The Boykin bunch

Pumpkin patch

2009-10-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Niceville pumpkin patch after church- Jack is 14 months old

He is so excited his fingers are dancing!

Jack's first trip to the Niceville pumpkin patch. He loved the pumpkins all of the attention from his mommy and Nana. Minutes before we were going to take pictures, his little "girlfriend" Bella bit him on the noggin. That's kids and baby love for ya!

One of Jack's usual expressions....always smiling and happy!

A teensy pumpkin for the boy

This is the ultimate Jack face. He is always saying wow! He is amused by everyday life and everything around him. He is so much fun to take new places....his reactions are priceless.

Just in from the ocean...this is from my friend Sarah's wedding.

Best week ever.

2009-05-15T16:57:00.001-07:00

At the birthday party in my shark outfit. It has an adorable blue shark on the bottom.
White cake filled french vanilla and homemade butter cream. Cake is covered in my homemade fondant.
Side of the cake
Choo choo...Ben is two! The birthday cake I made. It took me 24 hours straight...I was up till 6 am this morning!

Jack with his Mimi...he has never taken a pacifier, until he decided he can gnaw on it with his little tooth.

My niece Coley on the day William was born... all the fun girls wear polka dots. She calls me Jo-Jo or Jew-Jew or Juice-Juice!
Brad, Jack and Brad's mom in the hospital in Dallas. I ran into my 7th grad English teacher...weird huh! I was like oh crud.....I am with all of my in-laws...don't mention what a toot I was in class!
At the Coady house at Possum Kingdom Lake.
Uncle Dude Daniel and Jack at Cabela's in Fort Worth.
My new nephew!!! I LOVE him!!!

Oh boy, I have a lot to catch up on. This week I learned how to wakeboard...exhilarating and terrifying. I got up on my 3rd try and my immense fear of sharks was my motivation to get my fanny out of the water and up! It worked! I was smiling from ear to ear the entire time and Jack even watched me the entire time. My last fall was a nasty face plant. I am still so sore today I can barely hobble around. I have signed up to be a volunteer for a sea turtle patrol on a private Air Force beach here in town. I had ATV training out in the woods on military land, and it doubles as a place where old tanks and airplanes go to die. It was eerie and so fun! I got my ATV up to 45 miles an hour and boy...those things are DANGEROUS! Jack will NEVER ride one! :) I also was trained on how to spot sea turtle nests, identify the species and dig for eggs! When the nests start to hatch, I get to hold a baby turtle and help them to the water if need be. I get to do this every Monday from 6am-930am. I love living in this area. What else am I missing...my sister-in-law had a new baby...William Maxwell Haworth, Brad and I looked at a house to buy in Niceville, Fl ( I really want Niceville as my address...adorable huh?) and I made a cake for a 2 years old's birthday party on the beach. Jack is doing awesome...he learned to clap and shakes his head "no". He has one tooth ( we call it his egg tooth) and he bites with it! We call him our pitbull. He comes in for a kiss, grabs your cheeks and bites your nose and shakes his head back and forth! What a cute thing...for now. I can just see the call into the principal's office! Jack went swimming in the ocean for the first time today and ate a handful of sand. Brad and I took a jet ski into the ocean. That was uber fun but terrifying. Can you imagine being thrown off into shark water? Jeepers, shark bait...ooohaha.

Yesterday was the day!

2009-04-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

Jack learned to pull up by himself on a toy and he learned to put puffs into his own mouth! Watching him finagle a puff into his mouth is hilarious. He has not mastered his fine motor skills obviously, so he grabs a puff with one hand and uses the other hand to shove the first hand into his mouth. Silly goose. Also, I tried for a million months to get him to take a pacifier and he never wanted one..until now. He found one and put it into his mouth and smiled from ear to ear...of course it fell out. Then he carried it with him everywhere so he could chew on it. I think my little man is going to get a tooth! He changed so much in 2 days. I know I should be so happy, but I got kind of sad. My little bug is turning into a big boy. Also, on a fun note...we were supposed to go ride horses today......but nope. Our friends have a farm up North of us and we were invited to go play with the animals and ride her horses. We were supposed to go with my friend Lisa and her son Jackson and my friend Sarah and her daughter Bella. It has been raining for a week here and Lisa decided her child doesn't like mud so we didn't go. I think it's more like Lisa doesn't like mud :) Got to love her.

Sitting and pulling up!

2009-04-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

Riding at the grocery store in style!
In our backyard...7 1/2 months old

I forgot to add...Jack has been sitting up on his own since about 6 months but only if you place him in the sitting position. He crawls everywhere, but only army crawls. Today I went to get him up from his nap and he was blabbering away. I got in the room and he was sitting up on his own! Surprise to me! Also, today he has started pulling up! Geeze this boy wants to walk!!!! He will be 8 months old on April 8th. I call him "OCHO"...since he was born 8-8-08. He gets the idea and can pretty much totally pull up on you if you are laying down. He likes to stand up to look you in the eyes. I was so happy and excited about this, I had to blog! He is changing so fast, and I can't even keep up. The other night we were eating dinner and Jack decided he would rather have the crab legs on my plate than his pureed chicken and green beans. He grabbed it so fast and tried to shove it into his mouth. I know all babies do this with pretty much everything they can find, but it was a sight to see...looked more like that crab was eating my baby's face! Two other things, my little brother Daniel is at Baylor Law right now (I know, we won't judge him for going to Baylor...) and he could use some words of encouragement. If you know him ...please send him a little sentence to lift his spirits. I sent him a billion cookies in the mail today, as I hear he needs fattening up. I think this first semester is a beating, and he stresses out too much. He tries too hard and doesn't accept anything less than perfect. I made him my sugar/cake cookies with all sorts of junk on them. My favorite were the green iced ones that taste like coconut and the yellow lemon iced ones. I had to make these for Baylor! It is much easier to make Baylor themed goodies rather than Aggie ( maroon is a hard color to create) and easier than his undergrad Longhorn orange bologna. Burnt orange is hard to make and... I can't bring myself to create anything having to do with UT!! :)

Fishing for dinner

2009-04-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official...I have married an outdoors man and he drags me and the baby into his excursions! This is our newest catch, I named him Biff R. Fish. I admit, it is really fun to get out and fish and then eat the yummy fruits of our labor. We often are right beside dolphins out in the bay and they are so magical. They are so used to humans, they will jump, and splash and dive right under your boat. They travel in pods and often have babies with them. That is a real treat. Brad doesn't get nearly as excited since a lot of his job is sitting on a boat spotting dolphins and tracking them. I squeal every time. I admit the first time I saw one I flipped out! We were in a canoe and I was about 7 months pregnant and they came right up to us! I thought for sure they were sharks and we were lunch. Once again, my irrational fears get the best of me.

Big fish...little fish

2009-03-27T10:05:00.001-07:00

This is the big redfish that Brad and Kevin Lawther caught behind our house...He was a big mama jama. The boys didn't have a camera so they raaaan up to the house so we could take a picture and then he was thrown back. One could saw he went to swim with the fishes...but alive. Brad loves to fish and sometimes that man stays on the dock for hours just casting and casting. I have a hammock out back so the bebe and I can swing and relax while diddy fishes. I used to love to fish too, but it's too hard with a baby in one arm. This redfish was the fish Brad has been trying to catch for 2 years. He was too big to keep since in Florida there is a limit. Kevin caught one too...unfortunately, his got thrown back as well. Brad recently won a contest at Bass Pro! They sent him a letter and he won over $500 worth of fishing gear...really! It was not a scam and we picked up his goodies already. My only complaint is ... where is the day spa package for the wife? Dang.

Baby food!

2009-03-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have been making all of Jack's food and I will never look at a piece of chicken the same... AGAIN! Poor babies, pureed meat makes me gag. There is something barbaric about boiling chicken and then putting it in a machine with razor sharp blades until it comes out as mush. Barf. We have been really lucky in the food department. My little monster is a garbage disposal...just like his mama and diddy. His favorites are avocados and sweet potatoes and loves chicken! He is approaching 8 months old and eats green beans, sweet peas, carrots, squash, apples, bananas, chicken, avocados, pears, cereal and his feet. Yep, loves to eat those little toes! We have been working on those Gerber puffs... I am a little embarrassed to admit I love those. When I feed them to Jackie, it's one for you.....one for me! What a couple of piglets we are! He cracks me up daily. He is such a flirt and has enough personality to fill a room. He loves girls and he will look at a pretty lady and lift an eyebrow, tilt his head and shy away! That eyebrow gets them everytime. Also, he can pretend to be modest and if you pay him any attention, he will close his eyes, grin and shove his hands in his mouth! Then he reels you back in with the eyebrow and says ..."eh". He is not allowed to date until he is 30...35 maybe. He has girlfriends already and prefers the older girls. What a toot that booger is. Here is some of our spring time pictures!

Is an American Idol a long lost friend...? Jason Dollar???

2009-03-26T19:08:00.001-07:00

Is anyone with me that the American Idol contestant Adam Lambert looks a lot like our old buddy Jason Dollar? Come on girls...eh? See the resemblance? So cute huh? Did you hear that Jason has his own squad in Addison? The Pride All Stars!

First trip to ER

2009-03-10T09:19:00.001-07:00

Oh boy was last night a hard night for us! First off let me say I am super paranoid when it comes to Jack. I pretty much have thought he has had a fever for ...7 months. I always freak out and say, "Brad, he has a fever, right?" Brad is so wonderful and just calmly kisses his forehead and says, "no, he feels just right." Ok so here is where I got myself into trouble. On Sunday we spent the entire day on the boat so when Jackie was super tired Monday, I didn't think anything of it. He felt really warm to me and wanted to cuddle. I put him down fora nap and he didn't wake up for like 4 hours. I thought I was being silly so I just let the booger sleep. When he woke up at 4pm, I took his temp. and it was 101.4! This was his first "real" fever so I flipped! I called the doctor and they said take him to the ER. I took his temp. again and it was 101.8. When Brad got home from work we went straight there. Poor little guy, he had no other symptoms and was laughing and entertaining the whole crowd...for nearly 8 hours! Everyone was put infront of us and when we were finally giving up, we were called back. I made friends with the sweet, exhausted, over-worked triage nurse and it payed off...I think. Turns out my little guy had an ear infection! WHEW! I was sure it was menigitis- because like a moron I googled babies and fever. NEVER read too much into the internet. He got a bad shot and some tylenoly and motrin and he was all better! He wailed when he got the shot and I boo-hooed too. Terrible. Apparently ( as you other moms prob. know) his fever was not really that high or a baby. I freaked out and that sweet nurse just was so nice. She loved Jack so she took extra time with him and took his temp. several times in Triage for me. On the other hand, the male nurse before her was a punk- and he got what was coming to him!! He got beat up by a patient while we were waiting! Ha ha, karma. Oh, you should have seen the weirdies that were in that waiting room. Some looked close to death, others were just looking for a fun place to hang out on a bland Monday night. The entire trip was worthwhile when we got to experience the gentleman in the room next to us. He moaned and groaned...Oh God, oh Lord, help me Jesus! It's just too much, help me, I can't do this...ooohhhhhhaaaooooohaaa. Holy potatoes we thought he was in serious trouble. NOPE, turns out he just had bad gas and we got to be in earshot for his "cure"...and large audible release! Ha ha, if we had been in California I would have darted under a doorframe for protection from the earthquake! Oh boy, gotta love people.

Jackie is getting verrry comfortable with the camera

2009-03-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

Jackson posing on our dock. He is going to be such a little water/outside kid this summer! Jack has started to army crawl around and it's hilarious. One night Brad and I were cooking dinner and he shimmied into the kitchen...woah. Time to baby proof! We finally kicked him out of our bed and into his own. It was REALLY hard for me since I have gotten to snuggle with him everynight for 6 1/2 months. It went really well actually and he has been sleeping pretty much all through the night! What a good kiddo. He turns 7 months old on Sunday. I can't believe it, he is such a little man. Just today at the baby shower I went to, a lady asked if I was thinking about having another one! PHEW! I can't wait to have another little booger, but I am really looking forward to our summer in Florida UNPREGGO! There are a lot of fun water sports and I would be shark bait with a huge tum. But yes, I have baby fever again and I WANT A LITTLE GIRL TOO! I am really pushing for a puppy to satisfy my fever, sooooo we will see! Our anniversary is in 13 days so maaaybe I'll get a puppy?? I have been learning to wakeboard and kiteboard. I have only learned how to fly the kite and haven't gotten in the water! Our friends are bonker and wear drysuits so they can get in the ocean in 50 degree weather! I tried that in Orlando and there was a hold in the drysuit and I got all wet. Brad thought I was being a weenie because I was cold and then they saw how drenched I was. Ha. The formal picture is from a Mardi Gras charity ball in Pensacola. That was our first time leaving the baby boo with Nana overnight! We spent the entire time talking about him and boy did we miss the little guy. WUH OH...little guy is awake from his nap...gotta go entertain. New moms...do you ever feel like your kiddo is saying "dance monkey dance!!" ? I feel like I will do any silly dance or make any goofy face just to keep him smiling. I am so blessed that is my entire job.

We are baaaack!

2009-03-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

So, the last time I blogged was when our computer crashed and ate all of our pictures. We got them all back and we are back in business! Here of late I have been baking a lot and decorating cakes and cupcakes! Today was my first "paying gig". I was so nervous I stayed up till almost 5am putting this thing together. I was for a baby shower at Brad's work. The bottom layer is strawberry cake filled with strawberry preserves and buttercream and the top layer is dark chocolate filled with oreos and buttercream. I made my own fondant from scratch and it is tasty!

Boo Hoo!

2008-11-27T21:31:00.001-08:00

Our computer crashed and ate everything! We lost all of our pictures on Picasa and eeeeevvvvveeeeerrrryyyything!!! I'm so sad and close to tears. Hopefully we can try to get them back. We got a virus and the "=" sign was going everywhere and there was a lot of dinging. The computer was possessed and nearly starting spewing green split pea soup vomit. Ok, that was my way of trying to make myself smile when I just really want to cry!

our Thanksgiving table

2008-11-25T22:35:00.000-08:00

Okay so we are hosting Thanksgiving this year at my house...YIKES! There will be 8 of us...Brad, me, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law Janice and Neil and their kiddo Coley ( and baby boy on the way) an my parents-in-law Steve and Carol. Oh, don't forget my baby Jack! He will have to pass on the turkey though and just eat milk. Sorry buddy. Oh and I had to put together the table early because tomorrow will but busy. I am meeting my friend for coffee and orange rolls at her house for some quality mommy to mommy time. She has a one year old named Jackson too. Then I am off to start baking pies with my mother-in-law and then she is having a shrimp boil tomorrow night. Brad's sister and her hubby are coming into town tomorrow night. Fun times.
This is my turkey platter....Brad is brining and then frying a turkey. yummm, that man is a fabulous cook. He pretty much cooks me dinner every night. I wonder how long I can use "taking care of the baby" as an excuse for him to keep cooking!
The table where the food will go to be served.
Our table! It's kind of exciting, it is our first Thanksgiving to cook for our family. Oh and we are on a buuuuuuudget so the decorations had to be creative!
Cranberries, split peas, walnuts and candles.
Funny looking turkey plates...I just like the leaves around the edges.

Jack is such a goof!

2008-11-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

Jack loves his feet these days and his best buddy Brobee. See all of that slobber? My baby boy starting cutting a tooth at 3 months! Poor mom.... Jack doesn't like pacifiers or teething toys so he bites me! Oh, the wonderful job of being a mommy!
This was about 3 weeks ago...Jack is watching T.V. he loves to watch football and cartoons....really!
Proud diddy with his little boy! We will make him an Aggie yet!
Me and bebe in front of our first fire!
I had to get a picture of the little guy in his red shoes. I have a bandaid on my arm because we got our flu shots.
Jackson is laughing hysterically and me making noises with my lips. At this age, he is so easy to entertain. He smiles when I look at him and gets shy if you point at him. He gets a big grin, puts his hands to his face and turns his head away. He babbles all the time and says mama constantly. Of course, he is not even four months old yet, so sadly he has no idea what he is saying. But...it still drives his daddy nuts. Brad is sure daddy will be his first word. Ha! I get to stay home with Jackaroo and we work on MAMA all day! Jack is starting to get mobile. He rolls over 3-4 times a day and can scoot his body 360 degrees on his back. He loves Brobee on Yo Gabba Gabba and laughs when you growl at him like a puppy. My sister in law finds out today if they are having another girl or a boy...I am so thrilled to have another niece or nephew. I am starting to get jealous of all these pregnant people, so hopefully this little one will satisfy my baby cravings. :) Brad is considering getting me a puppy so I don't get any ideas...just yet!
Happy boy hanging out in his boppy.
Uh oh, this is the face he will make riiiiiight before he melts down. Luckily, he is so easy to turn the other way. This frown can turn into a storm of cries or right into a giggle. What a goober!
The family laying on the floor with bebe. Brad looks like a lumberjack. His excuse last year for the beard was for warmth. He claims it keeps his face warm on the boat when they are doing dolphin surveys in Georgia. Hmmmm, he hasn't been on a dolphin survey since it's been cold this season. He has been fishing a lot on our boat and he goes wakeboarding with our friends even when it's 50 degrees outside. Maybe he needs it for those activities....or maybe he is just a lumberjack.
Getting all geared up to go Christmas shopping in Destin! When we put a hoodie on Jack, I say you are 'so hood' and he thinks that is hilarious. I love that little guy!

Aunt Alyssa took pictures!

2008-09-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Little Jack and me! He was 3 weeks old here, ( last friday..his birthday is 08-08-08).
Daddy Brad loving his little guy.
What a little angel face...enjoy it while you can, he cries a lot more than he let on in these pictures.
Jack singing a song for us...or was he telling a joke? Hmmm,,, funny little man.
Does he look like a redhead here? Uh noooooo! :)

Labor Day weekend!

2008-08-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is here to love on Baby Jack!