The boys turned 8 & 2!

Written 2.5 years ago...Garyn and Layne will be 8 1/2 and 2 1/2 this week so I figured it was time 

for me to post about their big day! Obviously, life is busy 

and thats even more the reason I want to write about it as much as I can! 

These boy's are growing and changing too fast for me to keep up!

Garyn has gotten so tall in the last year and I still do a double take sometimes! 

At 8 years old, he was 4'6.5" tall and now, 6 months later, he is up to 4' 7". 

His weight has also gone from 76 lbs to 81 lbs now. He is also wearing a
size 6 shoe! Like, men's sizes! Makes it hard to find shoes. All this growth 

has caused some lankiness and clumsiness. He'll grow into himself, though! 

He played upward basketball and was doing so much better than last year! 

He is loving baseball and basketball right now.

Opening his Nintendo 3DS on his birthday

Garyn also loves board games and just plain competitions. We have been playing 

Monopoly and Risk, a lot. Also, likes to do cooking competitions. 

One thing that hasn't changed is his love for swords!

You can often find him outside playing with the beloved swords. 

We offer to play with him and he just wants to be alone! 

He does let Ansley and Layne play swords with him sometimes, too. 

Other interests of Garyn are Star Wars, K'Nex and movies! 

His Wii U, Xbox1 and Nintendo DS keep him occupied, too.  

He has started reading Magic Tree house books and really likes them! 

Speaking of reading, he is doing great in school. He recently got a 

math and reading award at school. He reads on a level O now which is two or three 

levels higher than he needs to be. 

After breaks, he will complain about going to school but otherwise loves it. 

On the flip side, one character trait Garyn has acquired since turning 8 is some attitude.
Still very mild, but for our sweet Garyn that typically rarely complains, its different. 

We have seen more huffing and puffing, more pouting, and even voiced frustration

 over the simplest of things. Now, these aren't things we have never seen. We are just 

seeing them more often! 

Layne also took on the terrible two's with full force! The little stinker has begun 

the tantrums over just about anything thats not going his way. 

In between those tantrums, he is still a cuddly, quiet little boy. 

And by quiet, I mean talking wise. He hardly says a word but can 

speak in full sentences if he wants. Not long after his 2nd birthday, he yelled for me, 

"Momma, where are you?" and I about fell out! So we know he can talk and are always 

trying to make him use his words. 

Layne loves movies, too. All 3 of them do, just like Daddy. Layne particularly likes 

to watch Disney Jr. on our phones and IPad. He knows how to get to netflix, too, 

and watches power rangers on there. He will sit still watching as long as you'll let him. 

I have found him numerous times in an empty room with my phone trying to hide! 

Layne also loves to run around hitting us with swords and shooting us with nerf guns. 

Small little character men can keep him entertained for awhile, too, 

knocking them over in battles. 

Layne has, of course, grown a lot, too. He was 32 lbs and 2'11.75" at his 2 yr checkup
and now is 35 lbs and 3' 0.5" at 2 1/2. That's about where
Garyn was at 2 yrs old, just over 3 feet. Layne's just a little shorter.
Layne is now wearing 3t/4t and size 8-9 shoes. He wears 6 diapers
but we have tried potty training recently. He goes pee-pee most of the time
we take him but will NOT tell us when he has to go. I got discouraged
and haven't been taking him much lately. We will try again this summer!

Layne's breakfast pan"cake"

We have recently switched him to a twin bed and he has done really well!
He started climbing out of his baby bed
in December and it worried us that he'd fall in the middle of the night.
Plus, he was 2! I was hanging on to my baby as long as possible!
We switched the bed and had a couple nights of him getting out.
Once we threatened a spanking and then did it the next time; he doesn't get out now.
Occasionally, he'll get out once in the middle of the night but it's few and far between.
Oh! And we got rid of the pacifier way back in June, just before he turned 2.
He started biting them off and us finding the piece in his mouth! It wasn't a bad transition, either.


We had a mixed birthday with Star Wars and Mickey mouse.
Garyn got to have a game truck come for the big boys to play in. That was a hit!
We also tried our first ice cream cake and Garyn says he wants those from now on!

Garyn chose cookies and cream with cherries

Hilton Head 2017

This past fall break, Nana decided to take us to the beach since we had not for the summer. We were so excited to get away and relax. Of course, the kids couldn't wait to play mini-golf, ride the waves and swim in a pool!

Typically, we go to Gulf Shores with the Rich family. Ansley calls Gulf Shores "Nana and Poppa's beach" actually! Well Hurricane Nate stopped us from going there last minute. Which worked out great because we got to try something different, Hilton Head! Tyler and I had been with Jack and Sonja in college, but not since having kids. Also, Kadie had never been to an Atlantic beach! I'll never forget when Ansley found out she kept yelling "South Carolina here we come!" Then once we were on the way, she had forgotten where we were going and said "Are we almost to South America?" We all died laughing in the car.

The place was so nice with lots of trees and sidewalks. I love the quaint feel of Hilton Head. Just seems like another neighborhood; oh and with a beach in the backyard! Ansley and Layne couldn't wait to get to the beach but it was already 6:30 or so at night so we just stuck our toes in the water!

Bryson, Emma, Layne, Ansley and Garyn all did so well playing in the ocean in the mornings. I think they stayed out there a good hour at least every day. We kept commenting on how well Emma and Bryson were doing at the beach. They used to hate the beach and spent less than 15 minutes out on the beach and cried that whole time. This year they loved it. Emma did say it was "too wavy" but she spent a lot of time smiling still! Ansley even made Tyler a birthday cake out of sand that first day! We still go between the beach and pool a lot. And even though it was super hot they like to sit in the hot tub.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to bike ride with the family. We had one morning that was rainy and cloudy so we decided to bike around the resort. We also ate at the Disney Vacation Club place on site. We all had fun!

One of the times we went biking, it was just Garyn, Ansley, Layne, Tyler, Jack and I. Ansley really wanted to ride separate and not tandem. Her cute little pink bike was evidently not working well and she was pedaling hard to keep up. It was the afternoon after being at the beach all morning. She quickly got whiny and dramatic. I was stopping with her constantly, trying to encourage her to push through. She ended up running into Garyn, Tyler and a tree! Thankfully there were no major catastrophes! We went straight back after that and parked our two bikes while the rest kept going! We did thankfully get to ride on the beach before it all went downhill!

Daddy's birthday was while we were there. We ate out and let him open his gift early. We got him an Apple watch. We were glad it was still a surprise because Layne kept trying to tell him. Several times he said "Daddy, we got you a......" and we thankfully stopped him, well I think we did, Tyler didn't tell us if so.

I'm so thankful for Nana and Poppa taking us on this trip and we can have these memories together.

Ansley is 4!!

This sweet precious baby is now our rambunctious 4 year old!! It is amazing how much she has grown and changed in 4 years. It seems like yesterday that she was born yet she acts like such a big girl, which can be good and bad!

Ansley is having an Ariel birthday party today. She loves the princesses still and wants to watch the movies a lot. She is always mid song and dancing, too. Other times she wants to watch Sound of Music which she also sings along to. Recently, she has had a renewed interest in her baby dolls. We are a family of 6 now, because her babies are always eating with us and riding in their car seat in the car and buggy.

A few weeks ago, I asked her what some of her favorites were:

• Favorite food: Old Mcdonald (aka Mcdonalds), Fries, chicken and ketchup
• Favorite color: Pink
• Friends: Brenna and Hayden
• Favorite Movie: Snow White
• Favorite Book: Princess book

Ansley has just recently started writing her name on her own. She sometimes gets the order wrong. Which is just too cute to me! We are still working on the other letters and numbers. She loves going to dance and gymnastics. Her dance teacher thinks she will be a great cheerleader based on her energy and loudness! Her mother's day out teacher feels she will be a teacher one day. She likes to mimic her during playtime and often has several of her own students at the empty chairs. We definitely see both of these characteristics! She is bossy, always playing momma to her brothers and baby. Her daddy gave her is loud voice, as well! She can definitely hurt your ears sometimes! 

Growth wise, Ansley is now 35 lbs and 3 foot 5 inches tall. She just started wearing some 5t mainly for her height. She is taking naps most days but has been skipping them more and more. She loves to sleep with Garyn and tends to come in our room at some point on nights she doesn't. We are still putting a pull up on her for naps and at night because she hasn't stayed dry at night yet. Ansley loves to eat carbs and sweets! We have a hard time keeping her sitting at meals to eat. This girl likes to be moving constantly!

Every year at her birthday I am reminded of the precious gift God gave us when she was born. We love you Ansley! Happy Birthday!!

Boys' Birthday!

So this past July, our boys turned one and seven years old. It was obviously a fun and busy time! Being the first birthday for us to have both boys to celebrate at the same time, I felt a little overwhelmed trying to watch both with their friends and their gifts. I did enjoy just one party to plan and get ready for though! However, I wanted to talk a little about each one and where they are right now.

Layne is our little scooter. That's what we call him, literally, "scooter". He is learning so much everyday. Books are one of his new favorite toys. He brings them to you and then very cutely turns to sit in your lap. His favorites are ones with animals. Which brings me to his next new favorite, visiting the horses across the street. We go about everyday to pet them. He starts jumping and kicking. He points his finger and tries to say horse, it doesn't sound much like horse though. :) Now they are gone and he will look up that way for them. I just love watching him soak new things in. You can see it in his eyes, the amazement.

Him in same outfit Garyn wore at his first birthday. 

At his first hair cut, he was 13 months old. He had a second one about a month ago.

Scooter loves to climb on everything right now! He gets on the bar stools, train table, chairs, desk and dining table. We can't keep him off things. He is saying more now and just today I realized he could tell me what the farm animals say. I love hearing those little words and trying to decipher them. He loves his brother and sister and all their toys. We are now constantly refereeing him and Ansley, mainly. And he likes to put up a good fight, too!

His favorite birthday present.

Layne loves to eat. He definitely eats more than Ansley! He is starting to use a fork and spoon, but is still very messy with that. We love how he starts working his lips and mouth when he sees food or drinks in anticipation of them. It just cracks me up cause I can always tell when he is about to go for someones food. He is a little mooch! He doesn't fall asleep as often in the high chair, now! He still eats veggies pretty good but has gotten a lot more picky and demanding about what he wants. He weighed 24 lbs at 12 mos and is now up to around 27 lbs.. He was 30 1/2 inches long and is now 31. He has quickly grown out of 12 mos clothes and is in 18-24 mos clothes. I had been looking at Garyn's clothes from that age thinking they were so big but Layne is catching up to Garyn's size. Garyn was 25 lbs at a year and 31 inches.

We had water toys at the party. I had used this exact slip n' slide at Garyn's 1st party.

 It was all very nostalgic for me and believe it or not, unplanned!

He is finally sleeping though the night! He went through a phase a month or two ago were he was waking around 5:30! Oh, I was so tired everyday. We would try to keep him awake at night but he usually would just fall out around 8 no matter what we did. Thankfully, he has now grown out of that and is sleeping from 8:30-9 ish til 6;30ish. He naps twice most days but can do with just one. We are still having no problem putting him down. He loves his blanket and paci and will just basically let us know when he is tired. He hasn't tried to climb out of his bed yet but has gotten stuck putting his legs up on the headboard part.

He absolutely loved digging into his cake. He started throwing it everywhere!

Now for Garyn, our sweet big boy! He is still so tender hearted and wants to do everything right. School is easier for him this year as far as the teacher and schedule goes. He complains a lot less, at least! He has been doing very well, too, learning addition and subtraction. He taught himself some multiplication and shocked us all. One example was right around his birthday he asked how many months old he was since I'm always talking about Layne's age. I said well 7 years times 12 for each month in the year. Within a minute he said, "84?"  He still loves the WiiU and mostly plays Skylanders. He chose a sports theme for their birthday party because he liked watching the World Cup this summer and playing baseball. We are about to start Upward basketball for the first time. Most of all, he still loves his swords. He doesn't like to go without them for long. As soon as he gets home from school he takes a couple outside and plays as long as I'll let him!

This was the chalkboard I did for him. He has already grown since then!

Playing with his MarioKart toys from his birthday presents.

This summer he lost his first tooth and since has lost his second one. We had to pull the first one because his adult tooth was coming in behind the baby. The second fell out but also had the adult tooth already in. I say this because he never really looked like he was missing a tooth with both of the permanent teeth already in. He is getting so tall, too! He is 4' 5 1/2 " and 68 pounds (He was only 63 at his birthday). I'm gonna be looking straight at him before long. He is also getting big feet. This fall we quickly realized he could no longer wear 3's and needed 4 1/2's!

After losing his first tooth.

Garyn also loves playing board games and card games. He likes for their to be as many players as possible. This leads to him planning game nights. Some times they come to fruition and others he just schemes. He also went through a phase of watching Food Network competition shows. We did a lot of "Chopped" competitions this summer. I will never forget our summer list either. He had a lot of things he wanted to do while he was out of school so we made a list. I loved the items like Creative Discovery Museum and Coolidge Park. Things we did when he was younger and at home all the time. He is still in that phase were he loves to do fun preschool like activities but looks like a 10 year old at the same time. We are trying to get him to do some things on his own but he is always a little slow at it and needs guidance. He takes showers now on his own, finally! He is also a big help around the house and with his brother and sister. I can have him do light chores and he gets some money in exchange. He plays well with Layne, he and Ansley fight a lot. Its hard to have patience with her sometimes, even for me! We are having a lot of good life lessons with Garyn more and more. He is understanding more about how people and things work and likes to ponder on them.

Planning one of his games for us to play.

Every age has its own new discoveries, from the 1 year old to 7 year old, we are enjoying these days with them!