The Zoo!

Christian, for the most part of this semester has had Thursday afternoons off! This day we took advantage and went to the zoo!! It was so much fun!!Enjoying the sunshine already...it's what, February??This komodo dragon is the same age as Tyson!!
I love watching Tyson wonder at the animals! It reminds me to look at things with new eyes again.
First time to the zoo!! Isn't he adorable?!!

Dan and Katie

CHEESE!!!
We are soooooo lucky to live so close to these two!! They have come to see us several times since moving here in August and I am always reminded how lucky we are and how much I love them both!!
Katie always laughs because in most of the pictures Dan is holding the baby....I think it's because she is holding the camera!! She will be a great mom someday! She also has a way cool blog candidlykate.blogspot.com which I think everyone should check out when they have the chance!
Thanks for being Tyson's favorites! We sure love you guys!!

Jake, Tenille and my dad!

The Montana/Utah folks brought snow with them!! School was canceled for two days! It was awesome!In case you didn't know, my dad is pretty wonderful. He is not a member of the church I go to, but he knew it was important for me to have my baby blessed. He made it possible for my younger brother and sister to come and be here on that special day and even made an effort to go to church with us. The level of support he has been over this past year is 100%. Thank you Dad! I love you!

Jake had just returned from serving a two year full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines. He spoke Tagalog fluently and when I first talked with him on the phone he had developed quite the accent! It was so much fun to see him and talk to him after so long! He went running with me in the freezing weather (literally), hung out around the house, and made dinner twice!! It was delicious! It was funny because afterward he just started doing the dishes by hand. He had forgotten that dishwashers even existed! He washed his dishes, clothes, and showered by hand for two years. That is quite the experience! He is a great example to me of loving others. He is a great follower of Christ.I was so excited that Tenille skipped her math class and came to Texas! She is my favorite little sister and perhaps one of my greatest friends. It was wonderful to get to talk to her in person and catch up on the little things! She also was constantly helping around the house and with the kids. Thank you Tenille! I love you!

Mom and Andre

I was so grateful to have my Mom and step-dad stay a few days after the blessing so we could have some fun times with them! My mom was an angel and stayed for two weeks after Austin was born. I needed her so much! She worked the entire time and helped me to stay emotionally stable! Needless to say, it was nice to get them to ourselves for some play time!
My mom is such a wonderful person! She spent all her time with Tyson to help him feel loved! Here they are feeding the ducks!
We went on a boat tour down the Riverwalk! I love all of the amazing facts you can learn in so short a time!
Grandpa Coltrin and Tyson!

Andre had been looking forward to going to this Japanese restaurant for several months! It was so much fun to watch the chef cook the food right in front of you! It was incredibly delicious but Tyson was scared out of his wits! Thank you so much for your visit! We love you!!

Baby Blessing

Austin is an amazing baby. I have never even heard of a more calm and contented child and I love it! My family was so kind to buy tickets to come and be here on this special day and we found out later that it was Stake Conference so we would not be able to bless him at church. Instead, we invited a few of our very close friends to share with us in this beautiful experience at home.
My two brothers, my sister-in-law, my sister, my parents and my step-dad all came to show their support!Some of our Texas friends!
Our little family!!
He is so cute to me!!
The Blairs!
The Riggs!The Dentons--Lindsay is going to kill me for posting this!
My favorite older brother and his awesome wife!
The Utah crew!My Mom and step-dad

I never thought blessing Austin at home could be so beautiful. Christian gave a beautiful blessing and I could feel our Heavenly Father's love for this little baby! I love him so much! I only wished my dad could have helped with the blessing--then it would have been perfect. Afterward we had a lunch and my family helped so much to prepare that even I was able to enjoy it instead of stressing! (Plus Katie made her fantastic salsa! Yum!!) All in all it was wonderful and will remain in my memory as a near perfect day! Thank you all who came to make it that way!Tyson was pooped by the end!