2005 vs 2006

Christmas 2005 Pregnant and ready to POP!!!

Christmas 2006 Coytt is almost 1 year old.

2005 Shepard Bryce and his cow???

Christmas 2005 Nativity with my family


Christmas 2006 Big Spring, Texas here we come!!

Christmas 2005 no Mark:(

Christmas 2006 Our first Christmas together as a family YEA!!!!

I have been sitting here thinking of all that has changed in the last year, and right now all I can think of is that this will be our first Christmas as a family. Mark and I have never been able to celebrate a Christmas together as husband and wife, and this year is not only special becuase it is our first one together but it is also Coytt's first Christmas. This will also be the first year I spend Christmas with Mark's family in Texas. It is all very exciting. I have never had to experience wrapping presents with a baby around and now I see why my mom locks herself in the back room...not just to hid the presents from us, but to keep the "babies"(when she had them around) out of the paper. It has been a busy time of year, but I am adjusting and loving it. Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Coytt Laughing

The other night I heard Coytt laughing hysterically and when I walked into the kitchen I saw Mark tossing those green scrubbies we use in the kitchen at him. For some reason Coytt thought this was hilarious and just kept laughing. I thought you all would enjoy his cute little giggle.

Curly or Straight?

I got a straightner for my hair and am trying a new hairstyle. I am getting it trimmed and dyed this weekend, and am thinking about keeping it straight. I need input on whether I should keep it straight or go back to the same old curl? The little boy I babysit said I better never go curly again because he absolutely hates it. (don't kids know how to build your self-esteem?) Let me know what you think "straight" or "curly"?

I CAN DO IT MYSELF

Step 1: Mash food in fingers to assure soft mushy texture, and a big mess will be made.

Step 2: Put food back in mouth after finding desired mush consistency.

Step 3: Slowly and steadily SHOVE fork into mouth to consume what was not mushed between the fingers.

Step 4: Suck all edible particles off fork.

Since he won't eat unless he does it himself I think it is time I invest in some bibs. What do you think?

New Traditions

Before

Dallas is trying out for the part of the dog in the movie "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"

TAKE IT OFF!!!!!

Helping Mommy

Where does it go Daddy?

Aren't we adorable?!

Merry Christmas Baby!!!

The finished product

Since this is our first Christmas together Mark and I decided to start some holiday traditions. The first is the decision to make the Monday after Thanksgiving the night that we buy our Christmas tree and decorate it. So last night we bought a tree and began our first official family tradition. To the purchasing of the tree we decided to add wearing Santa hats, drinking hot apple cider, and choosing a name off the tree in Walmart that has gifts for children that have been abused and/or neglected. We had a wonderful evening. We listned to Christmas music and took lots of pictures. Coytt watched from his highchair and suprisingly hasn't torn the tree down yet :) This is a very special year for us not only is it our first Christmas together, but we have a beautiful, healthy, happy little boy to share it with as well. Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Holiday Shopping

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I finally have time to write. We had a wonderful holiday and it was great having my family around. This was the first Thanksgiving I have spent with my family in about 5 years, and the first Mark and I have been able to spend together so it was a pretty special day. Mark had to work so we ate later than usual, but the food was still just as good. Boy can my momma cook!!! I am still eating leftover pie. There were a lot of firsts this year. I went shopping for the first time during the Thanksgiving holiday...which I will never do again!! Mandi, Mallory, and I took Coytt and Tonya to the mall and out to lunch, and it about killed me. I had these two babies in this ginormous double stroller and everyone in the mall looked at me as if I was slowing them down. I couldn't manuver through any of the stores becuase they were so crowded, and messy. The only good part of the day was Coytt's hair, I spiked it all up and he looked so cute. I don't think I will ever shop the day after Thanksgiving again, but I did enjoy the time with my sisters.

Boy Scout Fun!!

As a lot of you know, Mark is the Webelos leader in our ward.

Every Tuesday night the boys come over and work on earning a badge. This month they are working on their outdoorsman, and so they learned how to pitch a tent. I made smore's...my favorite camping treat, and Mark let Coytt play in the tent with the boys and eat the smore's as well. Well needless to say Coytt of course got more on himself than in his mouth, but he had fun doing it! It is so fun to watch Mark bond with his son and these boy scouts. The boys really love him. I enjoy watching Mark get prepared every week to teach these boys and have activities with them. Scouts is a lot of work...I thought my calling was tough (just kidding, choosing the hymns each Sunday is a piece of cake); I definately give a big hand to all those scout leaders out there past and present.

Remember "Be Prepared" :)

Well I have to brag on my husband a little bit. He just finished his second certification at Intel. He has been there for less than six months!! I am so proud of him. For this second cert. they alloted like 3 months and he did it in 3 days. I have a very smart hubby! Also his department and shift were highlighted in the "Winners Cirlce" in a company newsletter. Anyway I am very proud of him and thought I would tell everyone that.

Too Brave!!

Well we don't have to worry about Coytt falling off the bed anymore. Today I was in the kitchen and I heard his voice so I went to check the bedroom and see if he needed help out of the bed. Well as you can see he was not in his spot on the bed and was crawling down the hall. He had climbed off the bed, opened the door, and crawled out. This little monkey is way too brave!

I can see my feet!!!

So I was taking a shower last night and I looked down

and for the first time since I was pregnant (which was over a year ago) I could see my feet. Ummm I think it is time to repaint my toenails. I have finally began to lose the "baby" weight. Coytt is 10 months old so I guess I can't really call it "baby" fat anymore. Anyway, I was so excited I thought I'd share. Plus my monkey toes should make you smile :)

Learning to feed myself

I gave Coytt some apple bread and I think he got
more in his hair, lap and all over the floor than in his mouth. It was so funny! He was just giggling and enjoying himself so much I just let him go nuts. I took off his pajamas and he had a bunch of the food stuffed down in them. It all fell out onto the floor when I took them off. He just looked up at me and smiled like he had done something cleaver. Silly little boy!

Busy Baby

Coytt is such a busy little boy. These are just a few examples. He climbed onto the dishwasher when I was turned around. I heard this frusterated cry and looked and he was stuck under the top tray. No matter how many times a day he gets stuck behind that high chair he still loves to climb behind it. I think we need to get him a play house of some kind becuase he loves to crawl under things. The last picture is an illustration of just how much he wiggles. It takes 15 minutes just to get him dressed becuase of all the wiggleing. With this outfit I had to stand him on his head so I could button the bottom buttons becuase he was wiggling his legs so much I couldn't snap the bottom snaps. He keeps me busy and it is a pretty good workout every day chaising him around.

Boys will be Boys

Coytt loves this and it scares me to death. I think Mark does it a little just to watch me get all nervous :) They play rough all the time, and sometimes I just have to leave the room so I don't ruin the fun with my motherly caution. It is great to see this side of Mark though. I have learned a lot about my husband while watching him with his son.

Learning To Walk

Our little wiggle worm is trying to walk! He looks
so cute. He is so tiny it looks so funny when he climbs up next to the couch and walks along the side. We got him this toy to help him out, but he is so busy he tries to run with it and falls down. He gets so mad and decides crawling is faster so he just sticks with that. He has learned how to climb off the bed and the couch, and it scares me to death to watch him do it. He is growing and learning so fast. It is an adventure everyday.

Familia Corralez

Off the cliff we go...weeeee

Well everyone else is jumping off this blogging cliff so why not us too. Mark and I are getting ready to spend our first Thanksgiving together as a family. We have been married for four and a half years and never been able to spend a holiday together so this is pretty exciting. Of course now with Coytt in our lives this blog will probably be mostly about him and our life experiences as parents. I will get some pictures up soon, most of them are on our laptop and transfering them has been quite a chore. More later...I have to stop Tonya (the 14 month old I babysit) from destroying my magazines.