Haircuts!

You probably noticed in my last two posts that the boys were in desperate need of haircuts! Matt also needed a haircut so the other night my kitchen became a barber shop. Matt cut the boys hair and then convinced me to cut his. He usually cuts his own but figured it would be easier if I did it, and he trusts me enough to let me try! I managed to cut his hair without any major mistakes so I'm pretty proud of myself! I didn't get any pictures of Matt since my hands were covered in hair and he took a shower right after I was done, but here are some pictures of the boys.

Tyler hates getting the loose hair on him, so we made him a cape!

Before...

...and after!

Riley was so happy before his haircut began!

A good look at how shaggy he was!

Still happy, but not for long!

He wasn't a fan of the loose hair on him either!

Look at all that hair!

A much happier boy after he was all cleaned up!

My Tyler.

He is certainly not my baby anymore! Tyler will tell you himself that he's a big boy and nothing could be more true. He is growing up fast and becoming more independent each day. I'm constantly entertained by the things that come out of his mouth! Here is a glimpse of Tyler...

* For a month he refused to call Matt and I 'mommy' and 'daddy'. Instead we were Matt and Sweetie (that's what Matt calls me so Tyler thinks it's my name). He's pretty much stopped, but every once and a while he throws in a Matt or Sweetie.

* He has quite a few of his books memorized and he'll read to me when he's in the mood.

* Every morning he comes in my room to find out if it's morning time. As soon as I say yes he says, "Great, let's go get my brother!" He is not a fan of playing by himself and is enjoying his brother more and more.

* We were playing baseball one afternoon and Tyler was batting. In between pitches he was coaching himself saying, "Come on Tyler you can do it." It was so cute! He is a pretty good hitter.

* Lately when I discipline him or tell him no he will immediately respond with, "But I still love you mommy."

* It's been almost 4 months since I last nursed Riley, but the other day Tyler announced, "Mommy no milk is coming out of my beedies (that's what he calls boobs). No milk for Riley like yours."

* One night he told me he wanted to go to the tiger store and get donuts. I have no clue what store he's talking about so I told him I didn't know where the tiger store was. He tells me, "That's easy, it's far away!" Things are so much simpler when your 3!

* Lately he'll randomly tell me he loves me and give me a big hug. I love it! I hope he never out grows this phase!

He dresses himself now without any help. When he first started he thought it was funny to purposely put things on wrong!

I love this picture!

Tyler's new obsession is playing the Curious George games on the computer. He can even tell you that the games are at "p-b-s kids dot org".

He recognizes most of his numbers from playing some of the games!

My Riley.

My baby is getting so big! His personality emerges more and more every day and he is quite a character! Here is a quick glimpse of Riley...

* He isn't a big talker yet, but he has said his first official word! It was 'up', which I'm trying to get him to say when he wants picked up instead of standing at my feet grunting at me. He also says this and that (sounds like dis and dat) as he points to things he wants.

* He can't stand to be in his high chair if Tyler is not at the kitchen table. Almost every morning he eats his breakfast 'on the go'. He takes a bite then plays with Tyler until he remembers he's still hungry and comes back in the kitchen for his next bite.

* He loves to unload the dishwasher, whether the dishes are clean or not! If I'm ever missing any utensils I can usually find them in the living room.

* He has 2 obsessions: 1. Tags. If a stuffed animal has a tag he will only hold it by the tag. People think he's attached to his blanket, but the truth is he's attached to the tag and puts up with the blanket! When he picks up his blanket he will turn it and turn it until he finds the tag. Once he finds it he does this excited little laugh, it's the cutest thing! 2. Closing doors. No door in our house is allowed to be open, ever. He does get mad though when he closes the pantry door and then can't get back in!

* He is a super happy baby, but don't be fooled this kid has a temper! If Tyler takes something away from him, Riley lets him hear it.

* He loves to watch Tyler and wants to do everything he does. He has learned a lot from his big brother, sometimes much to my dismay! For example, he didn't know the kitchen cabinets opened until he saw Tyler open one. He also didn't know how to get past the baby gate until he watched Tyler move it. Most of the time though it's really cute to watch him mimic Tyler. Like the other day when we were playing baseball. Tyler was batting and after watching for a few minutes Riley picked up a piece of PVC pipe and was holding it like a bat!

* I think his favorite person is still Tyler, and I'm a close second! They play really well together. One of their favorite games is chase, they both love to be chased!

* While Tyler completely skipped the stranger anxiety phase, Riley certainly has not. He takes a few minutes to warm up to new faces. If he just met you don't even think about holding him, he will flat out refuse and cling to Matt or I with a death grip! He'll go to people once he's gotten use to them though. He has a much more cautious personality than Tyler did at this age.

One night while I was making dinner Riley was hanging out in his high chair munching on Cheerios. As soon as my hands were dirty he ran out and wanted more so I asked Tyler to give him some. I think Tyler gave him half the box!

He always wakes up from his naps happy, so I thought something was wrong one afternoon when I suddenly heard him screaming. I rushed into his room and found him like this! He must have tried taking his shirt off and he got stuck. I couldn't help laughing and ran to get the camera before I rescued him!

Riley is ALWAYS putting his hands over his ears like this and I have no idea why. Sometimes he just walks around like this.

This boy LOVES to be outside! Thank goodness the weather has started to cool off! Before it did he had fun playing in the rain.

He is such a happy boy!

He growls at everything, and this is his growl face!

The endless days of summer!

What do you do when it's 90 degrees outside in October? We went to the splash park!

Tyler and Mia were filling the buckets up using their hands. This activity kept them busy for quite a while!

Tyler eventually decided the hand method was taking too long!

Riley is about to dump all the water out of the buckets. Tyler was not too happy about that! Pesky little brothers!

Enjoying the swings next to the splash park.

This is what you do when there is only one baby swing and two babies!

"Don't let me go!"

I love this video! I was originally trying to get a picture of Riley and while I was waiting for him to cooperate Tyler started singing. I thought for sure he'd stop once he realized I was taping him, but he surprised me and kept going. Here is Tyler singing The Frey's "Never say never". (And for the record, he did eventually eat the green bean!)

Congratulations Mel!

At the end of September my sister-in-law, Melissa, became a college graduate!!! She earned a Bachelors in Advertising from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Mel is one smart cookie and graduated with honors! We spent 3 days in Fort Lauderdale helping Mel celebrate her achievement! Congrats girl, we are so proud of you!

A certificate for highest achievement and one for honors!

One of my favorite things about graduating from BYU-Hawaii was the Polynesian tradition of giving the graduates leis. So Matt and I made one for Mel with real flowers and dollar bills.