O, Christmas Tree!

Anastyn and I had the night to ourselves on Monday, so we decided we should probably get the tree decorated. We got into our Christmas pj's (thanks Devin) and started decorating. Anastyn thoroughly enjoyed herself! She helped me with the garland, and hung a couple of ornaments. I don't have a picture of the completed tree, but I will post one later. I had to do most of the decorating after she went to bed because if I stood on her chair, she automatically tried to climb up and stand on it with me. I wish I had a picture of that! She would just wrap her arms around my legs and hold on for dear life! Anyway, here are quite a few pictures of the fun we had!

Let's get the ornaments out!

Anastyn hanging the first strand of garland.

Aren't they beautiful? :)

Now for the green garland!

Hanging her A for Anastyn ornament

She had to stand on the chair each time to put something on the tree.

Isn't this sweet?

On to the tulle.

Checking out the lights

These are from a couple days earlier, I was trying to get her to model the shirt that Aunt Devin made for her and the hairbow that I made. She wasn't being extremely cooperative, but we got a couple pics anyway!

Halloween Flashback

I have been having trouble with photo storage recently and haven't been able to upload photos to the blog. I have that figured out now so I thought I should post some pictures of the first Halloween that Anastyn participated in. Being that it is almost Thanksgiving, this is definitely a flashback. We really weren't expecting much from our 16 month old on Halloween. We had a purple dinosaur costume, that Anastyn was none to thrilled about when we tried it on for practice. But we decided to give it a try anyway. We had decided to get together with our friends Matt and Michelle and their little girl, Mya. Mya was an adorable little cat and Anastyn wore her dinosaur costume. She would not put the hood on for anything though.... Until we went outside to go trick-or-treating at a couple of the neighbor's houses. As soon as we stepped outside, she let Nathan put her hood on (the head of the dinosaur) and she took off with her little pumpkin treat bucket (that we borrowed from Mya- like I said, I really wasn't expecting much). SHE LOVED IT! I wish I had video. She looked like such a big girl carrying her little treat bucket and walking up to the front doors! She was so excited and would be walking along and let out this little excited laugh. It was so much fun watching her. We had a wonderful night and a lot of fun

watching the girls enjoy all the Halloween candy that they were not going to get to consume!

As you can see, she LOVED the hood! (can you hear the sarcasm?)

Miss Mya the kitty cat

Trying to get a picture of the girls together was a little difficult. However, they both really enjoyed the candy bowl, so we used it to occupy them while we snapped a few pics.

And she is off to trick-or-treat at the first house. As soon as we got outside she was completely fine with the hood.


Fully enjoying herself. She has found a new love... m&m's.

Here are the girls checking out all the goodies.

I just thought this pic was cute. I love the little cat tail and dinosaur tail.

Another cute picture of Mya. Isn't she a doll?

They had a lot of fun digging through the candy bowls at everyone's houses.

This Is For Daddy

This post is completely random pictures of our little sweetheart. Anastyn says "Daddy, I hope these help, I love you verrrry much!"


Trying on her cousin's cool shoes. They look like little barbie shoes. Do you like them daddy?

Her first ever pigtails that lasted for about 2 more seconds after this picture was taken.

Another attempt at capturing her first pigtails before she ripped them out.

Playing in the hay maze with her dad at the pumpkin patch.

My favorite picture this year! At our family fall festival Nathan told the girls to race to Grammy Tammy. He had to help Anastyn out a little. I think they all look so cute and they are having so much fun!

Daddy's little helper. She will be changing brakes in no time!
Gotta love the completely mismatched outfit from head to toe!

I just really like these last two pics. The top one was at church in Tulsa and the bottom one is from when we went bowling in Tulsa. She was holding her hand over the little area that blows air out on your hands.

We miss you and love you!

Where Does the Time Go?

I absolutely can not believe that has already been a month since this adorable little guy was born!

He doesn't even look the same anymore. Still adorable, but he has filled out so much. I was trying to steal a more recent picture from my sister's blog, but for some reason it is not showing up right now. So if you want to see how precious he looks in his Halloween costume go check it out here.

We went to Tulsa to meet Mr. Lincoln and to celebrate Skylar's SIXTH birthday party! I really can't believe she is already six. I remember every moment about the day she was born from the phone call I received at about 3 a.m. to finally getting to meet her in the hospital. My FIRST niece, I was soooooo excited! I went straight to Wal-Mart after that phone call - because that was the only place open- and bought baby stuff.

I really have the most precious family! I love these girls with all of my heart! They are the sweetest, most kind-hearted little things. Anastyn adores her cousin, as they do her and it is so much fun to watch them together.

Anastyn also loves her new BOY cousin. She was very gentle with Lincoln and gave him some very sweet kisses and would hold his hand very softly. I don't know what I was even worried about. She LOVES babies and I look forward to watching these little ones grow up together.

Labor Day Weekend Camping Trip

Here is your fair warning. THIS IS A MAJOR PICTURE OVERLOAD! ....YES, even more so than usual :) So, we went camping Labor Day weekend down on Nathan's family farm. The place where we camp sits right on the river and they have turned a school bus into this cool little "camper" with electric hook-ups and all. I always love to camp, it is just so nice to be away from everything. No obligations or schedules, just lots of good food, family, and friends! Trent and Kesha spent the weekend with us and our friends Lucas and Sarah came down and spent Friday evening with us. They have two beautiful little girls, Ella and Hannah (who is 5 months older than Anastyn). We are so glad they could come down and play some games with us and visit. We miss not seeing them as much since we have moved to St. Charles. Despite the slightly rainy, cool weekend... we all had a really good time. Now on to the many, many, maaaaany pictures from the weekend.

Anastyn and her friend Hannah. Anastyn loved these little chairs that Luke and Sarah brought for their girls.

Ella, isn't she a pretty little thing? Looks just like her mama!

Trent and Kesha canned some pickles this year and the girls LOVED the pickles. Even the spicy ones, at one point all their little eyes were red, but they just kept eating them.

Just thought this was cute. Although, I don't know if Anastyn is holding onto the chair to be close to Hannah, or because she doesn't want it to get away from her.

Sarah was reading the girls a story.


Anastyn slept and napped very well for us on the trip. Saturday morning she was ready to go. Well, after we said bye bye to her piggy. She REALLY LOVES that thing.

She carried her walking stick (corn stalk) around with her for quite some time. She checked the chairs for bugs...

Used it to help her walk around...

and poked Uncle Trent's toes with it.

Played a friendly game of Taboo.

Then conked out for her afternoon nap.

She woke up fully refreshed and ready to go. She loved playing on, in and around this inner tube.

Then she was very focused on conquering this little bump of dirt on the ground. You can't really see it, but there was a small incline or "step" that she would work so hard to climb up, then she would turn around and step down off of it.

Getting her footing

She did it!


I love how she rubs the top of her dads head and sucks her thumb.

We went for a little boat ride. Needless to say, Anastyn wasn't fond of the life jacket.

She chilled out every once in awhile to enjoy the short ride.

Saturday night, Grandpa Darrell and Grandma Jeanette came down with Uncle Drew and Aunt Amanda to hang out for a little bit. Since it was dark, I was unable to get any pictures, but we had fun making banana boats and smores.

Then, Sunday morning we woke up to find this. What a way to end a good weekend. Overnight the water came up about 5 feet and flipped the boat that had been tied down very securely. Luckily, it survived and is still running.

15 Month Check-up

Just a quick note to record Anastyn's 15 month stats. We went to the doctor on Wednesday and everything went well. (Aside from getting shots...who likes those?) Anastyn weighed in at a whopping ... 19 lbs. Yes, that means she is in the FOURTH percentile. REALLY??? She is small, but she doesn't seem THAT small! Anyway, the doctor said she is just fine, and she is staying consistent on the chart and she looks good and healthy, she is just a small fry! She was in the 21st percentile for height (29.5 inches) and her head circumference was 14% (44.5 cm).
She has met all the milestones for children of her age and the doctor was surprised how still she sat when she checked out her ears and nose and mouth. She was a VERY good girl. So far this was the best appointment yet. Of course, the doctor let her play with the light on her ear/nose checking instrument (no clue what that thing is called), which Anastyn thought was pretty neat. And she opened her mouth up wide when the doctor asked her to, so she didn't even need to use the popsicle stick (love my medical terminology here?). The doctor said she was "stellar" and thought it was cute that Anastyn waved bye-bye to her as soon as we told her to say bye-bye.
ANYWHO... shots...well, they are shots, she remembered from last time and did not even want me to lay her down. We got through them and she did well.
Mainly, we are just so happy to have a happy, healthy, little girl. Life just gets better and better every day with her. What a wonderful blessing!
I have pics to post from when we met baby Lincoln, so hopefully I will get those loaded onto our computer this weekend. We can't wait to see him again. I hear he is still an EXCELLENT little boy. But how could he not be with such awesome, wonderful parents! (LOVE you all) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

P.S. I really did think this was a quick note, I guess quick doesn't always mean short when coming from me :)

Happy 15 Months!

Anastyn has been a busy little girl lately. It seems she is picking up new things daily. She is trying more and more to form her words. She tries to repeat almost everything we say, in her own little way of course. She has also started singing at random times. It might be my favorite thing yet. She was in her high chair the other night just singing away. She does it kind of soft and sweetly. I don't know what she is singing, but it is beautiful! I will have to try to catch her on camera.

A few words that she says consistently:
hot - ot
ball- bah
hi- she says this very sweet and drawn out
mama
dada
Ana- as in Anastyn
uh-oh - she finally got that oh in there. I love hearing her say it, because she exaggerates the o by making her lips really round. Absolutely adorable!
dog- dah
amen- ah nah
papa- she has said this once
bath- bah (yes, it sounds just like ball, but she says it when we are going to take a bath)
I think she has started saying that- she points to things a lot and says "dat". I am not 100%, but that is what I have decided.
I also think I have gotten her to say plane a few times.
There are probably some that I am forgetting, but you get the gist.

Anastyn with her fabulous cousins! She looks like their sister, doesn't she? She adores her cousins and she is no longer the baby! She thinks she can play with the big girls now!

She has 3 more teeth. Her upper incisors on both sides and on lower incisor on the left. I think her teething has affected her appetite a little. But she is still a pretty good eater, for the most part. She has really started playing with her toys a lot more lately. She loves to play with all of them. She has started loving on her baby dolls as well. If I start singing "Sweet, sweet, baby..." she will put her little baby on her shoulder and pat its back and rock it. It is very sweet. She also LOVES her bath. She doesn't like to sit down in it. But she loves to play with her ducks and basketballs, and she likes to have water dumped on her hands, arms, and body. She is much better when it comes to washing her hair as well. She loves to splash and fill up cups and dump them out.

Details seem to be escaping me today, but mainly Anastyn is just one happy girl. She has such a personality and so many expressions to go with it. She is very stubborn... and not so happy when she doesn't get EXACTLY what she was wanting... and yes, SHE KNOWS. She is so hard to fool with distractions! She goes to bed very well. She is very in love with her little piggy that she sleeps with. Sometimes, I think she goes down just so she can hold it and suck her little thumb. Definitely an addiction! She likes pointing out babies and children, waving at passing cars and airplanes over head.

Great-grandma Del letting Anastyn steal a drink from her straw.



Love a girl in boots! She had a lot of fun walking around in these. These are my new favorite item in her wardrobe.

Another pic with her "big sisters." I hope they always get along this well. They are really so sweet to her and she absolutely loves their attention.

Hopefully, I will get a post up soon about our camping trip from Labor Day. And a few pictures from our trip to see baby Lincoln and Skylar's birthday. Don't hold your breath though, it could be another week...or two...or three... :)