Bachelor Week

Sarah and the boys went to Tyler this past week which left me as a bachelor for 10 days. I used this time to get in as much hunting and fishing as possible before Ms. Claire shows up. I met my fishing buds from Houston last weekend in the big city of Seadrift for a couple of days fishing at Bayflats lodge. It was a great time with some great guys. Thanks to Sarah for letting me go and for the Flemings for helping watch the kids. Here are some pics of what we did.

A cold day, but lots of fun

Heath with a big red on the lure he designed. They are for sale soon!

We waded from 7 till 5. Pretty good workout!

Telling fishing stories(Lies)

Box full of reds

Fishing makes Jeremy hungry!

Heath with a nice stringer!

Stinky old boar I shot at the farm. We have caught or killed 20 so far!

We went hog dogging in Columbus but couldn't track any down.Those dogs were incredible! I wouldn't want one of those pit bulls after me. They are beefy.

Trip to Kilgore

Last Thursday we headed to Kilgore to spend the day with my grandparents. It was a beautiful day and the boys love playing in their big backyard. Cooper remembered hiding easter eggs the last time we were over there, so the boys asked to hunt easter eggs. Papa and I "hid" them for the boys and they ran around picking them up. They did this numerous times and it wore them out!

Cooper hunting eggs.

The boys hiding their eyes.

Tyler looking for his eggs.

Showing off their stash. You can see in the picture how hard Papa and I hid the eggs. The funny thing was the boys would run right by some of the eggs because they had spotted some further out in the yard.

After we went back inside to warm up, Great Gramm found an old tea set and we decided to have a tea party! The boys loved pouring their "tea" in the cups and we only had to refill the teapot a thousand times! They had some crackers with their "tea".

Tyler sipping his tea.

They had some teddy bears join them at their party.

Great Gramm watching over Cooper as he poured his tea.

Cooper enjoying his party.

Concentrating hard so he wouldn't spill.

The boys played the rest of the afternoon. Here they are taking everyone's orders:

Tyler serving Grandpappy.

Grandpappy sending his coffee back because he didn't want sugar!

The boys with their great grandparents.

This picture was taken after everybody (including grandpappy) woke up from their naps. They all look like they are zoned out!

Snow Day!

This morning I was getting dressed upstairs at my parents house when Tyler ran up and announced, "Mama, it's snowing outside!" We ran to the window and sure enough it was snowing! The boys immediately said that they wanted to go outside and play in the snow. I got them bundled up the best that I could and we headed outside to play. Tyler went out in it right away, but Cooper didn't want anything to do with it. He eventually rode the blue car out into it. Here are a couple of pictures from this morning. The boys didn't last long because it was cold, but they have enjoyed watching it snow. It is really coming down hard right now, but I don't think it is expected to stick.

Tyler stuck an umbrella in the car he was riding so he wouldn't get wet.

Since we live in South Texas we don't have any gloves for the boys so we improvised and used socks!

Tyler walking into the snow for the first time!

Road Trip

Travis left on Friday for his annual fishing trip so I headed to Tyler with the boys to get in one last visit before baby Claire's arrival. We have been busy exploring outside...

throwing sticks in the mud...

watching cartoons...

and playing at the children's museum.

Today it is cold outside so we are staying home and playing inside. We have a lot more planned for the rest of the week. We will be heading to Kilgore to visit my grandparents, going to Dallas for dinner with a friend, and heading to Canton for some shopping. Mom and I have already hit up the mall to shop for the kids and amazingly enough the boys came home with more than Claire!

Brotherly Love

Tyler Update

Tyler helping me make sugar cookies.

Tyler wanted to help Daddy paint Claire's room.

Working in construction at the Children's Museum.

Tyler is almost 4 and is VERY excited about his upcoming birthday. He constantly talks about how he wants to have a birthday party and who he would like to attend. He also knows that Claire will be here soon after his birthday.

Tyler loves going to school and has become really good buddies with another little boy in his class. He is very outgoing and will pretty much talk to anyone, which cracks me up because Travis and I were not like that as little kids. Tyler is very smart and has been doing great memorizing his verses for AWANA. He is always asking about the time, the day of the week, and where we are going to go during the day. Tyler loves helping us around the house- cleaning, cooking, or working in the yard. For whatever reason, Tyler HATES wearing long-sleeves. Thankfully we live in a warm climate and he will be able to wear short sleeves the majority of the year.

Tyler is generally a very sweet boy but he has been going through a hard stage at home right now- he is constantly testing us with his lack of obedience and we are trying discipline him consistently. He is very obedient at school so that makes me feel good and I was very happy to find that out from his teacher. I know that all kiddos go through this, but it is exhausting! The other day he was running from me because he didn't want to be disciplined and I was waddling through the house trying to catch him!!! I'm usually quick on my feet, but at 30 weeks pregnant I'm not so quick!

We have also had some great times with Tyler recently. One day recently we were playing in the treehouse and it was a gorgeous day. I was telling the boys what a beautiful day it was and I asked them who made the beautiful day for us. They replied that God had made the day for us. Tyler then went on to say that maybe one day we could go to God's house. I went on to tell him that if he believed in Jesus that one day he would get to go to God's house. I told him that Mommy and Daddy believed in Jesus and we would get to go to God's house one day. He told me that he believed in Jesus and of course Cooper chimed in that he believed in Jesus too! A couple days later Tyler randomly told me that he hoped Claire would get to God's house. I told him that I also hoped that Claire would get to go. It is so sweet to hear them talk about Jesus and I hope that one day they will get to go to God's house.

We love you, Tyler!

Cooper

I haven't done an update on the boys in awhile, so I decided to write one so I can look back and remember them at this age. Cooper is 2 1/2 and he is getting so big! He is really turning into a little boy and growing out of that baby stage. He has an amazing vocabulary and can tell us exactly what he wants. He is the biggest sweetheart and gives the BEST hugs! He loves to snuggle and wants us to "sleep with him" at bedtime. We will both lay down with him for a few minutes and sing songs or talk to him before he goes to sleep. He loves to sing and knows many songs. He is very smart and probably knows almost as much as Tyler at this point (ABC's and counting). He also loves working puzzles. He also adores his big brother (as long as Tyler is being nice) and follows him around saying or doing whatever Tyler does.

We are so proud of Cooper. He has really grown a lot during this last year. He is becoming less clingy and more confident in himself. He walks into his class at school without a fight now and loves his friends.

We love you, Cooper!

Is Claire ready for this?

I know one thing... Claire is going to be one TOUGH girl with these two boys as brothers! The other day I heard them playing in the nursery and found them both in the baby bed with every stuffed animal we own! They were so proud of themselves for climbing in and were so upset when I told them they had to get out! On a different day they had thrown every single ball we own into her crib. Travis and I were discussing it the other day and we decided that she will have to be an easy baby- one that isn't startled by loud noises, yelling, or the rambunctious behavior of her brothers.

They are actually really sweet when they talk about Claire. They tell me that they love her and can't wait to see her. They also tell me that they are going to share certain toys or stuffed animals with her. Tyler also tells me that we need to go to Target to buy baby Claire some stuff! We are all excited about her upcoming arrival!!!