Dream it big, but keep it simple...with kids!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-11T22:15:00.004-06:00

Wow! What a year it has been...obviously too busy to write on this blog, right? Is that a legitimate excuse? Let's see...We all traveled to Guatemala again this summer, Russ and I got to go on a much needed mini vacation thanks to Grandparents, my boys have gotten absolutely adorable and so much fun, and we are happy to say that we are expecting baby #3 at the end of May. Hope you are all doing well and hopefully still reading. Pictures are better than my words, so here they are...

My Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-26T23:28:00.002-06:00

Ellie, Tye, Jax and I (not pictured...Elizabeth and Caleb) at the Museum of Health for the Bug Exhibit! Sooo fun!

Here is my "oh so cute, baby in big boots picture" that we all have. These are actually Tye's boots. Tye was definitely sleeping, because he would not have allowed this.

These are few of many pictures of my little traveling book worm. If we are in the car, he is studying his tractors, trucks and animals.

Have a great week!
Bethany

Our week in Fredericksburg!

2010-03-30T13:48:00.003-06:00

We are finally back and caught up on sleep, laundry and errands. We had a great week in Fredericksburg! To recap, we celebrated my Great Grandma Ethel's 106th birthday with some fantastic chocolate cake and pulled pork sandwiches. We had beautiful weather about every other day, disbursed with really cold windy weather. Unfortunately, Jax did not grasp why he could not ride the tractor every day, all day. He was not happy being couped up inside. The boys had a great week riding the tractor and planting tomato gardens and spreading wildflower seeds. I love their time in the "country". Then, we went to LBJ Ranch where they have a working farm with volunteers dressed up in settler attire and talk to the kids about how they did things on the farm. We will go back everytime we are there. It was awesome! Then Grammy and Papa came down and we had our annual Leatherman Reunion with 35 of Russ's relatives from all over Texas and New Mexico. Tye had such fun with his 6 cousins, and would wake every morning asking if they were still there. We had a great time visiting and shopping. Whew...are you tired reading this yet? I will wrap it up, but nonetheless, it was a great week, and we are thankful for family and family homesteads to retreat to. Here are a few pics from the week.

From the mouth of boys...

2010-02-05T14:46:00.003-06:00

So, Tye has become quite the conversationalist. He talks about the most random things sometimes and it has really started to crack us up.

Yesterday morning, we were sitting at the breakfast table talking about farm animals and Tye said to me, "Mom...I think cows poop milk." I needed time for a response, so I replied brilliantly with..."I don't think cows POOP milk." Then Tye thought for a second and said, "Then, I think they pee milk.". Then we began our conversation about udders...great morning table talk!

Last week at Mother's Day Out, they had Chef Sonya come to school and help them make personal pizza's. Tye was so excited about it, and on the way to school, I asked him, "Tye do you remember who is coming to school today?" Tye replied with, "YES, OF Course! Chef Lasagna is coming today!" How appropriate, I thought.

Hope you got a giggle out of this like I did.

Jax dive bombs a pile of laundry now!

Tye set us a zoo/farm/safari with every little people animal and person we own. Quite a set up.

Blessings,
Bethany

Happy Birthday to you-ooo, happy birthday to you!

2010-01-27T20:59:00.003-06:00

Well, my baby is now 1...not only is Jax 1, but we had a 3 generation birthday party on Sunday. Jax turned 1, my sister turned 20-something and my mom turned 50-something :) (your welcome Mom and Nat). Their birthdays are January, 22nd, 24th, and 25th. We had a fantastic family party with yummy fajitas, tuxedo cake, and cards and dominoes after the kids went to bed.

Here are a few pictures:

We also had Jax's baby dedication that morning at church. Thank you to everyone who came.

Jax did not lack in the gift assistant this year...there were plenty to help.

Fun with the cake...of course my children to do not dive in for those famous pictures, but at least Jax enjoyed a few bites. That is more than I could say for Tye...but the smile is worth a million bucks and a barely eaten cake.

Blessings,
Bethany

A month in pictures...

2010-01-18T07:56:00.004-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our past month...

Like Father...like son. Jax has this crinkly nose thing. I think he got it from my Mom because she crinkles her nose when she smiles and she does that a lot. But then, I noticed how much he looks like Russ when he does it. Love these boys!

Christmas in Fredericksberg...what fun! Both of the boys got boots this Christmas. Tye says that his has "red fire" on them, and Jax's have Christmas trees. ...from the mouth of children. :)

Laura...here is an example of our kid's "love/hate relationship" as well.

Music time in our tent when it was like 20 degrees. I was not leaving my house! I live in the south for a reason. The boys are loving each other. Click on the picture and check out Jax's static hair. It shows that his hair does exist. :) He is walking now, but my video did not load properly, so I will have to get that us on the next post. I promise it won't be a month from now.

Then it turned 70 degrees and we were back outside again. Here are the boys fighting over a ball...hence the hate form of the relationship. Stay tuned for pictures of Jax's first birthday!

Blessings,
Bethany

I'm (Tye) "FREE!" (Tye is Three!)

2009-12-12T21:41:00.003-06:00

So he can't quite say his "th" sound yet, so he keeps saying, "I'm free". Cute. Okay, so I am way late on postings and finally getting a few minutes of evening time to catch up on things. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying every party, planning of party, and spending time with friends and family as we celebrate Christmas this month, but whew, it is nice to have a little breather.

All that to say...I am going to have to skip a Thanksgiving post, and know that we had an awesome time in Dallas with Grammy and Pappa and Aunt Libby and Uncle Ethan, riding a train to the Railway Museum (every 2 year old train lover's dream day), and fishing and riding tractors at Uncle Lynne's, and jumping in huge piles of leaves.

Last week we celebrated Tye's 3rd birthday! If you asked him what kind of party he wanted, he wanted a "Green Train Party" aka: Percy the Train Party. So a Green Train Party we had and boy was it fun. We had a good ol' family party and thanks to my Mom, Dad and Aunt Natalie, a cardboard box Percy attended the party. Tye and the kids loved every bit of it. They played in it for hours with their flashlights and train engineer hats. Thanks to Grammy and Pappa for coming down for the party, too.

Here are a few pictures! Oh yeah, and we had SNOW!! Tye was not a huge fan, he is cold in 70 degree weather, so he just wanted Pappa to make the snowballs so he could throw them from the garage. He is spoiled with the 90 degree weather. I say spoiled, bc I am a fan of the heat. Russ on the other hand is not a fan of the 90's. Either way, it snowed!

Hello to all...

2009-10-31T21:54:00.003-06:00

Whew, again I realize how long it has been since our last post, and if you still check this blog...thank you and sorry! I will try to do better for grandparents and friend's sake. We have had a busy few weeks, but most of that is the joy of fall with Mother's Day Out in full swing and Bible Study starting up after a summer hiatus. I am enjoying both of them very much and with Tye's friend who is a month older than him turning 3 tomorrow, I am realizing how quickly this fall is flying by and how I did not even realize that the holiday season and all of our winter birthdays are here already. It seems to happen so much earlier and quicker each year. Jax is 9 months now (and I should be back to my pre-pregnancy weight, right?...close, but no cigar. It is still on my to-do list) and Jax is a master army crawler and starting to try and pull up on things, much to his amazement and joy. He gets very giggly every time he is up on his feet (with help). He is all about Tye's toys right now and gets frustrated when Tye does not let him play with them and Tye gets frustrated with the fact that Jax won't stop trying to take them from him. Oh joy for a mom. I am already playing referee. Tye is doing awesome...he says the most hilarious things right now, but still can't quite get that "L" sound, so the other day, he fell at the park and if you ask him what he hurt, he said, "my wips" (my lips :), and at school he did not get to to be the "wine weader", which took me a while to figure out...lion reader...line with her...oh...line leader! He is still obviously "two" and I often wonder how long kids are actually "two" if you know what I mean. He tests every boundary and ounce of patience, but we are getting there. Here are a few pics from the past week or so...

We took a family outing with Russ's parents to Hockley to ride a kid size steam engine and it was a blast. Thanks Grammy and Pappa for the fun train engineer hats. Yes, Jax loved the DP as well (j/k).

So, then...we decided to dress up this year for Tye's Mothers Day Out, Reformation Day and Fall Festival. I thought...he loves pirates right now, so...of course he would love to dress up as a pirate...WRONG!! It took me 2 pirate outfits and a few fits, for me to realize how unimportant it was for Tye to dress up. I mean I don't enjoy being uncomfortable in my clothes, why should I make him? So I gave up/gave in, however you want to look at it, and was perfectly ok with him going in his typical jeans and tshirt. Then, out of nowhere, he decided he wanted to try it on (aka...being "two"), so I was able to snap a few pics of him in it in that 5 minutes that he wore it. Yep, that was the last time he put it on. So, if any of you want a 3T/4T pirate costume for next year...it's yours.

Jax getting in on a little of the pirate action...AAARRRGH, Walk the plank!

So...round 2. I decided since he loved his train engineer hat so much, he could dress up as a train engineer and that was a winner. All is well.

At the end of the day, we had a wonderful time at the KFBC Fall festival and he did not want to take that hat or bandana off.

Blessings,
Bethany

Updates!

2009-09-15T21:46:00.004-06:00

Well, I will have you know that Jax's laugh as displayed in the video in the previous post has been a one time and one time only event. We have tried to duplicate but no luck. He is much happier to give you his spectacularly addicting ear-to-ear smile to those who he finds familiar. So...that is progress! He is getting his 3rd tooth, but it is the top tooth to the left of his front teeth, so that should make for some interesting toothy pictures until those front teeth come in. Is that normal? Anyway...Jax is a master roller and would prefer that than any form of creeping/crawling at the moment. I turn my head for a moment and he ends up under tables and stuck against walls, etc. Tye has started Mother's Day Out and loves it. He is becoming so independent and wanting to assert that in pretty much all situations. That is the tough part of the "Two's" I am assuming. He loves playing outside and helping me cook! They are growing up so fast, but I am loving every minute.

Jax finally figured out the jumperoo...thanks Chris for letting us borrow it!

Here are a few pics from the past few days.

Yes, those are my sunglasses...

playtime!

He can't get enough of those puffs :)

More than a smile...a LAUGH!!

2009-08-26T15:38:00.002-06:00

Tye has successfully made Jax belly laugh! FINALLY!
Enjoy...

Blessings,
Bethany

Just for fun...

2009-08-20T13:37:00.005-06:00

Here are a few pictures from the last week. I have been working hard on "taking back my house". I have had a hard time keeping up the house, and keeping up with the kids lately. So, I have been on a quest, and it has been keeping me busy...hence the not so recent posts. It has been great, though. I have been using the www.flylady.net website, so for those of you who have not heard of it before...check it out. So we had a breakthrough today. We went to the grocery store this morning and Tye and Jax both sat in the car-cart! They did great and Tye was so excited to have a buddy beside him. Jax was even big enough to turn the steering while like big brother. So there might be hope that I can actually do a full shopping trip one day. Anyway, here is a video of Tye giving Jax zerberts, and Tye thinks he makes a surprise discovery at the end...so cute, and Tye and I thought it was much more funny than Jax, but he appeased us, and the picture is of Tye, taking after his father...sorry Russ.

Blessings,
bethany

This one is for you, Jamie!

2009-07-28T21:34:00.003-06:00

This is as close as I will ever be able to get to matching outfits, but I have to admit, they were so cute! If you look closely, you will notice they aren't exactly matching, but very similar. Russ did not make too big of a deal, but he did notice. :)

6 Months Old!!

2009-07-25T07:59:00.003-06:00

This is Jax's everyday look, hence the nickname "stone cold"...

but when he does smile...boy does it melt your heart!

Jax was 6 months yesterday and where did that time go? He is sitting up, has his first tooth and learning to like food. It has not come natural to him, and as long as I warm it up, he tolerates it. He loves his big brother and when he is crying, all it takes is a smile from Tye and he is great. It is adorable. We call him "stone cold", because it takes a very silly mom to make him crack a smile, but he is an absolute joy, and we are so thankful God has blessed us with him in our lives.

You just have to laugh when...

2009-07-21T07:32:00.004-06:00

Your son learns how to use the word "GRUMPY" (Thanks Backyardigans!). So it was 5:30pm and I was in the middle of dinner when Tye says,"Gotta pee", so I shoo-ed him to the bathroom. He has been doing so good going in the potty, I thought I would give him his privacy and let him go with no supervision...well, a few seconds later, I hear the music from the potty, so I smile like a proud mommy would and then I hear, "OH NO, MOMMY I NEED HELP!" I am thinking, what could go wrong? So I walk in and see Tye standing on top of the potty chair trying to pee like a dad would, and of course he is upset because he made a wet mess all over the floor. The majority made it in, but his aim was not the best. So I am like, "YUCK! You can't stand on the potty that way." So he gets his rag and proceeds to clean it up and then instead of standing to empty the potty, he is sitting on the floor when he tries to empty it and he spills it all over the floor. "YUCK!, YUCK! TYE!" I said, with a loud groan of frustration. I just wanted to finish dinner. So Tye looked up at me with his big eyes and said, "Mommy, are you grumpy?, Why are you grumpy?" I could not help but laugh, and we both laughed together and I asked him, "Where did you hear that?" and he replied, "the Grumpy Emperor on The Backyardigans." Then Russ walked through the door. Hope that brings a smile to your face today. :)

Where to even start...!

2009-07-15T19:10:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I did not realize it has been this long since our last post, and I think I said that last time. Yes, it has been busy, but still...grandparents need pics of grandkids, right? So I wont go through all the events of the past month, but here are a few highlights. Jax still hates baby food and yes, it has been about a month now. He shivers and gags with everything except the "oatmeal with bananas" cereal. Any suggestions? I have tried a few of the veggies, because I heard you are to start with those first, but he can't even get more than one bite down without gagging and that is just over the taste of it. It can't be a texture or thickness thing. I simply dip the spoon in and dab it on his lips. Silly boy! I am open for any comments or suggestions on this matter. Should I just go ahead with the fruits and try those? Other than that, he is starting to sit up on his own, and then slowly, slowly leans to the side until he laying down, which is fine with him these days, because he can roll like a champ. He is also sleeping through the night! Yea!!! He is giving us the 12 hours now, and can't be more excited about that. But, you know with kids, it is always something changing.

As for Tye, we officially started potty-training last weekend, and Tye did fantastic. I recommend the book, "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Nathan Azrin and Richard M. Foxx. Starting at 9am, Saturday morning, diapers were gone, and we had a few accidents in the morning, but he held it through naptime and only one small accident that evening. I thought it did not work, but he made it all night, and we have not had another peeing accident since. Now going #2 was a different story. We realized he was not a huge fan of going in the potty. So I had to come up with a serious reward. We decided on riding the 4-wheeler at Grandad's house was big enough, and sure enough...we were over there today and congrats to Tye...he pooped and was so shocked with himself! He looked down usually impressed with his pee, but to his surprise, his eyes got huge and looked at me and yelled "I pooped! It is big!" Needless to say, there was much celebration and 4-wheeler riding. Anyway, it has gone well. That may be too much information for some of you, but I am a happy momma. It is stressful though...always thinking about where the potty is and when did he go last, etc.

Lastly, we celebrated the 4th of July in Fredericksburg, and it was so much fun. The whole family was there, and then some. Yes, that made 18 of us. We all managed to fit, and had a great time riding tractors, going to the parade, doing a little shopping, and good food. Here are a few pictures from the parade. Tye had so much fun, he came home and had a parade for himself.

Here are some videos...

If you were to take Shane Mikeska and Russ and put them side by side as 5 month olds, I am sure this is what you would have seen...this makes me crack up, because it is so their daddy's personalities. Shane is the super active, excited one, and Russ is the laid back, go with the flow kind of guy...perfectly displayed!

Here is Tye taking a go at the guitar.

I could not pass up my little munchkin' getting in on some of the action. He loves making sound. He is my little noisemaker. If something makes sound he is shaking it, rattling it, hitting it, whatever. I love it, at least for now. Not so sure when he is 15, though.

Blessings,
Bethany

Random Events of the Week...

2009-06-27T06:42:00.004-06:00

There was nothing too exciting this past week, but lots of fun and absolutely adorable pictures, so thought I would just share a few of those this week.

We started Jax on rice cereal this past week and the first few days, he hated it. I thought "oh no...this is going to be fun." But, 2 days later and trying the rice cereal with fruit and he is a champ and can't seem to get enough of it.

This is just Jax being cute in his big boy high chair. It swallows him, but he knows he gets to eat in it, so that brings a smile to his face.

For some reason, I have a hard time getting Tye to leave Grandad's houes. Wonder why?

We went to Discovery Green down by the Convention Center last week and once Tye got used to the volume of water squirting from the fountains, he loved it. You can tell by the smile on his face. It was great, but if you go, make sure to show up after the YMCA Day Camp finishes their field trip. The big kids are a bit intimidating to a little 3 foot tike.

Last, but not least, is my sewing project. After years of searching, I finally found fabric to make pillows for our couch (at a quilt store in Atlanta back in April), and thanks to my mom for her patience and her sewing expertise, I have one of four made.

Hope you all have a splendid week,
bethany

What a month...

2009-06-18T06:15:00.006-06:00

I am not complaining, but whew...what a month. Well, I guess more like a half of May and half of June, but a good 4 weeks, nonetheless. We had a bout of sickness run through the family for a good few weeks, and that was exhausting. Everyone got sick except for Jax, thank goodness. Although, you never get sick at the same time, it is just one after another, so it lasts forever. Then, we went to Port Aransas, for our annual beach vacation (well, Russ would not call it a vacation, because we had our kids and he says that if you can't sleep in then it is not a vacation to him, so really I should just term it our beach trip. For me, it is a vacation if we are anywhere but our house, but oh well.) Gary and Cecile were supposed to join us, but Gary got bronchitis the day before, so they drove back to Dallas. My mom got sick while we were there, too, but with a dose of steroid and antibiotics, she was able to make the best of it. We had a great time and Tye loved the beach this time, and Jax loved to sleep at the beach. We missed you Grammy & Pappa. Here is the link to our beach pictures..I think you will have to copy and paste.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37440249@N03/sets/72157619829551859/

Then, we went to Guatemala a week and a half later. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. The team was fantastic and it was good to see all of our missionary friends. Our new doctor and wife, Sherwood and Areli were there and we got a chance to get to know them better, so that was great. Russ loved the fact that they have a motorcycle that they let us take for a ride while they watched our kids (Thanks, guys) The new addition is complete and beautiful, and Kathleen, Alma, and Linda came down to repaint the dorm rooms, YEA! Arnold and his family are doing great and the school is pretty much done and ready to open in January.

It was a great trip, although it is bittersweet for very routined children. Tye was into everything and Jax was a fuss-bucket. That is how I would describe them overall this past week. There are always adventures, though. Unfortunately, they were mostly at 3am, which is never good. My favorite night was when Tye fell off the bed onto the concrete floor at 1pm, which scares me silly and takes me about an hour to go back to sleep and then Tye wakes up at 3pm saying "Mommy, there is a mouse under my bed!" (which would not surprise me). I asked him how he knew and he responded with "it went pst, pst, pst". So how do you convince a 2 year old that there is not a mouse under his bed and that it was a dream, and to not wake up his 4 month old little brother who is sleeping right next to him. So about an hour later, he decided that his bed is okay again. Then, both kids are awake at 5:30am. What fun! We just have to laugh at it now, but me not getting my 7 hours of sleep makes for an impatient mommy. We did have a great time with the team and had a chance to go with them to Lake Atitlan on our way home, it is gorgeous. Anyway, here is a link to our pictures. ENjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37440249@N03/sets/72157619756076163/

Blessings,
Bethany

Goin' on a trip

2009-06-03T20:09:00.002-06:00

We are heading to Guatemala to host a mission team from the Houston area. We will be there for about 10 days so please be in prayer for patience and love as we are taking our entire family. We are looking forward to going and a little anxious about taking both boys. I think they will be fine but this is our first major trip without any family extended family help so we are praying for the Lord's provision.
Thanks

I love being a mother! Why, you say?

2009-05-13T14:04:00.007-06:00

I thank the Lord for giving me the incredible responsibility and privilege of being a mother to these 2 special boys.

I love being a mother because I get the most beautiful flowers on Mother's day, and a super cute Mother's Day Out card. Yes, that is my son's cheesy smile and a bent artificial daisy, but I love it.

Last but not least...to see my son take after me (just a little). He lines up his cars and little people just perfectly and feels the need to share his snacks with his cars and trucks.

Nothing profound, but just a few cute photos to share.
Blessings,
Bethany

Out engineered but not conquered

2009-05-06T19:19:00.002-06:00

Well, we have been sick around here and so the last week or so has been pretty slow. Slow enough in fact, that Russ got out-engineered on the front porch of our house. Not too long after we moved in to our house, we noticed that the top of one of our porch columns was a favored spot for local bird populations to nest. Shortly after this discovery, Russ engineered (not what he majored in at aTm) and installed an anti-nesting device on the top of the column (basically a few pieces of plywood screwed on top of the post to make a sharp incline so that the birds cannot perch on top of the post to build a nest). This device has yet to be painted so it is easily seen in the pictures below.

This device worked for a couple of years until a very determined bird couple decided to make an attempt at building a nest on top of the post. Seeing the progress of this couple as they began to bring mud and small sticks and plastering them directly on the anti-nesting device, Russ impeded their progress by tearing down what had been accomplished by the birds. He knocked it down a second time after the birds did not get the message the first time. Now, you are probably asking, "Why not just let the birds do their thing and enjoy the opportunity to observe nature at work?". We are happy to let nature run its course but as we observed "nature" on our front porch, "nature" started leaving presents on our concrete as they were building their nest. This is something that Russ did not like seeing on the porch as he walked out the door each day to go to work. Also, the birds made a habit of dive-bombing anyone, including Bethany and the boys, anytime that they walked out the front door of our house. We have two small boys who like to put things in their mouth and touch everything in sight, so Russ decided to take more drastic measures to deter the birds from continuing their nest building (somewhat to Bethany's disapproval). I will spare you the details of what exactly was done but lets just say that Russ sent a message to the bird couple that they cannot forget (well at least one of them, and the other member of the couple has not returned to rebuild the nest). We are happy for these birds to make nests anywhere else in our neighborhood except on our front porch. Here is a picture of the nest that was built before the final discouragement of the nest building. Feel free to voice your opinion about Russ's efforts.

Jax...3 months!

2009-04-24T22:29:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures from the past week or so. I think Tye has finally accepted Jax as part of the family. He is starting to carry on conversation with him and telling him about his cars and trucks. He is already teaching him his colors and the names of his little people...you know, the important stuff.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-17T13:47:00.005-06:00

Here is our family photo for this year...I did not get a chance to take it before Tye jumped into the big mud puddle at my parent's house...so here it is. He loved it, so it makes for a great memory. Below are the last 3 years of Easter pics, and a few videos I have taken recently of the two kiddo's and my wonderful husband...enjoy!

Easter 2009

Easter 2008

Easter 2007

Tye's blackmail photo :) & Jax at 2 months!

2009-03-24T21:07:00.005-06:00

Jax had his 2 month appointment this morning and wow...I can't believe it has been 2 months already. He is weighing in at 12 lbs, 14 oz. and 24 inches long. He is in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. That is my boy, and cute as anything! He is smiling and cooing now, and it is nice to have acknowlegement for all of those feedings, burpings and diaper changes.

Yep, here it is the blackmail photo for now...I am sure there will be another one in the future that will replace this one, but the fact that he matched his heels to his shirt is pretty impressive.

Tye helped Russ pull weeds last week, and as you can see from the truck bed...it was a success. The funny thing is that since Russ was using gloves, Tye decided that he needed his gloves, so he came in (by himself) and got my 'Ove Glove out of the cabinet and proceeded to help out.

Here are a few pictures of the kids at the rodeo last week. We will eventually make it into some of these pictures, I hope. Tye had a blast and Jax...well, he enjoyed a chance to catch a few more zzz's.

Blessings,
bethany

A little catch up...

2009-03-11T20:04:00.004-06:00

Okay, so it has been 3 weeks again, since our last post...sorry about that. I won't try to catch up on the last 3 weeks, I will just give a little update from the past week, and of course pictures.

We went to Fredericksburg last weekend, for my great-grandmothers 105th birthday party. The whole family was able to make it, and I was so excited to be going out of town for the first time in 4 months. It was going to be Jax's first road trip as well. We had a great trip up and had a chance to visit with our friends, Chris and Adrianne Collins and their 2 little boys. They had a great time playing. Got to F'burg and Tye played hard, rode the tractor and got extremely dirty...I was thinking this was what the rest of the weekend would be like...until about 2:00am when Tye woke up with a fever, vomiting and the big-d. We were hoping for only a 24 hour stomach bug, but unfortunately it lasted a grand 48 hours. Russ was a trooper and took care of Tye so I could keep Jax as far away as possible. I think the rest of us have made it through okay, and Tye is on the mend, but needless to say...what a weekend. I told my aunt that we were going to have to redo that trip, for sure.

Here are the boys on our ride home from F'burg. Tye sick and sleeping with Tigger by his side, and Jax, well...being Jax.

On a lighter note...here is my story for the day. We were getting ready for Tye's nap this afternoon and as we were finishing up reading our books, Russ called with a question, so as I am talking to him, Tye jumps into our bathtub. This was no big deal, he does it all the time when we are in there. So a minute or two later, when I got off the phone, I went in to check on him, bc I did not hear him get out. Where was he? I had no idea and I did not see him anywhere...checked our closets, checked the bathroom, checking our bedroom...went back into the bathroom, but no Tye. I started panicking a little, and so I called out for him "Tye, where are you?"...nothing! Yikes! So, I called again, "TYE!" Then, I heard a little giggle...whew, at least he was around somewhere and was breathing, but where? I had no idea, so I called again, and heard another giggle, but no movement, and finally I tracked the voice to under our sheets on our bed. He was hiding still as a mouse totally under our sheets. That was a first, and it made me nervous. He was so good at hiding and being quiet...what if he did that when we were out? Yikes!

Jax is doing great and is now cooing and smiling when you give him your undivided attention. He still needs a parent to protect him from big brother, but he is working on his boxing moves when I hold a toy above him, he swings at it like a champ. Life is flying by, and we are adjusting. Jax is now giving us about a 5-7 hour stint at night, so we are seeing light at the end of the sleep deprived tunnel. Hope you are all well...

This is Jax at 6 weeks.

Here is an attempt to get Jax smiling...

blessings,
Bethany

Thanks Grammy & Naya!

2009-02-16T21:35:00.007-06:00

I can't believe Jax is already 3 weeks old! Where did the time go? I mean, I know where it went, but can't believe it goes so fast. People have warned me about that, so I am trying to cherish every sleepless moment and praying for lots of patience with a 2 year old. I know it has been 3 weeks, and today, I got to spend my first day with both kids and no grandparents. It went pretty well, until dinnertime when Jax was crying to eat, so I was in the middle of feeding, reading books with Tye and the dinger on the oven was going off. Talk about multitasking :). Anyway, we have been so thankful and blessed by "Naya" (my mom), and "Grammy" (Russ's mom) for taking time out of their busy lives to spend with us these past 2 weeks. We appreciated every minute and enjoyed the visiting as well. Here are a few pictures from the past week.

Here is a picture of Jax...actually awake.

It poured down rain last week, and I walked out of my parents house after lunch to find my son and "Tigger" dancing in the rain. They had so much fun, I am just glad I had my camera to catch a few moments. Every child needs this experience, and yes, Tigger has on red baby shoes.

Thanks for playing in he dirt, Grammy!

The last one if of Pappa was trying to teach Tye a few chords, but Tye just wanted to untune the strings.

Blessings,
Bethany

First ....and second ....Real Bath for Jax

2009-02-10T22:33:00.004-06:00

Last night Jax lost the umbilical cord and because of this, we can now give him a regular bath. This evening, we gave him his first real bath and then another brief bath after the first. After the first bath, Bethany wrapped him up in a towel and picked him up. Shortly after this, we heard an eruption in Bethany's arms. Jax had decided to relieve himself before we got a diaper on him. The picture below is somewhat graphic. If you have a weak stomach, don't look at it. For those of you who may not have children or maybe it has been along time since you changed the diaper of a newborn, this is what newborn poop looks like. As you can imagine, we had to give him another short bath directly after this event. So Jax recieved two baths on his "first bath day".

More pictures...I will write soon...promise!

2009-01-30T12:17:00.003-06:00

Blessings...
Bethany, Russ, Tye & Jax

A few more pictures...

2009-01-27T22:25:00.003-06:00

I will post more writing when I am in a better and more alert state of mind. As of today...well, you get pictures. Enjoy!

My sister took this picture of Jax right after his first bath. I think he was in a state of shock and we got a rare shot of his eyes pretty wide open.

Jax's first bath. We are much more experienced this time. He did not seem to mind it too much.

I could not resist a cute pic of Big Brother!

Here is the picture of Jax leaving the hospital and entering the very bright world out here.

Welcome Baby Jax

2009-01-25T11:53:00.005-06:00

Here are a few pics of the family and the new addition to our family.

Whoa...it has been a month!

2009-01-18T19:46:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it has been almost a month since our last post. Well, let's see, I have gone from 35 weeks pregnant to 39 weeks pregnant, and still waiting. I am officially due on Friday, but the doctor won't let me go past a week late, so we should have baby Jax by January 30th, at least. We celebrated the beginning of a new year and are so excited to see what is awaiting us this next year.

We had some missionaries visiting us last weekend, and took a trip to the aquarium, and had a blast. Tye loved seeing "Dori" and Nemo" in the coral reef fish tank. His little squeal was priceless. He kept saying "Look Mom! Look Dad". He has started calling us Mom and Dad, sometimes and it makes us laugh...he sounds so grown up. He also enjoyed riding the train..what child doesn't.

I am also at that point, and I know Russ would agree, that we are just cherishing the time we have with our little 3 person family unit. We are loving every moment we get to spend with just Tye. Don't get me wrong, we are so excited about our new addition, but it is bittersweet at the same time. I hope other mom's go through this as well, and I am not the only one. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the past few weeks. Hopefully the next post will be of our new family of 4.

Thanks for your prayers and phone calls.

Here is Tye on Christmas morning, opening his stocking with the "Little Einstein's Rocket"...oh what fun!

We celebrated Russ's 30th birthday with his parents, at his favorite Thai Restaurant. Tye thought the napkin looked like a pretty cool hat. If you are a fan of Thai, then Thai Gourmet on Westheimer is your place.

Here are a few from the aquarium...

Thanks Grammy & Papa for the new "motorcycle". In this picture, he is giving his dinosaur a ride.

Love to you all,
Russ, Bethany, Tye and soon to be, Baby Jax

Happy Incarnation Day

2008-12-25T09:06:00.005-06:00

We went to a Christmas Eve service at our church last night and it was a very good time of focus for us. Today, we celebrate the day that the Son became incarnate and was born into the world. We hope that you will remember this life changing event in the history of the world. God has definitely changed our lives through this sovereign act by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We pray that this is a joyous time of year for you and your family. Praise God for the active relationship He has had in our lives.
Praise Him,
The Leathermen

Christmas Eve's Eve...

2008-12-23T14:16:00.008-06:00

Where did the time go since the last post? I have no idea! So it is now 2 days before Christmas and I have officially finished my shopping, and now we are getting ready for our company coming in town (Grammy and Papa), and enjoying our time of fellowship in celebration of Christ's birth. Tye has loved learning about baby Jesus and the Christmas Story. He already has the jist of it and can name all the character's involved. Here are a few pictures and photos from the past few weeks. I am almost 36 weeks along now and feeling so much better than I did with Tye at this point. For all of you who went through that ordeal with me, it was at this time of the pregnancy that I got bell's palsy and had the c-section. Praise the Lord that this pregnancy has been so much better, and Baby Jax is still cooking. Tye is ready for him to "come out and play". Little does he know that Jax will be more interested in eating, sleeping and pooping than actually playing, though.

We finally got enough of the missing parts to put together Tye's birthday present (a swingset). We are still missing a few pieces, but have enough for him to swing and use the glider. He has had so much fun with it already.

We went to see Christmas Light around Kingwood last night. The Monney's went with us and the kids loved it. We went to a very special house that always does an amazing job each year with a variety of train sets. As you can see...the boys were mesmerized. We had our Starbuck's, so we (parents) were very happy, too. The video is too dark to see anyone, but you can hear Tye as we passed by all the houses with lights.

In case you have not heard this infection laugh lately...

His laugh at 2 years..

His laugh at 15 months...

His laugh at 5 months..

What is more fun than a gift...the box that it arrived in!

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow"

2008-12-11T08:05:00.002-06:00

SERIOUSLY!...in Houston!

It started out like pseudo-snow, more along the sleet lines, but our kids don't know the difference, but then turned into genuine snowfall by the evening. I think Tye is going to be like his mommy and prefer the 80-90 degree Southern weather, as opposed to the 30's like last night, but we tried to have fun nonetheless. He was quite intrigued by it, and said "SNOW", with much enthusiasm and expression, but did not want anything to really do with it. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Whew! What a week...

2008-12-08T21:53:00.003-06:00

So weeks in December all seem to be eventful. Last week was one of them...very fun, but lots going on. I will just do the narrating with pictures below.

Tye in his "birthday hat" from Mother's Day Out. He thought it was so special. He has gotten so expressive lately, here is just one of those many expressions.

As of now, Tye is not a fan of anything resembling a dessert, so he loved that he got to blow out candles on his chicken "guggets".

Tye's friend, Luke, came over to say "Happy Birthday", and they celebrated by cooking golfish in the kitchen.

This pictures is for you, Laura. Here I am at 33 weeks...only 7 weeks to go! We are still without a middle name for the baby, but Jax is what we are going with for the first name (as of today).

We had so much fun picking out a Christmas tree. Tye loved running through the maze of trees. I will post some of the after pictures of our decorated tree later.

Russ and Tye at Santa's Farm. The Kingwood High School Ag Dept. decorated all the stalls of their animals and they let the kids all walk through and pet the animals. It was a fun time had by all.

"I be 2!"

2008-11-30T22:02:00.003-06:00

After much Bake Sale baking, and Thanksgiving partying, we just didn't quite get enough, so we had leftovers on Friday and celebrated Tye's 2nd birthday on Saturday. We tried to keep it simple with just family and our friends, Shane and Lindsay, in from Indonesia. However, that totaled about 20 of us...simple, huh? We had a great time grilling burgers and the kids (Tye and Charley) played with play dough, sidewalk chalk, punch balls and of course...time at the "Tyeland" park. We had a great time and finished off the Thanksgiving desserts, along with the pumpkin spice cupcakes. Tye enjoyed the ranch dip more than his corndog or his birthday cupcake, but that is my "never touch a dessert" boy, afterall.

Here is my question, though. So we celebrated his birthday on Nov 29th, but he isn't actually 2 until Dec 4th. So do we pretend he is actually 2 now, or wait until Thursday to break the news? Not that it really matters, just curious as to your responses.

Here are a few pictures from the special day. The cute thing is that we taught him when his birthday is, so if you ask him, he says, "Asember four" and on Asember four, he will "be two". When you ask him how old he is now, he "be one". Too cute! He was much more efficient at opening gifts this time and was so kind in telling everyone "tat too" (Thank You) for the gifts. Hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving holiday and enjoyed your time with family or friends.

Our traditional, "family picture"

Yummy ranch dip!

My favorite construction workers :)

Happy Birthday to Tye!

Tye, Charley and Tim...Fun with play dough!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Dave!

2008-11-04T20:51:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, we celebrated my brother's birthday! He made it another year and we are thankful for that. Mom grilled some yummy steaks, with banana pudding for dessert. Tye, of course, helped open gifts and learned how to blow the party favors as well. Here are a few pictures from the night.

Grammy & Pappa's House

2008-10-29T18:51:00.004-06:00

Good times at the Dallas Zoo!

Tye trying to learn how to blow a dandelion. He was not too successful, but made for a good picture.

I could not resist this face.

Well, it had been a while...actually, I think since June, but we finally made it up to Big-D to visit Russ's parents and his sister and new husband, Ethan. We had such a great time...Tye had so much fun that he chose not to nap while we were there. That does not mean he did not get put in his pack and play for 2 hours, but he did enjoy play time in it. We had dinner with "Aunt Bibby" and "Unca Efan" and then went to the park and Dallas Zoo while we were there. Whew, a fast weekend, but packed with fun. We got back home on Sunday night to hear our son, wheezing the entire night. Come to find out...it is that season again! The Croup and all those other random virus's that kids get. He is finally getting a little better, but not fun for parents (or their kids). Here are a few pics from the weekend and a shout out to Tye's buddy, Asher. Asher can have the lead if Tye can play the keys with a bouncy ottoman. Enjoy!

Blessings,
Bethany

He shoots...he scores!

2008-10-15T13:50:00.009-06:00

Now that the weather is cooling off...for Houston that means it is finally below 90...we have pulled back out the outdoor toys and Tye has really enjoyed rediscovering them (we had to put them away due to Hurricane Ike). Here are a few photos of him shooting baskets. He has quite good form for a 22 month old.

Blessings,
Bethany

Our Turkey Slideshow

2008-10-08T20:26:00.003-06:00

Here is the slideshow for our pictures to Turkey. Sorry there are so many, but I promise...I did condense.

Jetlagged, but home!

2008-10-08T15:01:00.003-06:00

I know, we said we would post while we were in Istanbul, but that did not happen...sorry. We are now home and settling back into our somewhat normal routine. That means, we are not waking up at 3am wide awake and falling asleep at 8:30pm every night. Tye has done the best of all of us, though. He did not seemed phased by the crazy 8 hour time difference. Anyway, we had a fantastic trip full of fun in the Turkish sun, sightseeing in Istanbul, and many laughs. Much thanks to Ryan and Laura for their fluent Turkish that helped us survive in the country, and their wonderful hospitality, as well as a playmate for Tye while we were there.

There was no rest for the weary because we flew to the beach the morning after we arrived in Istanbul. That means...we evacuated for Ike on a Wednesday, came back into town with no power the following Tuesday to pack. Thankfully, my cousin, Troy and his wife, Alyson let us stay with them to do a little laundry and get a good nights sleep and then we flew out on Wednesday. Our 8.5 hour full flight to Paris, then 4 hour layover, and another 3.5 hour flight to Istanbul...not fun, but hey, we figured we can do anything for 1 day. We got into Istanbul that evening and flew out to Kusadasi (the beach) the next morning at 8am. Whew...after settling into our villa, life settled down a bit. We were a short taxi ride to the beach, and about 30 minutes from Ephesus. We enjoyed them both, and as you will see from the pictures...the docked cruise ship tourists enjoyed Ephesus the same day as well. It was sooo crowded! We tried all week to take a ferry to Samos, one of the Greek Isles, to get Laura her much anticipated Greek Salad, but never made it bc the Port workers were on strike all week...bummer. The beach water was beautiful and the scenery was spectacular.

After a week, we flew back to Istanbul. We had a babysitter for the kids the first day and had a chance to do some sightseeing in the historical European side of Istanbul. We visited the Blue Mosque, the Aya Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar. Let me say...us pregnant women were TIRED! We were there during the last week of Ramadan, so that was an interesting sight to see the festival atmosphere they had set up for every evening. The people there were so friendly and often enjoyed a cup of "chay" which is like a very strong hot tea. We spent most evenings, enjoying fantastic Turkish dinners, hanging out at the house playing cards, their wii, and lots of laughs since there were 2 one-year olds and 2 pregnant women in the house, we layed low by 8:00pm.

Okay, so that was the trip in a condensed nutshell...I will put a slideshow up as soon as I can, but here are a few pics to get it started.

Blessings...
Bethany

Evacuation from Ike

2008-09-15T12:29:00.003-06:00

On Thursday, we left Houston and headed for Fredericksburg, TX. Bethany's family has a house just outside of this town and so we had a place to go to retreat from the hurricane. As most of you know, Ike came on shore about 2 am Saturday morning and we were all watching the news and the weather channel for the most up-to-date information that we could get. All of us evacuated except Ray (Bethany's dad) and he and Don Allison stayed behind in Porter. Don Allison is a friend that is driving down to Guatemala and his family will be flying down to meet him this Thursday. He and his family ( http://www.allisonfamilyinguat.blogspot.com/) will be living in the Canilla/San Andreas metro area ;) for the next 6 to 7 months doing medical mission work in close coordination with the Ficker family ( http://www.adonaiinternationalministries.org/documents/23.html ). John Villanueva, who works with us and specifically with Agape in Action is driving down with Don in Agape's 4 runner with a 4 wheeler stuffed in the back of it. (Please see previous posts for pics on this event).

All of this to say that we are all safe and were mostly spared from the wrath of the hurricane by the Lord's hand but some of our neighbors and friends had some damage to their homes and property. We plan to make the trip back to Houston tomorrow to get ready to leave for Turkey on Wednesday. We have been planning a trip to see our friends "Los Lobos" since March and we are hoping that everything is still ok for our flight out of Houston. We have heard that they just opened the international airport today in Houston. Please be in prayer for the citizens of Houston and the surrounding areas during this time of recovery. We hope that all power and utilities are restored by the time we get back from Turkey. ;)
Our next post might be from the other side of the globe.

The "Tyeland" Park is completed!

2008-09-07T21:13:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pictures of Tye's new playground at my parents house. Tye has loved helping put it together and now is enjoying playing on it. He absolutely loved the gravel and I think he has enjoyed that more than anything so far. He just fills up his dumptruck and dumps it out to only do it again, and again and again. He is learning how to maneuver through the playground and is also conquering the tire swing and the big boy swings. I have thoroughly enjoyed the swings as well. Thanks "Gadat" for the "Tyeland" Park.

We are having a boy!!!!!

2008-08-26T21:24:00.003-06:00

We had a our first big Ultrasound appointment today, and we are having another boy. Looks like Tye will have a little brother and we are very excited for many reasons and some of them include that fact that the placenta is normal, there is a good solid cord insertion, and in general the entire preganancy looks very healthy. (If these things sound odd to you, then you should ask us about the last pregnancy...we will be happy to share the history with you). We are very happy and are praising the Lord for what He is doing and the way He is forming the child He is giving us. We ask you to continue to pray with us for our soon-to-be-born child. Please be in prayer for Russ also, as he is going to Haiti this Friday to visit some missionaries that we support through NBRI. Above is a picture we got at the doctor today. Enjoy.

Its been busy aroung here

2008-08-04T21:53:00.004-06:00

Last week we had a guest staying with us and his name is Matt Bell. He was in the Houston area for about 4 days and spent all but one night with us. It was a pleasure having him here and we did our best to help him get ready to continue on to NC. Matt and Heidi Bell, along with their son Isaac have been in Guatemala for that last two years doing medical missions with Agape in Action. It has been a joy to work with them these two years and if you want to check out some of their adventures while in Guatemala you can check out the Agape in Action blog, bookmarked on this blog.

Russ did his best to help Matt get things done while here in the Houston and Matt and his friend Martin (from Guatemala) got back on the road to NC on Wednesday night after driving to the US from Guatemala the weekend before.

Did I mention that it has been quite warm around here for the last few days? Well it has. This past weekend, Bethany attended the local Scrapaloofa at her mom's church. It was a Friday night and all day Saturday event. This meant that Russ and Tye got to have some guy time. They definitely had a good time and on Saturday, they went to Tye's grandparents house to help Granddad assemble the "park" for Tye. Tye's grand parents have a park for Tye which is the best way we know how to describe it to Tye at this point. It is basically everything a kid could want in a playground. It has a slide, swing set, bridge, climbing wall.....you name it they've got it. Needless to say, Russ, Tye and Granddad had a good time working on the playground on Saturday and Tye did his best to contribute to the effort. On Sunday afternoon Russ went to the lake with Chuck and Adam and they had a good time after a little bit of a battery fiasco with the boat (but that is another story).

Well that was our week, more or less, so we invite you to let us know what you have been up to lately and we will check back with you soon.

Peace,
R, B, T and ?

His drunken' sailor walk...

2008-07-22T19:48:00.004-06:00

Just for fun...here's Tye and Isaac on the trampoline at The Ficker's house. Enjoy1

blessings...
bethany

We are home!

2008-07-20T19:11:00.004-06:00

We had a fantastic trip to Guatemala, and it is always bittersweet to be back. Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers while we were there. Here is the slideshow of all of our pictures...I know there are a lot, but it is too hard to choose and eliminate, and with so many adventures, I had to include them all.

Love to you all...
Bethany

Heading Out

2008-07-02T22:40:00.003-06:00

Well we are heading out for Guatemala tomorrow and we will be gone for about 10 days. We always pray for a good trip but that is a very general phrase used to encompass many different events that occur on a mission trip. We ask you to be in prayer for us and for the team that is going down with us. We also ask you to be praying for a replacement doc for Matt, Heidi and Isaac because they are leaving at the end of this month. The Lord will work it out in His timing and we desire to have full confidence and faith in Him for providing for these needs. He is our sustainer and provider and nothing that we do will progress without His blessing and provision to make it happen. We are excited for the Bell family to be moving on to the next chapter of their lives but we will definitely miss them and their hard work and friendship in Guatemala. Please be praying for them also, as they move back to the States to take on their next mission. We will check in when we get back....

Libby's wedding and some news...

2008-06-28T20:14:00.007-06:00

Well, we had a great time at Libby's wedding and they should be back from their honeymoon today. Congratulations Libby and Ethan!!! Tye was a very cute ring bearer and he got the privilege of walking down the isle with Blake who was a beautiful flower girl (escorted by Russ). Russ had to make sure they walked all the way down to the front without making a detour. Russ led the congregation in two songs of worship and it seems that a good time was had by all.

In other news, Bethany is pregnant with child #2. We are very excited and we ask you to be in prayer with us as the Lord knits this child together in Bethany's womb. We are trusting in Him to create the child that He has for us. We look forward to the blessings He has for us to through this child.

These are some pics of the wedding and the events thereof.

Tye checking out the flower arrangement on stage.

Tye holding hands with the cute flower girl :)

Bethany and Tye saying cheese at the wedding.

Getting ready for Aunt "Bibby's" wedding!

2008-06-13T20:18:00.005-06:00

We tried on Tye's tux for Aunt Libby's wedding next weekend, and he definitely has been going through a growth spurt, because...well, it did not fit. So back to Al's for the exchange. Here are a few pictures of him showing off his "special" suit. We are trying to talk it up as much as possible so he does not mind wearing it for a few hours and actually walking a straight line down the aisle next weekend. Libby is doing much better and went back to work this week, so praise the Lord for her healing. Thanks for all the prayers.

Okay, so I could not pass up posting this picture. He found these glasses in a box of toys a friend of ours gave us. He loved them.

It is the beginning of June

2008-06-04T20:18:00.007-06:00

Well, it is the beginning of June and the year is flying!! Tye is 18 months old today. It is pretty warm here in Houston but we are enjoying the temperate evenings. Last night we sat out in the driveway and drank some ice water. It was nice. The immediate future for us holds: a trip to Guatemala July 3-13, refinancing our house, Russell's sister getting married, and looking for a missionary doctor to work in Guatemala. So we will be pretty busy for the next few weeks (Lord willing, we will find a doctor sooner than later). Please pray for the doctor search specifically.

Also, Russ's sister is having some health problems right now that could cause a delay in her getting married if the doctors don't figure it out soon. There have been rumors of her having anything from mono to Hep A to some sort of autoimmune disease. As of today, she does not have the Hep or the autoimmune but they still don't know what the problem is. I am not a doctor but none of these sound like good options. She has been nauseated for 2 or 3 weeks now and according to the most current tests, she is having some sort of liver problems. Not fun.

Tye is running around the house like a crazy man and he is a total joy to our family. We thank God for him everyday. As you probably noticed, above are couple of pics of him that were taken by our friend Rachel Vogel. Thanks Rachel...they turned out great.

How many ways can you ride a pink flamin' truck?

2008-05-18T12:25:00.007-06:00

Tye decided to give it a try and see how many ways he could come up with to ride this new truck of his. I know, I know...it has pink flames, but know that these are the before pictures. It will get repainted before too long, and I will update on the new color of choice. We bought it at a missions market fundraiser for missionaries that are going to Prague, Curt and Vicky Mobley. Tye was attracted to it instantly. We simply set it out in the front yard, yesterday, and Tye went at it. He could care less about the color. Here are some of the pictures to prove it...

1. The good ol' fashioned way, daddy pushing.

2. Tye's way, "I'll do it myself."

3. In the truck bed...

4. Nice view from the roof...

5. The "Dukes of Hazzard" way, in through the window...

6. ...and, head first.

7. The classic "cheese" smile, to show off the fun!

Have a blessed week, and please pray for our missionaries.

Love,
Bethany

Sand, Shells, Ships & the Sea

2008-05-11T13:50:00.006-06:00

So I think I have recovered from our fantastic trip to the beach of Port Aransas. It is just north of Corpus Christi on Mustang Island. Our family has been going there for years, and we have since outgrown the 2 bedroom condo and had to rent the 3 bedroom condo. We had so much fun, thanks to a heated swimming pool, and the guys trip to the U. S. S. Lexington (Aircraft carrier in Corpus Christi). The ocean was still a little too chilly for our liking, so we enjoyed the sand castle building in the morning and swimming in the pool in the afternoon. This was Tye's first time to the beach and I was hoping he would enjoy it as much as I do, which he did. It actually took him a little while to get used to the sand between his toes. At first, he would stick out his foot and make that "uh, uh, uh" sound to get it out, but once he got used to it, he loved it. He enjoyed learning about the seagulls that make that "eeh, eeh, eeh" sound, and he loved getting dirty. He especially loved the aircraft carrier. I mean what 17 month old BOY would not enjoy a whole runway overlooking the water to run around on and planes with a gazillion buttons to push. We all enjoyed getting away for a few days before the rush of the summer hits. Enjoy the pictures!

Tye on day 2 getting used to this sand thing...check out the hand full of sand.

Getting our feet wet for the first time and whew...chilly water!

After every pool time is snack time...of course!

Flying one of the planes on the aircraft carrier.

The family picture :)

Blessings...
Bethany

Gardening Day!

2008-04-19T20:23:00.005-06:00

We spent a good part of our day today, planting some new flowers, re-mulching and just enjoying the beautiful spring weather. Tye loves playing in the dirt and watering the flowers, over and over, and over. Here are a few pics from the day.

We also took a trip to the zoo on Thursday, which we also called "Field Trip Thursday" because we were joined by 100's of school kids from all over Houston. It was quite crowded, but the boys enjoyed the kids as much as the animals. We had a great time visiting nonetheless. Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Misty. Thanks, Misty.

Love and Blessings,
Bethany

Sidewalk chalk...

2008-04-08T19:44:00.005-06:00

Last week, I let Tye play with some sidewalk chalk in the backyard. He loved drawing on the patio and trying to guess what I was drawing. Not only that, but he just loves being outside, period! So this morning when Tye woke up, I took him in to see daddy, and Tye proceeded to get out of the bed, go into the bathroom and get a pair of Russ's jeans and put them on the bed next to Russ. So I thought...awe, that was cute. Then, Tye went into the living room and got Russ's sandals and brought those in and put them on the bed, next to Russ, as well. Now I am thinking...he is up to something. Next, Tye looks up to Russ and says "side" (which means "outside"), then makes the "more" sign, and says "color". Oh...we finally get it! So I said, "Oh, you want to go outside and color!" He then ran over to the back door and started trying to unlock it. Just when you think they could care less in what you try to teach them, they go and impress you like this. Kids are so smart...he knew that dad needed pants and shoes to go outside. Needless to say...Tye had a great time playing "side" with his "colors" this morning. Just wanted to share that with you.

Here is Tye taking quite an interest in my shoes. It is becoming a daily occurence while am getting ready in the morning. He seems to choose different pair each day. Thought these were a pretty funny choice for the day.

Sit and Spin...

2008-04-05T20:23:00.003-06:00

After many attempts of sitting with no spinning and just pushing the button to change the music, Tye has finally figured out the "sit and spin". Let me tell you...they don't make them like they used to. There is no spinning so fast you almost throw up. It is now good fun and a good arm workout for the kids. Here is a short video of Tye conquering the coordination of the sit and spin. Enjoy.

Blessings,
Bethany

Brace yourself, Grandparents!

2008-03-24T20:11:00.008-06:00

I have been going back and forth on uploading this video, or not. Tye has been doing so great on the playground lately, and so I thought it would be cute to show him off a little, and of course, the one time I video...watch what happens. He did not skip a beat...and kept on going, but it will make you gasp a bit, nonetheless...especially if you are a grandparent.

We also had a wonderful Easter weekend, and here is our family photo with little "squirm bug". He just does not know what sitting still means anymore.

Do we look a year older? This was Easter last year.

Blessings,
Bethany

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2008-03-17T13:52:00.004-06:00

We celebrated my Great Grandma's 104th birthday on March 8th, up in Fredericksburg. For those of you who have not heard of this historic German town, it is about an hour west-ish of Austin. It is a very touristy town with lots of little antique shops and bed and breakfasts. It is the home of the Nimitz Museum and Enchanted Rock is about a 20 minute drive outside of town. We have been going up there since we were kids and my aunt and uncle have restored and added to my grandma's old house. The whole family can now stay up there at the same time. That is 13 of us total. We had a great time and Grandma got to pick the menu of pork roast, mashed potatoes and a fantastic chocolate cake. Obviously the nursing home cuisine is a bit lacking. Here is the family photo we took at grandma's nursing home as we were heading out of town.

Just for fun, here is a video of Tye laughing hysterically at a tickle session with Russ.

It reminded me a lot of this one...when he was about 5 months.

Since we have been back from F'burg, we have been busy, busy with playdates and rodeo festivities and a wonderful visit from Grammy and Pappa. Here are a few pics to enjoy.

Rascal Flatts at the Rodeo.

Play date with some of Tye's buddies (Joshua, Josiah, and Asher). He has so much fun. You can tell from their sweaty hair and pink cheeks.

I loved this pic. Tye loved watching the little chicks hatch at the Livestock Show. It was so cute...Tye could barely peek his head above the glass, and this little chick appeared to have noticed him and was staring right back at him.

Russ and Tye checking out the huge "taa-ters" (tractors in Tye talk)

Love and blessings,
Bethany

random pictures...

2008-03-10T20:29:00.005-06:00

Let's see...here are a few random pictures from the past week or so. He now has officially gotten 2 more teeth, so now we are up to 6, wa-hoo! He has gotten both of them on the left side on top and bottom, so if the right ones don't come in soon, we are going to a little asymmetrical for a whle and if you know me...I am checking for the right side every day :), I enjoy symmetry and balance. Enjoy the pics...

Doesn't everyone have a picture like this?

Picking front yard flowers...he never noticed the one tucked behind his ear, and yes, he was trying to put another one IN his ear...boys!

Playdate with Travis and cousin, Charley. Tye LOVES to hug, but you have to limit it, otherwise the hug becomes a wrestling maneuver.

Happy Birthday Alyson!!

2008-03-04T14:22:00.005-06:00

We celebrated my cousin's fiancee, Alyson's, birthday last weekend over some awesome steak and cake. Yummy! It was great to have all of us together again. It had been a while.

Alyson's wishful thinking...

Troy is modeling one of the bows...is this the making of a supermodel?

Tye's cousin...Charley...such a cutie :)

So here is a video of one of Tye's new favorite toys...a good ol' box and rope. Who knew? He especially loves riding it at my parent's house because the leaves make it really slide well.

Tye is also cutting a few more teeth...one for sure and I think one or two more are on their way, so needless to say, it has been a few fussy/whiney days with a fever, but all is well. Here is a pic of Tye showing off his teeth.

Thanks for reading and blessings,
Bethany

Spring has sprung...

2008-02-19T21:33:00.004-06:00

It was a beautiful Sunday this past weekend and we got a chance to do a little yard work interspersed with a some time blowing bubbles, of course (my how our lives have changed). Tye loves bubbles these days, it has almost become a daily activity. Every time we go through the garage he does a little squeal and says "bubba-bubba". Good times! I could not pass up posting a few of these from last Sunday.

Here is a video of Tye's interactive book reading this evening. We were supposed to be calming down for when Russ came home from work, but you see how well that went. Fun nonetheless...enjoy!

Some Tye fun

2008-02-13T21:00:00.003-06:00

We have truly enjoyed watching Tye grow and become more alert and aware of his surroundings. He is learning to do things that we take for granted and things that we don't even think about doing. For instance, blowing your nose...I don't remember learning to blowing my nose but I am sure I had to learn it at some point. Also, I don't remember my first painting experience but I am sure it was fun. Below, are recordings of these experiences for Tye. We are loving him more every day and and enjoying laughing with him as he grows.

Our trip to Fredericksburg

2008-02-07T22:51:00.000-06:00

We had a great time in Fredericksburg last weekend. The guys got some work done on the house, and us women got some shopping done. We had a chance to stop in Luling for some finger-lickin' good BBQ, and shopping in San Marcos. Tye loved riding the tractor every day and going to see the baby goats and feed the ducks. We got him a little wagon to ride around in and he loved riding over the rocks in the driveway. Our almost 104 year old grandmother is doing great and she enjoyed a good game of domino's and loved spending a little time with baby T, if you can believe that! Here are a few pictures and videos from the weekend.

Giggle and Rock...

2008-01-31T13:33:00.000-06:00

Here is a funny video of Tye trying to pick up a rocking toy. The "giggle" is kind of creepy, but the rock is pretty fun. Tye is not quite sure about it, as you will see, but if you have the jiggly arms, this will definitely help firm them up.

We are also recovering from more sickness around here, so we have been on quarantine for about a week now. Russ has had some bad allergies and Tye came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth Syndrome. For those of you with kids, it is a hideous rash over their entire body, but prominently on their hands, feet and in or around their mouth. He had a little bit of a fever, and has obviously been very uncomfortable. He is doing better today, but still very speckled and bumpy. Doc said it lasts about 7-10 days and is a virus that just has to run its course. In adults, it just appears as a cold. So, if any of your kids happen to get a rash, it is diagnosed by bumps/spots on the palms and soles of the feet. Other rashes and allergic reactions don't show up on those parts of the body apparently, so that is the quick diagnosis. Just an fyi for the future. Here is a picture.

We are heading up to Fredericksberg this weekend to visit Aunt Linda, Uncle Larry and my 103 year old Grandma Ethel. We will put up a new post when we get back next week.

Love to you all.
Bethany

Happy Birthday Grandmother, and other random happenings!

2008-01-21T16:38:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Grandmother's birthday on Saturday, and Natalie's boyfriend, Andrew, was in for the occasion as well. Tye is feeling better and recovering from 2 mild ear infections last week. Of course, they only start to act sick or run a fever on a Friday, when they know the doctor's office will be closed on the weekend, so I probably reacted a little too quickly in taking him in, but with a weekend approaching, you never know. So he his is on an antibiotic, and they gave him a prescription decongestant. The bottle said that it may cause drowsiness, but not in my child! He did not nap for 2 days...needless to say, we are off that one! He is doing much better, though...but now I think he may be teething. I will let you know how that goes. Never a dull moment! Hope this blog finds you well. Here are a few photos to share.

Mom and Tye blowing out her candles.

Natalie and Andrew at Mom's birthday party before she left for Atlanta for a week.

Tye has always loved pulling glasses off of other peoples heads. He has finally accomplished the task of not only pulling them off other peoples heads, but successfully putting them on his head. Case and point with my Mom's pair.

Shane and Lindsay left for Indonesia last week. We miss them already, but we know that God has a great plan for their lives. For those of you who know them, please keep them in your prayers.

Here is Tye's new "hidey hole". For those of you whe do not know what a "hidey hole" is (eg. Russ)...it is a secret hiding place. In Tye's case, it is the corner behind the glider in his room. Unfortunately, as you can see...there are many cords and cables back there, and all he really wants to do is turn the switches on and off. We are working on putting together a new spot for him. He loves it back there though.

Love to you all...

Aaahh Vacation

2008-01-07T22:24:00.000-06:00

It seems to be a trend in our blogging, that we are not very consistent. Well, I guess consistently being inconsistent makes us consistent. Whatever....It was a enjoyable Christmas and New Year with family and some time off of work. One not so fun aspect was that Bethany and Tye both got sick. Bethany got sick on Christmas day and then Tye got sick on that Friday. So a large part of the week between Christmas and New Year's was spent at home, which is not necessarily a bad thing. We had some good family time. We also got a few things done around the house like sealing the garage floor, and cleaning out the garage. Our Christmas decorations were limited this year because we never got around to getting all of them up. We got to spend New Year's eve with our friends Shane and Lindsay. It was a calm night for us after we set off a few fireworks at Tye's grandparent's house (don't worry, it is legal in Porter). Fireworks are fun no matter what time of year it is. Bethany also got to spend some time by ourselves in Austin. We left Tye with the Shaw Grandparents this past weekend and Bethany and Russ went to Austin. There is always good people watching in Austin. We had a great time staying at a B & B in town and just being tourists. It was very relaxing for us but always good to get back and see Baby T. Tye has become quite the avid ATV rider. Grandad has taught him how to push all of the buttons and he really enjoys riding on the trails behind his Grandparent's house. All in all we have been doing well over the last few weeks and are looking forward to a good year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our readers (whoever you are).

Whew...it has been a while!

2007-12-16T22:42:00.002-06:00

I can't believe my last post was Tye's birthday party. There has been much water under the bridge since then...many wonderful Christmas parties, teas, and exchanges. It has been a wonderful Christmas season, and I have hardly had time to even think about decorating for Christmas. I will say that we did get Christmas lights up and our stockings hung, but time with family and friends has taken priority over decorating this year, and I am happier for it. Here are a few photos from the past few weeks.

Here are the cookies that Heidi (our friend that lives in Guatemala, but stayed with us last week with her husband, Matt and little Isaac) and I made. We actually won the presentation award. Thanks Paula Deen for the decorating ideas.

I then helped put on a Christmas Tea at our church. It was a wonderful time to get to know some of the women better and able to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, as well. It was fun transforming a school cafeteria into a Christmas Tea, and it worked.

The extent of our Christmas decorations this year...please excuse the toys below the beautifully decorated mantle. :)

Here is a picture of Tye noticing our nativity this morning. It was so cute...he has loved all the nativities at my parents house, mostly because they contain animals, which he is quite interested in these days. So, he got up on his tippiest of toes and as soon as he eyed the nativity, he made the "baa" noise for the sheep and the "ho" noise for the donkey. We found it quite adorable.

Just for fun...he loves the fridge farm, can you tell?!

You remember making tents when you were little...so we decided to give it a try with Tye last night...he found it quite entertaining, especially having Dad inside.

Love to you all and Merry Christmas!
Bethany

I am ONE!

2007-12-04T11:19:00.000-06:00

I can't believe my baby is one today! Reminiscing about where we all were last year and how far we have all come is a bit overwhelming, yet puts an incredibly big smile on my face. We had Tye's birthday party last Saturday and all of Tye's buddies came over to celebrate...yes, all 7 of them under the age of 1 1/2, except Caleb's big sis, Ellie...she is 2 1/2. They had a great time of eating, playing and more playing. The kids are still at that great age when someone takes their toy, no problem...they just get another one. It makes for quite cooperative play. We have been so blessed with such wonderful friends and family. We are thankful for all of you. Here are a few pics from that special day.

Trust me...all 9 of them are actually in the picture. You have to look closely, because Travis (2nd one from the left fell behind Caleb on the end, but you can see his legs, and Josiah is being held by Kathy on the far right), but they are all there. So here they are from left to right...Caleb, Travis, Asher, Walt, Tye, Luke, Charley, Ellie, Josiah.

Yummy CAKE! So I thought...he actually was not too interested in it, so much for the cool, cake all over the place photo...we had to actually do it ourselves.

Here is our group photo...

A morning at the park.

2007-11-29T21:48:00.000-06:00

We went to the park this morning for a few minutes before his nap, and I had to capture a few precious moments. He is coming up on a year next week and he has developed this amazing curiosity. The simplest things are so fascinating to him and he wants to just examine every part of it...as you will see for example in a few of the following photos...a piece of MULCH. Enjoy!

A week of good friends!!

2007-11-20T23:13:00.000-06:00

Our friends, Ryan and Laura, their daughter, Selah, were in town the past week for a wedding. It was so fun to visit with them and Tye and Selah enjoyed playing with each other again. They are only 2 weeks apart, and it is really fun to see them doing the same things even though they live on the other side of the world right now. We will miss them.

We also had a chance to catch up with old friends at Josh Smith's wedding, and that was icing on the cake...some of them have never met Tye and he did put on his charm. It was beautiful with some fantastic music...we would not expect anything less from that wedding (Josh did the music for our wedding and he is incredibly talented with very talented friends).

We all had a play date at the Children's Museum with the kids, and wow...was that an adventure. They had a blast and we were exhausted. If you have not had a chance to check it out, they have a toddler room that does not end...so many toys, so much fun. We actually never made it to the rest of the museum, but for $2.50 (with a coupon), it was well worth the time.

We tried so hard to get a picture of the kids together in one spot...well, you see what happened!

Here is photo of us with Ben and Donna Stuart. Donna introduced Russ to me, so they will always have a special place in our hearts.

My friend Laura and her little girl, Selah. (Great friend that is prayed for and missed).

Tye has also learned how to kick the ball...while walking! What a talented squirt :) Too cute to pass up!

Buttons...buttons...and more buttons.

2007-11-11T20:26:00.000-06:00

Tye officially has an infatuation with buttons (I think it is pretty common among his buddies as well). He has been on a quest to find and master every button in our house. Let's see, he has found our printer power button, all of our remotes, loves the keyboard, alarm clocks, cell phones, thermometer, baby monitor, microwave, tv, and our camera. That does not include the answering machine, fax machine and copier at his grandparents house. It is amazing the curious minds they have.

He is also starting to make sounds for objects...for instance, when he sees the horse next door at his grandparents house, he makes the "ha" sound and the "ca" when he sees a car or if we walk out to the car. Sooo fun! Anyway, he is coming up on a year in a few weeks and we have been so blessed by him this year. Of course...here are a few photos and a video.

Our little button pusher in action.

A little better walking demonstration.

"My Boys" rooting for "The Boys" (Cowboys).

My son...hammin' it up as usual (especially in front of the camera)

We have a WALKER!!

2007-11-04T08:13:00.000-06:00

Tye has started walking! I mean he is not about to enter a race, but he will walk about 10 feet or so by himself. He really likes to just cruise along the couch and then take off towards his toys. The funniest part is that it looks like he is marching...lots of steps with not really much ground covered, and of course he walks with his arms up in the air or out in front of him for protection. It is really cute and he enjoys his new way of travel.

He has also been busy trying new things...feeding the horses next door at his grandparents house, eating juicy, yummy apples all by himself, and going to the children's museum with Uncle Dave, and of course playtime with friends.

I also just discovered while taking a brief break from this post to change a diaper that he just cut his top two teeth!! I found out by the sound of GRINDING (like fingernails to a chalkboard)!! I think Tye is pretty surprised by this as well. The fun never stops!

Tye's pumpkin patch photos.

2007-10-25T18:59:00.000-06:00

Our family trip to Albuquerque

2007-10-18T19:31:00.000-06:00

We just got back from an amazing vacation/family reunion in beautiful Albuquerque, NM. If you have never been, you are missing out. The scenery is outstanding, the city is backed up to the Sandia Mountains and the cool, dry climate can't be beat.

It was a close call though. Tye got his first viral infection and running a 104 fever the day before we were supposed to leave...and on top of that, he had allergies and cutting his top two teeth. But, our little tough guy pulled through and his fever was down the next morning, so we decided to go, and I am glad we did. We had an incredible weekend visiting with all of Russ's aunt's, uncles, and cousins, taking worlds longest tram ride up the Sandia Mountains, experiencing the unforgettable sight of the Balloon Fiesta, and getting the tour of Albuquerque. Thanks Aunt Dee and Ralph for the amazing weekend.

Here are a few photos of the trip, and as you can imagine, Tye won over their hearts with his precious smile and laugh.

The view from the top of the tram ride was magnificent! You could see over 130 miles in the distance, and quite windy if you can't tell by the fly-away hair.

Here are some shots from the Balloon Fiesta. We left the house at 5:30AM in 40 degree weather, and it was well worth it!! As you will notice, Tye did not even attempt to remove the hat from his bald head.

The view from Aunt Dee's house...beautiful. I think I could wake up to this view every morning. How about you?

Russ's Aunt's and Uncle's (from left to right...Ralph and Dee Stone, Gary & Cecile, David & Judy Leatherman, and Tony & Nelda Brooks). They were an absolute joy with lots of laughter.

Monday, we checked out the new Sandia Resort and Casino on one of the local Indian Reservations. Here is a pic from the golf clubhouse.

Alright, alright...the last pic, Tye is appeasing his Mom by posing for this "fall" photo outside "El Pinto" for lunch.

Tye's "Beat Box" dance.

2007-10-07T20:54:00.000-06:00

So Tye has started dancing, and dancing, and dancing. Well, I guess you would call it dancing. Any music that he hears now, he shakes his little booty. Here is a video at the top of our stairs with Russ providing the beat box.

The newest version of peek-a-boo...take 2.

2007-10-04T19:31:00.000-06:00

At Grammy and Papa's last weekend Tye learned a new version of peek-a-boo in which he does the peek-ing and boo-ing. You just have to look amused and ask "Where's Tye?" Now that is all he wants to do. He also has learned how to dance, and shakes everything he has when he hears music or even if you just start shaking your head up and down. Can you believe he is already 10 months old? Crazy!! I need to start thinking about his birthday party plans...any ideas? Anyway...here is a video of Tye playing peek-a-boo. Hope you get a little laugh or at least a good smile out of it. Below are also a few pics from this past weekend in Dallas.

We went to Russ's 10 Year High School Reunion this past weekend and of his class of 22 people, 15 of them were there...pretty good turn out and he had a great time visiting and catching up on old times and new.

Tye blowing on the glass at Grammy and Papa's house. He loved standing up at the glass and looking outside at the trees, grass, cars, whatever babies enjoy staring at.

and this...my friends, is Tye's new fussy fit face...attractive, huh?

Weekend with Friends

2007-09-25T21:10:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we went to the Austin-San Marcos-New Braufels Tri-City area and saw some of our good friends that we had not seen in a long time. We had a great time and did our fair share of driving. We got to spend the night at T Bar M and a night on Lake Travis (thanks Steve). Tye put on his usual show for our friends and we had a great time. If only we lived a little closer to this part of Texas, it would be nice to spend more time there. We got to spend time with Shane and Lindsay, Steve and Alli, and Chris and Adrianne and Reece (All good friends of ours). We got to spend some one on one time with each couple which we thought was quite an accomplishment to achieve in one weekend. Hopefully we can spend more time with these friends in the near future and especially with Shane and Lindsay, before they leave for.....well you know.
Here are a couple of pics of our adventure.

This is Tye swanging with Shane and Lindsay.

This is Tye and Russ and Chris and Reece.

Tye and Russ sportin' the shades at the motorcycle hangout place.

Another stellar performance by Cowboy Tye

2007-09-20T20:36:00.000-06:00

Just for fun...thought I would post a few of these recent videos and photos showing Tye's cute personality coming through.

Cowboy Tye's stellar performance (with a little help from Dad)

Russ's new dishwashing supervisor.

Tye helping me with the laundry

Sometimes Tye gets in a fight with his food and tonight, I think the food won!

Tye's new version of peek-a-boo.

2007-09-13T21:03:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to catch this on video for a few days now, but he is so distracted by the camera, it is hard to video him doing anything spontaneous. This is a video of his new version of peek-a-boo. He is at this point where he loves being "boo-ed" at and his other favorite game is for one of us to crawl around and he likes to "sneak up" on us or "catch us". He cracks up laughing and it is hilarious, and then it is our turn. Anyway, enjoy the video, and don't worry, his little tumble at the end is perfectly normal for him. He just gets too excited and forgets to hold on sometimes.

Here is a pic of proud dad with his son sporting his alma mater.

Tye had his first sleep over last weekend! Well, it was not totally planned, but our friends air conditioning went out, and keeping 2 kids in a house reading 87 degrees was not an option. It was a great weekend, and Tye had a blast having friends over to play for more than the usual 2 hours for our playdates.

and...here is a better picture of Tye's 2 front teeth.

...and the fun continues!

2007-09-08T14:37:00.000-06:00

The fun just does not stop these days (Yea!) We are enjoying every minute of it and are overjoyed in seeing Tye discover new things and go on new adventures. Last weekend, we took our first trip to the zoo, with Elizabeth and the Monney kids (Ellie and Caleb). They totally enjoyed the "free range pigeons" searching for every scrap snack they could find, and the boys liked the caged animals too, as long as the animals were moving, they knew what they were looking at, but so fun nonetheless.

We then went to Luke's first birthday party and Mom is taking notes for Tye's coming up in a few months. Tye had so much fun, and took a great nap afterwards!

On a side note...TYE'S FIRST TEETH...you can barely see them, but they are truly there. Pardon the close up flash, but that was the only way I could get them in focus. More and better pictures to come. Those things are like little razor blades, though. He bites down on you now and you know it!

Okay, and lastly, and I will stop oohhing and aahhing, but his new thing is to crawl under everything...the chairs, coffee tables, and most excitingly for him, his exersaucer. Here is a little action shot.

So that is all...thanks for reading and hopefully a little ooohhh or aaahhhh with me.

Videos...just for fun!

2007-08-31T21:07:00.000-06:00

Here are a few videos from this weekend...just for fun.

Tye loves for one of us to dance around with him. He loved it just the same when Russ was dancing with him at the outdoor concert that night as well...we just did not catch that on video.

This video is so cute! Tye and Aunt Linda were having a great time at the kitchen table, making lots of noise and ET phone home fingers...enjoy!

Our weekend in Fredericksberg

2007-08-31T11:01:00.001-06:00

We had a fantastic trip to Fredericksberg this weekend. It was great to see Uncle Larry and Aunt Linda. Last time we went, Tye was only a few months old, so he could have cared less where we were. This time, however, was much different. He wanted to explore everything from the kitchen drawers, to the cat food. It was a lot of fun showing him around and see him take it all in. He loved, Lucy, the cat, and we also had a chance to go to the park theat we went to as children. We also got a chance to do some shopping...and to see some live music on Main Street at one of their summer concerts. It was great to see our 103 year old Great, Grandma Ethel (Tye's great, great grandma). Tye enjoyed riding around with her in her wheelchair, and I think she enjoyed showing him off. I could not just post one or two pics, so I decided to attach a slide show. If you click on the actual slideshow, it will take you to the site with captions. Enjoy!

Cowboy Tye :)

2007-08-20T20:24:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago, Aunt Linda gave Tye this cute cowboy hat. We decided to give it a try and see if he would actually keep it on...well, you see the game that came of it.

Tye's new kitchen toys.

Whew...is Tye a motormouth!

2007-08-09T20:49:00.000-06:00

Check the video and see what I mean...

Cirque du soleil anyone...?

2007-08-07T19:51:00.000-06:00

I could not pass up posting this video immediately. We visited with Kris, Jamie and Asher for dinner tonight and Tye got quite a kick (as did we) out of playing on the exercise ball. I also could not pass up posting this adorable pic of Tye and his dad.
Enjoy...

A Busy Week...

2007-08-04T09:45:00.000-06:00

We started off with very little on our plate for this week, but it turned into a quite the busy one. My friend, Antoinette, came to visit early this week and Tye had a blast playing with her. It was adorable. He was pretty enthralled with her ability to make silly noises.

Then Tye's friends, Asher and Josiah, dropped by later in the week (along with their Mom's). It was amazing to see how they all have changed so much in about a month and a half. CRAZY!! It is always great to visit with other Mom's to share ideas and frustrations with ever changing babies. I have enjoyed it so much.

Does Tye have another secret for Asher?

Exploring the exersaucer...they all decided they needed to play on it together...

Here are a few pics and a video to finish off the post. We thought we would spend a little time outside this morning in the hot summer Houston heat. Tye had a good time in the pool as you can see below. It was all fun and games...UNTIL...

UNTIL...he decided he would rather try to get out on his own!

Tye found the door stoppers...

2007-07-31T14:36:00.000-06:00

Here is just a short clip of Tye finding the door stoppers. Ours are the springy kind, so he found it quite interesting. I am reading the Book 2 of Babywise, so I am not sure if this is necessarily an appropriate activity according to the book, but thought it was cute. Enjoy.

Tye's new activity table...thanks Grammy!

2007-07-27T07:05:00.000-06:00

I thought since Tye was pulling up on everything but the kitchen sink, that he might enjoy pulling up on something that he can actually play with as well. So, we got him one of those activity tables. It is the Fischer Price one with a "picnic" on top. Oh my goodnes...he stood up to the table as soon as the music played and the lights started flashing...he got the biggest grin on his face...and started banging!! I am sure the lights and sound contributed to his enjoyment, but it was a hit, needless to say. Enjoy the video and pics.

I am exhausted already!!

2007-07-24T19:15:00.000-06:00

Okay, so my son has only been crawling and pulling up on things for like 4 days and I am already exhausted!! I say "crawl" loosely, because he actually uses one leg properly and the other leg he kind-of drags behind him. He does use his arms correctly, though. But my definition of crawling is anything that he can do to get himself around anywhere...and he is definitely crawling! Sometimes I even think he is trying to get away from me, because he laughs as I come to get him.

He is also pulling up on everything he can crawl to. I am not sure which one is more challenging, the crawling or the pulling up. Crawling...he just gets to random places, no big deal. Pulling up...the major problem is that he has not mastered the art of getting down, so he either cries to get down or falls down and cries because he hit his head or something.

So with this new stage of life, we have taken many pictures. It will be hard to choose which ones to post, but I think I have a few cute ones for you. I will have to post some video a little later...

Playtime with Dad!

My picture after crawling for the first time.

We finally got Tye together with his cousin, Charley. They are 3.5 months apart. Charley was not so sure about him, if you can't already tell by her face.

Tye pulling up on his dresser, while Dad lowers his mattress to the very bottom. Tye has discovered that he loves his view from the standing position much better than the laying down position in his crib.

THANK GOODNESS FOR OUTLET COVERS!!!

Crawling....the next step

2007-07-23T21:29:00.000-06:00

Well, after much anticipation...well maybe some anticipation, here is the first recording of Tye crawling. He is growing up so fast, and it we can't believe it has already been 7 1/2 months since he was born. We are loving this time in our lives and look forward to the future.
Blessing to you all.

Two posts in one day!!

2007-07-16T20:51:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures of Tye, Asher and Josiah that our friend, Rachel took a couple weeks ago. They were hilarious and what a time we had trying to get a 2, 4, and 6 month old to do the same thing and look in the same direction...you see what we get.

Thought this was quite humorous...what goes on behind the scenes of baby modeling...

Aren't they precious...

What do you think the caption should be for this photo? Do you think Tye has a secret?

This is a photo of Rod and Deb Bond with Bethany

Also, I have posted a picture of Rod and Debbie Bond. They are the missionaries in Ecuador that our church and NBRI are working with. They were able to share their vision with our church and we were thankful to get a chance to visit with them for a while.

Back in the USA

2007-07-16T20:05:00.000-06:00

Tye hanging out with some of the women at VBS

cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ubVizZJd9TA/RpwrSEm_E7I/AAAAAAAAADE/RS2-DAwj0r0/s200/IMG_8006.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087989268496716722" />

Bethany and Tye with Claudia and Jonathan

Standing in the hallway of the school

The market in Chichi

We seem to have mixed feelings being back in the states. We are glad to be back to see family (and they are glad to see Tye again) and at the same time we really enjoy being in Guatemala. We realize that right now we are supposed to be in Houston doing our part to help missionaries on the field and we are confident in this purpose, but sometimes the slower paced life of the Guatemalans seems somewhat attractive. We enjoyed the team that we went with and got to share some enjoyable experiences together. Here are a couple more pics from our latest trip.

Thursday...a few photos

2007-07-12T10:04:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos from the week. As you can see, Tye is having a great time with everyone. The first 2 photos are of the school in San Pedro. The team before us helped lay the tile in the entry way hallway and our team is laying the tile in one of the classrooms.

Guatemala...Day 5 attempt 2

2007-07-10T20:13:00.000-06:00

So I thought that I would just post, instead of email about our trip. Sorry, no pics as of yet. I left my camera cord at home along with batteries. As far as I can tell, that is all that I forgot, which considering travel with a 7 month old, is a pretty good feat. I might try to post some pics from other peoples camera's, but we will see.

The trip so far has been absolutely wonderful! We are finally getting into somewhat of a routine and enjoying every minute of it (which is quite crucial for Mom and Tye). Heidi and Matt were so incredibly selfless in letting us borrow their room and their crib for the week. They insisted and they slept out on the couches. Thanks Heidi and Matt!! They actually left this morning to head to the City to meet with the Dr. one more time before having Baby Isaac tomorrow. They will be in the City until Saturday. We will get a chance to see them on Friday afternoon sometime, and we are so excited about that. Be checking their blog on Wednesday for pics. Their blog is www.agapeenaccion.blogspot.com. Last night, we had a little party for them and Gencha (our caterer/friend) brought her best linens and covered the chairs and tables with them as we celebrated this blessing from God. It was a really amazing night.

Sorry, I had to scoot out for a second. A bird just flew into the dorm and scared the bejeezus out of me. I scurried in to Tyes room and accidently woke him up from his nap...so had to get him back to sleep and check on the bird. I think (hope) he is out now, or else he is hiding really well. I am a little scared of birds right now after a near dive bombing of about 5 of them on our porch at home and in tight quarters of the dorm, there is no where really for them to go but down towards you and hopefully out the door. So anyway...back to where I was. The team has been fabulous. They are hard workers and have been so helpful. They also love Tye...everyone here is in their 50's or so, so they are all either new grandparents or hoping to be soon, so they are eating Tye up. It has been wonderful so far.

VBS yesterday was great!! The kids were awesome and they are getting so big. You notice when you have not been back or seen them for a year. Jonathan (Arnold's youngest) is 4! I can't believe it. He was just a few months old the first time we met him. Heber and Dina are growing like weeds as well and they were happy to see us as well. Claudia just wanted to play with Tye and he has been so responsive and smiling at everyone. I am thankful that he has not hit one of those stages where he will not have anything to do with anyone but mom and dad. This would not be a good time for that.

Russ went out to the worksite this morning to help out with laying tile with the team. I can't wait to see how it is progressing. Okay, I won't make this any longer than it already is, but I hope you are all having a great week and look forward to hearing how you are doing.

Love,
Bethany, Russ and Tye

Guatemala...Day 5

2007-07-10T09:45:00.000-06:00

Peek-a-Boo

2007-07-01T12:59:00.000-06:00

This is our version of Peek-a-Boo with Tye. He seems to enjoy playing this game and discovering anything he can get his little hands on.

Family on Dad's Day

2007-06-15T21:35:00.000-06:00

Thought we would put a little video of of Tye's first "Recorded" attempt at communication. Bethany is doing her best to make him into a social child, which I guess is important. This will be Russ's first real Father's Day and he is looking forward to it. Bethany got him a nice present that will probably be seen on this blog in future posts. See if you can guess what it is when you see the next pic of Russ. Bethany is doing very well and Tye is keeping us all very busy. enjoy the video.

6 months in baby life

2007-06-13T18:44:00.000-06:00

Tye's new found toy....Tags...

Well, I can't believe Tye is 6 1/2 months old...where did the time go? So we went to the doctor about 2 weeks ago and he was 17 lbs. and 27" long. A gain of 1 lb and 2" in 2 months. He is still toothless and bald, but they are both coming soon. So we have started feeding him solid food, well if you call puree actually solid. We have found out that he does not prefer carrots, since he consistently pursed his lips and furrowed his brow with each spoonful, but he loves squash and zucchini. He reminds of a baby bird in its nest waiting for its mom to drop another worm into its mouth. He is so cute about it...opens his mouth so wide, even if he isn't looking our direction. Our doctor told us not to overkill on the "yellow" veggies so Tye does not turn orange due to the beta keratin. So on to green veggies soon.

Russ and I celebrate our 3rd anniversary this next week. It has been an amazing 3 years and WOW! how our lives have changed for the way better!! Hopefully many more to come...

What you talkin about Willis?

2007-06-05T20:53:00.000-06:00

This is Russ's opinion of Tye's best picture up to this date.

Trip to South Carolina

2007-06-05T20:39:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we took a trip, (some of us, a roadtrip) to South Carolina. Natalie, Bethany's sister, graduated from College on Saturday. We had a little bit of down time so we took a little trip up into the Appalachian Mountains. We were able to take our first family "hike". Ok, so it was only about a 15 minute hike but it was a hike and we got to see some beautiful scenery. Here are a couple of pics from the weekend.

Dedication

2007-05-20T20:24:00.000-06:00

Today, Tye was officially "Dedicated" to the Lord. We participated in a baby dedication ceremony for Tye in front of our church body (GRBC) and it was an opportunity for Russ's parents to come down for a visit and both B and Russ's parents were able to come to the service. The church gave Tye his first Bible and some other certificates and paperwork to help us commemorate this occasion.
So what does "dedication" mean, you may ask? Well it does not mean that we believe that Tye is saved through this ceremony. The main reason for this ceremony is to give our church, family and friends the opportunity to commit to helping and encouraging us to rear our child in a manner that is glorifying to the Lord. Also, we will do our best to explain the true gospel to him and spend countless hours in prayer for his salvation and for his commitment to serve the Lord after salvation. We will be praying for the Lord to save Tye's soul until he puts his faith in Christ on that blessed day (Lord willing). We are very excited to have had this experience with our church, family and friends, and look forward to what the Lord is going to teach us through Tye's life and what the Lord will do in his life. We love you Tye and commit you to the Lord this day.
Love,
Mom and Dad