being drake and connor's mama

the pledge of a "wee-gent"

2012-02-07T17:11:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned before that Drake isn't too interested in sharing what he does at preschool. We pry out the tiniest bits of information and are able to piece things together pretty well. Today when I picked him up he proudly told me that today it was his turn to hold the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance. I asked him if he could remind me how it went (don't worry I do know how it goes- this was just my tactic to get Drake to share) and it was the sweetest thing I have heard! I was even more delighted that he did it again for me so I could record it!

a little road trip = fun with family

2012-02-05T12:09:00.003-07:00

A few weekends back we met up with family we don't get to see very often for some good old fashioned fun. I was so exited to meet my newest nephew Noah. I can't believe he is almost one! He showed off his walking and let me hold him, and that made this auntie happy.

Noah's big sister is this little ham sandwich, Jubilee. I loved that she let me teach her a couple of little dance steps. She shares so many great stories, there is nothing cuter than an almost three year old getting animated telling a story!

Drake and Jubilee were so cute playing together.

Drake and Connor were their usual selves, Drake gave Connor a kiss and he repaid him with a bite to the head.

After a yummy dinner Grandma fixed Papa brought out the ice cream and cookies- the kiddos were happy!

An attempt at the grand kids with Grandma, Papa & Uncle Kagan.

We even snuck outside for a while bundled up a little more than usual.

Cody and I appreciate how much easier it is to travel with the boys now that they are getting older. It was a quick trip "home" but worth it to catch up with family!

watch out, I'm cooking

2012-01-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

Guess what we are eating tonight...Chicken Enchiladas. Normally this wouldn't be blog worthy, but since this is my very first time ever cooking with chicken I figured it was! The house chef forgot to get this started this morning and therefore yours truly stepped up and followed the very specific and detailed directions he sent me. Hopefully they taste yummy!

coming this july

2012-01-19T17:59:00.002-07:00

...this custom onesie (baby included)!

That's right, my sweet sister Michelle and her husband known by those in our house as "Uncle T." will become parents (due July 15th but my money is on June 30th).

I couldn't be more excited!

field trip: fire station

2012-01-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Drake's preschool class had another field trip, this time we went to the Fire Station. He has told us that he wants to be a fireman when he grows up so I was really looking forward to seeing how he would react.

He definitely had a good time, but didn't have the over the top excitement that I was expecting. The other little boy in his class was the same way. His mom and I thought it was funny how quiet and shy the boys were being, especially since they both want to be firemen! Connor loved being able to come to big brother's field trip, he even got his own fire hat.

Now for a couple of fire tips from Drake...

If your house is on fire you need to "GET OUT" (insert huge hand gesture here)

If you are on fire then you "STOP, drop, and roll"

what's for dinner?

2012-01-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I pinned this, if you don't know what pinning is then get on over to Pinterest and have yourself a hay day, and while you're there follow me! Unlike many things I pin I actually made this meal plan right away. I am searching for a fancier frame but in the mean time it sits nicely on the counter so everyone (mainly the house chef Cody) knows what's for dinner. Connor was sweet enough to model with the sign for me. Can you believe how old he looks, pushing two will do that I suppose.

"Where's the Beef?"

ringing in the new year

2012-01-11T23:41:00.001-07:00

The day after Christmas we hit the road for McCall! It was so much fun to spend almost a whole week at the cabin with nothing to do but have fun!

Our traditional way to ring in the new year is with couples game night. It started out of necessity when Drake was a baby, but we all had so much fun that we keep doing it every year. According the the regulations each team has to have a name and matching jerseys. My parents are "The Legends," Mimi and T are the "City Slickers" (they did move from LA after all) and we are "The Saloonatics" aka the 2011 winners.

Drake was pretty excited that he didn't have to go to bed when Connor did, according to him 4 year olds get to stay up for the New Year's Party. He had all but crashed then asked me, "Is that all we do for a party? I thought it was New Years?" So out of bed he went, and party we did! He had his own bottle of sparkling cider :)

I think he only made it till 11:30...this might be the first time he has missed ringing in the new year, he has never been one to go to bed early!

Self timer shot as the ball drops...happy 2012!

I have been busy writing up resolutions, goals and dreams for 2012. I love the idea of a fresh start, 2011 was getting kinda old.

merry christmas & happy new year!

2012-01-02T23:20:00.001-07:00

Hello again! I'm Bridgette and I used to blog here at Being Drake & Connor's Mama. I started blogging shortly after Drake was born in 2007 and have managed to maintain a somewhat steady posting schedule over the last few years. I love comments and readers, I do, but crazy as it seems even if nobody read my blog except Cody I would still do it! It is fun to share stories, pictures, projects or really anything with my friends and family that visit me here and I look forward to all that 2012 brings us!

Brace yourself for Christmas 2011 photos

The party train started off a few weeks back at my Grandma's house

On Christmas Eve we started at Papa & Grandma's - Drake loves Aunt Mimi

Papa, Grandma & crew

Next stop was my parents...

Playing with fun new toys

At this point I realized I hand't taken enough photos and the kids were ready for bed! 3-2-1 pose with Dad :)

and again with our sweet Mom

and with Mr. Santa

Christmas morning was magical, here are some of my favorites.

Santa found us!

Thanks to Pat the Elf for helping keep the boys on the nice list

Connor doing one of many point, holler & runs (he spotted his stocking)

this time he saw Pat!

All the boys had to get in close to see the RC truck. Drake asked Santa for that and a Razor scooter.

Dad asked Santa for Nerf guns!

Connor scores :)

Santa remembered just how nice I have been all year!

Time for a snuggle with Buster

Love and happy wishes in 2012!

goodbye crazy hair

2011-12-21T09:42:00.001-07:00

Connor has some pretty amazing hair, its goldy blonde and super soft and even has a little loose curl to it. He had one other haircut when he turned one and was more than ready again at 18 months.

As much as I loved his sweet curls we didn't like what a tangled mess they turned into as the day went on. It was time for him to get a real haircut so we took him to this great place near our house that specializes in just that!

the before shots...

Here's the final product :)

connor - 18M

2011-12-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

Happy 1.5 year birthday buddy!

As you can see he has a mouth full of teeth, crazy cute hair and big blue eyes.

He is a little feather weighing only 21 pounds and stretches 31 inches tall.

We love his curiosity and watching the boys play so well together, he copycats Drake's every move. He continues to expand his vocabulary and asks "whas dat?" a thousand times a day. He sings his own version of the ABCs and loves to point out all of his body parts.

We sure love our little baby/toddler even though he knows how to make a mess and had a pretty loud holler!

bundle-up bash

2011-12-08T20:37:00.001-07:00

Tonight I had a great time with my girlfriends picking out some cold weather looks at Old Navy. I was super excited to participate in the Bundle-Up Bash. About eight months ago I joined Crowdtap, which is a network for brand influencer communities. It is a fun place for consumers to share real-time research and participate in word-of-mouth marketing and have a chance to do things like this. I love all things marketing, which explains why that is what my college degree is in, so the second that I stumbled across them online I knew it was a place for me. (Pinterest had a similar effect!) Anyway, back to our shopping...we each got to pick out a sweater, pants and cold weather accessory on the house- how much fun is that? If you are a maketing/product/shopping junkie like myself you might want to consider joining Crowdtap too.

couldn't resist a photo op with Wesley

It was great to spoil myself, I am 98% sure that tonight is the only time since having kids I have stayed in the women's department- NO wandering into the little buckaroos section for me :) While it was hard to decide what I wanted this amazing scarf, these jeans and this cozy sweater came home with me! I certainly don't plan on wearing these three things together as an outfit, however mixed with some goodies in my wardrobe they will be great!

I am thinking that I need to start a shopping club, who needs a book club when they can shop?

thanksgiving in portland

2011-11-29T14:34:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday, we did! This year we went to visit Tyler and Aicia in Portland. It was great to have 3 of 4 brother's and families together again, it had been a long time! The boys did great in the car, it helped that Cody's parents rented a fancy Tahoe with built in DVD player and having extra "entertainers" on board was nice too. The week went by fast... lots of pillow fights, fort building, games, dance parties and riding Uncle Tyler's back.

Drake & Zoomba watching a movie

Connor getting some fresh air at the playground

Drake & Boston snuggled up

dance party! can you guess what move they are doing?

the boys discussing their next move

time for the delicious Thanksgiving dinner!

We are so thankful to have such wonderful, fun, and loving families. Our boys have the greatest aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents!

I’d rather be lucky……….

2011-11-14T09:26:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to have Cody share a recent experience with us, enjoy!

As much as I absolutely detest cliché remarks (and worktirelessly to avoid them), there are times where they are the only way toadequately describe an event or circumstance. Such was the case on a recent elk hunting trip that I took. With the season open, I loaded up the camperand 4 wheeler and headed to the mountains alone for some solitude to look foreasily the most magnificent animal around – Elk!

I was hunting on some fantastic land that Bridgette’s familyhas been extremely gracious enough tolet me hunt for a few years, so I knew I would find some quiet. Bridgette and I had talked about her bringingthe boys up to the camp on Saturday for a day outing, as Drake has reallystarted taking an interest in “camping out” (we can be witnessed in sleepingbags on the bonus room floor on weekends quite often).

They arrived as I was cooking breakfast after my morningwalk, and after I finished my food, I took Drake on the 4 wheeler. We were going to park it and walk over theridge and meet Bridgette, Connor, and Vince on the other side just so we couldsay Drake went on a “hunt”.

For anyone who has ever elk hunted, this will come as ashock. I never knew anyone who, withinthe first 30 minutes of elk hunting, got within 40 yards of his first elk………untilnow! Drake was very good at being asquiet as he could, and low and behold we walked right into a herd of elk thatwere bedded down for the day. We heardthe whole mountain come alive with the unmistakable sound of elk moving, butcouldn’t see them as they were below us. Thanks to Drake’s ability to run and keep up with me (how, I will neverknow), I was able to call one back. Drake sat ever so still as we watched a cow elk walk right back to us atabout 40 yards! Drake’s excitement wasbeyond expression (and his Dad’s enthusiasm was through the roof).

A long story, a lot more running, and 20 minutes later, wehad seen about 15 more elk including the rack of one nice bull. I wanted to be disappointed in not getting ashot at any of these elk through the trees as most of them were cows, butrealized that this might have been too much for a 4 year old to handle! I decided that this unlikely story is asperfect as it could ever be, and the memory alone will never fade as the highpoint of my hunting experience.

All in all, I now have a happy 4 year old who(unfortunately) thinks elk hunting is the easiest and most exciting activitythere is. Things could not have workedout better, and I’m certain this long-shot outing just earned me a hunting buddyfor life! So to finish where Istarted……..sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Thanks for the experience of a lifetime,little buddy!

happy halloween

2011-11-04T09:50:00.002-06:00

We had a great time celebrating Halloween this year. Connor and I got to go to Drake's preschool class party which was lots of fun. Drake doesn't usually share a lot about what happens at preschool, just bits and pieces here and there so it was fun to watch him. They sang lots of fun songs and did several neat crafts too. We LOVE Drake's teacher and are very impressed at all he is learning- he talks about Ms. Jessica and his classmates everyday.

Then on Friday we were invited to be Michelle's guests at her work party, her team dressed up like chess pieces. The whole Scentsy office was decorated and each team had great themes as well. You can't leave without posing with the giant buddies...

Drake & Mimi with Ribbert

Connor & me with Roarbert

Then on Halloween day we put on the costumes one last time! We started our night with a FaceTime chat to Cody's parents, then headed out to our VIP stops - Great Gram B's, Nanny & Papa's, then Great Papa & Grams. Around 6:45 we headed out through the neighborhood filling Harry's cauldron, just as it started to get heavy we approached our final stop Aunt Mimi & Uncle T's. I just love being neighbors :)

Hope you had a great Halloween too!

pumpkin carving time

2011-10-26T10:28:00.003-06:00

We have a pretty good collection of pumpkins at our house this year. The boys brought home several when they went to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Mimi and Uncle T. Then we went to a different pumpkin patch with Drake's preschool and got one more, then our realtor dropped one by and yesterday I couldn't help but buy 4 more when I saw a young boy selling them out of a wagon for $1 each! We love walking past all the pumpkins to get to the front door, lots of fall cheer.

Last night we started carving and Drake requested a happy pumpkin with hair

and a harry potter lightning bolt one too.

Happy Halloween! Now I just need to finish the costumes :)

hello again

2011-10-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

The boys just love being woodsy...and I am working on the same love. We had a great family day on the river playing and watching Cody do some fishing. There were some beautiful fall colors out and some cute fresh faces too!

Happy Fall!

happy birthday sister

2011-10-04T14:05:00.001-06:00

This weekend we celebrated the birthday of my amazing sister/best friend! I cannot describe just how much she means to me, I absolutely adore her...and I know without a doubt that my life is better because she is in it.

...you can hold my hand anytime.

xo-B

(I'm linking up over on The Simple Things)

muggles

2011-09-27T14:06:00.000-06:00

You know the saying, "you don't know what you are missing?" I really do not like it at all, probably from all the times someone smothered something in ketchup, then when seeing me wince stated with a mouth full, "you don't know what you are missing!"...right.

It started a couple of months back when Cody wanted to start reading long chapter books to Drake before bed instead of 3-4 short picture books. He started with The Hobbit, Drake was pretty interested in the ring and saying Bilbo Baggins and slept through the other 300 pages. When they were ready for their next book we decided to try out the Harry Potter series, assuming it would be a pretty good set of books and that since there are seven of them we would be reading them for a year. That was until we found out "what we had been missing!" How did I manage to stay so sheltered from this amazing set of books...oh yes, because I used to read 4 books a year (oops).

After hearing one chapter on opening night we decide to make it a family affair, all four of us pile on Drake's bed while Cody reads to us. The boys fall asleep and then he keeps reading to me as I lay there with excitement, pretending that I am Hermione Granger and not just an ordinary muggle.

Consider yourself warned, I'm obsessed...

Drake's 4th Birthday

2011-09-23T14:40:00.001-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Instead of posting several individual photos from the Birthday weekend I decided to link the scrapbook we made!

As you can see Drake was a happy camper! The only time he wasn't was when he fell off the couch and hit his head on the tv stand. Luckily it didn't require a trip to the ER for some stitches, that probably would have killed the party.

Everyone filled out a diary sheet and had their photo taken with Mr. Birthday so I could make this little diary. It will be fun to look back through all the fun memories year after year.

Happy Birthday Drake- I love you!

magical mountain moments

2011-09-19T00:11:00.001-06:00

How cute are my little lumberjacks? The matching plaid shirts have been hanging in the closet waiting for the perfect time to shine, and Drake's 4th Birthday "Cabin Camp-out" was it! There is just something about their cute faces, fresh air and magical mountain light that makes me want to carry my camera around 24/7. So I did and I ended up with 240 shots...from this weekend alone. eek.

toes in the water, boys in the sand

2011-09-15T12:53:00.000-06:00

Here is where we have been as much as possible this month...paradise!

Eventually we will get caught back up here in blog-land and share a few more gems from the cabin.

preschool time

2011-09-14T10:13:00.002-06:00

It's crazy to think that Drake is going to school, I really had no idea that time could go by so fast! He goes two days a week for 2.5 hours. With each drop off it feels a little more normal for all of us, I don't know if I will ever get over that scared little face he had on the first day, but the way he trots out to the car wearing a huge smile, his backpack and rosy cheeks definitely helps!

inside preschool, deciding if he will join the other kids

finally after we got home from the first day he let me take a picture of him

his preschool portrait they took on back to school night :)

the fair

2011-08-31T15:13:00.003-06:00

The little family and my parents made it to the last day of the fair. I think the last day will be my plan every year, admission was half price with a coupon in the paper (good thing we get 4 papers) and the carousel rides were free!

Here's what we did in 2.5 hours:

pig races
livestock viewing
pronto pup's
carousel ride
petting zoo
pony ride

See you next year fair, as always it was fun :)

connor: 15M

2011-08-22T23:09:00.000-06:00

Today Connor had his 15 month check up. It is hard to believe that he is getting so old, good thing no matter how old he gets he will always be my baby! I love how mischievous he can be...he was caught red handed chugging my water, such innocent blue eyes.

Connor's current stats

weight: 21 lbs 12 oz

height: 30 1/4"

Speaking of growing up, Drake will be FOUR in less than a month. I can no longer pretend that he is still a baby, he's a tiny adult who's already more than half my size!

Drake's current stats

weight: 39 lbs

height: 41"

We will wrap things up with some brotherly love, or is that the heimlich maneuver?

bed head

2011-08-14T23:04:00.001-06:00

Connor has the greatest bed head ever, finally I remembered to snap some pictures of his lion's mane/Einstein hairdo.

He is my wild child so it definitely fits him...ROAR!

birdseed craft

2011-08-05T10:03:00.001-06:00

The other day I was excited to come across this bird feeder craft over at one of my favorite blogs eighteen25. Drake loves to feed the birds using his feeder that he made with Papa while we were in the hospital when Connor was born. So we made these feeders to brighten a few peoples day, after all doesn't it make you feel good to do something nice for someone else? We plan on doing round #2, I want to find some more fun cookie cutters and I need to be patient next time while they dry so they all turn out!

Drake filling them up

we started out with three...I got impatient and tried to take the star out early (don't do this!)

the leaf turned out the best! (this cute cookie cutter was the favor at my cousin's wedding)

this is what Connor did during craft time :)

road trip

2011-08-02T21:57:00.000-06:00

We spent the past weekend in Idaho Falls catching up with the family and enjoying the great weather. Drake and Connor loved playing with their cousins, it had been a whole year since we last saw them. The weekend went really fast but it was a lot of fun. We hit up Heise Hot Springs an old family favorite while we were there too.

cousins

car races

Joslyn

Boston

Connor

buddies

scuba Drake

heading to kentucky

2011-07-23T12:04:00.005-06:00

I am really excited to be attending the National Guard Volunteer Workshop in Louisville, Kentucky. I am looking forward to all of the training and fun the workshop has planned. I enjoy being the E-Co Family Readiness Group chair and am eager to learn all of ways I can help the families in our Company and Battalion.

This also means that I get a mama-cation! I will miss the boys but I am welcoming this break with arms WIDE open.

The last time I was in Kentucky was in 2006. My Dad traveled with me to watch Cody graduate Basic Training at Ft. Knox. He spent most of his time there as the Platoon Guide for the "Hellraisers" of C-Co and the rest is history.

(This is what you look like when the airline looses your luggage and you go to Walmart, yes Walmart and try to put together something to look cute in since you haven't seen your husband in 3 months. Luckily, he was excited enough to see me that he didn't notice my fashion mishap.)

the many faces of drake

2011-07-19T23:29:00.000-06:00

Watching your children grow up is like having front row tickets with back stage passes to a Pink Floyd concert...CRAZY! I have to remind myself to sit back and enjoy the show.

................

Drake agreed to let me take pictures of his special new toy that he used his very own money to buy. I was amused at all the different emotions Drake showed me in the five minutes we spent taking pictures, enjoy!

the quiet dreamer

did somebody say cheese?

let's get the show on the road!

life is good!

fun memory keeping books

2011-07-13T15:41:00.002-06:00

The Belly Book & Your Birthday Book by Amy K

I just updated Connor's Birthday Book, better late than never! It has you do a quick mental snapshot: "when I close my eyes, this is how I picture you." I couldn't help but smile as I wrote away. After I was finished I had to dig Drake's out to see what I said about him on his first birthday.

Drake: "Walking around the house throwing toys and climbing up on everything! You love to snuggle and look like a sweet angel when you are sleeping. Your personality is HUGE, always smiling and waving- even strangers fall in love with you!"

Connor: "Smiling- you are so happy! You love playing with Drake and do your best to keep up. I love how you dance when you hear music and your beautiful teeth too :) You love to snuggle and I could look into your sweet blue eyes for days."

It's fun to look back through the Belly Books too, I can still feel the excitement and anxiousness in my words, nine months is SO LONG! I'm not going to share any of those journal entries with you...it would definitely fall in the category "over-sharing!"

The boys traditional baby books are still the main keeper of all details but these two make great additions to take on the journey. How do you keep track of your memories?

round #2 & #3

2011-07-07T23:54:00.001-06:00

I made a solid-ish effort to get some "1 Year" photos of my sweet little Connor, but he gave me a run for my money. This kiddo didn't want to look at me when I had my camera out, and when he did it was for a split second. I mentioned before that my favorite lens is broken so these were shot with my kit lens that I am not wild about. On my list of things to do is repair/replace the 50mm and look into a wide angle lens :) All in all I am happy with what we got though!

While we were in Idaho Falls we took a trip to Harriman Park/The Henry's Fork. There were so many beautiful places to take photos. This was the first and last photo opp- just as I was taking this a TICK was discovered in Drakes head! The nasty tick sent us on our way a little sooner than planned, but it did get me to the Trout Hunter for a tasty lunch earlier than planned.

This evening I tried again and got these two shots that I love! How did I end up with a blue eyed baby?!

...and here is my brown eyed boy!

patio cover!

2011-07-07T23:16:00.003-06:00

I have been meaning to share with you our new patio cover, it's a dream! I love having a place to relax out of the sun and I enjoy how much cooler it keeps the house. Thanks Dad for your super building skills! Looks like I really need to clean that sliding door though :)

father's be good to your daughters...and your sons too

2011-06-27T21:28:00.000-06:00

warning: this post is a little sappier than normal

I feel lucky everyday to have a father that other's wished they had. My relationship with my Dad is incredibly important to me for so many reasons. 1) he is the most driven, hard working person I know, 2) he knows how to have fun and make people laugh, 3) he ADORES my children, 4) he ADORES me, 5) he taught me how to make the most out of every dollar, 6) he is willing to do anything for his family, 7) I can tell him anything, 8) he takes care of my 19 year old cat Caramelle, 9) he helped me become an amateur car dealer, and 10) he always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I love you Dad.

Now onto the father of my children, the man of my dreams, Cody! I always knew I would be happily married to Cody, but what has amazed me year after year is that I am happier than I ever knew I could be. We have two adorable little boys and he is the BEST father in the world. I love that he takes time to teach Drake about bugs and fishing, and all the things boys want to know about, and the way Connor squeals with delight when he walks into the room. There isn't anything more important to Cody than his family and I admire him for that.

Unfortunately this year I came back from vacation and Cody left for vacation on Father's day so we could only celebrate for an hour as a family. We managed to get one picture before the camera was pulled from the table by Connor and my favorite lens broke! EEK!

It wouldn't be father's day without celebrating Papa too! I love this man, he is truly one of the greatest men ever, period.

attempt #1

2011-06-26T09:07:00.000-06:00

We were at the park yesterday for my cousins wedding and I attempted to take some "1 year" pictures of Connor. He is such a busy body and wasn't too interested in giving me his model face/poses but we had a good time anyway. Sometime this week I want to try again in downtown m-ville.

Drake was a good sport and flashed me a quick smile.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

hearts

2011-06-17T07:52:00.000-06:00

After breakfast Drake wanted to do a craft. I asked him what kind he wanted to do, he requested two green papers one bright and one dark. After he dug through the mountain of paper choices he settled on two. His plan was to make hearts for the people he loves...how cute! I drew the hearts and he did some cutting around the edges.

Drake shares my love for sharpies, paper & scissors

I was so proud that he wrote daddy all by himself! On the back we were going to write out 10 reasons his daddy was the greatest and all Drake wanted to say was "because I love him!"

We can't leave out Connor, he helped too by trying to get all of Drake's crafts and eat them. He is moving super fast these days and has added climbing to the mix! help :)

here comes the bride

2011-06-14T18:29:00.000-06:00

Two weekends ago my cousin got married! His bride was gorgeous, with the most amazing net veil, LOVED it.

mr & mrs smith

Drake had fun running around with his cousins and loved the ice cream bar!

Connor got passed around between Papa & Nanny and even flirted with a few ladies.

I love weddings, but they are much more fun when your husband can be there to ~~dance the night away~~ watch you dance the night away! Drake and Connor made pretty cute little dates though :)

china hutch

2011-06-14T14:14:00.000-06:00

It is so exciting that our beautiful china has a place to call home! My great friend Amber tipped me off about this gem and I am so glad she did! It sat in the garage for about a month while we figured out if we were going to paint it, or just freshen up the current finish. We decided to leave it natural since it matched our other furniture and cabinets so well, eventually I want to give it a face lift but for now I am content. We refinished the hardware and gave it a deep clean...sometimes I still get a whiff of old granny cigarettes when I open it up...and started to fill it up.

Who wants to come over for tea?

a month in photos: may

2011-06-02T10:32:00.001-06:00

I love reading simple as that and decided to start doing a monthly photo collage with Rebecca.

May was a fun month for our family...

-drake is learning to cast a fly rod
-alexa is as sweet as ever

-connor turned 1 and loved his party

-drake has rectangle sunglasses and showed them off at the meridain urban market

-connor is making so many more sounds and using more and more words (mama, dada, drr, dog, this, that, uh-oh, ball, bye)

my little flyfisher-boy

2011-05-31T22:53:00.000-06:00

Drake has shown a HUGE interest in fishing, especially fly fishing. Hmm, wonder where he gets that from? Cody wrote up all about it here on his blog.

first haircut

2011-05-31T20:49:00.000-06:00

I miss those curls...but it was time for Connor to have his first hair cut. Drake was set up with the camera* I held Connor ~~still~~ and daddy did the rest. He moves so fast and the scissors are so sharp...call me a chicken I know. I do need to learn how to cut boy hair one of these days, anyone have any tips?

C-Man was cranky before

and after

but not when daddy was holding him

*none of the pictures Drake took turned out because he took the camera off fully-auto AND I forgot to take of the 50mm lens :)

12M check up

2011-05-27T16:27:00.000-06:00

Today we had Connor's twelve month check up, the most exciting part of the appointment may have been when I noticed the swanky new chairs they had in the waiting room...I kind of wanted to take one home.

-the important stats-

weight: 20 lbs 2 oz (10%)

height: 29 1/2 in (50%)

connor's first birthday

2011-05-25T15:27:00.000-06:00

I need to go through all of my pictures and video to pull out the best shots from our big boy's 1st Birthday...until I get that rounded up here is Connor showing you how old he is :)

super daddy

2011-05-16T08:16:00.001-06:00

This past weekend I attended a state conference for commanders, family readiness leaders and youth volunteers. It was nice to take a day to switch roles and I loved the feeling of being a student again, the military never has a shortage of information!

The best part of the day was when I checked my phone, Cody had sent me these sweet pictures of my boys...having the time of their lives. We are lucky to have such a fun super daddy around!!

the sprinkler under the tramp made Drake's day...or was it the yogurt stop after soccer?

Connor got to wear his cool swim suit too

family photo shoot

2011-05-11T13:42:00.000-06:00

For my birthday Cody and the boys got me a photo shoot with the lovely Crissie McDowell. I love photographs and plan on making family pictures an annual tradition. Here shortly I will get behind the lens to take Connor's one year...then Drake's four year pictures...wowza they are growing up fast.

just kickin' it

2011-05-10T08:48:00.001-06:00

In September 2008 I shared this photo of Drake wearing Daddy's first shoes, some sweet baby blue Nike's

When I came home last night Connor was wearing them (and the exact same white onesie)! We couldn't resist shooting the same photo with Connor.

In other news the countdown to Connor's first birthday has begun...I can't deny it any longer...the calendar indicates that it is a mere two weeks away.

learning to walk

2011-05-05T21:02:00.000-06:00

Connor is gaining confidence with his walking and has made it half way across the room! Not sure I will be able to wear heels anymore if I have to chase after both of them. Here is a short clip of him from a couple of days ago taking 4 steps for the very first time!

bunny hop

2011-04-27T15:30:00.000-06:00

On Easter morning I woke up to Drake shouting in my face, "the easter bunny came and he brought me a JET PLANE!" Come and see mommy, come on! Luckily the bunny had some sense to brew a pot of coffee too!

an explosion of fun!

having a stare down with Alexa, he explained that she didn't get a basket because she wasn't a little boy.

then it was time to make one of the crafts Drake got...

if you are a boy everything has a sound effect

.............

After a morning of playing and eating sugar we headed over to Michelle and Trevor's for a wonderful dinner. The food is was extra yummy and the company was even better! It was great to catch up with all my grandparents.

grandma & connor

drake ready to take on the egg hunt

papa helped connor find an egg

beautiful day

my entourage

nanny & connor

my entourage

This weekend was one of my favorites...hope yours was great too!

...i had a birthday

2011-04-26T23:44:00.000-06:00

...and I celebrated all week long! Okay, not all week, but almost! Things got kicked off with a girls night at the fabulous Barbacoa on Thursday. I love these ladies! We all met back when I was a working girl and I love that they still love me.

On Friday Cody took me to my FAV place, the Texas Roadhouse!! I have been going there for my birthday since I turned 16 (so only a couple years really) The only picture taken was of my heavenly raspberry margarita. YUM

Finally my real birthday came on Saturday. The boys spoiled me as always and got me a Silhouette cutter! I love it already. Then it was off to the foothills with the super amazing Crissie McDowell for family photos.

The grand finale was a BBQ at home with my parents, Michelle & Trevor and my three favorite boys.

connor liked my presents too

drake admiring his necklace

me admiring mine

Michelle baked a delish cake for me...we really had to blow hard to get all of them!

I wrapped my 27th year up with a big ribbon...it was a good one! Okay 28, you've got big shoes to fill!

halloween in april?

2011-04-17T23:38:00.000-06:00

My creative little dragon, aka Drake wanted to get in halloween costumes...why not? Connor was so cute in the sock monkey outfit that big brother wore for his second halloween.

here is Drake the monkey (2008)

and the dragon Drake (2009)

future in rock & roll

2011-04-12T22:24:00.000-06:00

The children are sick again, but I won't bore you with snotty nose photos and stories. Instead I will tell you about Connor's future career as a rock star.

It all started with some blood, only a small amount but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. After giving everyone a quick glance over I didn't locate any injuries so we continued to play. I kept seeing more blood, on Connor's shirt, my arm, Mater...must locate source before it gets on the carpet!

Source found and band-aid applied.

With his first band-aid worthy unexplained wound Connor took to the microphone to heal his pain. He put on quite the show, Drake and I gave him a standing ovation.

Lastly, every rock & roll star has to try and break some rules, right. Drake, "tell him he can't open the doors Mooooommmmmm, COOOOONNNOR" He then huffed and acted confused that Connor wasn't listening to him.

What, kids don't always listen...that is news to me!

spring flowers

2011-04-04T16:30:00.000-06:00

Making felt rosettes is very therapeutic. I love that it takes under 5 minutes to construct a cute little hair flair. Unlike a lot of my other craft projects I can usually get one done without any interruptions. Perfect for the days when you feel like you can't seem to get anything done!

I wanted to make my sister a couple as a thank you and ended up with a whole bouquet

Drake thought this one was special because it had a sparkly stone inside. He told me that it gave him super hero powers! Wow, who knew all you needed was some felt, a rhinestone, hair band, scissors and hot glue to have super hero powers?!

I learned how to make flowers over here at Mrs.Priss

tickle (not tackle)

2011-04-04T10:23:00.000-06:00

I never expected Drake to be as in love with Connor as he is. I thought the excitement would wear off after a couple weeks...nope...still going full throttle 10 months later. How is it possible 10 months have passed! With all of Drake's love comes a lot of touching his brother, too much touching, pinching, poking, body slammin' all in the name of love.

Connor loves Drake too and wants to be right by his side. Little siblings make great shadows, right Michelle?

Drake loves tickling Connor and even tickle tackles him, we are working on the tackle part :)

Little kiddo giggles never get old.

still lucky

2011-03-29T09:45:00.000-06:00

For the past several years my Dad has taken Cody and I to the Western Whitewater Banquet and my sweet Mom stays behind to watch the kids. I haven't spent too much time these past few years enjoying the sport of jet boating...not sure pregnancy or mother with young children really go along well with this activity but I do enjoy relaxing rides in my parents boat and the haul I take away from the banquet each year! I was worried that my luck may be running low this year but I am happy to report that I still have it :)

Our table was full of fun faces, Dad, Cody, Michelle, Trevor, Papa, and three of my Uncles Burt, Warren and Clint. Sadly not all of my pictures turned out as I was trying different settings with my camera to avoid using the flash. Cody did a better job behind the lens, I'm not used to seeing so many pictures with me in them.

Dad + me = always a good time!

Papa, Michelle & I outside a pretty nice RV

We picked out this new jet boat for our Mom

One of my many great prizes! A cute little tractor for Connor. I was really, really excited!

three amigos

2011-03-29T09:24:00.000-06:00

When daddy is away, we play....but we also miss him a lot too! I'm not sure who was the most excited Cody was back after a week away for training, it was probably a 5-way tie (you can't forget about Alexa)! He brought both of the boys home super hero shirts, Drake got Superman and Connor got Batman. I'm still waiting for my Wonderwoman shirt, it must be at the bottom of his suitcase.

Connor was all smiles

Drake was double teamed...not sure what he was doing really but it had Connor laughing hysterically

and Drake laughing hysterically!

He had something in the cross hairs.

flashback

2011-03-23T23:08:00.000-06:00

As promised I dug through Cody's baby book to find two pictures of my adorable husband around the same age as our equally adorable sons. I see so much of him in the boys, watch out ladies!

how about a lil' something sweet

I wish I was there, the look on his face tells me that he is really, really happy and possibly up to something. Drake gets this look a lot!

your love is better than ice cream

2011-03-22T23:42:00.000-06:00

...it's better than anything else that I know - Sarah Mclachlan

Now you, just like me will have that song stuck in your head for days!

HAPPY SPRING!

playing together?

2011-03-22T23:28:00.000-06:00

Some of my greatest entertainment comes from observing the boys playing together. Drake loves being a big brother, and for now Connor is happy to follow the lead.

I love the exclusivity Drake demonstrates here. His reasoning for taking all of his matchbox cars outside the baby gate to play with was because Connor could choke on them (certainly not because he doesn't like to share!). Don't ever underestimate the determination of the younger sibling...he snagged himself one.

TONS of open space and they wanted to stand at the couch and each quietly play with a different toy.

and lastly Drake protecting his play-doh "babies" from other smaller hands

flashback

2011-03-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

Digging through old pictures is never disappointing, especially now that I can compare what I looked like at a certain age to how the boys look. Just by opening the box my heart becomes flooded with emotions and my head with memories. Here are two images of me at roughly the same age as Drake and Connor.

Drake does this same half smile all the time, but I can't find a picture of him doing it!

9 months old, just like Connor. What I love most about this picture is my Mom. I also love the innocence I have... even though it looks like I may have been up to something tasty.

Children have absolutely no idea how much they are loved until they become parents themselves.

mama's day out

2011-03-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

I am feeling pretty refreshed after my big day out...I was gone for 6.5 hours, that's the longest I've ever been away from Connor! Time went by pretty fast as I watched several local dance teams compete at PNW. I love, love, love dance so it is always a treat to watch others who feel the same. There aren't as many teams and they certainly aren't as many dancers as there were way back when but some things never really change. As with a lot of sports the heart is greater than the talent. I didn't mind seeing flexed feet and bent legs as much on the dancers that were really going for it, the lazy ones, they are a different story!

I took my camera but never busted it out to snap any photos so you will have to settle on some vintage shots of me at PNW at the ripe age of 17, senior year!

dance

novelty - who wants to be a millionaire

prop

tasty?

2011-03-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

I guess I can add psychic to my resume...Connor has the same naughty little virus Drake is going through.

I know nobody really wants to see a picture of a nine month old licking the snot from his lip but I have a long history of over-sharing so I know you have come to expect this sort of thing.

On a serious note, it is a huge reminder to me to be grateful for the amazing heath both Drake and Connor have. I've got a whole stack of hanker-chips and plenty of bicks (vicks) so bring it on boogies!

*The naughty little virus also attacked Daddy (and me, although Mom's DO NOT get sick so is it even worth mentioning?)

hanker-chip

2011-03-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end, or take a short break...like my little families resilience to viruses. Good thing Drake has his hanker-chip handy! (thanks Papa)

He insisted that I also take a picture of just his hanker-chip

Hopefully Connor doesn't get the cold big brother has but I think my chances of winning the power ball are greater.

looking at you kid

2011-03-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

I took my second photo class last week and have been trying to practice, practice, practice! Thank goodness nobody is watching me as I desperately try to get the ~~perfect~~ in-focus shot of these crazy boys...

I told Drake to pose for me and he gave me this look, so cute!

Connor was distracted by the dog running back and forth outside, he looks so grown up!

the ants are in my pants!

2011-02-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we needed to get outside! The whole family was restless, fresh, COLD air does work wonders. Only the first phase of our neighborhood is built up so we have a lot of room to roam. All the kids, including Alexa went for some fun. Naturally our walk ended at the playground. Drake loves it there, even though I find it fairly unimpressive, I realize if he likes it then why does my opinion really matter?

going down the slide..pure happiness!

nothing melts my heart like a daddy pushing a baby

this is what fresh air will do for you! giggles and brotherly love

nine months

2011-02-25T09:10:00.001-07:00

Connor is 9 months old now! We are enjoying every stage and every age with him. Finally I got a picture where you can see all four of his pearly whites. He loves to be standing and pulls himself up on anything and everything, including Alexa...poor Lex, the boys are so hard on her! Last month we noticed how much more Connor and Drake were interacting, they are play buddies finally. Drake plays his version of hide and seek with Connor where he moves to the other side of the room and Connor crawls over REALLY fast then he gets in his face and says boo or some other loud noise and then they both giggle like crazy! He says ma-ma, da-da, du-dr (drake), gidit (get it) and lots of other babbles too. He weighs in at a beefy 19.5 pounds (official doctor stats coming soon). I love his sweet personality! He's happy, curious, stubborn and very cuddly.

official doctor stats:

19 lbs 7 oz

27.5 inches

Proud big brother

these two boys make my heart happy

fun-shine

2011-02-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

We can't wait for some sunny weather! Drake loves to be outside like most kiddos and is a much happier boy when he gets in lots of fresh air and sunshine. The weather outside never stops Drake from roaming the back yard, at times he even sneaks out there without clothes! It does keep me from taking sweet little Connor out there. Yesterday was another story, it was perfect in the sunshine!

Connor had fun going down the slide...

and swinging!

Drake found his lawnmower in the shed and went CRAZY running all over the lawn! He was so excited to have the whole family outside with him.

Pretty sure it is instinct for a boy to push toys up the slide!

Hope you have been getting some fun-shine too!

a little update...

2011-02-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Connor is getting an early start on his "I think my mama is crazy look!"

He is very curious! Pulling himself up on anything and everything or just attempting to stand with no help at all. He is working on crawling up the stairs...quite the speed demon.

He also welcomed tooth #3 and #4! Yup, those bad boys broke through.

Lastly, a little ruff and tumble. Drake noticed that Connor is getting bigger and suggested that it was time he jumped in the trampoline with him. We have been working really hard with Drake trying to teach him to be gentle with Connor. Some days he gets it and some days you might think the we have him enrolled in an MMA/UFC school! So, reluctantly I decided that Connor and mama could get in the trampoline with Drake, but NO jumping! RIGHT! We ended the ruff and tumble activity with a cute cuddly picture featuring static hair! *Nobody was harmed :)

in your eyes

2011-02-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Michelle and I are taking a two part portrait photography class together. We had our first class Thursday night and I really enjoyed it. I couldn't wait for the boys to wake up (as long as it was after 8:00) so I could try out some of my new skills. Here are two of my favorite shots from the Friday morning session.

can mama fish?

2011-02-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

My adorable husband Cody is really into fishing, fly fishing to be more exact. He also really enjoys fly tying and rod building. We decide to share our hobbies so I will be fishing and Cody will be dancing...maybe. Okay, the dancing part is a joke. In order to learn my new hobby of fly fishing he built me my very on rod! I helped him pick out the components and he created quite the masterpiece!

I had my first mini casting lesson. Cody seemed fairly impressed, or maybe he just had really low expectations. There aren't any action shots of yours truly but here is Cody...

Drake snapped this picture of Connor and me watching the action

a glimpse

2011-01-30T01:38:00.002-07:00

I always tell Cody that I want to write down everything Drake says one day, or even for one hour. That hasn't happened yet but definitely will soon. Here is just a nibble at how cute he is! Tonight while rocking the boys to sleep we had this conversation:

me: I am glad you are my son
drake: I am glad you are my mother
me: awe, that is so sweet
drake: I know (while picking his nose)

BOYS!

saw this at craft warehouse and thought it was so sweet

it's a great day for up

2011-01-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

UP! UP! The sun is getting up. The sun gets up. so UP with you!

Dr. Seuss

Connor is 8 months old now. Fresh off the learning to crawl train he has started pulling himself up. After this picture was taken I lowered the mattress down to a safer level. Even with my longer than usual for my height arms I have to really reach to get him in and out gracefully.

The little biscuit has also been seen trying to stand from the crawling position.

how cute is a little diaper butt in your face?

shooting gun

2011-01-23T09:00:00.001-07:00

We decided it was time for Drake to have his very own toy gun. Cody dashed into the trusty $1 store and came out with a "shooting gun" as Drake calls it. It has definitely been his new favorite, watch out Bumblebee there's a new toy in town! The package came with some other must have shooting gun accessories that he hasn't even noticed yet. BOYS...

squeaky clean

2011-01-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

I am already finding that being a mother of two boys will keep me pretty active. This is a good thing, unless we happened to be out of coffee. Luckily at our house that would never happen, so I will be okay. Connor and Drake are growing like wild flowers (I should probably say weeds since they are boys) and I feel like I am scrambling to keep up with them, not to mention take some pictures and record some memories here and in their baby books along the blazing fast way. Needless to say I really need to get a few more hours a day on loan, or get organized and on some type of schedule. We will see how that goes...

I was lucky enough to have Cody come home from work early on the day that I decided to let Drake and Connor have a big boy tubby together, should have bought a lotto ticket that day. Bath pictures are the cutest!

we're mobile!

2011-01-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Connor started crawling a couple steps at a time on Wednesday...now he is making it across the room fairly quickly! Following in big brother's footsteps this milestone comes at 7.5 months.

pass the ketchup

2011-01-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to have Drake and Connor's daddy, Cody write on my blog! I thought it would be fun to share his voice along with mine from time to time.

drum roll.......

There are countless phrases that have been used to describe parenting (see: “frustrating”, “sleepless”, flat-ass difficult”, and “incredibly testing”).

There are moments however; even moments on the worst of days (no matter how fleeting) where the parent is exposed to something so awesome, and so unpredictable in its hilarity, that there is nothing to be felt but a sense of beaming pride. These moments are often simple: your child taking the initiative to use the potty all by him/herself, or having an imaginary phone conversation with grandparents and mimicking his parents by saying things like “well, Cody just got home so I’ll talk to you later”. If the word pride means some measure of pleasure or satisfaction taken in either a behavior or event that a person can reasonably believe reflects credit upon their character, then there is no truer exhibition of this than in the realm of parenting.

I’ve recently come to a great moment of discovery concerning the meaning pride and am prepared to display it through a rather benign and comical example. There is something underhandedly gratifying when your children prove a point to your spouse (read carefully – I’m not talking about using this spitefully). Using children to volley back and forth between mommy and daddy is a great way to ease tension and put minor differences of opinion into an appropriate perspective in the broader scale of a relationship.

For example, I made homemade French fries the other night for dinner. Those who are reading this likely already know that Bridgette despises ketchup and will not ordinarily touch food that has come into contact with it; I of course couldn’t live without it. On this evening, Drake looked at his plate of fries and said, “Wait a minute – I don’t have any ketchup!” and proceeded to devour his fries after dipping them in the divine sauce and repeatedly mentioned “mmmmm, this is tasty”. And his beaming father, of course, was filled with an almost immeasurable amount of pride.

The point in all this rambling is, I guess, that while parenting is extremely difficult and often very trying on the relationship of the parents involved, the payoff is innumerably worth the effort. If done correctly, parents can see the beauty and humor in their children’s development as a way to curb the very same minor differences of opinion that, without the same interference, can often become a surging tidal wave of destruction over time and become the driving force of separation. I’ve found pride in parenting my sons, and of equal importance, Bridgette and I have been drawn much, much closer together because of it. I hope you feel the same.

get ready

2011-01-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

On the top of the "to-do" list is to install the baby gate! Connor isn't moving across the room yet, but he is so close to crawling.

and just in case you needed it today, here are some sweet baby laughs!

christmas morning

2010-12-28T14:08:00.001-07:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love! Our family feels incredible lucky to be together this holiday when so many army dad's are deployed and away from their families.

Here are a couple pictures from Christmas morning at our house...

Drake loved Christmas. HE. LOVED. IT.

Cody and I had so much fun experiencing Christmas like a kid again. Drake was so excited by everything!

He liked shopping for the presents and wrapping the up. He ruined one surprise fairly early, "mommy, open this, it's a flash!" Luckily he kept quiet about the rest of the packages. I was really impressed with his patience, he didn't try to open any of them early. Every day he would tell me who all of the packages were for and move them to a new location under the tree from time to time.

We loved having "Pat's" help, it kept Drake from doing anything that Santa might consider naughty.

Drake's favorite thing about Christmas day may have been that he got to stay in his jammies all day long!!! He also got to eat snow doughnuts for breakfast and snack on cookies all day too! He was bouncing off the walls, running around playing with different toys, and laughing, lots of laughing. He was one happy little maniac.

It was Connor's first Christmas! He had no idea what was going on, but loved the chaos. Connor thought it was a lot of fun to sit in a huge pile of wrapping paper and make it crinkle. Playing with his new toys wasn't too bad either! The boys had matching jammies and looked adorable in them I must add. The hardest part about Connor's first Christmas was that it meant my baby is 7 months old! It can't be possible, just can't.

There are tons of stories I want to share about the holiday, little things Drake said or did, sweet snuggles with Connor, the FOOD, my lack of planning ahead, the amazing job Santa did at stretching a buck, and getting to spend extra time with Cody but this will do for now :)

all i want for christmas...

2010-12-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

...is my two bottom teeth, and Connor got them! Now you can see the pearly whites without squinting.

In other news, Drake is sleeping much better! We had another night without any wake-ups, WOO-HOO!

Connor has become a pretty good sitter, but still tips over from time to time. He also does an inchworm style crawl! Time to install the safety gate on the stairs :)

merry christmas

2010-12-21T14:33:00.002-07:00

who's who?

2010-12-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

who's who at 6.5 months?

Obviously you can tell the difference, but they are really starting to look similar to me!

matchy, matchy

2010-12-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

It hadn't donned on me to dress the boys in matching outfits yet, but I am so glad it finally did! It makes me giggle looking at them. Drake also found it really neat that Connor was wearing the same shirt he was. It did cause a little confusion, at one point in the day Drake was upset that Connor had taken his shirt. After taking them over to the mirror the problem was resolved. :)

break on through

2010-12-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty huge morning, Mr. Connor woke up with teeth!!! We have been waiting and drooling for a long time for these bad boys. The bottom left came through first and a couple hours later the bottom right was through too!

here is the perfect shot of the teeth...you might have to enlarge the photo, I swear they are there!

Drake reminded me that he too has teeth and asked me to take his picture!

behind the scenes: holiday photo

2010-12-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

On Monday, approximately 2 minutes after Cody took his boots off I had the idea to take the boys Christmas picture outside. Cody really loves my timing...this type of thing is always happening, I need something from downstairs moments after he gets upstairs, etc. and today was no exception. He gave me a smirk and got the lader out and placed in the snow for me while I got the boys dressed in their adorable holiday sweaters.

They were both posed perfectly, but one problem...I left my memory card inside! So I ran back in the house hoping nobody would freeze in my absence, luckily they didn't!

Here the cuties are! You will see them again on our holiday card...coming soon to your mailbox!

thanksgiving

2010-12-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

There is so much to be thankful for...and that is a great feeling!

For the holiday Thanksgiving we went to Idaho Falls to spend some time with my in-laws. The roads had quite a bit of snow/ice on them but we made it there and back safely and without any screaming kids!!! That alone is something to be thankful for :)

After our delicious turkey dinner Becky and Annie braved "Brown Thursday" with me. We hit up Toys R Us and Walmart and made it home just before 2 am. Not sure that I converted either of them over to the dark side of Black Friday shopping but it was fun!

here is the crew

It was a very relaxing weekend filled with yummy food, catching up, SHOPPING, gift exchange and playing!

celebrations

2010-12-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

Today was the 1-183rds Family Christmas party. It was our second Christmas party (we had one over Thanksgiving in Idaho Falls that I still need to post about!) I thought Drake would be really excited to see Santa, but he really wasn't. He hid and almost started crying when it was finally his turn to go up.

Here he is doing the pick and roll

Ready to smile now that we are a safe distance away

It also happened to be my Grandma's 78th Birthday. Connor and I joined some of my family out for dinner to celebrate. Drake crashed on the way home so we couldn't all go...but you can't keep this girl away from a steak dinner!

Connor with Great-Gram B

rutzyb

2010-12-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had my my very first show! My cute friend Amber invited me to be in a Holiday Boutique, I couldn't say no...so I said yes, then waited until two days before to start working on my items! So typical of me! Anyway, I think the bad weather kept a lot of people from showing up but I am grateful for the jump start it gave me, I might actually put things for sale again in my etsy store rutzyb.

Yesterday my house was super clean...today there was paper everywhere, toys everywhere, you get the picture...a disaster!

Here are a couple pictures I proudly snapped after setting up my table (aka Cody's camp table). I need to develop a fun set up for my things, but was pleased with my very last minute option.

Merry Christmas!

dear santa

2010-11-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

I am SOOOO EXCITED for Christmas this year! I made a huge mess getting out all of my wrapping supplies for a couple packages we are taking to Idaho Falls. I also rummaged through my sack of 90% off Target holiday purchase from last year and it seems like I thought Connor was going to be my Emilia :) I found a pink stocking to match the ones we use at my parents house and an "E" ornament to match every ones that we hang on their tree. I also found some girl jammies and a dolly :) Maybe next time, right Cody?!

The main reason I am so excited for the holidays is because of Drake. The past 3 Christmases he hasn't really understood Santa...but this year....he.gets.it! Santa brings one toy to good little Rutz kiddos and Drake has his eye on Stinky The Garbage Truck. I thought he would change his mind, or ask for several things, but he hasn't, he wants that truck! He saw it at least a month ago on TV, then when I was going through the paper he spotted it and said "Stinky The Garbage Truck!" To be honest I had no idea what he was talking about, but he found the picture and showed him to me.

Santa has secured one special Stinky The Garbage Truck for Drake, I can't wait to see his face!

itsy bitsy spider

2010-11-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

This song usually has very elaborate hand gestures. It can also be done while holding a squirmy baby (notice I have to assist him at the end, there was a possibly of a choke and/or drop)!

big and little

2010-11-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Drake and Connor are really starting to look alike, they are my big and little buddies. Connor keeps a close eye on big brother watching and patiently waiting until he is big enough to play with him. Drake loves his baby and asks to hold him all the time.

Drake is also very outgoing, not sure where he gets this from, but it forces me to step up as well. He always gets chatty with other people in the check out lines, telling them this is his baby, his name is Connor, he is 4 months old...I have to remind Drake that he is 6 months old...then he usually tries to get Connor to laugh by saying gucci, gucci, goo, it almost always does the job! By this point the stranger is swooning for Drake, and by now has noticed both of the boys gorgeous eyelashes. (The sequence could be proved mathematically)

The main point of this story is that the stranger said, "I hope you are always so sweet to your brother, I can tell you really love him!" I can only hope that Drake and Connor share the sweet, unconditional love throughout their lives as they do now. My friendship with my sister is one of the most valued relationships I have. It gives my heart a warm fuzzy knowing that my big and little will have this too!

my movie star

2010-11-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that Drake seems to be coming out of his "don't take my picture" phase! I was afraid he might stay there forever. I am also excited that he is okay with me taking videos of him. After all he does something adorable nearly every second and I need to have some of these things archived!

The flip that I got back in April of 2008 had a dead pixel right in the middle of the screen...grrrr....so all of the videos of the boys had a black blob on them. I was going to try and wait until Christmas to replace it but couldn't hold out any longer. I found a screaming deal on a Creative Vado and it finally came in the mail Saturday! So far I love it...or at least love that the kids don't have a black blob covering them :)

Here is one of my MANY videos I have shot this week. Drake singing the ABC song! Don't mind the complete disaster that you see in the background...a little fairy picks it all up at the end of the day!

lucky

2010-11-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

These are two of the three adorable faces that I get to see every day! How lucky am I?

8.5 hours!

2010-11-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is the face of a boy that finally, after 3 years has slept through the night (10-6:30)! I panicked and thought maybe something was wrong, Cody checked on him and assured me he was just sleeping! I hope we are on to something here...love you Drake!

welcome to november

2010-11-04T11:00:00.000-06:00

I still don't know how it is November, but I will embrace it anyway. We spent a lot of time playing in the yard yesterday since it was such a beautiful day. Hopefully there are many more nice days like this.

can't believe how big they are getting

drooling connor

cutie drake

love these guys!

trick-or-treat

2010-11-02T21:01:00.000-06:00

Hopefully everyone had a happy Halloween, we definitely did. It was Drake's first year getting to go around the neighborhood. Some of the houses decorations were too scary and some had their lights off, but none the less we ended up with a bucket full of candy! By the end he was running up to the door in his cowboy boots, ringing the bell, saying trick or treat...sometimes asking to go inside if he saw kids, and saying thank you.

five months

2010-10-24T23:43:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that five months has passed since Connor was born. Watching him grow is so much fun! He is such a sweet, happy boy.

cooing

giggles

Connor had his first food, I think he liked eating the big more though.

photo by Drake

my five month old baby

drake's weekend round-up

2010-10-24T23:20:00.000-06:00

Drake has been busy lately saying and doing so many sweet and hilarious things. He is starting to warm up to the camera again, which makes me happy. He really loves taking pictures though, and does a great job!

his silly face

sweet smiles

It was his last soccer practice on Saturday. They had a mini game while wearing no so mini penny's.

he patiently waited for the Elephants turn in the pink and purple bounce house! He LOVES a jump, jump!

they got milk and a cookie when it was all done!

We wrapped the day up with some baking. I wanted to participate in the Hip2Save Holiday Challenge, I love this website! Drake helped me with some of my baking before heading off to bed....at 8:30!!! wahoo

the story of alexa

2010-10-19T23:46:00.000-06:00

Long before I was Drake and Connor's Mama I was Dylan, Lucy & Alexa's Mama! There is a long, sad story behind Dylan and Lucy so we will just jump straight to Alexa.

Alexa 2003

Cody and I had only been dating a couple months when we decided to get a dog together. We thought it was the perfect plan since I had just bought my first house complete with backyard. After all every house with a yard needs a dog, right? We knew we wanted a lab, yellow or black. After looking in the paper we found our dog. She was according to the breeder very mellow, I can still remember Cody on the phone saying perfect, that's the one we want! We drove all the way to Melba, getting lost several times to pick her up. She was, and still is soooooo cute (when not waking sleeping babies).

Alexa & Cody 2004

Of course we had to show her off, so on the way home we took her to my parents. My dad told her to sit and stay and gave her my first lab Lady's collar. This is still a favorite joke of ours :) I told them it was Cody's dog so I didn't have to answer to the "what happens when you break up?" question everyone asked. We both knew that wasn't going to be a problem!

2005

2006

Alexa was the center of our world until she got a little brother Drake...then Connor....

meeting Drake 2007

Christmas 2008

buddies 2009

We all love you Alexa, as long as you aren't breaking any of the house rules!

2010

backpack flashback

2010-10-19T22:11:00.000-06:00

This weekend we took our Kelty backpack to McCall with the hopes to go on a nice long walk with Connor in it. That didn't happen, but Drake did request to be put in it and I paraded around the cabin with him on my back. I did feel slightly top heavy since I am 5'4" and he is 3'4" and 36 pounds!

Does this look familiar?

Drake 3 years, Alexa 7 years

Alexa 4 years, Drake 3 months

corn maze

2010-10-06T23:13:00.000-06:00

Last night we had a date with Linder Farms, it was a pretty good first date I would say. I am a professional procrastinator these days with my planning, luckily my family forgives me for this...it is after all my only fault and they all jumped at the idea and joined us.

I attempted to bring the stroller into a corn maze...made it about 200 ft before it sunk in what a horrible idea this was. So I ran back to the car and almost got lost in the maze. I was created sans compass!

our trusty leader

Connor is waving, the bjorn is much better suited for a corn field

finding our way

it's a pretty long walk, Drake got a VIP ride

we made it out!

Aunt Mimi & Drake

the petting zoo, always a crowd pleaser

baby kangaroo

camel

and complete with a bounce house

Drake also begged to go on the swings, we warned him he would get scared but he insisted. The paparazzi mom wanted to take a picture of his terrified crying face swinging around, but the real mom just ran around in circles with the swing telling him he was okay until it ended.

The real treat of the night was the mini doughnuts. They were a-mazing!

We will be heading back again to pick out some pumpkins, and for more douhnuts :)

a birthday celebration

2010-10-06T22:54:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was my sister Michelle's birthday. I was excited to spend the whole weekend celebrating at the family cabin. We all had so much fun and the weekend went way to fast! I love you sister!!!

birthday banner

a picture for every year

Drake is still not into me being the paparazzi

mimosa's anyone?

cutie pie Connor

serious Drake

Michelle & Trevor before they went out for birthday dinner

cabin pets...two foxes!

watching the Boise State game

Trevor spoiled her and brought an incredibly yummy ice cream cake from home. According to my dad my piece was half the cake! mmmmm mmm

we made her wear a crown and wand :)

just tooting his horn

daddio and his birthday girl

mom & sister

my bestie!

growing, growing

2010-09-27T12:21:00.000-06:00

Today both of the boys went to the doctor for check-ups. I can't believe how much they have each grown! Connor is already doing the army crawl, he just can't wait to be able to play with big brother Drake. He told us that Drake would probably be taller than average. From three to puberty they typically follow the same growth pattern. We also got some suggestions on ways get Drake to sleep better, I think we are going to try scheduled awakening first. Hopefully within a few months Drake will be sleeping for longer periods at night...and someday sleeping through the night!

Drake

36 lbs (90%)

39 1/4 inches (90%)

Connor

15 lbs 3 oz (50%)

23 3/4 inches (25%)