Peanuts

We have our own little Linus in the house.

Only he carries around a blue sheet, instead of a blanket.

This has been on his bed.  It's an old, worn out sheet.  I started using it around Christmas time when he was sick constantly, and I didn't want to ruin a nicer sheet.

He became quite attached to it and couldn't really sleep without having it up against his face like that.

Classy little lovey.

Sometimes he likes to do this.  He thinks it's funny.

Probably because we all laugh when he does it.

And, speaking of Trey:

One night he decided to dish himself up for dinner.

He's a big fan of berries.

They spent a few days in this corner, playing "fort" with the pillows and Trey's sheet.

Who wouldn't be happy like this?

Quick (But Very Fun) Visit

Blake's parents were kind enough to stop by on the way to his brother's graduation.

They treated us to a delicious dinner out and then we returned home to play.

What are they so focused on?

Grandma's iphone, of course!

They had more fun having Grandma record videos and then watching them together.

I couldn't have been more happy at how quickly my shy little Trey warmed up to his grandparents.

Is that not the cutest, happiest face?  I LOVE this picture!

And it was so fun watching all of them laugh together.

I got a little carried away snapping photos.  This isn't even half of them.  But it was just so cute watching the four of them together.

Look how cute and snuggle Trey is with his Grandma!

And he roped her into helping him ride his bike the next morning.

He LOVES riding on his bike.

He also got excited to help Grandpa help his daddy fix a sprinkler head.

He loves to be "one of the guys".

And an opportunity to get muddy is pretty much always too good to pass up.

Anyway, it was a really fantastic visit.  The only sad thing was that it went by much too quickly.  But we really appreciate you guys coming to visit!  Thank you!

Spring Recital

It's that time again!

My pretty princess.

This time she played a duet with her instructor.  It was so beautiful!  If you haven't seen it yet, check my facebook page.

I am sort of in love with this photo.  Have you ever seen such a purposeful 5-year old?

He did a great job, too!

Here are my Goofy Smilers with their beautiful and wonderful instructor!

Graduation?

Bryce had his preschool program and graduation a couple of weeks ago.  It was adorable.

Good thing I snapped this photo because this was pretty much the only action he participated in.  For the remainder of this song and all of the rest, he kept his hands firmly in his pockets.

But he sang every word perfectly.

Look at his cute smile!

We've loved his sweet teachers!

Receiving his graduation paraphernalia

I love how proud he is!

I can't believe he's already done with two years of preschool and headed to Kindergarten in the fall!  I actually teared up a little bit on his final day.  He's just growing up too fast!

We Were Runnin'

The city sponsors a few races every year.  Last year Kayli ran them with Blake and asked me to run them with her this year.  So, I've been keeping up my running so I could make good on my commitment to her.

Pre-race enthusiasm!

I had no idea how awesome my hair looks when I run.

Blake took about 10 photos of us from this distance.  I think he wanted to make a little "Where's Waldo"-type game for you.

You might notice that most of the other runners look like boys.  That's because they are boys.  Kayli really wanted to attend the baptism of one of her best friends that same morning.  The baptism was scheduled for the same time as Kayli's heat in the race.  So, we skipped ahead a couple heats and ran with the 3rd and 4th grade boys.  We both thought we'd be dead last.

As you can see, we weren't.  This was when we finally spotted Blake and I was trying to get Kayli to take her mind off her fatigue and wave, or give a thumbs up to the boys.

At least one of us looks pretty when we run.

The three girls running together.  Kayli was pretty happy about that point.

And for the record--she ran it in 9:03.  I was so super proud of her!

*Update*:  She ran a mile at school today in 8:25!!!

Our Weird Faces

I thought this was going to be another disjointed post, but then as I scrolled through the photos, I realized that we had someone making a weird face in each of the three separate things I wanted to post about.

As I am so strongly opposed to disjointed posts (since I am always so organized and coordinated myself), this was a huge relief, naturally.

First up, is me:

You need to understand that Blake gets a little click-crazy when he's behind the camera and he just keeps snapping away.  So, we typically have a few where I'm making a weird face.  This is me and my belly at 7-months, by the way.  We should probably find a better spot to photograph these than that lame corner...

Next up, Trey:

I love this face.  Too funny.

He is standing on the changing table pad.  After three babies, it was in pretty sad sad shape.  Lots of rips and tears in the covering.  So, I did what any ultra-talented, uber-crafty, blogging mama would do--

I picked up a couple of rolls of zebra print duct tape and went to town.

I'm exceptionally proud of it.

And lastly, Sweet P:

I think she's pretending to take a bite.  Not really sure.

In case you couldn't tell amidst the bad lighting of the prior photo, it's one of those Edible Arrangements.

My brother and his wife sent it to us.

It. Was. Amazing.

And completely devoured in a matter of minutes.  I did have a lot of eager helpers in this task.

Leaving me with a darling little blue and white striped vase that was just perfect for displaying the peonies that were blooming outside.  Sadly, I never took a picture and their beauty is only short-lived.  But I still have the vase and it makes me happy.

David and Belky, you guys totally made my day.  Thanks!

Turning Two-Two With The Choo Choo

I know--my clever post titles are what keep you all coming back.

Trey turned two a little while ago.

He was super thrilled about our Candle-In-The-Breakfast tradition.

This is one of the most volatile children I've ever known.  We thought Bryce was a mood-swinger, but Trey has definitely surpassed him in that skill.

Fortunately, once the candle was blown out and removed, he calmed down and decided that he absolutely loved the lemon poppy seed bread I'd made for him.

Whew!

And, in typical toddler fashion, he ripped down the Happy Birthday sign and broke it into pieces.

I debated how to make this cake for quite some time.  I pretty much always end up using up way more time and energy than this seems worth.  Especially since Kayli is really the only one who enjoys birthday cake in our home.

But, then I remembered that Bryce had gotten a train for his birthday that would be about the right size to sub in for the pieces I didn't want to make.

That made a big difference.  That meant less time creating a cake and less cake to eat.  Win-win.

This might have been his favorite part of the day.  I set it out the night before where he'd find it first thing in the morning.  He was so excited.  Especially about the "poopel" string attached.  "Poopel" is his favorite color, in case you're wondering.

I never did figure out how to make the lighting work with the camera, but he was having so much fun in that sun-drenched corner, I took about 40 photos anyway.

Train Cake and birthday presents--the makings of a fabulous birthday celebration!

Taking it all in...

Hey, I think I might like this...

And then this face made it all worth it.

After the brief enthusiasm, he had to put that thumb right back where it belongs.

I love when they are happy and excited for each other.

They kept grabbing his presents and he was not very happy about it.

It's so nice to have such helpful older siblings.

Another face that I love!  He got a Zhu-Zhu pet of his own.  And we should have just stopped there.

He had no interest in any other gift and was just happy to keep pushing the nose on this one.  It was so cute.  And so perfectly satisfying to have gotten him the perfect gift.

All in all, it seemed to be a pretty great birthday.  He was happy for most of the day, which is a big deal for him.

I can't believe he's already two.  The time has seriously just flown by.  Thankfully, he still loves to snuggle and cuddle with me.  It's one of my favorite things, but might become a bit of a problem in a few weeks when he has to share me.  He really doesn't like to do that.  He even got jealous the other night when I was clipping Bryce's toenails!

He is a busy little man.  He has an amazing ability to trash every room of the house in remarkably little time.  We often resort to just locking all of the doors.  Except his own.  Because another favorite thing is to put himself on time out in his bed.  Sometimes he falls asleep.  None of us mind.

He is ridiculously shy.  If anyone outside of our family talks to them, he quickly finds me, snuggles in, and pretends they don't exist.  But he does love to give "high five", so you might be able to coax him out of his shell briefly if you request that.

He is quite the chatterbox and keeps us all laughing with random sayings such as, "Yeah, Baby!  Yeah, Baby!  Yeah, Baby!", "Fifty dollars?!" (he really says this all of the time.  I can't remember the story behind it, but it's pretty funny to hear), "Zima!  No mo' cwying!", "Tha's fo Chey" (this is anytime he wants something for himself), "I no wike it!", "I wike dis song on de radio", "I silly!", and one of my favorites, "Mommy, hode you!" (when he wants me to hold him).

He is a HUGE Adelle fan.  He is frequently singing "I set fiah to da rain!", over and over and over.  I wish I was much of an Adelle fan at all.  His favorite book is "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed."  He loves to read it and ask, "Where's da mama?" on every page.  Mamas are very important.  I can't tell you his favorite food because his culinary likes and dislikes change by the moment.  There is nothing he consistently likes.  Not even cookies.

He is super strong willed.  I am sure this trait will serve him well when he grows up, but for now, it can be a bit exhausting helping him to learn what he can and cannot control and how to cope with resulting emotions.

Most of the time, it's a lot of fun being his mama.  We love our little Trey Trey!