We are starting to think....

that Anthony might have a paci problem.




As many of you know Anthony loves to dance, here he is take it up a notch and trying to master the dance dance revolution machine.



Another favorite is driving cars. Here he is making sure everything is ready for the trip and then he concentrates hard on his trip.


Loving the carousal that he rode about 20 times. (Thanks Tio Frankie for giving us an endless amount of free tokens)

Edwards Slideshow

A slideshow of some of my favorite pics from the last few years.


I put the link instead so that it won't play everytime you come to the site.

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=130991297

The many faces of eating a cookie

What do you mean there is no more?

Momma said there'd be days like this...

Ok so maybe not the entire day but the lyric certainly popped into my head at certain moments. So, as soon as I picked up Anthony he was not in a good mood. He had just been reprimanded for trying yet again to headbutt someone ( I have no idea where he could have learned that). So of course he was all in tears and gave me a big sad "I did nothing wrong momma" look. We trotted out and went to the car after he got his way and I gave him my keys. Keys are his new thing and he constantly wants you to let him go out and unlock the car door and then let him sit in the drivers seat and let him turn the steering wheel and make the wipers go off. Of course, giving him the keys was not a good idea. We then sat in the truck for a good 5 minutes while I asked Anthony to please give momma the keys so we could go see dada. This usually works. This time he was adamant I was not getting the keys and would laugh everytime I reached over and tried to grab them. Finally, I got the keys from him but this lead to another 5 minutes of driving with a screaming kid. Even with the current situation I bravely decided that I could quickly march into HEB and grab a few things for dinner. I know.. what was I thinking. It started off well, we walked in holding hands and he marched over to where the shopping carts that look like cars are. You've seen the things when you didn't have kids and thought nothing of them besides maybe how cute the kid in it is. Then the day comes when your toddler is only happy at the store if he can ride in it and you realize that those things are like pushing a tank around many people and corners. Really, it's like two shopping carts long and you have to back up to make turns to get into those aisles. Nevertheless, it makes the shopping trip a lot easier. But, not today. We quickly tried to make our way through a very crowded HEB. I am constantly apologizing to the poor woman or man who I almost take out because of how far back I am from the front of the shopping cart that I didn't even see them as I came around a corner. I also have to battle the fact that today Anthony insisted that everything I put into the cart I first handed to him so that he could then throw it with all his force into the cart. Then there was the screaming fit when I told him he couldn't throw the glass jar. I distract him somehow and we are almost out the door when I decided we need tortilla chips so we march down the chip aisle which also has all the cookies opposite of them. This then leads Anthony to start screaming out "cooookiiiesss, coookiies, coookies" again and again and again. He is doing the typical toddler tantrum where he is not just screaming it but he is arching his back and throwing himself backwards. What am I to do? I grab a small 40 cent bag and hand it to him and as quickly as I can I push the tank down the aisle thinking to myself I shouldn't even be in the chip aisle to begin with. We go over to the checkout when I realize I forgot something but it's just not worth it anymore. I pluck my items onto the counter and even convince Anthony to put his cookies down so we can pay for them then eat them. Now there is the struggle of Anthony wanting to be the one to swipe the debit card. Another fit. I quickly ask for a buddy buck. If you don't have kids, HEB gives them a fake dollar that they can put in one of those crane machines and get a sticker. He loves this so it distracts him and he proudly holds his buck. We pay for the items and move over to the machine. I take him down and he puts his dollar in and gets his sticker. I only have a couple of bags so I figured I would grab the bags and put the tank back so I don't have to push it out. Anthony decided why wait for momma I will just run out the front door. This means I run out leaving everything still in the cart so I can catch him before he makes it to the parking lot. I scoop him up while he is kicking and screaming. A guy now feels pity for me and takes the bags out for me and offers to put the cart away for me. I now carry a screaming kid and bags to the car. I set the bags down and him while I search for my keys. He now sees the keys and the whole key fit starts again. I tell him he can't have them and he throws himself onto the parking lot ground screaming "keys,keys,keys." I man comes out to get into the car next to us and I apoligize for my screaming son who is blocking his car door. He just smiles and says " no problem I remember those days."

Maybe I will remember this day years down the road as I see someone struggling with their kiddo and I will find myself telling them that I remember those days. At the moment though my only thought was, I already need a break!

He did redeem himself when we got home by running up to me and giving me kisses and dancing around the living room.

This video shows how you just can't be upset with the little guy after all that he may do.

He is saying "I luv you"

A whole month has gone by!

It's hard to believe that an entire month has flown by since I lasted posted. You would think that with an entire 2 weeks off I would have had the time but when you have an active 19 month old at home with you all day there just isn't time. Anytime I tried to sit down Anthony would walk in and say "No, no" while shaking his head and pulling my arm and pointing for me to put down the computer mouse. Last week we finally got back into the old routine of work and daycare but still I found no time. When Anthony finally goes to sleep I still lose out on computer time since this is when Randel takes over on the computer. So, I finally decided to bring my camera to school and use a few minutes from my planning time to update. Warning, this will be long since it's been so long.
2008 was a wonderful year for us. Anthony turned one and by far this has been the best time. He went from a baby who was completely dependent on us to being his own person with his own unique personality. It's amazing how much children learn in this time period. One month he was crawling the next he was walking and then running and talking up a storm. He understands everything you say but is really good at pretending to not have heard you. I am on to him on this though. He usually stares off into space as if he is thinking about something deeply and just can not be disturbed at the moment.
Christmas was wonderful and Anthony finally understood that if he torn something open there was always something fun for him under all the paper. He got way more toys than he needed and our home has become his own personal playhouse that we pretty much just rent a room from. He actually has 5 bikes/cars stationed outside the front door and he will play with each one of. them. He recieved a tricycle that also has a handy push bar so that we can help push him along until he learns to pedal on his own. He loves to stroll the neighborhood in his new bike. We also noticed that he grew in the few weeks since Christmas because he can now reach the pedals. Another major milestone was that he learned to actually hit a ball that is pitched to him. We were playing outside while randel was at work and it looked like he was bored with the same 'ol bat on the tee thing so I decided to pitch it to him and he took the proper stance, I pitched and on the very first swing he hit the ball with all his might. I was jumping up and down like I had just seen him hit the game winning ball for his team thinking that my son was a genius. Of course as soon as I told randel he had him out there practicing some more and for christmas he bought him a brand new "better" bat and ball and his first glove so he has been practing how to catch. Hopefully I will get him on video doing this but he doesn't like to be recorded doing it for some reason.
Anthony got to spend New Years day with us and Mia and Grandad at the zoo. Since he loves animals right now and making the sounds to each of them we figured he would enjoy a lot more than he has in the past. He had lots of fun getting to see all the animals that he usually only sees in books. He would take the lead and go from one window or cage to another looking in to see what was in there. He even went and pet and combed the goats. The only downside was that each section we went to he liked so much that he would throw a fit when we left then he would forget as soon as we got to something new and fascinating.
This past weekend we made the drive up to Waco and watched the Bears beat Texas Tech. Anthony had fun and clapped and cheered like crazy. He even got his very own baylor basketball which he stared at all the way home. Saturday he finally got his crazy mane tamed. It's a little shorter than I prefer but Randel wanted it short so we will have to wait to see those curls at least a month.
All in all 2009 looks like it will be just as fun and exciting as 2008 and we can't wait for all the new things in store for us. Of course I am including a few pics of our wonderful "little" boy.

Having fun with his new truck.



Showing off just some of the elmo gear he recieved.





His new tricycle.

Watching the fish with Grandad.

Feeding the fish with Mia.

Brushing the goats.

Pooped out from a long day at the zoo.

His new baylor hat.

Having fun at the park and sporting his new haircut.