I found a picture of Ryan and when I saw it I couldn't get over how much it looked like Sawyer!
I tried to recreate it but I don't think the resemblance is as noticeable
I'm kind of digging this vintage feel on the pictures
check out the matching crocs!
Sawyer has started folding his arms when we say its time for prayer. He even does it right as I sit him at the table before I even say anything. They don't stay folded for very long but he at least starts that way!
Its just one of the many adorable things my big boy is doing these days!
these pictures are for my mom and my sister. they are things I've been talking to them about and wanted to show them. I guess you can look too, he he
What more could you ask for on a summer day?
The new family pool at the Y opened and we decided to check it out. It really is an awesome kids pool with a baby pool and a bigger pool with a section that has 0 ft entry and a mushroom fountain, a 2 ft area with buckets that dump on your head, and a slide that I would have loved when I was younger. It really took me back to my summer days in Ohio when we used to live at the pool all summer long. We went straight from my cycle class, which is usually Sawyer's nap time to he struggled until he finally dropped.
I think we all had a lot of fun in the sun. 
we finally got our big Sawyer boy in his big boy car seat on Sunday. He didn't quite know what he was getting into at first, but he smiled all the way to church once he saw it wasn't a death trap. He liked pointing out the windows and I think he really liked the added sister contact it gave him. (it has yet to add more brother/sister fighting, knock on wood.) 
Today after a long day of being at the gym and then the park for a picnic he fell asleep in it for the first time, all hunched over like his head was going to fall off. I think I'm going to miss the comfort of his old baby car seat for quick naps! But I really love looking back at him and seeing his cute little smiling face.
Who wouldn't?
he knows how to get lids off markers and can now take the lids off of his sister's chapsticks to suck on them. he sticks his fingers in light sockets and makes a dive for it when he's on top of a bed or another high place.
he is a dare devil and a little rascal
Today began like most other days but then ended up really fun! Memorial day may have been a day off of school for our daddy, but we still had to wait anxiously until 3:00 for him to come home from studying at school and play with us. It was nice to play at the pool with him. I have been taking the kids almost every day since we've been home from vacationing, but they like swimming with their daddy a whole lot more. I guess he's just more fun than I am!
Here they are hanging out by the fountain
Kate modeling her fashionable floaties
and Sawyer just looking like a stud. I can't get over his cute little toddle and I find myself looking down several times a day and I have to attack him with kisses because he is just too cute! 
After our swimming fun we had a yummy BBQ with our friends. I just love BBQ food so much! Here are the girls enjoying their ice cream cone and cookie desserts.
They call Memorial day the unofficial beginning of summer, but I think its safe to say that summer is already here in Houston. We look forward to swimming and splash parks and trips to the ocean!
We finally gave Kate her birthday present yesterday...good thing she doesn't realize its a month late! We got her a box of dress ups full of random things I've been collecting for a while. She was in dress up heaven! And, of course, she wanted to include her little brother.
I actually hung up the mirror the day before and she couldn't stop looking at herself in it and putting her chapsticks on in front of it. And then Sunday morning I found her with my foundation all over her face....sneaky Kate! She was so proud if herself walking around saying, "I have my makeup on! I'm ready for church!" 
I love watching her use her imagination and I can't wait to see her enjoy this present!
I have a little brother going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Devin finished his papers and has sent them in and I can't be any more proud or any more excited!
I've had friends go on missions and cousins go on missions and have heard stories about missions, but I'm so excited to have a brother go! Someone who you feel bad if you seldom...or never...write to! Someone you bake cookies for and send to them because you love them that much! Someone you miss terribly on major holidays.
Have a mentioned I'm excited?
And whats funny is that Ryan's little brother, Jesse, is the same age as Devin and just got his call to Milwaukee, WI! So now I'll have 2 brothers out at the same time!
While we wait for Devin's call, I thought I'd have a guessing game.
Where do you think Devin is going to go on his mission?
leave a comment with your guesses. You can have one guess inside the states and one guess abroad.
example:
Tucson, AZ
Italy
(those aren't my guesses....I'm still thinking.)
You don't have to know Devin to play. The person who guesses closest will get a prize.
Happy guessing!
What do you do when your daughter is too afraid of the automatic flushing potty that when you finally convince her to get on you notice, too late, that she isn't all the way on and she's peeing all over herself and her clothes?
You offer her the shirt off your back, of course!
(and she really isn't embarrassed, she's just making a funny face....she probably will be embarrassed in a couple years but oh well!)
Today we went to the Dr for one big Kissell check up. The Dr officially declared the kids healthy. Here are their stats:
Sawyer Lane:
22 lbs 4 oz (50th percentile)
30" (50th percentile)
head 18 1/2" (70th percentile)
Sawyer's 1 year old favorites:
-walking in his adorable toddle
-using his walking skills to get into everything
-throwing things
-looking you straight in the eye and telling you a story that only he understands
-raising his hand on command (raise your hand if you love your mommy.....raise your hand if you are cute....raise your hand if you're hungry...)
-eating his sister's chapsticks
-making a gurgling sound as he pretends to drive cars around
-Miss Ethel (his favorite gym mama)
-folding his arms during prayers and grunting and "amen" afterward
Kate Rose:
30 lbs (50th percentile)
36 1/2" (30th percentile)
Kate's 3 year old favorites:
-counting
-pointing out numbers and letters
-playing and having patience with her little brother
-coloring really well between the lines
-pretending to write letters (they usually just look like tiny curly qs)
-pedaling her bike all by herself
-helping me
-singing all the time
-saying really funny things
-whining (not one of my favorites)
-playing at the park
We thought Kate was going to get 1 shot and Sawyer 2 so I got Kate all prepared and then the nurse came in and said she didn't need one after all. She was visibly disappointed so she gave her a band aid anyway. Silly Kate and her love of shots. Sawyer took his 2 shots in the leg and only cried a little. Then we had to take him down to the lab and give a routine blood sample and I had to be the one to hold him down. He didn't cry (just like his big sister back in February) but he did squirm.
Its good to know they are healthy and growing the way they should! Even if I think they're growing just a little too fast...
Time for some late blogging catch up....
I had a fun Mother's Day! It was great to be in Tucson with my mom, who is the best mom in the whole world. I love you Mom!
Kate came home from nursery with this cute little box. The lesson was about sharing and her cute teacher had made these for the children.
Inside was this yummy surprise for us to share
I love being a mom so much! I am loving my kids at these ages. Kate is so fun and yet is getting so big! I can't believe all the things she says and does and knows! 
Sawyer is equally as fun, teaching me what it means to have a boy. Luckily he is a sweet and irresistible terror.
I am the luckiest mom in the world!
On Friday I left my husband...again...and drove down to Corpus Christi with some fun girls in the ward for the Beach to Bay relay marathon. We picked up our packets that night and then went to Johnny Carinos for a late but very yummy dinner to carb load and chat a bit.
The race started at 7 am the next morning so the first 2 legs of the relay left early before the rest of us. I was the last leg so I got dropped off at my starting point at about 8:30. I got there just in time to see the front runner pass by.
I couldn't believe how fast it was. And then I saw this girl in the mass of people sitting around and waiting and I laughed.
I started my leg at 11:35 so I had 3 hours to kill. I did a lot of people watching and I listened to a good book on my ipod. I also did a lot of hydrating...and so did a lot of other people because check out the line for the potty...and I was halfway through at that point!
It was a nice day for running. For the most part it was overcast with a tail wind. It was 80 some degrees, which doesn't sound too bad but the humidity made it HOT! I'm not a big sweater, but you should have seen me! I was drenched! We each ran 4-4.7 miles. Since I've been running to get ready for this I have come to like running more than I thought I would. It still isn't my favorite form of exercise, but I did enjoy it. I do, however, have lots of room for improvement! I ran my 4.4 mile leg in 43 minutes and our team ran the entire marathon in 5 hours 17 minutes! I'm proud of us!
Here is me before I started (wishing I had sunglasses) 
And here are all of us (minus our 3rd leg, Lynette) after.
I look a little less perky than the rest of the girls because I'm still trying to recover.
I finally got to meet Holly and Amanda at the Picture Life workshop I've been waiting so long to attend! It was amazing!
It was at Holly's beautiful home in Phoenix and I got to learn SO many tips and tricks with a bunch of fun ladies. It was so amazing that I was a little surprised when I realized I didn't walk out of her house with all these amazing photography skills! They just make it look so easy! But I learned so many things that I'm excited to practice and get better.
