Wednesday night we went to watch our 1st Rangers game as a family. It just happened to be against the Houston Astros. And the tickets just happened to be free. (I REALLY like Autrey's patients!) And it was also Dollar Dog night, which made Autrey happy. He ate 5. We knew the kids wouldn't last long so we got there an hour early, ate, walked around, and let the kids play at The Yard, which they loved. Texas Ranger Mickey in The Yard:
In front of the baseball field. The kids made it 1 hour/3 innings in our seats before Colton got pretty antsy.
So, back to The Yard where they had these cool glove chairs:
At that point it was 9 pm so we decided to call it a night instead of hiking back up to the nosebleed section again. It's always better to quit while you're ahead with kids. It was such a fun night. And FYI, I looked up the score later and the Rangers won 7-3. Go Rangers!
One of Autrey's patients works for the Cowboys and gave us sweet seats and parking tickets to go to the last preseason game against the Houston Texans (the night before we flew to San Diego). There were no starters playing, unfortunately, but we had fun being at the Cowboys Stadium with that HUGE 50 yard big screen floating above the field. Even though we saved $250 by getting tickets and parking free, we still couldn't bring ourselves to pay stadium prices for food. On the way home we stopped at Taco Bell for nachos and McDonalds for McFlurries and spent $10 total instead of $40.
Dylan had his 1st significant injury a few weeks ago. We had 2 of his little friends over when he fell into the corner of the wooden car table Autrey built for the boys (the painting is still not completed, or I would show it to you). It didn't bleed much, but it looked deep and his eye was swollen, so I texted this picture to Dr. K and Autrey. Autrey happened to be doing rounds at a doctor's office and brought home some Steri-Strip so I didn't have to go to urgent care to get it taken care of:
Here is a video from a few weeks ago of Colton putting a baseball on a tee and hitting it. We never taught him how to do that, he just picked it up from watching Dylan:
Friday night pizza and movie cuddle time:
Yesterday we went to the Southlake library where Miki the Monkey came to visit and do tricks for the kids:
Melinda brought her 3 kids too. Trey had been looking forward to this all week:
Then out to splash in the fountain across the street:
Autrey picked a red chili pepper from the garden, which Dylan likes to carry around as a little friend named Chili Willy.
Hopefully we will be able to eat Chili Willy before Dylan loves him to death. He barely let me take him away long enough to take a picture:
The most recent garden harvest: okra, tomatoes, and Chili Willy. We've also had a handful of beans, a cantaloupe, and a jalapeno this season. The garden is more of a science project than a plentiful food source:
Dylan 46 Month Update:
According to the bathroom scale: 43-44 lbs
Clothes: 4/5 T, because of length
Shoes: 12ish
*On the flight back from San Diego it was really bumpy. Dylan said his belly hurt. We walked off the plane and he threw up all over himself as we were heading to the bathroom. He has aunt Kristen's motion sickness I guess.
*Dylan can take his shirt off by himself. He struggled with that one for a while.
*Dylan still clears his place by putting his plate and silverware by the dishwasher, but now he puts his cup back in the fridge when he's done or gets it for me when he wants a drink.
*Dylan is an awesome 'gopher.' He goes and gets whatever I need and is a huge helper.
*We were talking about Crystal's upcoming wedding and here is a conversation we had:
D: "I can get married after my mission. Who can I marry?"
Me: "Anyone you want."
D: "Can I marry Ashlyn?"
Me: "No. She's your cousin."
D: "Can I marry Maggie?"
Me: "No."
D: "Is she my cousin too?"
Me: "Yup. Sorry buddy."
D: "Can I marry Tom-Tom?"
Me: "Definitely not."
D: "I'm going to marry myself" And then he ran off to play. We're going to have to revisit that one. :)
*D: "Are you doing AB WORKER X?" (P90X's AB ripper X workout)
Me: "I sure am."
D: "I want to do leg pounders." (Mason Twist exercise)
*Me: "You and Colton are going to go to Trey's house while I go to the doctor. Be a good listener for Miss Melinda, ok?"
D: "Ok. I'm going to teach her the Gospel."
Me: "That sounds like a great idea."
D: "And she will teach me the Gospel."
Me: "I hope you enjoy your little discussion."
*"Dad, you're a crazy driver. You almost crashed off the road." Autrey drove on the rumble strips for a second. There is construction everywhere so that's easy to do.
*When someone does something he doesn't like he says it's "not appropriate." It's funny when he repeats things I do, except when it's "you bet your booty" and "knock yourself out." The way I say it and the way he does mean two very different things.
*Dylan loves "Honey Bug Cheerios" (Honey Nut), just like G-ma.
*He asks me almost everyday some form of "Where are we going today?"/"Who's coming over?" He is a social butterfly like me and loves to be around people.
Colton 16 Month Update:
15 Month Check-Up with Dr on 8/23:
Height: 32.5 in, 85% (Dylan was 33 in, 90%)
Weight: 25.11 lbs, 65% (Dylan was 25 lb, 50%)
Head: 18.6 cm, 50% (Dylan was 18.8 cm 50-75%)
Clothes: 18 months
Shoes: size 4
*New words: "go," "hi," "buh-bye," "nana" (banana), "uh-oh," "ah-done", "fishie," "baby," "here go" (Here you go), "car," "ice" (eyes), "high" (airplane, as in "Look, an airplane up high"), "shoes," he has said "Mimi" and "Papa." Melinda said she heard him say "monkey" clearly when she was watching him while I was at an eye follow-up appt, but he may have said puppy because that's what he calls most animals.
*Colton got tooth #4 (left of his top left front tooth) on 8/27 and #5 (bottom left front tooth) on 9/7
*He learned his 2nd body part "buh" (belly button) and 3rd body part "ice" (eyes)
*Colton is a pretty good walker. Occasionally he looks drunk and falls a lot, but he has the hang of it.
*He holds up phones, or other objects, up to his ear/back of head and says "buh-bye."
*He LOVES to play with keys. Real ones. And pretends to open doors and start toy cars with them
*He took the nail clippers and pretended to clip his toe nails.
*When we went to feed the ducks, Colton kept eating the bread. He threw one or two pieces after he was full.
*He "blows" on food like I do when it's hot, or even when it's not.
*He bats my hand away if he doesn't want whatever I'm giving him.
*He likes to climb the stairs, sit on the slide, and go down all by himself.
*When he hears "yay" or clapping he claps too and usually squeals.
*Colton loves to dance to music.
*In church he waves his arms to help lead the music.
*Colton still loves food in general, but he is obsessed with raisins. And he will always eat bananas, blueberries, grapes, whole raspberries, carrots, bits of peanut butter bread, applesauce, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, cereal/crackers. He loves it when Dylan shares his popsicles.
*He still prefers a bottle when he is tired, even though he drinks from a sippy cup without problems.
Random Stuff:
*I am now on Level 2 of my 30 Day Shred. But I don't do it every day, so it will be more than 30 days before I get shredded.
*I got a 20 punch pass for $38 Let's Jump! on Groupon. Yay for great deals! Since adults and kids under 18 months are free, we can have hours of fun for the cost of Dylan, less than $2.
*Being in the Relief Society Presidency is definitely an everyday calling. I absolutely love it, most days. Sometimes I just wish I had an extra hour or two in the day to get everything done or didn't feel like I was dragging the boys to meetings all the time. But the blessings always outweigh the effort I put in. :)
On Thursday night we drove to Amarillo to stay at Matt and Allyson's house. Bright and early the next morning our little caravan drove the rest of the way to the Denver area for Crystal and Luke's wedding Friday night. The wedding was in Larkspur, and it was gorgeous. Colorado is pretty liberal and you don't have to be a pastor/bishop/etc to perform weddings, so Doug got to do the honor. Dylan was so excited to see Cousin Tommy. This was just one of many hug/headlocks in their dapper suits...and I think it is just an illusion that Dylan is so much taller than his older cousin:
Tyler is such a sweetheart. He wants to hug, hold, and kiss everyone and everything. Luckily Colton is pretty affectionate himself. The kissing cousins:
Nana and her kids, sans Roddy:
With spouses:
Sad Lori wasn't there, but she is sick with her pregnancy and couldn't make it:
With Nana:
Yes, mom, this is the handmade suit from the Dominican Republic you found for Dylan. He fits it already:
It was cold and rainy up there (which was why the wedding was moved indoors), and the older boys LOVED these giant worms:
And Colton LOVED this "puppy" (lion), giving it lots of hugs and kisses:
A bit windy, can ya tell?:
Crystal and Luke:
The dollar dance:
On Saturday we went to the Denver zoo. The carousel:
After the 1st time around Colton wasn't thrilled with being up there himself, so I joined him:
On the zoo train:
Before you say anything, neither of my kids really sucked their thumbs. Colton's 5th tooth is almost all the way in and he is biting his thumb:
Colton laughing at the birds as Aut fed one nectar:
Dylan feeding one of the birds:
Dylan and Tommy were more interested in the tiger safari-looking stroller they got to sit in than the actual animals, but Colton and Tyler had a blast. Tyler wanted to hold the animals and Colton called everything either a puppy or a bird, his two favorite animals. They all had fun playing together and chasing the geese:
Colton chasing and laughing at the geese:
Colton almost catching the geese, then getting frustrated he couldn't catch the 'puppy':
There was a flash flood with water up to the top of our tires after leaving the zoo, but we didn't have a problem as we drove home the next day. The ENTIRE day. From 7:30 am until 11 pm with a few pit stops and a longer break in Amarillo so Aut could take a nap. Despite being super tired and off his game this weekend, Dylan stayed awake every bit of the drive until the last 30 minutes. Colton has never really enjoyed his carseat and kept saying, "ah-done" and "go, go, go" but he didn't really cry. Thank goodness the boys were pretty good sports that day. So happy we got to celebrate with Crystal, Luke, the Taylors, and the Dukes!
Over Labor Day weekend we went with Mimi and Papa to San Diego and stayed at the Hotel del Coronado on the Island. Great view, eh? A little bright first thing in the morning for someone. Good thing we didn't get up and go golfing with Autrey, Mimi, and Papa at 6am...
We went to Sea World in San Diego. Mom told me she and dad came here when she was pregnant with me, but I'm going to consider this my 1st time here. With Franklin the Turtle, who liked the turtle shirts the boys were wearing:
Elmo flying fish ride:
Quick video of Autrey and Dylan after they came down the big drop on the Atlantis ride and got soaked, and on their way up the roller coaster part. (1st video ever taken on my new Smartphone, and I thought I was taking a picture. The sun was bright on the screen and I pushed the wrong button since I couldn't see. Still not a smart user.):
Mimi got Dylan a flashlight/bubble gun while we were waiting for the Shamu show to start:
During the show:
They both loved running on the sandy beach, collecting sand dollars, building sandcastles, and the COLD sparkly gold water. I wish I would have had my camera the 1st time we went to the beach and Colton face planted in the sand within 10 seconds of being there. He looked like someone threw a sandy baseball at his forehead, and looked like a big sand man by the time we left:
Dylan with our 'castle' hotel behind us:
Guess who didn't want to stop playing in the sand to take a picture? (Trick question. All 3 boys is the correct answer, but 2 of them are learning to humor me.):
Pay no attention to the scantily clad Hawaiian lady photo bombing us:
You looked, didn't you? Sorry, my fault.
We buried Dylan. He kept saying, "I lost my legs!" I had Forrest Gump and Lt. Dan 'running' through my head every time he said it. I know Doug will appreciate that:
2 videos of the boys at the beach:
We went to a sand art competition that was pretty cool and then walked down the street to see some old ships next to the U.S.S. Midway. Dylan talked like a pirate the whole time:
"Argh, Matey!"
Play ship for the kids below deck of the Star of India:
Playing in the tiny sleeping quarters:
Ringing the bell:
That steering wheel's as tall as Autrey:
We went in a Cold War Russian submarine. NOT somewhere I would like to be with 80 other people for long stretches of time...or more than an hour. Everything is so cramped. Dylan's favorite part:
All the main doors looked like this. Sheesh:
We didn't go to the zoo, but I did find a baby tiger exhibit in my room:
Dylan likes to tell people all about Shamu the Killer Whale when he wears this shirt:
Colton took my keys and tried to 'start' his little car. Amazes me how much he picks up from watching us:
Thanks for the fun weekend, Mimi and Papa! Dylan said, "When we're done with being at home we can go back to the beach, ok?" I like the way he thinks.
