The Tree is....

officially UP!!!

Jason, the kids, and I all had a great time putting up the tree last night.

We are really excited to celebrate our first holiday season in our new home and getting the Christmas decorations up and ready to go was the first fun step. The kids are super excited and loved helping...we've been putting up a few things here and there over the past week or so and, the tree was the last thing to get set up.

Watching Trey and Tylee have fun going through all the ornaments and get excited about what ornament they put where was so stinkin' cute. They seriously looked through all the ornaments and talked about how cool they were and where exactly they wanted to put them. (Which was a little surprising because I wasn't exactly sure how long their excitement would last.....) Most the ornaments got them a gigglin, which in turn, had us all gigglin.....

I loved sitting back and taking it all in...I hope they remain excited about this each and every year. It really was a fun way to end the weekend.

Trey & Ty putting on the first ornaments of the year....

Tylee doing an EXCELLENT job of finding the perfect spot for each ornament!!! Who cares that the tree was bottom heavy.....

Moving on up the tree :) I still can't believe how big she is...THREE!!!

Trey Man being a silly goose!!!

This was one of those HILARIOUS, but you gotta be there, moments. Tylee was looking through EVERY ornament in the boxes and talking about each one. We told her that some of them were Mommy's and some were Daddy's and that they came from all over. She came across this ornament and quickly said, "Look, Daddy!!! It's YOU!" So this is now our "Daddy" ornament....these kiddos crack me up!!!!

Having fun decorating the tree. And, I do have to say....they finished all the ornaments!!!

Daddy putting on a couple of his favorites. We love all the memories associated with each and every one!!!

Miss Tay realizing that the funny things hanging from the tree look waaaaaay more exciting than her light-up, music playing ball....

And, she goes in for a grab....

What a fun little night for the Weites.

 Can you even believe that Christmas is right around the corner.....

Where has 2011 gone?!?!?!

Night y'all....hope you and your families have fun taking part in all the holiday hoopla and get an opportunity to enjoy all the little things!!!! Happy Decorating!!!!

My munchkins all ready to go celebrate an early Thanksgiving with Jason's family....lots to be thankful for, that's for sure!!!

DATE NIGHT!!!

Saturday night Jason took me out on a dinner date.

Now, to most of you this sounds like no big deal, but to us and and the chaos that has surrounded the most recent months, date nights around here have thought to have gone extinct. We had talked about heading to dinner (like at a fancy restaurant) and then maybe catching the UFC fights at the Hooters not too far from our house. I was pumped all day and got even more pumped as we went to pay the check and I "came across" my big SURPRISE of the night.....ZAC BROWN BAND tickets!!! Those of you who know me know that I can't get enough of the ZBB...those songs just pump me up and make anything and everything seem manageable!!! You should see my cleaning abilities without ZBB versus with ZBB----NO COMPARISON!!! Bahahahahah.....

(The best part about the whole situation was that, about a month earlier, I had mentioned the concert to Jason and looked tickets up on-line only to find out that they were practically sold out with only $200 3rd level seats left. I stalked the Internet for a few days and then finally gave up the idea knowig that dropping that for those tickets wasn't really an option. Turns out...Jason had already gotten me tickets and plans had already been made!!!)

Here's one of my favorite ZBB songs....I seriously ROCK out to this song every morning on my way to work. I know the people at the traffic lights besides me must think I'm a little coo coo!!!

The concert was an absolute BLAST and it was nice enjoy a little date night with the hubbs!!!

THANKS, Jason for planning and organizing this fun night...it was perfect!!!!

Always & Forever....

8 Months & Loving It.....

The months are rolling by and I cannot believe that Miss Tay-Tay is 8 months old....that's totally 2/3 of a year and it seems like I was just planting that huge bow on her head for her one month pics yesterday. I know time flies, but does it have to be so super duper fast???

Just look at this little cutie....

Tay-Tay, my Sweetie Pie, you are rolling around this place like it's going out of style. You are FINALLY loving baby food and let Momma sqeeze in a few jars here and there. I hate to say it because I said it wouldn't happen....but, you are even grunting for more. So, needless to say, we are already working on a little signing and you actually seem to be catching on to the "more please" gestures. You seem to be over that gunky-ness that's stuck around for way toooo long. Sleeping through the night seems to be your new passion ((which is a lot easier to do now that you can breathe ;)) You notice when we walk away and give the cutest little whine because you know we'll be right back lickety-split! Yes, you already have us wrapped around your little finger and we wouldn't have it any other way!!! You're still diggin' the heck out of that bottle and have had a few little "puffs" and have no problem feeding yourself....but, you'll have to wait a little longer until you take that on. Your smile is still one of the best things ever and Trey & Ty love you to pieces and pieces. Your giggle is contagious and your beautiful blue eyes are the most adorable things ever. You even have a little "peach fuzz" on top of that little head of yours. I'm thinking you'll be in piggies no earlier than TEN!!! Bald truly is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Love you sweetie and here's to a fun 9th month!!!!



Move Over Betty Crocker....

there's a new cookin' Momma in the house!!!

Please....don't be jealous of my, "It's been a loooong day, whip up something for the kiddos to grub on," kind of meal!!!

I do have to say....they enjoyed these little "octopuses"  and completely cleaned their plates!!! (And, may or may not have asked me to make them again soon!!!)

The creations (which weren't mine, by the way) up close and personal....

Trey never minds posing for the camera.....

Ty, on the other hand, was waaay too interested to even say, "Cheese!"

Notice Trey is chewing while going in for a new bite....LOL!!

For the record...these bad boys consisted of light 100% beef hot dogs and Whole Wheat spaghetti. And, for the other record, I don't get this kind of reaction when I spend hours slaving away in the kitchen......

(smiles)

What an Eventful Week....

the Weite's experienced around Halloween. Between fun, fall activities and football games....we were BUSY, BUSY!! We took FULL advantage of a few of the fun, kid friendly events up here and the kiddos had an absolute blast. We weren't home until after 8:30 each night and that is soooo not normal for this "bath, brush, book, and bed by 7:30 PM" kind of crew.....

Below are a few pics of the fun times....we definitely got a ton of use out of those costumes!

Tay all ready for yet another stroll around....thank goodness she loves riding around in that thing!!! There are only so many different poses one can take cooped up in the stroller!!! Don't worry, you'll be up and runnin' around with them before you know it!!!

Daddy was able to make it for the walk around Living History Farms at the last minute! What a great little set-up!

Trey & Ty checking out the inside one of the buildings in the town....

Diggin' the fun whistle...although I do have to say that I had waaay more fun with that little thing! I was a whistlin' away!!! Fun, Fun! (aka...Goofy Mommy ;)

Posing by the big pumpkin...we all guessed the weight around 700 pounds...actual weight = more than double that! So much for our guessing game....

Daddy roasting marshmallows with his little Devil and Jail bird....

Tay showing of her skills....

Happy 1st Halloween, Baby Girl!!!

That look says it all....I HEART you!!!

And...don't forget about those clapping skills!!!

Trey at Zombie Burger and Drink Lab in Des Moines. That place really was a hoot and the menu was interesting to say the least!!! Talk about crazy combinations....I mean who really would order an

'Undead Elvis' consisting of peanut butter, egg, fried bananas, mayo, American cheese, and bacon....all stacked on burger patty or two!!!!

The kiddos enjoying walking (okay, running at times) down in Valley Junction....

Taylen....Meeeeeeeow, Fat Little Pink Kitty Cat!!!!

Ready to hit the sidewalks and do a little Trick-or-Treatin' around the neighborhood!!!

Oh...I have to share this pic! Tylee really enjoyed the Trick-or-Treating festivities this year and definitely did a great job of moving at her own pace from house to house. The others were always a good two or three houses ahead of her!! She was in no rush and totally took in her 3 year-old version of beggar's night. I snapped this pic as she plopped down on one of the porches and proceeded to "search" through all the candy choices in the bowl in order to find the "perfect" one. She really couldn't make up her mind....to funny!!! That's my girl...always skippin' to the beat of her own drum :) Love you, Ty!!!

And, one final snapshot of Halloween night!!! 

What fun!! The kids really had a FUNtastic time..... 

The Great Reveal....

of Trey J's Kindy pic....

I definitely think it's a keeper (even with the "fake" smile we all tend to get when posing for these things), which is soooo funny...because we really do keep our Kindergarten pictures FOREVER!! I'm now on a mission to gather up both mine and Jason's to do a little comparing and contrasting fun. Hopefully they are tucked away somewhere safe at home with our moms....considering they were taken waaaay before the days of digital photography and the "instant upload with a click of a button" capabilities. I'll be searching over the Holidays and hopefully get them on here soon...I'm totally curious to see who he favors!!!

Happy Kindergarten Pic,Trey, and here's to many more fun years of school pics!!!

More school picture fun to come....

(Once I hunt down ours from way back when)