Carlsbad!

With the extreme need to escape the heat we journeyed over to California. Justen's parents rented a beautiful condo 2 blocks from the beach and kindly invited us. (We can be a bit of a handful with a toddler ;) We spent 5 wonderful days relaxing, eating, playing at the beach, eating, taking walks & bike rides, and eating. (Did I mention we eat.... I guess that's what you do on vacation). Tanner LOVED the beach. Anytime someone said the word, "beach" he'd run to the back door and cry to go to the beach. We spent countless hours digging Tanner holes. All he wanted was a hole in the sand with water. He made Justen dig almost constantly. Tan loved to chase the waves. He'd follow the water out and would run toward shore when the waves came crashing back in. We had an amazing time and were sad to come home to the heat, but will treasure the wonderful memories. Thanks Mom and Dad; we had a blast!

Sitting in the big hole.

Court's sandcastle. I had to take a picture real quick before Tan destroyed it.

Trying to get up on the boogie board.

Not working out so well.

Please Dad, no more

Relaxing!

All tired out from a fun day at the beach!

So much cooler in 3D

We were lucky enough to see Lucas in 3D this week. Tanner came too early before we could do our 3D ultrasound. It was neat to see our sweet little boy up close. I can hardly believe he will be here sometime within the next 2 months. I do want him to stay in a little bit longer than Tan. (Tan was born about 2 weeks from now... and I'm not quite ready for that). Here are a few pictures of Lucas.

18 Months

Tan man is 18 months today! I can hardly believe that my little boy is now grown up. He has become such a sweet and independent toddler. The past few months I have worried about having two kids because Tan has been such a handful, but recently he's responding to us much better. He definitely has a mind of his own and does things his way. He is SUPER active! (we are surprised there hasn't been any broken bones... although a severely sprained index finger did send us to the ER one night.) Tan's vocabulary has grown tremendously. He understands a ton of things we tell him. We have to be careful about what we say. You better not say, "swim swim" or "outside" unless you mean it because he'll hold you to it. He constantly says, "mama, dada, and ball." He's been saying more and more words, however he usually resorts to pointing at whatever he wants. We love our little Tan Man and we know he'll make a great big brother! We are so excited to watch you grow and learn so many things.

Water Fun

Tanner recently has shown a huge interest in playing with water. He loves to splash around in his little pool. His favorite though, is playing with the hose. It's not even "summer" yet, but I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time in water. Here are a few a pictures of Tanner's recent water ventures.

No Doubt About it....

It's another BOY! We are thrilled to announce baby boy Lucas arriving the end of August. We are very happy for this new addition. (Mom will really be out numbered). I hope that these boys will be good companions. Tanner is very helpful now, and I know he'll show Lucas the ropes. Here's a few shots of our sweet new boy.

Lions, & Tigers, & Bears... Oh My!

Last week we went to the zoo with some friends. Tanner enjoyed seeing all the animals, but when it came to the stroller he was the animal. He hated being strapped down because he wanted to walk everywhere. Unfortunately if I let him do that he might end up in the elephants pen like his mom once did. (Yes I was 5 yrs old when I leaned too far over the fence and fell in the elephants pen. And no I was not harmed :) Tanners favorite animals were the tiger and bear. He thought they were hilarious because they both were loud and moving. The bear was banging on the door of it's cage (probably because he was hungry; it was around lunch time), and Tanner couldn't stop giggling. Tanner also enjoyed the carousel ride. He rode on the panther and it was a total hit! Here are the few snapshots I got of the day.

15 Months

It seems that Tanner has grown so much in the last few months. He is now walking around unassisted, climbing on everything (including our ladder), and eating enough food for a grown man. This once little preemie is now a busy toddler. Tanner keeps us very busy. He LOVES to be outside and knows how to open the screen door to the backyard. Occasionally I'll find him in the backyard without even knowing it! Tanner is also very helpful; sometimes a little too helpful. He enjoys following me around all day and makes it difficult to get things accomplished. He loves to hand anyone his toys or shoes. Tan enjoys playing with cars, balls, rocks, and anything that mom says he shouldn't have. He is definitely boy - nothing is too dirty, disgusting, or hard for him to do or try. Nevertheless we love our sweet Tan Man. Here are a few pictures my mom took of Tanner when we went to UT a few weeks ago; too cute!