Summer Time And The Livin's Easy

Hello, Fletcher Fans!! Sorry about the laziness- we have included pictures from April to June.

Let's see... what's been going on...

Meghan Casey came to visit us the middle of May. Yay and fun.

Abby's wedding was the end of May- so much fun and so amazingly beautiful.
If any of you are on facebook or myspace you can check out Abby's pages for pictures.

I'm sure I've forgotten several noteworthy events.
That's what happens when you only blog every few months!


Abby & Fletch on the yoga ball.

Meghan & Fletch.

Not feeling well and taking a rest.

Belly and crazy hair!

Playing with an assortment of airplanes, firetrucks & ambulances.

That crazy hair was cut soon after.
We will put the pictures of the first haircut on the blog soon.
He looks very dapper now.


We have more to post from July- Fletcher & Wes' trip to California, and Sara & Fletcher's trip to Dallas.
Coming soon!

New Pictures!

Lots of pictures to share, as I just
uploaded 120 from our camera onto the computer! Whew!

More potty pictures! He has yet to actually do more
than just sit & read, but we're patient.
The first picture has been edited for our discriminating audience. :)

One of many runners-up in our quest to
find the perfect "Fletcher in the Bluebonnets"
picture. For all you non-Texans, the
Bluebonnet is the Texas State flower.
It is an annual wildflower, and it is illegal to pick or mow them.

Breakfast at Fletcher's table.
Ikea purchase: $20 for the table & 2 chairs.
Took about 20 minutes to assemble.

Putting cars into cups. Photo courtesy of Jamie. :)

Peek-a-boo, Batman!

Fletcher says "It's windy in my hair!"

A couple of weekends ago we took a trip down to Houston (Cypress) to visit some friends. Allison & Michael Hawkins have 3 boys;
Allison was Sara's first "boss"-
hired her at Zanzibar in 1998 (Sara's very first job).
Pictures from our Houston trip:

Fletcher & Baby Eli (13 mos) in the bath together.

(From left) Allison, Baby Eli, Fletcher & Sara.

Griffin (almost 8, on the ground), Jake (almost 5, standing over him),
and Fletcher in the background.
Oops, no pictures of Michael- sorry! :(

Foster Care

Hello, dear family & friends!

Over the last few months, the urge to apply for foster care certification has been weighing on my heart. A little background: Wes & I have always wanted to foster/adopt, even before we had Fletcher. As most of you know, Wes has four adopted siblings. Seeing as how we have witnessed the trials involved first-hand, we feel this is something that we're moderately prepared for.

Of course, it will be a process. In Texas, different foster & adoptive care agencies provide the training, home inspections, and eventually match you with a child or children. It is now up to us to choose an agency, attend 12-35 hours of classes, complete CPR/1st Aid Classes, complete background, safety, health checks, home inspections, etc. We could end up spending about $320 or so before we are even certified. It's at least a 4-month process, and we may decide it's not for us at some point.

We would need to request boys, because children of the opposite sex cannot share a room if they're older than 6. Two brothers would be awesome to have, preferably of school-age. Most kids remain in care for 6-12 months on average, and 18 months is the cut-off. About 18% of children end up being eligible for adoption after 18 months.

Just a little info. So, in the next 6 months or so, we may be changing the name of this blog... :)
If any of you have advice and/or experience please feel free to comment or e-mail us.

In other news, we would love to congratulate:
1st- Adam & Yoko (Wes' brother & wife) on the birth of their little Fisher. Middle name yet? :)
2nd- Bekah & Stephan (high school friend from Moscow) on the birth of their Eisley Rachel.

Birthday Party!

Fletcher's birthday party was a couple of weeks ago. His actual birthday is the 22nd, but we had family & friends in town, and decided to have the party early.

The party was at Sara's parents' house. Wes, Nick & Sara stayed up late creating the cake. The finishing touches were attached after transportation to the party destination. It was fun & easy. If anyone wishes to recreate it, just let us know and we will provide instructions! :)

Fletcher trying to chat up Giada.
They shared bags of unhealthy Cheetos & Doritos.

Unca Nick demonstrating his rocket balloons.
Fletch loves these! The pump is easy for kids to use too.

(From left) Amy, Jamie, Christine & Bryan.
Only two are dutifully wearing their conductor hats.

Outside in Grammy's playground.
(From left) Grammy, Aunt Ellen, Aunt Mary,
Cousins Natalie & Lauren.

Unca Sam & Aunt Mary.

Remote-control dump truck from Unca Nick.

Cousins, minus one (Daniel).

"Rody" from Amy! This picture taken right after Fletch *tried*
to dismount. Gotta work on that dismount.

Enchanted Rock

Hello, all! Here are some photos from our recent trek to
Enchanted Rock: Fredericksburg, Texas.
The Rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome,
rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level,
and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths
(underground rock formation uncovered by erosion)
in the United States.
(quoted from TX Parks & Wildlife website)

It is a little less than 2 hours outside Austin.
Our traveling companions: Amy, Jamie, Bryan & Christine.
(all friends from the DC area)
Our camera died just before reaching the top of the dome,
so I will eventually get more pics from everyone else.

Jamie outside the loo, right before "the climb."

Amy, Christine & Bryan getting ready.
Bryan creating satchel within which to carry his gigantic water bottles.

"The climb." They left us in the dust.
No compassion for a couple with a 2 year-old. :)

We were very proud of our little guy.
He mostly rode on Wes' shoulders,
but there were times that he refused our help.

"Reach out to me! I will pull you up!! We'll never leave you!"

Birthday Month

Hard to believe its been almost two years since the little fella joined our lives. Or changed our lives. Completely and forever!

No bitterness! He continues to thrive, surprising us every day with his acute intellect. And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mother... Seriously, this kid is smart. Numbers, letters, social interaction. I think he's accelerated. You guys just wait- you'll think your kid is a genius too!

Anyway, as the title declares, it's birthday month. We are having a small family party this Sunday (March 9). I do not know how some parents have parties every year for their multiple kids. Last year wore me out. This year we're making a train cake! Yeah! Pictures soon!

Lunch at P. Terry's Burger Stand, before heading over to the Zilker Nature Center. Wes & Fletcher eat at P. Terry's once a week. EEeesh.

Fascinated at the animals in the nature center. The main reason we go to this nature center is because Fletcher is in love with the owls. Unfortunately, most, if not all of the animals are injured and cannot live on their own in the wild. Therefore, most of Fletcher's beloved owls have eyes or wings (or both) missing. Sad.

Horned owls, as featured in "Gus & Sam Light Up The Night." This is an interactive book that Fletcher adores. But he calls it "owl choo-choo book."


Barred Owls, as featured in Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin." Oh, I know ALL my owl books!

Ooh, so excited!

Undressing at 8:30 AM. I probably had JUST gotten him into that shirt...

Temp tattoo from a kids' meal. He wanted me to take it off after I put it on. Sorry, kid. Tattoos are for life!

Batman! Pajamas purchased at a children's resale shop
USED TO HAVE A CAPE... but don't anymore... wah!

First time on the potty!

Hey, everyone! These are really tiny because I accidentally saved them after resizing them to send in an e-mail- grrrr!!
I'm mad at myself.

However, you get the gist- he finally sat on his potty
that I bought a few weeks ago.
We haven't been pushing it- just mentioning it here and there.

We gave him his favorite book for the occasion
so I could sneak some quick pictures.

Happy February!

Has anyone seen the Colgate commercial with Brooke Shields?
She really scrubs her teeth, doesn't she? Ouch.

Anyway, enough about Brooke-y. Who wants to see fun pics of Fletchy-man??

Underneath a tower of blocks.
I will be posting an in-depth video of these fun times on myspace:
myspace.com//ssythoff

Lunges at 10 AM. 6 mile run at 10:10 AM.

Still stretching... we said we run at 10:10- we still have 9 minutes to stretch!!

Okay, take a rest.

Daddy & Fletch. White legs.

Mommy & Fletch. We look good.

Happy bath-time moment. There are many of these.
Please to ignore mildew.