Gymnastics

 We survived our first gymnastics class with Colin.  He did awesome, especially since it was burning up hot in the gym.  Apparently the air conditioner went out and they had about 3 service vans at the gym trying to get it fixed.  There were a ton of other gymnastics classes going on at the same time Colin had his class, so there was plenty of body heat, too.  He came up from his class a big sweaty mess, but so was Brian, Maggie and I.  

Colin did a great job listening to his teacher, with only a few minor hiccups.  He loved all the different stations they practiced on, and I think he picked up on the techniques fairly quickly.  He was just excited to be there with his cousin Olivia.  I think it's really neat for them to be able to do things together.  Olivia has done gymnastics there before, over the summer, so she was more comfortable with how things went.  

Unfortunately, we won't have class this next week due to Labor Day (our 6th wedding anniversary!!), but we'll get back into the swing the following week.  

Colin said he had fun and can't wait to go back!

(I apologize that the pictures are dark, but we couldn't figure out how to get the flash to cooperate in the dark gym!)

 Before the gymnastic class started, they were going to stretch soon.

There were 2 teachers (Belinda and Katie) and one younger helper, sitting to the right of Colin.  

They provided really helpful instruction while still allowing the kids to try the activities on their own.

Jumping into the foam pit at the beginning of class.

He was pretty much last in line for everything at first, but towards the end, he started to be more comfortable with things and was more aggressive.

There was one other boy in his class, and Colin didn't even seem to mind there were lots of girls.

 Trying out the bars.

He was working on bring his knees to his chest.

 Next up was the rings...

Get those knees up, Colin! :)

He got to run around the gym and do some other stations where there was a trampoline and hula hoops to jump through.

And...his favorite part...

he got a sucker at the end of class.

How we do dinners lately...

Here are just a few more pictures from our photo shoot that I think are absolutely adorable!

Mags and Daddy (love those candid shots!)

 Colin cheesing on the bridge

 My favorite family picture.  I wish Mags was looking, but everyone is smiling at least, right?

 Maggie Mae on the swing

Finally, we have been having so much fun at dinner lately.

Colin is starting to get pretty fussy with his dinners.  He doesn't really get all that hungry until much later at night, which doesn't work well for going to bed by 7:30 or so.  I am wondering if it's some sort of a stalling tactic that he has just figured out.  So, long story short, we love eating Ramen noodles.  Both Maggie and Colin can eat it (dairy-free) and they have fun, too!

 Getting set up for the challenge, Maggie versus Colin...

(and yes, that's Maggie's foot on the table...she must think it's really comfortable or something, cause she pretty much does it for every meal.)

It's a tie.

I think the noodle actually broke before anyone technically won.

Love these kids!

Peaches and pictures

Seems like we finally got some really good peaches just recently.

We are big fans of yummy, juice peaches around here.

 Digging in...

Yummy in my tummy!

Happy little girl!

We also got some of our pictures back from our family photo shoot.  I just love them!

Some of them are pretty awkward, but for the most part, they are everything I had hoped for.

It was super hot that day (around 96 degrees) and we had some pretty crazy kids, but they really did well considering...

Here's one of my favorites of Maggie Mae!

Right when we first got to the park, she marched onto this really cool bridge, sat down, turned to the photographer, and said "Eeeze!"  I guess she wanted to get her job done first.  After those first few pictures of Maggie, it was pretty much down hill.  Whereas with Colin, he took a little warming up, then started to get smiley towards the middle of the photo shoot.  We lost both of them by the end, but hey, they are only 1 and  3 years old.

One of my favorite ones of the family.

I just love the colors we have one, so bright and summery.

I had hoped for at least one good family photo to put up in our new house, nice and big.  I think this one might be it!

Some cute ones of Maggie and Colin.  I also really wanted a good one of the two of them.

That was a tall order.

You get what you get, and don't throw a fit, right?!

Some other ones that I really like.

Maggie was pretty spooked in this picture, cause a train was going through downtown Parkville, which totally excited Colin, and totally frightened Maggie.  It was pretty loud!

Thanks for reading!

In this home...

 Okay, first off, I want to apologize that it's almost the end-ish of August and I've only posted one blog post this month.  We've been trying so hard to enjoy every little last minute of "non-school" life with the family.  We've been going to the pools, to the park, to the library, playing like crazy outside in the yard.

It has been so nice.
We even managed to squeeze in some family photos last weekend.  Of course, the one day we had scheduled them to be done, it was, once again, about 96 degrees outside.  Might not have been as big of a deal if I hadn't planned on all of us wearing jeans, not shorts.  Oh well, we all survived.

Our photographer was really nice and VERY affordable.  We got an hour long photo session, with 100 edited images on a CD for our own personal use (with copy right release to make copies on our own).  She posted some "sneak peek" photos on Facebook that I just adore.  I can't wait to get the rest of the pictures. I've got some outdated pics of the kids just waiting to be updated.

As I was saying, I start school on Tuesday.  I have 3 more semesters of classes left, then a bunch of comp exams (both oral and written), then I can start my dissertation.  That dissertation project itself should take about 1 year to research and write.  I know it will be all worth it, especially with the extra job security and such that comes along with a PhD title.

Here are some cute pics of the kids:

Don't mind Maggie on the counter, just notice what a HAM she is being.  

She really must get that from her Daddy :)

 Beautiful!

And big brother Colin, just being silly.

He still has the best laugh ever.

Colin is really starting to test our patience with his "non-listening" skills he has mastered lately.  

Hopefully this will be something he grows out of rather quickly, cause Brian and I have just had it with having to get after him all the time.  Good thing his bad moments are few and far between...

Oh, and one last project I have been working on...

I saw this "house rules" sign on Etsy that I just fell in love with.

Not falling in love with the price tag, of course ($65).

So, Brian bought me a piece of plywood on clearance for 75 cents, I used some tan paint we already had at the house, and I bought a sample of the dark brown paint at Home Depot for $3.

I printed off the lettering and transferred it on the board, 

then spent the last few nights painting away.

It's definitely not perfect, but I like it a lot!

Not bad, for about $4 compared to $65...

We'll probably hang it up in the front of the house, somewhere near the kitchen.  

It'll be nice reminders for those days when things get really crazy!

WE DO LOVE!!

Cheesy kids

So, what do you get when you combine spaghetti night and a self-initiated game of peek-a-boo?

A very messy little girl...

 with spaghetti sauce just about everywhere!

 and a much needed bath at the end of the night!

We had the immediate Teson family over for dinner tonight to celebrate Grammie and Grandad's birthday.  We always have so much fun when all the kids get together.

I snapped a few pictures of Colin and Maggie before the ruckus began.

They are so cute!

(I know, biased opinion, but still...)

 Happy Birthday Grammie & Grandad!

Silly face picture!

Hope everyone has a great week!

We've got an ENT appointment for Colin to get his tubes checked out tomorrow.

Nothing much else going on...I have to find something cute for all of us to wear for our outdoor family pictures on Sunday.  Wish me luck!!!

Last week in July

We had yet another adventurous week last week.

It started with a few trips to the playground...

A fancy pantsy teeter-totter.

(I think Maggie and I outweighed Colin by a few pounds)

:)

Mags enjoying the swing, even though it was literally 105 degrees outside

Poor thing doesn't tolerate heat all that well.

I guess nobody really does when it's this hot...

An action shot of the 2 of them

Colin, getting his practice in before the Olympics.

His cousin Olivia is taking gymnastics at this little gym up in north KC.  We think Colin would really enjoy it, and especially now, with the Olympics on TV, he really thinks he needs to learn to do summersaults and flips.  

Then, we went to Colin's 3 year old well-child check. 

He is doing great!  His speech has really picked up, and minus the drooling issue that he has had since birth, we have nothing to worry about.  Our doc recommends to just keep an eye on the drooling, and if we're still concerned in a year or two, we can pursue some specialist appointment.

Here's his numbers: 31 pounds (50th percentile), and 40 inches tall (95 percentile).

Not bad!

Plus, he was super relieved that he didn't have to get any shots.  Phew!

We hit McDonald's on the way home as a treat for being so good at the doctor.  Bribery at it's finest!

Then, my birthday was on Wednesday.  Yes, I'm 31.

I got a gift certificate for an hour long massage (thanks Brian!)

and a really pretty bracelet from the kids.

Plus, Brian grilled out an amazing dinner for me and then we went swimming!

Splashing around with Daddy

Mags all snuggled up after her dip in the pool.

She really is starting to love the water a lot more.

The best picture after an attempt to get one of me and the kids.

Colin checking out the pavement and Maggie obviously less-than-thrilled.

Happy Birthday to me!

Then, the fun really started when we had "potty training weekend".

Colin actually did awesome, and I'm sure you all know, is a work in progress.

He figured things out really quickly and has only had a handful of accidents.

He thinks it's pretty cool running around in his undies.

Who wouldn't, it's hot enough, right?!

Killing time, ready to run to the potty at any moment

Maggie saying "eeze"

Colin looking like a big boy with his Lightning McQueen undies and band-aided knee.

So cute!

Playing with his newest obsession...little cars.

Life is good!

Colin's Car party day

Colin was so excited to have everyone over to his "new" house and party!

The morning started off when Colin and Maggie decided to put every single balloon into our bathtub and jump around.  It actually looked pretty cool, and if I would've had more time, it would be neat to get some pics of the kids with the balloons all around then.

Instead, I just got this...

Cheese!

I made it outside to mow while Brian and Chad put up a new ceiling fan in Colin's room.  Tiff took Colin to the pool and Meemaw was chasing after Maggie until her nap.  There was a lot going on, but it all worked out.  

Maggie found her way back to the bathtub, even in her party dress. 

If you look closely you can see the rash on her face and chest.

I think it was a combination of some teething (getting a couple of molars) and maybe a slight virus.  She really turned the corner on Sunday, so hopefully we kicked it!

Tiff and Colin after the pool.

I dropped those two off while I came home and did more party prep.  I thought I would get a call from Tiff around 45 minutes later, but they were having so much fun, I didn't end up getting a call AT ALL!  I had to go get them once lunch time rolled around.

Colin did so great for Tiff in the water.  He did things for her that he would've never attempted with Mom and Dad (what do we know about swimming, right?!)

He was jumping from the side, blowing tons of bubbles, pulling & kicking.  He really enjoyed himself.  And, he wore goggles with her for the first time, so we headed off to Target the next day to get some good ones for him.  He loves them (we wore them in the bathtub that night and had so much fun!)

Meemaw and I working hard on the birthday cake.  It was Lightning McQueen that I free-handed onto the cake.  Not perfect, but Colin loved it!

Colin and Olivia eating at Colin's new table.

Those two are so cute together.  They are best buds!

We grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs.  There was chips, baked beans, and huge fruit salad, and of course, cake and cake balls for dessert.  Yummy!

After lunch, we headed outside to race  in the cars that Meemaw made.

Unfortunately, it was literally 102 degrees, so they only lasted a few laps before it was too hot.

But, they got lots of laughs from the kids!

(almost) Aunt Caitlin joined in on the races.

The kids playing outside (plus Chad sticking his head through the hole!)

We came inside and opened some presents.  Colin got some really thoughtful gifts.  

A helmet from Katie & Michael, to wear with his bike and scooter.

Maggie, just being a ham!

Surprise!

She kept walking up to Chad (who was taking the pictures) and saying "Eeeeze" (translation: Cheese)

Now whenever she sees a camera, she says it.

Too cute!

He got a John Deere tractor that dumps out Mega Blocks

A cool Toy Story memory game and Lightning McQueen kickboard

A Lightning McQueen car (the "noisy car") that drives around on its own.

Olivia, also being a ham for the camera.

Colin modeling his Cars glasses.

You can never have too many sunglasses, I've learned.  They never seem to be in the car when you need them :)

Some Cars swim toys.

They will be perfect for hitting our neighborhood pools.

Colin also got a baseball bat and balls and more cars.  He got a pop up tent and a few really awesome outfits.  He also scored a cool little table and a Toy Story scooter.  It was a great birthday!

Then it was cake time.

Singing Happy Birthday.

He actually smiled this time when we sang it.

Such a good boy!

Tricky candles.

Olivia and Colin, along with some of my help, finally got them all blown out.

Daddy with his mini-me

Thumbs up on the cake, mom!

Birthday kisses for the birthday boy!

After all the party guests left, we headed outside for a spin on our new scooter.

Colin looked so cute in his helmet.  He kept ringing his bell all down the street.

And we definitely need some practice...he goes about 1 inch every time he pushes with his foot.

It takes a long time to get to our cul-de-sac...

The next day we went to church in the morning and pretty much just hung around the house and ran a few errands.

Oh, and we played with all of the new toys, of course!

Brian snagged this super cute pic of Maggie and I.

She and I couldn't look more different, huh?!

I got Colin some goggles at Target on Sunday, cause Aunt Piffy had some when they swam the day before and he needed some of his own, blue ones, of course.

He was so proud of them, wearing them around the house, using them in the bathtub, etc.  

He told me he needed them to brush his teeth on Sunday night before bed.

That must be some extreme tooth brushing going on if he needs eye protection! :)

And I got this sweet picture of Maggie on Monday morning.

She is such a doll baby!

So that was our crazy few days surrounding Colin's birthday celebrations.

Hope you enjoyed our pictures!