Ryan is FINALLY HOME!!!

After over a year in Afghanistan, Ryan FINALLY made it home yesterday at 930am!! The kids and I are so excited to have him home and are extremely proud of him!! Welcome Home Ryan and all of the 159th soldiers!!

Christmas Tree Farm

We cut our very own Christmas tree today. It was my first time and it was fun. The kids had fun looking for the perfect one and of course all had their favorites but we all know Mommy got to decide!! :) Ryan did a great job of cutting it down!! It was really hard...I barely made a mark when I tried. Great Job Daddy!!

Jake's First Haircut

Jake got his first haircut today!! He really needed one for awhile now but we were waiting for Daddy...and since Daddy is home we went and got it done!! He did sooo good. Only got upset a couple of times but some goldfish and a lollipop cured that!! He doesn't look like a baby anymore!!

Playing with Picasa

Happy 1st Birthday Jakey!!

I can't believe my little baby is already 1!! He turned 1 on Nov 6th. We went down to FL for Melissa baby shower and the day we flew down was Jake's actual birthday. So, he went on his first plane ride on his 1st birthday!! We had a little cake with my family. We are probably going to have another little party when Daddy gets home!!

Standing

Jake finally found the courage and stood!! This was the longest he had stood at the time. Now he is FINALLY starting to walk. He still chooses crawling over walking but he is getting much better at walking everyday!! I can't believe my little man is already 1!!!

Beautiful Fall Weather

We have had some beautiful fall weather up here in TN the last couple of weeks. We tried out this new trail and we had so much fun with our friends the Singletons!!

Jack O' Lanterns and Halloween Parties

The kids were so proud of their Jack O' Lanterns. I took the easy way out and used cookie cutters instead of a knife so it went much faster but they were still so proud!! Katey also had a cute with Halloween party and her class sang some cute little songs. They did such a great job!!

My cute little Man!!

Halloween

Here are some pictures from Halloween!!

Gymnastics

Katey is doing great in gymnastics. She loves going and is turning into quite the little gymnast. They even want to move her up to the "mighty mights" class. This would mean she would go twice a week!! I told them we would wait for Daddy to come home to make that decision. She also wants to play soccer in the spring so we shall see. We are definitely very proud of her!!

Soccer!!

Tyler has been playing soccer since mid-September and is loving it. They have had a couple of games rained out and this week will be his last week. This season he has improved so much...he scored a goal and is much less timid!! I can't wait until the spring when Daddy can watch him play!!

Katey's First Day of School

Katey had her first day of preschool in September. This is our 2nd year with First Presbyterian Preschool and we just love it there. Everyone is so nice and Katey is loving seeing most of her friends again since most of the same kids are in her class!! She wakes up every morning asking if she gets to go to school!!

Run for the Fallen

Back in September we (the kids and I) did the Run for the Fallen. They had a 10 mile, 5 mile, and a 1 mile run/walk. We just did the 1 mile since Tyler was running and I haven't had much time to do any running!! We had fun and Tyler ran the whole thing!! We made shirts and ran for my cousin Brian Buesing. He was KIA on March 23, 2003. We miss him tons!!

Saying Goodbye to Daddy

Shortly after Tyler's first day of school, we had to say goodbye to Daddy again!! :( We had lots of fun with Daddy and we can't wait to see him again in December!!

First Day of School

Okay, so this is long overdue!! I have been way behind on my blogging!! Tyler had his first day of kindergarten way back in August!! He has been doing great. He is reading already, tying his shoes, and he has lost two teeth!! He is growing up too fast!! Here are some pictures of his first day!!

Disney!!!

From Jake

Daddy, Look what I can do!!! I am getting so big. I can scoot around the floor and get into some trouble. You will see soon. I am eating really good to...my favorite is avacado. I can even pick it up myself now and eat it!! I can't wait to see you again in about a week! We are going to have so much fun at Disney and just hanging out!

Love, Jake

Getting Ready for the Tooth Fairy

Lost Tooth

Tyler lost his first tooth this morning!!! The pictures up top were taken last night!!! Then the bottom ones are from this morning after I pulled it out!! As you can see the new one is already there and waiting!! What a big boy I have!

Pie in the Face

The kids had a great time at vacation bible school this week. Everyday they would tell me all about what they did. The first thing they always said was either...."The boys won!! or The girls won!!" You see, they had to collect change for vaccinations for children in Malawi. And everyday they announced who had brought in more money. And on the last day whoever lost got a pie in their face. Well, Tyler really wanted to get a pie in his face. I tried to volunteer him if the boys lost but I was not successful. Apparently, they had one of the teenagers doing it. Well, the girls did win so I decided to let Katey throw a pie in Tyler's face. Well, she chickened out at the last minute so Tyler did it himself with a little help from Mom!! :) Afterall, he DID want a pie in his face!! :)

So funny...

Tyler was kicking this little soccer ball against the couch and Jake thought is was so funny!! He was just hysterical!! It was so cute!! He is getting so big!! Daddy is going to be so shocked when he sees him in just under 2 weeks!! He heads home on the 28th and it has been taking about 2 days to get back!! We can't wait!!

Jake is on the move!!

Happy Birthday Nana B.!!!

We just wanted to wish Nana B. a very happy birthday!!! We wish we could be there for Mexican night!!! :) We love you and will see you in a couple of weeks!!

Fireworks!!!!

Jake is 8 months old!!

Jake is 8 months old today!! I can't believe it!! He is getting too big too fast!! Here is a little video from last night of him "crawling"....I call it inchworming at the moment but I am sure soon it will be crawling. He was getting tired so it isn't as good as he did before I got the camera!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

We love you and miss you so much!!!

Some cute pictures for Daddy...

Right in the hole...

Today I gave Tyler a few pointers on hitting. Last week, he hit the ball hard but right to a kid so I told him to look for the hole (where nobody were standing). And tonight (his last game) he actually did it!! I don't know if he meant to but I like to think he did!!

What happens when I go to put Jake down for a nap.....

Tyler playing some ball!!

Her Own Style

Katey has her own style!! She dresses herself everyday. This morning came down wearing this...I call it girly girl with a side of soccer girl!! :)

Almost on the Move

*Notice he is getting ready for PT with Daddy in the bottom left picture!!*

The Nashville Zoo and Chuck E. Cheese