Summer Time Fun

Whew!! What a fun summer this is shaping up to be! We've been really busy trying to fit in as many activities as we possibly can without wearing everyone out. Tyler now wakes up and asks, "What do I get to do today?". Talk about pressure.

We had the pleasure of having Will over while Maggie was at the ENT and this was so cute because they set this up themselves. They were playing outside but I had to make them come in and cool off and get a drink. And for some reason they started out coloring but then brought out the cash register and computer and were pretending they were their daddies at work.

This was us making chocolate covered rice crispy treats...give three year olds marshmallow's and chocolate and they'll love you forever!

Daddy took off early one afternoon to go to Tyler's "work" and surprise him (it was such a sweet moment b/c when Jeffrey walked in Tyler just stood there and stared at him for about 30 seconds until it registered and then he lit up and ran to his daddy and just held him). Then we went to Chucky Cheese and played for awhile. I like this picture because they both have their bottom lip pouting the same way in concentration.

This was such a funny moment...... Jeffrey hit the jackpot and won a bunch of tickets but Tyler thought the machine was messing up and was not happy with the situation!

Shooting basketballs with daddy.

We went to the water park last weekend--probably our last time for the summer--so sad. And we were going to leave Maddie with MawMaw but were so glad that she ending up going with us! This little angel loves the water more and more each time she gets in it....I swear she had more fun than Tyler. She has learned to splash the water and on this day her right arm never stopped splashing, every time she goes anywhere close to the water-- up and down it went! And now she has started waving her arm anytime she hears the water running or sees a pool as her way of saying, "Let me splash!". This is Maggie giving her baby kisses.

Silly boys giddy with excitement!

Tyler loved hugging and trying to sit on these geysers.

Pump It Up is one of our favorite summer activities (gotta love air conditioning)! The boys had so much fun jumping, climbing, sliding and just running wild.

This is them realizing they have on the same shirt. A mistake their moms often make (or at least that's what we tell the dads).

The End

Pictures of sweetness

We recently had some pictures taken of our sweet princess so here's a sneak peek...........

Lots of first experiences!!!!

One of my favorite things about being a parent is watching my children experience something new. Lately the Joyce family has been keeping really busy and here's some of the new things these cuties have experienced!

Maddie's first time in bible class.

Maddie's first time at VBS...........she mostly just hung out with Maggie (because Maggie's says she's her baby) and got lots of kisses.

This is Tyler, Will and Carter at VBS. The theme was a Jewish marketplace so they went from tent to tent and learned a quick lesson and participated in some hands on activities.

Here's Tyler petting a donkey. He gave him several big hugs but was worried that all the animals were hot and thirsty.

Here's Tyler and Will stamping letters. They stamped their names and 'Jesus is Lord'.

What a healthy little eater our Maddie is turning out to be. This night she ate a whole bowl of rice and a whole serving of sweet potatoes then after her bath she nursed for 15 minutes! Look at all the sweet rolls on her arms....and when we take her out of her Bumbo her thighs are so chubby they always get stuck! Sound familiar Mom?!!

Here's Tyler at his first dental appointment all good news but lets just say that even though he looks so calm here....daddy will be the one taking him when they actually go in and clean his teeth.

Sweet moment's of a three year old

Here's just some sweet moment's that I wanted to remember......
One that I don't have a picture of is that last week Jeffrey was playing the trick you do with your thumb and finger (ya know to make it look like you pulled off the top of your thumb). Well, Tyler tried to do it but he couldn't and Jeffrey said, "Huh, how come my finger pulls apart and yours doesn't?". To which Tyler replied, "It's okay daddy, that's just how God made you!".


Tyler is allowed to sleep with us early in the morning or at night when he's had a bad dream. But one night last week at bedtime he wouldn't let it go that he couldn't sleep in our bed. So we put him to bed and went about doing what we needed to do. Well, when I get ready to go to bed this is what I found. Tyler had pushed daddy's pillow on the floor and carried in Elmo, his silky, his pillow and his drink and was fast asleep on my pillow (which is where he always sleeps on our bed). So in the morning we talked about why he had done that and I ask him, "Why do you like sleeping in mommy's bed and on mommy's pillow so much?". And he touched my cheek and tilted his head and said, "Because it smells like you."

Tyler likes to sit in the crib with Maddie every now and then. And on this particular day he wanted to sit in there and play this game with her that he made up where you "call" the ice cream truck (which is the caterpillar here in the picture) and he'll bring you ice cream. Seriously, we've been know to play this game for 30 minutes at a time! Well, I went to brush my teeth while they were playing and when I came back Tyler had his back turned to the door and was talking softly to Maddie so I stopped to listen and watch. He was holding her foot and sweetly doing the this little piggy game with her toes! I shed a tear. Then when she got tired of that and started fussing he laid down and kissed her and said, "It's okay Maddie, brother's here, it's alright Maddie."

Okay, so Sunday after Church I picked Tyler up from class and he hands me this picture he's colored and is carrying this wadded up napkin. I ask to see his picture and he tells me it's for me and so is what is in the napkin. I ask him if he'll hold on to it until we get home b/c my hand's were full and I couldn't look right then. Well when we were walking in the door at home he tried to give me the napkin again but Maddie was screaming so I ask him to sit it on the table and we'll look after I put her to sleep. Long story short he forgot about it and so did I until they were both asleep and I see the napkin on the table. I tell Jeffrey that I feel bad for forgetting because he's tried to give it to me all morning but I didn't have the time to look so he says's let's see what it is. I open it up to find a single goldfish that he had saved for me from his Bible class snack! How sweet is that?! Once again I cried! I just love how sweet and thoughtful he is.

Aquarium Trip

Going to the Aquarium was one of the things we really wanted to make sure we were able to do this summer and we were so glad we did because it is such a fun activity for a toddler and a baby (not to mention mom and dad)!

This was our favorite part....the shark and stingray tunnel! We sat in here for about 20 minutes or so. I was so cool ( and kinda creepy) to see the sharks just come toward you out of the dark and then just go over your head!

Maddie loved the waterfall! If you haven't been there before you start on the third floor and zigzag your way down with this beautiful waterfall right in the middle. No matter which direction I turned she would find it and just be in awe. Most of the time I carried her so she could see it better but here we are waiting on Tyler to go potty. I sat her down to get a picture of her watching it but what you don't see is the crowd she attracted of people stopping to watch her mesmerized by it. She also loved watching the fish.

Here's my crew standing in front of the waterfall.

Here's Tyler looking at the penguins (doesn't his pose make him look so much older?). When we first walked in we were lucky b/c they just start feeding them and Tyler really enjoyed watching that. He wanted to help of course!

You Rock!

Thanks Amanda for the beautiful blog makeover! You are so very sweet, creative and talented.

Tyler's 3rd Birthday

It's hard to believe our baby boy is three!

"Thank's everyone for all the great gifts!"

"Here's Will and I waiting on the cake...I bet Aunt Rha-Rha and Aunt Summer are close by!"

Pinata time!

Ethan, Will, Hunter and Tyler on the slip-n-slide.

" This is my friend Hunter. We started school together and have been in class together since I was 6 months old."

This is how the daddies taught the boy's use the slip-n-slide!

"My family is so much fun!"

"Maddie and I love my new sleeping bag. "

I'm gonna back track to May 13th (Tyler's birthday) since this is kind of my online scrapbook and mommy diary. So these are some pictures of Tyler's big day. Oh, what fun he had......his favorite part was all his family and friends coming over to his house!

Happy Birthday America

God Bless America and my babies!

Tyler and Ethan enjoying the sparklers!

This is Maddie's first outing at the zoo with a large group of friends.

How cute is this!!?? They rode around the zoo like this whenever Tyler took a break long enough to sit. Notice how they both have a snack.

Here's Tyler with the birdhouse he build at Home Depot with his Daddy.

What a great weekend this has been! Shouldn't we always have three day weekends? I mean who decided that five days of work and only two days of family time was fair? Someone really should change that rule. Anyway.....my poor angels have had such a fun week and weekend but boy are they beat. Monday we spent the morning at the zoo and then swam at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's (it was such a fun day) where Tyler decided to start running from the highest part of the deck and take a flying leap like Superman into the pool! Then on Tuesday and Wednesday he went to school and Nana's while Maddie and I had time to get some things done and squeeze in lots of snuggles. And Thursday we decided to so some shopping and meet daddy at work but I made a horrible mistake of forgetting Tyler's laptop. We were on the other side of the airport when I remembered and Tyler was begging me to turn around and go get it but it was just to far. Finally, we convinced him that daddy needed him to help him do other things at work besides working on the computer and that was going well until we got back from lunch and people kept asking him where his computer was! I'll never make that mistake again! Then after a short nap we decided to kick off the holiday by swimming and going to a firework show until late that night.

So for the fourth we had a cookout at Maw Maw's and Paw Paw's then that night we shot some fireworks with friends that Aunt Rhonda was so sweet to give us. Followed by a fun day of Home Depot Day for the boy's and daddy's and shopping for the girl's and mommy's and another cookout. Whew, these babies are tired but they love being with family and friends! When Tyler was getting ready for bed he was complaining that his legs hurt and then said, "So, what are we doing tomorrow, is it Paw Paw's workday or can we mow?

Recent Pictures

Well, I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time now but I have no idea how I'm gonna find the time to keep it updated when I go back to work. Anyway, I'm gonna give it my best shot because Tyler and Maddie are just to cute to not share with the world! So here's some recent pictures of my sweethearts and what they've been up to.


This was Maddies first time to sit in the exersaucer. It didn't take her long to figure it out. Time to move on the the Jumperoo.....

Here's PawPaw and his best buddy just splashin' and laughin' in the pool!

This picture cracks me up every time! I was so busy trying not to crash that I didn't notice Tyler slipping down. That's Tony and Devin next to us (it was probally their third time to circle us). Daddy was much more fun at this than mommy. Then next time we rode together I was a little bit more brave so I tried to go as fast as daddy did so he'd have as much fun. And I think he did because he'd yell, "No tires, just gas! Kachow!"(from his favorite movie Cars).

So here's Tyler getting ready to ride a GoCart for the first time. He looks so little (and nervous).

Just being silly with my cousin. They thought it was funny to pretend they were sleeping and snoring loudy. Then we'd tippy toe out quitely while they busted up laughing.

I haven't learned yet how to flip this but she's just too cute !