Photo Shoot Pics

We had the kids' pictures made a while back to celebrate their birthdays.  It was a crazy photo shoot....lots of crying and pouting were involved.  Despite the craziness, the photographer was able to get some great shots of Taylor and Grady.  Enjoy!

Mother's Day Weekend

We spent Mother's Day weekend in Houston with Nana, Doodah and Jackson.  We had a really busy day on Friday.....we got up early and had pictures made of the kids with Nana as a Mother's Day gift.  The photo shoot was complete chaos.  As always, my two kids were pretty much crazy...Grady cried the entire time and Taylor had her moments.  Jack wasn't in the picture-taking mood either, so it was all-out craziness.  My friend, Kelly, was able to get some cute pictures though.  I'll be sure to post them as soon as I can.

We spent the rest of that day and all day Saturday playing outside, swimming and pretty much destroying Nana's house.  On Sunday we went to the lake to visit with Granny and Poppy.  The kids had a great time playing with their cousins Jacob and Joshua, and everyone had a great time hanging out at the lake.  By the end of the weekend we were all exhausted. 

 Bath-time sillies!

 Ready for the babes!

 Swimming time!

 Cute little ladybug!

 Taylor playing in Nana's version of the beach.

Grady liked splashing in the water, but he would never sit down.  For the record, I did try to put a hat on that kid, but he ripped it off!  Not to worry, though, he was slathered in sunscreen.

About an hour later (and after a few trips in the sandbox), the water was pretty murky.  

Jack goofing off!

 Grady liked playing with the sprinkler.

 Grady and Nana splashing in the puddles!

 Two cool dudes!

This was pretty typical of the entire weekend.  Jackson and Taylor were climbing all over Nana while Grady (in the background) was off doing his own thing.  He's such a loner!

 Two bucketheads!

 Taylor and Daddy posing for a picture.

 Taylor's first time on a tire swing!

Taylor and Jack running on the levee. 

Fun in Dallas

At the end of April we spent the weekend at Mimi and Poppa's house...and we had a fun, fun time....busy, but fun!  On Friday we got up early and went to the Dallas Zoo.  Taylor was so excited about going to the zoo....so excited that she wore herself out before we even got to the zoo.  Once we started seeing animals, though, she started to perk back up.  It was the first zoo visit for both Taylor and Grady, and they did great.  I think Taylor had a lot of fun seeing all of the animals.  I know that I did!

The next morning we got up early so Mimi, Poppa, Tyson, Haley, Ryan and Patty could participate in a 5K run.  Taylor thought that she was going to run, so she was a little bummed out when she found out she wasn't going to run.  Luckily, the Tokarz kids were there and were able to take Taylor's mind off of it.  It also didn't hurt having bounce houses to play in.  It was Taylor's first time to jump in a bounce house, so she really didn't know what to expect or what to do.  But she liked it and wanted to keep going in it.  I think the next time we go to a bounce house, she'll know exactly what to do.  As for Grady, he was ready to crawl in and start jumping.  Too bad the bounce house people said no.

Later that day, we met up with a photographer and had the kids' pictures taken to celebrate their recent birthdays.  Boy o boy....Taylor and Grady are probably the hardest kids to photograph.  They would not cooperate for anything.  Tyson finally had to have a "come to Jesus" talk with Taylor towards the end of the photo shoot to get her to smile.  Whatever he told her, it worked.  Too bad we didn't have that talk with her early on....it sure would have made the photo session much more enjoyable!!  I'm not sure how many pictures we were able to get of the kids smiling, but from the ones that I saw as she was taking them, I think there will be some really good pictures.  I'll be sure to post them when I get them.

On Sunday morning Tyson, Ryan and Poppa went to Lake Texoma for a guided fishing trip, while the rest of us just hung out and relaxed.  I think the kids needed a good day off!!  I know that I did!

A future in golf?  Probably not...but she sure did look cute trying!

 As for Grady, he's by far the messiest golfer in the world!  He had a little bit of everything on his shirt!

 Smelling, and maybe pulling, some of Mimi's pretty flowers!

 Taylor and Poppa checking out some monkeys at the zoo.

 Thank goodness Poppa was there....he was Taylor's escort the whole time!

 Goofing off....as usual!

 Grady liked walking around the zoo when we let him.  He mainly had to ride in the stroller for time's sake.

 I don't think Grady even knew there were animals to look at.  He just liked doing whatever Taylor was doing!

 Looking at the elephants.

 Comparing her height next to the penguins.

 Posing with the elephants! 

 Grady really had fun riding the Monorail! 

 Some of the running crew getting ready for their big race!

 Here's part of the cheering section.

 Shelby, Taylor and Jerzey being silly and dancing to the music! 

Spring-time Fun

Such a little bookworm!!

Movie time!  Both kids like to sit in their chairs while they watch a movie.  And then Grady usually manages to upset Taylor by crawling into her chair....whether she's in it or not!

Monkey see monkey do!  Grady tries to spin around like Taylor does.  He doesn't quite have the hang of it, but he sure does like to try.

 Time to sing!

 It's hard to rock out with a pacifier in his mouth!

This is Taylor's version of working out on the Wii Active.  She has her resistance band, her leg strap (one of Tyson's sweat bands) and, of course, her Wii remotes (i.e., a skunk toy and a harmonica).

 Playing in the dirt....one of Taylor's all-time favorites!

  Batter up!

 Swing batter!

I don't know why he's smiling.....this really is going to be one of his chores when he gets old enough. 

 Most times they are sweet to each other like this.....most times.

Taylor's first time fishing.

Great form!!

Her first fish!

Taylor and Daddy making their fish faces!