Sunday, October 28, 2012

Things I Never Want To Forget...

Oh, sweet little Haven Jane.  The things you do right now at 17 months old.  They are precious.  And funny.  And so stinkin' cute.  There are so many things that I never want to forget about you at this age...

The gazillion animal noises you can make on command...we added elephant to her arsenal last night.  Video coming soon, I'm sure. 

The way your face lights up and you do a little high-chair jig at meal time when I say "fruit." 

The way you forget what you're doing when music comes on and just start dancing.  Wonder where you get this from?  :) 

The several ways you say "mama" - with excitement, tiredness, frustration, sadness, and those precious sweet soft whispers. 

The way you exclaim "dada!!" anytime the phone rings b/c you're just sure it's him. 

The way you point at the computer and say "Bozzy!" when you want to skype with Gammie and Bozzy.  And how excited you get when skype is ringing. 

The way you say "OoOohh" when something is cool and interesting to you.

Hearing "nummy-num" when you are hungry or thirsty or find something in the pantry you want to eat at that moment. 

Your adorable giggles when I get your tickle spots. 

The way you shake your finger at Copper when he has something of yours or is barking... (now we just gotta work on you NOT doing that to people...yikes.) 

The way you can pretend to talk on a cell phone forever...love those jibber-jabber conversations with no one. 

The way you suck on your little toothbrush before bed and then laugh when I wipe your mouth with a towel. 

How much turning a light switch off and on or pushing the button to the garage door, dryer, etc. excites you. 

And certainly not the last thing, but the last thing for this post - the sweet way you rest your head on my shoulder and give me "hugs" just before I lay you down for your nap in the afternoon.  It melts my heart every time.

I love you, sweet Haven Jane, so much that tears are welling in my eyes right now.  I hope you always know that I am so proud of you and love you so much.  You just woke up... must leave the blog and go get some morning kisses.  Yay!  

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

OSU Homecoming 2012

This past weekend Russell and I were spoiled with a date day in the great town of Stillwater, OK!  While Aunt Rissa was doing an awesome job babysitting this sweet thing...


We were wearing orange, getting nostalgic, and cheering on our Cowboys!  Go Pokes!  We missed Homecoming Walkarounds this year, so we did our own mini walkaround to most of the houses.  Then we met up with my sweet friend Bailey at the orange fountain!


We were lucky enough to have my in-laws 4 tickets so Bailey and a friend got to sit with us!  I love OSU football... but I love catching up with a girlfriend even more!  We got caught up on life, critiqued the pom squad, danced in the stands, and sang our alma mater together at the end.  Love you Bailey Anne!!! 


I also love my husband.  He sings the words to the fight song every time it's played, gets his keys out for kickoffs, and yells his little heart out the whole game.  He is so fun to be with at football games!  I love how much he gets into it!  Love you hubby!!!



BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC thank you to my sister for babysitting our sweet girl all day so we could fully enjoy OSU Homecoming!!  We came home with a souvenir for Haven too... an OSU cheerleader uniform!  I promise you'll get to see it soon.  She is precious!  Until then, GO POKES! 


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Haven, the Memphis entertainer

Last weekend my sister, Haven, and I headed to Memphis to see my Nonna for her birthday!  My parents and brother met us there along with 2 uncles, 1 aunt, 3 cousins, and 1 boyfriend to celebrate the occasion.  I absolutely adore my family.  Never a dull moment, that's for sure!  Now add a 16 month old to the list and there was always entertainment!  Haven loved showing off for everyone and having someone's attention at every moment of this trip.  There were some moments where we were all just sitting around watching her!  And she loved every minute!  I think I've got a performer/center-of-attention kinda gal on my hands!  But when you are the only small child in the family, you get that luxury.  Comes with being the first-born... trust me, I know! :)  Aside from a couple rough night's sleep for Haven in a new place, we had an absolute blast with everyone... talking, eating, watching football, watching Haven, etc.  Love you Boswell clan!!!


 Uncle Spencer may have gotten the most giggles out of Haven this trip! 

 This girl is so silly...
 I just love the way he looks at her...
 Check out that dimple!  And how great does my mom look in this pic?!

 There is no one else like my sister... love you!!!
The plaid girls!...

 About to go down the slide!  So excited!...
 "Oooooh!"
 I have no words... adore these 2...
 Interesting workout equipment at this park...

 See what I mean?
 "GRRRAAAAAHHHHH" - the sound my Dad makes when pumping iron... Haven was all about joining in on that sound!  Wish I took video!
 The way she is looking at me kinda makes my heart melt... just a little...
 Time for a performance from Haven!  She loves to dance in this outfit and perform for everyone!  She is a master of the boombox too!
 Blurry but that is my 16 month old pointing her toe.  Can you say happy dance teacher/momma?
 Lounging with cousin Shelley and Uncle Spencer...
 Haven can say "Bozzy" now and loves to say it over and over!  It is the cutest!

Sorry to most of you that I didn't get pictures of!  I'm a little Haven-focused if you haven't noticed.  Oops.  I love you all so much and am so thankful we got to spend the weekend together!  Family is the best! 

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Apple Festival

2 weekends ago, all of Russell's family came in town (and some friends!) and we made the trek to Arkansas for the Apple Festival (minus Russell b/c he had to work)!  My in-laws have been going to this festival for 30+ years and their whole family has some very fond memories of the event.  Though the festival has changed over the years, it is still so much fun to embrace the tradition!!  They also always go to AQ Chicken House in Springdale after the festival and it is SO yummy!  Russell and I have been to the Apple Festival once before when we were dating (wish I could find that picture!), but this was my first trip since then and Haven's 1st trip ever!  Unfortunately Haven didn't have the best time... very limited nap time (never good!) and by the afternoon she had developed quite a fever!!  Yikes!  Thankfully some tylenol perked her up for dinner, but the poor girl was struggling to be happy all day.  The super cold weather that day didn't help matters much either, but even with everything working against us, I still managed to have a good time!

Haven already not feeling good... but seriously how precious is Garner in that hat?!

The young, no-kids, recent-college-grads crew...

Mommy was not prepared for the cold so Grandma bought Haven this awesome neon, adult-sized hat for the day!  Haha!  Her spirits lifted a little when eating apples with Poppy...

By far the best part of the trip... apple on a string competition.  I was just really wishing Russell was there b/c you know we would have been all about competing!  Andra & Ryan dominated!!!

Too little too late for Ben & Valerie... this game was hilarious!!

The traditional picture on the church steps... not quite as easy with 3 kiddos as you can see...





Oh well, we tried. :)  Haven's favorite part of the day - dinner!!  Especially the corn on the cob!


Get it girl!  Haha!  Even with a cranky toddler, I still so enjoyed the time with family.  I am so blessed to have such a sweet 2nd family!!!  Love you Friskes!

Cousins!

A couple weeks ago I got to watch all 3 cousins by myself while Grandma was out of town and Andra had a meeting in Tulsa!  Not gonna lie... I was kinda nervous about watching 3 kids under the age of 4.  But thankfully they were all little angels and it was a breeze!!  They played so well together and we all had a great time!!!

I thought I'd take some individuals of the cuties...

Grayson - how adorable is he?!

Garner totally knows how to cheese for the camera!

Haven needs to take a lesson from Garner...
 
Looking for the doggies outside...
 
I love Haven's face in this... mid-blink and laugh!

"Aunt Brittany, take my picture while I crash!"

Love these three so much!  Thanks for letting me watch them Andra!  So fun!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

LifeGroup...Toddlers!

This little girl loves any excuse to go to the park, but actually going with friends makes it extra fun and exciting!  Our first Mommy play date since Haven started walking and it was a blast!  It is guaranteed to be fun when you have other Mommy friends like mine!  Here's my girl excited to make her way to the playground...




So who joined us, you ask?  Some LifeGroup friends, that's who!  Remember this time last year (to the day...I promise I didn't plan that - cool coincidence!) I posted about our LifeGroup babies.  Here they are 1 year ago!  So tiny!

Kalliope, Blaine, Haven

And here they are now!

Kalliope

Blaine

Haven, obviously :)
I'm tellin ya, time is flying!  Hard to believe those tiny babies are now little toddlers!  Here's to many more play dates!!!  Chrystal, my sincerest apologies for not getting a pic of Kiptyn!  I think he was such a daredevil that I couldn't keep up! :)  Love my LifeGroup and these sweet kiddos!