Houston Visit

Seems like everytime we go to Houston the babies make great strides in growing and learning.
As soon as we arrived Alyssa found the stairs and went right up them...Logan was not as interested, but he made it up 4-5 steps and then was done. Alyssa started standing for more than 5 seconds while we were at my grandma's house. I am so excited she got to see that. Logan's second tooth came in and Alyssa's first came in.

We enjoyed the chance to spend some time with Uncle Stephen before he left for Afganistan. We took him out to lunch to enjoy a nice US burger before he left. He downed a full pound burger.

Unlce Mike is about to leave for school at Louisiana Tech so he may not always be there when we visit anymore...we enjoyed seeing him too. We actually got to spend lots of time with Grandma this visit since she was out on st disability from a surgery earlier this month. We got to play with cousin Elizabeth a lot and Aunt Kris as we all waited and hoped cousin Brody would show up during our visit. We got to see everyone else too. It is always great to have everyone together for a family picture...they keep getting harder and harder to come by. Our family has grown from 8 to 15.5 already. Soon to be double what we started at and the grandkids are just beginning.

We ended our trip with a visit to Lake Travis with almost all of the family. Daddy got to play on the boat and get really tired and sore. We celebrated Aunt Jenny's 27th birthday and on our way home we stopped by Daddy's old friend Aaron's house in Austin to wish him a happy belated 31st b-day.

8 months WOW!!!

News that is not baby related...I was laid off on Friday...I guess it is time to start watching our spending more closely. I am looking forward to more free time...maybe even some time to work of all the baby weight.

The kids have been saying Dada Dada for quite some time now with a very seldom Mama here and there, but I figured it was just the words that they could say and not that they knew what they were saying until very recently...maybe because it was Dada and not Mama. Now we say Dada, Mama and Ba (bottle). I am now convinced that they know what they are saying...they are growing way too fast.

I think Alyssa is a little jealous of Logan's longer hair because she is constantly pulling it. She has also become quite the binky snatcher even tough she does not use it as a binky but rather a chew toy for a minute and then she throws it down.

Logan is starting to try and climb up now as well and has tooth #2 trying to break through.

These kids seem to like playing on the outside of their toys more than the inside now...I guess they like the freedom of crawling away and going on to the next item at will. They also have a hand me down laptop that Mom used as a decoy so she could get some work done. They love typing.

They have been eating puffs for a while now and their older and wiser friend has introduced them to nilla wafers and ritz crackers. They are almost ready to turn their noses up at baby food and eat real people food...unfortunately Mom and Dad don't eat anything that they can really share with them. They have tried bread, mashed potatoes, celery, carrots, avocado, refried beans, and various fruits.

TUBES

We went back to the Dr on Tuesday and since Logan had an ear infection that lasted a month last time we were referred to the ENT again. Went to the ENT today and we have him scheduled for tubes next Wed. Hopefully he feels better soon. Logan also has started to use pillows. I have found him asleep on the floor in the living room twice once on a stuffed animal as a pillow and another time on one of the couch pillows. Growing up too fast.

Alyssa is talking more and more everyday. She has also decided that she wants to climb up now. I had a 3-4 inch thick toy on the ground and for some reason it was pushed up against the couch and up went her foot to stand on it to try and climb onto the couch...that toy is no longer on the floor (put the legs back on) and not against the couch. A day or so later I saw her trying to use Logan as her step stool. She is one determined little girl.

They have begun to be fascinated by balls...one of their favorite toys already and they don't even know anything yet about throwing and catching. Alyssa seems to be drawn to the soccer balls a little more than just the regular ones, but maybe that is because Mommy has so many soccer balls and I have heard that they are drawn to black and white more at a younger age...so maybe it has nothing to do with the fact that it is a soccer ball after all.

Pioneer Day

This year we had a primary activity to celebrate Pioneer Day...and the whole ward was invited.

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Pioneer Day - (also archaically called the Day of Deliverance) is an official holiday celebrated on July 24 in the U.S. state of Utah, with some celebrations in regions of surrounding states originally settled by MOrmon pioneers. It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints settled after being forced from Nauvoo, Illinois and other locations in the eastern United States. Parades, fireworks, rodeos, and other festivities help commemorate the event.

In addition to being an official holiday in Utah, Pioneer Day is considered a special occasion by many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). On Pioneer Day, some Latter-day Saints walk portions of the Mormon Trail or reenact entering the Salt Lake Valley by handcart. Latter-day Saints throughout the United States and around the world may celebrate July 24 in remembrance of the LDS Churches' pioneer era, with songs, dances, and pioneer related activities.

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We celebrated with flapjacks topped with our own hand shaken butter, we had potato sack races and 3 legged races...we had horse shoes, cricket toss, small game hunting with rubber bands, seed spitting contest, potato printing, stick pull, pie eating contest and pioneer photos.

Mom did not do that hot at the potato sack race...the sacks just are not as tall as they used to be...it is a lot harder when you have to bend down and jump.

Mom and Dad did the 3 legged race...most of the couples in attendance joined in and we did great.

We had to push people to join the pie eating (who can eat it the fastest) contest. Dad won his heat. Mom's heat was the primary presidency and she lost to the primary president.

And we had our Pioneer Family picture taken...

Ear Infections

We went to the Dr today and both of our little ones have ear infections :(

Logan is quickly catching up with his sister. He does a full on crawl now and everyday he is a little faster at pulling himself up on the side of the couch. Needless to say we had to move his mattress down as well. He had not pulled himself up in the crib, but one night I just could not sleep thinking that he might do it and sure enough the next morning he was on his way up and the mattress went down. Logan is also working on waving to people. He will look at his hand while he is moving it...too cute.

All of mommy's hard work has paid off and Alyssa is now clapping :) She is also literally climbing the walls now. She no longer needs to grasp something to pull up...just uses those strong legs to get up now. She also likes to talk on the phone. Sometimes when she is screaming I will put her on the phone and she will quite down for a moment or so...and since it is family on the other end they are just happy to talk to her anyways. She is holding her own bottle more now so that helps me out a lot.

I started playing peek-a-boo with them and they love it. I think they just like the word and don't really get the hidden face aspect of it yet, but I could be wrong...and they are both very ticklish and love to laugh.

Milestones

We hit a few milestones this past weekend.

The night before we left town we had to lower Alyssa's mattress becasue we caught her climbing up the sides in her crib. She is constantly pulling herself up on the couch and even lets go and stands for a split second once in a while. Needless to say she falls multiple times a day and has a nice loud cry.

Logan hit a big milestone as well. He cut his first tooth. The night before he had a really hard time going to bed. Eventhough we gave up the binkies a while ago we did happen to have one in a craft box we brought for the shower so Alex went and got it out of the truck in the middle of the night and that helped calm him down. He is getting really fast with his army crawl and is sitting up much better. We bought him a convertiable carseat...not sure he likes it or if we do...I guess time will tell.

They definately know their names and have for some time now. They love to play with their feet and are constantly attacking each others faces. Everything is going straight to their mouths. They got their own keys and cell phones from grandma and they love them.

I think the next toys we will have to get them are bath toys. They are ready to start playing in the tub...but it is easier for us to take them in the shower one at a time, so we willl see.

Summer Fun

We had lots of fun swimming at our friends house The Dawson's this summer.

These pictures are from our first time in the pool.

We did get to go once in Katy with cousin Elizabeth and Aunt Kris.