Changes...BIG changes!

Some kids are attached to blanket...others a teddy bear. For our boys, this was it...the paci!

The started off in the NICU with these wonderful vanilla scented pacifiers. We must have bought 5 dozen over the last 2 1/2 years. Last week we decided that Rylan and Jacob were big boys and did not need the paci anymore. Before the account of saying bye, bye to the paci, walk with me down memory lane with our beloved green friends!

Jacob - 3 weeks old. Still in the NICU, but loving the paci! Notice how big it was compared to his face. It cracks me up how much smaller the pacis seem to get through the months, but they are the same pacis.

All snuggled up in the NICU - Rylan, paci and Jacob

Sweet Rylan and Jason's hand
About 16 months old - Jacob sleeping on Granna
About 9 months - Rylan sleeping in the stroller at GPop's retirement party. Sleeping in the stroller was a common occurrence.
About 12 months - Rylan with his BELOVED paci asleep on Mommmy. Notice Jacob twirling my hair. He still does that when he gets tired!
About 13 months old... Rylan' s favorite sleeping position - hinny up, paci in.
Same story for Rylan at 20 months...
Jacob - still twirling, still loving the paci at 20 months
We were very strict that the paci stayed in the bed. They only had it for naps and bedtime. This was the last night with their pacis. I have to admit, I got a little choked up. I remember so vividly picking the pacis up off the NICU floor, bringing them home and boiling them. I remember carrying 6 in my bag, so that if we needed one it was handy. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to put it back in their mouth. It was a realization that my babies are not quite babies anymore... it was time for the paci to go. So here they are sleeping for the last time with their pacis.

Rylan
Jacob
Jacob handing over the goods...
Rylan says a reluctant good-bye...
But wait! It was not so bad. They traded their pacis for COOL, NEW Thomas flashlights!!!!! Jacob's dimples say it all - this ROCKS!!!
Rylan ran around for 20 minutes with his light shining on the ceiling.
WE LOVE OUR FLASHLIGHTS!
The flashlights are really cool in a cave in Mommy and Daddy's bed!
So this step towards becoming a big boy has gone smoother than I anticipated. Rylan LOVED his paci. If we would have let him, he would have had it 24/7. Naptime has been the biggest challenge. Last week we had 1 day of quick to sleep, 1 day of no sleep and 3 days of stern talkings then sleep. Bedtime has been a breeze. So all in all, the flashlights were a perfect incentive and worked like a charm for my sweet big boys!

On the road home from HU...

We stopped in Tyler, Texas on the way home. To our surprise, it was a delightful town and we are excited to go back this fall! Our day began at the zoo. It was a WONDERFUL smaller zoo. The lay-out was very user-friendly, zookeepers interactive and animals that were beautiful and so close! This is Jacob and Jason looking at the African savannah. And our family...a RARE photo of all 4 of us looking at the camera! :)
Near the elephants, there was a concrete elephant footprint. 6 of our feet fit into one elephant foot!
Of course, we had to take a photo of Momma and the flamingos! Jason even reached over the rope and got a real flamingo feather. This variety was called "Lesser Flamingo." They were a little smaller in stature and were more pink.
The Savannah was laid out so that when on ground-level it looked like one huge savannah with all the animals roaming free. In actuality, there were moats dug between the animals, but it still felt more "real" than "caged." The male lion was looking at us until the camera clicked!
My 3 favorite boys!
Jason and Jacob...our cheeseball!
Kim and Rylan...so sweet!
The white tigers were so beautiful. I've never seen one until here. This one sat still for a long time as we gawked over it!
Then we walked into the highlight of the Zoo...the Wild Bird Walkabout! It was a small house that was all screened-in and full of small birds!
You paid $1.00 for a popsicle stick with bird seed hot-glued to it. (I know it was not really hot glue for toxic reasons, but that's what it looked like!) Then you got to feed the birds!
It reminded me of my favorite old Disney movie, Mary Poppins, and when she sang "Feed the birds - tuppins a day...tuppins...tuppins..."
When the birds first landed on the sticks, it totally freaked out the boys. But they got used to it and loved the birds.
Squealing Rylan tried to stab some birds too!
Calm Jacob stood fairly still.
After lunch at Rudy's BBQ and a nap, we headed to the famous Tyler Rose Garden. In a word - beautiful. I don't even know how many kinds of roses they have...hundreds. They were not all blooming, but it was still beautiful!
This was the only pic of them smelling the roses! Apparently, when you are 2 the Rose Garden was just a huge park to run wild in!!!
After supper at Traditions, we stopped at the Children's Park for real play time. It had several statues and quotes around the park. This was my favorite!

On the road to HU...

Last weekend we went to HU for graduation. Since it is a LONG trip, we decided to break it up in to two days instead of one LONG day. On Thursday we drove to Texarkana. Then Friday morning we got up and drove to Hot Springs. The boys LOVED their first National Park! Before we got into the park, we walked up and down Bath House Row. We found the most delightful toy shop on the planet! An adorable couple in their 70's has owned it for over 30 years. They carry only old-timey, classic toys. The Thomas table was a HUGE hit with all 3 of my boys!!! After walking out with two big sacks of goodies, we went across the street to touch a real hot spring. The water was about 130 degrees! I did not realize it was so hot flowing from the earth. Jacob was a little unsure, but Rylan nearly jumped in head first! That's my boys!!! :)
After touching the hot springs, we picked up Subway and went into the Park for a picnic. Then we went to the top of the 600 foot Observation Tower. The view was so pretty! The wind was very strong... as you can see from all of our wild hair! Jason and Rylan
Kim and Jacob
Then we were back on the road north to Searcy. It was so neat to "go home" to our old campus. Each time we go back, the campus gets a little more pretty and a little sweeter. Seeing Jacob and Rylan on the famous swings, made my heart happy. And we did tell them not to sit on the swings with just anyone...just special girls!!! For supper we went to Bald Knob and ate at Bulldog's. They have the BEST strawberry shortcake I have ever eaten!
As we were walking up to the Ganus for the ceremony, we ran into a dear friend! It was such a shock to see Katharine and one of the highlights from our trip! She was married this spring and was radiating happiness. It was also heart-warming for her to meet the boys. There is just something about seeing old, dear friends that you cannot quite put into words. And especially old, dear, Christian friends. It was indeed a very sweet surprise!
Here is why we went... Aubrey! She has a degree in early childhood education and will be getting her master's beginning this summer. She holds a very special place in my heart. In January 2004, our preacher's first sermon of the year was titled "Put into the Deep." The point was to tell the good news to our friends and to not let those we love never hear the good news from us. Invest the gospel as much as you invest other things in your friendships. Then RB challenged the congregation to invite someone to church...and often. So a fine young man asked his friend Aubrey to come to church. And she did... and about 3 months later, she was baptized...then went to HU and is a strong force for Christ! Through my working with the teen girls, Aubrey and I made a connection and she is like a little sister to me. You may remember from last summer, that she came to spend a week with us and introduced me to hot tea!
And this was one of my favorites! Our family on campus.
And our family with Aubrey... on the steps of the education building. My old home away from home!
For supper, we went to Little Rock with Aubrey, Brandon and Rebecca. We ate at PF Chang's and Rylan was ALL OVER the chopsticks! He was much better than any one but Rebecca!
Sunday morning was another wonderful re-connection. At church, we got to see Heather and her kids. Heather is the girl who started my love story because she is the friend that set up me and Jason on our first blind date! We owe her a LOT of happiness!!! Our senior year we were also suite-mates. So Heather is one of my dearest college friends. Here we are with all 4 of our kids... Braden, Briley, Jacob and Rylan.
Coming home was another fun adventure...coming soon!

Dedicated Fans

This time of year is very exciting and tense at our house! We love our favorite NBA team... we talk about them on a first name basis and we watch every minute we can of them! Jason has loved the Mavs since he was in 4thgrade and they were in the Western Conference play-offs only to be beaten by the Lakers. That loss made Jason love the Pistons who played the Lakers in the Finals. Jason has been a dedicated fan since that time...even when the Mavs were 10-89 in the 1990's. Since Dirk has joined the team they have been much better and have proved a true competitor in the NBA. Justin and Karyn got the boys their first jerseys last Christmas and they love to wear them with Daddy and cheer for their favorite team. It has been fun to see Jason pass on his love for the Mavs to Jacob and Rylan. In fact, the first time I felt them move in the womb was during the 2006 play-offs and we were yelling for the Mavs! Jason was convinced they were saying "Go Mavs!!!" And you can see they have not stopped cheering for their favorite team! :)
Even though the Mavs play-off dreams this season are looking bleak at this point, Jacob still screams, "Go MAVSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!"
Does your family have a favorite team you follow?