Nanny, Sugar & Dress!

Yesterday, we had a great visit with nanny Carol. We usually get to see her for a little bit before she heads up to Ponca City. Nanny brought us lunch, which was yummy. Thank you. Nanny also made Izze another dress, which Izze tried on, and then this morning wanted it on again. It was made from my grandma's (Carol's mother, my grandma, and Izze and Ian's great grandma, I guess) sewing material. Grandma was a great seamstress, she would make me dresses when I was younger too. There is also a button on the back of the dress that was hers. This will be a dress that I will keep for Izze for years to come. Of course we can't forget about "sugar", which is nanny's little puppy. This is one of the hightlights for Izze, not so much for Ian. He runs the other way when sugar approaches him. Izze just wants to hold her and pet her, and spend as much time with her as she can. We love when nanny gets to visit. When nanny was going to her car, Izze said "nanny I love you." This says it all.

Bounce, Bounce, Jump, Jump!

Monday, at our mom's group we meet at Bouncin Craze, which was a first for Izze, Ian and myself. Izze jumped, bounced, went on the slides from the time we got there to the time we had to leave. I really enjoyed this jump place, it had some smaller things for her and Ian to do. Izze and Ian did take a few minutes to rest in the little chairs they had on the floor. Ian enjoyed the balls, but he couldn't throw them at the net yet. Izze ran from one thing to the next. She even made friends with some older girls, which she liked because they could take her on the bigger stuff and slide with her, while I stayed with Ian. Izze had fun playing with all her little friends. We had a great time and will probably check this place out more in the future.

First Time Bowler!

Saturday we had a great time with our MTV Department. We got together to show off our bowling skills. Izze had such a great time bowling. This was a first for her, she liked that she got her own pink ball, and got to knock down the pins. She would throw her hands in the air and jump, she was really excited. Ian had fun too. He tried to get everyone else's ball. We put him a ball on the floor to roll around, but I think he got bored because he couldn't pick it up. He also got some special attention from everyone around. Brook and Ian made friends a little, as long as he could still see me. Congrats to Brooke and Andy, the ring is beautiful! We had a great time hanging out with everyone, can't wait to do it again. Thank you for all you do.

The kids were so much fun too watch!

Slides & Swings - A Go!

This last weekend was weather friendly. It has been cloudy with a little rain here and there, but overall pretty nice to be outside. Saturday we decided, instead of my usual run to the store day, we would do a pick nick at the park. One of Izze's favorite places to go. Mitch Park is a nice one, even if it rains, there are no mud puddles because they use mulch. We headed to the park with our lunch in hand, and settled into one of the benches. I think both Izze and Ian were too excited to really eat much, so it was a fast race to finish the lunch up. Then, it was off to the swings, slides, and all the fun stuff. Izze headed to the big jungle gym, with the slides on it, of course with her tiara on. She has been wanting to wear it everywhere we go lately. Ian and myself, trying out one of the slides for ourselves. Ian not sure about this slide thing, but he warmed up to the idea after the first go around. It was nice to veer off the usual Saturday routine, and enjoy the day together. Hooray for parks!

Zoo Time!

Last Wednesday we had a great family time at the Zoo! Through the month of August, on Wednesdays, they have .75 cent day. We thought it would be a good time to go again before summer is long gone. We went in the evening time when Brian got home, which was perfect because it wasn't too hot anymore, and not a lot of people either. Although, we did see some of our dear friends while enjoying a .75 cent hot dog. Most of the animals were out, except for the sea lions and seals, which Izze enjoyed last time. She got to see a bear up close, which you can see in the picture. The Oklahoma trials was really neat to walk through. We have been to the Zoo many times, but this was the first to make it through the trails. We enjoyed seeing all the fish, rhinos, hippos, monkeys, buffalo, alligators, eagle, bats, dear, the list goes on. We did see more this time than usual. You can see in the pictures that the statues were a huge hit taking pictures with as well. Ian enjoyed seeing the animals too. Most of the time he would just stare, like he was taking it all in. He rode in the animal car on the way out of the zoo, it seemed to amuse him. The zoo is always a fun place to go, next time Izze wants to ride the carousel, it was closed when we got around to it. We missed nanny and papa this time at the zoo (we went while in Amarillo), maybe they can come down and go sometime with us.

Our Little Boy!

What a personality this one has! I can remember thinking about kids when Brian and I were dating and then got married. We always said we would like two, one boy and a girl. I guess you never imagine that it would turn out that way, and how great it would be. After having Isabelle, I couldn't imagine having a little boy, because she was all I knew. Some reason the Lord knows we need the boy and girl. It is amazing how different they are, even at such little ages.
Last week Ian had his 15 month check up. He had gained 4 pounds since his one year check-up. I was glad to see this because he was in the low 5% for his weight, although you wouldn't know it by looking at him or seeing him eat. He was almost to the 90th % for his height, and he had grown all over it seemed. Two shots and crying later we were done. Thank goodness. He says many words now, like baby, bye bye, daddy, ball, and more(this one he knows well, he says it when he wants more food). He makes some sounds, of a cow, car, airplane, and a choo choo train. His vocabulary is nothing like Isabelle's was when she was his age, but he leaped forward in other areas, like rolling over, climbing, he doesn't seem to be afraid of much. Except, if I am going to leave him with someone else besides myself or daddy. He loves to go out with his sister and play, he would stay outside if I let him. He wants to be a part of everything she does. If Brain and Izze do something together he longs to be doing it too. Sometimes it seems to upset him if he can't go with them. Then mommy takes over and he is fine again. He is sweet and lovable and amazing. I am thankful that the Lord saw fit to give this little guy to us. Help us Lord to do our best. I love this little boy!

Our Princess!

I just had to share these pictures. I thought they were so cute. Izze wanted to go out and play one morning after playing inside with her "princess" dress up clothes on. She was running and dancing around singing. She was singing her own made up song, which she has been doing a lot of lately. She is so pretty and funny. Some of her expressions are priceless. She is at such a fun age, I love this little girl!

Pops Night Out

Brian with the kids at pops in the backyard area.








Brian and Ian by the slide.








Izze jumping in the moon bounce.She likes to hold on to the straps when she jumps.









Izze enjoying the free chocolate cream cheese cupcakes. Yummy to your tummy!









The 66ft. pop bottle, that lights up at night. That little speck of something at the bottom is us. We couldn't pass the opportunity up.













Izze coming down the slide. One of many times.















We had a great family time this Wednesday. Pops, which is a gas station/restaurant, has over 100 different flavors of pop, which are lined in the glass windows of the building. It has a huge bottle pop outside that stands at 66ft, and lights up at night. They were celebrating their 1 year anniversary on Wed. so we decided to check it out for the first time. We had heard great things about it. They had a moon bounce, huge blow up slide, face painting, free cupcakes, party hats and horns. The kids had lots of fun. Izze played on the slide most of the time. We also decided to check out the food. We weren't disappointed. The hamburgers were really good, and the kids seemed to think the chicken strips were good too. Of course we had to try out the huge selection of pop, so I got a frostie vanilla root beer and Brian got a natural sugar cane cola, both were really good. You can't go without trying a new flavor. The free cupcakes were a hit too, mostly because they were free. Ian seemed to enjoy just running around back and forth from the jump zone to the slide. He is something. It was a nice night together. We would go back again.

The Big 30!

Brian turned the big 30 on the 3rd of this month. It was a busy day for him, he actually had to be out of town for the day. The kids and I decided that we would make his coming home special. We picked out birthday cards, got him a present he had been wanting, and then made him a strawberry cream pie (recipe, compliments of Jamie, thank you). Izze wanted to help mommy make the pie, she was so excited to get to help. She couldn't hardly contain her energy, she wanted to show daddy so badly. Then she helped me pick out the present, which was cologne. She needed to try on some for herself, actually about three different ones. She smelled really good when we left the store. Brian was really surprised when he arrived home to his little birthday surprise. Izze just wanted him to see the pie, and to have some herself. We sat and ate pie together while Brian opened his present and cards, it was a special night for us all. Happy 30th babe, hope it is the best year for you.

I have to say a special thanks to our worship team. They had a surprise party for Brian on Tues. night at our practice. He was really surprised. Thank you guys for being so thoughtful. You made his 30th birthday even more special. Such a great team to be a part of.

Seen The Amimals!

Last Thursday, (you can see I am going backwards in an effort to catch-up), the kids and I headed to the OKC Zoo. We joined the other mom's and kids in our mom's group. We had a great surprise while there too, Becky Kunkel and her boys showed up. Becky and her family moved to the Tulsa area a few months ago, they are greatly missed. They have been apart of our mom's group since we started a mom's group here at Peoples Church. It was so good to see them and see how the kids have changed and grown. Izze sometimes ask about Carter and Bryson when we go certain places. I think she got use to them being where ever we were going to be meeting people. Izze and Ian (this time), seemed to enjoy the animals, and the animals were actually out. The monkeys were out in full swing, the rhino's, and Izze's favorite this time were the sea lions and seals. They had frisbee, and balls to play with in their pool area, she thought that was fun. It was EXTREMELY HOT, so Izze enjoyed getting under the sprayers to get wet. It did feel nice to get a little cool down. We had a great time with all our friends and hope to do it again soon. Yes, I forgot the camera so no zoo pictures this time. (I think I need to strap it to me or something)

Passing of a loved one

Ann with Ian and Izze in 2007.








Hey friends and family, sorry for the long delay in the blogging world, it seems like I can't get caught up. Many of you have already heard about the passing of Brian's mom on the 20th of July. This loss was both shocking and sudden to all. We have had a few busy weeks, and more to come. We thank those of you who have been praying for us during this time. Knowing we have friends and family praying for us, and "with us" during this time, is a great comfort. Ann was a sweet lady, mother, and "mimi". She will be missed by many.