Big Guy

It's Tyson's turn for a post all about him!

Tyson is...

An amazing story-teller with an awesome imagination! 

Future creative writer?

Very attached to Bolt.They're best buds.

A bit of a fish.

Sometimes a teeny bit overdramatic and a little moody. 

The sun was in his face in this picture. :)

And a some pouting at a family wedding. :)

Obsessed with taking goofy pictures. 

It's pretty much the only way we get the kids to take serious pictures... one serious, then one goofy. Win-win. :) I could fill an album with silly faced pictures of the kids... heck, maybe I will!

A reluctant hip-hop dancer.

A soccer stud. 

 (His "I'm ready!" face.)

Such a loving little and big brother...

...and son!

THE biggest Disney fan ever since our visit in August!
It's all he talks about these days, and he was in heaven the whole time we were there!

 Although not a huge fan of the big rides...

A book-lover, inquisitive, and very creative!
For more on his chalk art, read this blog.

A kindergartener!!

A charmer- with an infectious smile!

 

We are suprised by Tyson everyday with his thirst for knowledge and his caring heart! Today, while I was working in Tyson's class, another parent complimented Tyson on his impressive reading skills and asked what we do with him. Rick has worked on phonics with Tyson, but the truth is reading just comes naturally to him. One of his own goals by the end of kindergarten is to be able to read a chapter book all by himself. I hope he reaches his goal!

Sweet Pea

This is an "All about Riley" post.

 Riley is....

A little goofy.

A great "mom" to her stuffed animals. 

She reads to them and they all have a special place on her bed every night.

Daddy's little princess.

Mommy's too!

A little moody on occasion... **

(This was mid-fit in Cars Land)

**Which then leads to all toys, stuffed animals, doll houses, etc., to be removed from her room.

A soccer player.

A collector... 

She brought home several sea shells from our beach trip this past summer.

Adventurous...

She LOVED every fast ride at Disneyland and wanted to ride them again and again. Her favorite was the Grizzly River Run ride.

She enjoyed jumping the waves at the beach.

And she was willing to try water skiing over the summer. (After quite a bit of convincing.) :)

The oldest child... (and brave!)

Which means she is cursed with having to ride alone at Disneyland just like I was when I was younger. :)

A supportive big sister.

(She was holding Tyson's hand off the bus on his first day of school.)

A dancer/tumbler... it's taken her nearly 2 years to be able to hold that pose. :)

A dress-lover... 

Daddy picked out some cute ones for the new school year!

A (front toothless) first-grader with a mind for MATH!! 

She takes after her math-teaching dad and has a brain for numbers. I'm so jealous!

Simply beautiful, inside and out, and she's growing up way too quickly!

 

We just picked up her dance pictures from June, and I can't get over beautiful she looks. We often remind her how important it is to have beauty on the inside, which I hope she remembers as she grows up.

Cat naps

Sadly, Cooper has given up napping. He gave it up a while ago, but I've been in denial. He wakes up in the morning the happiest boy, plays hard all day, and then transitions into another child around late afternoon/dinner time... a little grumpy and sort of defiant. He gives the impression he may have benefitted slightly from a nap- even just a quick power nap. There have been a few days in the past several months when his little body just couldn't fight it, and he would fall asleep right on the spot!

The car is a popular spot for Cooper to fall asleep... like on the way to soccer games at 5:30pm. Convenient.

Playing in the hall when he should have been in his room for quiet time. 

After a bath a couple of weeks ago, around 6pm... still completely wrapped up in his towel (and naked underneath). :)

This might have been a favorite... I went in to tell him he could come out of his room from quiet time and found him like this... looks comfy, right?

About 20 minutes later he woke up, came to see me in my bedroom, and layed down again on my lap. I had to get up to take a phone call, and I came back to this...

 All I see in these pictures is a very big little boy who is growing up SO fast! He and Tyson are practically wearing the same size in shoes and clothes, and they are 21 months apart! Our baby is going to be 4 in just over a month... just crazy!

On the flipside to his occasional unpleasant behavior, Cooper is also very helpful! He loves to fold the towels and is always trying to do nice things for his big sister and brother. Here are the fruits of his labor from one afternoon. :)

I am so proud of my little "cuddle bug" and the big guy he is becoming! With his official start of preschool earlier this month we have seen such growth already, and we all enjoy his recent serenades of the Hokey Pokey and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. :)