Unseasonably warm winter

 We just had a 65 degree day on January 30th?  

Well, we took advantage of that, and headed out for a LONG walk around our neighborhood followed by some playing around in our back yard.  

Colin loves to kick around a ball while we are walking Maggie in the stroller.  Of course, we have to stop at every crack in the sidewalk so he can "jump" over them.  We figure it'll be good practice for him jumping off the diving board this summer, right?

  

Before we left, some cute pictures of Maggie...

Maggie Mae (8 1/2 months old)

Love her big blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and two little bottom teeth!

 Maggie gazing lovingly at her Daddy.

 After our walk, Colin wanted to introduce Maggie to the slide.  I made him stop and say cheese before I let Maggie on there.  My plan for a cute picture of Colin worked...kindof, except it looks like he is saying cheese in the picture.

 Maggie headed down the slide.  She didn't love it, she didn't hate it.

Oh, and notice Colin at the top, pushing Maggie down the slide.  Good thing Daddy has quick reflexes!

 Hey cutie!

Daddy with his babes.

Colin is saying "roar" in this picture.  Try not to get too scared!

I still can't believe how nice it was outside today.  Kansas City hasn't even gotten one inch of snowfall yet.  We are pretty convinced it's because Brian got himself a really cool pair of snow boots for Christmas.  Maybe we'll just have to wait until next year to break them in!

Sesame Street Live!

If you can remember, Santa brought us tickets to see Elmo and Sesame Street Live.  We have been talking about the show ever since, so this was a big moment for us.  Colin knew Maggie couldn't go because she wasn't big enough, but some day, Maggie would be bigger and could go see Elmo, too.

Grammie and Grandad watched Maggie for us so we could enjoy our evening with just Colin. 

After his nap, we changed him into his Elmo gear (which happened to be very popular attire at the show, go figure!).  We packed some food for him to eat on the way downtown, hoping to curb any interest in all the over-priced junk they would have at the show.

We got there about an hour early because there was a PlayZone that the kids could interact with the characters on Sesame Street and could see all the different set-ups on the show.  We weren't sure how Colin would like it (you know he's not a huge fan of big crowds), but we wanted to get him in the Elmo Spirit before the show.

Right before we walked into the Sprint Center, I noticed a huge sign saying "no outside cameras" or something like that.  Um....well too bad, cause I had ours tucked in my little backpack that I brought.  The guy at the front couldn't have cared less that I had a camera, and am so glad I did, cause we got some great pictures.

A quick shot before we headed out the door for the Sprint Center.

Colin (and mommy and daddy) was Soooooo excited!

In the PlayZone, on the steps of Sesame Street.  I was actually pretty pleased with how this picture turned out, considering the gentleman that offered to take our picture didn't even look into the viewfinder, he just held his arms out and clicked.  Not too bad!

Colin and I were watching Murray dance all around in front of us.  This was the first character Colin watched up close.  The verdict....

He didn't want anything to do with Murray.  He peeled out of my arms and headed over to be held by Daddy, where he remained the rest of the PlayZone.  

But, when we first got to the PlayZone, Cookie monster was just leaving the area and gave Colin a high-five.  He thought that was pretty neat.

Colin and Daddy in big bird's nest

Cookie Monster dancing a little jig for everyone in the PlayZone.

Brian and I did want this to be "special" for Colin, so we were entertaining the idea of getting him a little treat while we were there.  We thought maybe a Slushee from QuikTrip would do the trick.  Wouldn't you know, they had the Slushee's all shut off so that you HAD to buy the over-priced Sesame Street junk across the way.  We decided on a $1 juice container, which actually held him over the entire show.  I noticed there were 40 grams of sugar in one container, so Brian quickly took a drink, filled up the remained with water, and we did this a few times.  Believe me, it still tasted plenty sweet even after being diluted a few times!

But, the juice never left Colin's hand.  

Bert and Ernie opened the show.

Colin sat on one of our laps the entire show.  We had great seats and he had a fun time!

All of the characters dancing around

Elmo was by far Colin's favorite.  Here he is with Mr. Noodle.  

Colin and Daddy at intermission.  There was 45 minutes of show, with a 15 minute break, then 30 more minutes.  It was perfect for little kids' attention spans.  

I brought some glow-stick bracelet and necklaces (purchased at Michaels for $1) for Colin, Mommy and Daddy to wear during the show.  

Brian and I were sooo proud of Colin when we were there.  There were families on both sides of us with a ton of junk purchased - big tubs of popcorn, huge sodas, twirley toys, balloons, Elmo toys that had stars that glowed, etc.  NEVER ONCE did Colin ask for any of that, or whine about not having them, or anything.  He had his juice and was totally content.  We thought that was pretty neat.

Afterwards, we stopped by McDonalds and had some ice cream. Once again, this is something that is really special, cause we don't go out to fast food hardly ever.  

He was on cloud 9!!

My boys...

LOVE THEM!

When we got home, around 7:00, Colin was slightly hyped up on sugar.  He was running around, giggling a ton, telling Grammie & Grandad all about the show.  

Luckily, he crashed hard about 20 minutes later and slept great the rest of the night.

Thanks for the tickets to see Elmo, Santa Claus!!

We had a great time!

Play date with Olivia

Just a few random things that I haven't had a chance to write on yet...

This semester, school is gonna kick my rear.  It's already really challenging, and it's only the 2nd week of class.  I have my first quiz next week, and lots of papers to write.  Plus, I am taking an additional class so I am in 9 credits, plus have a full-time job, a couple of pretty needy little kiddos, and a husband to care for.  One day at a time, right?!

Please forgive me if I slack off a bit on my blog...

it's not because I don't want to...

Maggie will, every once in a while, suck her thumb or a couple of fingers.  She never did take a pacifier, she would always gag and choke on it if we gave her one.
Brian found her sucking her thumb during a nap one time, and snapped a quick picture.
What a doll!

Colin still loves this silly race car track.  

Now he has added his own accessories...such as his legs!  The cars are powerful enough they can climb Mt. Colin with no problem.  

 A few weeks ago, Colin started asking for Olivia to come over to his house to play.  We had to arrange schedules, but last weekend, it happened!  He, and Olivia, were so excited to hang out at our house.  We played in the tunnel...

Got our hands dirty in some playdoh...

Had a "pretend" birthday party for Maggie, complete with all the fixin's you would ever want at your party, just in make-believe world...

and read some books and did some puzzles.

The two of them played really well together, once the initial shock was over that Colin would have to share his toys with Olivia.  I am so excited to know these two will grow up to be great friends.

Now, as for this weekend, we have another very exciting thing planned...

SESAME STREET LIVE! on Sunday!

I will be sure to take lots of pictures...Can't wait!! 

Laughing it up

I know I keep writing about how much Maggie just loves Colin.  Well, Brian caught it on video for you all to enjoy.  

We were just getting ready for bed, Colin was being Colin (throwing around his favorite stuffed animal Oof) and goofing around, and Maggie thought he was being hilarious.  She gets the hiccups when she laughs too hard, and she had been laughing for a while already, so please excuse her hiccups!

I hope you smile, too!

8 month photo shoot

Can't believe she's 8 months old today.  I had better not blink or else I'll get behind on planning her very first birthday party!

Maggie is such a doll.  She doesn't have much to say (da-da only right now), but when she gets a babbling (mostly at church), she can be quite loud!

She thinks clapping is HILARIOUS right now, and will stare and laugh at Colin all the time.

She doesn't have any interest in crawling just yet, and can sit on her bottom forever without falling over.  Such stamina, right?!

Maggie is still full of drama...so different than Colin in so many ways.

We love you Maggie Mae!

 Hey mama, did I get any drool on my outfit?!

Gross (this is VERY much like her brother, drooling all the time!)

She was able to reach out and grab Colin's remote for his car and in doing so, accidentally pushed the button, causing the car to crash into our fireplace.  This startled her...she's trying to figure out what just happened!

 Surprise!  I got mama's lens cap!

 Chewing on her Tylenol bottle.  This girl loves to chew on the soft, squishy top.  I don't even think there's any medicine in the bottle, but we take it with us all over town!

I still think she looks so much like her Daddy (blonde hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, rosy cheeks).

Good thing I think he's pretty cute, too! :)

A few of our favorites right now

 I can't believe I go back to school in just a few days.  I (and Brian) have really been enjoying my time at home in the evenings with the kids.  I know me going back to school will be worth it in the long run, but I am really dreading my first week back.  

I know, this, too, shall pass!

Until then, I will update you on some of our favorite things to do right now...

Colin is TOTALLY into the Grinch movie.  He asks for it all the time, and since it's only about 20 minutes long, he will sit and watch the whole thing.  He has gotten to where he has started saying the lines in the movie while it's playing.  Pretty impressive, I know.

 Here's Mr. Grinch, himself!

 Everyone still just LOVES bathtime.  It's hard keeping the water in the tub, but maybe that's just because Mommy & Daddy don't like to get soaked.  I hope our kids will always enjoy the water.  

I think it's in our blood...

 Maggie getting her cute little cheeks cleaned up.  

She loves splashing and kicking her legs around in the tub, too.  And, still doesn't mind when Colin pours water all over her head.  

 Another new favorite...watching the random family videos that Daddy has uploaded on YouTube.  He has a few of Colin walking Jake, Colin at the Royals game, Maggie looking in the mirror when she was a baby, etc.  The kids just laugh and laugh, seeing themselves on TV.  

Brian and I's favorite... a new toy organizer.  

We bought this little guy about a month ago and have just loved it.  Colin really likes knowing where to put his toys when he is done with them, and I love it because things are staying picked up.  We are trying to get things all together for when we put our house back on the market in a few weeks.  

Ugh!  I hope I'm ready for this drama again...

Oh, and speaking of drama...another of my favorites right now...Infants Ibuprofen!  

There has been an official sighting of at least one more tooth in Maggie's little mouth.  Little girl has been a bit fussy lately.  This, too, shall pass!

Updates

 We are finally settling in to 2012.

So far, so good!

Maggie got her first tooth on Tuesday, January 3rd.  I'm sure there will be more to follow soon, but I think little babies just look so cute with random teeth in their mouth.  She never really has been fussy, just extra drooley.  Such a trooper!

She also has started sleeping unswaddled at night and during naps.  She just LOVES this new transition of sleeping on her tummy.  Not a peep comes out of her anymore, and she wakes up in such a great mood.  I remember this transition to be much more traumatic for Colin.  I guess it's a good thing!

Colin had a run-in with another kiddo at our daycare, hence the huge red goose-egg on his forehead, just above his right eye.  

There are some days Colin really challenges us, and other times he's such a sweet kid.  Sometimes, he's a combination of both, almost instantly switching from one to the other.  He is a 2 year old, that's for sure.  

This is a great age, it keeps Brian and I on our toes.  

Just a couple of cute pictures of the kids before bed one night.  They seem to change so quickly these days, I want to remember every stage!

Christmas time in Topeka (on New Years weekend)

We were able to celebrate Christmas with the Dudley side this past weekend.  Since we don't get out and party for New Years, it was nice being able to spend some quality time with family.

Tiff and Chad came in from Belton and we brought our family to visit Meemaw & Ginger at her house.

After the kids got up from their naps on Saturday, Meemaw made some fantastic snack trays and we "grazed" all evening.  We also opened up our Christmas gifts.

Chad, just before getting "the look" from Meemaw.  She said she couldn't even hardly get the food on the tray before the boys came up and ate it all.

Colin enjoying making some music with his candy-filled Candy Cane from Meemaw.

Colin got some awesome jumbo animals from Meemaw.  He loves them.  They can go just about everywhere with him and are easy to clean.  There are 10 total.  He is really into animals right now, so another trip to the zoo might be coming up soon!

Chad and Tiff got the kids some much-needed Mizzou apparel.  Maggie got this really cute onesie with some bling on it.  Colin got some awesome t-shirts and a Mizzou jacket and pants set.  

Another fun gift, this one is from Colin's Godparents, Scott & Suzanne.  He had so much fun playing with the felt barn.  This toy got pulled out multiple times over the weekend.

Meemaw made Maggie a bow-holder.  We changed the ribbon on there so that there were 2 strands hanging to attach bows on.  I never thought my little girl would have as many bows as she has already.

Colin doing a performance for us on his echo microphone.  He found that hat somewhere and insisted on wearing it around for a while.  Maybe it was just part of his show apparel!

Meemaw and Maggie Mae.  She got these really cool bugs that snap together.  Right now they are being used for chewing on, I think we've got some teeth brewing in that mouth of hers.  She sure seems to be quite drooley lately, so maybe one will pop up soon.

Colin got his hands on one of GG Rice's hats.  This must've been before bedtime on Saturday.  

Just a cute shot of Maggie.  She sure does look like her Daddy!

We brought Colin's build a road toy with us to Topeka.  Here he is showing Aunt Tiffey how to use it.  Colin currently enjoys making the cars crash into each other.  One car lost his fender and has a huge crack in it.  The other one just runs really slowly.  I guess we'll be ordering some replacement cars soon!

Colin thought Meemaws phone was pretty cool.  He kept calling GG Rice in Michigan and "talking" to her.  It was quite a challenge trying to get it away from him, he must've had something VERY important to talk to her about.

Colin (with phone) & Mags on the hearth.  We wanted to take as many pictures as possible to remember our family time in Topeka.  

Another cute picture of the kids

Beautiful Meemaw and her pretty young ladies!

Not sure what was going on in this picture, but I thought it should be on the blog!

Our "eyes shut" picture.  Tiffany has gotten better with having her eyes open during pictures, but we love making fun of her anyway!

Kisses for Meemaw.

We had a great time in Topeka.  On New Years Eve, we stayed up and played Buzzword and had so much fun.  We didn't make it until midnight (only until about 11:30 pm), but Maggie woke us up at 2:15 am, so that was close enough, right?

Here's to another fun year.

I wonder what 2012 has in store for the Teson Family?!

I'll keep you updated...