, Carl and I just looked at each other...what?  I repeated what I heard and asked him to say it again, I had to think for a minute, but then I figured it out.  What he said was, "Mama, I need a big tent."  Haha!

Sweet Luke adores his sister!  Last week we went to an Easter egg hunt at a friend's house.  I put Hannah in a pretty Cinderella dress with a tutu attached, Luke loved it!  When he saw her he said, "Mama, Hannah's wearing a princess dress, it's so pretty!  She's ready to spin!"  How does he come up with this stuff?  It was a precious moment.  In the picture below I had put them next to each other for a picture, I backed up to start snapping and he had his arm around her while digging in his basket for an egg for her to play with.  My heart melted.  I pray that they always have this sweet relationship.

Luke has started some new, not so fun, behaviors lately.  He cries easily, and often will come to me saying, "Hold Me." with the most pathetic face.  It seems very sad, but usually there's nothing wrong, he just wants attention, I guess.  Sometimes I can easily oblige, but other times I cannot hold him and then he just cries.  In one second he can be fine and off playing again, I think he's manipulating me.  Oh well, we will hope this phase passes soon, and until it does we will hold him.



Here he is all dressed up for Sunday School one week, he loves going to Sunday School.  I think it's the highlight of his week.  He asks me every morning if we are going to Sunday School. 

On a random side note, he's hit 25 pounds!  He's still not growing quickly, but he's growing, so we're thankful.

Luke is all boy, he loves dirt, cars, and all things outdoors.  His newest obsession is race cars, watching Nascar to be exact.  Now that he's talking he asks me all the time if we can go outside to play.  He loves to drive the Gator, and after some rain there is always mud in the back yard, so that is the new road.  Luke loves the sandbox, he can't get enough of the swings, and lately he really loves to jump on the trampoline, too!  He has started riding his bike with training wheels in the past few weeks, he's got great control. He's trying hard to keep up with his big bro.

 I'm so thankful for Luke, he's sweet and loving, spunky and silly...and he's mine!  I love him!

Running Mama

Working out has always been a big part of my life.  Since having kids my work out time has been random and mediocre at best.  As you know, my favorite type of working out is running, it's my time to think, my alone time, and just a great release.  The last four years I have really enjoyed running with the kid/s in the stroller, it's a fun time for us all.  These days that's a little more difficult, obviously I can't push three kids in a stroller.  So now my runs consist of Isaac on his bike and me pushing the little ones behind him.  I've come to realize that my runs look much different than they used....these days it's not about how fast I can run my miles or how far I can run.  It's about getting in a work out, while enjoying some time with the kids.  There are many little stops on my runs now, to talk to neighbors, wait for cars to pass, to check out the neighbor's horses, and even do some swinging by the lake.  There's also a lot more talking during my runs, Isaac asks a lot of questions, even while riding his bike.  Whew...he wears me out.  Yes, I won't be breaking any running records any time soon, and I may not be in the best shape of my life, but I hope I'm teaching my kids the importance of exercise and allowing them to have some fun while I try to stay in shape.

Our Little Cowboy

Last week Isaac had Go Texan Day at school.  Carl and I got him a western shirt at Cavendar's, and he borrowed this great hat from Oma and Opa.  He as cowboy boots that he wears all the time, they are his first choice of shoes, so getting to wear them to school was a real treat!  He couldn't wait for this day to come, you can see the joy in his smile.  They did some fun activities at school including sitting on a saddle, making home made trail mix, and a Chick Fil A lunch with a visit from the Chick Fil A cow.  I love how excited he gets about everything in his life, and this day was no exception.  I love my little cowboy!

Hannah is ONE!

 Luke enjoying his favorite part of every birthday party...he talks about the cake for days leading up to the party, but then he only eats a few bites, every time.  Funny boy!

 Daddy and his girl!

 Mama and the birthday girl!

 We are proud parents!



 To say she enjoyed the cake would be an understatement...baby girl went to town!

 Here she is on her actual birthday enjoying her gift...she feels like she's as big as her brothers.  :-)

Tex enjoyed some of her icing, Hannah dug right into this smash cake on her birthday. 

Isaac adores Hannah, he will even get in her play pen to play with her.

How can it be?  How can my baby girl be one already!?!  I cannot believe it!  This year has flown by, it has been so fun, even though some days/moments have been challenging.  This season of our life with three kids 4 and under is not an easy season, but my goodness it is fun at it's best and it is so special!  Hannah has proven to have a personality all her own, she has some same characteristics of each of her brothers...she can be laid back and mellow like Isaac was, but in the next moment she becomes feisty and determined like Luke.  She has her own bit of sassyness, she is a talker, and is very curious!  The girl wants to know what is going on all around her at all times.  She is very social, even with a little stranger anxiety, so in the safety of my arms or a shopping cart, she is Miss Social talking to and smiling at everyone.  She never misses an opportunity to say hi, bye, or uh-oh.  And she tries to say many more words daily.  She says everyone's name, but Luke, she loves to stand at the door and talk to Cole and Tex while they are outside.  Hannah eats like a champ, she is not too picky yet, and enjoys feeding herself the most.  She is still nursing, I haven't been able to cut her off yet, even though part of me is ready to be done, the other part really enjoys that special cuddle time...and she really enjoys it still, so we'll see how long this continues.  Hannah has a talented tongue, she can roll it, flip it over, and make all kinds of noises with it.  She tries to mimick everything she sees and hears.  She loves to dance, when she hears music she immediately begins dancing...it's so cute!  Hannah is not walking yet, she crawls very fast, so I think she's decided there's no need to walk when she can get every where she wants on her hands and knees.  She will walk behind a walker or really anything that moves (chairs, trucks, etc), but she sure gets mad when she runs into a wall or furniture and can't turn herself.  On her birthday she decided she was big enough to explore the swing set, and she started climbing the stairs all on her own!  She climbed up and slid down the slide over and over...her joy was contagious!

This past weekend we had a party to celebrate our special one year old.  It was a faboulous celebration, we were surrounded by so many good friends and our wonderful family.  Hannah is very loved by so many, and for that we are so thankful!  It was a Minnie Mouse party, inspired by our trip to Disney World, and with the help of Pinterest I had a lot of fun creating some fun decorations.  We let the kids play out in the yard while the parents visited and played a little, too.  The cake is always a big event, and oh Hannah did not disappoint.  Isaac was very hesitant to dig into his cake, but once he did he enjoyed it and mad a mess.  Luke wanted nothing to do with the cake on his first birthday, he ended up in tears.  Hannah was ready, she went right for it and enjoyed every bite and lick of it.  The girl loved the cake and the attention.  :-)  After the cake we had a cupcake pinata, which went fast.  I think the kids enjoyed it, but I felt bad that it broke early and not all the kids got to hit it.  Overall, it was a special evening, one we won't soon forget.  It was a great way to end our baby's first year.