Bronco Love

This picture just melts my heart. The boys just love each other so much (and the Broncos of course, although Mommy had absolutely NOTHING to do with that... wink, wink), and I really liked this angle on it... Actually, I was trying to get a cute pic of the boys in their Bronco jerseys last weekend, and Leyton pooped all over his as I was getting ready to take the picture. So I was left with one cute mini-Bronco and one in a diaper. I didn't really expect anything good out of the remaining pics, but I just love this one.

Here's another - this is from this past weekend, when both boys actually had their jerseys on long enough for a picture together!

Paging Daddy

In the last week, Leyton's learned several new tricks; the biggest being his first word! Drumroll please.............. Yes folks, he says "Dada." And no, he's not just babbling, he directs it at PJ and only says it to PJ. It's pretty darn cute, and I LOVE that he's talking. But someone please explain to me, WHY OH WHY have both of my children chosen to say "Dada" before "Mama?" Have they forgotten who carried them (very uncomfortably, I might add) for 9 months and endured child birth? Seriously. Here's a video of Leyton talking to PJ... It's not the best, but you can hear me trying to get him to say it, then you hear PJ walk up behind me and say "boo" (he's making faces at him from behind the camera) and then Leyton starts in with the "dada dada dada." He then moves on to the gibberish, but you get the idea.

His second trick is a little funnier - he imitates Mimi (ok, not really, but it sure looks that way). I was almost on the floor laughing when I saw this one. He just looks at her and laughs, all the while holding his feet.

Go Fish

It's been a while since I've posted and I'm a little behind! Britton has been sick recently with Croup, so we've had to keep him home for days now - he's getting a little stir-crazy! So, on Saturday, since he was no longer running a fever or coughing, PJ decided to take him fishing for the first time. Britton was way excited to go to the store with Dad to get the necessary equipment... New CARS fishing pole, net, worms, lure, etc. He practiced casting in the house (Leyton and I were running for cover - but don't worry, no hooks!), and off they went. PJ called within an hour to report Britton had caught his first fish! He had a wonderful time, and begged PJ to take him again on Sunday... Here's a few pics from their adventure. Note the look on BK's face, he's a little concerned about holding the fish, but still trying to smile. Hysterical.

Let's ride the Power Lines!

Yep, that's a direct quote from my son at the Fair this year, referring to the Sky Ride. We spent the better part of Wednesday afternoon taking the boys to the Tulsa State Fair and they absolutely loved it. This was Leyton's first experience in the Snugli, and it went over great. He was thrilled to be on Daddy's chest, watching all the people, bright colors, rides, etc. We didn't hear so much as a fuss out of him for 3 hours! We purchased a Ride Bracelet for Britton and headed straight for Kiddie Land. He rode a ton of rides including the Carousel, Flintstones Train, Giant Slide (with Mommy - we had a blast) and even his first roller coaster. Ok, the roller coaster was not exactly a thriller, but bigger than the normal kiddie roller coasters you find at amusement parks. And the best part - Mommy rode it with him (anyone that knows me at all knows I DON'T do rides - just ask Crystal and Brian, who drug me onto the Texas Cliffhanger years ago. I think there's evidence on someones camera showing the absolute fear of God in my eyes on that thing)! And of course we didn't pass up the food... We shared a Turkey Leg, Funnel Cake, Apple Fries and several fresh squeezed Lemonades! We also walked around inside and enjoyed watching the Kenyan Acrobats perform. All in all, a wonderful experience for the whole family!!!


Oh, I guess I should say why Britton wanted to ride the "power lines." In recent months, he's noticed the power/phone lines all around town and has been asking about them quite a bit. We talk a lot about why there are there, what they do, who's house they go to, etc. So when he saw the cables that the Sky Ride operates on, he was just certain they were power lines! We of course got some funny looks when he yelled "let's ride the power lines" on the midway. :)

Leyton enjoying the view on the midway...

Britton and Mommy about to ride the "roller coaster:"

On the carousel:

The whole family:

Check out "Mr. Fancy Pants" - He's 6 months today!

I can't believe it - Leyton is already 6 months! Everyone told me time would go even faster with the second one (I didn't really believe it), but holy moly. I swear I just had him yesterday. I look back over the last 6 months and can't believe how much he's changed (and how much our family has changed)! At his 6 month check-up (which was a little early - 9/15), he weighed in at 16 lbs, 5 oz, and was 26.5 inches long. That's about the size Britton was at 9 months! Leyton's developed such a sweet personality! First and foremost, he loves his brother. They really are two peas in a pod. No one can make him smile quite like Britton, and I already see him watching what Britton does so very closely; I'm sure he'll be trying to do things just like big brother very soon!


Leyton has the cutest rolls you've ever seen, and he's quite the cuddle bug, which of course we love. He is perfectly happy to sit on your lap and watch the world go on around him. He has a big smile for most everyone, although he doesn't like to get too far from Mommy and Daddy. He loves to play with his feet, and the t.v. remote is also a huge hit lately (Britton had the same fascination - sign of things to come?!?). He's sitting up all by himself (started this around 5 months), and is finally rolling both front to back, and back to front. He's starting to reach for things when on your lap (dinner plate, etc) and is really into putting anything he can get in his mouth. He does the "push up" move on his stomach and is trying to pull his knees underneath him already! I'm not ready for that! I tell him regularly that crawling is not allowed for at least another month and a half! My days may be numbered though... Britton was crawling at a little over 7 months...


We started cereal this week, and he absolutely loves it. And I mean L-O-V-E-S it. We laugh because he looks like a little bird - as soon as he sees the spoon he starts leaning forward with his mouth open and making noises - it's hysterical. He's not the best napper (his naps are pretty short!), but he's a wonderful sleeper at night (12-13 hours straight!), so I can't complain. He loves the exersaucer, johnny-jump up, being outside, and just playing with toys on a blanket.


We couldn't have dreamed of a better baby. I am enjoying every minute with him, and love to see what each new day holds for him, but it makes me said to see he's not a newborn anymore... Before I know it, he'll be a toddler... :(


Happy 1/2 birthday little buddy! We love you Leyton!

Itsy-bitsy Leyton - The day we brought him home. Check out how big the socks are on his feet (and these were preemie socks!). He was a mini one at 6 lb, 3 oz...

Leyton in his crib last week - check out how much he's grown!








This cereal stuff is YUMMY!

He loves Mimi! (...Including her ears, tail, or anything else he's quick enough to grab!)

Lisa = OCD

I've had several people comment recently that my 'strange' habits border on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Now any member of my family will tell you this is old news (they've been saying that for years) but for some reason this is coming up repeatedly lately. Am I really getting worse? So for my own reassurance that I'm not nuts, I'm going to list the big ones. So come on people, SOMEONE agree with me that these are perfectly valid concerns. And no making fun of "psycho Lisa."
1. I have a thing about bare feet. Or sandal feet for that matter. Two rules in the land of Lisa - NEVER go barefoot - even in your own house. That's the purpose of slippers. Seriously, I have a real problem with this. My 3 year old even wears slippers around the house now thanks to me. Your feet might get dirty! (Hmm... Maybe that should indicate that I should clean my floors more often?) Which leads to the second part of my foot quirk. If you wear sandals, flip flops, anything without socks, you had better wash your feet before getting into your bed. Now that's just disgusting. I have images in my head of germs leaping off the ground onto your feet when you walk into a public bathroom (which is a whole other quirk in itself) or anywhere else in public, so why exactly would you want to then put your feet in your bed?? Yuck. Even PJ knows better on this one. And yes, Jenn and Kori, I can hear you laughing already on this one.
2. Ketchup on napkins. Yeah, this one probably officially labels me as C-R-A-Z-Y. But I blame my mother and sister entirely. For years when we would go to McDonald's or anywhere similar, they would put the ketchup on napkins. EWWWWW. I swear this scarred me for life. It's just been in the last 2-3 years I've been able to eat ketchup again. I won't go into the details on why this is so disgusting in my twisted mind (b/c that will then force me to re-live the events of the past and go back to not eat ketchup again and I honestly kind of like it now), just take my word for it. If the only place you have to put your ketchup is on a napkin, just do me a favor and skip it altogether.
3. Hand Sanitizer. Yes, I'm a bit on the germ-a-phobe side of the street. You can never have enough. I have it in my purse, in both boy's school bags, and in the car. Oh, and did I mention I even have it in the wipe form for tabletops at restaurants, etc? I think I should own stock in Bath & Body.
4. Styrofoam Cups and "good" ice. Anyone that knows me at all knows this is my thing. There are a very limited number of establishments from which I will purchase a drink. A paper or plastic cup isn't going to cut it - they sweat everywhere and your drink is watered down 30 seconds after you buy it. I have been known to drive WAY out of the way (or ask PJ to - and he's generally kind enough to oblige) just to get a drink from a specific restaurant (Chick-fil-a being the currently fav, followed by McDonald's, Burger Street, and Sonic). My Mom even has Styrofoam cups at her house, partially for me and my nuttiness. And yes, I realize this is not the "Green" way to do things, and I don't want the lectures. I'm not a green or crunchy kind of person. I admire those that are, and I have no problem with it, but I'm just not. Plain and simple. I don't do things intentionally that are bad for the earth, so don't read too much into that. But I'm not above Styrofoam cups or plastic water bottles, and I don't have my own reusable shopping bag. I like the paper ones at Reasor's. :) Shoot me.
5. Public Restrooms. Now I don't think this one is "out there" at all. If you aren't slightly disgusted by public pottys then I'm concerned. However, I admit I'm a little over the top. I have this theory that you get more germs by touching the handles on the faucets, soap dispenser, and paper towel dispensers than you are actually washing off, so I choose instead to use my hand sanitizer. So before anyone freaks out here thinking I don't wash my hands, read that sentence again - I USE HAND SANITIZER rather than wash my hands in the germ-infested sink. :) Now the beauty of this little "quirk" is that my gymnastics days are coming in handy. I can successfully (oh yeah, I'm proud of this) enter a public restroom (including opening the door), take care of business and walk out only touching the lock on the stall door and the toilet paper. That whole deal of being rather flexible thanks to gymnastics has worked out well for me. So glad to see I can still use my skills. :) You wouldn't believe the looks I get when I use my foot to open the door. But honestly, I just don't care.

Hmm... I guess that raps it up. Re-reading my little list, if you think I'm OCD, yeah, you are probably right. Oh well. It's me - take it or leave it. :)

Orange Power

Today we had the privilege of attending the OSU-Missouri State game at OSU. Yes, it was raining, but no, we didn't have to sit in the rain! Our friends Tanner and Lindsay were nice enough to give us tickets for their wonderful suite. What a perfect way to take a 5 1/2 month old to his first OSU game!! The boys had a great time, and we really enjoyed getting to watch the game and stay dry! The only small problem: Britton accidentally threw his hat out the open window down onto the club level sections below. The people who were hit by the falling object were nice enough to hold it for us until PJ and Britton could get down there to retrieve it. Other than that - success! OSU won, Britton had fun and was fairly well behaved, and Leyton even napped. I couldn't ask for more... :)

Britton attached himself to "Tanter's" (AKA Tanner) leg at one point:


Daddy and Leyton enjoying the game:



My sweet mini-cowboys:

One of the few moments Britton actually sat still and watched the game. Actually, I think he was probably just looking for Pete, who is currently one of his favorite people (note the shirt - we had to go on a hunt for a Pistol Pete shirt in the Spring). :)

Look what I can do!

Leyton is now officially sitting up on his own! We are so proud of his newest accomplishment, and he appears to be even more proud of himself. :)



And occasionally, he reaches for something (usually his toes or a toy that's just out of reach) and ends up like this... He doesn't cry though, just rolls himself over onto his back!


On not as much of a happy note, we are doing some medication with Leyton due to what the doctor is calling "chronic cough." (And we are REALLY hoping this isn't the start of asthma, although family history is definitely NOT on our side.) We started with the nebulizer last week, and when that didn't work as well as the doctor would have liked, he added steroids and Zyrtec to the mix... He's definitely better now, but not a huge fan of the nebulizer! He screams pretty much the entire time unless we sing the "Little Green Frog" song continuously. For some reason, that's the only song that will do... But hey, if it keeps him happy, we'll go with it. Here's a pic of him earlier this week doing his treatment right before bedtime. He got real quiet, and PJ was kind of watching TV and not paying a ton of attention... I looked over and realized he was out. Poor baby!

Leyton's Dedication

This post is a bit overdue, but I wanted to post the pictures from Leyton's Dedication to the Lord at our Church on August 10, 2008. It was a really special event for our family and we are so proud of our little guys. Leyton did wonderfully. He's really had some serious stranger anxiety over the last month, so we were really worried that when Deron took him from me he would lose it. But instead he just stared wide-eyed at the audience while Deron talked about him and our family. He started to fuss at the end, but overall it was a huge success. We had also been concerned that Britton might get a little nervous or scared standing in front of that large of an audience, but he stayed perfectly still right in front of PJ and didn't make a peep.

We were also so thrilled to have both sets of Grandparents in attendance for the big event. And since Britton was such a big boy during the dedication, we even let him sit with us in "big church" for the rest of service! He did great, sitting right next to Gigi, coloring the whole time. I couldn't have been more proud of both of my little "men!"

Gun Shoots

As a birthday gift this past year, Britton received several foam disc guns (think Nerf) from his good friend, Nathan. We finally dug these out and PJ and Britton had an all out battle with them in the backyard over the long weekend. A little background as to why I'm just now letting him play with his birthday gifts he received in January (because no, I'm not THAT mean): I have a habit of packing up about half of his birthday gifts and getting them out in the Summer to space out the new toys a little. With his birthday and Christmas being only 5 days apart, our gifts are bit stacked in December, and it can be a L-O-N-G year if there are no new toys in between! So anyway, Britton decided that these fun new toys should be called the "gun shoots" and asks regularly if Daddy can come home from work and play gun shoots in the backyard... Pretty darn cute if you ask me, but I guess I am a little biased. :)

Note Britton's really cool sunglasses. I've got to find him some better ones because those are awful. And he now insists on wearing them in the car, outside, etc. Seriously, all they need is a pocket protector to go with them. And yes, Mom, his shirt is on backwards. This is what happens when the 3 1/2 year old insists on dressing himself. I'm learning to pick my battles.