Brush, brush, brush your teeth!

With all of Tanner's new chompers, it was time to get out the real toothbrush and teach Tanner how to brush his teeth. Carson was thrilled to get to show Tanner how to be a "big boy" like him! Tanner hopped right up on the step stool with Carson and watched every move Carson made. "Like this Tanner"...
Such a big boy TT!

Mommy Conductor

I just love Carson's imagination! Carson has just recently found a new love for trains, Thomas the Train to be exact. He will play in his room with his train table all day if you'd let him. He builds the track all on his own including bridges and tunnels and lines all the trains up one by one. The other night I was cooking dinner and Carson ran into the kitchen. He said, "Mommy Conductor, Mommy Conductor, can you please help me find Gordon the train?" Through my laughter of him calling me "Mommy Conductor", I asked him "What does Gordon the train look like?" Carson responded, "He's a beautiful blue train Mommy, will you please help me find him? Please, please!" Love him!

Sweet boy...

Now that Tanner is one and exceeds the weight recommendation for his carseat to face forward, he looks like such a big boy in his seat! I wish I could freeze time and keep him just this way!

And this is how we grocery shop...

Our Arizona Visitors

I can't even describe how excited we all get when Aunt Erica and Benson come to visit!! We are so thankful that even though they live over a thousand miles away, our boys are still close and love to spend time together! Erica and Benson flew in late Wednesday night, and Carson camped out on our bedroom floor so that Benson could sleep in his big boy bed. He was so excited to see Benson when he woke up! Aunt Erica (of course!) came bearing gifts, and fun gifts at that! Carson gives his BFF Benson a hug... After a little bit of playing, we loaded all 4 kids in the car and headed to Chick Fil A for some breakfast and caffeine! Erica and Benson woke up around 7am our time, which was really 4am their time! They were a bit sleepy....such troopers! Lack of sleep doesn't keep this sweet boy from playing! Benson LOVES to be outside! Good thing we had lots of outside activities to keep him busy...

After wearing the boys out outside, it was time for lunch. The cafeteria...haha...
We were so fortunate to have several mornings with Erica and Benson. We enjoyed the girl talk time, and the boys simply had a blast together. Little Doritos snack break... Tanner gets in on the snack break too... The boys in action! Sandbox fun... And dinosaur playtime... One of the main reasons Erica chose this week to visit was so that her and Benson could share in the celebration of Tanner's first birthday! What a blessing to have her and B at his birthday party. It meant the world to us!

We had such a wonderful time with Aunt Erica and Benson and look forward to our next visit together!

Going to "see the dolphins"!

At our last visit to Sea World, Carson was captivated by the dolphins. I put the most perfect picture of him looking at the dolphins in such awe in a frame in his bathroom. Everytime Carson sees the picture, he asks me "See the dolphins Mommy?" I couldn't wait until our next visit to Sea World and to take him to the dolphin show! We went this past week with Aunt Mamie and Hannah. Carson, once again, was loving the underwater viewing area of the dolphins. Jamie and I loaded up on snacks and took a seat in the splash zone with all 3 kids! We couldn't wait for the show to begin! Our little spectators taking it all in... Carson clapped after each trick and thoroughly enjoyed the show! Afterwards (with the heat index being over 100 degrees!) we needed to cool off. We headed right for the splash pad to get soaked!
What a fun morning visiting the dolphins!

Pizza night!

While grocery shopping for the week, I stumbled upon a favorite childhood meal of mine, Chef Boyardee pizza kits! Immediately I got excited at the thought of Carson being old enough to do this. We had make your own pizza night! Carson listened so well. I told him we were going to get his step stool (which he sprinted to the bathroom to get) and he was going to help me mix the dough to make pizzas. He did a great job spreading the dough out onto the pizza pan. Of course it got a little sticky and Mommy had to step in and help! I broke off some of the dough to let Carson create his own mini pizza. He did such a great job spreading the sauce, and adding the cheese. He patiently waited by the oven for our pizzas to finish baking. I love the enthusiasm of something so simple to us, but so exciting to a 2 year old! Mmmmmm good!!

Chuck e Cheese Take 2!

We tried to take the boys to Chuck e Cheese for Tanner's birthday, but were escorted out of the building due to an electrical fire minutes after we arrived. Thankfully, we had our receipt signed by a manager and were able to visit again the following week! Tanner had a blast riding on all of the fun rides. He even tried to give Barney a little smackaroo... Our little thumbsucker on the choo choo... Tanner really wanted to ride the horse after Carson had a turn. He looked so little riding this big horse! Carson's favorite game to play at Chuck e Cheese is ski ball! Who doesn't like some turns at ski ball?! At one point we had 2 games going at once, Matt and I each with a kid. Balls were flying everywhere, and tickets were being won. It was so fun! Time for some pizza after all of that fun!

DeMoor girls outing!

Sharon came into town for Tanner and Ali's birthday celebrations and the DeMoor girls put together a girls night out! We had so much fun going to the Sak Comedy Club and then to an amazing dessert place called The Dessert Lady!
Can't wait to get together again girls!

Our little "shark"!

Carson hit a major breakthrough in his swimming lesson today! Just yesterday when he got to the step, he hopped right out and would say "I can't!" Daddy was able to swing by Carson's lesson and witness with me this awesome breakthrough! Once Carson reached the wall, he said "I'm a shark!" Love him! So proud of our little guy!

Tanner is O-N-E!

We can't believe how fast Tanner's first year went by! Although alot has gone on in the past year with life with two boys, the day he came into this world really seems like yesterday! Our 9lb snuggle bug... We started off Tanner's 1st birthday with a busy morning of outside fun with Carson, Aunt Erica, Benson, and Hannah! Tanner spent his time swinging! The boys entertained themselves in the sandboxes... After naptime and Carson's swimming lesson, Tanner got to play with his birthday present from Mommy, Daddy, and Carson! A new fun water table!
When Matt got home from work, we loaded the kids in the car and headed to Chuck e Cheese for some pizza and games. Sadly, our time was cut short when there was a small electrical fire and we were forced to evacuate the building and find another place to celebrate Tanner's birthday! :( We were pleasantly surprised to find out that it was kids night at Chick Fil A and our FAVORITE kids performer, Mr. Richard, was playing!!
Mr. Richard, chicken nuggets, and playtime on the playground - what could get better than that?!?!
After our fun time at Chick Fil A, we saved a few cupcakes from Tanner's party and sang "Happy Birthday" to TT at home. Mmmmm... Tanner Matthew, you are an absolute joy and we are SO thankful for you! We love you TT! Happy 1st Birthday!