Through the eyes of Jameson

Jameson got ahold of my phone & I found another set of pictures. I think it's so interesting to see what he thinks is important/fun to take pictures of. Here they are.

 Who doesn't love some baby toes

 Self portrait

 Jameson loves to take picture of baby brother 

 This boy loves the tv 

 The week's library book

 A toy he got from "Mrs. Garcia's treasure box" at school

 His snack, some Trix in a cup

 More views of a cute baby brother

 Up close & personal

 And it wouldn't be complete without a picture of Alex too.

Healing Field

Every year at Tempe Town Lake they do what's called the "Healing Field" on 9/11 to honor the victims of 9/11. We always went when we lived close & decided we should make it a yearly thing. This was the first year our boys could begin to grasp the events of that day. (Don't be surprised if they tell you "the sad story") It's really a very beautiful tribute. Here are a few pictures.

They have a tag on each flag with the name of the person it represents as well as any info they know about them. There are also a few other markers. Children are marked by a stuffed teddy bear, First Responders have yellow ribbons, Flight Crew have blue ribbons & Military Personnel & Veterans are marked with a pair of military boots. 

 My boys 

 It's a pretty impressive sight to see the almost 3000 flags.

They had some emergency vehicles there & the boys were excited to see them & take some pictures.

  Jameson peeked inside this ambulance. Let's hope this is as close as he ever gets to one.

Life in General

Here are a few random pictures. First is our dog Ty. He's a little bit crazy, but he sure is cute. He's a toy poodle, but we don't like him to look too poodle-ish. We do love him to be fluffy, so about 3 or 4 times a year we have him shaved & them just let his hair grow so he gets super fluffy. Here's the fluff.

Here's the before & after of grooming. People always ask if we got a new dog when they see him shaved.

 We took a little FHE outing to the Gilbert Temple construction trailer. They have blueprints & pictures of what its going to look like & the missionaries there tell you all about it. It was a really fun little outing & everyone even got a "piece of the temple" because one of the walls that was shipped for the temple cracked so they broke it up so people could have a piece.

  Ryan still loves to sleep in my bed. 

 Here's Alex very intently playing the Leapster. He can get very intense.

 We have been spending a ton of money on bottles trying to get Ryan to take a bottle. Well it still hasn't worked. He's a bit stubborn & just plain refuses no matter how hungry he is. Here is one of Daddy's many attempts at getting him to take a bottle.

 Jameson sure loves Ty & I think it's mutual.

 Our family really likes to go to 5 & Diner. The boys think its fun & often there's an antique car there. If there is the boys always want to "take a picture for Papa".

 Since starting 1st grade Jameson loves to draw, color & write because "that's what 1st graders do". Here is a cute drawing he did one Sun. The top is supposed to say "I'm trying to be like Jesus" 

& the pic is of Jameson (right) with Jesus (left). I just love seeing my kids interpret what they learn, especially things from church.

5 Months Old

I can hardly believe my little Ryan is already 5 months old. We already can't remember what life was like without him. I just wish he would stop growing up so fast.

He's such a happy baby with the exception of the occasional breath holding episode when he gets really mad.

 In the last month he has really started to enjoy toys. One of is new favorites is the exersaucer.

 He loves the toys attached & can spin all around to get to whatever he wants to play with.

 He's also found his voice this month & depending on how noisy the room he's in is, he can do a lot of loud talking.

  He's getting to be a pro at rolling around. He's realized that by rolling over & over can reach things he wants to play with. Yup, we're on the verge of mobility which I'm so not ready for.

 He still loves his toes,

 And chews on anything he can get his hands on, even if it's only his hands.

 Most of all he's such a sweet baby and so much fun to be around. We love you sweet Ryan boy and we're so glad you came to be in our family 5 months ago.

1st Day of Preschool/Grandparents Day

This week my Alex finally got to start preschool. He LOVES school and even more he loves that he gets to go to Aunt Stacy's preschool with cousin Trevor. He was so excited. Here he is ready for his first day.

A close up of his paper.

  

Jameson came home Friday with this letter that he wrote at school. They had talked about Grandparents day & they had written letters to their grandparents. Since all of his grandparents live far away we decided to take a picture of him & the letter & put it here so they could see it.

(The letter says: 

Dear Grandma,

Grandparents are perfect.

Play with me.

You do homework with me.

I just love your kisses.

I like your hugs.

They are cuddly.

Love, Jameson)

Cute Baby

I just can't get enough of this cute, sweet baby. Here are a few pics I've snapped lately.

Loves those toes.

 Now that Ryan is smiling, laughing & enjoying toys more Alex sure is having fun with him too. He often tells me "I just love my cute baby"

Ryan's New "Buddy"

On Aug 22nd my sister Stacy welcomed a sweet new little baby boy into her family. We were almost as excited for her to have her baby as her own family was. Stacy & Derek now have 3 little boys each one just a few months younger than our 3 boys. The kids think it is so fun. They were so excited for Ryan to "have a little buddy" of his very own. My boys could hardly wait to meet sweet baby Carter Jameson Allen. Here are the pics of their first meeting.

 Here's the first picture of "the buddies". Its crazy to see how 4 1/2 months makes such a huge size difference now but soon we'll hardly remember which is older.