It's ELMO!!

Saturday morning, Amy and I took the kiddos to see Sesame Street Live. It was such a fun day! The weather was kinda nasty, so it was the perfect day to be doing something exciting inside.

We got there a few minutes early and went straight to the souvenir stand.  McKenzie and Ruston both got a light up Elmo toy to use during the show.  We went to our seats and only waited a minute until the show started.  As soon as the lights went out and the loud music started, Ruston started crying! haha. I think it scared him.

After a minute or so, he was over it.  For the next hour or so, the child was in a trance.  He didn't take his eyes off the stage.  I think he was trying to figure out how Big Bird and Grover got out of his TV!! :)

Ruston and McKenzie both had their own seats, but they spent most of the time in our laps.  They did however, sit together for a little while when they were sharing snacks.

Ruston started getting into it about 5 minutes before the show was over.  He started pointing and talking. But then it was over..ha! Maybe next year he'll warm up to it a little sooner. :)

As we left, I tried to get some pictures of the kids standing next to the Elmo picture.  McKenzie was the only willing model.  Ruston spent his time running away from me, laughing. Crazy child.  

We snapped some pictures walking back to the car and then headed to Chick-Fil-A for some lunch.  It was a great day and the kids were so good! I think they're going to be really great friends as they grow up. :)

17 on the 17th

 Ruston turned 17 months old on the 17th. He is turning into such a big boy with a huge personality!  The boy runs everywhere and never slows down.  I don't know how he has so much energy!!

 He loves to play. He'll play with his cars (line them up and move them from one side of the table to the other) for really long chunks of time.  He also likes to wrestle with us.  His favorite it to climb up and sit on our faces! Crazy boy.  He still loves his books too. And now he's into magazines!

 Ruston is a funny little fella.  He loves to make us laugh.  And with a grin like that, how could you possible hold in your smile? :)

 Talking is still going about the same.  He says mama, dad, D (Diesel), no, and oh no quite often.  He's also said Dallas, Adam, trash, fish, cupcake, ball, car, Barney, and Elmo, but only once or twice and we never hear them again. :)

 Sleep....oh, sleep.  We have had to come to terms with the fact that those few weeks of sleeping through the night were just a phase.  He's back to his old night-time tricks again.  And I am back to walking around like a zombie all day. ha! I'm hopeful we'll get another of those phases soon... and maybe it will stick around! 

 Eating is become more of a struggle.  He goes through random spurts where he just doesn't want to eat.   Luckily, he usually makes up for it the next day.

 We got him some coloring books and colors a few weeks ago.  He'll hold the crayons and color a bit, but it doesn't last long.  We got him some for the bathtub too and he LOVES scribbling on the side of the tub.

He likes playing with our phones.  He watches Top Gun clips on Danny's and plays with "Talking Tom" on mine.  He thinks that kitty is hilarious. 

 Temper tantrums are becoming more frequent! :(  They mostly happen during diaper changes, dinner time, when he starts getting sleepy, and when we take something away from him.  Luckily, they don't last long...but they're definitely no fun!!

 Love this kid and can't wait to see what's in store for us this month!

February Happenings

We've got lots of special days in February....starting with my birthday!! :)

Ruston got me a money tree and a yummy cake.  Danny gave me some pretty flowers and money to spend however I wanted! Yippee!

We dropped Ruston off at my dad's house and went out to dinner.  The original plan was to head to Pappasitos.  We stopped by Hobby Lobby first and I somehow managed to convince him we should eat Pei Wei! It was DELICIOUS...I taught Danny how to eat edamame and lettuce wraps. Then we shared some sesame chicken. We ended up having to pull another table over because our little table for 2 wasn't big enough for all of our food! haha

Last Saturday we went to the Austin Rodeo Gala.  Jack Ingram and Vince Gill performed.  It was strange for Danny and I to have a date night twice in 3 days! We had a great time visiting with everyone and the food (stuffed chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, beef medallions) wasn't too shabby either. ;)

Next up was Valentine's day.  Ruston got his pictures taken at the Elgin Library family night thingy.  They turned out cute, but he wouldn't look at the camera!

We got him a Cars card that plays "Life is a Highway" when you open it.  He listens to it so often, it will probably be broken in the next few days.

He had his traditional holiday cupcake....

...and then stripped down to play with his balloon.

Today we're celebrating Ruston's 17 month birthday!! He didn't get much sleep last night, so he's quite crabby...so no "photo shoot" today. Bummer.  But we did have a birthday cupcake and played cars.  Notice he has to have them lined up exactly the way he wants.

Now we're watching his favorite movie...Top Gun! 

He loves this movie...he'll sit and watch the whole thing.  

He even laughs at the right times!

A Wee Bit of Me...

{one} what is your favorite breakfast food?O.M.G.....bacon! I swear, the smell of bacon can turn any frown upside down.
{two} how many pairs of shoes do you currently own?hmmm....I definitely own more than I wear...right now all I really wear are my tennis shoes, black skechers, brown loafers, and my house shoes. :)
{three} city or country?Yikes, that's a hard one.  I LOVE the country, but I don't like being away from civilization. haha. I like the idea of having lots of land and room to run around, but I need to be able to reach a Target. :)
{four} what is your favorite part of your job?seeing the light bulbs go off! No greater reward than witnessing a child learn something new.
{five} what is your favorite junk food to snack on?either popcorn, or chips and queso
{six} have you ever been mentioned in the newspaper?My wedding announcement and then unfortunately, a few obituaries.
{seven} do you use post-it notes?Constantly! I have them in all colors and shapes!!
{eight} do you have freckles?just on my shoulders.
{nine} is it okay for men to wear pink?Yes, most definitely.
{ten} when was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?Yesterday! One of my kiddos moved last week and we wrote letters to him during writing time.
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What's that white stuff??

We woke up this morning to a yard covered in some strange, white, cold, powdery stuff..... 

Snow is NOT common here, so I am still completely surprised that it's happened 2 years in a row! This year we actually got enough for them to close school.  Ruston and I enjoyed the extra 2 1/2 hours of sleep this morning.

We waited on Danny to come back home, then bundled up and headed out! Ruston walked around the driveway and seemed to enjoy himself....until he fell.  He caught himself with his little gloveless hands...and was done. haha. So we came back in.

We watched some Jungle Junction, warmed up, and then went out for round 2.  He did much better that time.  I still don't think he was really interested in the snow, though.  He just ran down the driveway and down the street, like he would any other day.

Diesel didn't venture too far from the door.

Several hours have passed and the majority of the snow is gone.  It was beautiful while it lasted, but I won't  miss it.  I'm not a cold weather kinda gal.... I'm with this guy - cold days are meant tobe spent inside reading a good book. 

:)

And a flashback to our February snow day last year....

A Wee Bit of Me...

{one} what was your favorite sitcom growing up?Full House! I always wanted to be the 4th sister. And I thought Jesse was SO cute. haha
{two} what song always makes you happy when you hear it?Right now I love "Roll With It" by Easton Corbin.  Reminds me to just take things as they come and roll with it. (Definitely did that today with my new student. He's going to be a handful!)
{three} do you still have your wisdom teeth?I never got any! I know, lucky me. :)
{four} what is your go to way to relax?Either taking a long, hot bath, or putting on the PJ's, grabbing some wine, and parking on the couch with some good reality TV. haha
{five} do you play any instruments?No. :(  I played the flute in jr high. But I don't remember a thing...I always wish I could play guitar.
{six} nude beaches: yes or no?Um...negative.
{seven} do you chew your pens/pencils?Nope. And I hate it when my students do! haha
 {eight} can you change the oil in your car?haha. I have to constantly be reminded of how to check it!
{nine} can you curl your tongue?yep!
{ten} can you knit or crochet?No...but I can cross-stitch!