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There really weren't any "great" ones of us with everyone looking at the camera and forget everyone smiling. It's just very hard at this age for everyone to cooperate - especially when cousins Justin and Alex were being so silly. We had a lot of fun trying though and I'm grateful to Aunt Kelli for taking these for us. We'll work on getting some more this year.
But, these were probably the best of the bunch.

Merry Christmas from the Tyree's!

Jaden's Christmas Program

We were so excited this year to get to go to Jaden's school and watch him in his first Christmas program. He was a donkey in the manger scene and he was soooo cute! He stood up there very bravely and participated with his class. They sang "Silent Night" and "Happy Birthday Jesus!" and a couple of other songs. Afterward, we all got to munch on some yummy cookies and pink lemonade.

A rare picture of me with my braces...

Me and my boys!!

The fam...minus Anna (she was still in school)

Splish Splash!

We've got two of the silliest little boys! But they can be so much fun. Lately they've been finding new things to play with in the tub. On this day it was swimming goggles. At least they are appropriate for the water (I can't say that everything they choose is!). I can't believe they kept them on. If I wanted them to wear them of course they would be screaming and hollering and rolling on the floor :)

December 19, 2009 - at the beach!

We went out to the beach today to get out of the house for a bit. I didn't expect it to be as beautiful as it was. In the summer time the beach can be kinda nasty - the water is usually more of a "brown". But today it was gorgeous. It was a very clear, sunny day in the mid-60's. The kids had a lot of fun playing around in the sand up near the dunes. Usually we can't get them away from the water.

I know our friends and family up north are all bundled up with lots and lots of snow outside. I've seen many of my friend's blog and facebook posts of snowmen and snow angels. Here's our version: The Sand Angel...

Happy Holidays!

Stay warm!

I have been so busy the past few weeks getting ready for Christmas and trying to start up a little photography business (check out my website: http://www.julietyreephoto.com/ -this has taken a LOT of time as well). But I have been taking notes and pictures that I hope to post soon to update every one on what we've been up to down south :)



Yesterday, I got this note from Jaden (given to him from Anna):
In case you can't read it, the note says "Jaden poopt". She sent him in to tell me he needed his diaper changed.

I asked him if he did and he nodded. LOL!

It's so funny what she's coming up with now that she's reading and writing :)

What am I gonna do now?

So, Luke has learned how to get out of the crib and out of his room. I'm not happy about this at all! I hoped he would stay in his crib at least until 3. Oh well, time to change the game plan...
Yesterday morning, I heard him wake up (no crying or hollering for one of us - this is unusual). He got out of his crib, turned off the humidifier, turned off the noise maker, then walked out of his room and shut his door. Next, he came in to Anna's room (where I was sleeping), grabbed something from her desk and shut the door. I couldn't believe he didn't jump in bed with me or holler at me to get up! Next I heard him go into the bathroom and flush the toilet...then, shut the door. After that he went to see Chris and the kids who were already up watching cartoons. I just chuckled to myself and went back to sleep!
Then, in the afternoon while he was napping I jumped in the shower. After I got out I thought I had better check on him because I knew he had been sleeping for a while. As I was walking toward his room I noticed the front door cracked open. I thought "hmmm....that's weird - why didn't Chris shut the door before he left?". So, I went to close it and noticed a little boy on the front porch digging into the the Christmas decorations. Guess he knows how to open that door too! Time to lock the doors 24/7!
Now, it's time for bed. He easily takes his bottle, tells everyone "night-night", and walks back to his room. Chris predicts he'll last 20 minutes. So, I turn on his noise maker and then humidifier and lay him in his crib. As soon as I lay him down he is up and starting to climb out. I bite my lip and quietly chuckle some more as I watch him do his thing. He climbs over the crib and slides down between the crib and the wall (I expected him to go over the other side - seems much easier). Then, he walked over to the noise maker and turned it off. Next, was the humidifier. Then, he was off down the hall back to the living room.
I do not know what I'm going to do about this. I really, really enjoyed putting him in his crib and having him just go to sleep. It was comforting to know he was safe in his crib. Now, Mr. Independent is going to make me have to re-evaluate my whole game plan. Wish me luck!

Trick or Treat?

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween so, I was hoping to just avoid it this year by going to Sea World instead. Unfortunately, I started getting sick on Tuesday. Since I didn't feel well I knew I wouldn't last long on a trip we decided to just stay home and do the trick or treat thing.

I hadn't planned on being here I had to scramble to get some halloween candy and find some costumes for the kids. Anna was pretty easy. I had already spent $150.00 on dance costumes earlier this year and she loves them so she was a ballerina :). It's wonderful to get a little more use out of them since she only wore them once. We threw in a fun mask to mix things up. She's always one for a little extra drama!

Luke and Jaden were a little trickier. I happen to have lots of little dress up things around but we just had to decide on something. Luke went as Woody from Toy Story. I think he looked pretty cute :)

And Jaden was a construction worker. He wore Chris' old hardhat from his Chemical Response Team days. It was so cute and even had Tyree on it! He loved his little tool belt.

"If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself"

This quote may be lost on some people but it always cracks Chris and I up. It's from a skit that Will Ferrell did on Saturday Night Live where he played Harry Caray. Jaden wearing my sunglasses with the lenses popped out remind us of that skit. (Click on the link and watch it - it's hilarious!) He thinks they make him look like a different Harry....Harry Potter. As soon as he got his hot little hands on those glasses he ran and got his "broom" (a.k.a Nimbus 2000) went outside to do his Harry Potter impression. Luckily, my camera was very close by and I got some pictures to share. Enjoy...

Leapin Lizards!

We are being taken over by critters down here! Thank goodness the roaches are staying away for now but we've been noticing lots more bees and crazy little lizards. I didn't realize that these ugly things actually change colors. Just another way to freak me out even more when I see something move that I didn't expect!
But of course the boys are fascinated. They followed this little guy around for a good 15 minutes. They would get brave and move in a little closer, then a little more. Then they would grab whatever stick or bat or ball happened to be laying close by and whack the table then hurry up and run away as the lizard scurried around. It was great entertainment ;)

Yuck!

Mood Swings...

Happy-go-lucky

Moments later... Not so much

My 18-month-old baby, I mean toddler

It's hard to believe this little guy is 18 months old already! He's such an active little guy. He and his brother wreak havoc for me all day long. I try to stay one step ahead of them but often find that they have outsmarted me again. They are definitely partners in crime!
He runs, jumps, tries to skip. He climbs, throwns, swings anything that might be suitable as a baseball bat or golf club at whatever is near.... We are working hard at developing his talking. He is a bit behind here. Guess he's been spending more of his energy perfecting his fine and gross motor skills :) But, we spend lots and lots of time looking at books and reading. He'll sit for extended periods of time with a book. He points to the pictures over and over and we practice saying the words. I am so happy that this weekend I've gotten him to say "duck", 'choo-choo", "ba-ba" (bottle), and "da-da" (more frequently-he had said this once in a while before). He also tells me when he goes #2 - he says "I poo" and pulls at his diaper in the back. Hey, it's a start!
I decided to pick up a new potty while I was out getting diapers. It was a big hit! I think I'm actually gonna need to get another one. It's shaped like a frog and is much more suitable for little boys than the one I have. Luke sat on it immediately when he saw it. After I got a chance to put away some of my groceries I took off his diaper and let him give it a go! He sat there for about 10 minutes until he peed! He was very proud. He brought me Jaden's potty book which has sticker rewards in the back. I gave him a sticker and he took off running to their bedroom to put his sticker on the calendar. Then, he clapped for himself! This is the second time that he has peed in the potty by himself. He is very encouraged by Jaden. Now, I'm hoping Jaden will be more encouraged by Luke! Jaden can totally do it - it's just a matter of will at this point.

Here are my sweet Cowboy's stats from his doctor appointment:

Height: 35 1/2 inches tall (above 95th%)

Weight: 30 lbs. 14 ounces (90-95th%)

Doc says "he's a big boy" ;) But, fortunately he is doing well and is healthy. We are so thankful for this gift.