Christmas!

Santa came early to our house this year! We all had a great day and were so excited that he (Santa) knew that we would be gone. We are leaving on Friday for Utah! We are so excited to be going home for Christmas! Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Where's Santa?

I was finally able to get Marcus on film with Santa. He is still a little shy with the real Santa but with our place mat Santa then he is definitely not shy!

Our Fun Week!

This week has been a lot of fun. First off we made some Christmas cookies while the boys were in bed and Brian made a fun Christmas tree cookie especially for Marcus. Brian and I were so excited to give it to him. Well...he loved it! He just kept saying "Christmas tree cookie" and then getting this huge smile!

We also were able to go meet some of Brian's classmates at a very impressive ice skating rink. Marcus loved to watch them all skate around.

We went to the Macy's Nutcracker display, and ended up waiting in line for quite a while but I loved it! Marcus and Tyson liked it too, but Brian probably could have done without. It was really impressive, I loved all of the 17 scenes.

Well even though we had a great week, Brian still had to study quite a bit. Here is Marcus reading aloud Brian's finance material. He just doesn't understand what is so hard about it.

Brothers

Boys, boys, boys! I love them! I believe we have the sweetest little boys ever. The past couple of days they have really been enjoying each other more and more. Marcus has always been a sweet boy to Tyson but I guess I am realizing how much Tyson really loves Marcus. About every time Tyson wakes up from his nap and Marcus is asleep he doesn't really know what to do, he gets so bored. I guess I am not as exciting as Marcus is. But when Marcus is awake then he just follows him around and tries to give him kisses. Today Tyson crawled up all of the stairs for the first time. He was so quick that it looked like he had done it a thousand times. I think that the main reason that he was so quick was because Marcus was in the lead! The boys were both laughing, it was the best ever! I sure love being a mom!

Santa's Coming to Town!

Finally on Wednesday night we put up our Christmas tree. Ya, I know we were a little slow at getting it up. We had wanted to get a real one but we decided against it. We won't be here for Christmas so we wouldn't be able to fully enjoy it. Our neighbors had two fake Christmas trees and only wanted one, so they gave us this wonderful Christmas tree. We love it! I don't even have to worry about keeping sugar and water in it! Don't worry though we have a pine candle so it can still smell like Christmas. We ended up decorating it after the boys went to bed but we both couldn't wait to see the boys reactions. Marcus still doesn't quite get it but they both really enjoy the lights, ornaments, and they also really wanted to open their presents! Tyson couldn't wait, he has already partly opened one of them.

SNOW!

So we finally got snow December 1st! Marcus really enjoyed it but I only let him enjoy from afar. We probably have about 7 inches now, it snowed more yesterday. Well today after we went to the library I gave in and let him play outside for a little bit. We don't have snow stuff yet so I couldn't let him play for too long. He really loved it! I think that he really liked to make his own tracks in the snow. He kept walking around and then looking behind him at his tracks in the snow. I let Tyson walk around (me holding both hands of course) and he really thought it was great! I think that the only way I got Marcus to come in was to tempt him with a good cup of hot chocolate! Yep he takes after me! Okay Brian likes it too...who doesn't!

Marcus making his tracks!

Tyson doesn't look too happy but he really did like it I promise! Our apartment is in the background.

This is just outside of our apartment he calls it his "truck" it really is just a jeep that he loves to play on.

Bus!

Marcus just loves buses! While we are driving around town he is always letting me know where all of the buses are... orange ones, white ones, and even sometimes green ones! In the morning when Brian leaves for school Marcus just gets a sad little look on his face and says in a low little voice..."Dad bus." It really is the cutest thing ever! Well last weekend he got to see what Dad gets to experience everyday and I must say that he really loved it. We went to the Holidazzle parade where everything is lit up with Christmas lights and we rode the bus into town. I think that Marcus actually enjoyed the bus ride more then he did the parade and he really enjoyed the parade. At the end of the parade Marcus got a wonderful surprise... a bus all lit up! He really loved it! We really had a great time!

I Want To Be Just Like You Dad!

This past week has been so fun watching these boys. I kept finding them wanting to be more and more like Dad! Dad dropped his hat, and Marcus was so quick to pick it up and then slid into Dad's shoes. He was so excited and he kept saying "look Dad!" Today then we were getting ready for church I realized Tyson and Dad's eyes are quite similar. Then later on when were relaxing together after church Tyson crawled over to Dad and they were dressed just the same. I sure wouldn't mind if they really did turn out just like Dad.

Making Cheesecake

Last night Marcus helped me make a cheesecake. He loves to do anything that I let him do, but his favorite part is licking the beaters. He also had a lot of fun with his "hat". If you look closely then you can see the cool whip packaging seal on his head. It is crazy how they love the weirdest things. He wore it all night, it was so funny!

Sick But Still Lookin' Good!

This past week our sweet boys have been sick. Marcus had an ear infection along with a really bad runny nose and Tyson has had a bad runny nose. It is kind of sad to see them so miserable. Marcus will be playing and then run over to me and say "nose, nose" wanting me to quickly have him blow his nose. He really is getting quite good at it. Although Tyson isn't quite feeling up-to-par, he is getting around better and better each day. In the middle picture it looks like Tyson is walking around, but really he is just getting good at climbing.

Just Walking Around

We went to Minnehaha Falls and there were leaves everywhere! It was so much fun to play in them, Marcus really loved crunching the leaves. My favorite part though was watching these two boys walking around.

Trick or Treat!

The fun started when Dad came home early from school and took the family to find Halloween costumes - this is a big deal considering Brian doesn't care much for the holiday. Marcus always wears every boot he can find so this was a pretty good excuse to get him his own cowboy boots and of course what cowboy would be complete without a black Stetson and a red bandana. Tyson almost got in on the cowboy action with a red hat of his own, but despite his abnormally large head, he still needs to grow a few sizes before he will own one himself. The trick or treat action was intense with Marcus saying "more candy, more candy" between every door. We wondered if he would even understand what he was doing but I guess it isn't that difficult - all you need to do is knock on a door, look cute, and get some candy in a bucket.

Dancin' With the Animals

Marcus was having fun with his dancing frog today. You can't see the frog but he dances too. He was having so much fun that he had to include his Lion! We danced for quite a while, I loved it! Oh to be young again!

The Last of the Good Weather

Today we went to Como Lake for a little walk. We have been trying to get outside as much as possible while we still can.

While we were on our walk we saw a bald eagle! We couldn't believe it- in the middle of a metro area! It's not the best picture but we promise it is a bald eagle.

Here's our boys! Tyson has finally got a tooth! We think that there are more on the way. They are having lots of fun now that they both can get around.

A Little Piece of Ty

Tyson just turned 9 months today! He is getting big, we went to the doctor today and found out that he now weights 18 lb and 7 oz (18th percentile), is 27 inches long (12th percentile), and 18 1/4 inches for his head (80th percentile). So pretty much he is small except for his head! He is doing great and we sure love him!

Jeana!

This past weekend Jeana came to visit! It was so much fun to have her come and be with our family! It was our own little vacation! Marcus and Tyson really had so much fun with Jeana, Marcus is still talking about her! Some of the things we were able to do while she was here were: Como Lake for a good morning walk, Children's Museum, St. Paul Temple, Mall of America, Minnehaha Falls, and we even topped it off with a visit to the Cheesecake Factory. Thanks so much for coming to visit us Jeana we love you so much or as Marcus would say..."much!"

Tyson's Crawling!

Tyson is just starting to get around! He really hasn't officially started crawling but is doing some sort of army crawl. It is really fun! It happened pretty quick, and I don't think it will be too long until he really starts going! This picture is Tyson just getting on his hands and knees and bouncing, he sure is having a lot more fun getting around now.

Conference Weekend

This past weekend was wonderful! It was so nice to have our whole family together watching conference. The boys really did great too. We just had to keep them entertained. This is the fort that Brian made for Marcus Sunday afternoon. I am sorry that I didn't get much of it but I was good to get anything...our camera was dying. Marcus had so much fun and even a little too much fun, at one point he tried jumping off the couch onto the suspended blanket and fell onto the ground, but still came up smiling. The best part for me was to see how proud his father was to be making a fort for his son. I sure love my family!

Just Messin' Around!

This past week has been lots of fun playing with the boys! Here are just some fun pictures.

"I Got Called on a Mission!"

My brother Jake, just received his Mission call to.... Chicago, Illinois. He will be speaking Spanish! We are all really excited for him. He is just moving a little closer to US!! Yea! We are already trying to think of reasons that we need to go there, just so that by some slim chance we can see him. We are really sad that he is leaving before we get to see him again. He leaves for the MTC in November, and we won't be home until December. We thought for sure he wouldn't leave before Christmas but we were wrong! We sure are proud of you Jake! We love you so much, good luck getting ready.

A Little About Our Family

I was tagged by Catlin so here it goes...

Eight habits/facts about our family:

1. Marcus has to eat right when he wakes up, if I try and do anything else he really gets mad, he just has to have his bowl of rice krispies and raspberry jam!

2. I can't stand feet! I don't know why, but if anyone puts their feet by me, I cringe.

3. If Marcus takes a toy away from Tyson, he will really scream, if anyone else does he doesn't get too mad.

4. Brian hates it when people sit at a booth and they are both on the same side with nobody else on the other side of them.

5. Marcus has a habit of closing doors, if we are all ready to go downstairs he looks around, sees his bedroom door open, and then goes back to his bedroom and closes the door. It really is pretty cute!

6. It drives me crazy when people have their turning signal on and they are not turning!

7. Tyson will scream every time I take him out of the bath...he really loves his baths.

8. Brian will often enjoy a good bowl of cold cereal in the middle of the night.

I tag anyone who looks at this!

"I'm a Big Boy Now!"

This past weekend our neighbors gave us a toddler bed, I don't know how we got so blessed! Well, so far it has been wonderful! The first night he just kept waking up, I don't think he knew where he was, but since then he has been doing great! We are so proud of Marcus! Well see how he continues to do. Hopefully he will stay in bed, we'll see!

"It's Raining It's Pouring..."

We haven't lived in Minnesota very long, but I think that it is safe to say that you never know what you are going to get! We were planning on good weather tonight, but instead we got a down poor (that river is usually our sidewalk). It was a little after Brian had gotten home from getting Grandpa, and we started to get lighting and a whole lot of rain. We were sure glad that we could stay in for the rest of the night! Brian and Grandpa ended up getting a lot of work done and I thought it was pretty fun to see father and son on their laptops.