Aquarium with Liz

Liz and I have gone to the Aquarium three times in three days. Having season passes here is so very worth the money. The kids had a blast and learned about all kinds of sharks, rays and fish. The octopus was a big hit too. I know I've already posted "artistic" pictures of our adventures in the aquarium, but here are some more realistic pictures I took when I braved the wrath of the aquarium staff and used my camera flash. ;)

Showing Isaac and Andrew how cool and not-scary the Observation Bubble is

Caught him taking his thumb out of his mouth. He picked up thumb-sucking from nursery. :S

Don't remember the name of this fish, but Liz and I were both more than a little creeped out by it

"Touching" a nurse shark

Miracle of Miracles! Cousins hugging instead of slugging each other! ;)

Dr. Jekyll...

...and Mr. Hyde!

Derek loved touching the faux shark skin

We found Nemo!

Planking above the shark tank, lol

Derek is obsessed with the touch tank and it's occupants. The playground standing 20 feet away has no more allure.

All the kids were a little nervous about touching this rather fast-moving brittle star.

Can't forget Emeri! Pretty Princess had a great time too. :)

Cousins!!

I am absolutely loving having Liz and the kids here. Sure, it's crazy and hectic and loud sometimes, but that just makes naptime all that more precious. ;) We've had so much fun getting out and about to parks and the aquarium but indoor activities have their own charms. Check out these little gems...

Derek adores Emeri! He loves doing tummy time with her and mimicing her coos and cries. It's pretty cute. :)

Andrew shows us how to really do tummy time with Emeri. Haha!

Emeri is four months and Bryce is almost five weeks. They both weigh about 11 pounds and are roughly the same size. Crazy!! 

Sunshine Face joined this picture party. What fun!

Bryce can sleep almost anywhere.

Party at Nana's House

We had an awesome Thanksgiving with Jeff, Tammy, Colton, Austin, Liz and the kids! We hung out all afternoon at our apartment while the kids took naps and then we went to Golden Corral for a big turkey dinner. Yum yum! Then we went back to Jeff and Tammy's apartment to watch the Avengers. We had yummy Bluebell Gingerbread House ice cream, too. Such a great day!

All three of the big boys got to ride in Papa's truck - the holy grail of trucks - on the way to Golden Corral. :)

The next day, Liz and I took the kids out to my mom's house to spend the afternoon running around outside and play with the cool toys. Amy was finally going to be able to meet Bryce and we were so excited to see her. All day long, my mom and Amy were dropping not-so-subtle hints about a surprise that was waiting for us when we got to Nana's. Lo and behold, the surprise met us at the door - Kelly came back to Dallas for the weekend! The newly married Mrs. Howorth was a big hit with the boys. :) There was another surprise waiting for Derek and the boys in the backyard... my mom found a blowup jump castle with a slide! I wish I'd thought to take pictures of that; the boys LOVED it! Next visit, I'll take pictures. Here are the pictures I remembered to take. :)

Andrew was showing off his sweet dance moves and Derek decided to join the party

Aunt Amy and Bryce!

Cousin Ally, Aunt Bella, Aunt Amy and Bryce

He is SO close to smiling!

Andrew turned on all the charms and worked his magic on my mom and sisters. He was a total favorite with them. :)

Kelly's Wedding

My sister is married!! I was so sad to not be able to go, but Bryce makes road trips a little more complicated. :( I was so glad when my mom offered to skype me in on her Ipad. It was so awesome!! I had a front row seat and was able to nurse discreetly (or so I thought). Unfortunately, I didn't realize that my video feed was full screen on the back of the Ipad. Thank heaven I remembered my nursing cover, haha! Amy told me later she was sitting with my step-brother Michael and my sister Valerie and they were all watching my screen thinking, "Is she gonna nurse? Oh, there she goes!" Haha! So funny! Anyway, we're excited to see Kelly and Dwight married and excited for the reception next summer. Kelly has a gorgeous dress!

Opening prayer

He vows...

 ...she vows

 Man and Wife!

 The "deed" to each other, lol

 Mr. and Mrs. Howorth

Some wedding guests... Val, my step-brother Michael and Amy

Liz and Austin Arrive In Texas

We spent Wednesday evening at our apartment just hanging out and anxiously waiting for Austin and Liz and the kids to arrive. I finally put Derek to bed around 9 and figured he could play with his cousins in the morning. They arrived around 10:40 and we were all so excited to finally have them here! Isaac and Andrew were wide awake and, when we all thundered into the apartment, we realized Derek hadn't gone to bed either. Haha!

Bryce loves his Giga!

This is what Mitchell and Colton did for most of the night. :)

Papa pulled a movie up on his Ipad...

...Derek lost interest eventually and started playing with his cars.

Cousins finally meet!!

All they wanted to do was play - no sleep for them!

Emeri was adjusting to Uncle Colton.

What a cute set of cousins and uncles!

Mitchell sure loves Bryce!

We told Derek all week that Isaac was coming for Thanksgiving. He's showing Isaac all his toys and sharing so well.

Superman had to hold on to the bed to keep from flying away, lol.

Emeri and Papa

Happy Grandparents!

Welcome Home Colton!!

Welcome home Uncle Colton!! He's finally back from serving a two-year LDS mission to Puebla, Mexico. It was fun to talk to him on skype while he was gone, but it's so much nicer to talk to him in person. :) Giga and Papa met us at the airport to pick up Colton this morning and we were a little confused about the flight's arrival time and gate, so Papa and Derek were actually missing when Colton finally came through customs and baggage claim. Tammy was a short way away when Colton walked through the sliding door and I tried to wave him off til I could get Tammy's attention. I was juggling Bryce, my camera and Jeff's phone (we were conference calling Lanae, Sereen, Liz and Austin so they could "be there" too). In the process, I dropped all the calls, nearly dropped the camera and thanked my lucky stars that Bryce was already on the ground in his carseat or I probably would have dropped him too. :S It was a great morning though. :) They boys and I went home to wait for Mitchell to get off work (he was taking a half day) while Jeff and Tammy took Colton to the stake president's home to be released as a missionary. We all went to Cracker Barrel for a yummy breakfast and then split up for a bit. Jeff, Tammy, Colton, Mitchell and Derek went to see the house in Prosper and let Colton drop his luggage at the apartment. Bryce and I went to Kid to Kid so I could pick up a nursing pillow, nursing cover and some awesome swaddle blankets for super cheap. I love that store. :) Then we all met up at our apartment in Lewisville to watch Thor and eat yummy food, ice cream and brownies. It was an awesome day!!

Walking down the aisle. ;)

 So glad to have him home!

 Talking to Lanae. We called all the siblings back individually because I didn't know how to get Jeff's phone to conference call and he was still missing.

 We finally found Derek and Papa!

 Hi Uncle Colton!

Father and Son

 Nice tie :)

 He wanted to take a walk with Uncle Colton

 I can't believe Derek is almost three years old!!

 Uncle Colton is apparently hilarious. :)

 So sweet!

And on a side note, this is why gingerbread cousins shouldn't marry. ;)