Scooter Squad

The scooter squad crossing the street on the way to church this morning.

January in Texas

Graydon's 6th Birthday Party!

Graydon had a great time with all his friends at the park today. Nana made him a beautiful to-order white-and-blue-snowflake cake, he got to play with friends from school, family friends, a few special friends from his old preschool, and even a few new friends! The piñata was a success despite an early failure of the attachment point (good thing daddy knows how to tie a noose...?!?) and the hordes of kids had fun collecting a giant pile of branches in the woods.

Ant Eaters

A college friend of Mami's came by for a visit last night and brought the boys a really cute ant eater game. Despite the inevitable head-on collisions (Graydon is currently in time out for being too rough), both boys have been having a blast picking up ants with their noses.

Hey, look at me!

Birthday Bath

Yep, you read that right! The only photo I have of Graydon from his birthday yesterday is all three kiddos having a blast in the tub. The party is still to come, so there ought to be more photos then. :)

Someone likes waffles!

Circus!

Nana and Gramps took Graydon to the circus for an early birthday present today. He came home full of excitement about acrobats and their death-defying stunts, dogs and tigers jumping through rings of fire, but most importantly, the elephants! So that is what he chose as his take-home treat.

Stride bike!

Wiley started riding the stride bike around the house the other day, so I decided that meant he was ready to try it outside for real. We had a great time at the park. I wouldn't say he quite mastered the technique, but we got close: he ran quickly and, with a little extra "boost!", was able to get enough speed to lift his feet up and balance for a few seconds at a time. Most importantly, he had fun!

My littlest one

Portia is getting so big so quickly, but last night was a nice reminder that she is still my little one. She had skipped her afternoon nap and was a mess at the dinner table. Since it was too late to take a real nap but too early for bed, I rocked her to sleep in my arms while standing in the dining room. I haven't done that in a long time since she is so good about sleeping in her crib (not through the night, mind you, but that's the only place she normally sleeps). It was really nice to snuggle my littlest one like that for a few minutes before she woke up and we carried on with our evening.

Dropping the crib mattress - again

After Portia partially pulled herself up on the IKEA furniture a few weeks ago, I knew we needed to drop her crib mattress lower so she didn't fall out. Last weekend, I finally went through the effort of taking everything apart and dropping her mattress a notch. This weekend, she pulled herself up the rest of the way - the top photo is literally the first time I've ever seen her pull herself all the way up to standing. And it was painfully obvious that the mattress level was still way too high, so just a week later, we had to adjust it all over again!

At least now, at the lowest setting (see bottom photo), it will be a couple of months before she can climb/fall out.

Big Climber!

Brotherly Snuggles

The boys were horsing around in the living room and Wiley smashed his nose on the (relatively soft) footrest on the recliner. Mami kisses were necessary. Then Graydon said, "Wiley, do you want to snuggle?" and Wiley responded, "sure." By the time I had my camera app ready, the hug had devolved into more horseplay. But in the short interim, it was very sweet.

Oh-oh... We're Heading Towards Mobility!

I left Portia sitting watching Daddy assemble furniture. When I got back, she had pulled herself up for a better look - and was proud of it!

Haircuts!

Today the weather warmed up just enough in the afternoon for outdoor haircuts, so all three boys were shorn. Below are samples from each head - it's not hard to guess whose is whose!

Longhorn Cavern State Park

Graydon also received an "experience" for Christmas from Tante Nise. They went on a tour of nearby Longhorn Cavern State Park. They even saw some of Graydon's favorite animals - bats! And he got to take home a "break-your-own" geode. In typical Tanner style, we didn't just smash it with a hammer the way they intended. Gramps sliced it very nicely with his tile saw, so they ended up with two very polished halves. 

Sausage Party

The girls hard at work making venison sausage. Among other things, we froze 156 hamburger patties.

Merry Christmas Kiwi