Daddy's Girl

Turns out Portia is her father's daughter in more than just looks. Setting aside for a moment that she does actually like peas, she spent supper meticulously picking out the little pieces of Aoudad filet from between her vegetables! In fact, she gets very excited anytime the meat comes out at supper time, bouncing in her high chair and grabbing for our plates! And we very much enjoyed our warm-weather Leap Day supper on the deck. :)

A True Texan?

We succeeded! Jessy is now a true Texan! Well, at least according to HEB... :)

Measuring Up

Daddy has been working on this project for quite some time - ever since he saw one very much like this at a friends' house a few months ago. We finally got it put up this weekend and measured all three kids to record an "inaugural" height. The idea is to measure them every year from here on out on their birthdays.

Walker Bot

It has begun! Part birthday gift, part school project, solar-powered "Walker Bot" was Graydon's first introduction to robotics. Needless to say, Daddy had fun, too. The note summarizes the description Graydon gave to his class, as recorded by his teacher.

Wiley loves driving his new rig!

And Portia is enjoying the ride!

Happy Birthday Wiley!

We celebrated Wiley's 3rd birthday this weekend. He was very excited to unwrap his gifts and really enjoyed his chocolate snowflake cupcakes from Nana. The trailer for his tricycle was a huge hit! He also liked being sung the birthday song - so we sang it lots!

Timber!!!

The two Hackberry trees met their maker yesterday. And most of the wood has even been hauled off for us by eager Craigslist customers! :)

A pretty dawn sky...

...over a 7:00 departure for a (long) day trip to Oklahoma City. It will be my first time in that state!

More crawling!

Outside is fun!

Which camera do I look at?

Costco Valentines!

What happens when Neal leaves his phone with the boys...

Drop and Give Me 20!

Here's one more photo of our littlest athlete doing some training for core and arm strength.

Dog or Cat?

This photo reminds me more of cats than dogs! Kiwi sought out and curled up in the nice sunny patch on the carpet in our bedroom while I was showering this morning.

Da Da Da Da!

Pajama-Clad Paleontology

Graydon got an "excavate-your-own-T-Rex" kit from a friend for his birthday. He had a great time chipping away the plaster and carefully sweeping away the bits (with Mami's basting brush...). The instructions said to wear eye protection, so he dutifully complied. Then the boys discovered the pinkish plaster made great chalk - so our desk is still covered in pink streaks...

Tree Trimming - Tanner Style

We have two Hackberry trees in the back yard that need to come down. The ladder not being tall enough is no reason to hire something done! We have climbing gear and an extendable pole saw, don't we? (?!?!) Daddy got most of the small branches down that would have leafed out in the spring and shaded the Monterey Oak we planted last year. Next up: Gramps brings in his big ladder for the chain saw work...!

Branching out

Portia likes arugula and deer burgers! She still has an appetite for baby food, but she pretty much wants to try anything we're eating, too. She grabs at our arms and makes little grunting noises to make sure we know she wants her share! Lucky Kiwi gets whatever doesn't tickle her taste buds in the right way.

Football watchers

The kids got to stay up late and watch the game tonight. The boys watched with rapt attention while Portia and Mami played on the floor.

Playing with Balls

Portia was very excited when Wiley knocked over the ball basket!!

On the floor

Why did we bother buying them bunk beds with nice mattresses?

Graydon has been sleeping in the middle of his floor the last several nights. When we suggested that he should go back to his bed so that we didn't step on him in the middle of the night, he took his blankets over to the corner by his closet. Wiley would not get into his bed (not too unusual) but was happy to go join Graydon on the floor.

Super-Wiley!

Portia milestones

Yesterday we had full-on cruising, today she crawled legitimately for the first time. Both in pursuit of the phone on which I am currently writing this post. :)

Update with videos - turns out the "Eddie" (aka pacifier) works as motivation, too: