Category Archives: Family

Toddler Beds

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their new big boy beds

About a month and a half ago we switched the boys over to toddler beds from their cribs.  Trust me, if we could have kept them in their cribs we would have.  Hayden started climbing out of his crib first and for a few days we were fine with it, he is so very cautious and careful we weren’t worried about him falling and hurting himself.  So he would just climb out of the crib when he woke up.  Well a few days later, Mr. Ian learned how to climb out and that’s when the story changed.  Lets just say Ian isn’t as cautious as Hayden.  He hikes that leg up and then just throws himself over the edge.  We were definitely worried he would fall and hurt himself.

So, we took the huge step and put them in their “big boy” beds.  The first couple of nights they were still in their cribs, just with the side rail removed, until we could get their toddler beds.  Hayden fell out of bed a few nights in a row, so we had to get him a side rail to keep him in.  We decided to get Ian one too because he liked the security and confinement of the crib and I think the shock of having no “walls” around him scared him a little.

Someone rolled out of bed and is on the floor

Before we put them to bed, we cleared out their room and the only that they have access to are their beds and dresser. All the toys are in the closet, which has a lock on it. So they aren’t up playing all night.

The first night of their freedom was a little rough.  I think it took close to 2 hours for them to go to sleep.  We ended up sitting outside their door holding the door closed so they couldn’t open it and taking turns putting them back in bed. The second night went a little smoother.  It didn’t take 2 hours, but probably about an hour.  Each night got a little better but the difference was that we got a door handle that locked! We switched the lock to the outside so we can basically lock them in, then when they are asleep we will unlock it. I wasn’t about to play the game of every few minutes going back in to put them back in bed.  Once they try to open it and realize they can’t, they typically just go get back in bed.  Hayden will fall asleep in front of the door some nights and we’ll have to put him back in bed, but that has really just started happening in the last week or so.

There have been a few nights at the beginning where the boys would wake up in the middle of the night and want to play, but that didn’t last but 1 or 2 nights and they realized that is not what we do in the middle of the night. They will still cry some or wake up in the middle of the night but most of the time they will go back to sleep without us going in there.  They have these little seahorses that light up and play music, kind of like the old gloworms we had as kids, that Jonathan’s mom got them their first Christmas and Its funny because Hayden will use it as a flash light at night.  He will start crying and then we’ll hear the glow play music and then he’s quiet.  He uses it to find his pacifier in the dark, he’ll also hold onto it when he gets out of bed at night so he can see where he’s going.  Smart boy!

About 2 weeks ago they realized they an pull the dresser drawers open and pull all their clothes out! They had fun with this, we would go in and all the clothes are thrown over the bed and floor.  After going in several times a night to put them back in the clothes back in the drawers and them back in bed, we decided to put the cabinet locks on the drawers. I was also afraid they would pull on the drawers enough that it would pull the dresser over on top of them.

1 drawer emptied

On average it takes about 30 minutes for the boys to go to sleep at night.  Sometimes 10-15 and sometimes an hour, it just depends on the day.  They will talk, sing, laugh, you name it until they just poop out.  Because of this, we have started putting them to bed earlier so by the time they actually fall asleep it is closer to the time they normally would be going to sleep in their cribs.  It took us a few weeks to realize this, they were going to sleep an hour or so later than normal. It also helps now that its starting to get darker earlier.  They were going to sleep when it was bright as day outside.

This is what they do when they SHOULD be going to sleep!

And, because of their new found freedom, when they woke up in the morning, they were up! Normally they would wake up around 645-700 when we were leaving, but since they were in their crib, they would just go back to sleep and sleep until about 830 sometimes 900.  When they started sleeping in their new beds, they were up at about 630-700, and a few mornings, Hayden was up at 545 or 600.  This is NOT acceptable! They were only getting 9 hours of sleep instead of their usual 12 -13 hours a night.  The last week or so Hayden has been sleeping until 700 and Ian until 800 or 815 some days, so they are finally getting the hang of it.

up waaay too early, watching Curious George while mom and dad get ready for work.

Nap time is a whole different ballgame! It was miserable for about a week or two.  They weren’t sleeping enough at night and then wouldn’t really sleep much during their nap.  They were just in their room playing in the curtains, with each other, singing, talking, laughing, anything but sleeping! So after a week or 2 of them being complete Mr. Fussy Pants’ and driving us crazy, I decided to separate them during nap time.  Since our new house (well not really new anymore) is a 4 bedroom house, we have an extra room across the hall from their room that we set up the pack n play in.  Since Ian is less likely and not as able to climb out as Hayden, he got the short straw and gets to sleep in the guest room.  I don’t think he minds it though.  At first, they didn’t like being separated, especially Hayden, but now they give each other a hug, wave bye and go to their separate rooms.  AND, they sleep! They will sleep an hour (mainly Hayden) and as much as 2.5 hours (usually Ian).  Another reason we decided to separate them was that Hayden doesn’t sleep as long as Ian and ended up waking Ian up, so he wasn’t getting the sleep he requires (which is more than Hayden).

We have them on a pretty good nap/bedtime schedule now and we are all getting the hang of their new freedom and this new stage of life.  Other than having to put them back in bed some nights after they have fallen asleep, they sleep great.  It took a little while and we had some rough nights, but we are through the worst and it will only get better from here (right?).

Hayden

Ian – sleeping with his head at the foot of the bed, as usual

 

Terrible twos X 2

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The boys are trying our patience these days!  I have always said the terrible twos should be renamed to the curious twos. They are only “terrible” because they are curious and are trying to find out how things work, what they can get away with, etc…not because they want to intentionally disrespect us.  BUT, in the process of being curious and finding out how the world works – they can act TERRIBLE! Most people get to experience this stage 1 kiddo at a time, we get 2 at a time, which is a lot more than just double the work.  I really don’t think I can hear another person say oh, “I know exactly what you are going through, I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old.”  No, you don’t know what we are going through because that said 3 year old is a year older and can comprehend and verbalize a whole lot more than that 2 year old.  They can listen better, follow instructions better and tell you how they are feeling, what they ant, etc.  Two 2 year olds is an even playing field, they are at the exact same comprehension level, exact same stage in life and you are dealing with 2 kids that don’t quite understand what you are talking about when you tell them they are going in time out because of this or that.  That 3 year old knows they did something bad and this is a consequence.  They can verbalize how they are feeling a whole lot more than the 2 year old can.  ok, enough ranting.

While the boys generally do behave pretty good, they definitely have their moments of being (almost) 2. hey are testing the boundaries and finding out what exactly they can get away with and what they can’t.  Discipline is pretty hard right now.  They don’t quite grasp the concept of time outs, although they are slowly learning, and spankings don’t do anything – so why do it.  So that leaves us with 1 thing that has shown to work well with (at least) Hayden – taking away things that matter to him.  The two things that have helped are really only good at night when they are playing instead of going to sleep – taking away the pacifier and separating the boys.  Hayden does not like having Ian in the other room! Those 2 consequences work great at night time and nap time, but during the day is when we struggle with disciplining.

It also seems like we are always saying “No”, “get down”, “stop that’, “give that back to your brother”, “leave your brother alone”, “don’t touch the TV screen”, “don’t stand on that”, “sit down”, “leave the food in your mouth”, you know, the usual stuff you could hear at anyone’s house that has a toddler living in it.  I just feel like I’m nagging my kids ALL day long and I hate that.  But at the same time, they HAVE to learn because I don’t want them growing up not knowing how to act in public or at other peoples houses 🙂

The boys manage to get into a lot of stuff, things that we don’t think they are capable of doing, they surprise us! Lets talk about last weekend, shall we.  Keep in mind all this took place within a 3 hour time period.  Time of the crime – 5:00PM, crime scene – our kitchen, criminal – Ian.  (Ian really didn’t do anything bad, its just funny) So I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and the boys were playing on the porch with their sand.  I left the door open and blinds up so I could keep a good eye on them – and keep in mind our kitchen is like 10-15 feet from the door.  I hear Ian walk inside, around the kitchen table, walks into our room and out, then down the hall and into the kitchen where I am.  I hear him give his little giggle that he does when he has done something that he is proud of, so I look down to see him holding a cup full of sand.  You may be thinking, oh ok, a cup of sand.  This cup had holes in the bottom and sand was leaking out, and ALLLLL over the path that he had taken to get to me.  Do you know how hard it is to sweep up sand without missing any of it?!  It’s hard, trust me.  Like I said, he didn’t do anything bad, its just a funny story of some of the shenanigans the boys get into.  The next crime took place at 8:00PM, crime scene – boys’ room, criminal – Hayden & Ian.  The boys were in their room, supposed to be going to sleep.

They had been quiet for about 15-20 mins and every once in a while we’d hear a little giggle and then nothing.  Well, I decided to go in and check on them…good thing I did.  When I walked in they had the completely full diaper rash ointment (very oily and greasy ointment) and vasoline ALL OVER THE PLACE.  They had climbed up on top of their bed rails and reached to the top of their dresser to get these, which were in the middle of the dresser.  They had this stuff all over them, in their hair, on their pajamas, ALL over their sheets, on the beds, walls, everywhere!The once full can of ointment was completely empty by the time they were done with it.  I had no clue where to begin! I just stripped their beds and them, then wiped down everything to get as much of the oil out that I could.  I soaked the sheets and their clothes in the tub with dawn dish detergent.  I figured, if it can get oil out of bird feathers it can get grease out of fabric.

the after effects – sheets and clothes soaking in dawn dish soap

I’m sure this won’t be the last time they do something like that so I just have to remind myself this stage will pass and they will grow up, one day!  Even though I don’t necessarily love the stage they are in right now as far as behavior goes, I do love this stage they are in for other reasons and I don’t want them to grow up too fast.  Can we just bypass the bad behavior and keep the other aspects of this age?!  I’m sure that would be the dream of every parent of toddlers! I don’t want to skip over the whole stage because if we did we would miss things like this:

Ian

Or this:

Hayden coloring

or goofy times like this:

and sweet moments like this:

So I don’t want to miss all those moments, I could just live without things like this:

 

Santa Fe Vacation – Part 1

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Jonathan and I went to Santa Fe, NM at the end of April for our 5 year anniversary. We were ready for a vacation away from work, two crazy toddlers our busy lives as parents and just life in general. We love the mountains and in most cases would choose mountains over a beach. So since our honeymoon was in Colorado we decided to try New Mexico this time.

We opted to go the road trip route vs flying, because we like to torture ourselves by spending 12 hours in the car but mainly because it was quite a bit cheaper to drive than fly. So we took the long, flat, desert of a drive to New Mexico.

                                  our road trip view

We packed a picnic lunch and stopped along the way In west Texas to eat some lunch. It turned into a very quick lunch when we pulled up and saw this staring us in the face:

We also decided to stop in Amarillo to visit Cadillac Ranch, which is a bunch of old cadillacs that are half-buried in the ground. It is visible from the highway, and even though it’s located on private property, visiting it (by walking through an unlocked gate) is tacitly encouraged. Spray-painting the vehicles is also encouraged, you never know what you will see when you go. Unfortunately we forgot to get some spray paint before we left so we couldn’t leave our mark 🙁
After a long car ride, we finally made it to our destination. We stayed at a bed in breakfast, which I’ve never been a big fan of, but decided to give it a try. We found a really nice place called Raven’s Ridge and it had an awesome ambiance and feel to it.
Raven’s Ridge B&B

Our room at the B&B was awesome! It was the “starlight room” and it was appropriately named because it had a huge skylight that you could open up and view the stars – it was amazing! I told Jonathan I wanted to put one of those in our house. The room had a traditional New Mexico Kiva fireplace and the decor in the room was authentic New Mexico.

                     the Kiva fireplace

There were beautiful gardens all around the grounds of the B&B and right outside our room was a gorgeous apple tree in full bloom!

We got to the B&B just before the sun was going to set and there was a golden glow surrounding us. Here was just some of our views:

our view every morning at breakfast
Being in the mountains and surrounded by nature is a photographers delight! There were al kinds of birds and flowers…I was in heaven. Here are some of my favorite photos:

I have a ton of photos from the trip so I’m going to divide it up into several posts instead of 1 loooong post. Next up is our visit to a few Cathedrals and some New Mexico culture.

Easter

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I am a little late on the Easter post, but better late than never, right?  This Easter was a little different for us in that we didn’t go to church on Sunday morning. Gaaaaasp! Instead, we went to the Saturday evening service at our church (see, we still went to church). We knew the boys were going to be out and their nap schedules would be all thrown off on Sunday, so we decided to just let them sleep in on Sunday morning.

We went to Jonathan’s parents house for lunch on Sunday and the boys hunted for easter eggs in the backyard in-between rain showers.  Hayden was definitely into finding the easter eggs, Ian on the other hand could care less.  He was more interested in the balloon in the backyard or going in and out of the sliding door on the patio.  He liked the fact that he could make it up the big step all by himself…so he went up the step, down the step, up the step, down the set, over and over again.

  Hayden
   Ian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boys love to play the piano at grandma and grandpa’s house, so of course they had to give us a mini recital.

After lunch we went out to my brothers gym in Flower Mound (Best Gymnastics) and met my aunts and cousins there for some play time and another easter egg hunt.  The boys had a blast running around and playing on the trampolines and in the big foam pit.  The easter egg hunt wasn’t a huge hit with them, but they did find a few easter eggs.  Hopefully next year they will be a bit more into it.  I didn’t get too many pictures f the easter egg hunt because I was too busy chasing after the boys and making sure they didn’t fall or run into anything.

   Hayden and Uncle Brad in the foam pit
    Ian sliding into the pit
   Hayden sliding into the pit
   Hayden deciding what to do next
   Ian about to climb on the mat
   Hayden
   Ian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a fun day had by all and a day of reflection for us as we celebrated the resurrection of Christ and the price he paid for us.

 

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish…

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Both Jonathan and I were off work for Good Friday (I am always off on Fridays) so we decided to take the boys to the aquarium.  They are still a little too young to really enjoy it, but the did like looking at everything – fish, penguins, birds, reptiles, monkey’s – wait, monkey’s at the aquarium?! Ya, that’s what I said…but yes, there were monkey’s at the aquarium.

I haven’t been to the aquarium since I was little, so needless to say it has changed quite a bit since my last visit.  This is the only picture I have of the boys in front of the aquarium, and its out of focus! The best part of the trip was watching the boys faces when they saw something swim by.  I wish I could have captured every facial expression, but unfortunately I was unable to. I think when the boys are a little older, they will like and appreciate the aquarium more.  Either way, it was a fun experience and any new adventure and time spent with my boys is time well spent.  Here are some of my favorite photos of the boys from our trip to the aquarium.

    Ian
    Hayden

Little Hands

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10 little fingers…20 little fingers can get 2 little boys into a whole heap of trouble.  Our little ones like to get their sticky little fingers into everything so they can test it out.  At 15 months old, they aren’t getting into stuff out of spite or being malicious about it…they are simply curious.  They want to know what it is and how it works.  Now, sometimes they may start out doing this and it ends up with “oh, mommy said not to do this, lets see what happens if I keep doing it!” It still their curiosity getting the best of them…they are simply learning cause and effect.

The boys are getting to the point where if you take their hand to hold it and walk with them they will actually grab on to your hand.  I love it! There is just something about a little, tiny hand.  Those 4 little hands represent the world to me. Whenever I see them, they remind me of what all we had to go through to get them; the pain, anger, frustration, and heartache.  But they also remind me of all the joy, laughter, smiles, and anticipation of what is still to come.  Its crazy how something so simple as a pair of hands can mean so much!

Goodbye 2011…Hello 2012

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2011 was a big year for our family…and a lot of firsts for our boys. So here is a look back at some of the highlights of what happened in 2011.

Lets start with our family picture from last New Years Day.

1) In January my brother, Brian, got married and we welcomed Stephanie to the family. I am so happy for Brian and that he found the love of his life! We love Stephanie and I am so glad to have her as a new sister-in-law.

2) We got like 10 feet of snow in January…ok, so it was more like a foot.  But when you aren’t used to all that snow, it seems like a lot. The boys got to see snow for the first time, too bad they won’t remember it! Then in February, because we didn’t get enough snow in January, we got more snow. I think we had a total of 5 “snow” days between Jan and Feb where we got to stay home from work. We loved getting to spend the time at home with the boys and just relax.

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3) I had my first ride in an ambulance (pretty fun), unfortunately it was to the ER (not so much fun). After this one and 2 other trips to the ER, I finally had the problem fixed – just a simple surgery to remove my gallbladder! Who needs it anyway?!

4) The boys were evaluated and fitted for DocBands (orthotic helmet to reshape their head) and only 6 weeks later graduated from them! What a world of difference the bands made. They had to wear them 23 hours a day/7 days a week for the full 6 weeks. The therapists were impressed with how fast their heads reshaped. We caught them right in the middle of a growth spurt and that was a blessing because that meant they didn’t have to wear them as long.

Doc Band graduation day!!

5) My other brother, Brad, opened up his new Gymnastics facility…Best Gymnastics – go check it out sometime! This has been a dream come true for him and I am so happy for him and proud of him for this accomplishment – he deserves it!

Brooklyn with the boys

4) We celebrated 4 years of marriage and our first real mother’s day and father’s day.

5) We introduced the boys to our pool for the first time, but it was still kind of chilly so they just got their feet week – literally, they just put their feet in the water. A month or so later we did get to go “swimming”, for real this time, and the boys loved it.

Swimmimg

6) The boys had their first haircut at about 8 months old – by Granna Vicki of course.

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7) They have both learned to sit up, crawl, walk and now run…and with each of those has brought new challenges for me and Jonathan. But I wouldn’t give up those challenges for anything!

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8) The boys got to watch their very first world series…and one that our home team was in. Unfortunately they lost, but it was still a fun experience.

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9) We have had a blast throughout the year watching the boys grow. We have just had fun with them, going for walks, swinging and just goofing off with them.

10) The boys celebrated their first birthday on October 21

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11) And lastly, we celebrated the holidays with all our family.

Checking out the Christmas tree...

From my family to yours, we hope you all have a wonderful, safe and happy 2012.

Holiday Traditions

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Nativity Scene - minus a few wise men

Our twin boys are a year old and I know they don’t understand what Christmas is or traditions or even what presents are for that matter.  They just know that one day when they woke up they saw a big green thing in their living room covered with pretty lights and cool things to take off. Maybe next year they will start to get the idea that Christmas time is a good time of year and they will soon look forward to it coming around year after year.  But I want my kids to look forward to Christmas time because of the holiday traditions and the time spent with family.

Growing up I loved this time of year because we got to spend it with all our family, I only had 1 cousin around my age, the others were 10+ years older than me or 10+ years younger than me.  But I still looked forward to spending time with them – I still do!

Jonathan and I have been trying to think of some holiday traditions to do with our boys every year because those are the things you grow up and remember (hopefully).  I love pulling out the ornaments and trying to remember where we got all of them or who gave them to us.  I hope our boys will enjoy that too, especially the ones that are their very own.

While growing up, Christmas morning was the same year after year.  We would all go wait in my mom and dad’s room while my dad went in and made sure Santa had come and left everything where it was “supposed” to be.  I think he really just went in and went back to sleep on the couch, because it seemed to take FOREVER for him to come back.  Then we would all run to the living room and see what Santa left for us.  We all had our official Christmas morning spot in the room.  Every year we were in the same spot, and its funny because if you were to look in our living room window now on Christmas day, you would still find the 3 of us sitting in the same spot as we did when we were kids.  Some things never change!

I think one of the oddest traditions that I have heard about, and one that I will not be doing with my kids is the “elf on a shelf.”  Have you seen this little dude? He’s just plain creepy. For those of you who have no clue what I’m talking about… it’s a little elf that you put on a shelf or anywhere you want and its supposed to be a reminder for kids to be on their best behavior because the elf will tell Santa who has been naughty or nice.

Thanks, but no thanks.

I don’t need a little elf to “watch” my kids and make them think that he is going to go back and tell Santa all about their behavior.  I put the fear of God in them so they behave good all year round — just kidding ;).  Isn’t that just teaching our kids that if they behave, Santa will bring them presents.  They should behave well without the end result being presents. We don’t want to kill the “magic that is Santa” but we don’t want our boys growing up thinking they’ll always be rewarded handsomely just because they behave properly, and on the flip side, if they don’t get exactly what they want – it’s not because they’re being punished for bad behavior.

It’s difficult to fight the mentality that invades this time of year, that Christmas is all about getting the biggest and best gifts.  We always had a great Christmas growing up, we never got the biggest or hottest item that was being sold and we were fine with that (I think that’s because none of us were in to that).  My parents didn’t spend hundreds of dollars per child at Christmas (at least not that I’m aware of 😉 ), yet we still had awesome Christmas gifts and loved what we got. I read something the other day that said, on average, parents spend $500-$600 per child at Christmas time. That’s outrageous! Although when we were growing up there wasn’t the XBox, iPhone, iPad, flat screen TV’s, or any of the other 100 electronic devices that are out there now either.  Now days, the wants are greater and the price tags are higher!

I want to make sure my kids know what the meaning of Christmas is and that it’s not all about getting presents. My boys have a book about the Christmas story and one part of it says “We give gifts to each other to celebrate the birth of Christ.”  I don’t want them to grow up thinking that just because its Christmas they are entitled to getting things.  I want to see my boys faces fill with joy and anticipation as they open their presents on Christmas morning because they know we love them and celebrate them.  Not because some guy in a red suit gave them things on their wish list.

Here’s to making Christmas memories and traditions to follow for years to come!

Thanksgiving 2011

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Our Family Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day was a little different this year than it was last year. Last year, we had two little babies in tow that pretty much just sat there and were passed around from person to person while we ate, visited and so forth.  This year, they were a little more mobile, to say the least! They were running everywhere and getting into everything.  We brought their high chairs so we wouldn’t have to sit them in our laps while we attempted to eat and feed them at the same time.  They both ate some yummy turkey that my aunt Gwen made, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and their favorite, rolls.  Their feast was much better tasting than last years feast of formula!

We are blessed in that my niece (7) and nephew (10) were there and more than willing to play with the boys, AKA chase them around so we can have a little break. They had fun playing with the sit and spin, their toys, play dough and sliding down the slide.

We had a great time with my family and then it was time to head over to Jonathan’s parents house for round 2.  His cousins had already left before we got there but we did get to see some family before they headed out too.

The boys didn’t get much of a nap that day – maybe 20 minutes in the car -  so they were pretty sleepy and cranky by 5:00 or so.  We visited with Jonathan’s family for a little while and then headed home so we could get the boys in bed before total meltdowns occurred.  Here are some pictures of our fun from that day. Some of them are from my phone so they are a little blurry.

Brooklyn playing play dough with Hayden

The boys playing with play dough together

Hayden sliding while Ian waits his turn

Ian sitting in my moms rocking chair she had as a kid

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The cousins playing together

Lastly, here is a picture of the boys last year at Thanksgiving and this year….it’s crazy how much they have grown in a year!

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Thanksgiving 2010 and 2011

 

 

State Fair of Texas

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Ferris Wheel

Every year we go to the State Fair of Texas and this year was no exception.  There was no way I was going to miss it this year. I wasn’t able to go last year because I was on bed rest with the twins.  I begged my OB to let me go last year, I promised I would go in a wheel chair or that I would just go in, get a Fletcher’s corny dog and leave…and still no! So I made sure I went and got a picture this year, with 2 boys in tow, of course.

with Big Tex

This was the boys’ first year to attend and hopefully in the future they will look forward to going each year as much as their momma.  We decided to go one night after work so when we got to the fair grounds around dinner time and were ready to roll ( sniffing out the Fletcher’s corny dog stand all the while).

After visiting Big Tex we walked around a while before going to visit the animals, which they loved, especially Ian.  While walking around, we found a giant elephant and let the boys play around on it for a little bit.

We were walking by just as the parade was starting so we stopped and let the boys watch it before heading out.  A great time was had at the fair this year and can’t wait until next year when the boys are a little more aware of what’s going on.

Here are some pictures of the boys from the fair.  Pay no attention to the random people in any of the photos, in a place that busy its inevitable that you will get some random person in the shot.

Hayden and the elephant

Hayden and the elephant

Ian would rather play in the flower bed

the massive elephant

Jonathan and the boys

Hayden

the boys petting the goats

Ian laughing at something a goat did

watching the parade