This weekend

While some friends were in town, we had a chance to play around with her camera. It was so nice to click off many pictures without waiting for a flash. Plus, you could catch those "moments" without re-enacting them. It sure was fun... sadly our friends (and their camera) are gone, but at least we got a few good ones of the boys. Stay tuned for Christmas pics :)

Cael is busy, but he'll give us a look.

Something must be really interesting

Bath Boy


Something must be really funny

Happy December

Our community had a "Breakfast with Santa" activity. It is still weird to have these sort of things without any snow around, not to mention how unseasonable warm and humid it is as well. I guess I will just have to deal with it. Well~ Cael was a little wary of the bearded stranger at first, but decided to smile real big for the picture. I don't know what is wrong with Brecon, though, he is a serious child. If anyone can tell me what they see "different" in the picture, I'll pat you on the back... we'll just say we left immediately after this picture was taken :)
Peace 

I've never done any video on my blog yet, so let me know if you see this amazing FEAT or not...

Brecon's takes over!

Hi. My name is Brecon. I'm almost 5 months old (can you believe it?) Well, I guess I'll tell you a little bit about myself. I like to eat, take naps, smile, and my latest trick.... rolling over! I'm on the verge of crawling (if you know what I mean) I'm happy most of the time, except for when I get mad. My mom likes to stick me in this "saucer" thingy when she needs to get stuff done. It's pretty entertaining, but my fingers are pretty entertaining too!

This is my big brother Cael. He sure is crazy, but I love him anyway. He likes to roll me around tries to carry me around the house, but my mom tells him to stop. I don't know why, Cael is very strong... but oh well.

Well everybody, life is pretty good (at least for me). Hope everyone is doing well and you like my pictures!

Sea World?

Many of your may wonder what Sea World is doing in the middle of Texas? Well, I don't have an answer for you, it just is. Sea World San Antonio.... and we were given some season passes and have been using them like they're going out of style the past year and 1/2. My friends' brother works there (he's the guy in the coveralls) and took us on a "behind-the-scenes" tour of the Sea Lion Stadium and we met a new friend. Seriously, the sea lion is smiling for the picture, is that funny or what? Those sea lions sure are crazy. We've sure enjoyed having something fun to do.

HEY HALLOWEEN!

OH the joys of Halloween!

We pulled out the pumpkin to be carved this past month and this was just a classic "hey let me set the timer and see what happens". Well as you can clearly see, the photo took before any of us were ready., except for Cael-- he looks pretty ready to me.

I need to explain that Cael needs to take his afternoon nap or else we all suffer. So late afternoon on Halloween, I easily put Cael in his bed for a "power nap" so that we will all have FUN FUN FUN later that night. Well, he is sleeping soundly when we suddenly need to leave, so he is not feeling too excited about trick-or-treating and leaving his nice warm bed. In the midst of crying and not cooperating with the latest costume choice, we finally got him out the door (with tears still in his eyes) for a photo before we leave for the night. It will be a memory that stay with him FOREVER! Halloween is fun, quit your cryin'!

The PLATT (boy) PIRATES!

I, on the other hand, was totally excited to dress up this year in this lovely Thrift Town find. You won't believe me if I told you, but the dress and shoes fit like they were made for me, it was amazing! You gotta love the yellow! Also, I think I went through an entire can of hairspray to get my bangs and pony to cooperate accordingly. It could be bigger, I know, but we were in a hurry!
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A SCURVY PIRATE?!
Brecon was a good sport to have eyebrows drawn on his cute little face, and that pirate bandana really covers up his head nicely. And are you checkin' out the chest hair? oh my!
Halloween was sure fun!

A cute little boy...

Just wanted to throw this one up here, the kid is growing and even is smiling real big for us. Gotta love it.

Just for fun

We like to read books... children's books that is. At night before bed, we pound out as many childrens' library books as we can stand and usually Cael enjoys too. Brecon... well, we're working on him. He usually can only take about 1/2 of a book before he has had enough, which is OK for now. But if he is going to last very long in this family, he needs to learn to love books or he just might not make it (only kidding :) So... After we took this picture, Cael insisted that Brecon sleep in his bed for the night. But it didn't happen. Like I said, Brecon can only do 1/2 a book, or stand to be so close to his brother for so long. I know his loves Cael, but he also knows that Cael = rough love. Cael loves Brecon, only sometimes a KICK to the head or a squeeze TOO TIGHT doesn't always go over well with a baby. Life can be hard when you're a baby and your brother's name is Cael. Anywho... you gotta love it.

BROTHERS... NO MATTER WHAT ( check out the blond widows peak on Brecon. You can see it, right?)


Ben reading to his boys... how precious is that

Now I just threw this one in for fun. I thought some might get a kick out of Caels' shorts hiked up to TIBUKTU. I know I'm laughin'

and now he sleeps...

After our sweet baby was born, this lady didn't receive the luxury of going to bed at night without any A.M. interruptions. And NOW can I get a Hallelujah?!!?! Brecon is going for 7 hour stretches at NIGHT!!! This is a little smile from the man saying "you're welcome mom". He's been allowing me to play a little catch up for about a week now. Let's just hope he keeps it up.

SQUISHY

Ben and Cael love to go on "BUG HUNTS". There must be something about digging in the dirt and catching rollee-pollee's, ants, and crickets, sticking them into a jar and looking at them. I don't know, I just don't get it. I must be a girl or something. Anywho, on one of their fabulous hunts, they discovered this (see photo below)l. We'll just say that this creature was something to behold and Cael was very excited about it. We asked Cael what we should name this new friend and said "SQUISHY" with no hesitation. It was pretty cute that he came up with the name all by himself, so the name has stuck to every hopping friend we see.
After playing in the dirt, we just had to stick the boys in the tub. RUB A DUB DUB...

OH NO.... close your eyes if you are afraid of a little bum

Family at Work

Just recently we got new countertops installed, and therefore we also needed to install a new sink and faucet and garbage disposal. As you can see my boys are hard at work making sure it gets done right! Ben and Cael working on installing the new faucet. It was just one of those cute moments where Cael just had to be right there with Dad.

Our cute little bug and a borrowed puppy from Cael. We will see how small the puppy "shrinks" next to Brecon this year.


HE SMILES!!! The first month or so with Brecon was pretty rough. He was just a crying baby and I thought he was "broken" because Cael was so easy... anywho... he is doing better and even smiles for us. GOTTA LOVE IT!
ohh, I look tired here but that is just how it is with a new baby. I wanted to put this one up of me and Brecon to show that I do exsist ( you know what I mean?)

OH and here we are at the pool. I still can't believe I have two boys.. so this picture really proves to me that there they are. We were just enjoying the summer heat while we had it. It has been raining so much (even this labor day weekend) that we almost forgot what Texas summer was like. Cael really is swimming so well. He puts on his goggles (which are his favorite color) and dives under the water. If you look to the right you can see an "island" which Cael swims to all by himself from the edge where we are. He also learned to float and swim on his back, he sure looks cute paddling his little arms and kicking his legs!
So there it is... what we have been up to lately.

Here we go!

This weekend, we were visited by some old friends. David Bishop and his wife Julie came to town for a Sea World Adventure and stopped by our house for a good game of Settlers. They won of course, but it was a good match! And in case you don't know, they are tall as well! (see photo below)


Here is a picture of their faces... either they are really tall or we are just short. I already know the answer: Ben and I are just short :)

Also visiting the Platt family this weekend: Ryan and Amanda Malnar. They took Ben and Cael camping over the weekend and floating on the Guadalupe River. A good time was had by all! Brecon and I were very sad that we couldn't go... there is always next time!

And now... What you've all been waiting for (or not) Some pictures of our house and the work we have been doing. If you want to check our earlier post to view the BEFORE photos, or just enjoy the ones that are below. Really I don't know what to say about these pictures, so I just tried to explain what we did and where it fits in the house. Hopefully it makes a bit of sense.
This is a view in the kitchen, on the stove side. The window above the sink looks down into the living room (fireplace room). We are currently in the process of ordering different counter tops and a new sink, etc.. so hopefully that will happen soon. We removed all the wallpaper, changed the ceiling and painted. New appliances as well.

Here is the view from the sink side. We raised the middle cabinets to install the microwave and put in different lighting. My favorite is the double oven... it is amazing how often I use them both at the same time, very convenient.

Now the view from the kitchen nook. The cabinets next to the refrigerator were once in the laundry room, but we needed something on that wall. So we just put them up and we think they look pretty good. Here is our entertainment room, or Hawaiian Room. There isn't a before picture... I just wanted to put this one up. Basically this is where we hang out and watch our stories. Cael is obviously having a great time watching some cartoons.
This is our tile pattern in the kitchen and throughout the house. I love how it doesn't have a pattern and the different sizes.

Here is a view from the back of the fireplace room facing the dining room. You can see the Kitchen window on the right-hand side (or top). The wood floors are in the dining, fireplace, and library room. They really are nice, dark but nice.

Here is the dining room. There used to be some fabulous blue curtains, which were removed and now we have these mahogany blinds. Just Simple for now. I know the table is off-centered in the room. It is merely a temporary arrangement for the time being to give an idea of the space.

Below is a photo of Cael's bathroom. If you can recall the neon yellow wallpaper which we removed and painted this tan. The tile on the floors is new. ALSO...There is a boy in the bathtub with his clothes on...

AND now the master shower with my lovely assistant posing on the ledge. It steps up and then down, you can see the ground level with the white flip-flop. New faucet and fixtures. We sure like it.
This is the guest bathroom. Before there was a "desk sink".. which we tore out and in its' place put this pedestal, new toilet, and mirror. It helps this bathroom feel much bigger. Our guests seem to like it. Especially (but you can't see them in this picture) the safety bars in the shower. We didn't have the heart to tear them out. Safety first!
Now back to the fireplace room. New texture on the walls, paint, and some used couches fill this space nicely. We enjoy our family evenings in this room and the lucky person who is spotlighted has the privilege of standing on the edge of the fireplace so we can tell them "why we love them so". It is one of Cael's favorite moments... along with popcorn popping playing on the piano (that was a lot of P's)

A view from the steps up to the dining room. You can see in the doorway the bookcases of the library room. We are planning on putting some french doors to finish that spot

That is it for now... I better go to bed while I still can!

What is going on lately?

I have been a total slacker when it comes to taking and putting up pictures of our new little guy (sorry) It must have something to do with the sleep deprivation (which we are doing better with) sitting down for a minute to 'blog' and then suddenly NOT being able to do a thing. All the joys of motherhood and trying to keep a clean house (impossible)... but still doing and trying my best.

So here it goes..
Cael is the best big brother. Here he is helping brother with his tummy time and letting him know that someone cares about him, because mom is busy with the camera :)
"I am looking straight ahead.. I'm not going to smile"

here is a little magic show featuring the talented Brecon and his assistant Cael and Daddy Ben. We really can't believe how strong this boy is-- he can already roll from his tummy to his back-- but not the other way, and as you can see above he can stand and balance on one hand!!! amazing!!!

his onesie speaks for itself...

 

cheesy grin... gotta love it

brotherly love

just wanted to put a few pictures up so I hope you enjoy them..... oh and I'm typing one-handed. It is not the easiest but something must be done.

The rains came down...

Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes came to visit this past week and see their newest grandbaby and enjoy some time here in the Texan sun. We were very excited to show them all the "fun" things to do here in San Antonio... however, the weather would not cooperate! Monday was the only sunny day and we spent it walking around the Alamo (remember it?). It was also the only day we went swimming, because everyday after Monday was raining... raining and raining some more. It was very disappointing to say the least, but at least we were able to spend time together :)

Here is the ALAMO... Grandpa Richard, Me (with Brecon inside pouch), Grandma Kathi and Cael in the front

Here is a fountain around the grounds of the Alamo area.. doesn't it just look good enough to jump in on a hot day? Cael was very tempted, believe me, but didn't grab any of the coins laying on the bottom.


So the rest of the week we spent time doing indoor things. Organizing and putting things away, making cookies and other yummy treats, shopping, going out to eat and to the movies... etc. All in all it was a great visit. Cael got to wrestle with Grandpa, and we had a good laugh while they did. We only wish it hadn't rained everyday (besides Monday)