McCoy family of 4!

Quick catch up!

2012-01-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas we have been SO SO busy!!! Here is a quick catch up of what we've been up to!

One evening Brandi and Took invited us all to the Mavericks game! Miles' first Mavs game!

Dylan has stopped wanting to take pictures...so this was the best I got...

Miles LOVES to eat any AND everything he can get his little slimy fingers on! This day it was the junk mail...

And Dylan is hunting bears.

Lots of haning out at Honey and Pop's house...again Dylan was running from me so I wouldn't take his picture.

I'm not sure if he likes swinging or chewing on the strap more...

Mom and I went on an impromptu trip to the zoo to use our zoo pass one last time!

We've done lots of this on the weekends...

I love this fuzzy headed little man!!

Cute!!

Morning breakfast!

Miles is officially pulling up! This kid NEVER EVER stops moving! Dylan didn't even start crawling until he was 8 months, Miles isn't even 7 and he is already crawling everywhere and pulling up! Clearly, he is proud of himself!

Miles is on the move!

2012-01-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

New ground

2012-01-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

****NOTE: long, very long, no pictures post*****

I wish I could say this is an upbeat, funny, post - but really it is a "this sucks/I hate that Dylan is growing up" kind of post :(

As I've said before, I am struggling with D turning 5. 5 is BIG. Kindergarten, a whole hand old, and SO much more grown up, and independent. We've been getting an unusual amount of attitude from our generally laid back little man. I know it's normal, but we just aren't used to it. (And I know this is just the beginning). With him being our first child its just so weird to know that you are embarking on very very new ground in which you have no previous experience. Dustin and I are really good at completely dependent, generally compliant, but attitude...WHOA! What do I do with that??? The first time he made himself throw up from being forced to eat something he didn't want to my first reaction was to rub his nose in it, afterall, the only thing I'd ever raised was a dog and with dogs you show them what you're mad about and then yell...DON'T CALL CPS...I DIDN'T rub my child's nose in vomit!!! However, as a parent when you know you are on something brand new you question yourself! "Am I doing this right??" and usually you have all of 5 seconds to figure it out!

Anyway.......yesterday I picked up D from school and as I was catching up with his teacher he came up to me several times in a short amount of time, almost frantic about leaving. "COME ON MOM!!" He urgently insisted we needed to leave! So, literally mid-conversation we bolted *WEIRD* So while he practically ran out of the building I tried to slow him down and out came the attitude. Even racing didn't snap him out it, which has always worked before! So we get in the car and he proceeds to get annoyed with the seat belt - again, *WEIRD*. So I try to help and he gets snappy with me *what is with my child??* I threaten time-out when we get home, but he still doesn't want me to help. Finally...
     - I ask "Dylan, is something wrong?"
     - Dylan, "No!"
   - Me "Are you sure? Did something happen at school today?"
   - Dylan - "I'M JUST SO TIRED OF "F" (omitted name), HE WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE AND KEEPS HITTING ME!!!!!" (all-the-while he is now crying)

     - Me - stunned.....

I proceeded to apologize for his bad day, get out and climb in the backseat to comfort him - really I wanted to cry and go beat up little 5 year old "F." Now, this is NOT the first I've heard of this particular little darling, almost every day there is mention of him being mean to someone...and I know other Mom's have made mention of him...but...

New Ground. Heart. Breaking. Ground.

I'm a teacher, I get paid to deal with little terds all. day. long. (sounds worse than it really is, I love my job) However, I've dealt with my fair share of kids picking on one-another and all out bullying, but none of them were mine.

We talked about it in the parking lot of the school, I shed a secret tear once seated comfortably out of sight, go to pick up Miles, and then I call another parent in his class (also a teacher at my school) to get a second opinion.

New Ground

Short story long...we talk about it as a family and I call his teacher just to make her aware, but really...it has set in that we are on new ground. Brand. New. REEEAAALLLY shaky Ground. UGH!

Really, this is a blog for me, to vent, and express how incredibly hard it is to see and watch your child hurt. To teach him everything you know, while not knowing if you're teaching him the right thing. Where is the child raising manual?? We've done some role-playing, made his teachers aware, and today he apparently stood up to his classmate (he was kind of mean about it, but its a start), Dylan is a bit of a push-over and can be really sensitive, but where do you draw the line between telling the teacher what is going on and taking up for yourself?? Again...They forgot to give me my child raising manual at the hospital...

Did I mention he's FIVE! OHEMGEE...he isn't even in Kindergarten and I already feel overwhelmed. So, to those of you with kids enjoy those oh so very sweet years in which you can guard them from meanness. At some point, and in a split second, a very mundane Tuesday afternoon, you WILL find yourself on very very new and unstable ground.

If you're still reading, thanks. I needed that :)

Christmas Eve with the Sniders

2012-01-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Christmas Eve with my side of the family. Dylan and Lance were antsy and couldn't hardly wait to open presents so we opened them pretty early before heading to the candle light service at my parent's church.

Dylan was not in the mood to take any more pictures!

He is adorable, drool and all.

Dylan helped Miles open his presents...

And Miles ate the paper...

Honey and Pops got Miles a SWEET wagon!!

Honey and Pops got Dylan a new fishing pole!

Fits Lance PERFECTLY!

I got new red Toms!

We were shocked to get our new camera lens (this picture was taken with the new lens, Dad insisted that Mom wrap the box!) haha

Everyone got a new ice scrapper/ice brush! Wahoooo!

Mom and her burlap Toms from Erin, Darrin, and the kiddos!

We were at my parents house really late and Dylan was dragging because he was so excited about his new Wii Cars 2 game, but we talked to Darrin and Erin and they said that Santa had already been to the Dominican, I've never seen his face so serious and his little body move so fast! We were out the door in a flash! We wrote our letter, left out the cookies and milk and he was in bed!

Loving Christmas break!

2012-01-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe it but our break is almost over...I'm really sad. I've enjoyed these priceless days with my boys SO much!!!

One day we took Dylan's bike to my parents to work on riding his bicycle without training wheels. It is still a work in progress but it is coming along.

Then it was off to bake snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, and sugar cookies...

Back to bike riding...

This guy was super duper cute!! Notice the crazy amount of drool...I keep thinking teeth are going to come in at any moment, but not yet!

Later that evening when Pops got home and after dinner, Pops taught Dylan the artform of "dunking"

Ahhhh...great day :)

Dumb blue jacket!

2011-12-30T11:43:00.000-08:00

You have to know a little history about this first...

My parents did almost a complete re-model of their house and lost a ton of storage closets. So to prepare my Mom got rid of a TON of stuff! One of the things in the Goodwill pile was this navy blue jacket that my Dad has had for years!! He threw a fit about getting rid of it, but she got rid of it anyway...atleast so he thought :)

While we were in Bethalto for Thanksgiving I heard him mention that dumb blue jacket 2 or 3 times but we all kept mum! Watch and see...

6 month and 5 year stats

2011-12-30T11:38:00.000-08:00

I was off on my prediction! Miles was smaller than I thought - still a big boy, but smaller than I thought!

27 3/4 inches - 92%! Long boy!
18.1 lbs. - 76% (shrimp) :)
38% for head circumference

Dylan's 5 year stats:
44 inches tall - 70%
43.6lbs. - 67%
and the stop doing head circumference but I'm sure his is over average :)

Northpark Trains!

2011-12-29T19:47:00.001-08:00

This is our 3rd year to make it to see the Northpark Trains and every year Dylan gets more and more excited about them! We were really excited to see the trains with Will!! Will is REALLY into trains at the moment so this was going to be super exciting for him!

Sweet Miles chillin' in the stroller! He was such a good boy!

Dylan and Will waiting for story time with Santa! (they sat there for 5 minutes and didn't seem that excited so we actually didn't stick around)

Dustin and Kevin snuck off to Brookstone

Waiting in line

Talk to the hand Mom.

Such a cutie! He was LOVING IT!

He escaped the stroller for a little while!

Quick catch up!

2011-12-29T19:44:00.000-08:00

Just some random pictures taken here and there!

First time trying baby food...gross!! A mixture of snot, drool, and peas!

Dylan in his underwear and Will playing with the Cars racetrack

Such a happy boy!

Going...

going...

GONE! haha

This was a first for baby boy! He is NOT one to fall asleep in the floor! He LOVES his bead!

Later in the day was when the crazy bouncy seat moves officially started, he realized he can sit in it and soon thereafter he realized he can flip over and then scoot out! Funny boy!

Heart that laugh

Green bean grabber!

2011-12-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

Party!!

2011-12-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm just now getting to the big 5 year old birthday party!! It was so much fun and Dylan had all his best friends there to celebrate!!

Running around with all his friend before the instructions video

Watching intently

The McCoy fam watching wild man Will jump! :) He had a blast!

There he is...

Our favorite neighbors, James and Elise

Dylan has lots of great friends, but Zachary is definitely his "best friend"

Miles even got some jumping in and LOVED it!

The whole gang (notice I even got one of his sweet girl friends to hold Miles, she was pumped!!)

Pizza time with James and Owen!

Sophia and Kylin

The party wouldn't have been complete without his best "girl" friend Jordan! Isn't she adorable!??

Honey and Mimi with their favorite youngest grandson ;)

Miles was pooped after all that jumping!

Uncle J giving D his birthday spankings!

We had a blast celebrating my sweet boys 5th birthday! I still am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he is, in fact, 5 and will go to kindergarten next year but yet, I'm also excited to see what this next year will bring!

Happy half birthday biggin' boy!

2011-12-29T08:20:00.001-08:00

I am trying to figure out what is going on with my Windows Live Writer and that is why I've failed to catch up on blogging, however, I cannot skip the fact that my sweet Miles is half a year old today! He is becoming SO much fun and VERY VERY vocal!!

I cannot believe it's already been 6 months since this sweet boy came into our family. I can still very vividly remember being scared to death what this addition would mean for our family, and I now know that it means we've doubled our love! Seriously, I couldn't love this sweet boy more!!! A couple of important things about Miles is that he is now LOVING baby food! He hasn't turned anything down yet and I doubt he will. His favorite foods are well...everything, fruits, veggies, yogurt, puffs...he'll eat it! And if you don't keep it coming fast enough, he'll grunt/squeal/scream at you to keep it coming! He can sit on his own and is on the verge of crawling. He will get up on all fours and rock and rock but no crawling just yet. He will scoot backwards though! Today for the first time he managed to go from laying down to sitting on his own! (It is always so crazy at this phase when you put them down one way and come back and they are in a different position...) but yep, there he was proud as could be, sitting. He has this crazy fuzzy hair!! Back around Dylan's birthday I got him out of bed, and there it was, fuzz!! It sticks straight up the way mine did when I was little! It is darker than Dylan's was but I feel like he's looking more and more like his big brother, except for the darker hair. Speaking of big brother...He LOVES his big brother! He lights up when he comes into the room and plays with him. He is still toothless but I feel like one could come through, Lord knows he drools enough! We go to the doctor tomorrow so I'll update with his 6 month stats, but my guess is that he is 20+ pounds! He is a big boy just like his brother was!

Sweet reindeer!

Another example of you sit them down and come back to something different...he thinks flipping over in his bouncy seat is so fun!

His new best friend, Sophie the giraffe

Our Santa is very practical and brought M a new highchair!

Trying a puff for the first time - he has since come to love them :)

2011-12-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

An exciting development...Miles sits! Overnight he suddenly could do it all by himself! After awhile he gets tired and falls over but he does it longer every day!

Big boy!

2011-12-27T19:24:00.001-08:00

Miles LOVES his changing table!! It is like a reset button. Usually if he is in a horrible mood if you put him up there he is instantly in a better mood!

I'm speechless.

2011-12-21T21:39:00.001-08:00

but I heard this song on the radio today and I just can't stop thinking about it. It is by Francesca Battestelli (whom I'd never heard before) but I'm obsessed...so read (download on iTunes to hear)

Hold on now, I gotta take a deep breath
I don`t know what to say when I look in your eyes
You made the world before I was born
Here I am holding you in my arms tonight
Noel, noel, Jesus our Emmanuel

You`re here, I`m holding you so near
I`m starring into the face of my savior, king and creator
you could`ve left us on our own, but you`re here
don`t know how long I`m gonna have you for
But I`ll be watching when you change the world
I Look at your hand, they`re still so small
Someday you`re going to stretch them out and save us all
Noel, noel, God with us Emmanuel

You`re here, i`m holding you so near
I`m staring into the face of my savior, king and creator
They could`ve left us on our own, but you`re here you`re here
someday i`m gonna look back on this
The night that god became a baby boy
Someday you're gonna go home again,
But you leave your spirit and flood the world with joy

You`d be here, i`m holding you so near
I`m staring into the face of my savior, king and creator
They could`ve left me on my own, but you`re here you`re here
Hallelujah you`re here hallelujah
You`re here

As a Mom I cannot fathom the responsibility of birthing the savior. What a lot of pressure! I can't imagine staring at my newborn thinking "you're going to die for me, you are going to save the entire world" Wow. I could go line by line marveling and thinking about what Mary must have thought when she found out that she had been chosen to be Jesus' "Mom" or the moment that she looked at him and knew that he was never truly hers to have.

Truly, my words aren't enough.. I stare at my children and wonder what they'll be like when they grow up. I've tried to raise them in a way that is pleasing to God, and I hope that they grow up to love the Lord, love people, and so much more. BUT to raise a child knowing he is God is a whole other ballgame.

Conversely, I LOVE my children. Just that sentence doesn't do justice to the way that I feel for them. I would gladly lay down my life for them, but this song really opens my eyes to the fact that my God allowed his own son to die for us. Again. Wow. To let one of my boys die for me, no. stinking. way. I don't think you can truly understand what God did for us; you just can't fully wrap your mind around it, until you have your own children. The love you have for your children is totally different than any other love out there.

Speechless.

Love. This. Song.

Photo Card

2011-12-09T12:43:00.001-08:00

Initially Merry Christmas

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Cute cousins!

2011-12-05T20:00:00.001-08:00

Look at these two reindeers! Aren’t they adorable??

2011 Dumplin’ Drop

2011-12-05T19:57:00.001-08:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thanksgiving in Illinois!! We go every other year and I love it! I only see my extended family once a year so the time that we are there is special!

There is something about making chicken and dumplin’s for 30+ people that is so fun! Everyone has a designated “job” and it is times like these though that I miss the best supervisor/all time taster (Grandpa). Grandma is now the “supervisor” and Dad gladly stepped in as “taster” :)

Getting things ready…

Brianna, Dylan, and Mom doing the mixing.

Giving Dylan lessons in cutting

This picture cracks me up…there is an assembly line of flour, eggs, and chaos going on around Miles and Grandma stood there for a good 10 minutes while he finished off his bottle!

Honey’s little assistant

There are the “droppers” (yes, there is a special method to dropping in the dumplin’s)

Pretty Grandma and my boys

Until 2013…

Dylan turns 5!?!?

2011-12-05T19:37:00.001-08:00

I’m not sure how it happened but my “baby” turned 5. I was SO emotional the weeks leading up to the big date but held it together pretty well on the actual day.

My sweet Dylan,

How is it possible that you are 5?!? I can remember everything about that day, and it will be a day I never forget.

I am so proud of the sweet boy that you are. You are sympathetic, and passionate, you are VERY inquisitive, talkative, loving, and generous. You are loved by your teachers and they have more than once told you Dad and I what a focused, fun-loving, and kind boy you are. You are the BEST big brother!! You never complain when asked to help with Miles and have never complained when you haven’t gotten as much attention because we were taking care of Miles. You also LOVE to get Miles laughing, and he thinks you are hilarious!! You adore your Mimi, Honey, and Pops and can hardly wait to see all your aunts and uncles. You are great with your cousins and they watch every move you make. You have an infectious laugh and a witty sense of humor. You pride yourself in your unmatched foot speed :) and your incredible Cars collection. You have your moments when you are incredibly emotional and sensitive, but have gotten much better at recovering when you have a “noodle” moment. You are a “pleaser” and want to do right (which would be why you go to time-out rarely) but you can have an attitude when you are tired. You keep us laughing and entertained ALL the time!

Your Dad and I love you more than you’ll ever know and we pray that these next 5 years will be as wonderful as the first 5.

Happy Birthday my love!

The State Fair of Texas

2011-11-06T07:09:00.001-08:00

We had planned on going as a family to the fair, but due to the sickness mentioned in the past post, Dustin was down (Dylan was good for the fair but ended up getting it eventually, as did Mimi) and I was finally feeling better. So Dylan and I had a Mommy-Dylan date! We had a blast! Dylan would have ridden all of the rides (or so he thinks) but the fair is so expensive!! I now understand why my Dad was never a fan of it! haha

We hit up the Midway first, and Dylan was very excited to go through his first fun house!

He remembered the bumper cars that he went on at the “world’s fair” when he went to Bethalto with my parents, so when we saw them he had to ride!

They had studied Cowboys the previous week at school so Dylan was pumped to see Big Tex. In the book they read it talked about how Big Tex could talk. So Dylan stood at the bottom screaming up at Big Tex because he thought he could talk to him. The group of high school girls standing there thought he was super cute :)

Pumped to be sitting in “King” from Cars

The Transformers Car (you can’t see the logo because Dylan is blocking it)

We didn’t eat anything too unusual, Dylan is a pretty good eater but not enough to try anything too out of the ordinary!

The children’s zoo…

Pretending to be a farmer…

Picking apples…

Milking the cow…

Planting corn…

And driving the tractor…

He took his farming responsibilities very serious!

We had a blast, but hope that we’ll all be healthy to go next year!

This face…

2011-10-10T19:53:00.001-07:00

Does this face look like it could take out half of our family?? Well…it can. I got sick Saturday night with the stomach virus and it lasted through Sunday, Honey, Pops, and Daddy went down today…I’m just praying it doesn’t take out any other members of the family. The two at high risk are Mimi and Dylan. Tomorrow is Mimi’s birthday, I’m praying hard that Mimi isn’t sick on her birthday (or at all for that matter) and that Dylan manages to stay well!!! But that face is cute…

Picture dump...

2011-10-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

I take so many great sweet pics of these boys on my phone that it is a shame not to share!

Miles still LOVES to be swaddled. He sleeps much better when he is. And every time he manages to get his sweet little feet out - just like me :) When I sleep I love to be buried in the covers, except that I love for my feet to be sticking out!

My sweet little cowboy before his Cowboy cookout at school

Such a sweet happy boy on a Saturday morning!

He was so excited to have me sitting in the backseat with him on the way to Fort Worth

Testing out the new jumperoo - he LOVES this thing! I can't wait until he starts to really jump!

Silly Daddy was so excited about the Newsies...I've never seen it, but apparently it was a very memorable movie in the lives of the McCoy boys!

I was very excited, Mimi was able to bring Dylan to Wallace for the Wallace Wannabes playgroup. This day they went to P.E. and my homeroom class just so happen to be the class in there helping. My students were SOO excited to meet Dylan! It was also so nice to be able to see him during the school day.

Breakfast Picnic

2011-10-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

The boys and I went for a breakfast picnic a few weeks back! Dylan knows that I don't eat McDonalds unless it is breakfast. I love their oatmeal, fruit smoothies and coffee. So one morning after he had come to snuggle with me in bed we said "You know how you like McDonalds for breakfast? We should go get some." - Funny kid. So we did exactly that.

Doesn't he looks so excited! :)

After eating he said - "Look, my shadow dances!"

My sweet boys!

More shadow dancing...

I love him to pieces

Aaaand...more shadow dancing...

We were having so much fun that he actually barely played on the playground. I love some good quality time with my two sweet boys!

Miles' Sip-N-See

2011-10-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Adorable table and yummy goodies!

These ladies are the best!!

Hostess of the mostess

Yummy goodies!

Thank you SO much to these lovely ladies! I have the best (and prettiest) friends ever!!

Waaay behind...and waaaay late...

2011-10-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

But I can't forget to blog about Dustin's birthday!!

Around our house we celebrate "birthday week" so Dylan and I treated him extra nice for a week and did a few little things throughout the week. One of which was scheduling a camping trip that they are going on this weekend! We celebrate birthdays a little different around here...and in Dustin's terms that means running an all out 400m. Special, I know. So we loaded up and headed to the Lake Highlands H.S. track.

Dustin getting all warmed up!

M is pumped to see Daddy run!

Mimi, Brandi, Kevin, and Will all came out to cheer on their crazy brother/son/uncle.

The only 4 year who knows how to start out of "blocks" - yes he used that term!

That weekend we went over to Fort Worth to celebrate with Justin at Joe T. Garcias!! It was amazing weather and these two knuckleheads had a great time dancing by the fountain!h

Sweet Will!

Will is a dipper...he will dip anything...into anything. Here he is dipping his chip into his water. To each his own ;)

Back and Uncle J's house for presents and cake - Don't they have this "I'm really too old to be sung to anymore" look on their faces? - No, that comes next year!!

Happy Birthday Dustin and Justin we hope your birthday was fabulous! Enjoy this last year in your 20s!

Waaaaaaay back when...

2011-09-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

we had an awesome time at the circus! It's been months since we were lucky enough to go to the circus with the Tookers and it was so much fun! Don't let my delay in blogging about it say otherwise...

Aren't they adorable!?

The whole gang!

I love the tigers!

Dylan loves the bikes!! It is intense!!!

We really had so much fun and thank you Brandi and Kevin for taking us with you!

Look-Alike

2011-08-29T21:32:00.001-07:00

I’m on a blogging-role. I was going through pictures of Dylan when he was about 2 months old and I realized that these two look a lot more alike than I realized. M has much darker skin and hair, and D had/has a bigger head but other than that I like they look remarkably similar. What do you think?

Extended summer

2011-08-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

This has been the most life changing summer of my life! It has been more wonderful than I ever could have imagined and it is slipping away much faster than I want it to! (school technically started a week ago, but I'm enjoying my extended summer). I've always liked the idea of being a stay-at-home Mom but never thought that in reality it would be for me. I get cabin fever quickly! I need out of the house often and therefore, didn't think being at home with my kids would be something I'd like for longer than a summer. I also like having grown-up conversations. Dylan is truly my buddy, I love his creativity and grown up conversations. And Miles is such a snuggle bug!! I could talk to him and listen to his coos and watch that gummy smile all day long. Hanging out with my boys, being creative, and mostly just taking time to enjoy things I normally wouldn't has been more rewarding and exciting than I imagined.

I go back to work on Monday, to a new group of kiddos whom I've heard fantastic things about, but part of me longs for more time with these boys! They are only little for such a short amount of time and I want to soak up every second! It isn't in the cards for me and that is okay. I love my job, I love the new possibilities it brings with every new group, and the challenge of pushing and pulling these kids to places they don't think (or don't want) to go. I love seeing former students at the grocery store and knowing that I made a difference. I love feeling like a rock star in Lake Highlands - I cannot go ANYWHERE without seeing students or parents! I love using my creative juices to make science fun and intriguing, and most importantly meaningful, but I think, like many working Moms, our hearts are with our kids. Our biological kids. I'm very lucky to have a job that allows me to be at home with my kids earlier than a normal 8-5, and I'm off for longer stretches during the holidays, no travel or weekends (well maybe a few weekends here and there). So, I am truly grateful for where I am and I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be, but Monday will be a hard day (along with Tuesday, Weds., etc...) and I'll fall back in love with teaching but this summer has made me more in love with my boys than I ever thought imaginable.

So to the summer of 2011...you top the list so far.

Miles 2 Months stats!

2011-08-29T08:46:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it, baby boy is 2 months old today! We went to the doctor this morning and he weighed in at exactly 12 lbs. (75th percentile), which is what Dustin and I had predicted! He has grown 3 inches! He is now at 23 1/4 (70 percentile), but he has a pee-wee head at 15 1/4 (30th percentile!) He for sure does not have the signature melon that the rest of us Snider posses :)

Saved the best for last :)))

Happy Birthday Brandi!

2011-08-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

We hope you have a fantastic birthday! Thank you for being an amazing Aunt to my boys! We love you!

Newborn pictures

2011-08-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

Miles is 8 weeks old and I still haven't posted his ADORABLE newborn pictures!! I LOVE Bella Jewel Photography! She did an amazing job capturing my boys :) For this post I'll let Miles shine but his brother tried really hard to outshine him! haha

Stationery card

2011-08-26T07:20:00.001-07:00

Hello Baby Boy Birth Announcement

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Phone picture dump

2011-08-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

I follow this great blog and every Friday she does a phone picture dump! I love this idea so today I'm stealing it! (I would love to commit to a specific day every week to do this, but know that there is no way I'll do it every week...

Look at that great belly...

My sweet boy at the Ranger gameAt Chuck E. Cheese with Brandi and Will (forgot my good camera)Lonna taking Dylan for a walk...Aren't these two adorable!!! Love them!!

Dylan and another one of us planks...

This and that

2011-08-06T15:47:00.001-07:00

That is a great description of what our summer has been like. With Miles being so small we couldn’t make our regular summer trip to visit my extended family in Illinois and clearly a big vacation was out of the question so we have done a lot of “this and that.”

Lots of tummy time with Miles…

Thanks to uncle Lance planking is a new favorite past time.Miles does A LOT of this still…

Two weekends ago we were very excited that our friends from DBU Jacob and Leslie and their two adorable kids, Jace and Brenley, came to visit and meet little Miles. We had a great time relaxing and swimming! These pictures are horribly out of order…but after I had Miles, Honey found a vacation Bible school for Dylan to attend and he had a blast!! Thank you Honey for picking him up and taking him everyday! You’re the best!! Dylan has become the most creative little guy!! He REALLY enjoys playing with the G2s! Atleast 2 or 3 times a day he will take them all out of the pantry (along with the Spiderman fruit snacks, apple juice, and applesauce), and he plays with them. On this day the green G2 and the blue G2 were the bad guys… Here he is explaining to me what he is playing…but he will play with them forever!!Dylan has started doing his “chores” one of them includes feeding Lonna… Miles chills on his playmat a lot, he really enjoys looking at that monkey and when he’s really excited he wiggles and attempts to swat at it :) One day last week James and Elise came over and did some sword fighting! He LOVES playing with his favorite neighbors!

Sadly enough we only have one more week of summer before school starts back :( :( :((( but luckily I am only going back for the first week and then taking 2 more off!! Woo hoo!!

Conversations with a 4 year old

2011-08-03T11:58:00.001-07:00

I am WAY behind on blogging but before I forget these funny stories I want to get them down!

Over the summer I've had many many funny conversations with Dylan but these 3 seem to stick out as funny or clever!

- After spending a week at vacation Bible school (one of the things I need to blog about) we had many conversations regarding God and Jesus and their love for us. However one day Dylan says, "I remember when dinosaurs were here, but Jesus saved us from the dinosaurs." I respond, " well the dinosaurs were here a very very long time ago, but I guess God didn't want them to hurt us so he got rid of them." haha

- We've been working here and there on lower case letters and the letter sounds, we got to A and I said "A says ah" and Dylan's response was so funny, he said, "it sounds like A is scared AAHHH!" haha I would have never thought that but I'll never forget it!

- Dylan is a big fan of Josh Hamilton and one day while eating lunch he said, "I wonder what Josh Hamilton is doing right now?" I said, "I don't know probably eating lunch too." He said "probably not, I bet he's sitting in the dugout waiting for the game to start." - random :)

I have SO many more but am not great at remembering them all, that is why I have to type them out before I forget!! Oh how I am going to miss him when we have to go back to school :(

Baby boy update

2011-07-22T08:00:00.001-07:00

I can’t believe it has already been 3 weeks since this little guy joined our family! (So far) he has been an angel baby! He sleeps pretty well at night and chills during the day! He has cracked a few smiles but isn’t real consistent yet. It is coming though and I am excited!

His cord stump FINALLY fell off! I had to take him to the doctor because I was afraid it was infected thankfully though, it wasn’t! They also weighed him and he was at 8lbs 14 oz. which means he gained OVER pound in 2 weeks! That explains those fantastic cheeks that are coming back! :)

So because the cord was finally gone…it was time for his first real bath!! Surprisingly he loved it. I hadn’t seen one of these before, it is called a bath buddy and you put it on them to keep warm (although currently it is plenty warm but it also keeps him from peeing all over the place! haha)

Those eyes just aren’t working quite right, but look at those fantastic cheeks and lips!! I can’t keep from kissing them :)

This and that…

2011-07-22T07:43:00.001-07:00

Well incase you somehow have escaped the state and didn’t know…IT. IS. HOT. like, real hot. So to a family with a newborn that means confinement. (Not that those of you who don’t have a newborn are running around in the heat either, but you have a few more options). So, one day out of boredom and cabin fever we went and got this for some cool fun. (granted Miles still can’t come out due to the possibility of being carried away by mosquitoes and again, the crazy heat) but we set up the monitor and big boy and I head out! If you can’t tell…he is a fan of the slip and slide. However, they do not make these as cool as when I was a kid. (that statement makes me seem old, I though about erasing it. I just don’t like the way it sounds) but it is true! Darrin and I used to do some serious slip –n- sliding back in the Field Trail days.

Ours was yellow and if my memory is correct we actually slipped…and slided (not sure that is a word), which meant we made it to the end, and it was much longer than the ones you get today. Regardless, Dylan had fun, and we didn’t bake. It also helps that we have huge trees to keep us shaded. (I love old houses for this reason!)

This is another source of great entertainment and excitement (again, these days it doesn’t take much) below is a picture of Dylan and “ghosty”. The librarian at my school gave this to me for Miles. (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30150984) and D is obsessed with it. He takes it to bed every night and it always makes me laugh when I come in to check on him and find him like this. glowing.

Love them

2011-07-12T06:55:00.001-07:00

It is amazing, I was scared to death about having Miles and how it would affect our family…and turns out when you add one more you love the others even more. Seriously. These 3 are amazing.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-08T13:54:00.001-07:00

We spent the day at my Mom and Dad’s house swimming and eating! What else would you do on the 4th?

Over the weekend I learned that Dylan can swim the entire length of the pool! I knew he could swim well, but I had never thought to see if he could. We were so glad that Brandi, Will, and Mimi were able to join us! Shooting some hoops :) We walked over to watch the fireworks over at the DAC, Dylan was cute saying that every single one was his favorite.

At one point Dylan leaned over and told Dustin that he knew why they were having fireworks. Dustin asked “why” and he responded with “because Miles came out” – SO SWEET! He really thought that we were celebrating Miles :) The “OOOHHH” face.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T19:37:00.001-07:00

Visitors and Going home!

2011-07-06T17:00:00.001-07:00

It was great being in Dallas this time around! With Dylan we lived in Oklahoma City and we hardly knew anyone so we didn’t really have any visitors! This time around we had people come visit!

Dustin’s co-workers took their lunch break to come see sweet Miles. Aunt B and Will came after work one day (Will was not much of a fan of her holding another baby)Ginni and Jaimee made it by to love on us! We were so glad the Billups’ could come by, they have 5 week old Kade that we hadn’t met yet so it was great to see the whole family. Jared and Dustin lived together in college – hard to believe between us there are 5 kids!Friday we finally were cleared to take our new man home!

Dustin and his sweet Daddy backpack! First time in his carseat A neighbor and friend of mine makes these adorable storks! (She was also nice enough to take care of Lonna) She was so sweet to put this out front. Lots of my students know where we live and they’ve been watching for signs that Miles as born so they are well aware that Miles finally made his appearance!

Home sweet home :)

Miles’ “birth” day part 2

2011-07-05T12:23:00.001-07:00

He came out looking like such a chunkster!!! He was was born at 7:42pm, 8lbs. 1 oz. 20 1/4 inches long.

We sent the camera out into the waiting room so suffice until we let everyone in.

Lance surprised me! I didn’t think was coming until Thursday night because of work! Love you brother!!! This was the most delicious Subway sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my life. I finally ate it at 10pm – OVER 24 hours since I had eaten last!! I scarfed it and that bag of Doritos down in about 5 minutes!!! Dylan watching as he got cleaned up, his first comment was regarding Miles’ manly parts…he thought the cord clip was on his man parts and wanted to know what it was…Oh boy…Silly big brother!

Miles’ “birth” day

2011-07-05T10:50:00.001-07:00

So on Wednesday, June 29th Dustin and I headed to Presbyterian hospital! It was such a weird feeling waking up knowing that it was the day we were becoming a family of 4.

This is the last prego pic I took…I meant to take one the night before and forgot and I didn’t exactly get dressed up to have a baby (I did get up and put makeup on and fix my hair though) haha! But something about the way I carried Miles just doesn’t even seem real! It seems to defy the laws of gravity almost!

All hooked up and ready to go, our last picture as a family of 3! What you need to know is that this picture was taken sometime after noon. We got to the hospital at 7am, checked in, they hooked me up to monitors (at this time I was already contracting on my own about every 6 minutes.) I got my pitocin around 9:15 and the contractions took off. By 11 they were almost every minute and a half and I asked for my epidural. They honestly weren’t too painful at the time, but they were frequent and I didn’t want to wait until they were too painful because with my luck the anesthesiologist would probably be nowhere to be found. So I went ahead and got the sweet relief :)And then…we waited… and waited…and waited… AND WAITED… STILL WAITING…

You get the point…

At 4 pm they checked me and I was only at a 4!!!! I was at a 3 WHEN I CAME IN!!! So needless to say I was tired, frustrated, and HUNGRY!!!!! My doctor (who I love) had been in surgery all morning and didn’t want to break my water in because she wouldn’t be able to leave her surgery to come take care of me. I understand and I did want her, but I hadn’t made ANY PROGRESS and I hadn’t eaten since 7pm the night before!!!!!!

So this picture was taken to document my obvious frustration…

Finally around 5:30 she came back to break my water and the rest went really fast. I went from a 4-6 in about an hour and a half, but from 6-10 was only about an hour.

And after 9 months of waiting and a very very long 13 hours of labor at 7:42pm…

Our precious Miles David McCoy was here!!! See next post for picture overload!!

Mix-tape

2011-06-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

Since going to the doctor and scheduling the induction I've gone through a mix tape of emotions (and I KNOW its not over). I am an emotional person. Sometimes it is an unfortunate thing, but it is true. I started with being relieved that the end is near!! In case you haven't seen me, I'm enormous. It is HOT, and did I mention I'm really pregnant? Get. Him. Out. but then...

it was worry. (which, as I've said before - I don't do often), but worry because Dustin has been sick for 2 days and I need him well, and worry about going from 1 to 2, and worry about how Dylan is going to react to having a sibling to share attention with...but I know we'll be fine. There will be an adjustment period but I can remember being just as worried (if not more) before having Dylan. We are sooo good at being the 3 of us :) but even better at being 4.

Then I spoke to Dylan on the phone and could hardly choke out the words "Miles is finally coming on Wednesday, you'll be a big brother on Wednesday." - I was a teary mess and hung up officially in tears. Not sure why, I get emotional easy (esp. with the crazy pregnancy hormones). partly because, he is going to be a great big brother. He has already told me all the things he is going to help with (including changing diapers), and he is going to watch over him like a hawk, he is going to be sweet and helpful and great. I think a part of me was crying because I also know that there will be times when this is a hard transition for him. And as his Momma I don't like when things arehard for him. But, he has his these "bratty" moments when I find myself thinking, he needed a brother a year ago! So, I know that he NEEDS a brother! I need mine, so he will no doubt, need his! Regardless, there will come a time when I can't give him the attention he is used to and it will be hard for him, but he needs to learn to share ;) Because he is older he knows well what "normal" is, and his "normal" is about to be turned upside down, but in the end this change will be a good thing! (I have a feeling this could be my mantra for the next couple of months/years).

Then I think about my sweet Miles and how I cannot wait to meet him and it makes all the other emotions worth it. I know that it is going to be hard, but I look at Dylan now and how fun he is and I look where we've come and what we've gone through to get here and regardless of what people say - "going from 1 to 2 is hard," - we have SO much more help this time around and we are in a better place on sooo many levels that, yes, it'll be hard, but I know that in a few months or years I'll look back on this post and laugh because all my worrying was for nothing.

So...bring it on! Bring on the change. Tear us out of our comfort zone because Miles we are ready to love you!

Rangers game!

2011-06-27T15:59:00.001-07:00

Sunday we acquired 4 free tickets from Dustin’s cousin Austin (thank you thank you!) to the Rangers game, and we’ve been wanting to take Dylan so we decided to take the opportunity! We were prepared for the heat but we not prepared to be in the SHADE! It was 95 degrees but the shade made it pretty enjoyable! We didn’t stay real long but 9 innings would have been too long for this prego Momma and Dylan would have lost interest too!

Honey has been dying to take Dylan so she gladly came along as well!!

I find it amusing that despite Dustin’s LOVE for hot dogs, Dylan LOVES hamburgers. He got this hamburger and had to make sure to tell his daddy that it was much better than a hot dog :) funny boy :)

You get LOTS of comments, smiles, and looks when you go to a Ranger game when you’re this pregnant! I’m sure they thought I was crazy but I got a “Whoa Baby!” from one lady as she was entering the restroom and I was walking out, haha!

AND SPEAKING OF BEING 9 MONTHS PREGO…We are having this baby on WEDS!!! (or hopefully before!) I just left the doctor and I think she could sense my discomfort at this point (and she probably has 4th of July plans with her own family) and she just asked, “when are you ready to have this baby?” – my response…”now!” So if he doesn’t come before Weds. morning I broke down and scheduled to be induced!

I’ve always been anti-induction, just because I hear soooo many horror stories of 24+ hours of labor! But at this point I am sooo big and it is so hot that I gave in an scheduled an induction! It is such a relief to know that if nothing happens between now and then, that there is an end! So Miles, we are SOO excited to see your sweet face and meet you!!!!!

Miles’ Room!!!

2011-06-23T17:02:00.001-07:00

Well…it is FINALLY DONE! At least until he gets here! I absolutely LOVE the way it all came together! For the longest time I had the hardest getting started, I had tons of stuff to go on the walls, but I just couldn’t put it on the walls. Finally I called Ginni and she helped me get going and I am so thankful!! It would not have turned out so cute had she not!!! -really, I just want to give credit where the true credit is due!!

Dylan’s nursery was cute, but it just wasn’t very creative, this time around the only thing that was bought together was the bedding. Everything else came in pieces and I seriously LOVE it!

These are my favorite part of the room! I love the song!

Mimi made the curtains and changed the valance that I bought to be even cuter than when they started, where the orange was it was green originally. I SO appreciate all the work Mimi! They turned out fantastic!!

This time around we are using the changing table and I am so glad (I am not sure why we didn’t use it with Dylan)

Notice the Toy Story pillow that Dylan had to add…we’ve been talking a lot lately about being “givers” – so he decided to give the pillow to Miles, such a sweet big brother!

Now…all I need is Miles!!! I do have plans to put a framed birth announcement and a wrapped canvas of Miles’ newborn picture on both sides of the window, but clearly I can’t do that until he’s here…SOO I need him to get here!!

Summer Days

2011-06-23T07:26:00.001-07:00

During the day Dylan and I have to find creative ways to entertain ourselves. The best way…water! Our poor dog (yes, she doesn’t make the blog frequently, but we have a VERY sweet black lab named Lonna), anyway, she LOVES water. Like most labs she loves to swim, but her love for water goes beyond a pond or pool, she loves to be sprayed by water too. Dylan also LOVES water! So it works great for everyone! Dylan uses the sprayer to spray Lonna (which also waters the grass – added bonus!)

So almost every morning we go outside to water…the dog, and the grass. Dylan ends up soaked and I get to sit and watch the fun! It really works for everyone!

D showing off his muscles after being soaked :)

Another morning after “watering”

This is his “sword” that we painted! It was an old material roll!

I am so enjoying hanging out with this sweet boy during the day! I enjoy his creativity SO much!

Dallas Zoo!

2011-06-21T08:33:00.001-07:00

We took Dylan and Will to the zoo a few weeks back and had SO much fun! These 2 are adorable together!

Will cracks me up because anything his cousin does, he thinks he can do also! And most of the time he manages to find a way!

We had never been into the reptile house to see the albino crocodile…he was pretty cool!

These two will find ways to get into lots of trouble of the years, but they are so sweet right now :)

Will and his sweet Momma!

Who hasn’t taken their picture in front of the elephant butt??

Dylan was literally having a full blown conversation with this giraffe…he was showing his passport (in his hand) and telling him about the cheetah stamp he got…this kid could talk to a wall!!!

I was amazed at how close Will got to the giraffes! He is sometimes timid around things he’s not quite sure of, but you can clearly see he had no fear!

We had so much fun at the zoo and are so thankful for our zoo pass courtesy of Honey and Pops! Speaking of Honey she went too but somehow I don’t have any pics of her!

Father’s Day festivities

2011-06-20T07:11:00.001-07:00

We had such a great day yesterday celebrating Dustin and what a great Dad he is! We headed to church and afterwards Dylan was PUMPED to give Dustin his card he had picked out. So excited that he had to walk outside with his eyes closed.

(The red chairs were his actual Father’s day present) We are SO excited about them!

The card was of course a Cars card, and when opened it plays music, or a “jam” as Dylan says.

After opening Dylan did some dancing…

Two of my sweet boys :) The third has yet to make his appearance but soon…hopefully very soon!

Hey! I’m in a picture! haha I’m always the one taking them! Leaning over isn’t exactly my best angle these days!

The McCoys, just being ourselves :)

Over at my Mom’s house we made these beauties…Dustin LOVES hotdogs! I mean, LOOOOVES hotdogs and somewhere he heard about bacon wrapped hotdogs…so for father’s day we finally gave them a shot. (Yes, most Dad’s want a good steak for father’s day, not my husband…just hot dogs. Special.)His other favorite is green bean casserole, which he only gets once or twice a year, so I threw it in there for good measure…

The bacon-wrapped hotdogs were surprisingly pretty good, I was skeptical…

Dustin, we hope that you had a fantastic father’s day and can’t wait to celebrate with BOTH of our boys next year! We love you!

Happy Father’s Day

2011-06-18T20:37:00.001-07:00

I love celebrating the Dads in my life! I not only have a GREAT one, but I married a man who is an EXCELLENT one. I asked Dylan his favorite things to do with his Dad and responded with:

(In no particular order)

- working in the yard

- when he reads to me

- plays games with me

- wraastling (must be said in true Southern drawl)

- watching Whale Wars

- going to Waffle House and Lowes

Here are some adorable pics of Dylan and his fantastic Dad!

And I could not forget my own Dad. If you’ve known me for any length of time you know I am quite the Daddy’s girl. I always have been - being the only girl it was really inevitable! Unfortunately, my Dad has been down in Mississippi for work for OVER A YEAR!!! And to be honest…I’m really really ready for him to come back!!! Not only has he always been the best Dad but he holds a very special place in the heart of my sweet Dylan. Dylan idolizes his Pops, he lights up when he is comes home for the weekend and insists on spending the entire weekend over at Honey and Pop’s house.

So to Dylan’s amazing Daddy we hope you feel appreciated and loved tomorrow and every day. And to my Dad COME HOME! :)

And in the way of making Dustin a Daddy of 2…I’m REALLY hoping tomorrow is the day! What a cool way to celebrate Father’s day!!!

“Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad”

Waiting game...

2011-06-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

So we are so close, but we just don't know how close. On Monday after our appointment we were convinced it was sooo close (as in - at any moment close) but realistically it could be another week. I'm trying VERY hard to not be impatient but its hard. I'm trying very hard to enjoy my last little bit of time with my first born, this will be the last time ever that it is just going to be the two of us. He is one funny little guy and makes me laugh constantly.

A couple of recent Dylan-isms...

- When walking into Lowe's 2 days ago he first tells me that it's okay if I go in, but Lowe's is really a boys place. And he said that "Lowe's is like a boys playground." When I asked him where he heard that he said "Pops" - not surprising...love you Pops!

- My favorite as of lately:
I told D to go wash his face because he had jelly on it...(he is currently obsessed with PB&J sandwiches)

10 minutes later he hadn't come back and I couldn't hear him...
Me: Dylan what are you doing?
- no answer -
Me: Dylan, what are you doing?
Dylan comes running into the living room...
D: I'm getting my chest wet.
Me: Why?
D: It makes my chest stronger.
Me: Oh yea? How is that?
D: I don't know, it just does.
Me: Who told you that?
D: No one, I just thought I'd try it.
Me: Uh, Okay...let me know if it works...

Goof-ball.

5 minutes later...
D comes in with his shirt off and of course, his chest is wet, swearing that his chest is stronger. He proceeds to come take my hand and puts it on his chest and says "feel it. It's much stronger now."

- Dylan has been taking swimming lessons and on the first day the teacher asked the 4 of them who could go underwater, Dylan raises his hand, and she asks him to come show. He holds his breath to go under...and throws in an underwater flip for good measure. *show-off*

Even though I'm dying to meet Mr. Miles I'm enjoying this time with my sweet Dylan, he really does make me laugh all the time. Love him like crazy.

Progress!

2011-06-13T19:44:00.001-07:00

I said for weeks before school was out that I was going to start walking every day in order to get this process (having Miles) would progress a little faster. Well, starting last week I did exactly that. Every day I have been walking for at least 30 minutes. One day I braved the zoo, another the outlet mall, and other just walking at White Rock with my own personal pregnancy walkers :) Ginni and Blair were with me when I had Dylan and we had walked at the mall for hours the day before. They both so happen to live so close that we meet to walk!

Well...I finally went to my first "check" today and I'm 2 cm dilated and 90% effaced! Woo hoo! Now that it progress!! I went into the doctor with the mindset that there may not be any progress (I didn't want to get my hopes up since technically I have 4 weeks left) so I was PUMPED! So needless to say, I will keep you posted on any other developing news!

White Rock Lake sightings...

2011-06-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

For a really long time I've had this great blog series I've wanted to do, but just hadn't got it all figured out. Well, I've decided (because I have TON more time on my hands, and it isn't going to stay that way for long) that the time is now.

I've been a "runner" since basically middle school. It was something I was good at and enjoyed, not to mention, I didn't exactly excel at sports that involved any type of eye hand coordination (i.e. basketball, baseball.softball, volleyball). It is my stress reliever and sanity in time of chaos. I married another runner. A really really dedicated one :) and he has definitely fed my running information - not sure I'd know much about America's great long distance running program if it weren't for him. In fact - I know I wouldn't. Regardless, at heart, I'm a runner. Currently, I am not physically a runner, but I know that in due time I'll be back. However, mentally I will always be a runner in the sense that I am able to push myself to run faster/longer than I thought I could. I may not be the most physically capable (in fact according to Dustin, I don't have the most efficient form, but mentally I am much stronger than many who have beautiful form.)

Anyhow, from high school on I've put in a MANY miles at White Rock Lake. It is my "home base" - I know it well and I enjoy just being around it. (Which explain why I live about 2 miles down the road.) One of my favorite things about the lake is the extremely diverse population of people that flock there to quench their fill of "outdoorsiness" Whether they are running, biking, walking, kayaking, rowing, etc. there is such an interesting mixture of people. So my string of blogs will consist of the many people of White Rock Lake.

To start off I have the most easily spotted and highly visibly on any early Saturday morning run.

Overly geared up guy/girl.

If you've ever been to it's shores, you've seen this person. The latest in Nike/Under Armour apparel (moisture wicking, dry-weave material), zensah running sleaves, spibelt and/or water bottle belt, Garmin watch, moisture wicking socks, running hat, latest must have running shoe, iPod, gus, beans, etc. the list goes on and on. If it is winter they are bound to have some fancy wind breaker, running gloves and hat - if it is summer some sort of hydration pack, amphipod water bottle, sweat band (don't think 1990 basketball), sunglasses, etc. I have to think that running legend Steve Prefontaine would be a little embarrased at the amount of "gear" the average runner has these days. The time it takes to get ready to go out for a simple 4 miler is probably longer than the time it actually takes to run the miles. It is easy to become this runner. There are some pretty cool gadgets and they all promise to make things easier, and for a marathon these things are probably a must-have, but I have a hard time believing that these people are running their own marathon on a given Saturday morning. I especially love when I see them on their way and their way back, this = an out and back, or less than 9 miles (if you're running 9 miles+ then you just run the entire lake).

I must admit that I love a great pair of running shoes, I borrow Dustin's iPod and Garmin and love them both, but the rest can really be excessive for the average training run.

Here are a few pictures of what this runner looks like, or for those of you who are not runners, what this gear I'm referring to is:

This last picture probably is the best one. They are sporting zensah running sleeves, spibelts, all kinds of guus, gloves, GPS watches, vests...

So if you are a runner be on the look out for "overly geared up guy/girl" and take note...are they running a marathon today? If not the gear probably isn't fully necessary.

Enjoying my time

2011-06-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

with this cutie! He was told to clean his room, and first he needed Dustin's Ipod to clean with...then about 10 minutes later I go to check on him and he has added the McQueen slippers to the ensemble...
Shortly after this picture, I went back to working on laundry and he comes to inform me that while going potty one of the headphones fell in the toilet. Oh sweet boy, you are a funny one :) Sorry Dustin, I can't guarantee that left headphone is going to work much longer!

Ahhh....

2011-06-05T18:32:00.001-07:00

It is Sunday evening and I have no lesson plans to review, no grading to be done, and nothing set in stone for tomorrow...must be summer! :) AAAhhhhhhhh...I think I might stay up late (so maybe until the end of the Mavs game, hahaha)

A few things we've been up to lately:

Uncle Lance Graduated!! So proud of my little bro! He graduated from Texas A&M in 4 years and already is kicking butt selling insurance for State Farm (Like a good neighbor....)

We also had a great going away party/graduation party last weekend and it was TONS of fun, so much fun that none of us took ANY pictures!

Last Wednesday the Cars 2 exhibit was at Northpark Mall so we were crazy enough (correction, Honey was crazy enough...) to stand in line for 2 hours to take pictures with Lightening McQueen, Mater, and the new Finn McMissile. Dylan was PUMPED to see them and probably more pumped to play in the inflatable (which had no 2 hour line) but it is something he'll always remember.

Holy HUGE-ness!! Miles looks like he might fall out! I've started telling people (random strangers who continually ask) that I'm due June 28th...if you say July that act like I'm the largest pregnant women on the planet...so it just saves me from the reaction of "WOW, you're huge..."

The next day was my last day of school, and due to being almost 9 months pregnant I was more than ready for school to be out. 2nd year was TONS better than the 1st (knowing how to teach and knowing the material helped out a lot!)

Be ready for some serious blogging action now that I'll have SO much more time on my hands!! Woo hoo hoo! Well...atleast until Miles gets here...

Ready or not...

2011-05-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

He's coming...and I am READY! This pregnancy flew by up until about the past month. I think it is because I am SO anxious for school to be out, and I have barely prepared. It is true, the 1st time around you read every book, have the room ready months in advance, pack your bags the second you start to show...this time around, nothing. I do have lots of things ready for his room but nothing is on the wall, I've not picked up "What to Expect When Your Expecting," and bags...what bags? School is officially out for the summer Friday and I have plans to spend the entire weekend getting this in order and in place just in case he decides to save me the torture of the next 6 weeks.

With Dylan I worked as a temp. sitting at a desk and answered phones, easy-schmeezy. This time around I am on my feet all. day. long. and it wears me out! With Dylan I could come home and chill. This time around I'm entertaining Dylan, cooking dinner (yes, I cooked 1st time but with it only being the 2 of us, I could get by with sandwiches or cereal for dinner), grading, planning, etc. So this time around is just different. I haven't had time to read and prepare. But come Friday...it's time!

So pray that these next 3 days go by fast, because I am ready to have some good quality time with my 1st born and to prepare for my 2nd! CRAZY! I am going to have 2 kids!! As in plural. Children.

So, to my 2nd child. Don't ever think I don't love you as much because I didn't read every book, etc. But trust me (I'm a 2nd child myself), even before you are born, you are competing for time and energy from your parents. I kid. My parents did a great job making all of us feel special :) You are already my sweet Miles David and I can seriously hardly wait for you to be here!!! I wonder all the time what your unique little personality will be like. Will you be like your brother? or completely your own person? Lord knows he loves you already! He talks to you, kisses you, and asks TONS of questions about you, and does this strange little hug - I'll let your Uncle Lance show you one day what that is. The sonographer says you don't have much hair, but will you look anything like your older brother? (He's pretty cute so that is fine by me), but I know that you have good genes so whatever you look like you'll be handsome! I'll cry when you are born because I'm a crier, will you be like me, or more like your Dad who cries just not at the drop of a hat. Will you be Mr. Independent? I know I've always been and your Dad is, and Dylan is too, so likely you will be too, which will put your in time-out sometimes :), I love you Miles!

Now I'm just rambling and it's almost 11pm...late for me. Off to bed so I can be up in 2 hours, and then 2 hours after that, and then...you get the point.

Playing in the sprinklings – round 2

2011-05-14T21:07:00.001-07:00

I took a ton of pictures last year of Dylan playing in the sprinkler (Playing in the sprinklings) and I still love them, so the other night I got the camera out to capture once again the pure joy that he exudes while playing in water. See for yourself…

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-14T20:51:00.001-07:00

I know it is a week late but I definitely want to make sure to show my appreciation for my sweet Momma! I love you more than you know!! As I’ve grown up I am all the more appreciative of all the hard work she has always done for us! As a kid you don’t realize how hard it is to raise a family, work full-time, run to practices, cook dinner, clean house, the list goes on-and-on. Clearly, I now know how hard that all is, and so I’m soo appreciative of all the sacrifices she’s made for me over the years. Love you Momma Sue!

I also have a fantastic Mother-in-law who is always making sure we are taken care of! So I am super appreciative of her as well! For some reason at our lunch we didn’t take any pictures with all the Moms! But thank you Liz for all you do!

And of course there is this…

The reason I’m a Mom! I love this little boy more than words can express. Really, I’ve typed the words to express my love but they don’t seem enough. I love you Dylan Wayne and I can’t hardly wait to add another sweet little boy to our family.

Celebrating our RISEN King!

2011-05-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday this year was just perfect! We got up, ate our FAVORITE cinnamon strusel muffins, and headed to church. Watermark had a great point that it is a shame that we seem to only celebrate our risen savior on Easter, when really that is something to celebrate all year round! It was a great service! Then we had some much needed family time!! We just hung out the 3 of us until later when Honey came over to eat chicken ka-bobs! We didn't do an egg hunt, I really feel that Easter should be about Christ and not some strange bunny that leaves eggs (I should do some research on how that tradition got started because I see no correlation). Anyway, Dylan did get an Easter basket with a few things and some candy.

My handsome boys after church!Here I am at 29 weeks prego with sweet Miles! I'm posting this a week late though so we officially only have 10 weeks to go! Eeek!! I have done NOTHING in the way of preparation!!

Future heartbreaker for sure!

Easter Egg Hunt!

2011-04-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

We went to our neighborhood association's Easter egg hunt and invited the Sniders and Tookers to join. Before the hunt there is a show put on "Ms. Cookie" - I think she scared Reagan a little because she was very lovey on Dylan :) Aren't they just adorable!!

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes...

And finally the hunt started! The kids all went in opposite directions, but Dylan was very serious about getting eggs His loot!Sweet boys :)
Last year Kevin managed to get Will his first egg, but this year he needed no help from his Dad :) Here he is showing off the eggs he hunted all on his own! What a big boy!Fun afternoon with the family!

Toy Story 3 on Ice!

2011-04-05T20:01:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Kevin and Brandi being awesome...we got some REALLY sweet seats to Toy Story on ice! We had 6 tickets to it was a Mommy date day! Brandi and Will, Erin and Reagan, and Dylan and I headed to the American Airlines center and the kids were pumped!

We brought Jesse and Andy along to TRY to divert them from all the crazy expensive toys...which worked until the end! I could decide which picture to post because I think these really show these 2 together at their best!

I have some cute pictures of the 3 of them after the show but Windows Live Writer won't let me add any more pictures!! so annoying! Any help!?!?

Too cute to handle!

2011-04-05T19:40:00.001-07:00

I’m SO far behind on blogging! One day over Spring Break we went with Erin, Reagan, and Grayson and April and Maverick to the Arboretum! It was gorgeous with all the beautiful flowers, but I think these kids might have been the main attraction :)

Maverick thoroughly enjoyed running around the frog fountains!

Sweet cousins!

So unfortunate! Maverick found the one muddle puddle in the whole place and went face first…poor guy :( Sweet Reagan! This is the sweetest picture! We were in the mini-church and Dylan said, “we need to say a prayer!” – so he did <heart melts into puddle>

Panther’s Soccer

2011-04-05T19:22:00.001-07:00

Dylan is playing soccer again this spring and has really taken to it. He is starting to show some aggression (not typically a good thing, but with sports – if channeled – can be a great thing). He usually scores 5-10 goals which is pretty impressive :) – not that I’m biased!

Panther’s Spring 2011

This little boy gave D a run for his money, but he played so hard, I’m such a proud soccer Mom!

A few of his biggest fans! (I hate the outtie belly-button!)

One sweet soccer player!

Baby bump progress

2011-03-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Sooo...I'm not HUGE on taking pics of my baby bump. I'm not really sure, I always like to look at other people's and I think they are cute, but for myself I just haven't taken one. So at the Arboretum today I finally asked Erin to take one. Here we are at week 23.

Oh the irony…

2011-03-13T18:38:00.001-07:00

So if you know me and have known me for a while you will completely understand the irony of the fact that I find it adorable that Dylan was so eager to be outside helping Dustin today with…raking leaves. There will come a day in the not-so-distant future that Dylan will be required to help with this task, but for today he was outside for hours helping with what he could.

Those of you who don’t know the background of this story…my parents live in a great, rare, neighborhood in Mesquite. It is a HUGE (and by huge I mean close to an acre) – huge by Mesquite/Dallas County standards – and they have HUGE old tress to accompany it. We moved there when I was about 11, maybe 12, and I remember it was October because we went trick-or-treating soon after and found that we were the only kids on our street. Anyway, that is completely regardless other than the fact that it was fall, and fall means that the leaves were fallong off the trees. (Here is the tie-in) So from that fall on, me and my brothers were required to rake ALL of that HUGE lot. numerous times because different types of trees lose their leaves at different times. I loathed it more than you can imagine, and declared that when I got my own house I would NEVER EVER EVER rake leaves again. Well…guess what…I don’t rake leaves, but I do find it adorable that my son (for the time being) actually WANTS to!

So, he was working his little heart out with his adorable chameleon boots and I couldn’t help but take some pictures.

This is the Tricia Snider method that got me through the hundreds upon hundreds of bags of leaves. One foot on each side of the bag, rear-end in the air, and shovel with both hand.

SPRING BREAK!

2011-03-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

WOO HOO!!! It has come! It is spring break and I am SO excited to spend some good quality time with my sweet boys! It hit me the other day that besides the very beginning of summer, that this will be the last time that we are out of school and it will be just D and I! That makes me a ball of emotions! While I'm so excited to have little Miles join the family, the thought of the unknown scares me to death. When we had Dylan we were VERY very unaware at the life change that were coming (we were unusually young and naive). However, this time around we are VERY very aware. I am not a worrier, never have been, usually I live by the "ignorance is bliss" mantra. I've never been one to stress over things I cannot change so if I don't know about it, then I can't worry about it. This is not to say that that mantra hasn't bitten me in the behind more than a few times, but primarily it allows me to sleep at night and be a happier person throughout the day!

There is also that fact that Dylan has been easy schmeezy almost from day one (technically about 9 months) but through all the changes that he has faced in his short life he usually handles them with ease, and that isn't to say he hasn't spent his fair share of time in 'time-out' but typically it isn't for being disobedient, but more because he has a tendency to cry at the drop of a hat. So he's easy, almost too easy. He helps pick up this things, takes his plate and cup to the sink, stays at school all day with a tear being shed, I could go on-and-on....BUT I am not guaranteed another easy schmeezy child. That is scary. So my prayers here lately have consisted of praying for Miles, his health, my health, his future, our ability to raise him in a loving home, etc....I've added the "Lord, please give me another easy schmeezy child." - I know it doesn't work that way. Well aware. I know that I will love this child to the greatest extent possible regardless of if he hits, punches, pinches, kicks everything from here on out (like he is already doing inside of me), but...I'm so USED to my easy sweet Dylan.

Maybe, I sound like a bad Mom, I'm not sure. But I think it is normal to fear the unknown (too bad I can't go back to the ignorance is bliss mentality on this one), the only thing I have known for the past 4 1/2 years is Dylan, so on that note we are going to spend this spring break hanging out, mostly just him and I, and I'm going to soak up every precious moment that we have left of it being just him and I. And come July when Miles makes his appearance and I fall in love all over again I know that my fears will be calmed. So in this uncharted territory for me...I'm officially a worrier. (Thanks Mom) :)

Sweetest kid ever :)

2011-02-24T19:54:00.001-08:00

One day last week Dustin was tucking Dylan into bed, he had read several books, said their prayers and that spawned the conversation of how Honey is my mommy, Pops is my daddy and Mimi is Dustin's mommy. Even though we've had this conversation a dozen or more times this time Dylan said "No, you don't even live with her." - logical enough, we are his parents and he lives with us, so how could that be possible. So Dustin told him that when he was little he lived with Mimi, but that when he got older he grew up, got married, and now he has his own family, and that one day he would also grow up and move out of our house, get married, and have his own family. Suddenly Dylan starts to make his "I'm NOT going to cry face." Dustin was confused. He asked why he was sad. Dylan responded "I'm going to miss you!!" Dustin immediately made the decision that he would never move out :).

About this time I came in and he was inconsolable, I mean sobbing, Dustin told me why he was crying. I melted and immediately consented to let him live with us forever. I know it will be short lived but I'm going to soak up him being so sweet while I can, I know it won't last forever.

Here are some adorable pictures of him and his adorable Dad shaving for the first time. Mimi got him this awesome Lightening McQueen shaving kit and he loves it (he wants to shave everyday!) He takes it so seriously :)

Love them!!

Dinner date…

2011-02-17T18:39:00.001-08:00

The other night Dustin had gone to run with his running group which left Dylan and I to dinner on our own. We got wild and crazy with some pizza (one of Dylan’s favs. of course) and as I’m warming it up he announces he has some friends eating with us. Really. Out of no where we had lots of dinner guests. They were all “sitting” in their correct spots with only one seat left for me.

Check out our packed dinner table…

Check out everyone in their designated location…Meet Hiccup

Toothless (A.K.A. Night Fury) Terrible Nighmare (I’m not positive that is his name) Gobber And Woody snuck in there with the cast of How to Train your Dragon

He knew that he was being really cute :)

Every day he does or says something that is showing his amazing creativity! Today he came home with a pocket full of rocks (a usual thing) but today instead of insisting it was gold, he told me it was a game. He called it checkers, but instead of having a board, you “rolled” your rocks and you had to ask to roll, and everyone wins! Sounds like a good game to me! I am so enjoying his fantastic creativity!!

Grayson Paul Snider!

2011-02-10T19:34:00.001-08:00

Grayson Paul Snider made his way into this world today! He is beautiful!! 6lbs. 12 oz. and 21 inches long. Mommy and baby are doing great and labor delivery went well! I'll have more pics, I forgot my good camera so all I have other than this (thanks Meagan) are pics on my phone and those are never as cute!

It’s a…

2011-02-08T19:49:00.001-08:00

As you know from previous post, our last appointment to find out what Baby McCoy was got canceled because of this crazy weather. So on Monday (our first day back after our impromptu “winter break” a couple of things went wrong…(1) I COULD NOT SLEEP…not. a. wink. So at about 4am I decided there was no idea I could go to school and teach with that little sleep, and (2) Dylan had been sick on and off the weekend, and I couldn’t in good conscious send him to school. So begrudgingly I put in for a sub at 4am. That next morning I caught up on some sleep, called D’s doctor, and then called my doctor. Made 2 doctor’s appointments and off we went. Dylan ended up having a weak strain of the flu so we couldn’t take Dylan to the doctor with all these pregnant women so that meant Dustin couldn’t go either.

So at the sonogram the sonographer wrote down the sex of baby McCoy and sealed it in an envelope. That meant from about 2 until 6:30 this green envelope stared at me.

We spread the news quickly and most everyone was able to meet at our house for the “sex party” (I know sounds dirty) – haha. It was soo much fun finding out with our family there!! Pops and uncle J were on speaker phone to be in on the news!

Here is everyone on “team boy”

Here is “team girl”

We let Dylan have the honor of opening the envelope…and with all the anticipation of waiting all day I didn’t think he would EVER get that thing open!!!

Still working on it…Almost there… (Brandi has J on speaker phone) haha… and…

YAY!!! Getting Dylan’s reaction. He was excited but almost immediately was ready to eat some pizza and hang out with his 2 adorable cousins!

My sweet family of almost 4!!

Miles David we can hardly wait for your arrival in July (or earlier if you prefer). You have the best big brother anyone could ever ask for and we already love you like crazy!!

And speaking of arrivals…Baby Snider makes his entrance in to the world (weather permitting) and we are so excited!!!!!! You and baby boy McCoy will be the best of friend and I am so excited that you will be so close in age!!!!

Day 2

2011-02-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we were able to get out of the house today so we aren't near as cabin feverish. But for day 2 of things I love is my house. I love my house. With it's imperfections, and incompleteness, and all. This is the first house we've ever bought, and as it has come together I love it. We still have an entire room that has nothing in it. Nothing. I have a plan in my head but until I feel that we are really ready to do it, it just sits empty. It is a great room to play it. Dylan and I have had a many Nerf gun fights in there, and in these cold months it gives Dylan a place to ride his bike, ha! I love the old parquet flooring, and it's old house charm. It has established trees in the front and back, and it is in a fantastic neighborhood! When moving back to Dallas I couldn't imagine living "far-out" We looked in the "burbs" but with the location of Dustin's job it didn't make sense to move too far-out. We love being so close to our families and anything else we would like to go do is within 15 minutes. It isn't a perfect house, but I love it.

Complete boredom...

2011-02-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

If you haven't noticed, I've blogged three times this week. That is a lot for me. Being trapped inside really gives me PLENTY of time to blog.

So in honor of February (the month of love) I've decided to jump on the bandwagon of "love." Valentine's day isn't usually something that Dustin and I do "big" due to the fact that our anniversary is at the end of January and my birthday is the beginning of March. So for the rest of February my goal is to name one thing I love everyday.

So today I'll start with one of my serious vices. Coffee.

I love it. The taste. It's warmth. Different flavors. The comfort. Even the way the cup feels when holding. It doesn't really matter if it is 104 degrees outside, I can't seem to start my day without a cup. I'm not spoiled, I don't need a $5.00 latte, just simple Folgers or Maxwell House. Add some creamer (no sugar) and I'm in heaven. I'll usually make it halfway through a cup and refresh it to keep it warm. Even my kids at school that I need that cup in-order to start my day. It really is one of my simple pleasures in life. This week being that the temperatures didn't get above 23 I enjoyed lots of coffee (I made it a little weaker than normal) to account for the fact that being pregnant my daily allowance of caffeine is around 300 mg.

So there you have it, one thing I love is my simple cup of morning coffee.

Bummer...

2011-02-04T10:41:00.001-08:00

Well...because of the fact that we woke up with 6 inches of snow on the ground the doctor's office closed today. Bummer. Big bummer really. I tossed and turned all night, had 2 dreams about it and then I open my eyes to snow. Any other day I would have been pumped about the snow, but not today. Oh well, they'll call on Monday and reschedule, but it is still a bummer.

Oh-in BOTH dreams our little "it" was a boy :) Either way I'm happy boy or girl. As long as "it" is healthy, then I'm happy!! I'm just impatient...so we wait...and I am not good at waiting...

So I'll leave you with some pictures of this crazy weather we are having...

Very serious about throwing snowballs...Lonna loves the snow...

I just thought the swing was funny with all the snow on it!

BIG DAY!

2011-02-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

On this 3rd day of the icecolypse of 2011 baby "M" has been so active! I think it is because we get to find out what he/she is tomorrow!! WOO HOO!!! Stay tuned!!

Snow Days activities

2011-02-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks as if we have another day off tomorrow. We enjoyed our day today, but hopefully tomorrow will be the last and we'll return on Friday. As a teacher we view snow days very differently than the kids! Although it is nice to have a random day off to relax, long term, it isn't fun. We have to make these days off! Likely the days will be on Good Friday and at the end of June. Well, as a Christian, Good Friday is kind of a big deal, and the other day will be at the end of June. By the end of June I will be 8 months pregnant and every day will draaaag on, and to add an extra day will be torture. So regardless, we made the best of today, and we will do the same tomorrow.

We watched Cars, played with cars, built a race track, made homemade playdoh, played with play doh, made 3 yummy meals, (then cleaned up afterwards), Dustin and Dylan suited up to go outside, went outside for 5 minutes then realized that there was no snow and came back in...those are the real highlights, pretty uneventful really...

Not necessarily a blog-cation...

2011-01-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

...but close enough I guess. I do check other peoples' blogs, but just haven't felt extremely inspired to do one of my own. It has been a fairly uneventful January. One exciting thing, but I'll have to hold off on the details until they have fully come out :) I know...that is horrible to do! We've just been busy with the usual things, work, school, and Dylan.

Dustin and I did celebrate our 5 year anniversary on the 21st and that is a pretty big deal! It is crazy to think that in 5 years we got married, moved to Conroe, found out we were pregnant, Dustin switched jobs, moved to Oklahoma City, had Dylan , Dustin switched jobs, I went back to work, then quit working to finish school, graduated school, Dustin switched jobs, I got my first teaching job, moved back to Dallas, bought a house, made it through my first stressful year of teaching, found out we were pregnant again...whew...

I can only imagine where we will be in another 5 years! Looking back it boggles my mind, it wasn't easy, but we are definitely stronger because of all we went through from day one! That being said...I sure hope there aren't quite as many changes in those 5 years! Of course, we'll have another little one (we find out next week what we're having!!!) - but between moving and job changes, and school...for our sanity we need some calmer years! I'll post about the celebration activities at a later date!

Here are a few really cute pictures of my sweet boys from this past Sunday, I got Dylan dressed for church and then came in and Dustin was wearing the exact same thing! So, of course, we needed a picture!

Christmas with the Sniders

2011-01-03T15:11:00.001-08:00

We did Christmas this year with my side of the family on Christmas day. We started off with gifts and Dylan got MORE presents! I’ve started hiding certain presents until this summer because he got SO.MANY.THINGS. – it’s really silly.

D got this really cool, tricked-out, remote controlled Lightening McQueen!

Honey and Pops gave him this Cowboy’s puzzle, and one of my favorite things he got is a ZOO PASS!! We are so pumped that we can go anytime and it’s free!! Even parking is free!!!

Dylan picked out this book all on his own (Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorites, but Dustin swears he didn’t help at all!) They are so sweet!

The Sniders have a tradition that the boys get matching boxers every Christmas (the girls get pjs) and every year they have to put them on right away, over their clothes. They are so silly, Dylan got to join in the fun because he is finally big enough!

Reagan got a cute suitcase (very fitting since she is quite the world traveler (they are moving to the Dominican Republic later this year!) and Dylan decided to try to see if he could fit inside.

Reagan’s present from us was a tricycle and helmet! I have been so excited to give it to her! And she LOVED it!

The kiddos waiting on uncle Darrin to put the tricycle together…

Since D got a bicycle and Reagan got a tricycle we all bundled up for a chilly bike ride!

Afterwards, they warmed up together in Honey’s chair!

Enough pictures!!

Honey and Pops with their Grandkids! It is crazy to think they will have TWO more next year!!

I am finally caught up! Woo hoo! Just in time for school to start back up…wah wah…

Let the countdown begin for Baby Snider to make his appearance!!!!!!!!!! 4 weeks! (and about 4 weeks until we find out what we are having!!!)

Santa Came!!

2011-01-02T09:03:00.001-08:00

This year Santa really went a little crazy with Dylan…I guess because “santa” doesn’t really buy him anything throughout the year :) and he’s such a good boy (yes, I’m justifying “Santa’s” actions!)

When Dylan went to tell Santa what he wanted, he told him that he was going to leave him bacon to eat…so that is exactly what he did! Funny boy!

All the goods…

He came and woke us up instead of just running straight in there to see what Santa brought him, he was waiting on us to get ready (I of course had to grab the camera) – can you tell he was excited!?

Compete shock on that face! So sweet!

Ready to check out the loot!

He was so excited about this Toy Story and Lightening McQueen cups! It’s the simple things in life when you’re 4!

Checking out the stocking stuffers!

When he pulled out 3 pairs of underwear, he thought it was pretty comical that Santa would bring him underwear! haha

His racecar watch that he had talked non-stop about for weeks!

Cutie!

This is a fun game that is kind of like Twiswer, but it is Dr. Seuss and learning letters, quite a funny picture!

Honey, Pops, and Lance had to come over a little later to check out the goods that Santa brought!

Christmas with the McCoys!

2011-01-02T08:31:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Christmas with the McCoy family on Christmas Eve this year and it was so much fun! We had it at our house (for some reason I didn’t take a single picture of my decorations…Brandi did check out her blog here.) At our house we have an entire room with NOTHING in it (yes we’ve lived here a year and we have a room with not one single piece of furniture) but it makes for a great room to test out new toys in! Dylan isn’t going to know what to do when we finally figure out what we want to do with that room! So the boys enjoyed playing with their new toys in there, which leaves the living room for the adults :) Once again, we all went crazy on gifts for one another (especially these two…)

Aren’t those the sweetest faces?!?

Dylan went first since he definitely isn’t the most patient at this age…

Mimi made Dylan the coolest cape!

Super Dylan!!

The back even has the “super Dylan” emblem :)

Also from Mimi and Lindsey is this AWESOME table!!! Lindsey hand-painted the ENTIRE thing!! Each chair has it’s own super hero (Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and Super Dylan) Dylan LOVES his very own table!!

This is my new favorite face of Dylan’s – he made it when seeing the table for the first time! So funny!

Will also liked the table and chairs that were just his size.

Will is the most easily entertained little guy, while everyone else was unwrapping gifts, we look over and he was chillin’ in the box, haha, funny boy!

Lindsey and I both got TOMS from our twins – I’m serious that I don’t think they knew that they were both getting us the same gift…they still think alike, and apparently they date girls who like similar things…weird.

Next year there will be another little McCoy in this picture! Woo Hoo!

I hope you all had a VERY Merry Christmas!!

My sweet little lime

2010-12-26T18:31:00.001-08:00

This pregnancy hasn't been incredibly different than my first, but I have been concerned about how soon I would show and that I would be enormous due to the fact that it is my second. I haven't been sick (a little more nausea than with Dylan but not one bout with morning sickness - I say a nightly thank you prayer for this) but I have been extremely tired. Other than that I am feeling great. It is crazy to think that little baby "M" is the size of a lime and yet other than my spare tire I can't even tell I'm pregnant! I'm getting more and more excited at the thought of having another sweet baby to love on! I can hardly get enough of my sweet "baby" boy and the thought of that amount of love doubling boggles my mind!! I'm going to go on the record and make a prediction...I think it is a girl!! I NEVER would have said that about a month ago, but the addition of much more nausea and the fact that I am broke out like 16 year old (I never did with Dylan) leads me to think this! Also, I feel like I have more of a spare tire (with Dylan I just started showing really - my "chubby" phase was short lived because it was like an instant "basketball". Who knows - but with D I KNEW from the second I found out that it was a boy! This time I go back and forth, but today...I think it is a girl. Either way I'll be pumped (esp. since Dustin is considering a 3rd at some point in time) but really I could totally be that mom with all boys :) They'd spoil me rotten when they got older! haha Or if it is a girl I'd have a great shopping partner!

Anyway, I'm rambing and should be posting since I'm still way behind!

So to my sweet little lime, I can hardly wait to see what you are, but know that I'll be excited whatever you end up being!