Baseball Fun

So these pictures loaded a little out of order, but I am just going to go with it. Ryan played baseball for the first time this season. I have to admit, I was not overly excited about him playing because I knew that it would be a major time commitment on my part. However, I have to say that once I got into the swing of things I came to really enjoy it. Ryan had never played baseball before this season and I was worried it would be very obvious since he would be up against other boys who had been playing since they were 4, but I have to say he did really well. He grew and learned so much this season.

One of the most memorable parts of the season was the way that Tyler and Kathryn would pass their time. The diamond that Ryan played all of his games at was right next to a track. Tyler would push Kathryn around that track for close to an hour every game. Sometimes I would look over and he would be pushing her through the long jump sand pit, and other times they would be stopped picking weeds. I love that he was such a good sport and kept her entertained so that I could watch Ryan and cheer him on.
Doug wasn't Ryan's coach for baseball, in fact he wasn't even technically his assistant coach, but he stepped right in and helped so much that they had a hat made for him. Here he is giving the boys a little pep talk after the game. Did I mention that Ryan's team was the Yankees this season(Doug hates the Yankees). He was a good sport though and wore his Yankees hat even though it was painful for him. :)
Here is an action shot of Ryan. He was a great batter and only struck out a few times the entire season.
A shot of the bench. Great Job, Ryan! We are so excited to see your love of baseball grow.

Straight From the Mouth of Babes...

Ryan gave tithing for the first time just recently. After counting out how much he would need to give he got a serious look on his face and asked, "Mom, does the Prophet give cash back?" This presented an opportunity to explain why we give tithing and he seemed to be okay with it, but did ask one more time if you get your money back at some point.

Just today I was talking with Tyler about how we always need to protect our sister because we would be so sad if something happened to her. To which he replied, "We can just go pick another one." If only it was that easy son. :)

Naked Buns...

Don't be shocked if you stop by our house and see a little naked pair of buns running around. We have been potty training Tyler for the last couple of weeks. It is going really well actually. We only have an occasional accident. He is even getting really good about telling me he needs to go to the bathroom if we are out and about. The one thing we need to work on is getting his underwear and pants back on each time. I will just get him dressed and before I know it I have a naked little boy running around my house again. I am proud of him and how quickly he has caught on to the whole thing. He is only 2 1/2...which is pretty young for a boy to be potty trained. Great Job, Tyler Bug!

Car Washing Fun

I decided to wash the car the other day and the boys were very excited about helping me.

However, we never seemed to make it past the bucket. They stood for 30 minutes throwing their rags into the bucket and making the bubbles fly everywhere as Mommy washed the car by herself.
Thanks for the help you two. At the end of the car washing experience they were both soaked from head to toe. They had a good time though and I guess that's all that counts.

Train Ride with Grandma and Grandpa

This last weekend my parents came into town and we decided to take a little train ride to San Juan Capistrano. It was a short twenty minute train ride, but the boys thought it was wonderful. Tyler was mesmerized the entire ride.

We went down to a little petting zoo that is right by the train depot. I have made this little trek once before with a few girls from my ward, and thought it was a darling idea. The petting zoo is nothing fancy, but just enough for two little boys.
Tyler was very into feeding the animals this time around. He was younger the last time and not all that interested. The only problem was that the little animals had been fed quite a bit already and so they weren't very interested in eating. He kept chasing one around trying to get it to eat his carrot, and calling"Bunny".

Grandpa holding one of the animals for the boys to pet and feed.

Riding the hay pony.
The most exciting part of the whole petting zoo was the little train they had. The boys LOVED that!
After visiting the petting zoo we walked down to the Mission in San Juan Capistrano.
It was hands down the most beautiful mission I have ever been to. The grounds had tons of gorgeous flowers.
Mommy and Ryan taking a picture with some of the cacti.

Tyler and Grandma Karen
There was a beautiful fountain in the center of the courtyard. You can't see the top, but there is water streaming down.
The boys discovered that there were Koi(sp?) fish in the fountain. They were having a lot of fun looking at the fish and touching them, until Ryan dropped his car in the water. He began to cry and my mom and I both agreed we were not going to stick our hands in the water. Finally, this young teenage boy came a long and put his arm in and pulled it out. He just laughed at my mom and I and walked away. I didn't need to feel slimy fish so I was going to just leave the car in the water and make Ryan deal with it. He was luckily some stranger was willing to stick his hands in the murky water...no thank you.
Posing with the Father Serra...well, a man that was dressed as Father Serra.
I thought this courtyard was so beautiful. I loved the old bells.

Grandma and Grandpa posing with the boys.


The train ride home. It was a very fun day. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for coming and making memories with us!

Tyler and Cousin Jackson

Tyler and Jackson were born just a few months apart, and it is fun to see them grow up and have similar interests...Cars, Trucks, Trains, etc. They spent a lot of time running around the backyard together pushing trucks and riding tricycles this last weekend.

The boys enjoying some VERY blue ice cream. Yummy!

Enjoying the fountain and splashing in the water. We wish Jackson was around more often to play with, but I am sure these two cousins will continue to be good friends in the future.

Tyler's Second First Birthday

We had a first birthday bash for Tyler on Saturday. We had a swim party in the pool at our house. We had a good turnout and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Due to the fact that Tyler was supposed to be born right around the 4th of July, we decided to go with the Americana birthday theme.

Enjoying the pool.
We had a BBQ lunch...hamburgers, hot dogs etc.
Don't forget the cake... Costco did a pretty good job, and it tasted really good as well.
Tyler enjoying a wonderful sugar high.
Opening presents. Uncle Dave and Aunt Caitlin gave him a huge squishy ball that he thought was pretty cool.

Tyler Taking a Few Steps

Tyler has finally decided to take a few steps. He is so fast at crawling that he hasn't had much need to walk up to this point.

Tyler Bug Turns One!

Tyler turned a year old on Wednesday, June 27th. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by...it feels like I just had him. Ryan, Tyler, and I have been up visiting my family while Doug is away on his hiking trip so we celebrated his birthday with all 13 of his cousins. What a wild celebration it turned out to be!

Tyler was super happy until the cake came out and he instantly grabbed for the flame on the candle. Mommy blew it out quickly and for some reason this made him cry.
He got over the sadness really quickly when he discovered that no one was going to stop him from making a mess of his cake.
I don't feel like words are needed to describe the blissful state he was in.
I decided he was done when he quit eating it and then began spreading it all over his body. What a mess! It took a long bath and some serious elbow grease by Mom to get it out of hair, nose, ears, etc. It was a lot of fun to have a baby get into it...Ryan wouldn't even touch his cake on his first birthday, and when Doug made him dig his hands in it all he did was cry the rest of the time.
Tyler relaxing amongst all his balloons and playing with one of his new toys. Can life get any better than this?

Tyler and his Tongue

Pretty much anytime you look at Tyler now you will notice that his tongue is hanging out of his mouth. It's mainly out when he is concentrating on something or playing. One of the most incredible parts is just how far it hangs out...he's like a little puppy. Maybe it gives him special powers, or he just really likes his tongue. :)

Tyler's First Haircut

Tyler got his first haircut Friday. I was trying to wait until he was a year old, but Doug insisted that we do it sooner. He was rocking a pretty sweet mullet, or "Terry Bradshaw" as Doug affectionately refers to it. He was actually pretty patient during the whole process. I brought Doug along for moral support, not to mention the logistics of getting two boys haircut at the same time. Tyler looks so handsome with his little boy haircut. Wow! I can't believe he is almost a year old.

So It Begins....

Tyler has began pulling himself up on absolutely everything. I took comfort in the fact that he hadn't figured out the stairs yet. Yesterday, I was in the kitchen cooking and I hear Ryan call out that Tyler was going up the stairs. I looked over and sure enough he had crawled up to the second step. Unfortunately, this means we are not far away from breaking out the gate. It was difficult to have it when Ryan was a baby, but now it is going to be impossible because Ryan climbs up the stairs 100 times a day. It has been a lot of fun though to watch Tyler crawl around the house and try to find where I am. We call him our little shark because once he finds you, he circles your feet until you pick him up.