Peas, yum

So my daughter loves peas. How weird is that? Totally her favorite thing. frozen peas, baby food peas, peas with rice, just in general peas!! Brodie is feeding her dinner and what a photo op. He really likes doing big brother stuff and he's pretty good at it!

Fashion Model

So it's Sunday morning, and Brodie has finished breakfast and was told to go get his clothes on while we finished getting ready. He can't button by himself yet, so this is what he came up with. I think it looks like a runway model, don't you? We laughed and laughed so I thought I should share.

Walking...almost

Is she not the cutest?!!! She loves pushing her walker around the living room but wishes there was more space. I don't let her push it on the tile or playroom cause it goes too fast for her. She pushes any toy that she can get to move all around the kitchen/playroom all the while laughing out loud.

Opening Day

Well, as you can tell, Brodie is super pumped to be up at 5 in the morning to go duck hunting with his daddy and Will. He even has camo boots that match his jacket, hat, pants, shirt, etc!!! His orange sippy cup goes with the whole wear bright orange theme i guess!

Damon and Will graciously took him with them for opening day of duck season. They didn't get anything but a great time was had by all. And if I ever think Brodie can't sit still, I just have to remember he is capable of it. They said he was very quiet.....also didn't think those words would be said about my son! The only problem was that he looked up when birds were coming which you are evidently not supposed to do? But anyway, they had a great time. And before you ask, no, he did not shoot or have a gun. He was only there to watch.

The Monster Dash

So Brodie got to be in a real race on Saturday, October 28th. He was thrilled to be able to wear his Buzz Lightyear costume and a real number. and mom was happy to go do the one mile fun run/walk (heavy emphasis on walk) with him. Well, the morning dawned bright and early as we arrived at the starting line at 7:45 AM ---- yes, that's right AM. way too early to be running anything much less a race. And the refreshment table didn't have coffee just water? Damon informed me later that most runners don't drink coffee while leisurely strolling for a walk, but that was what I had in mind at 8 in the morning not sure what was wrong with everyone else. Layla and dad stayed at home because it was a very -- and I mean VERY -- brisk morning. It felt like 28 degrees but I'm sure it was really at least 40, well maybe 55 but you get the point...cold.

Also no one had informed Brodie that you could walk in this race not just run. So I ended up running a mile. Just in case you don't know, I'm not a runner! I can walk all day long but running is a different story. needless to say, brodie was very proud to have beaten me and a whole lot of other girls!!! He ran the ENTIRE mile and finished in 12 minutes 27 seconds! He was very serious about the whole race idea!! As you can tell from the pics, he continues to get farther and farther away from me. He beat me fair and square!

Layla's New Fav Activity

So I am folding some laundry in my room while Layla plays with some toys in her room. I realize about halfway through that I don't hear her shaking a rattle anymore so I go to investigate and here's what I find.....

Now, mind you, this is not the first time she's sneaked into her brother's room to play with the tissues. Don't you think I would figure out to put the box on his bedside table not the floor?!! She was having so much fun, though. We laughed and laughed and then cleaned up. She had just finished breakfast and I hadn't quite gotten around to clothes yet in case you're wondering!!!

Uhhhhh what can I say?

So I gave Damon a new espresso machine for our anniversary. He loves it and has been using it a lot. The Lawlers brought some banana bread over after dinner and Damon made espressos for he and Will. Kathryn and I enjoyed cappuchinos, decaf mind you. Anyway, after one espresso the guys thought it was so good they should have another. After three, Kathryn and I had to regulate. Here is a silly picture of them with their teeny tiny mugs!! Crazy caffeine days at the Ducks

Very Sleepy Little Girl

Oh my is this not hilarious!! Layla woke up and ate her breakfast. Then while I washed up the dishes I put her in her exersaucer to play. About five minutes later I thought I heard snoring coming from the living room and sure enough, she was sound asleep surrounded by toys. So cute.

I'm 30!!

So I did actually turn 30 this month. Brodie says that I am so old, but it's in such a good way. You know, a five year old thinks it's great to be so big!!! Here is a picture of Brodie and I with some opal earrings mom and dad sent. Damon, Brodie and Layla helped me open my presents on Tuesday evening. Then on my actual birthday, I had Moms Night Out at my house with my moms club. Everyone came over and brought their wedding album and an appetizer and we all had fun reminiscing about our weddings. I had set out my china and put lit candles down on low places since there were no kiddos. Lots of fun.

Pumpkin patch

It is a Duck family tradition to go to the pumpkin patch. We usually go with several couples from church, but were only able to go with two since two others have moved away....boo hoo. But we did take some pretty cute pictures. It was also Damon and I's 6th wedding anniversary, hence the six fingers held up by both Damon and Brodie!!!

Oklahoma Centennial Parade

So we all went down to OKC for the official Centennial Parade celebrating Oklahoma's statehood. Tons of fun if a little windy. Brodie's favorite thing was the giant space shuttle ballon and seeing all the real live astronauts in the parade. For those of you who don't know, the most astronauts have come from Oklahoma than any other state. So since this week's favorite profession is astronaut, I have told Brodie that he has a leg up on other boys and girls just simply because he's from Oklahoma! Layla just liked the whole parade and didn't nap at all because it was so fun.

Kitchen duty

So I think we have the same picture of Brodie doing this as a baby. She just loves to help daddy do the dishes. She pretty much loves to help daddy do anything. When I'm doing dishes she just gets mad that I'm not paying her enough attention!! She is for sure 9 months old now. It was like a light switch as far as knowing when mommy leaves a room or goes away. She starts crying immediately. Oh the separation anxiety. But it does make you feel pretty loved!

I wish that I had taken a picture later on in the evening. She got ahold of a lovely little drawing that Brodie had done in magic marker. did you know that when babies chew on paper with marker on it that their whole mouth, face, hands, clothes turns colors? Poor thing, I had to scrub inside her mouth. She thought the whole thing was hilarious as did Brodie who wasn't upset at all about the picture being destroyed since Layla looked so goofy.

Our matching pjs

So Layla and I totally planned this of course! Not really but we did think we looked pretty stinkin cute. Isn't she getting so big? She has changed classes in the nursery at church to the creepers since she is pulling up so good now. She has even started to cruise around the coffee table a little bit. Her favorite place to play is on the fireplace.....ahhhhhh lots of bad things could happen with that! It is so much harder to childproof a house with a five-year-old brother! I mean, come on, he had marbles. Good grief. Before you say anything we threw them away! She is so fast getting around that it's hard to keep an eye out for her to see what she's getting into! Her favorite at the moment is tearing up magazines mommy accidentally leaves out on the coffee table, so if anybody has pages 13 and 14 of this month's Parents still intact could you let me know?!!

Big kindergartner

So here is Brodie's school picture. They even made him an ID which he carries around in his backpack and calls his driver's license. We were so glad he isn't making a crazy face or something in the picture. you just never know what they're going to turn out like and you have to order your package before the picture is ever even taken! He is loving school especially Fridays cause it's pizza day in the cafeteria and we order his lunch instead of packing it. How very exciting and grown up!

Scooting

Well, I hope I can get this to work!! Please disregard the giant crumb on the kitchen floor. I promise I didn't let her eat it!! And she did finally climb the stair.

Big Girl

Yes, she pulled up all by herself to see the water and toys in the tub. She is getting so big. And she finally has a tooth. I think she is getting another one right now as well.

Just like Christmas in October

We went up in the attic and got down all the big girl toys for Layla. Those two had so much fun with all the new stuff. And wow, do we have the stuff!!! If it's a toy made for babies, we have it! Brodie loved showing his sissie how everything worked. I loved being able to make our whole dinner without interruptions!!!

Our big camping trip

I don't even know where to start with this!!! It is a crazy adventure that is not for the squeamish!!! The Lawlers, the Ducks and Michael planned a camping trip to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Lawton. Very exciting place where buffalo, longhorns, deer, elk, prairie dogs and all kinds of other wildlife actually roam free. And to top it all off there are real mountains there. You start singing from the mountains to the prairies the moment you cross over into the park. I just can't explain it good enough, but it is super cool.

So we all packed up on Friday and took the 1 and a half hour trip to the Refuge as soon as Brodie got out of school. We saw buffalo and longhorn before we ever even got to the campsite! Then while we were all setting up our tents a deer just mosied through to check us out, so cool. James and Layla just thought the whole thing was totally crazy and fun!

After setting up we all headed to Meers which is a nationally known restaurant that has the third best hamburger in the country! It was built in 1901 or something like that and is quite a place. totally looks like a shack, crazy. We tried some fried green tomatoes as well as the famous longhorn hamburgers, but only Will and I dipped them in the ranch sauce served with them. Yes, that is an important point you will understand later.

We then went back to our campsite and the guys got a fire going, no small feat, so we could roast marshmallows and have smores. Brodie called the wire hangers for roasting, rakes. He also was the hit of the night, very funny and entertaining. A good time was had by all. In case you're wondering, the babies missed the evening campfire because they went to sleep in their respective tents!

6 AM rolls around and in the Ducks tent I hear Brodie coughing some and some weird noises. Didn't think much of it since I'm still pretty much asleep and he just fell back to sleep. so no big deal i thought. Yeah, at 6:30 when he woke up and tried to climb in the sleeping bags with Damon and I, I found out that it was a huge deal. He had too much fun around the campfire and his little stomach didn't handle it very well, ewwwww gross. Are you remembering that we are in a tent in the middle of a wildlife refuge --- in other words, instead of putting him in the tub i am trying to clean him up with baby wipes. do you remember that he fell back to sleep after this little episode at 6 so it is everywhere on him, hair, ears ----totally disgusting. So i get that as taken care of as I possibly can and throw his sleeping bag outside. by this time, Layla Jane is awake and thinking it is the coolest thing to all be together in this tent so then we all wake up! Damon who had slept through all of these shenanigans is totally baffled about what is going on, but trust me, I fill him in!!

it's about 7 now and still quiet time at the campsite. Have you ever had to keep a five year old, a one year old and a baby quiet? That was a joke! James even had on shoes that squeak each time he took a step...very cute but not quiet! Anyway, there is a bathroom of sorts (pretty much a porta pottie with concrete walls) that has an old timey pump with some water outside of it. So I wash brodie's hair with some camp soap that Michael has and the freezing cold water. Oh boy he howled!!! yes, all still during quiet hours. hee hee.

Then it's time to make breakfast. michael gets the coffee brewing on the campfire and we all proceed to help make a breakfast quiche type thing in dutch ovens on the campfire, fry bacon...pretty much eating high on the hog! Two deer check out our campsite while we are doing this. Oh and we woke up to the sound of elk bugling. It was incredible....well, i guess i woke up to the sound of Brodie bugling but......

About 8:30 during breakfast preparations, I start to feel a little queasy. How weird. I start wondering if maybe Brodie was sick instead of just too much junk. I have to stop helping prepare the food cause that's just making it worse. So I just sit down by the campfire. Eventually I have to move into the tent and lie down and pretty much it all went completely downhill from there. Have I mentioned that we are camping in the middle of nowhere with no running water and a porta pottie of sorts for a bathroom? not a good place to be ill. that is the biggest understatement you will ever read!!!

Layla then proceeds to have a giant blow out from teething that damon has to change, diaper, clothes, everything. I tried to sit by the campfire after several trips to the porta pottie but then just opted for the front seat of the Tahoe while Damon packed everything up and took care of both kids. We did stop by the prairie dog town on the way out since I had to feed Layla anyway. And yes i kept a walmart sack handy while feeding her.......nasty.

Finally felt better Sunday and fully recovered Monday. I have had food poisoning once in my life and thought that was the worst thing that could ever happen to a person. however I have now discoverd there is something worse....food poisoning while camping. Will also got sick but not till early Sunday morning. That ranch only he and i ate was evidently the culprit!

But all is well now and this camping trip will live on in history!!!! It can only go up from here, right?!!!

As you can see in the progression of pictures as the morning goes on I start to just sit by the campfire clutching my stomach!!! Then I disappear entirely from all the fun!

Man, am I glad that is over! Next time, we are not going to eat out on our camping trip!

Wal-Mart

So all four of us ran into Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things and Daddy just carried Layla. Well, we then got sidetracked and spent a little longer than we had planned. While Brodie and I were looking at something, Daddy put Layla in the nasty, germy Wal-Mart cart. and oh did she think she was hot stuff! She had so much fun being a big girl. I have a cart cover that I'm going to bring next time so she can keep being big without giving me the heebie jeebies! Dads always know just what to do to make a girl happy!

our little siamese twins

Okay, so here's Sophie and Layla taking a bath in one tub seat. Pretty much the funniest thing ever! The girls thought it was great. They laughed and laughed.

Gun Range

Yes, I let Brodie go to the gun range with his daddy. I told Damon he could go when he was ten but changed my mind and oh did Brodie have a blast...no pun intended. Brodie pulled the string on the skeet thrower for his daddy. and then Brodie got to shoot for the very first time. You can't see in the picture, but he "busted the target" as he and his daddy put it! Yes, there's protective ear wear and he was always under supervision and he knows all about gun safety and Damon's guns are locked up here at the house. I know I'm still going to get some raised eyebrows though!!!

Hee Hee....too funny!

Layla and Brodie doing some kind of gymnastics moves while watching the OU game!!! Those two are a hoot!

Second OU game

Okay, so in case you didn't get the memo the first time, OU football is a passion in this part of the world!! Will, Kathryn and James came to our house for the game this time. and yes we all ate....breakfast! I would go into detail about the pancakes, bacon, etc. but I'm sure you get the point....we pigged out! Here are James and Layla enjoying the game. Did I mention that we totally stomped Miami? Go OU!