You say...Chore...

I say...Pleasure!!!

Giving my babies their baths is one of my favorite parts of the day. It gives me at least one chance to have some one-on-one time with each of them. They currently take separate baths...which is about to change...Miles has outgrown the sink and is ready for the bath tub. Since their baths usually come in the evening it is a great way to get them worn out and ready for bed.

I will admit...the kids have there moments. From Miles' being upset because he is already tired and ready for his bottle and bed. To Tenley who doesn't feel that she should have to wash her hair. Bath time has its rough moments just like every other part of life!! But I wouldn't trade it!!! I sometimes feel that Goose is getting the short end of the stick, because he only gets to bath them every so often.

I am scrubbing circles on Miles' head to help rid him of his cradle cap!!! I think it is making him go cross eyed!!! He hardly fits on the mesh bath I use to prop him up. I am just spoiled...It is so nice not to have to get on my knees to bath him...I am about to make the switch though!!!
Don't you know he is thinking..."yeah...right there!!! That's the spot!!!" He really likes playing with the water and having his head scrubbed!!!
Is that an ornery face or what??? She didn't want me to wash out the shampoo...what am I saying...she didn't want me to put the shampoo in...period!!! Of course Mommy prevailed in the end!!! Tenley is just about as ornery...if not more so...when it comes to putting on her lotion!!! She doesn't care that she has eczema...she doesn't want "woetion"!!! My favorite thing to tell her is "People pay for massages everyday...and I give you yours for free!!" Even though she doesn't quiet understand...I laugh a little to myself.
He just doesn't have a care in the world...I am amazed every day at how content he is!! I always think...oh, Tenley is going to upset him!! Nope...I think there are only 3 things that upset this little guy!!! An empty stomach...a wet diaper...or aching gums(he is working on four teeth!!)!!!

See...no more shampoo!!! Yea!!! Now...it's time for lotion...

I think she looks like she is trying to swim!!

At least one of my babes loves bath time as much as I do!!! So happy to be clean!!! Babies sure do smell good after baths!! Just another reason I enjoy bath time so much!!!

Beyond Tired!!!

What do you do when your will to eat is stronger than your will to sleep???

Poor Tenley!!! Every now and then Goose and I catch her trying to eat & sleep at the same time!! It is both cute and sad all rolled into one!!!

In the end...the will to sleep prevails!!!

My 2nd Favorite holiday!!!

Next to Christmas...the 4th of July is my favorite Holiday!!! We do the same thing every year...but I always look forward to it!!

It has always been my families tradition to go to Colorado City's Fly-In. They serve you breakfast and you walk around and visit with old friends. I grew up in C-city so on the 4th I can go and visit with people I only see once a year. Sadly I skipped this year, but my Dad and brother Dwayne went. I will definitely be putting the Fly-In back on the docket for next year.

This year we started our day with the parade. Tenley enjoyed it with her Pop!!! Needless to say Tenley gathered enough candy for herself...Pop...and her Daddy's volleyball team.

Most of our day is spent with Goose's volleyball tournament. This was his 8th year to play!!! The tournament is put on by one of the local churches here. They play on the sand courts in the park. It starts at 9:ooam and is double eliminations. Goose has had several different teammates over the years but he is always out there ready to play!!!

His team name is "Burnt Chicken Down Town"...don't ask!!! The team was Goose, Ross(my younger brother), Rick(friend), Courtney(friend), Sarah(my cousin),& "Toes"(Sarah...friend). I am the team Mom...Tenley is the mascot...Miles is the #1fan!!! What can I say...we all like to be involved. Since Goose wont let us play...something about us not having any volleyball skills...we contribute in other ways!!!
"Be Careful!!! Don't touch the net!!!!"
"What a block...Go Big Ross!!!"

"I got it!!!"

Sadly there team didn't get 1st...but don't worry we will be back there next year...to give it another go!!!!

The volleyball tournament winds down just in time for us to go grab a quick bite at Aunt Shirley's!!! We enjoyed Hotdogs...Hamburgers...and all the trimmings!!! Most importantly the HOMEMADE ice cream!!!

Then it is back to the park for a quick walk through...then to the perfect spot to watch the fireworks!!!

Miles tried to sleep through his first firework show!!! I didn't blame him...it had been a long day!!! After the first few he woke up to see the rest!!!
As you can see Miles got a little sun!!! I still am amazed at how...he was under the shade all day!! He has his Daddy's fair skin I guess!!!

Tenley really enjoyed watching the fireworks with her cousins!!! She sure does love "Wuke"...that is how she says it with a "w" sound instead of a "l"!!!
She just gave Luke a kiss!!! She was pretty proud of herself!!! I think he is even smiling a little!!! I am sure one day all their hugs and kisses will stop...but for now they are Oh So Sweet!!!

Another great 4th for the books!!!!

Fun Times...

Please forgive me...This post is a month late...

For Memorial Day Weekend Tenley, Miles and I headed up to Dallas to spend the weekend with my Mom, Dwayne(my older brother), Nicki(my oldest sister), and Ethan(my nephew).

Goose had to stay home and work...he was missed though...especially by me on the 4hr trip up there and back!!! The kids did a really good job traveling...it is just when you need to stop there isn't anyone to stay in the car with one of the kids...they have to both go in with you and you have to take the diaper bag...cause lets face it Miles needs his diaper changed...Tenley needs something to drink...you get the picture!!! It is just easier with two!!!

The kids had a lot of fun with their O'ma and cousin!!!Miles is just chilling out on Aunt Nic's bed...chewing on his fingers!!
Tenley of course felt like it wasn't a picture without her...so she climbed up there to be in the shot!! She is still being a great big sister!!! She loves playing with "her" Miles!!! We do have to remind her occasionally that she is too little to pick him up...she of course doesn't agree!!!

On Sunday we decided to take the kids to the Dallas /Ft Worth Zoo!!! It was miserably hot!!! Let me rephrase that...it was miserably humid!!! I don't mind the heat...I can stand hot temperatures...it is the Dallas humidity that gets to me...It makes me feel sticky!!! YUK!!! Fortunately the kids didn't seem to mind it too much. We rented a stroller(if you can even call it that) for Miles and a wagon for Tenley and Ethan to ride in.
Uncle D is helping Ethan and Tenley find the animals...I think he was enjoying this just as much as the kids were!!!

This is the "stroller" I was telling you about!!! It sits just right off of the ground and has two levels...meaning that if you look by his right knee...you can see it drop to the next level...I had to put the diaper bag there to keep him from sliding. I know...he doesn't look very comfortable...but he slept like this for just about the entire time we were at the zoo. So really...it couldn't have been too bad...right???
Smile for the camera!!! Can you see the family resemblance???
After we were done looking at the animals Uncle D decided to take the bigger kids on the carousel. Truth be told I think this was their favorite part of the whole day...Next time we can save some time...and beat the heat by just taking them on the carousel ride.

Just like little kids...they didn't think that one ride was enough...So we took them one more time...
You can't tell from the look on her face, but she was having a great time!!!
Such a good picture!!!
She had a long day and pooped out while O'ma was playing with her hair!! Doesn't she just look so precious???
There he goes again...chewing on those fingers...he has been trying to get teeth since about 31/2 months!!
Final picture to end the weekend of fun...Time for us to go home and see Daddy!!!

This and That...

WOW!! Our little boy is getting so big!!! He just keeps growing and growing!!! He started laughing this past week. I am working on getting a good video clip of it for ya'll to listen too. It is such a sweet sound!!!

This is Tenley's favorite seat in the whole house!!! If she is brushing her teeth she wants to sit on top of the potty. I know what you are thinking...but at least she is brushing her teeth!!!
I love this picture!!! For those of you who don't know...this is Granddad(Semion Bill Stansell) Miles' namesake. I want to get many more pictures of the two of them, in the future.
Tenley had just helped her Daddy push feed!!! This was her first time to help with the dairy. They were tired afterwards, so they were taking a little break!!!
I never get tired of his smiles!!! They are so sweet!!! Such sweet memories!!! I am so overwhelmed by how blessed Goose and I are!!! The Lord is so GOOD!!!

Fun in The Sun!!!

Our sweet Baby girl L...O...V...E...S to be outside!!! It doesn't matter what she is doing as long as she gets to do it outside. Usually she rides her tricycle or colors with chalk, but the other day we decided to pull out the sprinkler. Ok...actually it started out as the spray nozzle on the water hose, then it became the sprinkler. She had a BLAST!!!

Because she had such a good time we bought her a little pool. Who knew that a 1ft pool could be so much fun?? Now that is all she talks about!!! As soon as she sees that house, it's "Mama, go wiming?" Ok...so that sounds a lot sweeter in her voice, but you get the idea.

Accidents Happen...

I knew one day it was bound to happen and it finally did!!!

Tenley had her first BIG accident. Last week we had gone to see Grandpa & Grandnanna. Right before we left their house. Tenley was playing and she started running from me. I immediately saw that she was not lined up with the entryway. I reached to grab for her...but...I was too late.!!! She was looking at me to see if I was chasing...she turned and at the moment her forehead collided with the corner of the entryway. She hit so hard that it knocked her back on her bottom.
I reached down and picked her up and Goose rushed over to see. She already had a knot the size of a quarter on her forehead. There was a perfect purple bruised line from where she hit the corner. I made myself relax with the thought that the knot was on the outside. She was a trooper!!!
(I took this picture the morning after...as you can see most of the swelling had already gone down.)

JUST A LITTLE BIT LATER THAT NIGHT...

When we were leaving, Tenley decided to take off and run across the street. Grandpa went and got her. Daddy was not far behind. When Grandpa and Tenley met Goose on the way back. She quickly realized that she was about to get a "lecture" for crossing the street without someone else. So she started running from Goose. As soon as she hit the loose gravel in the driveway she busted and banged up her knee.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Children shouldn't run from their Mommy or Daddy!!!!