So Josh Can See What We're Up To....

As soon as we got to Billings, Ayden was ready for the snow.

Look at that pitiful face. He didn't care how tired he was, he was on a mission.
Mommy made a snow angel! Her touchee was slightly frozen afterwards.
Ayden had to mess up every square inch of Aunt Nikki's yard.
Ahhh, bliss!
Mommy and Granny made this sweet snowman.
The horsies got nosy, so Ayden got to see them up close.
Ayden marvelling over the snowman.

The first two days here were very pleasant, so we had fun in the snow. However, yesterday and today the weather has been vicious. It snowed all day while we were at the hospital, and today it got down to NEGATIVE 12 degrees. We are COLD!!!

I'm Here!

Hey everybody! My name is Taryn Cyrus Suckow and I just came to the world today around 7pm.

I am 10 pounds and 21 1/2 inches long, and I have a head full of hair.

Here's my mommy and daddy last night, before they got to meet me.

My mommy loves me! Can't you tell?

We're Leaving On a Jet Plane...

Well, I think I'm going to be pretty busy over the next 3 days, packing for our 3 week visit to Montana and Idaho. It'll be just me, Ayden and Ian going. Josh will be by his lonesome. We're going to see Nikki and her preggo self. We timed it out just right because we get to Billings on Saturday and she's being induced on Monday. That means I get to see her before her balloon (pictured above) deflates. After we visit with her, Devon and the newbie, Taryn, for about a week, we'll drive over to Twin Falls and hang out with Granny and Paw-paw for a while. I don't know if I'll be doing any posting for a while. We'll see....

the Past Few Days

Wednesday night Robin, Kota and Brent came over to hang out.
Brent caught Robin snoozing!

Ian finally fits in his turtle sweater. Look at those cheeks!

Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I search for bargains. I bought the sweater for 3.99 and the hat for .99 from Gymboree last year when I was huge and pregnant. It's fun to guess what size your baby might be a year later.

Friday night it was our turn to watch all of the kiddos for the date swap.
The kids wanted me to take pictures so they could look at themselves on the camera.
That's Brant on the left and Dawson on the right.

Who says girls can't play with tools? From left: Laurel and Ainsly

Saturday we had lunch at Burger King so we could be glutens while Ayden got his energy out. What a great combination. Thank you fast food.
Why can't healthy restaurants have playgrounds?
Ayden was laughing hysterically every time he slid down this slide.
By the way, he loves wearing his new hooded jacket.

I love this picture of Ayden.
It's really hard to get him to stay still for more than .5 seconds. See the product placement?
Quick tidbit: Josh always points out the product placement in every movie we watch.

Ian is 11 months Old

Ian will eat anything we give him, and loves to wear his food too.

He now has two bottom teeth that are so fun to touch.

I'm a little Russian baby. Yaah.

Such a tranquil little boy. He's an observer.

Dakota is lending Ian his Jeep walker. He really likes it. Thanks cuz!

Ian has changed a lot in his 10th month of life. He has a new fascination with our cat, Jewey. He meows with her on the same pitch and gets spastic (I'm trying to catch it on video). He is a lot more active than he has been in the past. I'll sit him down in the middle of the room and he ends up crammed in a corner. He attempted pulling up on Ayden's chair the other day. I think he might skip crawling altogether. He prefers scooting around backwards while sitting up. He likes to join in on our conversations. This baby can PROTEST! If he knows he's getting put down somewhere he'll arch his back so far we nearly drop him on his head. He points at everything with his fat little finger. The list goes on and on. This little booger face is such a doll. Ian Charles, we adore you.

a Turn Of the Decade For Josh

Goodbye twenties, hello thirties!!!

Josh's favorite cake: German Chocolate
Josh's favorite ice cream: Mint Chocolate Chip
Josh's favorite food: Lasagna
All of which were consumed last night!!!!!!!

WARNING!! WARNING!! YOU ARE NOW ENTERING AN OLD MAN'S HOUSE!

We had some great friends over with some great gifts!
Jimbo and Janel: a double whopper wrapped in duct tape and a BK crown
Robin: a big piggy watering can, soccer shirt, polo shirt, and visor
Mark & Kim: a grinder, which Mark will have to teach Josh how to use
Brent: the LSU championship issue of Sports Illustrated and some cool socks
Aaron & Jeni: a yummy fruit dish (I forgot what it's called, but we love it!)
Gerald and Paige: Cash money! To view Paige's pics, click here
Jeni's, click here.

Thanks to all of you!

Love birds partying down!

There's the birthday boy.

One hot couple. Ouch!

Sardines on a couch

Rabalaba ding-dong

Having fun yet, Joshy?

Well the time has finally arrived. You guessed it. We're creeping up in age and we are now entering a new decade. Josh gets to plunge first, I still have some time to enjoy my twenties. Heh, heh. I've known this handsome devil since he was a teeny- bopper, and I've been obsessed with him since day one. He's always lighting up my somber moods, he's a perfect father and example to his gorgeous boys, which his genes contributed greatly to. Like he always says, "Our genes were made to mix!" He has an immense enthusiasm for life and always strives to look for the positive side of things, even when those "things" are pretty crappy. He's my rock, no, BOULDER of strength. He has the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. He's got the sexiest broad shoulders and manliest legs without even trying. Most of all, he's the best eternal companion to me. I love this man, and I'm not afraid to tell the blogging world! Happy birthday, to my Joshy. I like your shoes!

Stacy At Bat

The rain forest in Aquarium of the Americas

Too cute

Waiting for the streetcar!

Ian is loving his first streetcar ride (it was Ayden's 1st time too).

Daddy and Ian in front of Loyola.

I can't figure out how to delete this picture, but it's worth a repeat.

We found a clown at the mall.

Kaitlyn's first birthday!

She had a puppet show. We laughed so hard at cookie monster, it hurt.

This was too funny, so I took a picture at the red light.

Okay, so let me explain the title of this post. This was our third trip to New Orleans in a month's time. Each of the three times we had bad things happen. I've had my third strike with New Orleans, so I'm OUTTA THERE. Sorry Jeni & Lexi, but it will take me a while before I come back.
Strike One: We got totally lost for about 45 minutes trying to get to a restaurant to meet everyone before we went to Celebration In the Oaks. Not too troubling, but just wait.

Strike Two: Jeni and I went to the mall while Aaron worked on Josh's teeth and I lost Ayden. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced and I don't wish this on anyone. We got lucky because Ayden was yelling for me and some old ladies helped him until I found him. It was the longest 10 minutes I've ever suffered through. I was preparing myself for the worst. Then of course I had to deal with my guilt and embarrassment.

Strike Three (part of the pictures above): Josh had a conference downtown on Friday which included a hotel room and our friend Kelly's baby had a birthday party on Saturday, so we made a mini vacation out of it. We stayed at Jeni & Aaron's Thursday night, then I took the boys with Jeni & Calyn to Aquarium Of the Americas. We had a great time until I went to go find the Jeep. It wasn't in the spot I left it in, so I thought it was stolen until I realized that I parked in a reserved spot and it was TOWED. What would have been a $10 parking spot ended up costing $98. Good thing Jeni was with me, because when your car gets towed, YOU have to go get it. We piled in Jeni's car with no car seats (they were in the Jeep) and drove through a tent city and scary area to get my Jeep back. Not a fun experience. We had fun the rest of the time we were there, though. Jeni cooked some delicious fettuccine alfredo that night and we stayed at a very nice hotel on St Charles Ave. Then Saturday morning we rode the street car to Loyola park and back. We finished off our trip in Belle Chase at Kaitlyn' s rockin' Sesame Street birthday party. Kelly went ALL OUT for her. We really enjoyed ourselves. On our way home, we saw that desperate truck begging for tickets. I hope they found some, because that game was AWESOME!!! Go tigers!!!!!!!!

Somebody's Getting Married!

Somebody's getting married? Who is it? Well, this might help. That's right, Brent and Robin will be merging families in early June. We're excited for them, not just because we'll get to call Jeni, Aaron, and Calyn family, but also because these two are a great match. We see a bright future for them. Brent will be a perfect addition to our family!

Happy New Year!!!!

Look at my sweet new ride!

Of course, no mom-mobile is complete without the kids attached somehow.

All warm and cozy. It was actually very cold and windy today. These two were protected from the elements while mom and dad FROZE!

Josh's new bike. He enjoyed riding around the neighborhood today, just like his mission days.

We ALL got bikes for Christmas this year! I knew I'd never get to ride my bike without the trailer, so we got that too. My friend, Elizabeth, called me when she found a sweet deal for one (the only one) at Tuesday Morning. THANK YOU! I love my cruiser, and Josh got a more sporty bike so he can hit the trails when they call out to him. We had a great first ride together on the first day of 2008! We hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve!