Free Photo Session Giveaway

My friend, Jane, has started a new blog and is offering a free photo session giveaway. I can't pass this up, so check out her blog HERE. (She took the pictures above!)

My Favorite Season Is Here!

I love the sun. I love the weather and the extra hour of sunlight we're enjoying . I've been leaving the doors open and the boys have been playing outside nonstop. Ian stays with his brother and out of the street enough that I don't have to follow him closely anymore. I'll have a few months of rest until Afton starts running. That brings me to another love: springtime clothes! I love switching from boots to sandals. I love all of the flowers in bloom, the dandelions and the teeny wild strawberries that bloom in our backyard. I love riding my bike-which I did today for the first time since I was pregnant with Afton-along with Ayden who can now get himself started on his bike!! I love how the spring always makes me feel like a kid again. I love showing Ayden how to climb our oak tree because I was always climbing trees as a kid. I love the countdown to summer vacation. I could go on for days, but Josh is home now and will want to visit. Later!

No Pinching Here!

To celebrate St. Patty's Day, I fixed green scrambled eggs (no ham Sam I am) and made shamrock cookies (just green icing from a can on good ol' Chips Ahoy) for Ayden's school lunch snack.

We had a playdate in the morning with everyone dressed in green.
I made guacamole for the first time (I wanted to keep to the green food theme all day)
and it was delicious! I will make that again SOON. Pictured above: the two babies in attendance with accompanying mothers. Pictured below: some adorable kids who had a great time together.

Later on, we went as a fam to a nearby park. Josh took this pic b/c he was festive for the wrong season (purple and gold).

Playground equipment is only fun when you can climb to the tip top!Sweetness.

Ayden & Ian spent a while at this window feeding and collecting money with anyone who would play along.


It was a fun filled day. Laundry, playing outside, a long nap, burning the evening round of St. Patty's cookies, and some Yoga/Pilates targeting those stretched out abs of mine were also a part of my adventures. Oh, and some leprechauns came and arranged all of the boys' green toys out in their room again. They left some green M&Ms as a parting gift. Hope you enjoyed your St. Patrick's Day! Lots of love to you all!!

Strike a Pose!

Afton has been making a new face that Josh calls Angelina. Look and see why.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

Ayden's Big Milestone

Saturday was a perfect day, so we soaked up the sun as much as humanly possible. It's so awesome to finally see everyone coming out of hibernation. Catching rays is near the top of my priority list for inner peace. Anyway, we went on a brisk walk with Josh pushing the two younger kids in the double jogger and Ayden riding his bike alongside. For the past two weeks Ayden has been begging to get his training wheels taken off, but I had to keep telling him that mom & dad BOTH had to be home to do that and his much anticipated moment finally came! After our walk, Josh took off the training wheels and taught Ayden how to ride his bike. I had the video camera and the regular camera both going to catch this memory as best as I could. We were a little hesitant, b/c we didn't want him splitting his chin back open, but he didn't fall once! He would giggle to himself while he peddled down the street and he would shout "Whoo-HOO!" every so often. He was elated! We were too. Josh had to move his seat and handlebars up too. He's getting so tall and so mature. We love this guy so much!

There goes one!

I'm the KING OF THE WORLD!

Ian decided that he wanted to take his twaining tiwe wheels off too!

and Afton tried to eat all of the clovers, grass and leaves she could grab. Our human mower!

That was all just in the morning. The rest of the day was filled with outdoor activity too. I went to a friend's baby shower at the park, then as soon as I got home we headed out to visit with our good friends, the Wesley's. Mark had all of his toys out for us to play with at his parents' house: 4 wheeler, golf cart with a trailer hitched to the back, and oversized super speedy r/c vehicles. We lived it up Livingston Parish style!! We stayed outside until the skeeters started bitin', then we went and pigged out at El Rancho. YUMMY! The outdoor adventures didn't stop there. On Sunday we drove to Alexandria to see our good friends/sort-of-in-laws, the Mangums, bless their new little baby, Logan. They had a big barbecue in their backyard afterward, so we enjoyed super great company and that awesome weather some more. I'm so glad we caught that sun when we did b/c guess what: IT'S RAINING AGAIN! I'm so over this. Watch. Tonight it will get cold again and we'll have to turn the heaters back on. Lame.

Bring It On!

Okay. This post is for anyone who feels like they had a rough day to compare and contrast and realize that their day wasn't actually all that bad.
Recap.
The past few days/nights: Mom dealing with a clingy miserable baby with high fever (103 and 105 at one point) b/c of a bad ear infection.
This morning: Ian takes a fall at a friend's house off third step of back porch. Lands chin first, teeth cut through bottom lip. Abrasions all over his chin. Blood everywhere.
2pm: Mom has all three children with her at the allergy doctor to discuss egg issues with Ian and follow up with Ayden and his list of allergies. Ayden tries climbing feet first into the bottom basket of the double stroller (after already being told not to do so). Stroller falls on top of him. He splits his chin open on the floor. Doctor visit is abruptly ended and we scurry on over to the ER which is conveniently in the same building. Nurses recognize us and ask if we've been there recently. Jokes are made about both boys having bandaged chins and "thank goodness the third child is a girl." Ha ha. I'm laughing.
5pm: Finally heading home with two chin strapped kids, Ayden having three stitches to go along with it. Facing an evening without Josh at home until after bedtime. Lovely.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

I have to share something that happened yesterday. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's birthday, so Ayden's teacher read the kids "Green Eggs and Ham" and made green scrambled eggs with ham for them. She told me that Ayden asked for seconds and proclaimed to his class, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss, and thank you for inspiring the best day ever for my child!

Hooded Towels

I love hooded towels. My poor boys have been using the baby sized towels up until today. I guess I didn't want to admit that they outgrew them. It was starting to look like covering an adult body with a hand towel. I LOVE Pottery Barn Kids's hooded towels-especially the Dr. Suess ones-but cannot justify the prices. I spotted a Monster towel at Target, but it was still $25. Well, yesterday Target had a sale on all of their bright colored extra big towels, so I bought two with matching hand towels and wash cloths. Josh found this how-to-tutorial that I used with my own ideas added and here's the result:

Exhibit A- Mr. Froggie

Make note of the froggie spots and hands.

Exhibit B-Sharky

The boys love them. They actually didn't argue when it was time to get out of the bath, b/c they were excited to wrap up in their towels! I might have to make a few more for backup!
Total cost for two: $12 plus mom's labor.