Snow fun!

Knox feels crummy

It's time for the ear infection to go away. Poor Knox.


At least there are sweet moments between the screaming. Knox is our first child to have an ear infection. I had no idea they were so miserable.

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Happy 4th Birthday Cannon

Cannon is finally four!  

Cannon loves motorcycles, the color green, fighter jets, and the Johnny Cash song, "Ring of Fire." 

  

Cannon has rhythm.  He dances whenever he hears a good beat. 

 Sometimes we can hear it too.  

  We should have known, he's been dancing to his own beat for a long time.  

He loves his trips to Enchanted Rock.  When he isn't there, he talks about going there.  He pretends to go there.  His animals and lego men go there.  When he learns to fly a jet, he and his dad are going to fly there.  Everyone goes to Enchanted Rock.  

 Just tonight, he told his dad he wants to play the cymbals.  

He loves stuffed animals...the smaller the better.  He calls his favorite stuffed animals his "best animals."  He also pretends to be tiny animals - a baby worm, a ladybug, or a turtle.  I know this because I find him crawling through the house, making high-pitched noises, and he tells me what type of animal he is pretending to be.  Sometimes he pretends to be a dolphin and I have to feed him fish...buckets full of fish.

   

And it's not just limited to stuffed animals.  He loves Kiki's little dog Spenser,  his big dog Murphy, and any dog he sees out and about.  He also loves to play with ladybugs, snails, and turtles.  He told me the other day that the horned beetle on our front porch loved me.  A few weeks ago, he told me he had never seen a turtle and that he wished he could see one very soon.  The next morning, I looked outside and there was a turtle in our fenced backyard.  Apparently, he has some connections too. 

Cannon enjoys Star Wars just like his big brother, albeit on a more simplistic level.  He likes me of Kiki "play" Star Wars with him.  This involves the girl being Princess Leia, him being Luke Skywalker and him running through the house shooting bad guys.  It is a very intense, fast-paced game. 

 There are also lots of sound effects.  

Cannon doesn't always seem like he is paying attention.  He is.

To some, Cannon may seem quiet.  He is not.

To those outside of his family, he has come out of his shell quite a bit in the past year.  He is slow to warm up, and when he does, you won't believe you are talking to the same child.

He has learned so much at school this past year.  He goes 3 days a week and loves to teach us what he has learned in his authoritative, but kind, "teacher voice."  One of his favorites is to let me know the weather report.  "Mom, did you know it is partly cloudy today?" He knows how to spell his name, recognizes all of the letters (Uppercase and lower - and he will correct you) and numbers.  He can even write his name if I hold slightly just to steady his hand.

Beginning in September he and Carter began taking Karate Just this past Thursday he earned his yellow belt.  And he EARNED it.  The youngest in the class by a few years, he kept up with the big kids kick for kick.  This was a huge confidence boost for him.

Cannon has put his own twist on pronunciation:
Turq-a-boys:  turquoise
Trencie Rolls:  Tootsie Rolls (a family favorite)
Prencils:  Pretzels (another family favorite)
Tweezers:  Twizzlers
Flatted:  Flatten
Trans-en-form:  Transform
Recordian:  Accordion
Veronica:  Harmonica

I know I am missing some...I'll add more later as I think of them.

He loves to go to the shooting range with dad and can name most of the parts of a gun.
His favorite trips this past year include going to Sea World to feed the dolphins and going to Pampa and fishing with Grandpa Richard.   The only disappointment at Sea World was he didn't get to eat the "Sea World Popcorn in the big bucket."  We hear about this often.  Next time we will get the popcorn.

Cannon, you are such a joy.  You make us laugh with your quick wit and dance moves and you melt our hearts with your kind and loving spirit.  You amaze us with your perseverance and you are becoming "bigger enough" just as you would tell your brother.  We "love you love you."

Halloween 2012

They big boys obviously had a great time.  Knox slept through Halloween.

Our street is known as "Halloween Street."  People bring flatbed trailers, decorated and full of kids down the street for Trick-or-Treating.  We passed out treats to hundreds of kids, it was one crazy experience.

Show off

Pulling up AND waving...now he's just showing off.










Now he has figured out how to "cruise," but I haven't had time to catch a photo of that.


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The latest

Here's what everyone has been up to...

Carter has been busy with school and recently was able to attend the high school pep rally.


Cannon still loves all tiny animals - real or stuffed.




Knox...is just busy.

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A little too much...

American ninja warrior.

Ryan is already looking for pedi orthopedic referrals.


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Trick of the day

Knox's new trick for today is to go from his stomach to a sitting position. He's quite proud of himself. Crawling is just around the corner!


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The "Reccordion"

That's all he talked about at dinner the other night.  He was so excited to have the "recordion" to play at school yesterday.  He talked about all of the different levels and the buttons he used to make music.  He said he played "alot alot" of songs and he used his strong muscles to play.  The best part is when he stood in his chair at the dinner table and played "air accordion" for us.  Yep, it's possible.  

We are so fortunate that Cannon's school offers music and art.  Sadly, these subjects are becoming a thing of the past in many schools.  Not only does this create a huge void in providing a well-rounded education, but can you believe what they are missing out on?!  

A sweet moment

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Preparing to be a pilot

He says he is going to fly a Ferrari airplane with Rocket boosters that have fire coming out from them. Look out!


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Not his favorite

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I was playing peek a boo with Knox the other morning. I held the camera still but disappeared behind his crib. I'm sure he wonders what this "thing" is his mom seems to have attached to her hand all of the time.



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Affection through Star Wars

Aww, they're snuggling..



And playing a Lego Star Wars game together.




A t-shirt very lovingly selected by Cannon for his baby brother as a "feasant"




I'm not sure how this fits in, but I'm fairly certain I'm the only one in the world with an AT-AT sticker on their driveway.


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Carter's Car Wash

Much to Ryan's disgust, we are surrounded by pecan trees.  They are the messiest trees, but they are also beautiful and provide our yard with some great shade.

It's sappy season.  My car is covered in sticky messy sap.  So a weekly rinse off is necessary.  Sometimes my car door even sticks when I try to open it. It's nasty.

The car wash in our town rarely works. But I continue to try.  I tried again yesterday and guess what, it was broken.

Of course, Carter had a solution.  He would wash my car.  He asked to go to the store for needed supplies; he had quickly assembled a list in his mind.

When we got home, he set everything up and even brought out a ladder.

Carter was so proud of his work.  

He should be.  My car looks great!!

When he was done, he just wanted to play the Wii.  Without hesitation I said, "of course!'

Murphy...still patient

Knox mid-roll. :) Murphy makes a good pushing off point.

Feed me

Knox is now eating about 3 meals a day of solid (really, liquid) food. He loves just about anything.

As soon as he sits in the highchair, the anticipation begins. He knows what's coming.



Are you going to feed me or just take pictures?




I'm ready! Shovel it in. NOW!

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Rolling!

Well Knox is now rolling over. Although he doesn't much like being on his tummy, so he immediately rolls back! His favorite way to hang out now is on his side.



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Kisses

Lots of love for Knox this morning



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A little rain won't spoil their fun!

The boys were playing outside this afternoon when we were surprised by a quick storm.

Luckily they were prepared

Carter would like to come up with some sort of permanent attachment for the umbrella and the Gator.  I'm sure he will work on that when the conditions are more favorable.   

Carter drove.  Cannon held the umbrella.

The umbrella served more of an accessory role rather than functional.

Toofwess

#4


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Rolling over

The boys are trying to teach Knox how to roll over



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Mutton Bustin'

Jokingly, I asked, "So, Carter.  Are you going to sign up for Mutton Bustin' at the rodeo this year?"

An enthusiastic "YES!" came from the back seat.

Sigh...

So, we took all three boys to the rodeo.  No, Knox, didn't start standing, That's Carter, their good friend Austin, and Cannon.

There's Knox.  He was a trooper, but I wouldn't say this was his favorite activity thus far.  

Cannon, obviously, was having a blast.  

                            

Let the events begin!!

Carter was in the second heat.  Ryan went down with Carter (below in between Ryan in the red shirt and the man in the blue shirt) while I stayed up in the stands with the other boys.  Ryan said when the first heat of kids came back, there was only one that wasn't crying.  

Oh dear. 

But Carter was determined.  He was in the zone.  

Off they go!  Carter was on the end farthest from the stands.  He hung on tight, and won second place.  The little girl that won, had won the night before too.  She held on as the sheep ran almost the entire length of the arena!

No tears from Carter.  He even congratulated the winner.  

:)

Way to go Carter!

Keeping up with the brothers

Carter and Cannon both got their first teeth right at 4 months and it looks like Knox is getting his first tooth right at 17 weeks!




For some reason, Carter, who just lost his 3rd tooth recently, had his hand in Knox's mouth and felt the tooth coming through. He is very proud to be the one who made the discovery!

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