Mountain Views

It was way too cold to hike over the Christmas holiday but we did drive into the mountains to enjoy the scenery. Tagg accompanied us but slept through this photo.

Christmas in Colorado

Nana, Papa and Ryan Leveque flew to Colorado for the Christmas holiday. We had a wonderful holiday celebrating Tagg's first Christmas and the families first in Colorado. We enjoyed driving into the mountains, snowboarding/skiiing, bowling, shopping and spending quality time together.

Happy Holidays

Journey West

In mid December we packed up and headed West.

The boys (including Wilson) enjoyed the 17 hour journey to Boulder, CO. Alright, alright, they may not have enjoyed the trip but they were definitely good. The highlight of each day was checking into the hotel. Ryder and Tagg insisted on wearing matching pj's each night.

Black & Gold

Today on Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. Ryder and Tagg wanted us to know that they are thankful that the University of Colorado and Purdue University have the same school colors....Black & Gold.

Moving to Colorado

We wanted to let everyone know that we are moving to Boulder County, Colorado or as Ryder likes to say, "move Colorado, mountains. Wilson's too big!" We don't fully know what that statement means but he says it over and over; we doubt he appreciates what he is saying or the changes that are about to occur. Since he keeps saying it, we decided to put Wilson on a diet. In addition to Wilson being too big, we do have one major challenge.....Ryder recently decided that he no longer likes to wear a coat. We keep telling him that it will be cold and snowy but he does not seem too concerned. We will let you know how that works out.

Much more information and photos to follow as we transition from Tennessee to Colorado in the coming weeks.

Football Helmet

Ryder's first love is golf but football seems to be a close second. He loves the helmet but can't really hold his head up when wearing it. He bent over to pick up a football and almost fell over.

Chef Boy RC (Hutton)

Ryder loves to help out in the kitchen. Tonight was a Mexican night and Ryder helped make his quesadilla. Daddy finished it off and was impressed; it was actually really good.

Family Walk

Are you kidding me? It took about 10 minutes to get out of the house and begin our walk through the neighborhood. Look at all the wheels; more wheels than people (and dogs). Yeah, we didn't forget Tagg; he is somewhere in there.

Halloween Candy

The fire chief caught red handed. Ryder mumbled something like, "look at all my treats, I want to eat them". Yes, he dumped them on the floor then started going through them one by one. The funny thing is he has never really had any of this candy so who knows how and why he thinks he will like it. Regardless, he better start eating it soon because Mommy and Daddy are making a dent his his stash.

Halloween

Tagg's first and Ryder's third Halloween; Tagg is the pumpkin (sorry about that little guy), Ryder is the fireman. Yes, Ryder even laughed at Tagg.

Grandma

Tagg enjoyed meeting Grandma for the first time; Ryder enjoyed playing with Grandma again and having her attend his birthday party.

Birthday Party 2

Ice cream cake before nap time is never a good idea but what the heck you only celebrate your second birthday once. Ryder and his friends; Charlie, Elise, Georgia, Kaalan, Ivy, Linnea, Mac, and Talan had a great time in Village Park playing and eating after the multiple train rides.

Birthday Party 1

Today was Ryder's birthday party. We had a Thomas the Train Party. Ryder loved putting on his conductor hat and riding on the train. Daddy and Ryder even got to drive the train.

Comparison Photos 2

Taggart 6 Weeks

Ryder Two Weeks

People continue to ask who Taggart looks like and if he looks like Ryder. We definitely see many similarities between our two boys. Yes, we realize that using the same car seat as a background and having the boys wear the same hat might add to the similarities.

Ryder's Birthday 2

We (including Ryder) all sang 'Happy Birthday' and enjoyed cupcakes after Ryder's birthday dinner....pizza.

Ryder's Birthday 1

Ryder had a great second birthday. Grandma Hutton was in town for the occasion and to meet Taggart. Ryder opened Nana and Papa Leveque's gifts and Grandma's gift on Friday evening. Nothing like the pure joy and excitement on a child's face when they open gifts.

Halloween Candy

Dressing like a fireman; staying up past your bedtime; achieving new levels of excitement/anxiety with all the costumes and characters; seeing zoo animals out of their cages; eating Halloween candy! What a great night.

Daddy leaving a light on in Ryder's room; waking up early; not getting enough sleep; immediately asking to go back to the zoo; remembering the less than spectacular magic show; finding out that all your Halloween candy has disappeared! What a crappy morning.

Wow, Halloween is still over a week away.

Seriously, it was not Mommy and Daddy; we believe it was Tagg! That's right he is the culprit who at the candy.

Zoo Boo

Fireman Ryder and Sleepyhead Taggart spent Saturday night at Zoo Boo ~ Check out the new double wide stroller. Ryder was amazed that if he handed someone his pumpkin, they would fill it with 'treats'. He was not too excited about all the costumes. Let's just say that the animals in the zoo are supposed to be in their cages; when the gorilla approached and asked for a high five Ryder proceeded to hide his eyes and put a death grip on Daddy's neck. We will see what he thinks of the gorilla next time we visit the zoo.

Pumpkin Patch

Halloween is almost here so we took Ryder and Taggart to the pumpkin patch. Tagg slept through the experience and Ryder took it all in. Ryder could not believe how big the pumpkins were and how many they had. The next Halloween experience is Zoo Boo.

Tummy Time on Quilt

Just as she had with Ryder, Grammie B quilted an amazing baby blanket for Taggart. Ryder thought it was funny that Tagg could not move much once placed on his tummy; so he decided to cheer him on and demonstrate how to puch himself up.

Bath Time

Taggart's first bath was a family event. Ryder does not really like it when he gets water poured over his head, especially if it gets in his eyes. As any good brother would, Ryder immediately suggested that we pour water over Tagg's head.

I See You

Tagg becomes more aware of his surroundings each and every day. He was not to happy about us using a flash and watched us closely as we walked around the room on this given day.

Fire Chief

Ryder got angry that Taggart couldn't play firemen with him. So after the fire chief had a good cry, he decided to rescue baby Tagg.

Morning request

The first thing Ryder ask for in the morning is his little brother, Tagg.

Mud Island River Park

The River Park provided a morning of humor as we all watched Ryder explore the replica of the Mississippi River; later we all had a good laugh as Ryder, Nana and Papa took the dragon paddle boat out for a spin.

Grandfatherly Advice

Ryder has enjoyed spending time with Nana and Papa. We don't know what these conversations were about but we certainly hope Papa provided guidance to Ryder on how to be a great big brother who does not get jealous and make life difficult. It has not happened yet but we are on the lookout.

Pizza

Ryder loves pizza. Not only does he enjoy eating pizza, he is learning the finer points of making pizza. On this night, he chose to make everyone's pizza's. Yes, he did wash his hands first.

Nana & Papa

Tagg enjoyed meeting Nana and Papa for the first time; Ryder enjoyed playing with Nana and Papa again.

Exhausted

Ryder wants everyone to know that being a big brother is exhausting; the late nights, early mornings, diaper changes, crying, nap schedule......So much to do and so little time. It just makes you want to stop and lay down to rest.

Entertained

Oh, the boys watching.....

ESPN? NO.

College Football? NO.

Golf? NO.

Discovery Channel? NO.

Word World???? Yes!

Who knew that the PBS Kids program could entertain all ages.

Big Brother

Ryder is really enjoying his little brother. He kept asking if he could hold baby Taggart. He was super sweet and very gentle. After some time, he decided to point out all of Tagg's body parts.....the ears and nose were not a concern but when he said, "EYES" we decided it was time to save his little brother.

Brotherly Love

In his new role as a big brother, Ryder decided that he should look Tagg in the eyes and set some ground rules. Aterward, he decided that he should announce to everyone how the conversation went and the specifics of the ground rules. Ryder seems to think this is going to work out just fine.....as long as the little one remembers the rules.

Comparison Photos

Taggart Day 1
Ryder Day 2

Many people have asked who Taggart looks like and if he looks like Ryder. We are starting to see many similarities between our two boys.