New Trees!!

This weekend we had five new trees planted in our yard. We got one magnolia in the front yard and one in the back plus three pine trees in the backyard. We were so shocked at how big they were and how much they changed the look of the yard. The pine trees really block the view of the house behind ours. We did accidentally cut a sprinkler line and the cable line. Thankfully none of the major utilities were interrupted. Here are some pictures.

James under the magnolia tree


Pine trees


Our backyard

More from John's birthday

John had a wonderful birthday. Gammie, Grandpa and Aunt Jocelyn all came to visit and celebrate with us. We had to take James to soccer practice but John got to play on the playground the entire time. After practice, we had a yummy dinner and then had cake! John got an awesome Finding Nemo cake! I think he really liked picking the icing off. After cake, we got into pajamas before opening gifts. Seeing as he had trouble opening presents that morning, I skipped the wrapping paper and just gave him the present. He got a vacuum cleaner, a camera, a Leap Frog learning toy and a tricycle. James' game was cancelled so we all went to the zoo on Saturday. John had a great time riding in the wagon and looking at all the animals. He even went into the petting zoo and pet some of the goats. He took a nice long nap after we got home. All in all, John had a fantastic birthday.

Nemo cake!


Eating yummy cake


Vacuuming up the letters


Petting a goat

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!

Today is John's second birthday. My how the time has flown. He hasn't had his check up yet but we guesstimate that he's close to 30 lbs. Not bad for someone who was only 5 lbs 2 oz at birth. I woke John up this moring by singing Happy Birthday to him. He clapped and asked to be held. He wrapped his little arms and legs around me and laid his head on my shoulder. It was so wonderful to just hold him close like that. It made me realize that he's not my baby anymore. He's become my little boy. After a nice long hug, I took him downstairs where James and I sung Happy Birthday and gave him a cupcake. He was really shy during the song like he didn't like the extra attention. He was happy to have a cupcake but immediately asked for milk. After he took a few bites, I let him open up his gifts from a friend of ours. He got lots of fun things - sidewalk chalk, a bubble blower, play-doh, Elmo books, a t-shirt and swim trunks. He got really frustrated when he couldn't get them unwrapped fast enough. Unfortuantely, I had to come to work today so John had to go to school. He brought brownie bites for his classmates and cupcakes for his teachers. Hopefully he's having a good day at school. Here are some pictures and a video from this morning.

Enjoying his cupcake


Unwrapping a gift


Frustrated that he couldnt' get it unwrapped


Video of James and I singing.

More Camping and Easter fun

This past weekend was pretty busy for us. The boys had an Easter Egg hunt at day care Thursday morning and then we left town for the weekend. John got to spend the weekend at Gammie and Grandpa's house and James got to go camping with Mom and Dad. We camped at Jim Hogg Park on Lake Georgetown. The park was nice but really packed. We think a lot of families were vacationing over Spring Break. James had a great time roasting marshmellows on the campfire and playing soccer at our campsite. He's definitely getting better at dribbling and passing.

We picked up John Saturday morning and hung out with MaMaw and Poppa Steve for a while before heading home. We all ate lunch and then played at this great playground near the South San Gabriel River. The weather was awesome so there were tons of kids out playing. We got home late in the afternoon and had enough time to unload the car before grabbing dinner with Kristen and Katie. Afterwards, I took James to the Easter Vigil mass at our church. We got to see our friend Jay get baptized before heading home. It was 8:30 and James was no longer in the mood to sit still.

Easter Sunday was really nice. We all slept in and got some much needed rest. The boys got up and opened their gifts from the Easter bunny. They both got new crocs, movies and a children's bible. We had a pretty low key morning and then headed over to Kristen's for Easter dinner and more egg hunting. The kids had a wonderful afternoon playing outside and enjoying the great weather. Sorry we don't have any pictures to share. We rode our bikes down to Kristen's and I forgot the camera at home. We should have some new pictures of the boys next week as John will be turning 2 (YIKES!!!) and James will be playing in his first soccer game.

Soccer Monster

Well James is officially a soccer monster (from Backyardigans). He had his first ever soccer practice last Friday evening. He had a great time and is even gaining a few skills. We're hoping to get some more practice in over the weekend. Here are a couple photos.

Waiting in line behind a teammate


Dribbling through the cones

More Birthday Fun

Man, March must be a popular month to have kids in. James went to his first birthday party for the month with three more already on the books already. This time he went to Pump It Up. More fun for all on the inflatables. James had a blast playing with some of his classmates. He enjoyed racing his friends in the obstacle course but his absolute favorite was the huge slide. The birthday boy wanted a dinosaur party so James got a cool mask and some dinosaur toys. He didn't take a nap before the party and I fully expected him to pass out on the way home but he was too intrigued with his new dinos.

The big slide


Racing his buddy, Christopher


Awesome dinosaur mask

Like Father, Like Son

We officially have two Star Wars obsessed children. A couple weekends ago, Brian and James found some play light sabers at Toys R Us. On nice days, they like to play in the back yard. Let me tell you, James is quite skilled and it's extremely hard to block those low shots. We actually had to go get another one yesterday morning because John was extremely upset that he didn't have his own light saber. Here are some photos from Sunday's session.

Dad blocking James' attack





James fought hard, but in the end, perished

New Landscaping

Well we finally got around to redoing the landscaping the front flower beds. The builder put in holly trees so we had those ripped up and planted Italian Cypress trees in their place. We also planted some Crepe Myrtles on each side of the dining room window. They really aren't much to look at now but we're hoping they will be really pretty one day. They should have white flowers. You might also notice our new solar screens. We really hope they help keep our cooling bills down during the super long and hot summers. Overall, we're extremely pleased with how our house looks now.

Italian Cypress trees


Crepe Myrtles