Tanner's 7th Birthday

{Bear with me as I continue to play catch up on 2011 - this is from July 2011}

Every year we do a themed party for Tanner's birthday. This year he wanted an "army" party. So we pulled out the camo gear and GI Joe's and what a party it was!

Tanner dressed the part and eagerly awaited the arrival of his guests:


I borrowed some old army gear from my parents and used it on the food table, along with some vintage GI Joe's with their jeep.








When the boys arrived, we had them check-in and get their gear (an army hat, dog tags, and face paint). We then had a table set up for them to make cards for the troops. Tanner's uncle is currently serving in Afghanistan, so we sent him all the cards that the boys made.




Once the card making was finished, Boot Camp began. Chris and Darren had the boys running various drills and it was pretty entertaining to watch!!












After the drills, we had the land mine walk. We had water balloons on the path and they had to walk through them blind-folded. This was a big hit!


They then had a water balloon and water gun fight and it was total chaos...just the way boys love it!





We then ate lunch and had cake and ice cream. I made an army tank cake and Tanner loved it. When I was working on the camo effect the night before, I was a little concerned since it was looking more like smashed green bugs than camo. But in the end it was a recognizable army tank...success!!

The whole crew of army boys (and Lena Jane!):

Happy 7th Birthday Tanner! We love you!!

Spring/Summer 2011 Highlights

This first highlight was actually winter, but it was too big of a deal for me to not include it! On February 4, 2011 (drum roll please) we had snow!! It actually barely covered the ground but it was exciting for us since we rarely see any snow. Everything shut down for the day and we enjoyed our little taste of the white stuff!

LOVE this picture of my boys!! (March 2011)

Easter - April 24, 2011:

Tanner & his cousin Keller (May 2011):




Memorial Day (May 2011) at the lake park across the street:





July 4th parade in Startzville:




Tanner lost his first tooth!! (July 18, 2011)

Catching up with Colten

Time for another catch up post...or two or three! I will start with Colten since he has changed the most over the past 8 months. He is now 14 months and walking all over the place. He is such a happy baby and we couldn't imagine our life without him! I think the last monthly picture I posted was 4 months...so here are months 5-12:

















I look at these pictures and still can't figure out where the time went. That baby stage sure flew by!

Here are a few videos of Colten.

Colten at 7 months:



Tanner making Colten laugh - 8 months:



Colten starting to scoot at 8 1/2 months:



In this one, Colten was 9.5 months (June) and I was feeding him. He did this adorable thing with his hands all the time that looked like he was revving a motorcycle so I was trying to get it on video:



Colten & Bryson at Grandma's house (June):



In this video (July), Papa is feeding Colten ice cream at his house (you can see Colten's hands going in this video too):



Here is another video from July where Colten was very animated during dinner...our little preacher! :)

A Month of Firsts

The month of January was a month of several "firsts" for Colten. Ideally, I would have posted about these as they happened...but here it is February already, so thus the all-in-one post!!

On January 9, Colten tried rice cereal for the first time. And as we would expect, he was not sure what to think about it!






We are now in the first week of February, and he is just now starting to eat it pretty well!

Then the next day (Jan 10), Colten rolled over for the first time. He had been so close for about a week, and he finally made it all the way over that morning. Wouldn't you know that he decided to do it while I was taking Tanner to school and Daddy was watching him??!! I was so disappointed!! But the next day, I was able to get this video of him rolling over.

Colten's Dedication

Colten was dedicated in church on December 26. Since most of our family was in town for Christmas, we figured this was the perfect time for his dedication. It meant a lot to have them all there for the special occasion!


I think we set a record for the number of family members on stage for a baby dedication!








My grandfather, Archie Lee Alderson, prayed over Colten and it was so powerful! Colten is named after him (Colten Lee) and it was an honor to have him be a part of the service.







I was reminded after the service, that it had been one year ago TO THE DAY that we found out we were pregnant. Colten is our special miracle from the Lord and we were delighted to dedicate him back to the Lord in the church that we love and surrounded by the family that we hold so dear!

Three and Four Months

I'm a little behind...so this post will be Colten's three AND four months photos!

Here are the three month pics:





And then his four month photos:






At his four month appointment, he weighed 13 lbs 15 ounces and was 25.5 inches. He is such a happy baby - smiling and laughing all the time. What joy he brings to our house!