Leann, Spencer, Walker and Findley

Cute Girl

2012-01-29T13:27:00.000-06:00

This is one of our favorite recent photos of Findley.

Recent Photos

2012-01-21T08:05:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of recent photos, in an effort to keep this blog fresh and updated.

Findley loves to wear Mama's sling and carry her baby doll around the house.

Pa Gator recently made Walker an awesome superhero costume.

Singing Songs in the Morning

2012-01-20T07:55:00.000-06:00

We got to the kids' school a little bit early this morning, before any staff had arrived. So we sat in the parking lot and sang songs.

We sang all of our usual songs (Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Rocky Raccoon, The Eyes of Texas, Unknown Legend, Don't Pass Me By, etc.) and then we started on some songs that Walker learned at school (Hermie Wormie, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Down by the Station, etc.). When we had run out of songs, I decided to try She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain:

Me: She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes. She'll be comin' round the...

Walker: Dad, who's comin' round the mountain?

Me: She is.

Walker: Who?

Me: The girl in the song.

Walker: What song?

Me: The song that I'm singing to you right now.

Walker: Oh.

Me: She'll be driving six white horses when she comes. She'll be driving six white horses...

Walker: Dad, who's driving six white horses?

We continued like this until the school staff got there to open the doors for us. Findley sat watching and listening to us with a little half smile on her face.

Walker and the Uncles Tio, aka La Famindlia

2012-01-17T22:38:00.000-06:00

Walker and Uncle Tio have been jamming out the past few times they've hung out. Uncle Tio made some drums for Walker and they get into a groove of 12-bar blues. Walker is already learning the rock-and-roll lifestyle... watch him take a shot of milk halfway through the set. Thanks to Uncle Tio for producing this video!

Christmas Fashion

2012-01-14T08:51:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, Findley got a great pancho from Tía Natalie and Tío Nan. She also got a new backpack to take to school. Once she got both of them on, she could barely keep her balance as she teetered around the room.

True Love

2012-01-14T08:37:00.002-06:00

Walker and I spent some time outside last weekend. I said, "Walker, I love hiking in the woods. It's one of my favorite things. Do you like it?"

"No," he said. "I just love trains."

Dancing Spiderman

2012-01-03T12:37:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, we went to Byron, Tiffany, and Cooper's house for dinner and fun. Walker loved playing Just Dance, and at one point he put on a Spiderman mask and watched himself in the mirror as he got his groove on. Here he is dancing along with Tiffany, Andrea, Cooper and Reece.

School Photos

2011-12-23T09:36:00.001-06:00

Why can we never get them to smile like this when we take their photos?

Findley Loves Spaghetti Night

2011-12-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not, most of the spaghetti eventually ended up in her belly. Unfortunately, most of it touched her face before it got there.

A Visit with Santa

2011-12-14T21:51:00.000-06:00

Walker and Findley had the opportunity to sit on Santa's lap last weekend. Somewhat surprisingly, they both freaked out and wanted to have nothing to do with him. Even though Walker has been talking constantly about Santa Claus over the past couple of weeks, he was absolutely not interested in going anywhere near the big guy.

Marmee wasn't scared of Santa, though. She sat in his lap and told him what she wanted for Christmas. She remarked that she felt like she had known Santa for a long time....

We were able to get a photo of all of us by making sure the kids couldn't see Santa.

Playing Football

2011-12-14T12:41:00.000-06:00

When Walker plays football outside, he likes to pull down his hat like it's a facemask. The problem is that he can't see, so he runs around like a chicken with its head cut off. Here he is showing Pawpaw his football moves.

Swinging with Pawpaw

2011-12-13T08:10:00.002-06:00

Findley loves swinging with Pawpaw!

More Funny

2011-12-12T00:33:00.000-06:00

Spencer: "Walker, what are you eating?"
Walker: "Nothing."
Spencer: "Looks like something to me. Is it a booger?"
Walker: "No, itsnot."
Spencer: "Wait, did you say It's not, or It's snot?"
Walker: "I said itsnot." (Walker doubles over in laughter.)

Photos with Cousins

2011-12-11T12:58:00.001-06:00

At Thanksgiving, we tried to get a good photo of all four cousins. We failed to get any photos of all four of them smiling or looking at the camera, but it was fun to try, and some of the resulting photos are still great.

Funny Kid

2011-12-03T20:22:00.001-06:00

Leann: "Walker, please don't eat your boogers. That's really yucky."
Walker: "Mama, it's not a booger. It's a piece of egg."
Leann: "Walker, you haven't had eggs in three days."
Walker: "Oh."

Cooler Weather!

2011-12-02T07:56:00.001-06:00

It's finally gotten a little cooler outside, and the kids love getting bundled up and running around in the backyard. Here are a couple of photos from this past weekend.

Scraped Nose

2011-11-28T11:27:00.001-06:00

Last week, Findley fell and scraped her nose. It didn't seem to bother her much, but she got lots of sympathy from everyone who saw her.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T10:38:00.000-06:00

Walker learned a new Thanksgiving song at school. It took a couple of tries for him to do the whole thing for us, but eventually he got it.

Flying a Kite

2011-11-18T22:34:00.000-06:00

We decided to take advantage of the strong winds last weekend by going to fly a kite. We have an awesome airplane kite (Walker insists that it is not a kite; it is an airplane). He was really good at holding on to it, and he was sad - or to be more accurate, extremely angry and upset - when we finally wound it in and headed home. The next day, he was still talking about how much fun he had flying his airplane.

Sick Findley

2011-11-17T22:23:00.000-06:00

Findley recently got another ear infection. While Mama was driving to the pharmacy to pick up the antibiotic, Findley fell asleep. Even though she was feeling so bad, she looked really cute and peaceful in her car seat.

Drumming with the Band

2011-11-16T22:14:00.000-06:00

As anyone who has recently hung out with Walker can attest, one of his favorite activities is drumming. He drums with sticks, straws, forks, spoons, pieces of chalk, pencils, pens, and sometimes even footballs. A couple of weeks ago, our family went to a high school football game. A couple of students from Leann's school are in the band, and they invited Walker over to try out their drums. He had a great time making noise!

Findley's Pigtails

2011-11-15T21:51:00.001-06:00

Recently, Granny came to town and went with me to pick up Walker and Findley at their school. When we got there, Findley's teacher had put her hair in pigtails. We went to the park so Findley could show off how cute she looked.

Swinging with Papa Gator

2011-11-13T07:41:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Walker spent the night with Marmee and Papa Gator. Walker and PaGator worked on their aerobatic routine and showed it off for us.

London Bridge

2011-11-12T12:47:00.000-06:00

Walker has been singing a lot of the songs he learns at school. Here's his rendition of London Bridge. He seems to think the last line is, "My poor lady."

Dinner Fun

2011-11-11T12:45:00.001-06:00

Mama was gone for the evening, so Dad and the kids had some fun at dinnertime. Findley is starting to get the hang of playing "Where's Findley?"

Costume Preview

2011-10-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

Walker and Findley tried on their Halloween costumes and wore them to school on Thursday. They also sat for a quick photo shoot.

Eating Yogurt

2011-10-28T08:42:00.000-05:00

Findley had fun eating her yogurt the other day. She loves the stuff, but still hasn't quite mastered the art of using a spoon, and she tends to get more on her face and shirt than in her mouth.

Unfortunately, Walker saw how messy Findley was getting, so he decided that he needed to follow suit.

Hiking with Findley

2011-10-25T16:18:00.000-05:00

This morning, Findley had to stay home from school because she had a fever late last night. The antibiotics for her ear infection were already kicking in, and she seemed to feel okay this morning. So she and I set off for a hike in the woods. We saw squirrels, lizards, turtles, cows, and longhorn steers. We thought we heard a deer, but it ran away too fast for us to see it.

She started off in the backpack facing backwards.

She wasn't too thrilled with that configuration, so made a pit stop and turned her facing forward. That was a lot better for her, because she now she could see where we were going, instead of just seeing where we've been.

We stopped at the top of a ridge to make a quick video:

By the time we started heading back to the truck, Findley was falling asleep:

Findley Swinging

2011-10-21T22:48:00.000-05:00

Findley can't get enough swinging. She especially loves the big swing in the backyard, and she's always good about holding on tight!

Wet, Dirty Boy

2011-10-20T21:06:00.000-05:00

The weekend before last, it rained for about 24 hours straight. We were left with a 4" deep pond in the backyard, and Walker decided to go "swimming." This is the aftermath, just before we got him inside and in the bathtub.

Findley's Photo Shoot

2011-10-19T23:11:00.000-05:00

Findley loves smiling for the camera!

Walker and Granny on a Bench

2011-10-18T22:16:00.000-05:00

When we went to the Lost Pines Resort a couple of months ago, Walker and Granny sat and talked on a bench for a while.

Findley's Birthday Party

2011-10-17T22:00:00.002-05:00

Findley had a great birthday party. Lots of family and friends came over, and she was the star of the show.One of the highlights of the party was eating her first cupcake. The icing was yellow and blue, but by the time she was finished, her face was completely green.

Then Findley got cleaned up and came back outside to open some presents.

Findley loves riding on her new horse!

Findley Walking

2011-09-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

Longtime readers of this blog probably recall that some of Walker's first recorded steps occurred at the doctor's office. Well, Findley is following in his footsteps, quite literally. While she and I waited for the doctor to come in yesterday, she took a couple of strolls across the room.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-09-19T21:28:00.000-05:00

Walker's current favorite song is Itsy Bitsy Spider. He sings it a lot at school, and he sings it for us a few times a day with hand signs and everything. He sang it for me yesterday in the truck and I was able to record it. The camera operator messed up on the second video, so only the end of the song was recorded. But I'm including that video to show what happens when we ask him to sing a song. He only does it when he feels like it!

Swinging

2011-09-18T20:53:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Asher came to visit Walker and Findley. They had a great time on the swing in the backyard.

Findley's Birthday Video(s)

2011-09-10T00:05:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of videos with photos from Findley's first year.

I'm happy to report that Findley had a great birthday. She was supposed to get immunizations at the doctor, but an insurance mixup gave her a reprieve on the shots until next week. So she and Dad spent a couple of hours in the backyard, enjoying the cooler weather. Then Marmee came over to spend the afternoon with her, and she got to see Granny and Granddaddy this evening. It's been a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday, Findley!

2011-09-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

We love you, beautiful girl!

First Day of School

2011-08-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

With Mama going back to work this school year, Walker and Findley started day care. It was tough for the first couple of days, but they really enjoy going now. Here's a photo of Walker on his first day.

Findley was sick on her first day, so we postponed her photos until the next day. Here's a shot of both of them that morning.

Early Morning Fun

2011-08-23T12:55:00.000-05:00

We have lots of photos and videos to post over the next few days, but here's a quick one. I took these photos this morning before we left for work and school.

Pronouncing "Helicopter"

2011-08-09T22:52:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about being a dad is that despite the fact that I'm a terrible artist, my kids think I create the most awesome drawings that they've ever seen. Walker has been wanting me to draw a lot of helicopters lately, though he's always pronounced them "hepacahs." Today I tried to work with him a little bit on the correct pronunciation.

Showing Teeth

2011-08-08T18:50:00.000-05:00

Granddaddy took this photo of Findley last weekend. She's so proud of her teeth!

Walker Feeding Findley

2011-08-07T14:54:00.001-05:00

Today at lunch, Walker helped feed Findley and we were able to record a little bit of it.. They get along so well together. We hope they stay close friends as they get older!

Outside Fun

2011-07-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

Mama took this photo today of the kids having fun outside in the morning while it's still cool. They love their clubhouse and slide!

Backyard Photo

2011-07-24T11:59:00.002-05:00

I love the way the sun lit Findley's hair in this photo, and I love the outfit that she's wearing.

Walker's Favorite Author

2011-07-23T17:22:00.000-05:00

Walker loves to read Shel Silverstein. Pronouncing his name, however, is sometimes a little difficult.

Findley Pushing the Cart

2011-07-22T16:53:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, Findley spent some time pushing her cart around the living room. She's starting to stand for a few seconds when she's holding something. We're pretty sure she'll be walking any day now.

Crazy Haired, Happy Girl

2011-07-21T23:05:00.000-05:00

Beginning with this post, we will be using Picasa to host our photos. Posting photos using Picasa is much simpler than Flickr (which will likely mean a more regularly updated blog).

And as an added bonus to the grandparents (and others) reading this, it will now be extremely easy to order prints. Simply click on the photo, then select "Order Prints" under the "Prints" dropdown. Then, when you click "View" in the yellow "Cart Photos" box at the top of the page, you are given several options including Walgreens. Easy-peasy.

Why don't you give it a try with this fun photo of Findley?

Findley Having Fun

2011-07-21T20:23:00.001-05:00

Findley loves going to Marmee and Papa Gator's house. They have fun toys for her to ride on:

One time when we were there, Gran Annie brought over a bunch of jewelery for Findley to try on.

Running at Joe T's with HD

2011-07-20T20:10:00.001-05:00

Walker got to spend lots of time this past month with his cousin HD. Here they are running around the fountains at Joe T Garcia's.

Family Portrait

2011-07-19T21:43:00.001-05:00

While we were in Las Cruces a couple of weeks ago, we all stopped long enough for a family shot. Jess took this great photo of us.

Going for a Ride

2011-07-18T21:27:00.000-05:00

Walker loves to push his cart around the house. He especially loves giving Findley a ride.

Walker's Favorite Phrase

2011-07-05T23:16:00.000-05:00

For the past several days, Walker's favorite thing to say is "Whatcha doin', Mama?" or "Whatcha doin', Daddy?" Tonight at dinner, he asked, "Whatcha doin', piece of pizza on Walker's plate?"

More photos and videos will be posted soon, we promise.

Findley's Happy Face

2011-06-05T21:04:00.000-05:00

Findley smiles a lot, but it's easy to tell when she's super excited or happy:

Fashionable

2011-05-15T21:28:00.004-05:00

There's no doubt that Findley loves to wear fashionable outfits. Here are a couple recent ones.

Mud Pit

2011-05-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

No words are needed.

Giving Kisses

2011-05-13T20:59:00.000-05:00

Findley loves getting kisses from her Mama and crazy brother.

Butterfly Bench

2011-05-12T14:56:00.002-05:00

We went to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens a couple of weeks ago, and Walker found this great bench shaped like a butterfly. Of course, he had to climb on it.

Riding a Cherry John Deere

2011-05-10T20:49:00.005-05:00

Every time we go to Lowe's, Walker gets to ride on the tractors out front. Here he is on a sweet John Deere.

By the way, you might think that based on the past couple of posts, Walker must wear his Star Wars shirt every day. The truth is that he wears it as soon as it's clean, about every third day. It's a little bit big on him, so you'll probably be seeing him wear it in many more photos for the next year or so.

Clean Girl!

2011-05-09T23:32:00.000-05:00

Findley loves taking baths, and she's almost always in a good mood after she gets nice and clean.

Afternoon with PawPaw

2011-05-08T14:47:00.001-05:00

Walker loves going to his PawPaw's house. There are tractors, tools, horses, and all sorts of stuff to play with.

Performance and a Muffin

2011-05-06T00:34:00.000-05:00

This morning, Walker's school had a Mother's Day performance. All of the kids sang a song which they've been practicing for weeks. Just before they started singing, Walker grabbed a muffin, which still had the paper liner attached to it. Keep your eye on the paper liner. (You might need to watch the video full screen to clearly see what happens.)

New Playscape

2011-05-03T21:03:00.001-05:00

For Walker's birthday, Marmee and Papa Gator got Walker (and Findley) a great new playscape. It has swings, ladder and slide, monkey bars, and a picnic table. Walker loves it!

Findley Giving a Smile

2011-05-02T20:55:00.000-05:00

Walker's Birthday Party

2011-05-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

We apologize for the lack of posts lately. We've taken lots of photos and videos in the past few weeks, but we just haven't had a chance to post any until now.

Walker's second birthday party was so much fun. He got to see lots of family and friends, and we all spent a beautiful afternoon in the backyard.

Mama made an awesome chocolate cake. (Thanks to Sara for decorating it!)

When Walker was done with his cake, he went over to Granny to get more.

For about two months before his birthday, Walker was asking for a bicycle. He was so excited when we rolled out his new present.

Pawpaw and Granddaddy showed him how to ride around the yard.

The morning after the party, Walker woke up around 7:00. He pulled his cowboy boots on over his pajamas, grabbed his cowboy hat, and ran outside to get on his new bike.

Waking up from an Afternoon Nap

2011-04-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

Walker: "Daddy, get up."
Me: "What do you say?"
Walker: "Please."
Me: "Can you say that in one sentence?"
Walker: "That in one sentence."

He's a walking punchline.

Drinking Salsa

2011-03-18T22:47:00.002-05:00

This boy loves his salsa.

Cute Outfit

2011-03-17T22:54:00.002-05:00

Awesome Bridge

2011-03-16T22:36:00.003-05:00

There's a really cool pedestrian bridge near our house. Walker loves to run on it to make it sway, and he has fun dropping rocks and leaves into the water below.

Siblings Wrestling

2011-03-15T22:20:00.000-05:00

Sick Boy

2011-03-14T22:12:00.002-05:00

Walker got sick, so he got the royal treatment. Mom set him up with cranberries and a movie to help him take his mind off of feeling bad.

Findley's Photo Shoot

2011-03-13T21:47:00.003-05:00

Findley put on her tutu for an afternoon photo shoot in the backyard.

At the Park

2011-03-12T20:59:00.002-06:00

This afternoon, we met up with Jenny, Phil and Reece at the park. Findley got some tummy time on the blanket while Mama and Walker pushed Reece's stroller.

Singing and Saying Hi

2011-03-08T21:06:00.001-06:00

Walker showed off his new haircut and his singing skills tonight.

Findley's First Food

2011-02-21T20:52:00.002-06:00

Findley had her first big girl food tonight. Mama gave her some avacado, and she seemed to like it. In other news, Walker stayed at the table through his entire dinner, which we're pretty sure is a first also.

Frog Outfit

2011-02-20T11:06:00.008-06:00

Findley loves wearing the froggy outfit that Granny and Granddaddy gave her.

Plane Flight

2011-02-19T22:26:00.000-06:00

For my birthday, Leann got me a flight on a Douglas C-47 based at Meacham Airport. The plane was built in 1941 for American Airlines, and was placed into military service the next year. At one time, the plane was owned by the President of Mexico, and it was later used by skydiving operators.

Walker got so excited when we pulled up at the airport and saw the airplane.

While waiting for the flight, we walked around the Vintage Flying Museum and took a look at all of the great airplanes they have, including the Pacific Prowler, a beautiful B-25 Mitchell.

The pilot was nice enough to allow Walker to ride along on my lap. Prior to the flight, the pilot told us the history of the aircraft, as well as a briefing so that we would know what to expect. As we climbed into our seats, we put on our ear protection. Walker was really patient, and sat in my lap as the engines warmed up for about 10 minutes.

Then, we taxied to the runway and waited another few minutes while the pilots did their runup and mag check. Finally, we lined up on the runway and took off. Those 1,500 horsepower engines were incredibly loud as we climbed.

Soon after we were in the air and the pilot pulled back the throttle, we were able to take off our hearing protection and walk around inside the plane. There are several large windows that were just the right height for taking photos and admiring the view. We flew around downtown Fort Worth, then did a couple of circles around Cowboys Stadium.

One of our fellow passengers was kind enough to film us for a couple of seconds.

Here's the last photo I took of Walker on the flight.

Those of you paying attention may have noticed that Walker wasn't exactly smiling in these photos and videos. He did in fact smile the first time he looked out the big window, but most of the time he looked very serious. I am obviously a terrible dad, because I didn't recognize that serious look as air sickness. About 30 seconds after that last photo, Walker puked all over both of us.

He seemed to feel better after throwing up, and we landed shortly afterwards. Mom was ready with the camera as we got out of the plane.

Reading Lonesome Dove

2011-02-02T12:34:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Sam sent us a wonderful book of photographs taken during the filming of Lonesome Dove. It's a beautiful book, and Walker was immediately fascinated. He now asks (demands really) to read it every night before bed. He loves the horses and knows most of the characters by heart.

Snow Day!

2011-02-01T22:24:00.000-06:00

We got about 2" of snow on top of a half inch of ice last night, so we all stayed home. Walker got to play in snow for the first time, and Findley came out for a couple of seconds to check it out, too. It was around 17 degrees when we took these photos, so we didn't stay outside for very long.

Walker tripped a couple of times and faceplanted into the snow, but he didn't seem to mind at all.

Cute Girl

2011-01-29T07:37:00.000-06:00

Walker and Asher - Behind the Scenes

2011-01-28T12:55:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Livy, we now have exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Walker and Asher's recent photo shoot. One thing that is revealed by the video: Walker was not giving Asher a headlock in the last photo... he was giving him a hug!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Walker and Asher

2011-01-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

Asher came over to celebrate New Years, and he and Walker had a great time playing and jumping on furniture.

At one point, Asher yanked on Walker's hair.

So Walker put him in a headlock.

Christmas Toys

2011-01-23T21:31:00.001-06:00

Walker got a kitchen set for Christmas, and here he is whipping up some breakfast.

Smiley Girl

2011-01-22T21:24:00.001-06:00

Cooking With Mama

2011-01-21T21:14:00.000-06:00

Walker loves to check out everything that we do, especially when it involves something dangerous. Here he is watching Mama cook dinner.

Walker and Findley

2011-01-20T21:11:00.000-06:00

In this video, Mama asks Walker to get in the shot with Findley. He doesn't quite get the concept yet.

Findley's Motorboat

2011-01-19T21:04:00.002-06:00

Findley loves to show off her new skills.

Making Cookies with Tita

2011-01-18T07:15:00.003-06:00

Walker loves going to Tita's house. She always has something fun planned for him. On this trip, he helped her make cookies.

The waiting was difficult, but the end results were great!

Walker and Findley Playing

2011-01-17T20:51:00.000-06:00

Walker shows Findley how the stuffed animals kiss each other. Of course, as soon as he sees the camera, he drops what he's doing to look at the back of the camera.

New Wagon

2011-01-16T20:50:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, Walker got a new wagon. He loves riding in it and pushing it around!

Merry Christmas from our Family

2010-12-25T07:50:00.000-06:00

Walker Riding the Tractor

2010-12-24T09:13:00.000-06:00

The last time Walker went to Paw Paw's, he got to drive the tractor!

Hiding in the Leaves

2010-12-24T07:13:00.000-06:00

Walker loves this time of year so he can hide in the leaf piles.

While Dad Slept, the Kids Played

2010-12-08T07:05:00.001-06:00

I laid down on the bed for a few seconds. The next thing I knew, it was an hour later and the kids had been having all sorts of fun.

New Swing

2010-12-07T07:01:00.000-06:00

Walker's swing was hung in the backyard tree, and he can't get enough of it.

Bright Eyes

2010-12-06T07:47:00.000-06:00

Findley still likes to just lay and check out the ceiling or anyone who happens to be walking by. She's a pretty chill kid.

Future Album Cover

2010-12-05T08:39:00.002-06:00

Here's the cover art for Walker Lee Maxwell's debut album in 2029.

Haircut

2010-12-04T12:37:00.000-06:00

So we finally decided that Walker was beginning to look a bit too much like Farrah Fawcett.

So we took him to one of those kids haircut places. He was okay in the car chair at first.

But his patience waned as the lady kept holding his ears down while she cut.

After all the drama, the final result looked great!

Bird Tattoo

2010-11-29T07:04:00.004-06:00

Walker loves showing off his tats. Here he is pointing out the awesome bird on his hand.

Two Different Worlds

2010-11-28T07:58:00.002-06:00

Findley rests quietly on the blanket while her crazy brother turns to destruction.