Tayte Turns Two

I officially have no babies (for now)! It seems like it has been a long time since I wasn't in the baby stage. We are loving the little or should I say big, personality that Tayte is showing us. The toddler stage obviously comes with its own challenges...meltdown + tantrums galore.. and we now have a 2 year old and a 3 year old in that phase! But, man they are SO fun! Seriously, I love it. Tayte reminds me a lot of how Hayes was as a 2 year old.  Just so smart and talking away like a little adult. He cracks me up all day. He and Cohen have such a cute relationship and I have to say that 16 month age gap is paying off in full.  Built in buds for life.

We love this boy so much! I did a spare of the moment little 2 year old photoshoot in his room to capture this fun stage of Tayte. He has been in his "big boy'" bed since he was 19 months!  He used to look so tiny in that big bed. Anyway, he was sick with a cold and still so happy and cute. You can stop growing up so fast now, buddy!!

Pretty in Pink Bridal Shower

I can not even tell you how excited we are to be getting a new sweet sister in our family! When Lant started talking to me about proposal ideas I was like, "Fabulous! I've already started pinning bridal shower ideas." Which obviously he probably didn't care so much about but, we were excited to welcome Kylee to our family! My mom, Brooke, Amanda and I threw this "Pretty in Pink" bridal shower and it was so much fun.  I have to give credit to Joe who made this donut wall to make the vision come to life.  Anyway, here are a few pictures of the event!

Bridal shower games are the best :)

The Webb girls

Andelin Family Update

I'm really slacking on our blog! I'm always busy doing something and I guess the blog has just dropped on the priority list lately (New Year's Resolution? ;)). I wanted to do a quick update for journaling purposes! Remember when I used to document every month of Hayes's life?! That seems incredibly impossible now haha. In fact, I've been writing this post for 3 days and keep getting interrupted and having to come back. It's like the boys can sense that I sat down somewhere and all come running. ;) I thought a good way to do an update on the boys was to write 3 things I love about each of them right now.

Hayes- 5 1/2 Years Old

1. First thing that came to mind is what a good big brother Hayes is.  We put a lot of expectations on him to be the leader and example to his little brothers.  He and Cohen go through stages where they like to bother each other, but over all he is really sweet to his little bros.  Hayes is pretty mature and likes to play with older kids, so I especially love when he takes the time to entertain his little brothers and make them feel loved.

2. Hayes is so creative, he always has been. He is constantly coming up with new ideas and new ways to play.  He likes to hang out in the craft closet upstairs and just put things together, often times as a gift for me. You will find random items taped to his bed as "rocket boosters" or string attached from doorknobs to couch legs set as "traps." He has even on occasion made me home decor that I try really hard to leave up until he forgets about them haha. It will be interesting to see what he chooses as a career someday!

3. He has a sensitive soul and loves his family.  He is still a momma's boy, which melts my heart. He has not outgrown giving me hugs and kisses before he leaves anywhere and doesn't mind holding my hand.  He loves going on "dates" with his dad, which usually involves something active. He has a big heart and is easy to love.

Cohen- 3 Years Old

1. Cohen is a happy kid. He wakes up with the biggest smiles and hugs for every one. He is easy to please and just a go with the flow dude. He always hugs me and tells me he loves me the most and "actually we love each other the most," and then he will go on to say he loves each person in the family the most, so as not to leave anyone out. Haha, he is very concerned with everyones feelings. He is a sweetheart.

2. His voice is my very favorite.  Hayes started talking like an adult at like 2 years old so I'm loving the toddler talk that Cohen entertains us with.  Cohen didn't start talking for a long time, and it was so frustrating. But, I feel like he has totally made up for it with his cute voice and sweet words. I can't help but smile at his questions and requests.  He is also very complementary and is quick to tell me how good lunch was or how great I did making the bed.  He can't quite say the 't' or 'g' sound so he would ask something like, "Tan you det me a smoodee, Mom?"(Can you get me a smoothie, Mom?) It's super cute. He just talks and talks now and we love it.

3. Cohen is also a really sweet brother and especially a sweet big brother.  He has loved the heck out of Tayte since the day he was born.  It was exhausting not being able to set Tayte on the floor as a baby because Cohen was ALL over him. But seriously, they are such cute buds now. He hugs him, plays with him and will stick up for him if anyone is being mean to his baby brother. Cohen always makes sure that if he gets something, he gets some for his brothers too. Just a sweetie.

Tayte- 21 Months

1. Tayte is so stinking cute.  Seriously, you cannot say no to that boy. I've often had people tell me he is a "pretty" boy; I agree. He is a good mix of his brothers and is just the most charming little thing.

2. He is so smart.  You would not believe the things that come out of that babe's mouth. Phrases, counting, singing, you name it, he acts way too grown up. His favorite games are "Hide and Seek," and "Duck, Duck, Goose." He likes to count and say "Here I come!" "Make a peep!" Or "Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck..." He keeps going around and around the circle and never says goose. Haha. He has got a sweet little voice and a contagious laugh!

3. He is a momma's boy!!  Which can be hard at times too. He has a hard time being separated and would have me hold him and snuggle him all day if I let him.  I think all of my boys have been this way at his age so I'm used to being so loved ;) He loves his daddy a lot too. It's amazing how much love you can feel from such a little guy.

We feel really blessed to have 3 sweet, smart, happy boys in our home and are humbled at the opportunity to be their parents.  I forget too often that life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful. Hope everybody's New Year is off to a great start! Here are some more of the family pictures we took with Shauna Hunt in the Fall.

San Diego Video!!

Some highlights from our San Diego trip! I love having these little home videos for the boys to watch!

San Diego 2016 from Haven Andelin on Vimeo.

San Diego Part 2- Hiking + Sea World

Torrey Pines

I'm not a big hiker but, we found a really pretty (and really easy) hike along the ocean at Torrey Pines. Cohen fell asleep and peed his pants on the way there and we had no extra shorts... so that was lovely... But, other than that it was overcast and warm and beautiful! Tayte loved the carrier and I loved him in it :)

Sea World

This was actually at the end of the day after we got soaked on a ride!

Checking out their souvenirs

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Tayte had no fear and wanted to touch every thing!

Dippin' Dots break!

Sea World was really fun!  It wasn't busy at all and we were able to go on the rides over and over again with little to no wait.  I thought the shows were awesome and the boys were really into the rides, cool playgrounds and souvenirs.  It cracked me up that the souvenirs at the end of the day may have been the highlight for them.  Hayes took about 45 minutes deciding which shark necklace was the coolest... Cohen picked out some shark binoculars which were obviously awesome, and Tayte got a little stuffed whale that he wouldn't let go of for a good hour.  I think I got more video than pictures that day so I'll have to make a little video of everything. All in all a good trip with the boys!  It's nice to remember all of the highlights and not so much all of the crazy in between ;)

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San Diego Part 1! Lego Land + Beach Day

Our California trip was soo fun, tiring, exciting, exhausting, and everything in between. We're to the point where trips are not even close to relaxing, but we do them anyway to watch the kids light up and make memories together. I especially love when the boys get to experience new things and just have fun as brothers. Hayes has a lot of awesome neighborhood buds that he plays with, so Cohen and Tayte were loving having Hayes's attention all week! It was a bummer that by the end of the trip all of the boys were coughing and we had a couple of throw-up incidents along the way, which obviously wasn't ideal, but we tried to make the best of it anyway. We packed Lego Land, the beach, Sea World, hiking, and more beach in our 6 days away.  I took a billion pictures,  in hopes that even though the kids are young they'll remember bits and pieces of the trip... I feel like pictures help you do that, right?!  Plus, that's just what I do. Anyway, it was a lot of fun, but also felt good to have everyone back in their own beds again! Sleep. is. everything. Here is a San Diego overload! Love these 4 boys to pieces!

Pool & Beach Night

The first afternoon we were there, we took the boys to the pool and then to dinner at a restaurant by the beach.  "Getting our toes wet in the ocean," afterward ended up meaning getting completely soaked and resulted in naked boys on the ride back to the condo!

Lego Land

If you ever go to Lego Land, get the apple fries!!
You won't regret it.

I think Lego Land was the boys' favorite part of the trip.  They loved it all. Cohen had a few melt downs due to being too young for some of the rides.  :( Poor guy, he wanted to go on everything with Hayes!  Tayte loved the little "story book" boat ride above (Although the picture isn't really showing that :))!  Such a fun day for the boys, and we were all worn out by the end.

Beach Day

Hayes and Cohen were cracking us up on their boogie boards.
This is how they "surfed" all day and thought it was super awesome!

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I think the beach day was my favorite.  It started out rough with Hayes throwing up on the way there, but once we got there and got settled he started feeling a lot better and it ended up being a pretty perfect day. The weather was gorgeous! The boys had fun building sand castles, collecting seashells, chasing birds, and running from waves.  It was a good day with my boys! I should've taken a picture of the amount of sand in the tub that night.... 

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