The Stockton Family

Let's finish up 2009 shall we!

2011-03-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

One thing we always love to do at Christmas time is make a gingerbread house. I love it because of the quality time I get to spend with Tyler...he loves it because of the amount of candy and icing he gets to consume. I can't say I blame him. Some might say that I should limit the amount of sugar he gets to eat during this time....but look how happy it makes him!!! :)

The end result wouldn't stay together. But that's okay, more to EAT!
Friends are what get you through the good times and bad. These are friends who have done just that. Tyler has been blessed beyond measure to have so many people love him the way they do. They treat him as if he is their own and still come to our rescue when we call. We love you guys!!

Chase and Kassie Gassaway and Michael and Jenny Cole

Christmas time with the family. These are treasured times! Tyler's great grandparents love him so very much!

Uncle Ty does too!

I love the generations in this picture.
After spending time with the Loro side of the family...we head over to the Kniffen side. Tyler was so thrilled to get the ONE thing he asked for for Christmas...a SCOOTER!

Tyler got a nice surprise when PawPaw showed him the horse swing he got for our backyard! Daddy and Uncle Ty were helping him give it a little test run.

Checking with MawMaw to see if there was anything else.
Aunt Mande and Uncle Ty brought Lamar this ukulele from California. It now serves as Tyler's guitar...and he is pretty amazing at it too!
Again with our wonderful friends. Nate is one of our greatest friends. He loves and adores Tyler and it is very obvious that the feeling is mutual!

Our friends all came over to spend Christmas time with our family. Like I said before...we are blessed! If you look carefully, you can see Lamar up in the tree!

2009 was a wonderful year for our family of 3. We looked forward to seeing what God had in store for us in 2010!

Stay tuned for a recap of 2010. :)

It's been a while!

2011-03-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

I guess I need to catch up a little bit. :)

Now this may take a while...so stay tuned and keep checking in.

November of 2009...

After we found out we were having a second baby, we decided to take one final trip with some friends. Our second "babymoon" if you will. Tyler stayed with grandparents and we headed to HAWAII!!!! with our best friends Nick and Lindsey. We will be forever grateful for this experience they gave us.

Nick and Lamar
Lindsey and me
Lamar and me...pre-baby #2.

We have big news!

2009-10-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

You're gonna to want to pause the music at the bottom to hear an important announcement from Willie T.

First trip to the doctor.....6 weeks, 3 days

Innocent Criminals

2009-10-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

Like Father Like Son!!!

2009-09-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

And people wonder where Tyler gets his looks.....

Buzz Cut!

2009-09-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

The realization that Tyler was in desperate need of a hair cut....(a.k.a. - Lamar said his hair made his head look HUGE!)

The way to save money on a haircut that is going to inevitably grow out in a couple of weeks!
It tickled.......

The point when mommy gets sad because she realizes all her babies hair is GONE!

The best way to get a little boy cleaned off fast because he is "so scratchy!"

Domain Dillo

2009-09-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

So we went to the Domain to hear our friend Clint play with his Jazz Trio. They were wonderful but Tyler was entertained for all of 2 minutes...so we played with the Armadillo and Butterfly chairs.

I love Mommy and T time!

Proud Mama Post

2009-09-03T19:44:00.001-07:00

Time for Tyler to go back to Pre-School again.

He was really excited to go see his new "friends", even though only 2 of the kids in his class are from his class last year. He didn't care! Everyone is his "friend"! But his favorite part of going back to school was his new lunchbox. He has been asking for his lunchbox everyday since I bought it......3 weeks ago!

This is Tyler's new "say cheese" face!

His new "first day" shirt. FLASH to the rescue!!!
Now what teacher wouldn't love to have this adorable face in their class?
Can we just say that my son is "too cool for school". I mean seriously, who is this tough guy?
I do have to brag on him just a bit. Even though Tyler is only 2 1/2, he is in the 3 year old class. And even though he is the SECOND YOUNGEST in his class...he is the ONLY ONE POTTY TRAINED!!! Not only is he potty trained, he gets a sticker every time he goes in the potty, and he came home Tuesday with 5 stickers!!! I am so proud of my big boy.

Well today when Lamar went to pick him up, Mrs. Lisa asked if she could speak to Lamar in the classroom for just a second. (My thoughts.....UH OH! The last time we were asked to "be spoken to" or got a note home, it was because Tyler was being too aggressive, hitting and pulling hair! Crap!) BUT.....instead, Mrs. Lisa said, " I don't think we can send Tyler home with you today. We love him too much and he is just too funny, so we are gonna have to keep him here with us." YAY! His teachers love him. But how could I blame them....I don't want to let him go either.

And just FYI: Tyler went to see Dr. B. Wednesday to get caught up on all his immunizations for school. He did great. He cried more about having to leave before he finished his book than he did about the shot. But we also got his new stats.

Height: 38 1/4 inches (85%)

Weight: 31.8 pounds (70%)

Where does this come from?

Hello Again!

2009-08-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Do you remember that movie? Shelley Long and Bette Midler were in it. I used to love that movie.

Anyways.....sorry it's been so long. I can't believe I have neglected to fill you in on all the amazing things that have been going on this summer. From swimming in the pool, to building sand castles at the beach, to entering Tyler in his first rodeo, to buying a h

ouse, to potty training, to getting our dog Simon back, to seeing our friends from Cali,.......let's just say we have been RIDICULOUSLY BUSY!!!

So bare with me...I will try to catch you up as best as possible, little by little.

One of the most amazing things we did this summer, was our trip to Panama City Beach, Florida to do a camp with Topher, Leya and Drew. It really was an amazing trip that went much better than expected. Tyler slept the majority of the way there and back, and only got fussy one time and it didn't last long. I was so proud of him! Now I'm not saying that Tyler didn't enter into the terrible two's stage (clingy and attached to mama) once we got there.....but other than that....it was such a great week.

Tyler absolutely LOVED seeing his cousin Drew again. They played so well together all week, and it was just precious watching the two

of them interact.

And praise the Lord that Gammy was there! Beth was such a huge help in Florida (meals, bedtime, beach time, tantrum time....she did it all)! Thanks Gammy!

And of course, Lamar and I were so excited to get to see Toph and Leya. We miss them like crazy and it was a great week of hang out time!

Here is a glimpse of our week at the beach.

Sweet cousin reunion

Tyler loved being buried in the sand!

Tyler and mommy footprints

Oh how I've missed my Leya!

My sweet husband and me.....pure bliss!

My silly family

The whole Stockton Crew! Gotta love em'

3rd time for the 3Day!!!!

2009-08-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Just go to The3day.org

*click on donate

*type in Jill Stockton

*click my name

And Donate away!!!!

Every dollar helps me get one step closer!

Thank you so much for your donation!

The Never Ending Story......

2009-05-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

of PINK EYE!!!
So Tyler has been fighting a never ending battle with pink eye for the last 4 weeks. When he FIRST got it, I wanted to get some pictures so we would make sure and remember his first pink eye experience. (I LOVE MEMORIES!) But now that he has had it repeatedly for about 4 weeks....I don't see how we could ever forget!

But don't you worry! A little pink eye can't bring this boy down!

Sprinkles!!!!

2009-05-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

Tyler had a blast a couple weeks ago playing in the sprinklers, or as he calls them, "sprinkles"!. Little does he know that playing IN the sprinklers is actually way more fun than just playing in the side mist that is spraying onto our porch. But he doesn't care. It's the little things that bring him the most joy. And I LOVE that!!!

Easter Fun 2009

2009-04-19T19:42:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack in posting lately....just been busy. I have tons to post though, so stay tuned and don't give up on me!

Easter was a blast this year. Aunt Mande and Uncle Ty got to come hang out with us and Tyler LOVED it. It might be partly due to the fact that they brought him the most AMAZING Easter present EVER!!!

Easter Eggstravaganza at Riverbend + family and friends = loads of fun! I loved that Tyler understood the whole "Easter egg hunt" thing. It made it ten times more fun that last year, just seeing the excitement on his face.

Tyler was soooo proud of all his Easter eggs.
This is his new ""say cheese" face. Love it!

Aunt Mande and Tyler
Last year's picture with the fake Easter bunny.

This year's picture with the fake Easter bunny.

Ready for a rockin' good time with Mande and Ty.

Me and my beautiful sister...

Yummy Easter Brunch prepared by the Kniffen sisters!

Tyler really enjoyed it!

As did everyone else.

Time for Tyler to open his Easter basket!

Bubbles are always a big hit!

We had everyone over Easter evening for some taco soup and egg dying. Tyler loved all the attention he got. He is one loved little boy!

And he obviously loved the Easter cake mommy made. We decorated it together...(by decorated it together I mean, mommy put on the icing and sprinkles and Tyler ATE the icing and sprinkles!)

What a WONDERFUL Easter!!!

Bluebonnets

2009-04-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

First bluebonnet pics in 2007

Bluebonnet pics now in 2009....my boy is all grown up!

My all time fave of my all time cutie!!!

Cowboy Day at Pre-School

2009-03-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Remember these? (August 2008)

Well my little cowboy is back. He had Cowboy Day at pre-school this week, and he was super excited to get all geared up. Thanks to MawMaw and PawPaw, Tyler had his new hat, boots and pearl-snap shirt from Christmas, to help him get ready for this "oh-so-important day".
***Sidenote - The picture that Tyler is carrying around is his cow that PawPaw got him for his 2nd Birthday. (This one is black with a orange tag in it's ear with a "2" on it.) Every birthday he gets a real cow, so that when he is ready for college, he can either start working the cattle or sell his herd for college money. It's pretty awesome. Well Tyler loves his cow and carries the picture around everywhere!!! So when "cowboy day" came up, he was stoked to get to take his cow to school with him. He carried it around ALL DAY saying, "look at my number 2". It was precious!
I cannot believe how much older he looks in these pictures!

Picasso Tyler

2009-03-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

Fingerpainting day!!!

I love Tyler and Mommy days......

Tyler's first pair of skinny jeans!

2009-03-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

We got a wonderful surprise from our friends in Cali.....
Tyler's first pair of skinnies.
He was totally feelin' it!

Thanks Nick and Lindsey.

Little Drummer Boy!

2009-03-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

We are working on his band's name. Any ideas??

My little love bug.

2009-02-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

A fun filled Valentine's weekend.......busy......but fun.
The night of the 12th, our apartment complex hosted a party at a local kids gym (JW Tumbles), and the kids hair place next door (Pigtails and Crewcuts). Tyler really enjoyed the fun play time, and was so excited to have his hair be "ownge".

I had a blast celebrating Valentine's Day with my class too. We are such a silly bunch.

Then we met some friends the night of the 13th at Hula Hut to celebrate their engagement. Congrats Ricky and Kodikay! We didn't get to stay long, but we enjoyed our time while we were there.

Then we ended the night at Chad and Amber's, celebrating Chad's birthday. Tyler loves to spend time with our friends. They all make him feel so special and loved, and I adore them for that!

Then Saturday we celebrated Valentine's Day together. A day full of red sprinkle colored cinnoman rolls + presents for/from my loved ones + dinner on a palette + watching Horton Hears a Who = One Perfect Day of Love!!!

Sweet thank you's!

2009-02-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you know that we thank God for you every night.

Yes YOU!

When Lamar and I pray with Tyler at night we always say thank you for our family.

Well Tyler has recently started adding in his own thank you's.

Once we say, "thank you God for....", Tyler immediately starts naming the people he loves.
(example: "tane chu Mommy, tane chu Daddy, tane chu Mawmaw, tane chu Pawpaw, tane chu Memaw, tane chu Pepaw, tane chu Ty, tane chu Manny, tane chu Nate, tane chu Hedda, tane chu Chase, tane chu Kassie, tane chu Sawah, tane chu Eban, tane chu Nick, tane chu Winsey, tane chu Ammer, tane chu Max"....just to name a few)

So just so you know, Tyler personally thanks God for you!

It doesn't get much sweeter than that!

And sometimes when we get him up in the morning, he looks like this......

.....shirt pulled up over his head and all.

I love my big boy!

Feel those kicks?

2009-02-06T20:46:00.001-08:00

He's gonna be a socca playa. He is! He iiiiiiiiiisss!

And my all-time fave....

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TYLER!!!

2009-01-31T17:12:00.000-08:00

* Disclaimer: I started this post Saturday but got busy, tired, distracted....whatever.....and just now finished it. So the words may be in present tense at the beginning of the post, but the rest of it was written in the past tense because I am too lazy to go back and fix it.

So....you know how yesterday I said that I had to postpone Tyler's birthday party because he was sick as a dog, had a fever of 102.1 and was laying on the couch not moving a muscle.....

ya well..... this morning Tyler woke up feeling better than ever. No joke!!!

I felt like a HORRIBLE mother cancelling my son's 2nd birthday party for no good reason, (although I really did think I had a good reason at the time), so I decided to give him a party anyways.
I called a few friends with kids of their own, made a quick chocolate cake and headed on over to Phil's Ice House; one of our other favorite places to go.
And I'm so glad we went.
Tyler had a blast playing with his friends and celebrating his birthday, even though it wasn't the big party we had planned, he didn't know the difference.
A little play time before cake and presents.

Tyler was a natural at shuffle board. Good form and all.

My little cutie LOVES cows.....

he LOVES blowing out candles.....

he LOVES singing cards.....

and he really LOVES presents....

especially when the present is a car!

The one thing Tyler does NOT love is cake....... one bite, that was it......

And then off for more playtime.

We have been trying to teach Tyler how to show two fingers and say, "I'm two!" This is the best he could do.

So this is my two year old boy. So cute, so lovable, so precious and so two!!!!!

Somebody's turning 2!!!

2009-01-30T20:15:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Tyler's birthday. The big numero dos. I truly cannot believe that he has been a part of our lives for 2 years now. Whew. I might start crying. Ok, enough of that. I can write gushy stuff tomorrow. For now, here are some fun pictures of Tyler's pre-birthday party. Mande and Ty weren't going to be able to be here for Tyler's actual birthday, (they had some really important business stuff that was going to help their amazing art/clothing line jump into high gear.....is that good Mande?), so we threw an early birthday party for Tyler last weekend while they were here.

We started the morning with a pre-birthday breakfast: scrambled cheese eggs, croissants, cinnamon rolls and fruit. Yummo!

Then presents from Aunt Mande and Uncle Ty.

Then we headed off to the gym for a little Saturday morning workout. Tyler was ready for a swim with Aunt Mande's goggles.

We had to keep the tradition going, so we headed off to Rudy's for dinner! Oh ya baby!
I was so excited that my cousin Karrie was able to join us, with her husband Calvin and the kiddos, Moira, Matthew and Max. Tyler loved playing with his "cousins", "second cousins", whatever!

Tyler loves his Aunt Mande too.

And so do I.

After dinner, we headed back to our place to play with our new toys, and eat more cookies of course.
Tyler loved his new Handy Manny Drill from Aunt Karrie. But I'm not sure if he really understands what it's supposed to be used for.

Sunday, we headed off to church and then to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch. We had tons of fun at lunch.
We started with a sweet family picture....

Then Tyler saw mommy and Aunt Mande making funny faces....

So he started to make a bunch of his own.....

Awwwwww.....I love my almost 2 year old!

It's a good thing we had a pre-birthday party for Tyler, because now he is sick and we are having to postpone his realy party. Tyler came home today with a fever of 102.1, a stuffy nose, and no energy. (That's not like Tyler.) He just layed on the couch, tears running down his cheeks, telling me his nose and head hurt. My poor baby!
So we decided it would be best to postpone the party until he is feeling better. This way, he will enjoy it more,and so will everyone else that will not be catching whatever he's got.

I will be posting more tomorrow I'm sure.
You know, the sweet gushy stuff to reminisce over the past 2 years.

Christmas continued....

2009-01-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

There were too many pictures to post and write about, so I combined it into a slideshow. Hope you like it!

May I have your attention please?

2009-01-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

I pause from the Christmas posts for this important announcement!
It finally happened.
IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!!

Lamar and I have been trying to teach Tyler how to say I love you for a while now. He is constantly hearing us to say it to each other, and to him. And lately he has been repeating us one word at a time. This is how it goes......
Me: "I"
Tyler: "I"
Me: "Love"
Tyler: "Wuf"
Me: "You"
Tyler: "Yooooouuuuu"

Sweet? Yes.

Also, lately Tyler has been saying, "wuf mommy", "wuf daddy", "wuf....(enter name of anyone he sees on a regular basis)".

Sweet? Yes.

But tonight I was putting Tyler to bed, following our normal nighttime routine.
Bath, story, prayers, hugs, kisses, Night Night.
Then I leaned over and said, "I love you Tyler". And I was turning around to walk out the door, I heard the sweetest words I've ever heard coming from my little boy's mouth.....

"I wuf you!"

Totally unprompted.

My heart is mush right now.

Sweet? The ultimate in sweetness!!!

Funniest video ever!!!!

2009-01-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

You are going to want to pause the music at the bottom so you can hear this video.

My baby LOVES trains! So Nate tried to teach him how to make the train noise. I think he sounds better than a train. What do you think?

Am I too late?

2009-01-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

So I am finally putting up a Christmas post....I told you I would! Better late than never.

Christmas Eve service....the fun begins! Tyler does not love sitting through a church service, especially when he has a fever, but he made it through with the help of our trusty friends.....candy cane and marshmallows!

Famous daddy!

I have to tell you that every time Lamar sang a son, Tyler would stand up, start clapping and say, "Yay daddy".
Also, when Dave Sunde started praying, Tyler continued to say, "Amen, Amen, Amen", over and over again until everybody decided to join him. He was so proud of himself.
More Christmas Eve photos.
Tyler was sooooo tired and NOT feeling well, that he laid on the stage after the service. He even got the Haney girls to lay with him. He is such a chick magnet.

Smiles all around.

We went to hang out at the Schoenfelds after church with the Haney's, and Nate and Hedda. I tried to get Lamar to take a nice, sweet photo with me, but you can see how that turned out!!!

Tyler got plenty of attention! I guess when you are sick, and cute as a button, people just can't help it.
Tyler fell in love with the "Santa Baby Bear". It sang and swung it's hips back and forth, and Tyler quickly learned how to imitate it.
Tyler lasted as long as he could, but we quickly headed home for some Children's Tylenol and sleepy time.

And then this is how Christmas began:

Tyler woke up at 4am, not because he was excited, but because he had a fever of 104.

We laid on the couch, started watching a movie, fell back asleep, woke up and opened presents, ate breakfast and started another movie....all before 6:30 am. Impressive I know!

Despite Tyler's yucky health, he still enjoyed all of the goodies Santa left him.

I need to also add that Lamar did very well this year in the present department! We don't usually do very much for each other for Christmas, as far as presents go, but this year he outdid himself. Not only did he get me a Victoria's Secret gift card (oooh la la), not only did he get me a Simon mall gift card to buy clothes (heck ya), not only did he get someone to clean my house twice a week until school is out (which I am enjoying right this very moment!!! thank you Marina), but he made me the sweetest photo book in the entire universe! It is told by "Tyler" and it's called, "Meet my mommy, the most beautiful girl in the world." Seriously? Does he like seeing me cry on Christmas morning? Needless to say, it was AMAZING. You really need to come over and see it sometime to get the full awesomeness of this photo book. Really!

The one, and ONLY, good thing about Tyler being sick, is the great cuddle time we get to have. Lamar and I both took full advantage of our soon to be 2 year old, still wanting to spend every moment in our arms!

He is cute when he's sick!!!

More to come......for now.....it's sleepy time for mama!

Sneak-A-Peek

2009-01-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

So I have a million, 207 to be exact, pictures to post from Christmas and New Year's. But I am a little overwhelmed and don't even know where to begin.....so I promise I will post soon. Promise. Maybe this weekend. So sorry to keep you waiting. In the meantime....here are my two all-time-fave's from Christmas break! Tyler LOVE, LOVE, LOVES his new tricycle.....or as he calls it, his "mycycle"!!! Enjoy!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

2008-12-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

Well we took Tyler to see Santa again this year. If you remember back, this is what happened when we saw "Scary Santa" last year.

We did MUCH better this year!

Although, I think he may have thought he was "too cool" for Santa.

Here we are waiting in line to see Santa. Tyler really just wanted to play with the ginormous tree!

And here are a few more pictures of Tyler with Santa.

Here's one more for ya. Every year, I have my students write letters to Santa. The past 5 years I have taught, Santa wrote each one of them back, with a very personalized letter. But this year, Santa was a little busy with a new little elf at home......so I had delivered their letters, and luckily, they were satisfied with that!

Tagged

2008-12-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

My wonderful friend LynnAnn tagged me. And since I'm a sucker for any excuse not to clean or do the dishes, I gave in.
Check the bottom to see if you are next!

8 t.v. shows I watch
*America's Next Top Model
*Grey's Anatomy
*The Office
*Law and Order SVU
*Biggest Loser
*One Tree Hill
*So you think you can dance
*Project Runway

8 favorite restaurants
*Rudy's
*360 Uno
*Chik-Fil-A
*McCalister's
*Jo's Downtown
*Red Hot and Blue
*Maudie's (seriously good margaritas and salsa)
*Polvo's (see Maudie's for reasons why)

8 things that happened today
*I baked 12 pumpkin breads (technically I started last night, but ending after 12am).
*Watched 19 kids have a reindeer relay race with vaseline and red dots stuck to their noses.
*I took a video of my little boy reading a book. He named a circle and the color blue....so proud!
*I watched a lot of really lame clips of Big Bird on YouTube, because Tyler kept saying, "La La La Again!"
*I read "A Cowboy's Night Before Christmas", in a Texan accent, in front of my class and their parents.
*I thought about who is going to be the lucky winner of all the teacher gifts I am going to be re-gifting.....maybe it's you! (Don't Judge Me.....you know you do it too!)
*I prayed with my little boy twice, and listened to him say "Amen" both times.
*I had really frizzy hair because of the nasty weather......aaarrrrgggg!

8 things I look forward to
*Tyler learning how to say "I love you!"
*Camping in Christmas Eve with Tyler and Lamar......
*.......waking up Christmas Day with Tyler and Lamar.
*New Year's Eve with the Carters
*Sleeping late in the morning.....seriously!
*The next 100 years with my wonderful husband
*Summer vacation (it can't come fast enough)
*Drinking cosmos with the girls tomorrow night.

8 things I wish for
*I wish for Tyler to marry the most amazing, Godly woman in the entire world and that he will treat her like she's his everything.
*I wish I was dancing again!
*I wish Nick, Lindsey and baby Cade would move back to Austin.....pleeeeease!
*(Like LynnAnn) - I wish I would only say kind words.
*I wish I could eat Peppermint Ice Cream and brownies for every meal, but not gain a pound.
*I wish Lamar and I could travel to Italy together for our 10 year anniversary.
*I wish I could see my mom again and tell her how much I love her.
*I wish I had my old boobs back!!!

I tag:
Lindsey
Leya
Blair
Janelle
Kristen
Stacy
Mandy K.
Mande (start a blog so you can play....or just post it in my comment box)

Veritas Christmas Sale

2008-12-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let you know that all Veritas clothing is on sale right now. Yes, NOW! So go to their website and pick you out somethin' special. The link is right over there on your right. No, down a little. Ya, right there. There you go. Have fun shopping.

2008-12-14T17:39:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my lame attempt at taking some "Christmas Card Photo Shots". But as you will quickly discover, I am no "master photographer", and Tyler is no "master sitter-stiller". But we had fun and got some cute pictures in the process. And who am I kidding anyways....in the last 3 years that I have tried to send out Christmas cards, I have succeeded ZERO out of THREE times!
So consider this your Merry Christmas Card, because it may be the only one you receive this year from me.
First, we started out just having fun.....

Then Tyler started posing....

Then it all went downhill from there....

So Merry Christmas Y'all. From our Family, to Yours!

Tyler's Girlfriend

2008-12-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Yes.....I said girlfriend. If you ask Tyler who is girlfriend is, he will gladly tell you, "Hoppers", a.k.a - Harper. Lamar and I had the privilege of babysitting Harper the other night while her mommy went out to dinner with some friends. Here is a little recap of their fun play date.
Tyler made sure to pull out ALL of his favorite toys to show Harper.

Then the two of them had a blast jumping on and off the couch.

They also loved playing in Tyler's giraffe tunnel.

Then they played "peek-a-boo" and "steal the blankets" with Lamar. Too much fun!

We topped off the night with some bath-time fun! (Don't worry, I was very careful taking these pictures. I didn't want to get any objectionable pictures of someone else's kid. All head shots!)

Bubba and Amy

2008-12-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

We have some new sweet friends that I would like to introduce you to. Meet "Bubba" and "Amy".....

a.k.a.....Jared and Jill.
Apparently, Tyler likes the names "Bubba" and "Amy" much better, because that is what he called them all weekend, and even still when he sees pictures of them on our computer.
We were so glad that they decided to come and visit us. Tyler really thought they were here just to play with him, and I love that they make him feel that way.
Saturday, we spent the day downtown at the "East Austin Studio Tour". We looked at some amazing art, had a great lunch at Hula Hut, bought some great UT gear at the Co-Op, and took some really fun pictures on the tracks. Here's a little sneak peek of our weekend.

Camping In

2008-12-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

Lamar and I decided to put a tent up in our living room just for fun. We didn't know what Tyler's reaction would be, but let me tell you HE LOVED IT!!! We put a ton of blankets and pillows in our tent, made a picnic dinner and watched Elf. It made for some great cuddle time and Tyler was in Camping Heaven!

T is for Turkey!

2008-12-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving came and went so incredibly fast. I cannot believe how much Tyler has changed from this time last year.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at the Loro and Schmidt households in Whitehouse.

Mande and I got to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family. It was really fun and we were so proud of our finished product. YUMMO!

Playing in the leaves is fun, until the fire ants come to play too.

I have really tried to instill a passion for reading in Tyler. I'm not sure if it's because I am a first grade teacher and I know how important it is, or if it's because I hated reading growing up and want Tyler to find the love for books that I never had. But either way, it has worked. Tyler LOVES to read books. One of his favorites is the Spanish/English Dictionary...go figure.
He especially loves reading books with his Memaw!

Not only was it Thanksgiving time at the Loro house, but it was Christmas time as well. Tyler got lots of wonderful presents from his Memaw and Pepaw and from his Auntie Jennie and Uncle Karny.
Memaw made Tyler this beautiful Cowboy quilt, which is in his crib at this very moment.

He also got a fun guitar so he can be just like his daddy. Lamar and Pepaw gave him a few lessons but then Tyler took it from there. He's gonna be my little rock star.

Tyler also got a Smart Learning Board from his Auntie Jennie and Uncle Karny. Max wanted to help Tyler learn how to use it, I think they figured it out.

We spent the rest of our Thanksgiving holiday at MawMaw and PawPaw's house.
Tyler got to help decorate the Christmas tree and set up all the decorations. I'm not sure if he was more of a help or a hinderance, but he certainly enjoyed it!

Tyler really loved pulling the Christmas blankets out of the bag. I'll let you see for yourself how that went.

I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures from Thanksgiving break...a little play time with PawPaw. My favorite thing about these pictures is that you can see the "awe" and "love" in Tyler's eyes, that he has for his PawPaw. Too precious!!!

Veritas

2008-11-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

My little model wants to let you know about the coolest clothing line out there.
VERITAS!
If you have never checked it out before, it's not too late. Just click on the Veritas website on the side of the blog, and get your own cool gear.
But I don't know if you can make it look this good......

Now Introducing.....

2008-11-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

Sam and Miles Lewis

My best friend, Kristin Lewis, had her twin boys Sunday afternoon. It was a surprise to say the least. Lamar and I were driving home to Austin, and were all the way to Waco, when we got a phone call from Todd.... "the twins were coming"! Well, after a few minutes of debating, Lamar and I decided that friends were more important than getting home. So we turned around and headed to the hospital.
When we got there, the boys had just arrived. Because they are only 34 weeks, they have to stay in the NICU for a few days, so I didn't get to see them. I did get to sneak a peak through the little window on the door of the NICU, but a scarecrow sitting on the desk was blocking my view. I got to see Miles's legs and Sam's arms flailing around, which was pretty great! And of course, I saw lots of pictures that Todd took while the boys were being born.
Miles weighed 5 lbs 3 oz and Sam weighed 4 lbs 9 oz. For 34 week preemie twins, their birth weight is really great! As soon as their blood sugar level, and heartrates are where they need to be, and they can eat from a bottle consistenly, they will get to go home. (I think) So please be praying for these little boys and their wonderful mommy and daddy.

I cannot wait to see and hold these precious little boys. What a blessing from God they are!

Because I didn't get to see the babies, these are the only pictures I have. I will post more as soon as I get them. In the meantime, watch Kristin's blog, I'm sure she will post some as soon as she gets a spare moment.
Lamar congratulating Todd.

LynnAnn and I announcing, "They're Here!"

Best friends.....in good times!

Hangin' with Friends.

2008-11-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

This last weekend, we packed up the fam, and headed to Arlington for some fun hang out time with friends and family. Friday night, Halloween, we took Tyler to a carnival. Not only did we think Tyler's costume was the cutest, but so did the judges of the Pantego Halloween Costume Contest. Yup! My little champ took first place. He admired his ribbon and $25 Wal-Mart gift card, then mommy took it.....hey.....baby needs a new set of diapers.

But it didn't take long until Tyler got really cranky, I got sick, and Lamar and Grambee had to take care of both of us. But we had fun none-the-less.
This was Tyler last year on Halloween. I can't believe how much he has grown.

Saturday, we met my sister and Ty for lunch at Red, Hot and Blue...my all time fave!!! Then, I got to spend some amazing quality time with my friend Melissa. We got some Boba tea and a pedicure, and just palyed "catch up" on our lives. It was and awesome afternoon.

Saturday night, Tyler and I got all ready to cheer on the longhorns....not that it did much good....be we were ready anyways.
Hook Em Horns!!!

Before the game, we went to dinner with our best buds, Kristin and Todd, LynnAnn and Paul, and Trent and Bethany. It was so fun to get to hang out like old times. I miss those guys! Not only did we enjoy seeing old friends, but Tyler had a blast playing with Laney. It started in Laney's playroom....

....and ended at Khaki's where they played a little game called, "salt and pepper". Not sure how this got started, but it was way too cute to make them stop. I know, I know...that booth is disgusted. Don't worry, I sanitized Tyler before we left!

The saying is true, good friends are hard to find....I'm so blessed to have an amazing God that just handed mine to me!

Yummy Yummy Yogurt.

2008-11-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

Tyler loves his yogurt. So much, that he made sure to save some for later.

Be jealous. Be very jealous!

2008-11-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

I get to see this precious smile EVERY DAY!!!

Float like a butterfly...sting like a bee!

2008-10-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

Tyler's Halloween costume this year is my favorite so far! (You know, compared to last years.) He loved it as well and had lots of fun showing us his boxing moves!

This is what Tyler would do when Lamar would tell him to "put up his dukes". Vicious I know!

My little champion!

A first.....and not the good kind!!!

2008-10-11T18:37:00.001-07:00

Well, the other day at the park Tyler experienced a new first.

And it was not a good first to say the least!

It was the first time that he stood in ant bed, resulting in a ridiculous amount of bites.

The crazy thing is.....he only got two ant bites on his feet.....the rest were on his hand!!

I tried to get some pictures so you could see the damage, but it's really hard to capture on camera. At least this will give you an idea of how many bites he got. But there are a ton you can't see between his fingers.

At least there was one good thing that came out of this.
Tyler learned two new words. "Ant" and "Bite", And any time you mess with his hand, he says his two new words repeatedly!
My poor little guy!

Sweet Students

2008-10-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

My school has this really great tradition called Family Picnic Day. Once a year, all of the students invite their family to come and have lunch with them in the courtyard at school. It is really great to get to spend time with all my kids families, outside of normal conference time or meet the teacher time. And it's a great opportunity for my kids and their parents, to meet MY precious family.

Since the first time Lamar and Tyler visited my class, my students officially adopted Tyler as our class mascot. So cute! They can not get enough of him! They ask me on a daily basis how Tyler is doing, what is he saying that's new, when is he coming back, etc. When I told my class, very casually, that Tyler was sick with a cough and cold, they brought him get well cards that they made at home. I even had parents ask me if he was okay, because their child was SOOO worried about him.

I love how much my students have become a part of my family.

Daddy's new guitar.

2008-10-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Lamar got this new guitar, and he just loves it. It fits perfectly in his guitar case, and it is the best looking guitar he has ever owned. And the best thing is, he got it for free! Yup. It was here all along. We just never knew it's full potential as a guitar.
Check it out.

Bath time fun!

2008-10-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Tyler loves his bath time, or playing in ANY water for that matter. Nate has been teaching him all kinds of new water tricks; like blowing bubbles in the water, pouring water in his face, and laying on his belly and kicking his legs. He will be swimming before we know it. (Just in time for "winter".)

ACL 2008

2008-10-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Austin City Limits is one of the biggest things that happens around here, and we weren't about to miss it! My sister, Mande, and bro-n-law, Ty, came in town to enjoy the big event. Well, Mande came to enjoy some time with Tyler while I played hookie on Friday, but Ty spent the weekend with Lamar at ACL. I loved getting to spend some quality time with Lamar, just hanging out and listening to good music.

Patty Griffin is one of my favorite singers. She is extremely talented......and I hope one day God gives me her voice. A girl can dream can't she?

My all time favorite duet is Swell Season. If you have ever seen the movie "Once", then you probably have my same love and devotion for these two. If you haven't seen the movie.....stop what you are doing right now....and go rent it. Or better yet, just buy it, because you will want to watch it over and over again. It's THAT good!!!!

Day 2 of ACL - We all went to breakfast at Chez Zee, then the boys went off to enjoy some more music, while Mande and I had some fun sister time, and played with Tyler.

Did I mention that we totally walked out on our check?!! We finished our meal, packed up our stuff, and walked out. Luckily, we were hanging around outside taking some pictures, when the waitress came running out the door and asked if we forgot to pay our bill. We felt like such idiots. But we left her a really nice tip, so she didn't mind.
Yay for ACL, ditch day and family fun!

Play! Play! Play! Play! Play!

2008-09-17T19:37:00.002-07:00

Do you know what one of Tyler's new favorite words is?......You guessed it....PLAY!
Here are a few pictures of us PLAYING these last couple of days.
Playing at Phil's Ice House and Amy's Ice Cream. YUMMO!

Playing on the "cock", I mean "rock", outside our apartments.

Playing in the pool on the back porch......with our "Tuesday manny", Nate.

Playing at the "Big Pool" at the Apartment Goonies Party. (No, that's NOT our Tube, Rubber Chicken or GiJoe)

Playing on mommy's head......I promise it's just as much fun for me as it is for Tyler!

Playing at the park across from my school. (How convenient!)

(I have a really cute video to upload from the park, but YouTube is "performing site maintenance" right now. But don't worry, they said, "Be cool - we'll be back 100% in a bit.") Whatever that means!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

2008-09-17T19:37:00.001-07:00

I love my sweet family. Can it possibly get any better than this?

First Day of School

2008-09-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Just some quick pics of my little man on his first day of school.

1st and 2nd trip to the Austin Animal Sanctuary.....AKA The Zoo!

2008-09-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

I had to borrow a friends camera for Tyler's first trip to the zoo, since mine was broken, and I just got the pictures uploaded from that trip. But Lamar and I took Tyler to the Zoo again last weekend and were able to use our own, now fixed, camera. So I am just going to post all of the pictures at once.....because I'm just that lazy!

Tyler's First Trip to the Zoo! (Just the two of us.)
These beautiful peacocks just walked around the zoo in the open. It was pretty cool, except for one thing.....Have you ever HEARD a peacock? It sounds like a crazy kid screaming. For Real.

Tyler was NOT diggin' the stroller! But don't worry, it didn't last long. About 2 minutes after we got there, Tyler was out and running around, checking everything out on his own. The stroller did a fabulous job of carrying all our STUFF though.

Tyler was amazed that the big tiger was playing with a ball. He kept pointing at the tiger and saying, "ball, ball". I don't know if he actually even noticed the tiger.....because he was too busy wanting that ball.

The "oink-oinks" were one of Tyler's favorite things. He just laughed and pointed at them.

This parrot kept freaking me out. It totally copied everything it heard; laughing, children's cries, words, and other animal noises. I could not figure out who kept laughing and whistling at me......until I saw this guy.

Tyler really liked watching the bears. (I think maybe he liked that they were so close up.) They just sat right up next to the fence and stared at us for a really long time. Tyler was so cute just standing on the railing watching that bear. I wish I knew what was going through his mind.

The petting area was not exactly what I was expecting it to be. Basically, there were some really HUGE goats and Llamas that you could gather in a tiny pin, and pet, while you stood in that tiny pin with that HUGE animal. Tyler was not a fan! So we just stuck to feeding and petting the little goats through the fence.

I packed us a picnic lunch to enjoy while we were at the zoo. Tyler really enjoyed eating outside and watching the chickens and peacocks run around our feet. I on the other hand, did NOT love these birds running around my feet. But whatever!

Time to ride the Choo-Choo.

Tyler thinks anything that has wheels is a car. When he saw some kids in this wagon waiting for the train, he insisted that he get to ride in it too. Luckily, this mom was very nice and let him hop inside for a quick ride. So here is Tyler, riding around in someone else's "car", with his new "friends". I guess this would be the time when I teach him, "Stranger Danger!"

Just me and my little boy! I just can't get enough of him.

When Tyler and I walked out of the zoo and arrived at our car, this is what we found. Nope...no one broke into our car! Apparently, I am just so scatter brained that I never even closed the door in the first place. Luckily, nothing was taken and no animals found a home in our car. WHOOPS!

After nap time, my little cowboy found his hat, his blankie and his favorite movie. What more could a little boy ask for?

Second Trip to the Zoo. (The WHOLE Family!)

Lamar and I were in awe of these massive tortoises. Tyler really didn't know what they were, but I think he liked that they were about his size.

The King of the Jungle.....or as Tyler calls them in a cute little whisper voice.....the "raaars".

Tyler loved sitting on the fence with daddy and watching the birds. He calls the birds the "caw caws".

The reptile house was MUCH smaller than I was hoping for, and hotter and stinkier than I was comfortable with. So I took one picture of Tyler inside, and left him and Lamar in there to check it out on their own!

Family photo time.

And what's an Austin Zoo without one of these?

Tyler's Busted Nose!

2008-09-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

My poor baby got a busted nose last week. He is doing much better now (and was obviously fine soon after just by looking at these pictures), but it was awful at the time. (And sorry for the mouth full of peanut butter sandwich, it was lunchtime.)

Here is a little play-by-play of what happened:

1. Mommy, daddy and Tyler playing in the living room, laughing hysterically...hahahahahaha.
2. Tyler runs into the playroom yelling, "CARS, CARS, CARS"!
3. Mommy looks over and sees Tyler pull the big, heavy, metal, non-child-friendly car off top of toy box.
4. Big, heavy, metal truck falls.
5. Mommy jumps up in SLOOOOOWWWW MOTION.
5. Truck hits Tyler's face and then Tyler falls on top of truck landing NOSE FIRST!
6. Mommy runs over.
7. Blood starts pouring out of said nose.
8. Daddy runs over.
9. Mommy passes out.
10. Daddy gets a rag, ice and paper towles and saves the day!

YAY for DADDY!

Shooby Dooby Doo

2008-08-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

On the way to the baseball game Tyler was perfectly content entertaining himself. He had his bucket, his cars, and a song in his heart! I love listening to my little boy sing. He must take after his dadddy!

Round Rock Express

2008-08-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Even though the first week of school is the most stressful of all weeks, we decided to take Tyler to the Round Rock Express Baseball game Thursday night. (Thanks Pat Abbot for the free tickets!) Pat gave us four tickets so we called our friends Brian and Caitlin to join us. We don't get to hang out with them much anymore and Tyler absolutely loves them, so we were really excited when they said they could come. We weren't really sure how Tyler would do since it was super hot outside and the game didn't start until 7pm, which is after his dinner time and close to bedtime, but he never ceases to amaze me. We were there until 9:30pm, way after bedtime, and Tyler was awesome the entire night!
Soon after we got there we grabbed some dinner, played on the playground and walked around to check things out. Tyler was so intrigued by the fieild, so Caitlin got him as close as she could.

Tyler was in total awe of the Round Rock Express Mascot (not really sure what he is). Tyler watched him for most of the game, pointing and laughing, and making sure we saw him too!

However, he was not fond of THIS Mascot. I tried to get Tyler to take a picture with him, but he screamed and cried and tried as hard as possible to get as far away from him as he could!

Once the game started we found our seats and tried to explain the game of baseball to Tyler. He may not understand the game, but he now knows how to say baseball, or as he says, "b-ball". And we just enjoyed the quality time we had as a family!

And of course, what baseball game is complete without ice cream in a helmet, cotton candy, trying to steal daddy's beer, and the chicken dance? Just FYI: Tyler and I were so good at the chicken dance, we made it onto the big screen! Are we cool or what?

We had such a good time at the game and loved spending time with our friends. So thanks Pat for the tickets and a special thanks to Brian for making googly eyes at the girls on the field and getting them to throw a baseball to Tyler. His "b-ball" is now his new favorite toy!

Mrs. Stockmon, Stocking, Stockin, Skockman......

2008-08-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's what I am called now. Apparently "Stockton" is very difficult to say when you are a first grader! Well as you can tell, I have started back to work. I thought maybe you would like to know what it's like to be in my first grade class, so I will give you a little sneak-peek......

So welcome to my class! And whatever you want to call me (as long as it's nice and first grade appropriate) is fine by me.

We're BAAAAAACK!

2008-08-31T19:45:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while and I am soooooo sorry! But we're back people.....because you know why......MIRACLES REALLY DO HAPPEN! And because my little boy is a genious I tell ya! My own little child prodigy! You know how I have been telling you all these sad stories about my broken camera; how I dropped it trying to get a good picture, and the lens was pushed over to the side, and how it would cost over $200 to fix, and how I couldn't find a camera that I wanted in my price range, and on and on and on. Well HEAR YE, HEAR YE! I don't have to buy a new camera anymore because MY CAMERA IS FIXED! And no I didn't have to spend $200 to get it fixed. All I had to do is give it to my little 19 month old, genious of a little boy, to play with and throw around in the car for a couple of months, and it works again. I guess the last time he threw it, he knocked the lens back into place and now it works as good as new. I am super excited and so proud of my little Mr. Fix It!
Needless to say we have taken many pictures and videos in the last couple of days, so I will be posting quite a bit tonight and tomorrow (since I have the day off! YAY FOR LABOR!)

You are my sunshine!

2008-08-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Bucket

2008-08-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

(I got some pictures with my phone the other day and thought I might share.)
Bucket is one of Tyler's new favorite words. He got to use the bucket at my dad's house to help feed the cows and horses, and I guess he really loved that bucket. Because now that he is home, he wants to play with the big white bucket on our porch. Even the other day when I took Tyler to the pool, he insisted on taking the big bucket, plus his two little buckets.
Once we were at the pool, Tyler made friends with two guys there. They helped him fill his big bucket with water and then this is what he did with his new toy bucket......

If you look in the background, you can see one of Tyler's new friends.

Is he too cute or what!

So during his time in the bucket, Tyler would stand up and then sit down as fast as he could so all the water would splash out over the sides. Then he would laugh and laugh and wait for me to refill the bucket with water. Then, the process would start over again!
After about 15 or 20 minutes of Tyler still being in the bucket, I tried to explain to him that the pool was like one large bucket that he would have alot more room to play in. Well you try reasoning with an 18 month year old....it didn't go over very well!

Willie T Rides Again!

2008-08-12T20:28:00.001-07:00

My dad sent me some more pictures of Tyler, and they are just as cute as the first set!
Tyler really enjoyed playing on my dad's saddle.

Tyler loves playing in the dirt in Bob's pen. (Bob is my dad's stud horse, and he is not known for being super friendly!) But my dad said that Bob actually got used to Tyler walking right up to him and would even put his head down for him. I guess Tyler made a new friend.

As much as Tyler loves playing in the dirt, he loves playing in the water just the same. So when you put the two together.....you get tons of fun for Little T.

Tyler and PawPaw.....two of a kind!

Just FYI: My dad called today to check on Tyler (and try to get me to send him back this week) and Tyler smiled and actually said "PawPaw" for the first time when he heard my dad's voice on the phone. It was too precious and such perfect timing!

Cowboy Up!!!

2008-08-06T18:27:00.001-07:00

Ok Ya'll. Are you ready for this? No really....you might want to sit down because the pictures you are about to see are going to knock you on your....ok....bottom!
Tyler is staying at my dad's this week while Lamar is away at camp, and he is turning into a REAL COWBOY. Tyler found a love for my dad's cowboy hat to go along with his love for cows! Anytime my dad would say it was time to go out and feed the cows Tyler would say, "Cows.....hat", and then would not go outside until my dad put his hat on Tyler's head. So you know what happens at the grandparents house when the one and only grandchild falls in love with something right.......Yup.......you guessed it......Tyler got his very own cowboy hat. Not a cheap-o one from Wal-Mart like mommy would buy, nope, a REAL Cowboy Hat! Check out these pictures of my Little Cowboy!

Thanks Vicky for sending me pictures. Tyler looks like he is having a blast and he looks so good in his new hat. I think I can make it until Friday now. Give my baby hugs and kisses for me!

Whose House? White House!!!

2008-08-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer....Thanks to Sandy for sending me pictures....without her....I would have none! Love ya girl!)
So last weekend was my 10 year reunion. Lamar and I decided to go....and I am so glad we did. It was really great to see old frirends, catch up on their lives, meet their families, and show off my own family. Friday night we hung out at The Pub in Tyler, drinkin' and dancin'..... cus that's the Whitehouse Way!
This is the only picture I have from Friday. (Me and Sandy.....love her!!)

Saturday we got to hang out at Apple Fitness and Swim for the family picnic. We got to meet everyone's kiddos and show off a Super Cranky Tyler. (I can't be too mad at him though....he woke up Saturday morning throwing up, still had a cold from the week before, and was cutting a back molar, and like a good mommy should....I made him go anyways.) It really wasn't that bad though. He was cranky at first, but the last 30 minutes he actually played in the water and enjoyed himself a tiny bit.
Saturday night we left Tyler with PawPaw and MawMaw and headed to Rick's on the Square for an evening of fun!
I had such a blast hanging out with Sandy this weekend. I love that we can talk like we just saw each other yesterday...even though it's been 10 years!

I know this won't come as a shock to any of you....but everyone LOVED Lamar! He met everyone I went to school with, was such a trooper the whole weekend, made all the girls see what a fabulous husband I have, and even managed to make some of the guys fall for him as well. Brian fell for him a little too hard though.

I think this was after Brian almost kissed Lamar.....too funny!

Once Brian let go of my husband, he actually visited with me a little while.

Me and my girl Sandy. I love that she lives in Austin and now we can hang out whenever we want. YAY!

Me and my wonderful husband.

We had a good turnout considering our senior class wasn't very big. I really enjoyed seeing everyone and I can't wait until our 20 year!

If any of you from Whitehouse are reading this blog and have pictures from the reunion that you would like to send me....please do. Just email them to me.....jillstockton@gmail.com. Thanks ya'll!

YUCK! YUCK! AND MORE YUCK!

2008-08-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Stomach virus
Stomach virus
Go Away
Don't come back again
EVER
Go Away

Yep, it started with Lamar the day before we left for my 10 year high school reunion, Tyler got it the Saturday of my reunion, and now I've got it the day we got home from the reunion. Seriously Virus, leave us alone already!

(My 10 year reunion was a BLAST! I hope to have some pictures to post soon, if people will send me some! Hint Hint)

Happy 18 months!

2008-07-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Tyler is 18 months old today. I can hardly believe that he is a year and a half old already. Time just slips by us doesn't it.
Just in case you were wondering, here is how Tyler is measuring up these days.

Height: 33 3/8inches - 80%
Weight: 25lb 7oz - 48%
Head circumference: 49cm - 90% (because his brain is so big I'm sure)
So my boy is tall and skinny, and has a whoppin melon for a head.

And he has a total of 16 teeth already! Can you believe that? We gotta get him to the dentist.

Dr. Bocchicchio said Tyler is absolutely perfect. They only expect him to have between 5 and 10 words at this age, but I made sure Dr. B. knew that Tyler says way more words than that! (Such a proud mommy!) Dr. B. also said that Tyler is moving and walking perfectly.

So Happy Half Birthday T-Bone. We are so proud of you!

(If I had a camera, a really cute picture would go right here.) GGGRRRRRRRR!

Lake Day in California.

2008-07-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

Our last day in California, Lamar and I ,(along with every YMCA camp in Cali), took Tyler to the Lake (not sure which lake, just a lake). Even though it was crowded, we still managed to have some really good family time.

Sugars, sugars and more sugars from daddy...

Tyler loves to swing and splash in the water! And who am I to deny him this joy?

Ridin' in the Rhino!

2008-07-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

My boy loves cars.....I mean LOVES LOVES LOVES cars. Everywhere we go he points out everything that has wheels and calls them by name. (kind of like Santa if you will) So this is what we hear when we are in a parking lot, driving down the road, leaving a store, you get the point, "car, car, car, boat, car, car, boat, car car car" and so on and so forth.
So it was no surprise to me that when we were in California at Lindsey's parents house, Tyler found the Rhino, and fell in love.

Showing you our brute strength.....

Tyler showing you that he is much stronger than Lindsey and me.

Just a little FYI: Tyler has a nasty cold/allergies right now and has been very cuddly with Lamar and me. Lamars mom was visiting this last week, to help us out during the worship conference, and she found a website on the internet for the Cars movie. Tyler was obsessed. Every time someone got the computer out, he would climb into their lap, point at the screen and say, "Cars, cars, cars" over and over again until you pulled the website up and watched the movie promo. So since Tyler has been sick and cuddly, Lamar brought home the actual "Cars" movie yesterday after church, to try and cheer T-bone up. Since the movie entered our house, I kid you not, we have watched "Cars" 4 times! I know I should put my foot down and turn the movie off......but when Tyler climbs into your lap, puts his head on your shoulder and stays there for an hour and a half, without fussing, what are you going to do? NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! You are going to sit there and soak up every second of that precious little boy's love. So Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater, you are welcome in my house ANY time!

A day at the beach!

2008-07-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

We spent the rest of our afternoon at Carmel Beach. It was just as gorgeous as we had heard it was! Since Tyler has a love for sand and dirt, he was in HEAVEN! This was his first time at a beach so he was so curious and tried to take everything in. You could just see his little brain turning, wondering what everything was. Since the water was FREEZING cold, Tyler did NOT go in. He felt it on his feet, cried, and let us know that was enough of that! Lamar and Nick on the other hand, decided to brave the cold and dive in.....so dumb! Then Lamar got the brilliant idea that I should get to experience the chilly water as well. Then Lindsey's camera battery died. (Which is probably a good thing....so there is no proof of the childlike behavior that I showed as I was being thrown into the icy pits of hell.)

This is when Tyler found out that you are not supposed to EAT the sand!

Lamar and Nick taking the plunge.

Realizing how cold and stupid that was.

Tyler loving the sand!

The beginning of the a really bad idea......

Me and my sweet hubby! This is probably one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip because it reminds me of how we met, our wedding, our honeymoon, and our last trip before our precious son was born. I love the beach!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy!

2008-07-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have to say how AWESOME Tyler did on the plane ride to California. It was a 5 hour flight and he was soooo good.! Just wanted to let you know.

The day after we arrived in Cali, Nick and Lindsey took us to Monterray. We started our day with a little lunch, and a lot of pictures, at a really cute diner. Tyler found a new love for pickles, or pickle seeds to be exact, and dipping! And check out his cute outfit from Lindsey. He is the ULTIMATE Mr. Silly!

After lunch we walked over to the most incredible aquarium ever. We were there for over 2 hours and Tyler was entertained and content the entire time. Some of Tyler's favorite things were the jellyfish,

touching the starfish (or trying to pull the arms off the starfish),

the HUGE glass tank full of sharks and other VERY LARGE fish,

the interactive play area,

and playing outside with Lindsey and Nick while looking at the sealions.

And here are a few more great pictures we got to take at the aquarium.

Tyler loved sitting under the glass waterfall. He just looked up and waited patiently until the water poured over us....then he would look at us to make sure we saw it too. Soooo cute!

YAY for GREAT FRIENDS!

2008-07-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

So my amazing friend, Lindsey,

just sent me a CD of ALL, (YES ALL 236), of the pictures she took while we were visiting them in California. She is such an awesome friend. LOVE HER REALLY!
Anyways....I am trying to condense them so you can see how much fun we had in Cali, without hating me for all the rambling and boring pics. Sooo.....here we go. (This is only the beginning.)

BAD NEWS!!!

2008-07-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

My camera is going to cost more money to get fixed, than it's worth. If it's just a displaced and broken lense like they think, it will cost $181. But if anything else is wrong, the price goes up. And even if I do decide to get it fixed, it will take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. 4 to 8 WEEKS Ya'll !!!!! What will I do without a camera for 4 to 8 weeks? So now I have to decide whether to bite the bullet and just buy a new one, or send mine to get fixed. The guy at wolf camera showed me a really great camera, that I love, but it costs $299. Does anyone have $299 I can borrow? What a predicament I am in.
Yes, I know, there are so many people out there worse off than me, with much bigger problems than mine. I KNOW!!! And Yes, I know, this is NOT the end of the world! I KNOW! So get off my back! I just want my camera back....tear....sniff....tear....sniff.

Anyways.....in the meantime, I will keep taking cheesy, bad quality pictures with my cheap-o phone. Try to enjoy.

This was at the beach in California. (Tyler's first time in the sand.) Oh he had a blast! He thought he was in "sand-box-heaven".

Tonight at Jason's Deli, I was trying to get some cute pics of Tyler to send to Lamar while he is away at camp. This man came up to me and said, "Your baby is absolutely adorable. He should be the next Gerber Baby." Of course my response was not "thank you kind sir" or "oh I appreciate the compliment", OH NO, it was "Ya, I know! I think so too!" I am such a dork. I really need to learn to just say....thank you! Well, here are the pictures I was taking. What do you think? Is he ready for Gerber?

Update

2008-07-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Soooo...I still have a broken camera...which explains why I still have not updated my blog. Sorry! I promise that I am more bummed about it than you, so be patient with me!

Since I can't update pictures, I thought I would at least update the background.
What do you think of the new layout?

Top 10...

2008-07-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

The top 10 things I miss about my mom....
1. The way she slapped her knees when she laughed.

2. The way she danced in front of the t.v.

3. Knowing that there were always peanut butter crackers in her work drawer.

4. Hearing her say..."I.G.G."

5. Getting so excited about going to the mall with her...because I knew we would get double doozie cookies.

6. Coming home from school on Mondays and knowing the house would be cleaned, the fridge stocked with new groceries, and dinner would be in the oven.

7. How giggly she got after one margarita...(That's where I get it from.)

8. Sitting on the side of the tub and talking for hours.

9. Our trips to Wet-n-wild every summer for my birthday.

10. Knowing that I never went to sleep without her tucking me in and saying, "Goodnight, I love you!" (A memory I hope Tyler will always have as well.)

13 years and it still feels like yesterday.

For those of you who never met my mom....you missed out.

She was one of a kind.

I love you mom.

Day two....a sad, sad day!

2008-07-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

As soon as Tyler woke up Friday morning, he brought me his shoes and started his begging ritual to go outside. So we headed out to greet the horses.
Here are some sweet pictures of Tyler saying good morning to BG and her colt, Winnie.

But then Tyler wanted to get a little closer to the horses.....and a tragedy occurred! I picked him up with one arm, and tried to take some sweet pictures of him sticking his fingers in the horses nose and mouth with my other hand.....

.....and that was the last picture I took the whole weekend.
In the midst of taking a picture, I dropped my camera and IT BROKE!!! I know this doesn't sound like a big deal to some of you, but for those of you who know me well, know this is a major catastrophe. Tyler's entire life is documented on that camera! He doesn't get to do anything without a flash going off in his face. (Poor kid.) I just know how much I love looking at old pictures of me when I was kid because pictures tell such a great story. Especially when you don't have someone there to tell you the story. And they bring back old memories that might have otherwise been forgotten.
Lamar thinks the camera can be fixed, so I will bring it to a shop and see......but until then.....it's a non-picture-taking-world around here.
Sniff Sniff

Anyways...I don't even know how to document the rest of our trip without pictures....but I will try to give you a quick run down of the rest of the weekend....just in case you are curious.

Friday we spent the entire day and night at my Memaw and Pepaws and Aunt Jennie's. Tyler loves visiting them, and they all adore him as well. Tyler got to feed the chickens, pet more horses, pick more veggies from the garden, eat a fabulous meal that Memaw prepared, and learn how to play a really cool instrument of Pepaw's. There were many cute photo-ops, but no camera to capture them with.
Sniff Sniff

Saturday was a fun day back at PawPaw's farm. While Lamar and my dad went to wrangle up some new calves, take them to the vet, and then take them back to the farm, Vicki and I enjoyed watiching Tyler and Simon play like old times. (Insert cute photos here) Sniff Sniff Once Lamar and my dad got home, Tyler got to ride the tractor, the lawn mower, the other tractor, and the golf cart. The boy loves anything with wheels!

Sunday we spent the morning at my dads church, The Kingdom Living Cowboy Church. They meet in an old, very primative, church on a small piece of land. There is no air conditioning, no running water, no bathroom, no sound system, and no separate rooms for the kiddos, but it's no problem. The people still come to worship God and hear the message! It was amazing. It felt just like the way things probably were way back when. I enjoyed sitting and hearing God's word, coming from my dad's mouth, with none of the hupla and visual stimulation that most churches need these days. (Although I do enjoy bathrooms, air conditioning and running water in my church.) After lunch, Dad and Vicky babysat Tyler while Lamar and I went out on a date. Yay for movies, new jeans and running shoes and frozen custard!

And Monday, we headed back home.

Day one at MawMaw's and PawPaw's.

2008-07-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we left to go see my dad in East Texas. After a 4 hour car ride, which Tyler did very well in, we made it to the farm. Of course, as soon as we stepped out of the car, we were greeted by Simon. It took a while for Tyler and Simon to warm up to each other, but they were back to their normal "best buddies" selves in no time! (Sorry no pictures of Tyler and Simon, I will explain why later.) When my dad got home from work, he immediately took Tyler out to the garden for some vegetable picking time. This was one of Tyler's favorite things to do the entire weekend. Anytime we went outside, he headed for the garden and started picking peas and tomatoes, whether they were ready to be picked or not!

Tyler loved walking all through the yard hold mine and my PawPaw's hands. His favorite part was saying, "Un, tu, tweeee" and lifting his feet up, knowing we would swing him through the air. He is such a funny little guy.

No trip to PawPaw's is complete without a ride on "Trigger".

Before dinner, Tyler was begging to go outside and play some more. His way of begging to go out is bringing you his shoes and saying, "chews, chews, chews", until you finally give in, put his shoes on him and take him out.
Of course, PawPaw was happy to fulfill Tyler's request. After about 20 mintues of playtime outside, I decided to go out and see what kind of trouble they were getting into. At first I thought they were just looking at the horses.

But as I got closer, I noticed Tyler was a tad bit dirty!

Then I figured out why. After playing in the horses water trough, PawPaw and Tyler found a pile of dirt in the back of the pasture. Oh what fun dirt can be! Tyler had a blast throwing dirt all over the place, even Simon got to be a part of the fun. (Although I'm not so sure he enjoyed it quite as much as Tyler.)
And for all you Austinites, now you can see where I get my accent from.....and why it's so thick when I come back from visiting family!

Needless to say, Tyler got a real good bath before dinner.
What a fun first day.

Time to pack.

2008-07-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

We had to get ready to go to MawMaw and PawPaw's house for a long weekend, so we made sure we had all the essentials packed and ready to go!

Clothes - check
Toiletries - check
Pack-n-play - check
High Chair - check
Diapers and wipes - check
Blankie and paci - check
Toys and books - check
Snacks - check

Tyler - double check!

Pictures of the first day of our trip will come soon! Tyler just woke up from his nap, so this is all I've got for now.

Play time and pool time!

2008-07-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tyler got a fun new toy from The Wal Mart. The wagon came filled with fun, super large, leggos....now it's just filled with Tyler bootie.

Tyler loves to hang out with the boys while I cook dinner for everyone. I am totally out-numbered around here!

A little pool time. What a great way for Tyler to relax....and for mommy to get in a good work out by chasing Tyler all over the pool area!

Home Sweet Home!

2008-06-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Even though we had a great week at Lake Amistad....I was soooooo happy to come home again and see my little boy. When Bill and Sandra brought Tyler back to Ausin on Saturday, we headed out to The Oasis to celebrate.
Tyler was just as happy to be home with us, as we were to have him home!

There is nothing better than the tickle game!

Lamar, Bill and Tyler enjoying the view at the Oasis.

3 generations of Stocktons.

Tyler really didn't want to be in the high chair....probably because he missed us like crazy and just wanted to be close to us and sit in our laps and love on us because he missed us...I'm pretty sure that's the reason!
So he got to sit with daddy for a while, and help him with his drink.

And then he got to play with mommy and look over the railing at the gorgeous lake.

We are such softies!!!
But seriously, could YOU have resisted that sweet sweet smile? I think not.
I love being home with my family!