Goofing Around

We took advantage of the milder weather this week and had a picnic lunch.

Mr.Potato Head also provides hours (okay, minutes) of enjoyment.

Chloe has fun playing with the Learn Around Playground.

Halloween Preview

I love this picture because it really captured all of their smiles.

This picture cracks me up every time I see it.

Happy First Birthday, Presea!

Presea turned one on September 17th. Jeremy and Denise had her birthday party at their house yesterday. We joined their friend Zach, along with Jesse, Laura, Ryan, Christopher, and Andrew for the celebration. The party was initially planned for Saturday, but the girls are getting over sinus infections, so Jeremy and Denise gave them a day of rest. I felt really bad about bringing Sawyer because he had a runny nose and cough, but Denise assured me that it would be okay, and she was right.

The kids had a lot of fun playing in the backyard and with the toys inside. Presea got a Sand & Water table from Jeremy's parents and that was lots of fun. They also played with a big ball and a ring toss set. The weather was nice so it was a great evening to be outside.

The birthday girl.

The mower was a big hit. Sawyer asks to mow Mr. Jeremy's yard every time we go to their house.

Presea was drinking the water out of the boat. It was hilarious, but mostly because it wasn't my kid doing it! :)

Chloe and Andrew.

It was great to watch the kids get dirtier and dirtier at the Sand & Water (AKA Mud & Water) table.

Presea and Chloe took advantage of the older kids moving along to play somewhere else.

Ryan and Christopher.

I couldn't believe our kids sat still long enough for this cute picture with Zach.

Denise and Laura.

Denise did an awesome job on the cakes!

The icing was Presea's favorite part.

Taking a break to pose for a picture.

I think it's safe to say that Presea enjoyed her cake.

Denise made flower lollipops and cookie pops as party favors. Sawyer wanted to eat his the minute he got up this morning. I told him he had to wait until morning snack. He kept asking so much that I finally had to set the timer so that he would stop asking! He was very excited about his cookie pop!

Sawyer's trying his best not to smile.

Chloe ate about half of her cookie and then decided to share the rest with Rosie. She's doing that a lot lately; ergo, Chloe has a new best friend!

Last Sprinkler Hurrah

I'm not quite sure what Chloe was trying to accomplish here!

All of Chloe's pictures end up as close-ups because she chases the camera.

Sawyer having a Gene Simmons moment.

Taking a breather with sister.

Words cannot describe this expression! :)

Helping Daddy trim the "oak bush."

St. Anthony's Fall Festival

St. Anthony's in Wylie had their Fall Festival pretty early this year. I forgot the camera, of course, so I had to wait until we got home to take pictures of their face paintings. Sawyer had a runny nose that day so his lion didn't quite make the drive home. I think that I still got some cute pictures, though.

I get his grin quite often these days!

I wanted the see how they decorated his face so that I could get ideas for Halloween.

We have such a happy baby girl!

Chloe's ladybug turned out really cute!

T-ball Set

Action shot!

Running the bases with Daddy.

Even Chloe got in on the fun!

Chloe took a break for a swing.

This Week at Sawyer's and Chloe's House

I have had a request for weekly updates from my brother Mark the Russian (lol), so here goes:

We've stayed pretty busy around here this week. We went to Van Vleck last weekend to celebrate Matthew's birthday. I hope to have some pictures next week. Jackie is going to e-mail them to me once Ike gets out of everyone's way. We stayed home Monday because we had such a busy weekend. We got to Van Vleck about 10:00 Thursday night. We spent the night with Lorne's parents and most of the day Friday. We went to Brittany's football game that night (Happy Birthday Britt!!!!) and stayed the night in Sugar Land. It was the first time for us to spend the night with them since we've had kids. I think that it went great once Sawyer fell asleep. It always seems to take him the longest. I figure that Chloe will start that trick once Sawyer outgrows it! We had lunch with Ty, Jamie, and the gang and then headed to Matthew and Jackie's house.

Matthew had a bow party so it was pretty funny to watch all the guys taking target practice to get ready for bow season. I had to be a smart aleck and ask them when the targets were going to start moving! Dad was there for the party and it was nice to see him. I haven't seen him since Chloe's party in March so it has been a while. He's gong to be back in Texas for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we haven't decided where we're going to be yet so that's still up in the air. All we know for sure is that we're going to be home Christmas Eve so that our kids can walk down the stairs in their matching pajamas and see what Santa Claus left them under their tree. Lorne and I had the discussion YEARS ago that once our kids could understand the concept of Santa we would be having Christmas at our house. It will be exciting to begin our own traditions.

Not sure how I got off on that tangent, but anyway, I went to Weight Watchers Monday night and I got my 75 pound award. I have lost 76.2 and am super excited! I am going to begin maintenance when I get to 140 pounds. Only 5.8 to go, but who's counting?

Sawyer had school on Tuesday and Chloe and I ran some errands during that few hours. I went for my follow up with my dentist Wednesday and apparently I have been putting the gel on incorrectly and that's why my teeth aren't as white as I would like them to be. I am such a huge dork! I really wish now that I'd called them earlier than the two weeks so that I wouldn't have wasted so much of the product. I guess I will just have to call it a learning experience and move on.

Here are some pictures. I always begin blogging with the intent to just post pictures, but I feel like I have to do some journaling too. This site serves as our kids' baby book, after all!

Painting is always a fun time around here. Painting and Play-Doh used to be reserved for Chloe's morning naptime, but now that is over so we ALL get to paint!

Chloe thought the paint was edible, I think.

Sawyer and his artwork.

Uncly Ty gave Sawyer a jump cue to use on our pool table. He has been having fun with it so I thought I'd post some pics:

Chloe usually ends up in time-out because she throws the balls instead of rolling them.

This was from another day, but it looks a little something like this.

Sawyer practicing his form.

Daddy teaching the basics.

Both kids are really enjoying talking on the phone. Chloe's conversation usually consists of lots of heavy breathing, but she thinks she's talking so that's all that really matters.


I really need to start putting shorts on this kid before I start taking pictures!

Chloe breathing away!

Taking a break for a pose.