Card Photo Shoot

While we were at the Double Eight for Thanksgiving I put the boys in their new Christmas pjs and had a little photo shoot in an attempt to get a good shot for our Christmas card.

One of these three will be on the front of our 2009 card...

but I'm not telling you which one!

Reason for the Season

Today we had a long day of decorating for Christmas and getting the house in order. Shayne is traveling a lot for work and since I can't really lift anything, we only had today to get all the decorations out of the attic, put out, and empty boxes put back up. It didn't seem like I was going to be able to get my part done and I was really overwhelmed. In the midst of my frustration, Cole asks me to come upstairs for a "surprise." I put him off for a few hours until finally, in the dark playroom, I sit down and he pushes the button on his Fisher Price nativity set and it shines a light on the baby Jesus. "Isn't that the best surprise you've ever seen?" he asks. Indeed, it is! Thank you my sweet boy for reminding Mommy what's important!

Thanksgiving Feast

Shayne and I attended our 5th preschool Thanksgiving Feast as the special guests of our favorite little Indian...

Mommy and Daddy with "Red Fox"

Ozymandias Recitation

Travis' 2nd grade class learned Shelley's sonnet Ozymandias as a compliment to their study of Egyptian History. They recited it as a group in assembly this morning, but I got a private performance for the sake of video. Unfortunately, I congratulate him on a job well done before the actual end of the poem comes. Disregard my voice :( I think he does amazingly well!

Trick or Treat

We were invited to a fun Halloween night party with lots of kids from Travis' school. That allowed us to trick-or-treat "for real" in a fantastic neighborhood. There was lots of great candy to "score" and fun decorations to "scare." Both boys had a great night!

Cole: Sherriff Woody from Toy Story

(not just a cowboy)

Travis: Clone Troop Commander Rex

(not a Storm Trooper!)

Grown Up Costume Party

It's a bit of a challenge to find a cute Halloween costume when you're six months pregnant. So I decided to give up on cute and try for funny! I found a Hillbilly Bride costume that came with an inflatible belly--no need! A couple of temporary tattoos and a husband that dressed up from his own closet and we were ready to go!

Cole's Fall Festival

I volunteered at Cole's Fall Festival...always a fun time! I was at the nail painting station...something I never get to do! I wish I'd kept count of how many little tiny nails I painted orange, green, purple and black!

Cole's class getting some instructions.

Look at my prize, Mommy!

Ooooh, good! A whistle!

Crazy Hat Day

Travis' school holds an annual Crazy Hat Day. All the students create a hat to compete in one of a variety of categories. Travis won last year for "Most Texan." This year, we entered in the Animal category. We pieced together a sort of Wolf/Wearwolf hat from some things available at the Halloween stores. I think the result is pretty cool...although not a winner this year.

It's a brother!

Myhand Baby Boy #3

Great news for October...

we'll have a third little boy in February!

OB visit with Mommy

As luck would have it...Travis and Cole were both out of school on the day our ultrasound was scheduled. So they got to accompany us to find out the gender of the baby!

They were so good in the OB office. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a scheduling glitch with the ultrasound tech, so we ended up waiting...

...and waiting...

...and waiting...

...and waiting!

It's Gr8 to be Eight!

There are 3 boys in Travis' 2nd grade class that turned 8 in the same week. So we combined forces and threw a Star Wars themed backyard campout. The evening started with games, pizza, cake and ice cream followed by presents! As soon as it got dark, we projected a Star Wars movie onto an outdoor screen. It was unseasonable chilly--around 50 degrees. But hey, when you're 8 it's just not a big deal. The dads eventually got everyone settled into tents and zipped in for the night. The morning came really early but we had a fire to warm up by and donuts!

Birthday Buddies: Matthew, Travis and Miles

Ten little boys and one little brother!

Taking turns opening presents.

Feeling the Force...if only to stay warm!

Best buddies Miles and Travis...lightsabers at dawn!

Disney World '09

4 Disney parks in 4 days. 358 photos. 12 (ish) souvenirs. 46 character autographs. 2 exhausted parents. 4 days of magic and 2 happy little boys: PRICELESS!

Boxes from Mickey

FOUND: on our back porch! A box addressed to each boy from Mickey himself!

Cole's first find...a little Mickey doll. He anxiously digs to see what else is in there. He found pjs, character tshirts, a Toy Story water bottle and Mickey fruit snacks!

Travis reads his card from Mickey, which congratulates him on growing tall enough to ride all the exciting rides in the parks!

Travis was pumped that he received another box from Mickey this year. He got one in 2007 when he made his first trip. He told me later he was afraid the "box thing" was just for first timers and that Cole would get one, but he wouldn't.

Mom, (ahem!) I mean Mickey, YOU ROCK!

The boys are more excited than ever to start packing.

Soccer Season Opener

The soccer season was delayed by one week due to rain, so by the time game day rolled around this week both boys were way past ready! This is Cole's first year to play and he's extremely enthusiastic. In fact, on the way to the fields this morning he declared himself a "soccer expert" much to Travis' frustration. This is the best picture I could get of the two of them together. Immediately after I snapped this shot, Cole darted away to join his teammates.

Cole plays for the Red Rockets...Travis' team is named the Vipers.

The very picture of focus and attention!

Sadly, Cole's team lost. I couldn't keep up with the final score. There wasn't a great deal of defense on either team. But Cole-man scored two goals and he was delighted with himself.

Travis all sweaty and tired, yet victorious!!! Travis has played for the same coach and with most of the same kids for three seasons now. It's amazing how well they're learning to play as a team. Shayne and I were both so excited with how well they played today, winning 3-2 over a very good team. Travis scored the first goal of the game and was quick to remind me it was also the "first goal of the season!"

Here's to a winning season full of fun memories for both my soccer stars!

4 and 8 Year Portraits

We had the boys' portraits made on Wednesday by Bright Eyes Photography. The ladies were kind enough to show us a sneak peek of the 300+ photos they snapped by featuring the boys' session on their blog. There are three more cute ones on their website...check 'em out!

www.brighteyesphotography.com/blog/

Surprise!

We just thought we were done having babies! As a friend of mine said when I shared the news, "We make our plans and God just laughs!" It's obvious that He wasn't done with our family yet.

We'll have another little Myhand join our family in February 2010.

We can't wait!!

The boys are delighted! Cole is very enthusiastic about being someone's big brother! Travis was quick to remind him that he'd still be a little brother too.

Here they skeptically look over the sonogram images from today's ultrasound. Cole said, "I don't really see a baby, Mommy." But Shayne and I got to see it and it was looks perfect! And there's a possibility we might have to change this blog title to "My Three Sons" soon!

Tutty Bear Comes for a Visit!

Travis' 2nd grade class has a traveling mascot named Tutty Bear. In history this year, they learn about all things Egyptian...so the bear follows that theme. Thus the name...get it?

So, Tutty goes home with a student on the weekends accompanied by a travel journal in which his adventures are documented. The student then shares with the rest of the class on Monday.

It was quite an honor for Travis to be the first to get to bring Tutty home! And I was thrilled because we actually had a fun event planned we could journal about. We had tickets to the UT game so I suggested we take Tutty along. Travis was a bit apprehensive. But I assured him that even in a crowd of 101,000 people, I could be trusted not to lose a stuffed bear. I felt confident. And no, this story doesn't take a horrific turn...we made it there and back with Tutty safe and sound. We got a couple of cute pictures for the journal and I thought I'd share them:

In front of the entrance to the stadium.

From our seats, with an awesome view of the field and downtown Austin in the background.

Hook 'Em Horns

Shayne stumbled on a really great deal on tickets for the Longhorn's season opener. We were able to all attend our first UT game this evening! Travis enjoyed his first "tailgating" experience and Cole enjoyed the chance to perfect his "Hook 'em Horns" fingers he's been working on for quite a while! And we all enjoyed the chance to cheer the Horns on to victory...or at least a solid half-time lead...which was when we decided we'd all had about enough.

Hook 'em!

In front of DK Royal Memorial Stadium

Can you say "cheap seats?" We were at the very top with our own backrest.

I love the look on Travis' face as the Longhorns raced through the smoke to take the field.

Is this not the sweetest thing? Shayne and I just kept looking at each other in disbelief with a lump in our throat...I almost forgot to grab the camera and snap a picture. Glad I did, because it didn't last long.