The Boyce Family

5x7 Folded Card

2012-01-21T06:10:00.001-08:00

White Border 5x7 folded card

Shutterfly custom Valentines Day and Mother's Day cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

The birthday cake.

2011-12-22T07:27:00.001-08:00

My brother isn't really a cake person and doesn't care if he gets one on his birthday. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted his answer "I don't want a cake" was completely unacceptable to his five year old nephew. Tyler insisted Clif tell him what kind of cake he wanted, so Clif jokingly told him he wanted a Ninja Turtle cake. Tyler couldn't wait to go to the store and get what we needed for the cake. He 'whispered' the plans for the cake to everyone at lunch (with Clif in the room). After baking and icing the cake I put Tyler in charge of making the turtles. As you can see he took his job very seriously...

Tyler's masterpiece!

Leading Clif into the kitchen to his 'surprise' cake!

SURPRISE!

Singing to their uncle.

Old people need help blowing out their candles!

Tyler explaining which turtle is which.

Happy Birthday Clif!

2011-12-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

My big brother turned 33 today! So glad we could be here to celebrate with him! We love you Clif!

5x7 Folded Card

2011-12-20T20:50:00.001-08:00

Birthday Sketch Birthday Card

Click here to browse Shutterfly's modern graduation invitations.

View the entire collection of cards.

Tough Mudder

2011-12-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

Back in June I got an invitation on facebook to join a group that was forming to run a race called Tough Mudder. I use to love playing in the mud as a kid and I've always been pretty athletic, so it didn't take me long to decide to sign up. I never thought Matt would agree to sign up with me, but to my utter shock he did! Matt hates to run. He is the only person I know who was on the track team all 4 years in high school and never ran in a single race (he was a field events kind of guy). So when he said yes to running a 12 mile obstacle course with me I was pleasantly surprised. That's right I said a 12 mile obstacle course that included wading through freezing cold water, scaling 12 foot high walls, climbing over more hay bails than I could count, jumping off a 15 foot high platform, getting shocked by 10,000 volts and running, wading and crawling through tons of mud. There were 28 obstacles throughout the course. By the time we crossed the finish line I was dirty, bruised, and blistered on both feet, but the sense of accomplishment I felt was overwhelming. I love that Matt and I did this together! Call us crazy, but we're already planning on doing it again next year!

This was the second obstacle called the Chernobyl Jacuzzi. They dumped 100 bags of ice in every 30 minutes, yeah it was cold! The board in the middle forced you to go all the way under.

That's me in the black getting out!

Matt and I are next to the tall guy in the orange shirt. We just got done swimming under those black barrels behind us.

We got to run through these tires...

...and climb up and over this cargo net...

...and across this cargo net...

...and pull ourselves across this rope...

...and crawl under this net through the mud...

...and crawl under this barb wire.

Did I mention there was some mud?

Matt made it all the way across the monkey bars, I didn't!

This obstacle showed up twice on the course.

I did make it all the way across the wobbly balance beam!

Electro shock therapy was the last obstacle of the race. See those yellow wires? They were all live!

The obstacle I was most proud to get through was called Mount Everest, copy and paste the following to see pictures! http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150592404079848.479452.793659847&type=1

Now that she is a big one year old...

2011-12-04T06:01:00.000-08:00

...life has gotten a lot more interesting! The older Madison gets the more I see the differences between boys and girls. She has been my most content child so far, people are always commenting on how quiet and mellow she is. She really is a very good baby, I can't complain! She does have a little attitude though, just try taking something away from her or telling her no and boy will she let you have it! She has the fakest cry I have ever heard! Daddy gets her fake cry the most and you should see the water works that start when he doesn't give in to her! Here is what's going on in Madison's world at one:

*She now weighs 20 lbs and is 29 in long, putting her in the 50% for both height and weight. It only took her a year to catch up to half the kids her age! She was super brave when she got her shot and didn't cry at all. Riley was quite impressed with his little sister!

*She now has 5 teeth, 3 on top and 2 on the bottom.

*She loves to stand and is no longer content to sit. This makes bath time extra fun as we try to keep her from smacking her chin on the side of the tub! Add bubbles and it gets even more interesting! She can stand on her own as long as she doesn't realize she's doing it, once she notices she panics and sits down.

*Along with crawling she has added walking along the furniture and going up stairs to her resume. How did we learn she could crawl up the stairs? One night I was making dinner and the kids were playing in the living room when Tyler yells, "Mommy come see what Madison can do!" I told him he'd have to wait a minute and he replied, "You have to see Madison climbing the stairs!" She was on the fourth stair, the little stinker! I guess it's time to put the baby gate back up!

*She loves to play peek-a-boo! It's become her way of letting us know she's done eating. The minute she starts playing you know you're not getting another bite in her mouth!

*She talks and sings all the time, but as far as actual words go her vocabulary only consists of mama, dada and hi. Hi was her first word! She waves as she says it, it's so cute! To be completely honest mama seems to have dropped off the list of words she knows, so sad. We hear hi and dada just about every day though.

*She thinks Tyler is hilarous! She has the funniest laugh, it sounds like a machine gun. I'll have to post a video of it.

*As much as I try to put them on her, she is not a fan of headbands or bows. Some days I'll get lucky and they last a couple of hours, but those days are few and far between!

She really is such a joy to have in our family! We love our little girl!

A little preview from our Christmas card photo shoot.

"What do you mean we're not done?"

Hanging out with her best friend, Annabelle.

Her poor brothers can't keep anything away from her now!

Happy Birthday Madison!

2011-11-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

My baby girl turned one today! I'm going to write a more detailed post once she has her one year check up next week, so for now here are the pictures from her special day!

"I can't eat another bite!"

Colorado

2011-10-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

The longest leg of our trip was the drive from Omaha, NE to Grand Junction, CO - 11 hours of driving and about an hours worth of stops! The kids did great though and we made it to my Aunt Janet's house without a single melt down. We got to spend a week in Grand Junction visiting family. I hadn't seen anyone on my dad's side of the family in 4 years, so the visit was over due! It was really fun to finally meet all my cousin's kids that I had been watching grow up on blogs. Tyler and Riley were in heaven with so many kids to play with! We all had a great time, I only wish it could have lasted longer!

My cousin's Dustan and Ben before their softball game.

Tyler was thrilled when he got to be the bat boy!

The boys with Chasee and Carter.

Can you believe Ryker is only 5 days older than Madison?

Golfing with Khylind and Khorben.

I remember going on these bumper boats as a kid!

We went on a hike and Tyler led the way!

The views from the monument were amazing!

Saying good-bye.

A day at the zoo.

2011-10-13T06:14:00.000-07:00

We spent our second day in Omaha at the zoo. A friend of mine told me it was a fantastic zoo, and she was not kidding! I spent 6 months interning at a really nice zoo in Texas, and ever since I'm pretty picky about zoo's, but this one makes it into my top 10. The boys had a great time! The weather in Omaha was much cooler so we didn't mind walking around all day. It was a nice way to wear the kids out before our marathon drive the next day!

They had a tunnel you walked through and were surrounded by sharks, sea turtles and a variety of fish.

Riley wasn't so sure of the sting ray!

After a while it did start getting hot, but these fun misters were everywhere!

My happy girl!

Winter Quarters

2011-10-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

The next leg of our journey was five hours long, which by then felt like a pretty short drive! We stayed in Omaha for two days. On day one we visited Winter Quarters. This is where the pioneers stopped to wait out the winter and plant supplies during their historic trek west. In my mind I always pictured Winter Quarters as a camp ground, but in actuality they built a small city which consisted of about 5,000 log homes. We toured the Church's visitors center and learned a lot about the building of Winter Quarters and what life was like for the saints living there. During the first winter they stayed there close to 600 people lost their lives. Across the street from the visitors center is a dedicated cemetery where those people would have been buried. The temple stands just down a small hill from the cemetery. It was a peaceful place to visit. Once again my mom let me sneak away and do some work in the temple. It was even more beautiful on the inside! Thanks again mom!

The boys got to dress up like pioneers and practice loading wagons. They loved it!

Tyler all ready to head west!

Riley didn't feel like he needed to take quite as many things!

Below this statue are plaques with the names and ages of all those who died at Winter Quarters and are buried in the cemetery. Over 50% of those names were babies and young children.

Riley in the cemetery with the temple in the back ground.

A side view of the temple.

The front of the temple.

I loved the entrance doors!

Carthage

2011-10-04T04:43:00.000-07:00

On July 21 we stopped in Carthage before making the drive to Omaha, Nebraska. It was a short stop, but a very significant one as far as Church history goes. The boys got to go in Liberty Jail where the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum, spent their last days. We sat in the room they were in when the mob came and listened to a reinactment of the Prophets last hours. It was a great way to start the day!

The door is original and still has the bullet hole in it that hit Hyrum.

Joseph Smith's testimony. It's worth clicking on the picture to read!

In front of Liberty Jail.

Nauvoo

2011-09-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

On July 17 we made the 9 hour drive to Nauvoo. I was excited for the boys to learn more about our Church's history and see what life was like for the early saints. Unfortunately I think the number one thing they are going to remember is how hot it was! Each time we would go in a building for a tour Tyler would announce (in his most dramatic voice) "I cannot believe how hot it is out there!" The missionary giving the tour would then ask him where he was from, and I always got a funny look once Tyler said Florida! He really wasn't exaggerating about the heat though, the average temperature for the four days we were there was 100. If you factor in the humidity it was close to 120! It actually felt hotter than what we're use to! I am happy to say that the Nauvoo Temple has stuck with both the boys. Later in our trip we were in a Deseret book store and they both kept pointing out pictures of the temple and saying, "That's the temple we saw in Nauvoo!" We had a great time sight seeing and really enjoyed the Nauvoo Pageant. My mom even let me slip away one afternoon to do some work in the temple. It was definitely the highlight of the trip for me!

Our hotel was in the town next to Nauvoo, we never did figure out the official pronunciation of it's name!

We drove through 75 miles of corn fields before reaching our hotel.

Tyler was excited to get his picture taken with the corn!

We learned how to make rope, and Tyler got to help!

The boys with the finished product.

Waiting in the shade for a tour to start.

Riley trying one of the pioneer games.

Granny showed the boys how it was done!

Playing Joseph Smith's favorite game, the stick pull.

Tyler getting some help on the stilts.

Riley playing another one of the pioneer games.

My cute pioneer children!

This sun stone is from the original Nauvoo Temple. Only two sun stones survived after the temple caught fire in the late 1800's, the other stone is on display at the Smithsonian.

The statue of Joseph and Hyrum leaving Nauvoo for the final time.

The Nauvoo Temple (from the back).

The front of the temple.

Granny and Madison in their matching outfits.

The boys loved being pulled by the oxen!

In the visitors center.

Standing in the Mississippi River.

Nine months down...

2011-09-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

...and only three more to go until Madison's first birthday! Really!?! I think time goes by faster with each child! She has been a busy little girl since I last posted about her! Here is what she's been up to:

*Growing! She is now a whopping 17 lbs 2 oz and is 26 3/4 inches long. That puts her in the 25 percentile for both her height and weight.

*July was a big month for Madison, she learned to sit up and cut two teeth!

*Her hair is getting longer! It has a mind of it's own though, and the only thing it wants to do is stick straight up. Madison always looks like she stuck her finger in an outlet! Her headband and bow collection is growing, I just need to remember to put them on her!

*Her diet has expanded and now includes baby food and cereal. She also fusses at us if she sees us eating and we don't offer her any! She is an amazing eater and hasn't refused anything yet. She happily eats all her veggies, and even eats the baby food meats. Of course she loves fruit too!

*She is picking up toys and cheerios with two fingers now instead of her whole hand.

*She is crawling!!! It is the cutest thing to watch! She is an even happier baby now that she can get things all by herself!

*She 'talks' all the time! Her favorite thing to say is dada, in fact it's the only thing she says other than her baby babble. Not a single attempt at mama yet.

*She is such a happy, content baby! I can sit her on the floor with some toys and as long as one of her brothers is in the room she will sit there happily for really long stretches. (And I take full advantage of this to get laundry and other chores done!)

*It is so fun to dress a little girl! Madison has a lot of people who love her and supply her with endless amounts of adorable outfits! Get ready for picture overload...

These sweet shoes are courtesy of her Aunt Marci!

Even though she is completely ignoring me I think this picture is so cute!

She is the happiest baby unless you are a professional photographer trying to take her picture, then all she wants to do is cry!

Despite the look on her face she loves to eat!

If you click on this picture to see it bigger you will also see her two teeth!

She is so excited that she can get things all by herself!

Posts are coming!

2011-09-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Now that I've gotten everything unpacked, caught up on my tivo, made it through the first two weeks of school (mainly learning to be a morning person again!), and gotten back into the normal routine of life I'm ready to tackle the hundreds of pictures I have from our trip. I promise posts are coming!

More from West Virginia...

2011-07-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've posted these pictures before! Same activity, different people this time! We went boating three more times in WV. Riley must have gotten his fill of boating in TN because he refused to go with us. Tyler loved every minute of it and even discovered he likes tubing!

Tyler and Grandpa

Tyler couldn't believe it when Uncle Clif let him drive the boat!

We were moving when I told him to smile for this picture!

Clif got bored of just tubing!

Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia!

2011-07-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

The second stop in our road trip was West Virginia. We got to my parents house Saturday night, and early Sunday morning my dad, younger brother and I went white water rafting. West Virginia has some of the best white water in the world, and it's one of my favorite things to do when I come home in the summer!

My dad is in the front on the left, I'm right behind him, and Daniel is in the middle on the right.

First stop: Tennessee

2011-07-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

We got to spend a week at the greatest bed and breakfast in Tennessee! The amenities included a buddy for each of my kids to play with, three meals a day, a boat to go wake boarding on, and a gym with a pool and zumba classes. There was also a guys night planned for Matt and a girls night planned for me! We had a fabulous time!

Madison's first boat trip!

Spencer loves the tube! Tyler, not so much!

After three summers of unsuccessfully trying, I finally got up on a wake board!

For the record Matt is not about to drown, he is sitting on a life jacket!

I think the tub is maxed out at 4 kids, next summer they'll have to bath in shifts!

Riley attempted a sleep-over with Stephanie, that is until he woke up at 2 a.m. and got scared because he didn't know where he was!

These two have a true love-hate relationship. They were either sweet as can be to each other, or at each others throat! There was never an in between!

Let the adventure begin...

2011-06-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

This will probably be my last post for a while. We are starting a road trip this afternoon and won't be back until August 28! Today we are going to Tennessee to spend a week with friends, then we will be in West Virginia, Nauvoo, IL, Omaha, NE, Grand Junction, CO and Utah before heading back home. I'll try to post while we are gone, but in case I can't here are some random pictures to tide you over till we get back!

This is what happens when you spend the day at the beach and skip nap-time! I know it looks like breakfast, but this was actually his dinner!

My sweet girl!

He is so in love with his baby sister!

Another cute dress from her aunties!

A baby blessing and an impromptu photo shoot.

2011-06-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Our best friends blessed their newest addition a couple of Sundays ago, and while they were taking pictures afterwards I decided it was the perfect time for a new family photo. Luckily the kids were pretty cooperative!

This is the smile you get from Riley when he is being mischievous!

Five years ago, when we first started hanging out, there was only 8 of us!

This is the look I get when I tell Matt I want to take family pictures.

We've been working on our tans.

2011-06-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Now that school is out and the heat is rapidly rising we spend most of our time in the water! We are getting in as much beach and pool time as we can before our massive road trip that will take up the rest of the summer!

I'm pretty sure these two will be friends for life!

Madison and Annabelle hanging out at the beach.

Riley LOVED burying Tyler!

They tried surfing for the first time and they both did great!

Stephanie surrounded by boys. Could this be a glimpse into the future?

Pool side snack.

Doesn't Tyler have the cutest friends? We are in trouble when they become teenagers!

A trip to the farm.

2011-05-31T18:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend, Heidi, we discovered a blueberry farm near us. I have never picked blueberries before so we packed up the kids and headed over. The fields of blueberry bushes went on forever! It was a perfect day for picking, with one small exception - it is 'love bug' season here in Florida. If you have never heard of 'love bugs' I'll briefly explain; 'Love bugs' (I have no idea what their actually called) main source of food are mosquitoes so the folks over at FSU decided to start breading them here to try and reduce the number of mosquitoes in Florida. That sounds fabulous, but the problem is that since the bugs are not native to Florida they have no natural enemies here and they multiplied faster than expected. They breed twice a year and during those times they are everywhere! Luckily they are harmless, they remind me of lightning bugs. My point in bringing this up is they were out in full force while we were picking. This really only bothered one person in our group, Riley. We had been out of the car for maybe five minutes and I was busy strapping Madison into her front carrier when Riley started screaming his head off. I looked over and he was holding his arm up screaming at it. One 'love bug' had landed on his arm. Needless to say, he was terrified! I brushed the bug off, assured him the bugs were harmless and finished strapping Madison in. As we were walking up to get our buckets the screaming began again. Another bug had landed on him. He was now convinced that he was only safe if he was being held, so my mom picked him up and calmed him down. That lasted for about 20 minutes, then he decided only I could hold him. So my mom and I switched kids and I tried picking blueberries while holding Riley. The problem was that Riley kept trying to climb up me, like the higher he was the safer he was. All he wanted to do was get back in the car! I was about ready to take him when Tyler had to go to the bathroom. I took both boys and as we were walking I noticed there wasn't a single 'love bug' in sight. I pointed this out to Riley and he actually let me put him down while Tyler was in the bathroom. Then he walked back to where we had been picking, chatting to Tyler the whole way about the bugs being gone. Magically he was cured of his fear and started picking blueberries with me. It turned out to be a fun day for everyone. And the blueberries were delicious!!! We left with 6 pounds worth! I can't wait to go back next year!

Tyler and his friend, Savannah.

I think Tyler easily had the most fun! He didn't want to leave!

I really didn't think this was going to happen!

He ate more than he put in the bucket!

Madison helped my mom.

He was so proud of how many blueberries he picked!

Has it been 6 months already?

2011-05-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

The past 6 months have flown by! Madison has been busy growing and learning new things. She is now 14 lbs 2 oz and 24 1/4 inches long. She is a very happy baby and will smile at anyone who talks to her. Her brothers tend to get the biggest smiles though. I haven't been very good at posting pictures of my baby girl, so here are a bunch!

Her long, dark hair fell out and in it's place she now has a head full of 'fuzz'!

Her first try at baby food, it didn't go very well. She would just hold the food in her mouth and then let it fall out! My favorite part of this picture is Tyler making gang signs in the background!

Her favorite thing to do is roll around on the floor watching her brothers play.

Tyler loves to hold her and then say, "Go get your camera mom!"

She grabs at anything she can see, and she found her feet!

She always has that mouth open!

Three reasons why I love being a mother...

2011-05-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

Belated Birthday Post

2011-04-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

Turning 30 was pretty sweet! My day started with Matt and the boys bringing me breakfast in bed (chocolate-chip-banana pancakes, bacon, chocolate covered strawberries and orange juice). I then enjoyed a relaxing afternoon that included a one hour massage, window shopping and a pedicure. After the kids were in bed Matt and I ended the night with sushi and a movie. Best birthday ever!

The boys picked these flowers out for me!

Delicious!!! Matt is the best!

He must get it from his dad!

2011-04-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Tyler has questions about everything and is sometimes too observant for his own good! Case in point:

My neighbors were over for dinner one night and Tyler asked the mom, "Why does your hair look so weird? I mean it didn't look like that the other day." She kindly explained to him what a weave was. I wish I had a picture of his face when she got to the part about sewing the fake hair into her head!

We went out to brunch with my sister-in-laws when we were in Ft. Lauderdale and after our server (who was gay) took our drink orders Tyler asked Matt, "Why does that guy look like a boy but sound like a girl? I mean he looks like a boy!" Thankfully the server was no longer around when Tyler asked. I'm just glad we didn't get the transvestite that was also working that day, I can only imagine what Tyler would have asked!

Walking through the mall one day Tyler saw his first 'little person' and boy was he excited! Tyler (NOT using his indoor voice): "Mommy look at that little man! He is the same size as me but he's a man! How cool is that!?!" Me (whispering): "Tyler don't talk so loud!" Tyler (I'm starting to think he doesn't know what an indoor voice is): "But do you see the little man?!? Let's go over there I want to walk next to him!" Amazingly the 'little man' didn't seem to hear Tyler and I managed to convince him we didn't need to walk next to the guy!

The key to getting things done with 3 kids...

2011-04-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

...putting the older two to work! It's inevitable, if we have to be somewhere at a certain time (taking Tyler to school, church, doctor appointments, or play dates) Madison becomes a bottomless pit. Even if I've fed her on both sides she fusses like she hasn't eaten in days. So in order to get out of the house on time, or shower, or make dinner when Matt is at school, I enlist the help of her brothers. Usually the responsibility goes to Tyler, but Riley seems to think it's something fun to do and insists he get a turn too! They really are great helpers and make my life easier!

What a difference 4 months makes!

2011-03-31T16:26:00.000-07:00

In 4 short months Madison has gone from a skinny little girl with rolls of loose skin to a chubby little girl with fat rolls in all the right places! She has gone from sleeping all the time to smiling and 'talking' whenever she's not eating! She has more than doubled her birth weight and is now 12 lbs 10 oz. Her ears have also healed and she is sporting new pink earrings. She is getting cuter and more fun each day!

She LOVES the bath! She can be screaming her head off and as soon I start filling the tub she stops.

She is not a fan of the getting out part!

I came home from a girls night and found her crashed out with daddy!

She is a big fan of the bouncy seat!

She is becoming a champion sleeper and has finally developed a night time schedule!!! She gets a bath with her brothers, eats and is asleep by 8:00. Then we don't hear from her until between 5:00-6:00! This makes me one happy mama!

Celebrating 5 years of Tyler!

2011-03-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Tyler's birthday landed on a Monday this year, so we celebrated the weekend before in Ft. Lauderdale. Marci and Mel were in town to celebrate with us! Tyler was thrilled to be the 'birthday boy' for a few extra days, but he was not willing to age faster than he had to. Whenever anyone asked him how old he was he would say, "Right now I'm 4 but on Monday I'll be 5!" On Monday he got to go shopping at Toys R Us for a present from both his Granny's and us. It took him over an hour to pick out what he wanted! We also saved cupcakes and singing for Monday. I think this was his best birthday yet!

First beach trip of the season!

My boys!

Madison enjoyed her first trip to the beach!

I don't think he could be any cuter!

Her aunties can't get enough of her!

Tyler was thoroughly spoiled by his aunties!

He was so excited when he opened this remote control truck from Grandpa and Jeri!

Riley helped make Tyler's cupcakes!

He wanted strawberry icing, but I couldn't make all his cupcakes pink so I threw in some chocolate ones!

The past 5 years have been a joy, we love you buddy!!!

Sunday Best

2011-03-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

It was finally warm enough for Madison to wear a dress to church so I decided pictures were in order!

Big week for a little girl!

2011-01-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

Madison has been a busy little girl this week with a doctor visit and a trip to Claire's. She saw the doctor on Wednesday for her 2 month check-up and boy has she grown! She weighed in at 9 lbs 6 oz and measured 20 1/2 inches long. She is now sporting her new born attire! On Friday we went to Claire's and got her ears pierced! Luckily since I work at Claire's I got to do it myself. I've pierced a lot of young babies and Madison was one of the easiest! She cried like all babies do, but calmed down as soon as she got a bottle. Her earrings look so cute as you can see for yourself!

Our little surprise!

2010-12-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to posting Madison's birth story! Here it is:

My OB had me get another ultrasound at 34 weeks to check on the size of the baby and we found out she was breech. I was told that a vaginal birth wouldn't be an option unless she turned. The decision was made to wait until 37 weeks and if she hadn't turned on her own my OB would try turning her. The only risk in waiting until 37 weeks was if my water broke before then there would no longer be the option to turn her.

Sunday night, November 21, my lower back was killing me and I joked that I just wanted the baby out already. I was only 36 weeks, so I doubted that would really happen. Little did I know I was about to get what I wanted! The next day I was sitting with the boys eating lunch and when I stood up to get Tyler something my pants were suddenly soaked. I went and sat in the bathroom. At that point I wasn't sure if my water had broke or I'd just peed my pants. As I sat there more liquid started trickling out and I was sure I wasn't peeing. I called my doctor's office and they told me to go straight to labor and delivery. We didn't exactly rush to the hospital, I was hoping most of my amniotic fluid would come out before we left so I took a shower and spent a lot of time sitting on the toilet! Having your water break is actually kind of annoying. It was interesting trying to get a hospital bag together while also trying not to make a mess everywhere! We finally left the house an hour later. I had put a heavy flow pad on before leaving and it was full before I got in the car. By the time we got to labor and delivery my shorts were soaked and I was leaving a trail on the floor. When I told the nurse at the check in desk I was pretty sure my water had broke she told me I'd have to go back down to triage on the first floor and get checked out before they could admit me. So Matt and I got back in the elevator and went down to the first floor. As I filled in some paper work a nurse was called to do the exam. I asked if I could get a towel just as the nurse walked up, and after taking one look at my soaked shorts she rolled her eyes and told the girl behind the desk that she was skipping the exam since it was pretty obvious my water had broke! After I was admitted an ultrasound machine was brought in, and despite my crossed fingers, she was still breech. My c-section was scheduled for 8:00. Madison Elizabeth Boyce was born at 8:13. She weighed 5 lbs 8 oz and was 17 1/2 inches long. We spent 3 days in the hospital and were released on Thanksgiving. Recovery this time around has been a lot harder! I told Matt that I'd rather give birth naturally with no epidural than have another c-section!

Madison is now almost 2 weeks old and she is such a good baby! She is tiny and we had to borrow some preemie clothes from a friend just so she'd have clothes that fit! Her brothers can't get enough of her. Tyler especially is so excited to have a baby sister. Riley loves holding her. Neither of them likes it when she cries, and Riley will immediately ask me to feed the baby. We have been blessed with lots of help from both our moms, so the transition from 2 kids to 3 has been pretty easy so far.

In case you haven't heard...

2010-11-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

...Madison decided to come early! I guess she didn't want her birthday lumped in with Christmas! I'm in desperate need of a nap so I'll post the full story later. Really quick though, her stats were 5 lbs 8 oz, 17 1/2 in. not bad for being 4 weeks early. Click on the link below to see pictures!

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=331956&id=793659847&l=20599bdc21

Haircuts!

2010-10-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be cute for the boys to be Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Halloween, so we were growing their hair out for the costume. Tyler had other ideas though, he had his heart set on being Batman. I decided it wasn't worth trying to convince him my costume would be 'cool' too, so he won and is going as Batman this year. Since we changed costume ideas the boys no longer needed long hair, and the other night they both got a trim. I made Matt promise not to shave their heads this time!

Before: Showing off the tattoos they got from the air show.

After: I think Riley looks so much older now!

This is what you get when you ask Riley to say cheese!

He speaks!

2010-10-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

What a difference a couple of months makes! When Riley turned two he literally only said five words. Tyler started school at the end of August and since then Riley's vocabulary has exploded! I started keeping a list of the words he was saying, but after 30 I lost track of which where new! Sometimes his pronunciation isn't perfect and I (or Tyler) have to 'translate' for him, but most of his words come out really clear. There are times when I wish he wasn't so chatty though. It turns out Riley is the worst back seat driver ever! If we are stopped at a red light, or we're waiting to turn all I hear from the back seat is "Go go (short pause) go go! Go go, (even shorter pause and louder this time) go go!" He also likes to tell me to stop whenever he feels like it, especially when it's a completely inappropriate time to stop. His three favorite phrases are: "Oh right" (I love this one! It's his response to being told almost anything.) "Come on" (Said while either pulling your hand, or motioning with his hand.) "All done" (Said when he's eating something and sees something he thinks looks better.) He has the cutest little voice! I need to video tape him talking so I don't forget how he sounds now!

A pregnancy post.

2010-10-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

This pregnancy has gone by pretty fast. We decided not to tell people until we knew the sex, and it seems like people are still just finding out I'm pregnant! I guess it doesn't help that I show late. It's been an uneventful pregnancy until recently. I had a regular check-up when I was 27 weeks and my doctor commented on how small I looked. Then he measured my uterus and found out I didn't just look small, I measured small. He explained that at 20 weeks they expect the top of the uterus to be at the belly button, which was where mine was at. The following week I went in for an ultrasound to make sure everything was ok. We got nothing but good news, the baby measured average for her gestational age, everything looked normal and my amniotic fluid wasn't low. After the tech finished getting all the measurements she needed she switched to 3D. It was really cool to see the baby in more detail and we got some great pictures. We didn't find out why I'm measuring so small, but we found out nothing is wrong. One reason I'm small could be because my little girl is literally folded in half. On the ultrasound you could see her arm wrapped around her legs, with her feet above her head! Since then I have gotten a little bigger and at my last appointment I only measured 2 weeks behind. My doctor is being cautious and I'm going in for another ultrasound at 34 weeks to check on the size of the baby. I feel great though! Tyler thinks I'm huge and every other week he will look at me and exclaim, "Look my baby sister is getting bigger!" I doubt Riley really gets the whole pregnancy thing, but if you ask him where the baby is he will point to my stomach. He even gives his sister kisses! Hopefully the next 9 weeks go by as fast as the first 31 have!

Here I am at 30 weeks.

All caught up!

2010-10-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

I finished all the posts for September so I'm finally caught up. It feels good! Now I just have to work on blogging more regularly so I don't have to do a bunch of posts at once again!

Coming soon...

2010-09-24T05:37:00.000-07:00

...some posts! Here is a sneak preview of things to come: Riley's 2nd birthday and latest check-up, Tyler's first dentist appointment and first day of preschool, Riley's attempt to get child services to investigate us, and some belly shots! Since I plan on making a book out of my blog as a family scrap book I'm going to date the posts when they took place, so they won't show up as recent on your blog lists. Just keep checking in!

Riley's shiner.

2010-09-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Riley was carrying one of the toddler chairs we have when he tripped. I didn't actually see it happen because he was on the other side of the island, but I heard the chair hit the floor followed by crying. I'm guessing when he fell his face landed on one of the legs. When I first examined him it didn't look very bad, I saw a scrape and lots of redness around his eye. It didn't take long for the swelling to start. The above picture is later that night.

This is what he looked like before he went to bed.

It was a little swollen the next morning.

Day 2 the bruise really started to set in. I was getting looks at the store from strangers! Then we went to the library and there was a social worker in the play room supervising a couple with their child. I was hoping Riley wouldn't look directly at her, but he had to be his friendly self and say hi! His eye looked even worse than this a couple of days later when the bruise was at it's darkest and went all the way around his eye. I never got any pictures of that though. Luckily this happened the day after we had family pictures taken!

A visit with friends.

2010-09-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Vanessa was in town watching her siblings while her parents were in Brazil, so we got to play! We got together severl times during the week, but I only remembered my camera the last night we hung out! Every time I see a picture of the boys together I can't believe how grown up they are.

Future couple? I think they have potential!

This is how we spent our summer!

2010-09-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Look who's a student now!

2010-08-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Tyler had a 30 minute meet and greet with his new preschool teacher, Ms. Allison. That morning at breakfast I told him he needed to hurry and eat because we were going to his school to meet his teacher. He asked if I would be at school with him, and when I said no he got really sad. He kept telling me how much he was going to miss me and wanted to hug every 5 seconds. I told him school was going to be just like Primary, we drop him off and then pick him up when it's over. I hoped that reminding him how much he liked primary would cheer him up. His response was, "I only like Primary because you're still at church." I dropped him off at his classroom and spent the 30 minutes outside filling out the remainder of the paper work the school needed. The meet and greet with Ms. Allison made Tyler forget all about missing mommy while he was in school. When I went back to get him he didn't want to leave. Ms. Allison told him he could stay longer the next day and he was so excited! He couldn't wait to go to school the next morning. I dropped him off without a problem, and when I picked him up he asked why I was back so soon. He said he really liked his first day. Our conversation in the car went like this:

Me: What did you do in school?

Tyler: We did lots of stuff!

Me: Oh yeah, like what?

Tyler: I can't remember.

Me: You can't think of one thing you did?

Tyler: We did so much stuff I can't even remember one thing.

Eventually he told me they listened to music and danced. I'm sure they did more than that! The most important thing is he loves going to school!

Tyler's first dentist appointment!

2010-08-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

I waited until Tyler was a little older to take him to the dentist for the first time because all my friends who took their kids at 3 had bad experiences. I still wasn't sure how the appointment would go, so I crossed my fingers and said a little prayer before we left. I could tell Tyler was nervous as we left the house because he was silent (which almost never happens these days). I asked him if he was scared and he said yes. His biggest concern? That the dentist's toothbrush would be too big for his mouth. He was still apprehensive when they called his name and we were walking back to the room. The dental assistant was an older lady and she was great with Tyler. She showed him how the chair moved before having him climb into it and then she showed him all the instruments the dentist would be using and let him touch them while she explained what they were for. He was so excited to see how small the toothbrush head was! By the time the dentist came in Tyler was much more relaxed. I was still a little nervous about how the exam would go, but Tyler proved I had nothing to worry about. He let the dentist count his teeth and thoroughly check out the inside of his mouth. Then she told him she was going to clean his teeth. He lifted his head up and asked, "Do you have a sink for me to spit into?" He laid back down when she reminded him what the suction tube was for (which they named Mr. Thirsty). He laid perfectly still and kept his mouth open through the entire cleaning. No tears, no complaints. As soon as he could talk again he couldn't wait to tell the dentist how Mr. Thirsty had tickled the inside of his mouth. He thought it was so funny! The dentist gave him high praise for how good he was. He even sat through the floride treatment like it was nothing. I know we aren't suppose to be prideful, but I have to admit I was one proud mama by the end of his appointment! He loved the prize box and spent a good five minutes checking out it's contents before settling on a monster truck. (The prizes you get at the dentist have drastically improved since I was a kid!) He showed me a princess puzzle that he was picking for his baby sister and then told me he needed to find something for Riley. He was pretty dissapointed when I told him he could only take one thing, but I was proud of him for thinking of his siblings. Unfortunately in our rush to leave the house on time I forgot to grab my camera, so I have no pictures. I'll have to remember it next time! Instead I've included a picture of Tyler's first tattoo!

What is Riley like now that he's two?

2010-08-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Turning two means another trip to the doctor. Riley didn't mind the check-up until it was time for shots. Luckily he only had to get one. He must have sensed what was coming because he started fighting to get off my lap as soon as the nurse got the alcohol wipe out. He is one strong kid! I had to hold him down and the nurse had to hold his leg to keep him still enough to administer the shot. After a few minutes of hysterical crying he finally decided he wasn't dying anymore! He now has a year to forget the experience before he has to go back! His stats from this appointment: 24 1/2 lbs. 31 in. tall, and a clean bill of health! But what really makes Riley, Riley? Well...

- Two words that perfectly describe him: stubborn and independent. His Granny will tell you he gets it from me! He insists on doing quite a few things on his own - buckles (carseat, stroller, high chair, shopping carts), going up and down the stairs, eating (until he gets tired of doing it himself, then he hands us his fork or spoon), 'riding' his bike (he will not let us teach him how to push the pedals, he insists on pushing the bike with his feet) and cleaning his teeth (he loses this battle each night and ends up crying while we clean his teeth.).

- He is a man of few words, very few words! He says mama, dada, hi, bye and no. No is actually his favorite word, it's his answer for everything! Even when he means yes, he still says no. I think his lack of a vocabulary is the result of two things: 1. He has an older brother who talks for him, and Riley is completely happy with the arrangement. If anyone asks Riley a question and Tyler is within ear shot he will immediately answer it. Then Riley looks at the question asker with a look that says, "There you go, that's the answer." 2. Personality. Riley is very much an observer. At the park his favorite thing to do is swing while he watches the other kids run around. In a large group setting he'll find a toy to hold then sit and watch what everyone else is doing. I'm not worried about it because I know he understands what we say to him and he follows directions very well. I don't think he feels the need to talk yet. Once he decides he wants to talk I'm sure he just will.

-He is good as gold when I trim his finger nails, but if I even try to touch his toes or feet he freaks out. The only time your allowed to touch his feet is when you put his shoes on, otherwise they are off limits.

- He loves to color and he actually holds crayons the right way.

- He is still in love with the tag on his blanket. In fact I have to sew the tag back on one of them because it's about to fall off! He will not go to sleep until you hand him the tag.

- He is a BIG eater. No matter how big his breakfast is, 30 minutes later he'll be back in the kitchen looking for a snack. He hasn't met a fruit he doesn't like.

- He idiolizes Tyler! If Tyler is doing something he has to do the same. This can cause some frustration, especially when he's not physically big enough to what Tyler is doing.

- He has two smiles: 1. His happy, "I'm the cutest boy you've ever seen." 2. His mischevious, "I know what I'm about to do/currently doing I shouldn't so I'll distract you with my cute smile."

"What are you doing Tyler?"

"Hi mom!"

"I know this is how Tyler does it."

I can't believe it's true, but my little man is two!

2010-08-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Riley turned two on Wednesday! On his birthday he got ballons and his first cookie at Publix. A couple of days later we got together with a few friends to celebrate. It was hard to tell what he was thinking while we sang to him, but he loved blowing out the candle! He wasn't too sure about the cake at first, so we got him some help to show him how it was done. Thanks Stephanie! Overall I think he had a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

I know you can't tell from this picture, but he was so excited about his balloons!

Naked boys are easier to clean than clothes!

This brown stuff isn't too bad!

This is how you eat cake Riley.

Now he's got it!

Don't they make a cute pair?

Sometimes boys can wear pink!

2010-07-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

We wrapped things up in West Virginia.

2010-07-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

After our fabulous time in New York, we got to spend the remaining 4 days of our vacation in West Virginia. We had a blast white water rafting, boating, touring a glass factory and just hanging out with everyone.

Grandpa and Tyler checking out some glass at the factory.

Getting ready to watch a glass blowing demo at Blinko Glass Factory. Tyler loved it!

Tyler got stuck in the baby swing after I told him not to get in it!

Love that face!

Matt finally got to wakeboard, and he couldn't have been happier!

New York!

2010-07-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our anniversary this year we spent 5 days in New York visiting my sister-in-law, Marci. Our trip included a Yankee's game, roof top swimming, a picnic and movie at Bryant Park, a Broadway show, an afternoon at the Manhattan Temple, a stroll through Times Square, a stop in New Jersey and lots of good food! We had the best tour guide in town! It was so nice to get to spend some 'adult' time with you Marci! Thanks again for everything!

Matt and Marci, aren't they cute?

Ready to watch the Yankee's play on the 4th.

We had the best seats in the house, in the shade!

You can't go to a baseball game and not eat a hot dog!

Sometimes the subway can get a little crowded!

I know it's hard to tell, but they are siblings! :)

Picnic, Uno and a movie at Bryant Park. Great group of people!

Off for a day of sweets!

Our first stop was this cool candy shop owned by Ralph Lauren's daughter. Three stories of candy!

Then Marci introduced us to frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. One word: Heavenly!

Best lunch ever!

Dinner at Capital Grill was AMAZING!

You know how you feel after a good Thanksgiving meal? Yeah, that's how we all felt!

There are a lot of good places to eat in New York. One afternoon we had lunch at Barbuto, owned by one of my favorite chef's Jonathan Waxman.

After lunch we spent some time at the Manhattan Temple.

Such a contrast to the busy, noisy city just outside!

Marci scored us some free tickets to see this on Broadway! Amazing show, thanks again Marci!

The theater was beautiful!

Pool at Peter Dillans.

Love him!

One of the best sister-in-laws ever!

I love the show 'Cake Boss' on TLC, so on our way home we stopped in Hoboken, NJ to pick up some sweet treats. We weren't the only ones with that idea!

It took us an hour and a half to get into the bakery, but it was well worth the wait! I would definitely be fat if we lived nearby!

Tennessee

2010-07-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here they are, the pictures from our trip to Tennessee! We had such a great time spending a week with the Martos family. We spent most of our time boating, we went out to a lake 3 different times. Gotta love summer! If you are ever in Tennessee I highly recommend looking up the Martos Bed and Breakfast, you won't be disappointed!

The twins together again.

How cute are they?!?

Tubing on our first trip.

I think Tyler enjoyed it more than Riley!

The only time these two stayed still long enough to get a picture!

We explored some waterfalls one afternoon.

It was really pretty, but the water was COLD!

This is as close as Riley would get to the waterfall!

One morning we found a baby bird in the garage.

The boys were fascinated with it!

Water skiing on our second trip.

Proof that Matt actually tried water skiing! This only happened because they didn't have a wake board.

Riley tried tubing again, but still no smile.

Vanessa and I.

Saying good-bye.

Thanks for everything guys! We can't wait to see you again!

A trip to West Virginia.

2010-06-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from our trip to West Virginia. We got to spend some quality time with my family and we helped Uncle Clif break in his new boat!

Riley found a caterpillar and was quite fascinated with it!

It kept going lower and lower...

...and so did Riley!

Modeling Aunt Terri's shoes.

Playing with Grandpa.

Helping Daniel mow the lawn.

With my boys on mother's day. Out of about 30 pictures this was the best one!

What every mom needs!

2010-06-17T05:48:00.000-07:00

Like I said before, in March I met up with my first roomies from college in Georgia for a girls only get-a-way. For four days I got to relive my freshman year (minus the classes and tests), and remember what it was like to be single, have no responsibilities, and just enjoy hanging out with the girls! My boys hardly even missed me with both Grannies in town taking care of them!

This is where we stayed.

Christine, Linda, Lechelle, Em and me.

It had been 10 years since we were all together!

Lechelle showing off her skills!

Em and I brought plenty of our own!

The sea turtles were fun and educational!

One afternoon we rented these bad boys...

...and one of these since we had an odd number.

Riding along the beach. It wasn't as relaxing as it looks, pedaling those things took a lot of work!

Pillow fight!

Em called a truce!

Can you guess who wanted to go to the beach? It was a little too cold for me!

We did our own facials one night...

...and then went out for pedicures the next day.

As soon as we saw this sign we knew we had to eat there!

Best food we had all week!

For the record I really wanted to move the Georgia Bull Dog for the picture, but some thought it might be rude!

It was such a great trip! I can't wait for the next one!

Trips, trips, trips...

2010-06-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging lately because of a lack of things to blog about, I've just been lazy. We have actually been on three trips in the past couple of months that I've been meaning to post about! The problem? I have a million pictures from each trip, and I just haven't felt like weeding through them! I promise to have some upcoming posts soon! Here is a little preview:

1. Way back in March I met up with my roommates from my freshman year of college for a girls only get-a-way. We spent four days in Georgia and it was a fabulous trip!

2. In May I found some super cheap tickets to WV and a week later the boys and I were on a plane! We enjoyed 10 fun filled days with my family. It was such a fun trip that Tyler cried almost the entire flight back because he didn't want to leave!

3. Two weeks ago we were in TN visiting some friends. This time Matt got to come! It was a really fun trip, we just wish they still lived in FL so we could hang out more often!

Picture catch-up!

2010-05-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post some pictures of the boys that I've taken over the past month or so. The majority of the pictures are of Riley since he is the only one that will let me take his picture! I did manage to get a couple of Tyler though!

This is what happens when you wake up way to early in the morning, you don't make it through lunch!

I guess we have a high chair theme going on here! This is Riley's unsuccessful attempt at getting out of his high chair!

The boys love to wear my shoes! I think they like the way the heals sound when they walk!

My little poser!

His favorite thing at the park is the swing!

Just being silly!

Coloring together.

The beginning of the end.

2010-05-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago I celebrated my 29th birthday, my last year in the 20's! Matt took me out to my favorite sushi place on my birthday and then he threw a party for me a couple of days later. It was a great birthday, thanks honey!

With my hot date before we went out!

The boys got me this statue to add to my collection.

With Deb and Mel at the party.

Thanks for coming everyone!

A trip to Naples.

2010-04-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

The boys and I got to go to Naples for a couple of days to visit our friends, the Rosen family. It was fun hanging out with them again and the boys loved having friends to play with 24/7! We had a great time! Thanks for everything Manda!

The crew. It's really hard to get 4 boys to sit still for a picture!

Manda is super creative and came up with this 'map game' for the boys to play. They each got a map of the US which they colored first, then she would ask them to find a certain state by looking for the letter it began with. Once they found the state they each got to put a star sticker on it. They found all the states that the boys family and friends lived in. The boys loved it! Here they are with their maps.

Riley colored during the map game. I guess the boys were too loud for him!

The beaches in Naples are definitely nicer than Daytona! It seems like there are more shells on the beach than sand!

Has it really been 4 years?!?

2010-04-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

The answer is yes! Tyler's birthday was March 28th. To celebrate we took him to see 'How To Train Your Dragon' and told him he could invite some friends. When I asked him who he wanted to invite he named every person he knows! He ended up having 4 friends come, which was a fun coincidence since it was his 4th birthday! His birthday landed on a Sunday so we saw the movie the day before and saved cake and presents for the next day. Tyler was one happy birthday boy! Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

Jon, Tyler, Eddie and Gregory ready for the movie!

The movie was in 3D, but only Eddie kept his glasses on the whole time!

Tyler with all his friends.

Helping to make his cake.

He wanted a Transformers theme, and Bumble Bee is his favorite!

Ready to open his presents!

Thanks for decorating his cake Lindsey!

One of my favorite pictures!

In a nutshell...

2010-03-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

...this is what we've been up to lately.

Granny came for a visit.

We went to Time Out for Women...

...with these fabulous ladies!

These two got together again!

Shilo and Riley are still the cutest 'twins' ever!

We caught up with old friends in Miami...

...because this guy got married!

Congratulations Tom and Arianne!

Lessons learned.

2010-03-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

Tyler has learned a few lessons the hard way lately.

1. This is what happens when you start running before you look where you are going. I think the corner of the wall won!

2. This is what happens when you collide with a friend who is taller than you, and your friends tooth hits your head.

Monster Jam

2010-03-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

Tickets..............................................................$20

Maximum Destruction Flag...........................$10

2 Hot Chocolates...............................................$8

Popcorn.............................................................$6

Seeing the excitement on Tyler's face....Priceless

This picture needs a little explanation: Tyler was so excited about the sign daddy helped him make that he wanted to show it to everyone. The only problem is he opened it up right in front of Matt's face!

A new look!

2010-02-21T19:11:00.000-08:00

I was getting bored with my hair so I decided to try out a new look. My friend, Susie, is responsible for the cut and I think she did a fabulous job!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

Matt surprised me with these for Valentines Day:

This was Tyler's reaction to Matt's gift:

Tyler: "You got mommy flowers and a bear?"

Matt: "That's right."

Tyler: "She loves roses. When she sees roses and a bear she is going to give you a kiss on the lip daddy. On the lip!"

Instead of a buying me a box of chocolates Matt made me white chocolate creme brule. It was delicious and he certainly got that kiss on the lips!

Brothers

2010-02-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Oh Oedipus!

2010-01-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

Matt and I went to the temple on Saturday and when we got home Tyler excitedly asked us if we got married. (A verse from the "Family" song talks about being married in God's temple.) Later that night the boys were looking at some of our wedding pictures when Tyler and I had the following conversation:

Tyler: "When I get bigger I'm going to marry you in the temple mommy."
Me: "Or maybe you will meet a nice girl to marry in the temple."
Tyler: "No I'm going to marry you mommy because I just love you."

Our Christmas

2010-01-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

The holidays were a bit of a whirlwind for me this year, I started working full time 2 weeks before Christmas. My mom flew in to help watch the boys which was a huge help! I never got around to making my traditional Christmas plates, but I did send out cards, even though most people got theirs late! My dad and sister were planning on driving down to celebrate with us, but when an emergency came up at work my dad wasn't able to get away. We still had a full house though with my mom, Matt's mom and Mel here. This is the first year that Tyler really got the concept of Santa and he was so excited when he saw all the presents under the tree Christmas morning. He credited Santa with bringing all his presents though, and would correct anyone who tried to tell him a present was from an aunt or a grandparent. He would adamantly inform us, "No all my presents are from Santa!" Once again it took us several hours to finish opening presents. Last year it was because Tyler wanted to play with his toys as he opened them. Unfortunately this year it was because Tyler was sick. He was really excited when he woke up, but after opening two presents he laid on the couch and told us he was tired of opening presents. A few minutes later he was in the bathroom throwing up. He wanted a hug after he was sick, so I was sitting on the bathroom floor holding him when he threw up down my back! Then when he stood up he threw up again right in my lap. Needless to say we took a break from present opening so I could change and Tyler could lay down until he felt better. I don't know what he had, but by late morning he was feeling better and enjoyed opening the rest of his presents. I doubt Riley really knew what was going on, but we dressed him up in a little Santa suit and had him hand out presents. He liked opening his and insisted on throwing each piece of wrapping paper away as he tore it off, another reason it took us so long to open presents! The boys were thoroughly spoiled! They were not the only ones. A few of my presents couldn't be wrapped. Matt finished the railing on our stairs so we could hang stockings, and painted two of the walls in our living room (thanks to Mel and Deb for pitching in on that!) so we could hang pictures! I also got my couches professionally cleaned and they look brand new (thanks mom!). Matt got one of his favorite movies for Christmas so after dinner he and the boys had a movie night while we ladies went out for a girls night. It was a great Christmas!

Our finished railing!

The tree on Christmas morning before the insanity began!

The boys in their Christmas pj's.

Inspecting his stocking.

Love that smile!

Cuddling up with Granny Deb and Aunt Mel.

The newest addition to Tyler's Hess collection, from Grandpa Don.

Deb and Mel.

Feeling much better!

Apparently Matt and my mom took all the pictures Christmas morning because I couldn't find any pictures of them!

Happy Birthday Marci!!!

2009-12-30T17:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday sis! I really wish we were in New York celebrating with you! Your birthday card is probably going to be late, so hopefully this makes up for it! We love you and miss you tons!

Riley's turn!

2009-12-13T17:37:00.000-08:00

I think it's time for Riley to get a post since the last two were about Tyler, plus I never posted after his 15 month check-up. His check-up went well, it was his first appointment with Dr. Rodriguez and Riley seemed to like him. Riley weighed in at 23 lbs and was 29 inches long which puts him in the 30th percentile for his height and weight. The nurse was surprised he was so low on the growth chart considering how chubby he is! After listening to his heart for about 5 minutes Dr. Rodriguez asked me if he has always had a heart murmur, to which I said no. Although heart murmurs are common in babies, Riley got to go to the hospital and get an echo cardiogram to make sure it wasn't anything serious. He was a good little patient and laid quiet for the first ten minutes before he got tired of having the gel and sensor on him. The echo showed his heart is fine.

He's my stubborn, independent little man! Here are some fun facts about Riley:

* He makes no effort to talk other than mama, dada, see and this. He understands what we're saying though and follows directions, so I know he'll talk when he decides he wants to. If I try to get Riley to say something Tyler will inform me that babies don't talk!

* He loves being outside, but he hates having anything on his hands. When he falls down he uses his hands to get back up, and he freaks out when he gets dirt on his palms. He'll start whining and want me to wipe his hands off. The first time he took a bubble bath he wanted me to wipe the bubbles off his hands every time he touched them.

He insists on sitting on the dryer whenever I do laundry.

He never sucked his thumb or became attached to pacifiers, but he loves his bottle. When he's done drinking he'll play and walk around with the bottle clenched in his teeth.

"Mom I want my bottle!"

If he can't be outside he'll settle for looking out the window.

He is obsessed with putting shoes on his hands!

Two peas in a pod!

2009-12-10T19:19:00.001-08:00

Best buddies!

In front of the big Christmas tree in St. Augustine.

Vanessa and I.

My little song bird!

2009-12-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

Tyler has really taken an interest in singing lately. His two favorite songs are 'Families Can Be Together Forever' and 'I Am a Child of God'. He also knows the alphabet song, the snowman song, 'Follow the Prophet' (his version has a third verse, "Follow the prophet he goes away"), 'Popcorn popping', and some of 'Teach Me to Walk'. He is always singing! The other day we were getting groceries and he was walking around the store singing his ABC's. He got lots of smiles from other shoppers! Here is a clip of him singing 'I Am a Child of God' after he got out of the bath the other night. Enjoy a little of what I get to hear everyday!

My quirky kid!

2009-11-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

Tyler has recently started to find his sense of humor. His new favorite phrase is, "That was just a joke!" He thinks it's really funny to put his clothes on wrong when I ask him to get dressed. Then with a little laugh he will ask me if his clothes are on right. Here are a few examples:

He also likes to keep things interesting when he watches TV:

Halloween

2009-11-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

I'm finally posting Halloween pictures! Tyler was really excited about Halloween this year. He loved picking his costume out, and finally found one he liked after trying on six! He settled on Wolverine even though he's never seen X-Men! One advantage of having two boys is that I got to recycle one of Tyler's old costumes, and Riley was a puppy. The first time Riley saw himself in his costume he was fascinated with his reflection and spent about ten minutes staring and pointing at himself in the mirror. Unfortunately the magic wore off before we took pictures! I think Riley was just annoyed by the costume most of the night and it was off before we were done trick-or-treating. Riley didn't really get the whole trick-or-treating thing and only made it to a couple of houses. Tyler on the other hand remembered last year and wanted to run to every house. Since his bucket was small we brought a larger bag to dump his candy in once the bucket filled up. Tyler thought he had to empty his bucket after every house, so he would come running back to us yelling, "Daddy, Daddy look what I got!" He would show Matt one piece at a time and say who the candy was for. All the suckers were for Tyler, and any chocolate candy pieces were for Daddy! I think Tyler noticed he wasn't getting very many suckers, so after the first couple of houses he started following "trick-or-treat" with "Do you have any suckers?" We went with his friend, Greg, from church and the boys had a really fun night!

My little puppy!

Wolverine showing his claws!

My boys!

Riley was always the last one to the door...

...and Tyler was always the first!

Daddy had to help Riley so he could get to the door before all the kids left!

Haircuts!

2009-10-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-10-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-10-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

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!"

2009-10-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

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!)