Lane posing for her "3 month pictures" in a chair in the dining room.
Look at those
sweeeeeeeet feet!
There is a story behind the cookie. Let me start by saying that Beau may be the most humorous child on the face of the earth. He is very active and trying a lot of time, but also makes us laugh harder than anyone else I can think of the rest of the time.
We went to a great sub shop right by our church one Wednesday night before class. The kids get kids meals which come with sub, chips, drink and cookie. It is always a battle getting them to eat enough of their food, but usually they will do pretty well when there is a cookie waiting for them at the end of the meal. Needless to say, we are rather busy trying to eat our meals and watch all 3 kids and get them to eat. I looked over about halfway through the meal and this is what was left of Beau's cookie! He had nonchalantly been pinching himself off bites of his cookies when no one was looking while we thought he was eating his meal! It was so funny it was hard to get too mad at him. I guess that's what we get for not paying enough attention to him! Poor middle child.
Last Friday we went to a Valentine's Party at his teacher and my good friend Robin's house. She has 2 little boys of her own, and more toys than I have ever seen in one house in my entire life. Beau is in HEAVEN there. He did not want to leave, and I had a terrible time trying to get him to go when it was time. He even hid in one of their closets. Needless to say, he was quite upset with me on the way home. Before he fell asleep, he informed me that I was going to have to fine another little yellow-haired boy to stay at my house with me. He said he was going to live with Mrs. Quinn! I have no idea where he got the "little yellow-haired boy" thing, but I informed him that I don't want a trade in, that I am going to keep the one that I have! He didn't like that very much, either. He thought he had come up with the perfect solution!
One more funny thing that happened - yesterday at two different time totally independent of each other both of the kids called me by their teachers' names! Are you kidding me??? I gave birth to you crazy kids! Give me a little credit for
cryin' out loud!
Helping Daddy take down Christmas lights. That didn't happen til' mid-January...
Abby just started her 2
nd year of
cheerleading. It is so cute. She is between her good buddies
CeCe (on the left) and Avery (on the right). It is fun except being at the gym at 9am on Saturday mornings!
Halftime cheer.
This boy loves being a big brother. Seriously.
He told me to take a picture of their feet. So cute.
Beau picked this flower for me off of this flowering tree in our side yard the other day. So
stinkin' sweet! The past few times we have gone to the grocery store and pass the flower section, he runs and gets a big
ol' bouquet, tries to put them in our basket, and tells me he is buying flowers for me. I hate having to tell him to put them back, it is so precious. I tell him to tell his daddy that he wants to buy me flowers when he is at the store with him! (I don't dress him to go out like this. He is wearing a tee and pajama pants while we were playing around in the yard the other day. Just wanted to clarify that!)
Playing with his stomp rocket, a Christmas present from Will and Quinn. It is a really fun toy - highly recommended if you don't have one!
Gathering rockets.
Enjoying a bubble bath.
My three precious babies! These two can not get enough of their little sister.
Even Rocky hangs pretty tight with her. Guarding her while she naps...
Mommy is
lovin' the
bumbo she bought off of
Craigslist!
My girls. Aren't they beautiful? (I know, I'm biased, but
c'mon...they are pretty sweet!)
Well, we are having a great, busy 2010. Toby is not working extra quite so much, which has been wonderful. We love having him home some of the time. It is really hard when he doesn't get to be home very much. He has even started going back to the gym and getting some exercise, and he is itching to go turkey hunting in April. We'll see how we'll manage that. Feb. 5th brought him the big 3-5. We went and ate at a restaurant that is an a big Victorian style home called the Mabry House. We ate at the chef's table back in the kitchen, and it was honestly probably the best food and the most fun eating experience I have ever had! Who would have thunk it down here in lil' ol' Shreveport?!
Abby is thriving in kindergarten. She has a great group of friends, and is doing great in school. She is in cheerleading and dance, and will start baseball in the spring. She has lost a grand total of 2 teeth, loves to bowl on the Wii, play Sorry (thanks Mimi), is always doing some sort of arts and craft project, adores Taylor Swift and Hannah Montana, and spends a fair amount of time playing on the computer. Some days she seems like a teenager trapped in a 6 year old's body. Just when you think she is getting so big, you get a reminder that she is still 6 - like at her sleepover the other night Mommy forgot to pack her lovee and she called crying at 11:00 b/c she couldn't sleep. Thank goodness she is still just 6! I have enough gray hairs right now making me feel plenty old. I don't need a teenager just yet!
As I said before, Beau is very busy and active, keeping us on our toes every minute of every day. I have never seen a child love his little sister the way he loves Lane. He would do anything for her. He can't leave her alone when they are together, much to my dismay at times! He started wearing jeans again (we were stuck on "soft pants" i.e. sweatpants for a long, long time) which is nice for me. More options...and he looks so darn cute in them. He likes to dabble in this and that - he's not really stuck on any one thing right now - he loves his zhu zhu pet, Cars, his train table, Star Wars, coloring and arts and crafts, and he, too, loves to play Sorry and Chutes and Ladders. His 4th birthday is coming up in April, and he asks almost every day how much longer until his birthday.
Lane is a joy. She is such a blessing to us. She is a great baby. She is all smiles and sweet, slobbery kisses. No teeth yet. She weighed in this week at the dr's office at 8lbs 10oz. I took her in for a sick visit, hoping for an ear infection at most. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with RSV, which has been rough. Poor thing is having the hardest time breathing and I was having to hold her sitting up for a few nights there. She seems to be getting a little bit better now.
We are looking forward to a fun Spring Break in March. Toby and Abby are going to Steamboat to ski, and Beau, Lane and myself are flying to Nashville for a visit. Til' next time~~~!!
Toby and Lane waiting for the Mardi Gras parade to start. This is our 3rd time to go to the Highland Parade (an annual parade they do in our neighborhood) here in Shreveport. It was weird after the fact to realize that this would be the last time we would walk down our street to the parade! It is always really fun and the kids have a great time catching lots of beads, stuffed animals, moon pies and candy. We will miss having it to go to every year after we move.
On February 12th it snowed! This does not happen much in here at all, so I got the kids up bright and early, bundled em' up, and sent them out to play. I knew it would be here for a few hours, and wanted them to enjoy it as much as they could! It was so much fun, and the snow was perfect for making snowmen and snowballs, or "throwballs" as Beau kept calling them. I am so thankful God gave us such a beautiful and fun snow to play in!
Abby posing with our snowman and snowwoman.
Making "throwballs"...
The first thing Beau did when we walked outside was lay down in the snow and make a snow angel. He is full force with everything he does...no easing into it! It reminded me of how he was when when got to the beach last year...
All bundled up and ready to go! (Sorry for the slightly out of order pictures...)
Lane demonstrating her two new tricks at the same time - sticking her tongue out AND holding her toes - now that's talent. Check out those rolls!
Abby's buddies at her friend Grayson's tea party birthday party. It was the cutest thing - all of the girls got to dress up, have a tea party on real china in a beautiful historic mansion, have a scavenger hunt, etc. Abby had the best time, and it was fun to watch all of these sweet little girls have such a good time together.
Abby's dress up outfit she chose. Pretty good taste! I kind of like it!
Avery, Lauren, Reagan, Abby and Sarah
Beau's birthday card to Daddy
Abby's birthday card to Daddy
Happy 35th Birthday to Toby on February 5th! He is such a wonderful father and husband! We love him so much and feel so blessed to have him to share our lives with. We had a fun little celebration at home with the kids the night before his actual birthday. Pictured here with Lane and Toby is the yummiest cupcake on the face of the earth! The next night we got a sitter and went to a wonderful dinner at a place called the Mabry House here. It was maybe the best meal we have ever had, and so much fun to sit at the chef's table (a table in the kitchen in the back). 
