Cornelius Chronicles

We are now a two bike family. Rebekah is a pro on her trike and Loyd is learning the ropes on his new-to-him Dora the Explorer car. The kids had tons of fun riding around exploring the back yard and racing each other today (Rebekah was more into the race than Loyd). Loyd also discovered Dustin's newly placed dirt, hence his attractive dirt face. Dustin has been working on the fence all Christmas break. he is getting close to done. His buddy Ryan came over today and helped him put in the last 3 post holes. Now he just has to nail up the pickets. Rebekah "helped" him out a little bit this afternoon too. The shot below is Dustin showing Rebekah an earth worm he recently discovered. Bekah is extremely enthusiastic about his discovery.

We had a terrific Christmas and hope all ya'll had a great Christmas as well! Here are some photos and video we took. Enjoy! Bekah was not expecting a tricycle so she didn't even register that she saw it for quite some time. Very fun for parents. :) Here is a shot of Bekah "helping" Loyd open his presents. He was a little scared of the wrapping paper so Bekah stepped in to help her little brother out. This also includes Loyd grooving out to his driving toy. As you can see, he is rhythmically challenged just like the rest of us. So cute! Happy full stockings! Our little, pretty tree. The star of Christmas - The Red Tricycle The unexpected surprise! Thanks Aunt Karen! She drew these gorgeous pictures of Rebekah and Loyd, framed them and sent them to us for Christmas. I LOVE them and can hardly wait to hang them up where I can show them off.

Royal and Loretta have the magic stick when it comes to sending gifts. We always love what they send. The much anticipated Rose package arrived yesterday and was filled to brimming with the kids' favorite toy so far, Packing Peanuts! Here are some shots of the frivolity that ensued. We are impatiently waiting until Christmas to open the wrapped presents. Thank you!

It snowed in League City last night! We were so excited we had to take pictures and I woke the kids up to enjoy the snow. Rebekah thought it was a bit too cold for her to play outside so I didn't get any shots of them. Here is proof that we really had snow! Most of the snow melted away by 10 AM the next morning. Too bad. Here is a funny shot of Rebekah trying to convince Loyd he should eat his oatmeal. I'm pretty sure she is more excited about this feeding arrangement than he is. ;>)

Grandma C. sent us some fun packages and we were so excited about the new clothes we couldn't resist taking some pictures of the kids in their matching PJs . They were a bit on the wild side tonight so the pictures aren't the best, but they are a start. We'll try and get some better pictures of the two together later. Thanks Grandma C! (The second package is hiding in our closet until Christmas morning.) What a pretty little girl! This little man cracks me up! He's smiling because he is planning on ripping that hat off his head in about 2 seconds.

On Friday we took Uncle Jason to the airport to fly back home. The kids were way bummed so we took them to the free day at the Houston Zoo after we dropped him off. (Note on the picture above: I love that non of the Cornelius men are smiling. Rebekah is the lone grinner! I guess it's a man thing) Rebekah and Loyd had a blast at the zoo. Dustin was happy he didn't have to spend a penny to take them there. We spent all morning there and only saw about a third of it. It is HUGE and really pretty. There were several large, open common spaces for resting and sitting in the shade, water fountains and ponds to break up the paths, lots of toys for the kids to climb on that looked like the animals, and very pretty pathways leading to all the exhibits. It was the nicest zoo I have ever seen. They even had a little farm and a petting zoo. Rebekah was brave and touched the goats. Loyd loved all the people and animal commotion around us. He's all about action. I love fla...

Happy Thanksgiving! We are lucky to have Uncle Jason with us this year for our first Thanksgiving in Texas. It has been a fun week. I made my first Thanksgiving dinner this year. It turned out pretty well and the double oven was heaven sent. Dustin took on the important job of the Turkey and his brother Jason was on gravy duty. I tackled everything else. Everything worked out okay except for my sad attempts at pie. Both pies turned out a bit on the burnt side. Jason has been kind enough to help us rebuild our fence that we lost during hurricane Ike. He and Dustin have been working from morning until dusk each day digging post holes and filling them with concrete. It has been hard, long work and they have had to battle giant Texan mosquitoes to boot. We are grateful for Jason's help. Rebekah has even pitched in to help! Loyd has felt a bit left out with everyone working in the back yard, but he manages to keep tabs on what we are doing by spying out the back door. Silly ...

This morning I went to get the kids out of bed and I found this. Rebekah decided to give me a break and tried to keep Loyd happy so she threw in all the toys and diapers she could lift into his crib in an effort to keep him from crying. Poor little guy didn't have a square inch to call his own. Loyd is trying his hardest to walk. He loves to grab a hold of the Dora car and walk around the living room until he crashes into a wall or the counter and needs to turned around. He is also trying to figure out how to get on the car so he can drive it around. Oh boy! I'm in for a runner I think. Here isDustin with the kids. We had to capture this moment and record it in Rebekah's baby book as this was her first request ever to watch "Dr. Who." Dustin was thrilled by her Science Fiction request and more than happy to oblige. Here is our little girl looking so grown up. She is getting taller every day and more independent to boot. Well, I wish everyone a happy Twilig...

Okay, so I haven't gotten the camera out much lately so here is some video of the kids we have taken over the past little bit. Enjoy!

We had an awesome weekend with Aunt Lizzy and Uncle Thomas here for a visit! Everyone got hair cuts (note Loyd sporting his new hairdo - his first haircut- with our amazing family stylist, Lizzy!), we had a few great parties and ate lots and lots. Now everyone is sad because Lizzy and Thomas flew home. Thanks for the visit we enjoyed having you stay! Loyd is a regular musical genius. Today he learned to use my tin whistle. He has been tooting his flute all afternoon. Rebekah thought it looked like such fun she joined in on the musical moment. Bekah couldn't figure out how to work a flute until she was a year and a half old. Go Loyd! Ah, and what is a blog post without a wacky Bekah picture. Here she is showing me what a monkey does, but it is getting lost in translation do to the addition of the recorder. These kids crack me up!

This was a week of birthday celebrations for Dustin and for Uncle Royal. Rebekah was all about the cake! Rebekah also figured out how to turn a simple box into a totally rockin' slide. Here she is demonstrating her great invention skills. You go girl! Halloween was tons of fun! The kids were adorable and Rebekah was so excited she could hardly wait until after dinner to go "Trick or Treating." Rebekah was a princess and Loyd is her noble steed. Here are Rebekah and Loyd next to their Jack O' Lantern. Rebekah is modeling the "scarzie" face that she gave as the pumpkin's inspiration. We won the prize for "most creative" pumpkin at the ward Halloween party with this beauty! He is the cutest horse I've ever seen! Ah, I love it when the handsome prince is handy for a quick kiss.

Daddy taught Rebekah how to build a quick fort. She loves her new hang out. Rebekah is getting more and more expressive every day. She has found a way to politely refuse when she doesn't want to do something. She very nicely says, "Nope thanks, I fine." It's tough to argue with her after that. Loyd is pulling himself up onto everything and my book cases provide him hours of entertainment. He loves to pull my books out and turn through the pages. The last day or two he has decided to start experimenting with climbing. He reaches up onto his tippy toes and tries to scale the shelves. He isn't very good at this yet, thank goodness. He is one busy little man! Yuck! Sister kisses!

We had a fun week. We went to story time, played around the house a lot, and even had a pajama party at a friends' house! Loyd is busy exploring the house. He already pulled out every single DVD we own, shook the floor lamp pretty good, knocked over an end table, and pulled out our internet cable. He is also doing his best to learn to stand on his own. He pulls himself up on everything . He is one busy little guy! Rebekah is a great older sister. She loves to play with Loyd and is good to share her toys and snacks with him (I have to keep a close eye on her with that last bit of sisterly kindness). Today she handed Loyd a sucker and boy was he happy to have that treat! Loyd wasn't too pleased with me when I had to confiscate the choking hazard. Bekah is able to verbalize more of her thoughts and feelings and she is getting pretty good at telling me stories about things that have happened in the recent past. These kids are smart! Here comes Loyd! These tunnel toys are...