VANDERMYDE VACATION - TEXAS STYLE

Matt's older brother Adam and his wife Michelle and their 3 kids recently moved to Texas, the location of the BYU-TCU football game on October 16 (please, don't bring the game up, the outcome was less-than-favorable - though, our nephew Preston sure made an adorable BYU fan):

Well, since Matt's brother and his family live in Texas, and since BYU was playing there, the Vandermyde boys (and their awesome wives) decided to get together Texas style (we missed you Annie, Regan, Brooklyn, Marsha, Zack, and Ashton!)

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MEETING COUSIN MICHAEL

Tanner's cousin Michael is just 6 months older than Tanner and we couldn't wait for the two of them to meet. Here is what happened when we put them together . . . things escalated rather quickly:

Michael REALLY loved Tanner and Tanner didn't seem to mind the overdose of affection.

Michael wasn't the only cousin who couldn't get enough of Baby T, Kailee was so excited to have any chance to take care of Tanner - she was so cute with him:

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THE GRASSY KNOLL

Here are Matt and I atop the Grassy Knoll - the location of JFK's assassination.

And here is Matt posing some tough questions to one of the conspiracy theorists who had set up station there. One thing I love about Matt is how interested he is in seeking out truth and making sure he understands how things work - I don't think that the conspiracy theorist shared my appreciation for this quality in Matt . . .

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FORT WORTH STOCK YARDS

The Stock Yards were super cool. Walking around in the stock yards was like walking around in an old Western movie. If you're ever near Fort Worth, Texas, I highly recommend visiting this fun little area . . .

Stock Yard activities included:

Getting our picture taken with Pecos Bill, an authentic Texas Longhorn

Checking out the cool train that runs through the town

Chowing down on delicious, all-you-can-eat, barbeque beef ribs - Yummy!!

Riding the mechanical bull

And trying on cute cowgirl hats and hanging out in the hay with my awesome sisters-in-law.

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Also, Matt and his brothers got to experience a true Texas Honkey Tonk (that's right, a Honkey Tonk - that's really what they call it!! ) at Billy Bob's (yes, that's a real place!!) and even got to watch the country singer, Joe Nichols in concert (If you haven't heard of Joe Nichols, you should check out his song, "The Impossible" - it's really great).

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We all had so much fun in Texas. Thank you Adam and Michelle for being such fabulous hosts and showing us such a great time in Texas. We love you and miss you!!

The Rolling Champion

Ever since we posted the videos of Tanner rolling over, people have been wondering if it was just a fluke thing or if he is still able to perform his rolling acrobatics on a regular basis . . . so, I decided to post another video of Tanner in action. We have tried to get him to roll over at least once a day since he revealed his hidden talent on his 2 week birthday:

Tanner's Smile

Grandma and Grandpa Vandermyde came to visit for a few days . . . Tanner loved having them here.

The day the Vandermydes left (one day before Tanner turned 4 weeks old), Baby Tanner put into motion Operation Melt My Grandparents Hearts: Tanner made eye contact with and smiled at each and every one of us.

Tanner has a lot of competition - with 4 cousins (one just 8 days older than him) and one more cousin on the way, he's got to be sure that his Granparents know who is the cutest!! :)

I was able to catch one of his adorable smiles on camera:

TANNER'S TUMMY-TIME ACROBATICS

Matt wants Tanner to grow big and strong so he has set up a strict workout schedule for our little T-Man. Tanner must go through a grueling tummy-time exercise before he eats (alright, alright, the exercise isn't really all that grueling . . . for Tanner. . . I, on the other hand, just can't stand to watch the little guy struggle).

On Tuesday, September 30, the day Tanner turned 2 weeks old, this is what happened during our Tummy-Time session:

Then, just to prove how tough he really is, Tanner performed again for his proud parents:

VANDYLAND SHOUT OUT: GRANDMA CHAMBERLAIN

Today's Shout Out goes to my beautiful, sweet, amazing mom.

She spent 10 days taking care of me and Tanner. She changed dozens of diapers, woke up to support me through my countless midnight feedings, kept me sane through a number of close-call breakdowns, and even helped me with some fun craft projects for Tanner. Baby T loved having his Grandma Chamberlain here. She hung out with him while Mom got her daytime beauty sleep . . . he loved entertaining Grandma and letting her snap cute pictures of him. Tanner, Matt, and I were so happy to have Grandma here with us. WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!