Guess Who's FINALLY Walking?

I use the term loosely since she doesn't use it as her main form of transportation yet, but still. Just shy of 16 months... about time dang it!

Best Day EVER!

Ok, it's not really the VERY best day ever because I have gotten married to be most perfect human God has ever created and I have birthed two of the cutest kids in the history of the universe.... BUT aside from those few exceptions, this day was pretty darn awesome. Bradley is FINALLY home from Calgary, Canada (and yes, I have caught him using "eh" a few times).
The day started out less than perfect with a call from my mother-in-law at 7:00am. Bradley was suppose to get home at 11:45 in the afternoon that day. Instead, some moron CANCELLED his flight. Honestly. EVERY single missionary got to go home EXCEPT him! Needless to say, Maureen was... ummm.... bummed? The church was kind enough to book him the next flight that would get him home to his anxiously awaiting family at 8:15 that night. There were a few things that made this harder. 1) Waiting 2) Cranky kids 3) Bryan had to work. He already had patients lined up so he couldn't be there. (Although he had the morning off so he could be there at the original time.)
Anyway, we made sure of course to be at the airport with bells on (and Addi took an AWESOME nap so she was happy). It was So great to see that cute kid again. It's so cool to see how missions change these boys. Bradley's always been a really great person but now he's that same great person with this gigantic testimony and life just seems more in perspective. (like maybe drums don't always come first.)
Carter was SO cute at the airport. Noelle was holding him and when Bradley came to hug them Carter just held onto him for dear life. He laid his head on Bradley's shoulder and was immediately obsessed with his returned uncle. The entire way home, Noelle and I had to convince him that Uncle Bradley isn't going home "far far away" again. When Carter finally believed us he wanted to know if Bradley could live with us. Now when we go over there if Bradley leaves the room Carter immediately follows him. (I know, annoying... we're trying to get it under control and teaching him that he doesn't need to go with Bradley to the bathroom...)
Addilyn on the other hand had to warm up. When Bradley tried to hold her at the airport she slapped him. Yep. Slapped. His hand. Twice. Two times. What a turkey, huh? In her defense, it was way past her bedtime. Instead of holding her he gave her a pass along card with a picture of Christ on it (cue: dorky returned missionary eye roll). Bradley has since won her over. She adores him just as much as Carter but is slightly less possessive.
I must say that no one is happier to have Bradley home than Maureen. She was BEAMING... and crying, like any mother would. When we got back to the Wyeths after the airport, Bryan was there waiting for us. Because my father-in-law is in the Stake Presidency, Bradley was able to be released at home. It was awesome. It's been a while since I have had a brother return from a mission. This brother was different than my own brothers for a few reasons. 1) I had to win him over when I married into the family. He didn't like me. Seriously, you can even ask him. 2) I'm a adult so I better appreciate the sacrifice he has made. 3) I have watched him grow from a teenager into a very spiritual, handsome, and fun man (man: that sounds weird when talking about Bradley) 4) I am so happy that Bryan gets to be by a brother since Ben lives so far away.
Bradley brings such a fun and bright atmosphere to the Wyeth home. It's always wonderful there but now it's just more complete. I just can't imagine how empty it must have felt for my poor mother-in-law while he was gone (when any child is on a mission) and we're all so glad he's home. Hopefully it will be a while before he gets a girlfriend, ties the knot, and ditches out on the family. Who knows, maybe I'll return the favor and not like her at first just the way Bradley didn't like me. :)


Carter was SO helpful when hanging the "welcome home" sign.
Carter and "Uncle Omi". He will NOT call her Aunt... no clue why.


You can see the shock on Bradley's face with Carter wanting him. He thought he would be scared of him at first. Nope. Quite the opposite.

Weekends

So, many of you know that I am a complete loser on Friday nights. (this particular night is a Saturday but I just want people to feel sorry for me since Bryan works on Fridays). Because of this I try to occasionally have the ladies come over and play. They are no trouble because they are four and independent, and they keep my kids entertained. I have even been known to get some photoshopping done while they're over. A few weeks ago we had the Ladies and Tag over. Since the weather is getting nicer (again, that means below 100 degrees in the evenings) we drag out the blanket and lay on the lawn. Actually, I lay on the blanket and take pictures while the kids run around me and Addi wines. (Honestly, what am I going to do with her?!?) This occasion was particularly fun because Bryan was able to catch the cutest little lizard. The Ladies even held him. He was quick which caused several shrieks and lots of giggling. They had a blast! I love it when they come over and play with us. Cousins are the BEST!

Tag kept up on the lawn mowing for us. So helpful.
Gracie holding the lizard. (We had to make sure to go over the whole, "you can't squeeze him...")

Everyone got a chance to pet him before we let him go home "to his mommy."

Abby on the pink and Grace in the white. This picture is SO them.
Abby is my best model.

What happens when you tell 3 little kids to lay there and smile (above). And below is what happens when you just let them do what they want and have your camera ready.

My Drowned Rats

Don't we all have around 800o pictures of our kids in the bath tub? Seriously, between pictures of yourself as a little child with your siblings and pictures you've taken of your kids? Maybe I'm the only one with a gazillion pictures. So, I decided to post a few. No story to go along with it. Just some pictures. :) Enjoy.

Payback. Now that she's old enough, she's getting him back for all the millions of times he's harrassed her. And believe me, she can hold her own!

Carson and Alizabeth

I took pictures of both of these two little cuties (now that Lizzie is home from the hospital safe and sound) and have posted some on my photoblog. So, scoot over and have a look-see. Click here to get to the blog.

I'm an Aunt Again Again Again!

My SIL, Natalie had her little baby boy last night, on her due date. The baby and she are happy and healthy. I wish I had my own pictures to share (because that would mean that I have seen him) with you but since Matt has taken them away to Arkansas for Law school you'll just have to see pictures they took... I won't be able to see the little guy until THANKSGIVING!!! Can you believe that? There should be some law against not seeing new family members for so long. But, you know, at least we get to welcome another family member home again in less than 48 hours. (YEAH, UNCLE BRADLEY!) So, click HERE to see pictures of my new little nephew.
Here are his stats:
Name: Tyler Robert Backus (Tyler happens to be my VERY favorite name for a boy. Had I had another boy before Natalie it would have been Tyler. That being said, I'm SO glad the name got used by one of my very favorite families. And for those that don't know, Bryan's first name is Robert. That's where to Robert in Tyler Robert came from. It's not because both of his grandfathers have the name and it's his Daddy's middle name. It's because Bryan is his favorite uncle!)
Weight: 7lbs 8oz
Length: 20 1/4 inches
He was born last night around 9:00 AR time I think.

Swing, Batter Batter, Swing!

As I have previously mentioned I have to entertain the kids Lone Ranger style in the evenings while Bryan is working. T-ball is a favorite when the weather permits (which is getting to be more and more frequent.) And by "weather permits" I mean under 100 degrees. Carter calls it "batter batter baseball" because we have borrowed a little automatic pitching thingy from my awesome neighbor, Jenna. He now thinks any baseball garb is called "batter batter baseball" and because I'm his mom, I think it's cute. :) So, here are some pictures of him doing his thang. He has the Michael Jordan tongue. He's done that ever since he was a baby when he's concentrating on something really hard.

In A Box

A few days ago I was trying to take some pictures of Addilyn for my photography class mixing types of light. (Hence her being really yellow from the tungsten lights.) After a minute of letting her play with my bracelets and lens cap she was no longer entertained. She did, however, want to play with a box that was next to me. I thought she may enjoy it if I put her IN the box. From these pictures you may make your own assumption, but I'm thinking maybe she didn't like it quite as much as I was originally thinking she may... oh well. At least I got some cute pictures out of it, right?

Happy Birthday Uncle Bradley!

Today is Uncle Bradley's birthday. Uncle Bradley is Bryan's youngest brother who is so stinking cute it's sick. You may notice he's not in any of these pictures. Well, that's because he's on a mission in Calgary, Canada. He gets home in 23 days. It's actually more like 22 and a half because he gets home at noon on the 25th. We're so excited for him to come home and meet Addilyn. Carter was Addi's age exactly when B-Rad left so it's quite a change. One I think he's not quite as ready for as he thinks.
So, today we went to Grammie's house and yelled, "Surprise!" when she answered the door. She knew we were coming but Carter wanted to "surprise" her. She was so sweet to let us bonbard her day. She even fed us lunch. Addilyn had her entire sandwhich gone before Carter had finished 1/3 of his.
Before we went to Grammie's we went to the store and got the cupcakes that Carter picked out. (I wouldn't get that nasty icing!) After the cupcakes we went to the baking isle to get some candles. Even though I told him that Uncle Bradley is turning 21 and NOT 3, he still insisted on getting the 3 for the candle... oh well. Whatever makes him happy, right?

Grammie helped Addi blow out her candle. She just wanted to touch the flame.
Carter had to get ALL the icing off the 3. Then he took a big bite of it. It was great! He quickly spit it out realizing that it doesn't taste quite as good as the cupcake.
This is how she eats sweets. Again, hers was gone before Carter even had the icing licked off his. (In her defense though, I took the icing off hers before I gave it to her.)


Happy Birthday, Bradley!! We seriously can't wait for you to come home and play with us again. It's not the same without all the banging on he table and coming from downstairs!!

**Worth noting: Bradley is very good looking (runs in the family!) and single. So, as soon as he's home and no longer weird from being on a mission, we will be taking applications. Who knows any cute girls worthy of a great guy? Lets get a line going!!**