What A Little Ladies Man

The handsome yet menacing smirk...the sparking blue eyes, the tough manly motorbike...

yes- he is ALL boy.

I had to post this picture because it made me smile at what an adorable little boy he is becoming. He's sweet and kisses me in the mornings...he loves being read to on my lap and he has dimples to die for. But he is also becoming a rough-and-tumble little boy who finds great joy is destroying his sister's block castles and splashing his hand in the toilet water.

And as evidenced in this picture- ...yes, he's also the kind of daring boy who rides his motorcycle with no pants on.

:-)

Mystery Fruit

Can anyone tell me what the heck these are??

Last spring I noticed a small tree on the side of our house was producing some fruit. I cut one open but it was still green an unripe, so I couldn't tell what it was. It had tons of little seeds in the middle- kind of like a kiwi or some tropical fruit of some sort. But before they could fully ripen, our gardeners accidentally trimmed the tree back and they were gone!

So finally its spring again, and my mystery fruit are beginning to appear! They are still small and hard, so I'll keep checking on them as they ripen. Hopefully I can get to the bottom of this mystery tree.

Here are a few pieces of information that could help-

* It blooms small white flowers

*It only blooms in the Spring

* It doesn't lose its leaves in the winter
* It grows next to our grapefruit and lemon/lime hybrid tree (I call those limons!)

Let me know if you can help me figure it out!

Also, here's a pretty picture of my new Hibiscus that bloomed :)

A Little Housekeeping...

So just a few tidbits around the blog lately.....

First a big shout-out to the new blogs on the block! A couple more people haven fallen victim to the blogging addiction, so see my list on the sidebar and check them out! The latest additions are:

*Robinson Family

*Knudtson Family (Kayla, did I spell your last name right?)

*Kristy Heinrichs

*Wiley Family

*Terveen Family

Also, I added a list on the sidebar of the most recent books I have just finished, or are currently reading. If it weren't for my faithful girls' group ...I don't know if I would haven been so dedicated to reading all of those!

Lastly, here's a fun little activity that I've seen before on other blogs.....

Take a look at the picture below. It was taken at Nana's house at Thanksgiving this past year. The look on Ty's face and on the face of his cousin David is hilarious. The picture itself is totally out of focus and dark, but you can still see their expressions.

So the game is- make a funny caption, quote or story to go with this picture. Email me (brianderson24@gmail.com) or just leave a comment, and the person with the best caption wins! Have fun!

(you might be able to click on the picture to enlarge it an see it in all its glory)

Picture Day!

So today is picture day at school, and Bella was very excited to put on her favorite "Minnie Mouse dress" (that's what she calls it because Minnie wears pink with polka-dots). We even found a matching ribbon that was perfect for her hair. But this time, I made her practice her smile before going to school because last years' picture day.....let's just say we will always look at it in her photo albums and laugh. It's one of those hilarious pictures that will one day end up in an embarrassing photo montage at her wedding :-)

Anyway, so here is my little model- trying out new poses, pouts and smiles for the camera. She's simply gorgeous, and I am ever so grateful and honored to have the privilege of being her mom.

Hopefully this years' picture day turns out better!!

They Really Do Love Each Other!

Just a quick story that I had to post because it just melted my heart!

Ty and Bella were busy chasing each other and playing in the playroom this morning while I was drinking my coffee and cleaning up the kitchen. Bella came running in to inform me that "Tyler stinks like poop". So I followed Bella back to the playroom to get Tyler and go change his diaper. As I scooped him up and we headed down the hall to his room, he waves to his sister and calls out,

"Bye Bayah!" (His way of saying Bella)

over and over again! At first I thought he was just talking in his baby babble. But he kept repeating it and it became clear that he was definitely saying "Bye Bayah!" So I pointed to Bella and asked him, "Tyler, who's that?" and he smiled and said "Bayah!!"

**Melt**

They were smiling at each other and I could have just melted on the spot. I was so proud that Tyler could now say her name- and even better, have such joy and love for her. Its naive to think they will always enjoy each other this much. But I'm going to enjoy it today!

Playdate......for kids or moms? ;-)

This morning my girlfriends Heather & Heather came over for a play date with the babies.Which actually translates to us eating danishes and having coffee while chatting about the important things in life...like the latest articles in Us Weekly.....just being honest ;-)

Reese, Allie and Tyler actually posed for a picture for us! And let me just say, Ty and Allie were having a full on love-fest today. They hugged and kissed...and later (when I figure out how), I will post a hilarious video of the two of them playing....you just have to see it to understand how hard we were laughing.

Anyway, I just love mornings like these. Spending time with these wonderful women in my life that mean so much to me. Its really been an honor to be able to all share with each other our lives, and watch each other have babies and grow together.

And quickly- for the record-

Yes, I know Ty looks lanky and skinny.

Yes, I feed him (ALL day!)

I just can't understand why he barely gains weight. But for further explanation..simply look at his dad. Like father like son :)

PS- Stay tuned for the video!

All By Myself!!!

Oh those dreaded three words.

I remember when Bella started asserting her independence more and more...it taught me to learn how and when to pick my battles with her. You just can't win every battle with a toddler!! Now, it's Tyler's turn.

Today was the first time he absolutely refused to let me feed him his yogurt. Usually, he takes a spoon and plays with it as I scoops spoonfuls into his mouth- but today, he wanted to fly solo! He screamed and pulled away until finally I gave in and gave him the spoon and let him have at it. He was sooooo happy to dig into his yogurt cup; and I was pleasantly surprised that he did an awesome job! Now that he wants to use his own spoon....what's next? Tucking himself into bed? Dressing himself?......Driving the car?! I'm in total denial that my little boy is getting bigger every day. So nobody remind me that it's happening.

I like living in my little world of denial :-)

Zoo-time!

While our husbands were gone on their snowboarding trip, Heather and I thought it would be a fun idea to enjoy this gorgeous Arizona spring weather and take the kids to the zoo for the afternoon! It was Tyler and Allie's first time at the zoo...which was pretty much lost on them :-) I found it especially funny that even among all the wild animals we were seeing, Tyler nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement every time he saw a small bird on the ground.

We just enjoyed walking around and getting some fresh air, and Bella loved everything she saw. Or maybe she just loved the fact that her mom bought her cotton candy at 10:30 in the morning ;-)

But it was quality time I got to spend with my best girlfriend, and Bella just adores being with her sweet God-mother, so it was a morning much enjoyed!!

Ice Princess

John and I are definitely suckers for our little girl.

We pretty much find ourselves doing any activity that we think will make her happy and giggle. She's such a girly-girl, and she has this favorite Barbie movie where Barbie ice skates, so we thought it might be fun one night to take her to the ice skating rink during their Disney Family Fun Night. It was her first time ever on skates, so she was wobbly at first, but then she took off! She had one of those "skate walkers" of course, but she still did awesome out there.

So we took her again recently and she did even better. She was just beaming out there and it was hard to get her to even stop to get a drink. I just find myself enjoying watching our kids explore new things and I love the look on their faces when they find something new to try and enjoy. Bella is such a spunky little girl and I really admire her eagerness and her little adventurous spirit. Here are a few pics, but click here http://picasaweb.google.com/Bri.and.John/LifeOfA3YearOldOctoberToRecent# to see a few more pictures in her album.

Quality Time

Em and I had such a great time with each other this weekend; it was sad to see it end! We went on bike rides, played with the kids, went out to eat at some of my favorite places, saw a movie and even did a little apartment hunting for her just in case she ends up out here some day! :-)

But of course, at the end of the weekend we realized we had barely taken ANY pictures. That always happens to us! But then we figured it was just a testament to how much fun we have together. There just isn't any thought or time into taking pictures along the way. Thanks for coming out to visit Em, love you!

P.S. Next time we will bring fishing poles to our secret spot!