Leap Day Catch-Up

Glad I have an extra day in February to catch up on some of the this month's events that I never took the time to blog about.

Liam seemed to grow by leaps and bounds lately...It may have been his new haircut.  His 4th birthday is coming up, and he wants a robot party.  Fun! 

Our sweet nephew, Gavin, turned 8.  Our kiddos love spending time with their older cousins.

Winnie the Pooh officially became Ellery's.  He's a little on the large-side of being an ideal little lovey, proving the fact that size doesn't matter when it comes to true love.

Minutes before we were about to leave for church, Marin tore the top part of her ear.  Although we debated, we decided not to take her to the ER.  She's a tough little gal, but, oh, did she cry.  Poor baby, but now she's as good as new.

The girls decided that they would rather sit at the big table instead of being confined to high chairs. 

They still like to play with toys, but t.v. is also vying for their attention. 

Feeling like the house is becoming one giant toy box, we did a purge a couple of weeks ago, and straightened up the play area in the den.  For about 18 hours, the toy explosion felt contained.

An Afternoon Visit

It's always fun when Jon's Aunt Cindi and Uncle Raland come into town for a visit.  We've seen them a couple of times this week, and today we took the kids over to Memaw and Poppie's and let them run around outside--it was a beautiful day!

Date Night with Little Man

I had a date tonight with quite a little charmer...my 3.8-year-old.  Liam got to pick the restaurant, El Chico, his favorite.  He drank three cups of sweet tea and colored his kids' menu with no "scribble scrabble."  Afterwards, we stopped at Target, and I let him pick out some beach/pool gear for our Spring Break cruise, which is coming up in just a couple of weeks.  (Can't wait!!!)  When we got home, and Liam was bathed and tucked into bed, he gave me a big kiss and squeeze and said, "Mama, you're a great date!"  And those five words made Mama's heart melt.

Oh.Yes.We.Did.

Yes, this is the Oscar Meyer Weenie-mobile, and yes, it landed right in our very own neighborhood.  How could we not stop and pay homage to the biggest hot dog our children may ever lay eyes on?  Liam was fascinated, Ellery wanted to get down and run laps around the bun, and Marin was freaked out by a barking dog nearby.  Jon and I wished that we could pile the kids in that jumbo hot dog on wheels and take it cross-country on the best road trip ever. 

And to top the evening off, we met our friends, the Tohlens, at Chuck E. Cheese.  The kids had fun playing with Elle and Asher, and we had fun catching-up in between chasing the little ones.

Report Card for February

February has been a fun, busy month at school for Liam.  It's been filled with Valentine's parties, pajama and movie day, little homework assignments, and open house.  Thank goodness we've had a couple of slow weekends to recuperate from busy weeks!

Valentine pajama and movie day!

Decorating his cross was "homework."

Liam shows Daddy his cross at open house.

Checking out his classroom for next year with his friend, Fallon.

A Day to Love

Valentine's Day was fun.  I went to Liam's party at school.  There sure are lots of little sweethearts in his class.  We had breakfast for supper...pink, heart-shaped pancakes, eggs, and turkey bacon.  Nana came over, and the kids opened up presents.  Lots sugar was flowing when all three finally surrendered to sleep.  It was another great day full of lots of love.

Jon loves breakfast for supper.

Ellery loves pink pancakes.

Marin loves big smiles.

Liam loves gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.



Marin loves teddy bears.



All the kids love visits from Nana.

Jon loves peanut butter cookie cakes.



Mama loves homemade cards from Daddy.



Mama loves hugs from Liam at his party.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We PICK you to be our Valentine!

Lots of Love on Valentine's Day,

 Liam, Ellery, and Marin

Boys, Gadgits, and Change

It starts young, this obsession with electronics.  At first, it's just books enhanced with sounds, then it's a LeapPad, next it's begging to play games on the computer, and now it's a plea to fiddle with his parents' iPhones. 

I think he'll have one of his own before we know it.  Jon and I originally said that kids DO NOT need cell phones, let alone smart phones.  We may end up changing our tune.  It wouldn't be the first time.  In fact, there have been quite a few things we thought we'd never do when we became parents that we do regularly, but that was back when we knew it all, though, so it doesn't count.

Kitchens and Dolls

In the past month or so, Marin and Ellery have been hard at play.  They're starting that transformation from babies into little girls.  And it's so sweet to watch.  Marin loves her baby doll, and lately, she carries it around the house, crying when she has to put her down to eat.  Ellery likes to play in her little kitchen.  She is constantly offering her Mama and Daddy invisible treats and cups of tea. 

Ellery in the kitchen:

Little Mama, Marin:

Crabbing 101

Grandpa took Liam fishing for the very first time last summer, and when we were in Bolivar over the weekend, Debby and Jeff took him crabbing for the first time.  Jeff managed to reel them in with the allure of chicken necks.  Liam had a blast...No, I mean it, he had so much fun that he's still talking about it and asking when he can go again.  The amount of crabs caught were slim (two, to be precise), but to a three-year-old, it mattered not.  And just so you know, he named the "big" crab Alice.