The Oldroyd Family

 One of the best things about Texas in the winter is that you can play outside during Christmas break! Football with cousins is always a good time! We were lucky enough to get lots of Oldroyd Family time since the Bakers were finally with us for Christmas! One night we hit up Zoo Lights. It was so beautiful but COLD!   As usual, I didn't take nearly enough pictures. We were having too much fun! Christmas Eve Jammies! Not only did we get to spend Christmas with all of the Oldroyds, Grandpa and Grandpa Partridge joined us too! It was so much fun. Merry Christmas!

Decorating our new home for Christmas has been so much fun! I love having a mantle to hang out stockings on. We also got a real tree for the first time! It is beautiful and smells lovely! And as always, my favorite Christmas decoration is my Willowtree Nativity from Grandpa & Grandma Gines. Not only do I get to think of them every time I see it, but it really is the focus of this season. 

We got to have Isabelle over to play today! Cousins are the best. We just need Ada here to complete the trio!

We've been looking forward to this day for a while - Lincoln is finaly 18 months old and can go to nursery! I don't know if it's just his age or just having come home from our trip, but he is NOT ok with being left, as it turns out. Better luck next week!

My baby turned 15 months old on the 4th. I can't believe he's getting so big! It is such a fun age because he discovers and learns new things every day. He's like a little sponge! He loves to be like one of the big kids in everything he does. Lincoln had his well check on the 5th. Here are his stats: Weight: 23 lbs (40th %) Height: 32" (90th%) Head: 19.8" (100th%+) His head is still big, but he hasn't gained any weight since his 12 mo visit because he's always on the move! And he's getting so tall! Here are some things about Lincoln at this age: He finally started walking full time right before he turned 15 months When he did crawl, he was super speedy! He doesn't really like fruit or veggies (except melon) unless it's pureed He doesn't like me to cut anything up for him We're down to one bottle a day (at night) and he still gets mad when I give him a sippy in the morning He is happy almost all of the time, b...

I was lucky enough to get the chance to go to Colorado for 8 days (by myself!) to help Tiffany after the birth of her 4th little miracle. It was heaven! The plan was for me to be there for Aiden's birth, but he decided to make his appearance early so I missed that. But I got there just in time to relieve Grandma from the sleepless nights. I love new babies so it was heaven! Is there anything better than napping with a tiny baby? Aident James Walker

We decided to do swim team for the first time this year with the Long Meadow Farms Stars. Everyone was so excited! Here they are on the first of practice in May: Well... the water was cold and swimming was hard! Max never got back in. Alexa was a BEAUTIFUL swimmer and did awesome for the first 2 practices. But after one lane on the 3rd day, she was done. No amount to punishment or bribery could convince her to get back in the pool. I was so sad! Nathan stuck with it... Here he is on his first swim meet. He's such a good little swimmer - and fast! He continued to work hard and got better at each meet. On the last week before semi-finals, he FINALLY got Star of the Week! Nathan made the relay team for District Finals on July 8th and they got first place! It's off to All Stars now! (From left: Brylon, Nathan, Tripp, and Hayden) The boys had to get up early for AllStarts this morning and the pool at the Natatorium was FREEZING! But they swam their lit...

Last night was one of the BEST nights of my life. We saw the Garth Brooks World Tour concert with our good friends, Bart & Brooke Brooks. Garth didn't even come out until almost 11:30pm and the concert didn't end until 1:30am!  Instagram caption: "It's 11:16pm and I'm at a concern that hasn't even started yet. What am I, 20? SO EXCITED! #aintgoindowntillthesuncomesup") Garth Brooks is one of the greatest showmen that has ever lived. He's 53 years old and this was his 2nd show of the night and he ran around that stage like a rock star. I'll never forget it! It was so incredible. Many thanks to our awesome friends who invited us to go!

Happy 4th! And Happy 13 MONTHS to my baby boy!

He finally lost his first tooth!

Sam left on his first High Adventure trip as a Young Men's/Scout leader last Saturday. They planned to spend a week on the Buffalo River in Arkansas! Thanks to Gary Hurst's amazing carpentry skills, they build 2 boats (one pictured below) for the trip. Amazing! Unfortunately for them (and fortunately for my anxiety level), the rain made the river rise too high and it was closed. To the improvised and drove up to Nauvoo for the rest of their trip.   We sure missed Daddy! He got home too late last night for the kids to wait up, but they made him these signs to welcome him home. We're glad to have everyone back, safe and sound!

Summer camp & chore charts... 2 ingredients for a great summer!

It has been one great year for our family as we've loved our little Lincoln and watched him grow. He is truly the happiest baby I've ever met and brings all of us joy every day! Here's a little about LJO at 1-year-old: Weight: 22 lbs 3 oz (64th%)   Length:  30 in. (53rd%)   Head: 19.5 in. (100th%) Lincoln takes 2 good naps a day (he almost always has to be woken up from them) and sleeps 10-11 hours at night. He generally gets up too early, but that has gotten better lately! He has beautiful blue eyes! Has 8 teeth He is a super fast crawler, stands when he's holding onto something, and cruises a little, but doesn't like to stand alone or walk at all. He has a silly personality and funny little fake laugh He loves all of his siblings, but Nathan makes him laugh the most! Lincoln is starting to talk. He says Mom or Mama a lot. He can say a-dah (Dad), gog (Dog), bubu (brother) and nana (night night). He's pretty good at occupying himself, crawl...

There's been a lot of cuteness this month coming from Mr. President. This kid just knows he's cute!  LJO is loving his introduction to whole milk. Like father, like son! When he can't get the right leverage to pull up to standing, he uses his teeth to help him! Lincoln has the best big sister ever. He adores her and she is always willing to take the time to snuggle him, read to him, and play with him. What would I do without her?

The big boys went to a baseball game, so Alexa and I took advantage and had our own little date! We'd been waiting to go to the Mad Potter for a while, and we're so glad we did! We had a blast painting and talking. Alexa's love language is ART! She was one happy girl! 

I couldn't get him to smile, but this cute little stinker is 11 months old! He has 5 teeth, loves baths, ride in the bike trailer, he speed-army crawls, pulls up to stand, loves his siblings, hates baby snacks, and throws tantrums. I love his chubbiness, his sparkling blue eyes and his silly laugh. Can't believe his birthday is right around the corner! I love you Lincoln!

Alexa has been taking Ballet & Tap at Connolly Dance this year. She loves it! They had their Spring Recital this weekend and Alexa did a wonderful job. These are videos from the dress rehearsal: Here is Alexa in her costumes. She loved having her hair done and especially her makeup. What a pretty girl! We are so proud of how hard Alexa worked to learn her routines!

Today was the Oakland Elementary Annual Field Day. They really do a great job making it a fun experience for the kids! There's lots of music, games, snow cones and even blow up slides! I got to go over and be with Nathan & Alexa for most of it. I love spending time with these two at their school!

I just love these two!

This handsome guy is FIVE today! Weight: 39.2 lbs   (38th%) Height: 46 1/4" (96th%) All about Maxwell: He loves going to preschool at Ms. Vanessa's and is turning into a great reader He is very silly and loves to make people laugh His favorite color is red Loves to ride his bike - a 2 wheeler! Is very stubborn - it's his way or the highway Loves to play with his friends and his cousins Is SO excited for Kindergarten He is a really good big brother to Lincoln He loves to go to Grandma's house and play trains with Grandpa He loves to be snuggled and tickled He loves his Daddy! Might be a little bit of an instigator Grandpa Ron calls him Bi-Polar Bear. When he's in a bad mood, watch out! But when he's in a good mood, no one is more fun! Max had a great birthday. He invited a few friends and went to the arcade in Katy Mills Mall to play mini bowling. Then we went to lunch at his favorite place - Lupe Tortilla! Later that night, we...

TAX SEASON IS OVER! We made it! And to celebrate, we headed down to the beach for a long weekend. We surprised the kids Thursday morning and checked them out of school around 10am. Spending 6 hours in the car wasn't the best birthday present for Daddy (Happy 37th birthday Sam!), but getting there made it worth it! We had a 3bed/3bath condo right on the beach and next to a great pool. Here was our view! Our first evening, we took a beautiful walk along the beach. I love these 5! Lincoln loved the waves Playing on the beach was a blast! Lincoln ate A LOT of sand. But he was happy! We even ran into some old friends, the Markwalters and the Palfreymans! The sky was so beautiful on our walk the second night. The pool was still a little cold, so we spent a lot of time in the {not too hot} hot tub. Lincoln loved it as much as the big kids! We even met some pirates at Pier 19!  It was a great trip and we all enjoyed some ...

I didn't any pictures of the kids with their baskets, darn it! Our stake did their annual Easter Festival the week before. Due to the rain, it was moved inside, but we still had a great time! This is the only picture I did get on Easter, and it's a cute one! I love this little dude!