ECI Rodeo

Today the Lubbock ECI program (that Kolbe has been a part of since he was born) hosted a Rodeo Round-up that was open to the public. Since we're big fans of ECI, and the idea of getting to take the boys to see animals was just too cool, we decided we had to go. Our friend Erin works for ECI, so she and her husband Ben met up with us there. In true Lubbock fashion, it was extremely windy, but we still had a blast! 

You can't really tell from the picture but this was Reagan dancing his little heart out to the live music.

Mark and the boys checking out the miniature horses.

I'm pretty sure riding the mini horses was off limits but we couldn't help but give Reagan a little ride. It was just his size!

They had lots of little fair games set up in a big barn. Kolbe loved the basketball goal.

The boys had fun getting their faces painted too! Both of them got double Ts.

Reagan swinging with Miss Erin.

Kolbe preferred the big slide.

Mark and Rudy watching the big horses.

Ben and Kolbe watching the horses.

Kolbe finally got brave enough to run around with the piglets and pet them!

But Reagan was ready to wrestle from the get-go!

The only thing we missed out on was the hay ride. By the time we got around to that, the boys' bellies were definitely growling so we had to go. But overall, it was such a fun day!

Reagan's First Haircut

Things have been "business as usual" around here lately. Nothing too exciting...but today we did go get haircuts and decided that it was time to trim up Reagan's fly aways. Reagan's hair has been much slower to fill in than Kolbe's was. Ever so slowly his mane has started to develop, but the itty bitty baby hairs that have been around from day one had gotten so long that he was starting to look pretty crazy. Especially when we were out in the West Texas wind! And it's all in the back...he's still practically bald in the front. So we had the barber trim up his fly aways and even things out. Maybe now everything will grow evenly! And of course, I forgot my camera, but we did snap a shot on Mark's phone to capture the moment.

 The barber shop has little dum dum suckers for the kiddos. The only way I could keep Rudy in the chair was by letting him eat his sucker while getting a trim! Isn't he a doll!?!

Dada Time!

Last week Mark began his pediatric rotation. Prior to this, he had back to back six week long internal medicine rotations that were killer! The pediatric rotation, however, is much more laid back so we've gotten to see a lot more of him lately. With the crazy Lubbock weather (65 degrees yesterday, snowing as I type...) dictating much of what we do, we decided to get outside and play a bit a few days ago so we could enjoy the sunshine while it was around. Here's some pics of the boys' fun with Dada!

Uncle Brian sent Rudy a helicoptor pool for his birthday. Kolbe has been dying to air it up so I finally gave in and we had indoor "swimming" with Dada!
Reagan is learning how to use the mower just like his big bro and Dada.

Poor boy...he constantly rubs his tongue on his gums 'cause his teeth hurt...

But idn't he cute!!!

Singin' and dancin' with Dada!

Kolbe watches everything his Dada does.

Handsome little boy!

Working on batting practice!

He's ready to try it on his own!

Home Run!!!

Reagan's First Birthday!!!

Last Wednesday was officially the first birthday of our second baby, Mr. Reagan Mark. aka: Reaga-roo. aka: Rudy. aka: RuRu (or RooRoo, if you prefer). aka:Nin-a-ma (Kolbe's version of "Reagan Mark" that he used for many months). aka: Rudy Ray (Pa's version) aka: Byoudee (yes, pronounced "Beauty", with a stretched out emphasis on the B...don't even ask...) Poor kid, he's bound to one day have an identity crisis!

Just like Kolbe's first birthday, Reagan's was spent partially in Lubbock and partially in Houston. We celebrated his birthday with the Lubbock crowd on the 6th at a fun little party held at Mark's mom's house. Lots of friends and family showed up and we had a lot of fun visiting and watching the babies monkey around. So much fun! Of course Reagan was oblivious...

The following Monday, Kolbe, Reagan, and I flew down to Houston primarily for Kolbe's Shriners check-up. (which, by the way, went extremely well!) The appointment happened to fall on Reagan's actual birthday so it made for a perfect opportunity for my parents to get to spend some b-day time with the little dumpling too. After returning from the Shriners Hospital, we had a little mini ice cream cake and some BBQ to celebrate the actual day of our little guy's birth.

I certainly can't believe it has been a YEAR! This year has flown by much faster than Kolbe's first year. Reagan still feels so much like my baby, but then again, I'm sure I'll still be saying that when he's twenty-five....Since each of the boys was conceived, I've kept journals that I write to them in that I hope to give them someday. While I consider most of my entries personal, I like to share the first year letter 'cause, gosh, that first year is just SO special! Here's my note for my little Reagan:


Reagan, As the first year of your life in this world comes to end, I'm so honored to hold a precious, innocent, sweet, loving, peaceful, happy little boy in my arms. The moment I heard you enter this world will always be one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I can't imagine a life without you and I know that God designed you as a blessing for me to cherish. From early on, you have proven to be such a gentle spirit. Your laid back, peaceful, content nature has lifted me and Dada many, many times. The innocence in your eyes and serenity in your smile making you one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. I love you in ways I didn't know I could love and look forward to the future with you! You are Mama's precious baby and Dada's little man. We couldn't love you more, sweet baby, and thank you for sharing your life with us!

Cupcakes!

"Happy Birthday to you..."

I had a feeling he'd enjoy his first run in with cake!

Mmmmm.....chocolate!!!

Kolbe and G-ma enjoying the celebration

The Birthday Boy!

Attempting to open gifts like this awesome step stool that Pat Bergman (my sister-in-law's dad) made for Reagan. As you can tell by the pic, Reagan was more interested in squirming away, while Kolbe was insistent on modeling each one of the gifts.

Look at that pouty face! (He was mad that Pinkie took the box away to open it up for him.)

Pinkie and Pa attempting to pose with the boys. It's a lost cause, I tell you.

Catching a little "Goodnight Moon" before baths to wrap up the big day!

Snowed In!

The weather man mentioned that we might get a little snow, but when we woke up this morning to rain, we were a little bit disappointed. With a little closer look, we were able to see that it wasn't just rain, but lots of ice as well. Each little twig of our little tree in the backyard was coated in ice making it very pretty but quite fragile! Around 10am, however, the snow finally kicked in and we had several inches within a couple of hours! We definitely weren't expecting this much! Kolbe absolutely loved it! Uncle Dave came over after nap time and helped Kolbe build an awesome snowman. Shortly after Mark got home from work, we all enjoyed a nice big bowl of chicken and noodles. Yum! Though horribly messy, snow days are so much fun!

Such a handsome little snow bunny!

Working on "Rah-y" (Frosty) with Uncle Dave

The awesome finished product! Dave worked tirelessly on this guy!

Let's just say our twiggly little tree is NOT supposed to be V-shaped...

Kolbe and his beloved Uncle Dang (yes, that's how he says it.)

Poor Ru Ru had to watch the majority of the action from the doorway. He's been recovering from a cold, for one, and secondly, his walking is certainly not up to par for the snow!

Major Milestones

We've been off to a great start in 2010! Kolbe received a fun Elmo's Potty Time DVD and a cute set of boxer briefs from Uncle Brian and Aunt Cristi for Christmas. Of course, he wanted to watch it 24/7, so I tried to let him watch it once a day. (Heck, I would have been a fool not to since he seemed so interested!) Last Tuesday night as he was getting out of the bath, he up and decided to do his business on the potty! Originally I had planned to do the 3-day potty training at the end of January when my mom could come up to help out with watching Reagan. (with this method, you put him in undies and basically stalk him and rush him to the potty whenever he starts to go) But since we had this huge success, I decided to just go for it the following morning. He was more than ready to participate! As of yesterday, it has been one week since Kolbe wore diapers. (omitting the madatory pull up at bed time...he's a DEEP sleeper...)He is SO proud of himself and we're proud of him too! No need to even mention the fact that I'm dancing a jig over having just one in diapers! Wooo whooo!

Not to be upstaged by his big brother, Reagan took this week to decide that he is over crawling. He has been walking back and forth between Mark and me (or whoever else is around and me) since the end of November. But over the past two weeks or so, he has decided that it's much easier to walk full time now. He's still so wobbly, but it's so cute! Our little baby is growing up!

Christmas 2009, Part 3

Here we go with our last installment of our Christmas adventures!

Mark and I spent Christmas morning with our little boys and experienced the joy of Santa Claus coming for the first time! Kolbe was so excited when we came out to the fireplace to find several new gifts that weren't there the night before. I don't think he fully comprehends the process quite yet, but next year sure is going to be a blast! After Daddy made us a batch of yummy breakfast burritos, we headed over to Mark's mom's house for the rest of the day and night. We had so much fun hanging out with the Asmussen side of the family and just relaxing. Over the following week, we continued to spend lots of time with G-ma, Grandpa, as well as Uncle Brian and Aunt Cristi who came from San Francisco to visit. We wish they lived closer! (hint, hint)

As you can see, we had a wonderful Christmas filled with LOTS of fun, family, and (not pictured) FOOD! What a special season! Hope yours was just as spectacular!

Kolbe trimming the tree... he's so proud of his idea to hang the doorknob decorations on the tree...
Christmas morning...Kolbe playing with the awesome airport set that Santa picked up from Pinkie and Pa's house to bring to ours. (in other words, it was too hard to wrap so Santa "dropped it off" for Pinkie and Pa.)
And Reagan checking out his nesting blocks.

I think this one was on Christmas Eve after we went to mass (note, the matching Christmas get-up). Kolbe has figured out how to blow and catch bubbles and Reagan loves to watch.

Mark's cousin Krista spent Christmas day with us too. Here we are all squeezed on to the couch with Brian and Cristi.

Reagan playing with his cousin, Hayden. (Mark's cousin Melisa's baby) They are just two weeks apart and too cute together!

Kolbe and Reagan love taking baths at G-ma's house. She gives the best scrubbins'!

People say all the time that Kolbe could be my brother Pat's son. I'd like to argue that Reagan could be Brian's! Don't you agree???

Yummy jingle bells from Uncle Brian and Aunt Cristi!