Little Brother

 Eli Matthew, Little Brother - 15 months old
Eli is your typical little boy - he is loud, always dirty, full of energy but is always smiling and bringing so much joy to everyone in his life. 
We call him "Monkey" because the boy can literally climb anything - chairs, couches, rocks, kitchen island, beds, coffee tables, bikes - I fear he is a dare devil!  It's amazing how well he can climb for as small as he is.  He is still a little peanut weighing in at 19 lbs 11 ounces at his fifteen month check up, but growing taller to be 31 inches long.  He still is a horrible eater with consistency, but is willing to try most everything.  His new favorite is chicken nuggets from Wendy's. 
Eli LOVES to be outside and it's usually the only way to make him content - come winter time I am not sure what we will do.  He loves to walk around the yard, eat dirt and rocks, smash rolly pollies and play in the sprinklers - his favorite.  He LOVES water and can "sniff" it out wherever he is.  He is constantly naked in a diaper because he either got wet or got wet, played in mud and is dirty!
He is a great sleeper and so easy to put to bed...
He is starting to play with cars and trucks and will make sounds as he pushes them around the floor.  He loves to bang on things or stir so he often finds the wisk from the kitchen and a bowl to play with.
His main form of communication is SCREAMING! 
Something we have no idea how to deal with because after he screams and we tell him "No!" he smiles and screams again...
Eli is spiteful, full of will and testosterone.
He definitely has a mind of his own and knows what he wants.  He is very particular about his surroundings and gets frustrated easily.  He can be very ornery - already bugging his sister constantly - pulling her hair, taking her stuffed animal and slobbering on it, pushing her stuff off the table, or taking her box (BIG No, No!)...
He also has quite a temper and has already thrown several tantrums..
Like I said, he wants what he wants...
But, hands down Eli is the most loving, happy little boy ever.  He gives the best hugs and he kisses everyone!  He will always give you a smile even if he is not sure about you or the situation.  He is great at flirting...
My favorite moments about Eli are when I get home from work and he throws down whatever he is doing and comes to me screaming with a HUGE smile - melts my heart every time.
He is a ball full of energy from the time he gets up till he lays down, and wants someone to entertain him...
we often say
"If we could just sit down for a minute"
He shakes his head "yes" and "no" now in response to questions, he is starting to hit when he gets mad and he throws things all the time - left handed too...

He is starting to babble all the time and only says a few words...

"Ma", "Daddy", "Tank Too" (thank you), "Pee" (please), "Hi", "Uh Oh", "Doa" (dog)

and everything he shows to you or discovers he will say "Whoa!"

Eli is a bundle of spark and energy while simultaneously lovable and stubborn!  He keeps us all on our toes and entertained most the time - As I always say - he is the exclamation point to our family.  I wish I could lock him in time, because even though he is a ton of work I love the stage he is in!

Eli - you have added so much to our lives and I couldn't imagine it without you.  I am completely in love with you and so excited to see you explore and discover this BIG world we live in.

I love you monkey boy!

Big Sister

 Ashtyn Faith, Big Sister - 3 1/2 years old

Ashtyn is your typical first born - very much a leader but nurturing at the same time.  She has a very laid back personality, much like her father, and amazes me with how she responds to people or situations with so much confidence and pose.  She does not like to be the center of attention, and I often find her off in her own world even when there are plenty of other kids to play with.  She is very intelligent, a quick problem solver and always creating projects for herself - we sometimes call her "Tink", short for Tinkerbell.  She loves school, homework and everything else that revolves around learning - could not be more thankful for that! 

She has a strong passion for boxes and treasure - a hobby that keeps her quite busy.  I often wonder where the fascination came from...and with this fascination comes exploring!  She loves to explore and find lost objects - whether its outside or at the shopping mall.  Her favorite store is Good Will - what can I say she loves junk!

She also has an obsession with anything small - small dolls, small animals, small pumpkins, small cars - anything small and will say
 "Isn't this/that so CUTE?"

She is a definite dog lover...

She is not much of a morning person, much like her mother, and has a set routine to be followed or the whole day is practically ruined - at least an hour of watching her favorite cartoons, snuggled on the couch with no lights on and a sippy cup of milk.

She has a definite sweet tooth and LOVES m&m's with the rest of her diet being made up of noodles with butter and sometimes Parmesan cheese. 

She hates shoe shopping and will only wear stretchy pants...

She has such a sweet spirit and is constantly saying things that literally leave us speechless - it's still amazing how much vocabulary a three old absorbs and then repeats.  Although, she can definitely bring the attitude when she wants too...
She is also very stubborn - another trait from her mama!  When she gets mad or in trouble she plays the "Not talking to you" game and hides - never realized how annoying that is until you are on the other side!

She has a memory like an elephant knowing where all her possessions are, and will bring up past events or incidents that even I had forgotten about.  

 I never knew what a blessing a daughter is until having one. 

I believe she is the rock that will always hold our family together and will always be there to motivate and support her little brother.

My favorite thing about Ashtyn is throughout the day she will randomly say..

"Mom, I love you.  I missed you so much!"

Ashtyn, you are a beautiful little girl and I couldn't be more proud than to be your mother.

I love you - my little lady!

Buffaloes and Donkeys

 Last weekend was filled with watching FOOTBALL!  What else do you during the weekend when it is FALL!  My two favorite college teams were playing on Saturday

CU vs CSU!

I never know what team to cheer for since I have an emotional connection to both of them.  I of course have an obligation to CSU because I did graduate from there and have some pretty FUN memories of attending that showdown game with my college friends...but then there is CU which I have known my whole life.  Mimi requires her grandchildren to love the Buffs just as she does and from a very early age we were introduced to the Black and Gold - I think I knew the CU fight song as soon as I could talk.  So on Saturday I really didn't care who won, but I do love being involved in all the excitement that surrounds the game.

We of course went down to Pearl Street on Friday night to attend the Pep Rally!

It was fun as always and we ran into Pam Steve and Allie!

 I didn't get a good picture, but Aunt Pam danced with Eli and he would clap his hands and laugh - it was completely adorable.  Got to love Aunt Pam - she is such a HOOT!

 I just think this picture is so sweet - Papa and his sweet grand daughter!

So... I did make sure my kids were sporting CU attire - just to make my Mimi proud!

The Buffs did get a win over my Rammies! ...and my sister-n-law made sure to give me crap for it too...

On Sunday, Matt went to the Broncos game with buddies from work. 

It looks to me like they had a GREAT time...

I begged Matt to take a picture while at the game, and he shut me down right away...

well on Monday morning I found this picture in my email...

Looks like he likes our family blog!

It was a typical, fall weekend!  Still sad to see summer go, but the cool breeze and football games are a nice change I will admit...Let's just hope our teams have better years then last year!

Family Pictures - Take 2!

 With Robert, Ariana and the boys in town this past week we jumped at the chance to have family pictures at the Beautiful Anthem!  Now when you combine nine adults with six kids all under the age of three you pretty much get total CHAOS!  And that's exactly what it was in addition to being totally exhausting and quite humorous!  We managed to get some good shots, but with small kids you can't expect much...

 Here is about the only picture with all six grandbabies together...most of the time Robbie was running away or crying along Eli, who would jump at the chance to crawl away when nobody was paying attention.  The two youngest, Ryan and Cheyenne were the best behaved - who would have thought?  If you could only see behind the scenes at this moment in time - but if you can imagine - me shaking a bag of Teddy Grahams to get Eli's attention while jumping up and down along with Robert. Kodi and Ariana singing "Itsy Bisty Spider" complete with hand movements along with Butch handing out Hersey kisses left and right, all for the chance to get that million dollar shot!  It's pretty hilarious if you ask me...

 ...see Robbie walking away!

 ...and Eli crawling around!

 Ahhh! The second picture of them all together...that would be a total of 2 out of 200 shots! 

 LOVE this picture of the girls!  Pure sweetness...

 We finally found a place where the boys enjoyed themselves...

These are my favorite pictures...

 TOTAL CHAOS!....

 CHEESE!

 TOTAL CHAOS!...

 CHEESE!

Although the photo session was completely chaotic and exhausting, it will be a memory I will never forget and so special for our family.  And now Sandy has beautiful pictures of her grandkids!  Having six grandkids all under the age of three is so fun, and I can't wait to watch them all grow up together.  Maybe when they are all in highschool we will finally get a good family picture, but until then we will embrace the chaos, because it will be short lived! 

Fight, Fight, Fight!

 It's that time of year again...

Cooler temps, falling leaves, football and the CU prep rallies - Yeah!

On Friday night we met Nana, Papa, Mimi and Papa Bill down at Pearl Street for the first CU prep rally of the season.  It's always a fun time and Ashtyn LOVES going.  She especially loves the Tubas and when she saw the tubas walk by where we were standing, she shouted...

"I love the TUBAS!"

It was hilarious!  Eli of course enjoyed every minute- anything with that much stimulation is very entertaining for him.  Last year he was so little and just slept through the whole thing, but this year he was clapping his hands to the songs, smiling and dancing!  His favorite were the drums and the pom-pom girls for sure!

 We made sure to stand right in front of the tubas so Ashtyn could get her fill...

 It was so cute - One of the football players gave Eli a football and he immediately threw it back at him.  So he picked it back up and handed it to him and again Eli threw it back at him...oh how cute boys are!

We always love spending our Friday nights down at Pearl Street at the pep rallies, nothing gets you ready for fall and CU football better then an evening spent singing the CU fight songs!

Hopefully, this year with a new coach CU will be better, but if not we will still enjoy the Pep Rally - the band is always GREAT!

Preschool THUS Far...

Ashtyn LOVES Preschool!

We have officially been in school a couple weeks now and finally adjusting to the schedule.

Ashtyn, for the most part does very well at drop off - we only had one incident where she threw a fit, but we made it through - and with some talking and a little bribing we have been doing well ever since!

Every Wednesday is "Gym Class" where they go to the gym and do a game or an obstacle course.  When I told Ashtyn on the way to school last Wednesday that is was "Gym Day" she looked at me and said very seriously...

"I don't like gym mom.  It makes me so sweaty!"

Oh, she reminds me so much of myself sometimes...

Every Friday is show and tell, which I think is her favorite.  This past Friday was bring your favorite stuffed animal, and this was very hard for Ashtyn to choose just one because she has a million stuffed animals which are very dear to her heart.  (Can you imagine if it was "Bring your favorite box?") Finally, after hours of going back and forth she decided on Lila.  On the way in to Preschool that morning Ashtyn says to me...

"Lila better behave herself today mom...huh?"

I have asked her if she has met any friends and she told me she hangs out with Chole, so at least she is making friends.  I was happy to hear that...

I think Ashtyn is loving school - it is that perfect challenge for her and she doesn't seem so bored now.

The best is when she gets home and starts her homework - good habits already!

Labor Day 2011

 We made it home just in time to enjoy our traditional Labor Day activities!

We went to the Louisville Labor Day parade, which I swear is getting better and better each year...

 Ashtyn's favorite was catching candy and listening to the bands, even Eli would dance when he heard the music...

 This year they even gave out Ice Cream Sandwiches!  They were yummy!

After the parade we headed to Aunt Pam's and Uncle Steve's for our annual brunch cookout - which was delicious as usual - I swear my Uncle's Steve's eggs are the best I have ever had - the BEST!

I am craving them right now...

Happy Labor Day!