New house bloopers

We tried to take pictures of the boys in front of the new house. We tried a few different times. In case you think our pictures are awesome and wonder if our kids always cooperate (who am I kidding - no one actually believes that!) Regardless here are all the bloopers. I love them. They make me laugh so much.

Godzilla attacks the camera

Tabor says "cheese" but forgot to face the camera

The pinwheel was not a good idea...singing the colors of the wind (whatever that means) or just screaming because he caught some wind.

It was "too bright" - that sun...hate when that happens. Tabor is a mini vampire.

Tabor and that belly. WHY did he stick it out that far? No clue.

We must have said the word belly because that's what he decided to show us.

PUT YOUR SHIRT DOWN!

Oh the pinwheel. That kid LOVES taking pictures (NOT)

Titus joins in on the photo bombing. Thanks Titus.

Poor Titus...I guess Tabor wanted a selfie.

And...we're done.

Potty Trained Tabor

Potty training. The words alone sent a shiver down my spine. I was going to wait until next year before I tried to conquer this. I was told boys take longer and it was a nightmare if you tried it before they were ready. So my motto was wait until he's good and ready and I was SURE he just was NOT ready.

Until suddenly he cried that he did not want to wear his diaper because he wanted to use the potty. I don't know what happened. Wait yes I do. I said diapers are for babies and big boys use the potty. That was it. Then he no longer wanted to wear a diaper.

Well... the hard part is the method we decided to try was a 3-day stay at home method and obviously I wanted to do a weekend because how was I going to watch him while I nursed Titus. Our first available weekend was going to be...January. So we sped read, made a trip to Target and stocked up on M&M's and $1 reward stickers and toys and let him pick out big boy undies. Did he choose cartoons...no he chose "the ones like papa". My 2 year old wears boxer briefs and I think it is the cutest thing ever. (dad was happy because they were cheaper and are supposed to last a long time size-wise before he needs to move up a size - oh of course the finance side of him comes out even in buying kid undies)

He refused to nap these 3 days because he was terrified of getting his bed dirty so for the first time in his life he napped on the couch...and one day fell asleep at dinner - we laughed so hard at this one - we just picked him up and put him to bed.

Ok so...we started. In 3 days he had 3 accidents and that is it. DISCLAIMER: By writing this I realize I am sure to face an accident soon and probably a big one. He always wakes up dry and refuses to use the little potty I bought for the house or the car. (Yes Ty you were right. Ugh that was not fun to admit) I am also NOT writing this to brag. I am writing only that he was ready - probably had been ready for a while.

The funny obstacles we did however face were...he could hold it FOREVER!! He would go 18 hours without peeing and days without doing #2. (Hey this is a blog...and I am not going to gross everyone out. I want to keep my 2-3 readers!!!) Then when he did FINALLY go #2 he had to STAND ON the potty to do it. haha He STOOD to poo and SAT to pee - a little backwards. We finally broke him of this and now he does it all by himself. Listening to him is probably the funniest part. "woah that's a lot of pee!" and "see ya later poop" Oh the life of boys.

AND of course we also dealt with pee everywhere. Poor guy shot straight up and to the right. Monica did mention my bathrooms would never be the same again. I thought she meant because I had to add a mini potty. No. She meant clean. I scrub all 3 toilets EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. and they still don't feel clean to me. Ty says "those toilets have never been that clean" every time he cleans them...and then one second later in comes Tabor. ha! HOWEVER since Tabor's surgery the walls and floor now remain pee free. You are welcome to come over now and use our potties. :) Well at your own risk...I did not say the potty itself does not get dirty. I do still clean it every day. Multiple times a day. Oh boys.

I am glad I waited until he was ready and I am very grateful that it has been uneventful well other than the having surgery part. Thank you God for making this a smooth transition...next up - out of the crib! Ok...so really how long can they stay in a crib!?! I will let you know! ;-) Titus will have to move into a big boy bed before Tabor does because he is such a climber. Tabor is content in his crib. He loves his sleep and has no reason to change anything yet. Love that one obstacle is behind us now! I am loving every new obstacle and stage that comes up!

SMASH CAKE - the actual day

Obviously it takes more than one post to cover all the details of your birthday. Like I said...1st birthdays are VERY SPECIAL!!! (all birthdays are!) Maybe even more special to your momma than to you.

Your grandma Boo and grandpa Kiki were here on the day of your actual birthday and they helped make it extra special too.

We took you to play at the playground inside Milestone church and then we had lunch at chickfila. There was a lady there that overheard you were the birthday boy and she brought you a balloon and your first ice cream. You were a HUGE fan! I wanted to hug her for making lunch so special!

Then that night after dinner we sang Happy Birthday to you and let you dive into your Smash Cake. You cried and cried at first, but once you had a taste of it and realized what it was...you were in heaven. You ate and ate and ate (shocking! haha) and eventually got bored and crawled off in search of something salty under the table I assume. ha!

We opened a few gifts that night too and your favorite present...was the box. Thank you Kiki & Boo for helping make Titus's birthday so fun. The day was PERFECT!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Titus.

Our first house

We bought a house! After 9 moves in our 8 years of marriage it is VERY exciting to own our very own house! God is SO good!

My favorite part of our neighborhood is our pool and amenity center. We spent most of our summer days here (instead of unpacking- swimming was more fun!)

I haven't taken pictures of the inside yet but we haven't really finished decorating yet. We will get there and until then we are having a blast in our new home.

The entrance to our neighborhood is Tabor's favorite part. He loves to walk by the cowboy, horse and longhorns and every time we drive by it he says "we're almost at the new house". I wonder how long it will be called "the new house"

I'll start posting pictures of the inside soon. You can picture it though you walk in and the study is on the left, guest bath and then the kitchen and dining. On your right is the laundry room, living room and then opens into our bedroom (with master bath and closet- I love the closet). Upstairs is the gameroom, guest room and the two boys' rooms with a bathroom. See you've seen it! ;-)

God has truly blessed us and I am so grateful every single day for everything He has given us.

We have loved every place God has placed us. Starting over isn't easy but we are definitely pros by now and are enjoying discovering new favorites and spending time with our friends and family that have been awesome to come visit. We haven't found a church home yet but we have nearly tried out every church in our area and are closer to making a decision. Hopefully soon we will start getting plugged in and meeting new people.

Titus's FIRST Birthday

Well it's finally here...you're 1st birthday. You are ONE. No matter how much I say it I still can't believe it. You are ONE a big ONE year old!

I cannot believe a year has already flown by and yet I feel like I can't even remember life without you. You are such a sweet part of our lives and we love you so much sweet Titus.

You love climbing and sitting on things and then without notice you tend to fall off (as you did right after the picture above was taken). You are fearless and tough nothing phases you.

You are so easy going and will go with the flow. However, if you want something you are very strong willed and your determination is impressive.

You are sneaky. When you enter "stealth mode" we don't hear or see you until you have already achieved whatever mischief you were set out to accomplish.

Meal times take forever. You could eat all day. We can't wait until you're done because you would never be done.

You pull up on everything and walk "cruise" everywhere but you won't let go.

Your scrunchy nosed smile is one of my favorites. You are always so happy and you love to walk while holding on to our hands unless you think we plan to let go - then you sit down.

You still love to scare us "bah" all. the. time. Your other favorite words are ball, mama and papa.

Your favorite "toy" is the TV Receiver. You get in trouble for touching it probably 7,000 times a day. What is your infatuation with that thing!?! It drives us nuts!

You are our "very hungry caterpillar" you crawl around eating EVERYTHING off the floor. Everything. We have even pulled out a shard of glass from inside your mouth. Like I said. Fearless.

You grunt while you eat if you like what you're eating - and you love all food...so you moan most of the time you are eating.

Your favorite book is "Please Baby Please" and you grunt when it ends until we start reading it over again. Even Tabor can't listen to that book as many times as you can. That's a first!

You LOVE cuddling in your green frog towel after your bath. You insist on standing up during your bath. It is a constant battle trying to get you to sit down.

Your favorite place is Tabor's closet. It's where all the big kid toys are located.

You still sleep with your blanket over your head so we can't see you on the monitor when we check on you. If we pull it off you just put it back on your head.

You LOVE your blanket. You are a little Linus. You suck on it and rub your face in it and carry it around if we let you.

You are very ticklish but you don't like when your Papa tickles your tummy - you try to squirm away.

You do NOT like diaper changes. At ALL.

We could go on and on but this is it. This is a quick snapshot of you as of today. You as a ONE year old. Tomorrow you will learn a million new tricks and something you did today will be a memory from when you were a baby. I can't believe how fast time flies. I know I say it often but it is so true. The hours are long but the years are short. 

I am excited to continue watching as you become a toddler, a "big boy", a young man and someday God willing a godly man. I pray sweet Titus that you grow to love God and that you cherish each day as the gift that it is. We love you with all we have. You have blessed our lives more than we thought could even be possible. It is true that with each child born you are blessed with infinite amounts of love in addition to the infinite amounts you already thought you had. You are a cuddly sweet little boy and a huge part of our lives. Thank you God for entrusting us with Baby Titus and thank you Titus for letting us love you so much. I can't believe you are ONE.

Titus 11 months

Oh sweet baby boy you're 11 months old. You're doing so much and time is flying so quickly. SLOW DOWN! I can't believe you're nearly ONE. 

You can stand now. You love to stand and reach everything and touch everything you're not supposed to. You love to climb and cruise. I know those first steps are around the corner but for now if we stand you up and let go...you sit. 

I love watching you crawl (you wiggle your hiney). You are getting fast but the funniest part is still how quiet you are. You can disappear in seconds.

You still have the cutest smile and it's so funny how you can smile and then have zero expression on your face within seconds. It makes us laugh.

You LOVE to be upside-down and to flip off the couch. You are a little daredevil!! I am scared of what you'll get into soon enough. You're definitely going to keep us on our toes.

You love to scare us by saying "boo" it's the only thing you'll do on command. (It sounds like "bah") and you think it's really funny to do it over and over.

We love you sweet little Titus. God thank you for blessing us with this little life that brings us so many smiles each and every day. We love watching as your little personality forms and we love watching you explore and learn new things everyday. Happy 11 months sweet baby boy.

Catching up to life

(Thanks titi Mari for the super cute shirts)

Life has been CRAZY. However my absence blogging is not because I no longer wish to blog. No I love to blog and I LOVE documenting our crazy blessed and joyfully insane moments if not for my 2 readers (or 3) well definitely for myself because for my birthday Ty IS going to print this blog for me to stick under the coffee table (which at the moment is holding our year books because a. they looked pretty (my opinion -not Ty's) and b. because we were opening that box at the same moment I realized the coffee table needed "something") - in case you cared to know all that.

My point though in writing this particular blog is to say I am trying to catch up. I know that may mean I never will catch up but I am hoping I do. I will try to catch up quickly because so much has happened I really want to record it.

So...here goes. I will catch up to the life that has quickly flown by us and try very hard to start living life rather than playing catch up everyday. (I mean this not just in the blogging sense) It has just been a very busy season in our lives. Another new start. Many new blessings from God. We are so grateful for everything He has done and is doing in our lives. So with that being said here goes. Off to catch up.