Family Pics by Courtney Dec

Our good pal Courtney took some family pics for us at Loose Park. They're pretty good - I think she really captured Tyler's "awkward smile" phase. Love it :) Mini Tim Tebow... taking a knee! Nice...

Judo CHOP!

Mama's little boy.

Is it December already??

We've taken quite a break from the blogging business... much has happened since this summer. Back in August, Mom & I took a mini-vaca to Hoboken to visit Miss Kathryn. Lots of wine, food & shopping!! The subway still freaks me out, but fortunately we had our tour guide with us!

View of NYC from Hoboken.

Kathryn lives on Seseme Street!

The American Museum of Natural History.

Central Park inside the big city.

Max Brenner's... YUMMY!!!!! Chocolate everything :)

Our sailbot (booze) cruise on the Hudson River, from Chelsea Piers.

Coney Island.

The view down the street from Kathryn's house. Gorgeous!

A lot of fun things went on in October... trips to the zoo, the Red Barn Farm in Weston, and of course the Yankee's in the World Series!

Dave Matthews concert at the Sprint Center.

Kansas City Zoo.

Trip to Columbia to watch Hudson's last flag football game.

Pumpkin Patch at Crown Center.

Our favorite! The Red Barn Farm in Weston. Tyler and his new pal Bullseye :)

Pumpkin donuts are the BEST! Me & my little man at Mark McFarland's wedding. He stole the show - Mr. Dance Fever!

Let's go ROYALS!

Tyler's a big fan of Kauffman Stadium & the Royals - he can name just about every starter and even tell you some of their positions. It's a toss up everyday between John Buck & Coco Crisp as to who's his favorite! Now... if we could only get some more "W's"!!!

Checking out a game with the Belcher's.

Our lil' slugger taking a few hacks at the "Little K"

Hilarious - caught in the act. Tyler couldn't resist the urge to dig for gold any longer!!! Some of the renovations made in the outfield kids area

Baby Kaya

Our sweet little niece Kaya was baptized a few weeks ago, out in Columbia, MO. She was spoiled by her Godparents, Chris & Kathryn :) Kaya is getting so big - she was born on St. Paddy's Day, so she's almost 3 months old. Kathryn got to come in town from NY... we tried to kidnap her & keep her around, but she's getting strong in her ripe old age (she celebrated the big 25 while she was in town!). Oh well, we can always try!

Tyler loved spending time with his Auntie!

Maverick ;)

Kathryn & Chris... Kaya's Godparents... let the corruption begin!

She loves me. HA!

Who's kid is this??

Ahhh, what a scary thought ;) Auntie Kathryn with 3 kids!

Nothing better than a campfire in May - bring on the s'mores!

Hudson & Tyler

Kathryn moonlights as an art teacher.

Lions & Tigers & Bears... oh my!!!!

We took a trip to the KC zoo a few weeks ago - it was still a little chilly out, but we were able to see a lot of the animals. Tyler loved the elephants & lions. Can't wait to go back this summer!

Tyler... roaring like the lions! We saw Mufasa :)

Cashed after a long day at the zoo!

Birthdays, bathrooms & babies

Once again I've failed miserably at keeping this thing up to date. Looks like I have a few months to catch up on! So much has happened since February... Tyler turned 2 & we had his birthday at Airzone. It was wild & crazy, but so much fun. The kids had a blast!!! (As you can tell, we only invited a FEW. HA!)

We were lucky enough to have Mema & Tyler's cousin Jaiden visit from Orlando. They boys were a riot... we'll definitely need to keep our eyes on these two! Jaiden experienced his 1st snowfall, I guess they don't see much of the white stuff in sunny Florida :)

Chris & I also decided since we won't be selling our house anytime soon, then it's time to start remodeling. The bathroom was 1st on the list - it took a bit longer than anticipated, but it turned out AWESOME. I think some outdoor projects are up next.

More fantastic news... my little niece Kaya Marie was born on St. Patrick's Day!! She's healthy & beautiful, and mom & dad are doing great with the new addition :) Hudson is quite the rockstar in the big brother department.

I never thought I'd see the day.

Elmo LIVE.

Yes, we are now certified Elmo LIVE attendee's. Chris decided on a whim to buy front row tickets to see the hairy red monster and all his pals, live at the Sprint Center. I was less than excited, but once we got there (having talked about nothing but Elmo for the past two days with Tyler) it wasn't too terrible ;) I've never seen my son so excited for anything... he even got hugs & high-fives from a few of the furry beasts! Good times.

We had to gear up with some cool (ridiculously expensive!!) Elmo toys!

Getting ready for the show.

Tyler & Daddy up by the stage.

The little man was so excited for the show, he couldn't stand still!

Chef Coffin(s)!

The other morning I woke to a glorious smell coming from my kitchen... Chris & Tyler had decided it was a perfect day to bake banana nut bread!! I'm not kidding - Tyler was the best assistant chef, taste testing everything before he dumped it in the KitchenAid :) I think his favorite was the walnuts... that gave him a nice "grill" effect!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving this year was fast & furious. Chris' sister Allison visited from Orlando (who by the way, is the greatest Christmas-tree-helper-putter-upper there is!!!). Tyler had a blast with his Titi.

We packed a ton of stuff into the week she was here - probably the most notable being 4am shopping the day after Thanksgiving!! Plus we got to check out the Plaza lights & of course enjoy some glorious FOOD!!!

Tyler & cousin Hudson kept everyone entertained as usual :)

Christmas 2008

So, I'm incredibly behind with this blog business... but very thankful to have such a great, healthy & happy family in this new year. Tyler continues to bless us everyday with his smile & we look forward to every new adventure with him :) The boys playing with their new toys!Christmas this year was unlike any other, getting to experience everything for the 1st time through our little man's eyes. We stayed in KC this year with the Dercher clan - lots of presents, good food & fun times. Tyler REALLY enjoyed ripping into all his presents!!

Baby Kaya will be here soon!

Fortunately Tyler slept in until 7:30 Christmas morning - I hear horror stories of 5am wake-up calls, of kids wondering if "Santa" has been there yet!!! I guess we have another year or two before that happens.

Kathryn got to come in for a long visit from the east coast. We kept trying to convince her to stay for an extended vacation!!

We stopped at Grandma & Grandpa's house for New Year's Eve... The boys enjoyed their whistles & noise makers!!