What a circus around here!!

Things have been hectic as always. Nikolas is doing great potty training (he has been dry for 2 days straight now). He has also decided that he prefers to use the big toilet- so that is much easier on me. Brooklynn is also working on it, but has a few accidents a day. Little Man/Aka Mr. Trouble has been living up to his name, that boy is stubborn- and keeping me busy!! Nikolas & Brooklynn just loves playing with their friends, and also their new sitter that they go to weekly (yeah, I have a day to go to DR appts and get stuff done now- it is nice). It won't be long before Eric is going to be home. He is working VERY hard there, and is hoping to finish by the end of March :)

Hope everyone is doing well- and I will try to keep the posts more updated than they have been !

Dusty's new do!

So, Dusty is half poodle (and half who knows what). Poodle's don't shed- which is why I wanted a dog with poodle in him. Well, Dusty (who I was calling "Dirty") was bringing in half the backyard in his long hair. I didn't find a single hair of his- but the leaves, dust and even sticks he brought in were all over the house. I couldn't keep up with it, so he went to the groomers. It looks really good though, he doesn't look all grungy anymore and doesn't bring in hardly anything when he comes in from outside. We still are not sure what kind of dog he is...in this picture I see a little bit of Schnauzer (however you spell it). He is doing well- hates to walk on leashes, knows where his toys are- and gets in his crate when I say "Night-Night" to him. He is a good dog.

Terrified or having fun??

Chris was pushing Walker on this flat swing-like thing. It was impossible to tell if he was having the time of his life or scared to death. I took video of it too- and may put it on sometime, so you can decide for yourself :)

Chris

Chris some how ended up in many of my pics by himself- so here you are Chris, chilling in Austin- in the windy, unpredictable weather that you say you love :) We are glad you are here!!

Sand & Mud- what fun!

Nik and Walker really enjoyed playing in the sand (and then figured out that there is a little water fountain there so they can make mud-yeah!!). Our friends came and met us at the park- Nikolas loves playing with his friends!!

A picnic at the Park

Nonna and Chris came over, and we went to the new Lake Park. It was so nice outside (but a little windy). We ended up leaving fairly quickly since Brooklynn started getting red- I didn't even think about sunscreen. The kids had a lot of fun!

Chris to the rescue

Chris decided to ATTEMPT to climb a tree to help a little boy and his mom get a kite out of the tree. Although he tried, he didn't quite make it up the tree- but it is the thought that counts!!

Uncle Tom-Tom's Buddy!!

Walker just LOVES his Uncle Tom-Tom! He came to visit us the other day and had a kid climbing on him most of the time he was here.

We love it when Uncle Tom-Tom comes to visit us :)

My Little Bull !!

The Taurus Child

You just cannot force the Taurean child to do anything that he does not want to do. There is a reason why they are called "bulls." On the face of it, the Taurean child is the most placid of all. But if they are pushed, you will see the obstinacy of the bull rise to the surface. The way to get around them is through logic and love. After a bout of typical Taurean stubbornness, they will make it up to you with a bear hug and a cuddle. They adore being petted and hugged.

** Walker is a Taurus- the Bull has definitely come out of him! Here is a perfect picture of his standing his ground face. Since I am a Taurus too, Eric claims that he is just like me- but wow, I am not that stubborn- I hope. I think he is practicing for his terrible two's! Can you believe at the end of April he will be 2 years old- my baby 2. That also means I will have 2 two year olds!!

V-day Play date!

We had our big Monthly Meet & Greet for our playgroup. We did a Valentines Theme- We made bags, and decorated them, to put the Valentines Cards in, we also read some V-day themed books. BUT, the younger kids just weren't having it- no toys and not enough to do . It was controlled chaos. Walker was by far the biggest trouble maker there- he actually colored with crayons on the window (luckily it came off). I would tell him no..he would just laugh and go back and it again (what a little turkey he has become!!!)

My Moms Night Out

I actually made it to a Moms Night Out with our play group. Eric was home and watched the kids. We went to Viva Chocolato , it was wonderful. We had reserved a private room. We ate chocolate for dinner (I had something like a peanut butter mousse). Not sure exactly what it was called- but it was good!! I have met a lot of great friends in the group, I am having so much fun, and I am making it my goal to make it to more Mom's Night Outs!!

This is my Peanut Butter Mousse thing...the name was better than that- but my goodness it was SOOOO incredibly good, and I am not usually a chocolate person (but I am a peanut butter person).

Feeding time at the zoo!

Eric was eating Cheese Its, and then all of a sudden he had three little mouths begging for food. I just had to take a picture of all of them lined up in a row.

Playing with Unkie

The kids were very excited to see Unkie this weekend. Unkie played trains with Nik, since his brother and sister never let him really play with them. Today Nik asked me when Unkie was coming back to play with trains with him.

My BIG Boy!

Walker has decided that he would rather not sit in his booster seat. He does really well for the first few minutes and then back in the booster he goes. It won't be long though, that he will be sitting like a big boy with his brother and sister.

Park & Swap Pictures

Last week we had a "Park & Swap", where all the moms bring things they don't need/want anymore (anything from kids clothes, toys, books to household items). We go through them and pick things we want- and get rid of those we don't want. Jillian & Branson got to come with us (it had been a long time since we had seen them). "Gigi" took these pics of the kids. It isn't easy to get a picture of all four of them in the same place, it was so much easier when Branson and Walker were babies!!

Playdate at Chuck E Cheese

The kids and I went to play with our friends today at Chuck E Cheese. It was completely empty today- and the kids had the run of the place. We had pizza for lunch and played plenty of games! We have all made such good friends- the group has been the best thing for both me and the kids!

Nik Playing...

Nikolas had the best time today. He is always so excited about playing with his friends- and his favorite friend (Mary) was there today. His favorite game was driving the race cars, but he couldn't reach the pedals- he still like it though. He also liked helping mommy collect all her tickets from the machine.

Brookie at Chuck E Cheese

Brooklynn had a lot of fun playing at Chuck E Cheese- she was all over the place, and of course I couldn't get a good picture of her ;)

Walker's Favorite Rides...

Walker rode 2 rides almost the whole time we were at Chuck E Cheese. He enjoyed the 10th ride as much as the first.

Our Windy Day at the Park

Eric and I took the kids for Breakfast taco's this Saturday, and to play at a new park that is near our house. When we left the house it didn't seem very windy or cold. So, they had short sleeves on. When we got there it was SOOOO windy, and chilly. Of course the kids warmed up quickly since they were running around everywhere!

Check out Walkers crazy hair blowing in the wind...

Feeding the Ducks

There was a huge pond outside the park with tons of ducks. The kids really wanted to feed them, so we took a few of the tortillas that the kids had left over from our breakfast taco's and went down to feed the ducks. The ducks were far away (luckily), and they weren't very hungry (luckily- because we had only a few tortillas and there a lot of ducks!!). It wasn't very exciting, they ended up just throwing the food in the water- I am sure they got it later. For those that don't know- I am TERRIFED of birds, any kinds of birds!

More Fun Toys...

Here is Walker checking out the spinning chair. This thing was crazy- the second we put him in it, it started turning around. He liked it at first- then all of a sudden it wasn't very cool anymore.

Oldie but a goodie!

Out of all the cool things to do at the park, Brooklynn still preferred the swings. It was hard talking her into checking out the rest of the park! I don't blame her though, I love to swing too :)

All kinds of slides~

The park had tons of different slides. Of course they liked the one that was way up high, so we had to climb up there with them. They are starting to really get the concept of going up the stairs and sliding down the slide (finally!)

Playing with Daddo

This park has some really interesting play equipment that I have never seen before. The kids liked this one. It didn't just go around, it curved as it went around. I could barely stay on when I was sitting on it, but there were a few kids there walking on it- pretty crazy. Walker spent a lot of time sitting with daddo, and Nik liked to push.

Sand, Sand & More Sand

The park had a large area of sand, with "Bull Dozer" toys, buckets, shovels and water (yes, it did get messy). Nikolas spent most of the time playing in the sand. He lovesd it so much he brought some home & even some for the car (it is everywhere!!).