random

just because i haven't blogged in a while, i fell the need to post something.  so here are some random happenings in the byars' house. 


i got my hair cut. it had been five months since my last haircut.  i needed something new and different.  anyone who knows me, knows that i play with my hair.  hey, it is just hair.  it grows back.  my hair to me is a form of expression and fun!  so i chopped and colored my hair.  it is fall, so i needed to go darker.  it is not the most drastic cut i have ever gotten, but the change is what i needed.  i feel like a person again, who has a little bit of style!  not just worn out mommy.

here is my model look:

here is another look:

liam is a stinker toot and adorable as ever.  he is getting so big, i can't believe how fast time is flying.  he is 2 1/2.  super kids has started again and he is loving it.  we are not napping well yet, which makes our afternoon unpredictable, but his teacher is wonderful.  we are kind of sort of working on potty training.  he is not excited about it, and neither am i, so it is slow going.  we will get there.  he loves his sister still and enjoys rolling audrey over and over and over.  

here is the first day of school:

mr. cool and his sunglasses:

audrey is six months!  she is finally rolling over.  she has been able to do it for  while but chose not to.  what does that say about our future?  little miss mind of her own.  i am sure she will always do what she is told.  she is talking and laughing and drooling uncontrollably.  still sleeping amazingly well, which makes us all very happy.  she is sort of sitting up, but not for long.  we take bets on which direction she will fall over.  audrey and i have started walking the park on the days that liam has super kids.  oma and opa got us a new stroller seat, so it is fresh and clean, and she loves sitting up and looking around.  she is an angel and has made our family more fun and complete.  

bath time fun:

new stroller seat (i walk, she naps!)

now onto someone, i have neglected.  the daddy of the family.  matt is wonderful.  he is working hard at LCU and recently gave his first chapel talk.  you can download it on itunes university.  it is short and wonderful.  i am so proud of him and his accomplishments.  he is working hard on his dissertation and hopefully come spring there will be doctor in the house! he loves his children and is wonderful to get up with them many mornings and let mommy sleep in.  we go to the park and generally just have so much fun as a family.  

daddy swinging:

where liam has never liked swinging, audrey loves it, and liam loves pushing her.  the perfect combination.

oma and opa are coming to visit!!  i cannot wait to see my mommy and daddy and i cannot wait for them to get to spend time with the grandkiddos!  

this is heather singing off for the byars' family for now!  blessings to all.

whirlwind, business, craziness, poopiness . . .

it is amazing the different perspective you have after a 2 hour nap on a sunday afternoon!  Lord, thank you for wonderful naps, for me, for matt, and for my babies!!

i know you have all missed me terribly this past month! ha ha!  it has been a long and tiring month.  school has started for both matthew and i, and we have both been adjusting to our new schedule.  we all have to be up and out of the house by 7:00ish every monday, wednesday, and friday.  because of our new early hours, my children have decided that they should also get up early on tuesdays and thursdays and every other day!  so, i am no longer getting as much sleep as i am used to!  i was so spoiled, and i still am, just a little less so now.

but before i get to that, let's talk flooring!  we insanely decided one week before school started to put in new cork floors.  they are wonderful and i am so glad they are in, but i am never, never, never putting floors in again.  i know why people get paid a lot to do it professionally.  

before: 

the ugly white tile

during:

  

the grunt work.  believe it or not, i laid 80% of the cork.  matthew had to be doing all the weird and intricate cuts.

after:  

it is soft, beautiful, and much quieter then the tile.  it cleans much easier and is easier on the eyes!!  we love it!!  liam's first words when he saw the new floor was "bootifull!"  

next on the blog agenda for today is the massive birthday party weekend!  megan threw a surprise party for j.e. and it was a big surprise!  i printed of pictures of j.e.'s gorgeous mug and everyone wore a j.e. mask as we yelled surprise.  it was a hoot.  j.e. cried which tells you that it was indeed a great surprise to him!  

surprise: 

there can never be too many j.e.'s!!

next came will and clark's combined party!  iron man was the theme of the day.  the kids threw water balloons at villains that were attached to the fence and we ate yummy cake and sang happy birthday.  will turned 6 and clark turned 1!!  

birthday boys:

looking good!

yum yum!  what a cutie pie!

now, onto school.  it really is going well.  the kids are doing great at the grandparents and the great grands houses.  it is great that they get to have the time with them!  school is really going well.  i love being back in jr. high for English and i still love my drama classes.  we are going to try our hand at a competition play this year.  i have never competed so this could be interesting.  as stated earlier we are all up early this year, which is not terrible, but i am missing my sleep.  matt is really liking his classes this semester and has full classes, but i think he is really enjoying them.  liam will start his second year at super kids on tuesday.  we met his teacher on open house night, and we already love her.  we are blessed by super kids and all the wonderful teachers there. 

the kids are wonderful.  liam is getting big and louder, if that was possible, and is turning into a little boy.  what happened to my baby boy?  we haven't started potty training yet, but we are getting close, and he still is in his crib, but he sleeps so well in it!  i don't have the heart to move him.  it feels to much like he is growing too fast!  

liam: 

my handsome man!  so dapper!

so happy!  so fun!

audrey is precious and getting louder by the day!  she is so bright eyed and aware.  you can tell she is soaking in everything.  her hair is getting lighter and her little legs chubbier!  she is a great sleeper, but not such a great eater!  she is picky and eats only when she is ready.  we are working on cereal, but more  comes out than goes in.  but it is fun trying!

my pretty happy princess!

fashion truly does come back in style!  mema made me this top when i was audrey's age and my wonderful mother saved it and now my precious angel looks adorable in it!

don't tell liam, but i have one more of audrey.  she is just too cute in a diaper!  she can roll over, but she chooses not to.  already stubborn and willful.  who know where she got that from?! ha ha!

they really do love each other. liam loves to sit by audrey and hit audrey on the head trying to tickle her.  and audrey just smiles and enjoys every minute of it!!

that is it for now!  ready to enjoy a long weekend with my family!  have a safe and happy labor day all!

stats . . .

liam: 

2 years and 4 months - what doesn't he do?  he walks and talks and runs and sings and dances.  he almost knows his ABC's and can sometimes count.  of course he will do none of this when you ask him to.  he loves playhouse disney, and we are big winnie the pooh fans right now!  he is an angel when he is not a demon.  right now we are trying to do everything "all bout myself" (all by myself), so everything takes 10 times longer.  but the look on his face when he does it, just makes my day. i just can't believe how big he is getting and how much bigger he is going to get!  time is flying.  

audrey: 

4 months - she is 13 lbs. of sweetness.  her head is the opposite of her brother's.  she is in the 25th percentile while liam is in the 85th!  she is however very long and in the 85th percentile.  she has a few bald spots where her hair has fallen out and nothing is growing in, yet, but she is still beautiful.  she just rolled over from her tummy to her back!  yea!!  she loves to stand up and her huge eyes look at everything and take it in!  she is a loud talker.  she screeches a lot throughout the day. she is a great sleeper, praise the Lord, and is just the cutest thing since liam.  

audrey and liam together are terrifying and wonderful.  he talks to her and she lights up, he hits her with mr. potatoe and she cries, and after his spanking, he cries.  he doesn't want to hold her as much anymore, but he loves to sit next to audrey and he will take her hand and most of the time hold it, sometimes he tries to yank her arm out of her socket.  you just never know what is going to happen.  

that is life right now - what will happen next.

school is starting up again soon and we are both trying to figure out our schedules and the kids schedules.  just a few short weeks of summer left.  oh, and did i mention we are putting in new cork floors in our entry way and family/kitchen/dining room!!  we are totally insane!!  you will get more on that later.  

loving . . .

here is what i am loving right now -

1.  scheduled events - i never thought i would love to have my week scheduled out so much!  but with two little ones, if i don't have a plan they don't have a happy mommy!  the best weeks have been then ones where i know what we are doing every day!


2.  the science spectrum - liam LOVES it.  there is so much for him to play with.  i don't worry about losing him.  it is indoors away from the heat and mosquitos!!  we have a pass for a year, so it is, not free, but cheap!


3.  audrey napping regularly - we are finally getting on a schedule somewhat.  we take two shorter naps one in the morning and one in the evening, and we take a long 2-3 hour nap in the early afternoon.  plus she sleeps through the night as well!!  i know, i am blessed.  the Lord has blessed me with sleeping children!!


4.  summer - i had my mid-summer blues, but they are now gone and i am dreading going to back to school.  i am loving the lazy mornings, fun outings, naps in the afternoon, and just the general sense of relaxation.  i am not looking forward to the rushed morning that are just around the corner!!


5.  matt - he has just been great this summer.  love him!


6.  "the good guys", "psych", and the food network - funny, hysterical, and just plain yummy TV!!  (bradley whitford is just crazy fun to watch in whatever he does!!)


7.  being overly blessed by the Lord - i don't even know where to start!  

dallas in 2 days

welcome to our mini vacation in pictures!  we went to dallas and went to the world aquarium, we shopped a little bit at the grapevine mills mall, and for the grand finale . . . drum roll please . . . IKEA!!!

here we are getting all packed up.  we took matt's new truck for our first family road trip.  the room in the truck was great, and we had sirius satellite radio!!  praise be that both of the kiddos are great in the car.

 

 of course with little audrey we had to make a few stops for feeding and diaper changes.  and where better place than dairy queen.

dallas world aquarium and zoological gardens, here we come.  i love aquariums and will go to everyone that i can.  the place was amazing! 

 liam being just a bit short we had to lift him to see some of the animals, but he loved them all.  he really loved the turtles.  we both loved the look of wonder in his eyes each time we saw something new!

 

  

  at first we didn't see them.  then audrey had a poopy diaper and we might as well change liam while we are at it.  but when we returned, there they were, the manatees!!  there were two of them and they were beautiful.  liam and i had a great conversation with this one.  look at that face!!

 

here audrey 

and i are outdoors with the penguins.  it was so nice and cool inside that it felt like 20 pounds hit you in the chest when you went outside.  but there were penguins and daddy loves penguins!

this guy is so cool!  i loved all the colors and the way his eyes follow you. (sorry if it is a girl! i couldn't tell)  see you later aquariuam and zoological gardens.  

it is time for lunch.  since i can't have zaxby's raisng cane's will have to do.  and it does very well.  the sauce is killer. 

 

look at my big boy!  i love his hat.  he put his shoes on by himself!!  

  

mommy's disneyland!!  time to do some damage at IKEA!!  the swedes have it down.  they are so family freindly.  they have great family bathrooms and little stations for the kids to play at.  if i could redo my entire house, it would be done in ikea!! 

 we were there from 10 am when the doors opened until we pulled out of the parking lot at 2:30 pm.  we tried to buy out the whole store, but there was just too much stuff.  we did get a chair some storage and a few silly knick knacks!!  this is my happily exhausted look as matt is packing up the car and i am feeding audrey and trying to keep liam from running away. 

this is what IKEA can do to your kids.  they fall asleep while reading and give three peaceful hours in the car on the way home!!  thank you IKEA!  

here is one our trip would not have been complete if we didn't stop at the same dairy queen that we stopped at on the way up to dallas.  one last stop before home.  look still smiling!!   

this is one little girl who is glad to be out of her car seat?

it was a great trip.  the kids were great and everything we did was fun!!  mini vacations are the way to go.  you are gone long enough to have fun and you leave wanting just a bit more.

as summer continues to fly by, i am trying to enjoy the last moments!

the doldrums part 2 . . .

so maybe my emotional vomit yesterday helped.  the kids and i went to a pool party, audrey napped extremely well today, and i cleaned the bathrooms and straightened the house some.  i did not nap, but i am feeling much better.  i think i just needed to get the weight off my chest.  thanks for the thoughts.  motherhood is a full time job and it can get a bit overwhelming at times.  we mom's all need support and help, and i have a great support system.  

on another note, here are some pics of the kids of late!!

is there anything sweeter?

or cuter?

the grill master!!

zoned out after the feast!

the doldrums . . .

i have the mid summer blues.  i don't know what it is, but right now i cannot find the energy to do anything.  the joys of the freedom have gone and now it feels like work sometimes to figure out what to do with the kiddos.  i cannot spend all day with them in the house and sometimes going out is even more work.  i know this winy and i know tons of women do this everyday, it is just that at this point in time, i am not in the mood!  i love summer and i love the rest, but i am tired and in need of some get up and go!  i love my children and i love time with them, i just wish i was better at finding things and being more proactive in setting up activities.  it doesn't help that the weather has not cooperated and has rained off and on for many days now!


that is now my goal.  i am going to be better at finding things to do in and around my house.  so if you have any great craft projects or ideas for a 2 year old that can be done around or in the house (i am not a fan of heat!!) send them my way!  


i am giving myself this week to be blah and then it's over, and we are back on the summer fun track.  see you then.