Little Observations....

has been the theme of this random Wednesday night.

As I was getting supper ready for the kids tonight, I glanced over at Miss Tay eating in her highchair. Usually I smile at her and we have our own little version of a babble baby-talk conversation, but tonight I caught myself just staring at my beautiful little girl and taking in all the little things about her that I love so much....

• The way her blue eyes sparkle as she watches every little move I make.
• The way she hears what I say and then moments later I see the wheels turning and her little mind processing what I just said.
• The way she hears clapping and immediately smiles like crazy and claps along.
• The way she doesn't just pinch a piece of food between her fingers, but instead puts a fistful of the goodness in her mouth.
• The way she seems to do everything with her left hand.
• The way she hears her Daddy's voice and begins to immediately giggle.
• The way she crosses her legs as she sits in her highchair.
• The way she stops drinking from her sippy and clicks her cute, little tongue.
• The way she goes to take a step, stops, looks around, and decides the safer option would be to crawl.
• The way she could spend a whole day people -watchin' in her stroller.
• The way she melts my heart and makes me realize that it's impossible to love anyone more than I love my kids.
• The way she makes me just want to figure out a way to keep these memories from ever fading away.

Then, as I headed out to the backyard to tell Trey it was time to come in for the night and wash up for dinner, I stopped by the back door for a moment and just watched....

• The way he hurried and hid behind a bush, hoping to get just a few more minutes of outdoor time.
• The way he giggled from behind that same bush as if I hadn't a clue that's where he'd hidden.
• The way he came out from that bush and laughed the whole way over to me, asking if I'd realized he was hiding.
• The way he looked at me like he really couldn't believe he'd gotten away with it when I told him that I had no clue where he'd gone.
• The way he turned, waved to the neighbor girl he was playing with, and said in the sweetest voice, "See you tomorrow...."
• The way he sat and wiggled his tooth with his Daddy because he's so ready for that thing to fall out.
• The way he cuddled up on my arm as we watched the opening scene of American Idol before it was time to hit the hay.
• The way he waited patiently while I tucked in both girls and eventually made my way into his room.
• The way he still, at less than a month shy of SIX, can't fall asleep until he's tucked into bed.

And, of course, I relished just watching Tylee as she played in the bathtub. I couldn't help but think about all the little things I notice about her on a daily basis....

• The way she creates a voice for each one of the bath toys and carries on the funniest conversations with them.
• The way she sings nursery rhymes, but only includes the words that she can remember and makes up her own words for the parts she forgets.
• The way she sprints over to me every day, the second I walk into her school, and gives me the biggest leg hug.
• The way she sits on her Daddy's lap as he combs her wet hair so the "tangles go away."
• The way she tucks her babies into bed and gives each one a kiss on the forehead.
• The way she has to have her Hello Kitty blanket in bed with her each and every night.
• The way she "sings" to her sister when she's trying to fall asleep.
• The way she always remembers to brush her teeth, but still lets us finish.
• The way she is always willing to help pick up and keep our house from getting "junky."
• The way she colors and takes her time, doing her best to make the prettiest picture possible.
• The way she LOVES to have you "draw" and scratch her back.

Now, as I sit here planning out tomorrow in my mind, I'm truly glad I took the time this evening to slow down and reflect on the little things. It's soooo easy to get caught up in the business of our crazy, busy days and all the "grown" up things that need to be taken care of. It's sooooo easy to find my mind wandering to a list of "things" I wished I had (a new car, a skinny body, a bigger house, a whirlpool tub, a cute Coach purse, etc...). And, in this exact moment, I know that all those things I wish I had could NEVER, ever mean more to me than all the "little" things I'm blessed with enjoying each and every day!!!!

THANK YOU, Trey, Tylee, and Taylen, for continuing to teach me what life is really all about. Tonight will go down as one of the best nights I've had. Just watching you three lovin' life shows me that I need to enjoy all these moments because these "little" things are really the BIG things and definitely what matter the most!!!!

So, I'll go ahead and end this little sentimental blog entry, one that I hope my kiddos will one day be able to read long after I've gone, with one of my favorite pics from this past weekend. It's a pic that show's true happiness on two of the faces and I know, without a doubt, that there's a huge grin on the little face we can't see...

Now, who says that those darn helicopters, that are flying off tress and landing everywhere this time of year, aren't fun?!?! And, tell me just how eager Miss Tay is to get out there and play with her older sibs?!?

LOVE you, MUNCHKINS!!!!!

Go YANKEES!!!

And, I don't mean the MLB team found in New York!!! (You all know I'm a Cardinal's fan anyway!!!)

Trey's officially started the Spring/Summer season of 6 and under coaches pitch baseball and he's on the Yankees. He's sporting number 6 and seems to already be having a blast and learning lots!

Our number one goal is to have FUN and learn something new each time we play. Something that we actually remember and put to practice when we are playing in the yard/park and improve on in the next game. Tonight marked his second practice and they had fun working on grounders, hitting batting practice, and getting in some tee work. It was so cute watching him out there....with a bunch of other five and six year-olds that are pretty much all in the same boat.

I forgot my camera (I know, VERY unlike me) for BOTH practices so far, but I promise to snap a few pics at the next practice. They only have one more and then the real fun begins. 12 games from now until the end of June....I think there's lots of fun in store for this little group!!

I did sneak a few pics at the team photo session this past weekend. I have to say that they were all looking pretty sharp....

Trey Man waiting for his team to get the call. He's excited to put his baseball glove from PaPa Steve to good use this season!!!

The boys checking out all the gear they had in common....and, I have to say, that listening to these boys have some major discussions was hilarious!!! So neat to see all their little personalities and see Trey making some new friends up here....

Still waiting...so patient!!!

Group pic time.....great shot, guys!!!

Posing for the individual shot....

And, we ended with a trip over to the school grounds for a little swinging :) Can't beat that...and all taken care of before 9 am.

After the pics and quick trip to the grocery store, the kids and I were off to cheer Jason on at his power lifting meet. Unfortunately, there were SO many people signed up for the meet that Jason had to wait around over 5 hours to lift. We didn't even get to see one of his lifts, but we get to see him!!!!

Go Daddy!!! We are proud of you and bummed we missed your lifts. Although, I'm sure it was waaaay easier to focus your thoughts once we made our "quiet" exit....

Judging from the above pics, which included Tylee serenading the audience, after she wore out her coloring hand, and Tay-Tay suffering from a major case of "Mommy forgot the Binky," but I've eaten every snack in the bag, blues...you can tell it was definitely time to wish Daddy the best and be on our merry, ready for a nap, way!!!

So, Daddy....keep rocking the weights and the power-lifting world and Trey Man, keep working hard at baseball practice. I know the games will be a blast and, you just never know, you may grow to love the sport!!! I'm super proud of you both and am excited for the many more meet and game watching moments in my future!!!! 

Love you BUNCHES!!!

Reading Machines....

We definitely LOVE to read around here....we've really tried hard to make sure that reading books stays a part of our bedtime routine and have tried our best to instill that love of reading into our kids from the get go. One of my favorite all-time Dr. Suess quotes sums up how I feel about reading, PERFECTLY.....

There are soooo many adventures awaiting us out there....so many opportunities for us to put on that "other shoe" and walk a mile in someone else's footsteps. I mean how else could our kids swim the depths of the oceans, visit outer space, meet a girl who has a  love for anything and everything pink and even has a pet unicorn, or take a school bus through the entire water cycle?!? My only hope is that they all continue to love reading as they begin to get into other types of activities and get caught up in "growing up" (Oh, which is happening too quickly! I'd love to sit and read them Spot books every night for the next million years!!!!)

Trey has absolutely ADORED books since the time he was 6 months old. He's gone from chewing on them to reading them each night before he goes to bed. Many, many nights he's chosen reading a book in his bed with one of us over squeezing in a few more minutes of tube time. (Not that I'm complaing!!!) He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES anything Magic Treehouse and can't get enough of Dr. Suess's new non-fiction series. The reptile and planet ones are his current favorites. I've been meaning to capture his reading on video so he could one day watch himself.....earlier this evening he took us through "A Fly Guy"...a random one he grabbed off the playroom shelf. It was a longer one, but he did a great job....

(Technical difficulties with the video of Trey reading) Grrrrr.....

Tylee Jean also loves reading, but has just recently developed the desire to sit and listen to a book being read from front to back, without skipping pages. She loves anything Pinkalicious and can't get enough of the recordable books her grandmas send her. By far, her favorite thing to do is to "read" us the book, which she did a FANTASTIC job of doing this afternoon....LOVE the details she adds as she really looks at the pictures!!!

(More technical difficulties....must not be able to load any videos that are longer than 90 secs?!?!) Grrrrrrr.....

Trey and Ty,

I'm so proud of you both and your fabulous reading. Keep that LOVE for books always going strong! Reading with you two each night is one of the best parts of my day. Nothing is better than listening to you read with me, Trey Man. And, Tylee, the look on your face as you anticipate turning the next page is pricless. You always love happy endings and don't miss a thing! Let's make a pact to keep reading together forever and ever.....what do you say?!? I really couldn't think of any other pinkie promise I'd rather make.....

Love you Bunches & Bunches,

~Mommy

SO CLOSE....

to being a WALKER!!!

Miss Tay is about ten days over the 13 month mark and is soooo close to walking!!! She's standing up all on her own and has managed to tease us a bit with a few steps here and there, but still seems quite content with just crawling around. I know it's only a matter of weeks, but until then, she'll continue to keep us on our toes and hanging on with anticipation.....

 (I'm experiencing some technical difficulties as I upload the video of her standing. The only thing I can figure out is that it's too long of a video to upload. I'll try to capture a quicker version and get it up here ASAP....Thanks for your patience)

She's also discovered the zebra down in the playroom. Trey actually got the zebra for his first birthday and it's made its way down the line ever since. Ty would spin around and around on that thing like crazy. She'd get to going so fast, stop on a dime, and just look at us with a huge grin and a wobbly head. Her little eyes would still be going in circles and we'd all just laugh and laugh. She got the biggest kick out of entertaining us and we had the most fun being entertained by her. Tay's just about tall enough to start spinning herself, but, for now, she's super excited to just be jumping on it....

As you can see...she's quite the little ham for the cam....LOVE you Tay and keep up the great work!!! You'll be cruising around in no time. And, we will continue to have a blast watching you....it's the most fun!!!! We are proud of you, Peanut!!!

Love you Bunches and Bunches,

~Mommy

Weeknight Zoo FUN!

I'm totally not the "Let's go stay out late on school night," kind of Mom. I'm a very firm believer in hittin' the hay at a VERY decent time each night. If my kids are not in bed by 7:15ish and lights out by 7:30ish, no later than 7:45ish, then I start getting a little uneasy.....

BORING, I know, BUT bed time has always been a serious issue in The Weite House. When traveling, bedtimes go out the window. On weekends, bedtimes get extended a good hour or two, maybe longer, depending on the situation. BUT, on a SCHOOL NIGHT, we are totally a bath time, book time, and early bedtime type of household. My kiddos NEED a good solid night's sleep and, truth be told, I, myself, am NOT a morning person. In fact, I'm a snooze at least three times type of person and if I wake up even five minutes before the alarm goes off, I'm pulling the covers back up over my head, type of person.

With all that being said, I did break my own rules and take the kiddos to the Blank Park Zoo this evening for a little animal survival fun...It was all in celebration of a one-night, statewide celebration of science and math education, so I just had to participate.

I took the older two, Taylen stayed with Grandma, and Jason had (and is still, as I type, at his track meet). We roamed the zoo, enjoying all the learning stations and just absolutely soaked up the beautiful weather and relaxing atmosphere.....

Trey's favorite parts were dissecting the owl pellets (which I totally thought were owl POOP for at least the past 20 years, only to find out tonight that they are just a giant owl HAIRBALL...that's even with a hands-on dissection of the same thing in my Freshman Biology class...UGH!!!) and the Bald Eagle exhibit. Ty's favorite parts were feeding the goats and watching the sea lions. Seeing them both light up at just about everything made missing bedtime all worth it.....

Trey loving the bald eagles....

Checking out the different types of teeth....herbivore vs. carnivore....

Ty excited she got to feel a giraffe skin....she said she never touched one before ;)

Trey finding all kinds of bones in that owl pellet....

Sea lion tricks...

Having a blast and getting along....didn't even argue!!! WOW! Must have been the GORGEOUS weather!!!!

Ty feeding the goat that Trey refused to feed because it was acting like a bully and trying to hog all the food. Ty wanted to make sure he got some too...what a sweetie!!! LOL....

They LOVE feeding these fish....which are waaaay toooo overcrowded in my opinion!!!

Miss Tay after we picked her up from Grandma's.....she wouldn't take these silly things off the entire mile ride home!!! Silly girl!!!!

So, Trey and Ty, although I'm usually a "stay up late on the weekends" kind of Momma, I have to say that I'm sooooo glad we made the trip to the zoo this evening. I'm hoping those words don't come back to haunt me in about 8 hours when I'm trying to wake you three bear-like children up for the day.....Grrrrrrr!!!!

Love you BUNCHES and THANKS so much for the fun evening out!!!!

Easter

created the perfect opportunity for us to hit our first Iowa Cubs baseball game of the season and get together with a few of Jason's family members for a little egg-hunting and visiting.

Easter morning started out with a little visit from the Easter Bunny, where the kids got a few goodies and we got to give out at least a hundred hugs and kisses and tell our three just how much we love them. It's funny because the kids were able to open a couple Easter packages that had been sitting around for days just waiting for them. They were so caught up in checking those out that they didn't discover the Easter Bunny's gifts until a half-hour or so later. Thanks Grandma Cindy, PaPa Steve, Grampy, and Mi-Mi for sending wishes from back in St. Louis. The kids all loved it all!!!

After hanging out around the house for a while, we headed down to Principal Park in downtown Des Moines and got all sun-screened up for the Iowa Cubs vs. the RoundRock Express action. The weather was fantastic and the timing of the day game allowed us to stay until the 7th before we headed off to Grandma Marcia and Grandpa Ken's house for Easter dinner.....

Ty IMMEDIATELY found Cubby Bear. She definitely HEARTS him....

Look who else we ran into???

Ty having fun getting autographs.....

Family shot....HAPPY EASTER!!!!

After the game, it was off to a little Easter egg hunt. Whenever we are in town for the holiday, the hunt at Grandma Marcia's is where the kids enjoy spending their time. This year was no different and they quickly filled their baskets....

Tay got a chance to actually hunt this year...with a little help, of course!

She had more fun shaking the eggs and taking them in and out of her basket....

Miss Ty was all smiles and had a blast hunting....

LOVE this one....posing away!!! So happy....

The Easter Bunny even hid them up high....

Jackpot!!! Trey man...you are getting so big!!! Hope there are a lot more Easter egg hunts still left in you....

Checking out their loot....

After the egg hunt there was still a little fun planned. Jason's sister, Lyn, sent an egg-shaped pinata for the kids and they had a blast hitting away. The big kids, Damen and Caden, even had a pitch in and give the thing a whack!!! Thanks for the laughter and goodies, Aunt Lyn!!!

Youngest goes first, of course ;)

Whackin' away....

Caden's turn....

Grabbin' all the goods....

Trey's arms were officially filled....

What a nice little Easter 2012 we had.....so blessed!

It's BARNSTORMER time!!!

We are definite fans of the Iowa Barnstormers, which is the Arena 1 football team here in Des Moines. and LOVE going to the games. Jason had the awesome experience of playing for the Barnstormers, as well as a couple other indoor football teams, a while back. We've been attending games for the past few years since Jason traded in his jersey for season tickets. The atmosphere is undeniable and we really can't get enough. Ty grabbed her cowbell and hit the game with us on Saturday night while Trey and Taylen stayed at Grandma Marcia's. She had a fantastic time, to say the least and saw the team bring home a winner.

Other than the lights flickering and eventually going out, along with the emergency sirens and the horrible storms that hit Des Moines before half-time, we definitely had a blast!!!!

Showing off her cowbell....

All ready to throw the dollar footballs in Barnstormer Billy's wagon at half-time....

Checking out the players and soooo excited to get a bunch of high-fives....

LOVE this pic of Ty looking down at her Daddy....

And, this one where she's flying high at kick-off time....

So, as the season continues on we will cheer loud and proud. For Jason, the games are a definite second-best to actually playing, but I know they're something we look forward to enjoying for many years to come are perfect for fun family times together!!!