A couple of cuties lying around!

My mom and Jessica came over for a little bit this morning. Sam was very very happy to see them!

We rarely get to see Sam's eyes looking as big and bright as his brother's. Pretty sweet!

Happy Birthday Mom!

We went to my mom's house last night to celebrate her birthday, which is today. Happy Birthday Mom!!! I wish I had some more pictures of my mom from her party, but somehow I only got one. She was really busy taking care of my crying children (mostly Miles) and cleaning up my gigantic mess ( I attempted to make Popeye's fried chicken; her favorite). So because my mom was being the amazing mom that she is, I didn't get any fabulous pictures of her!

I was behind the fry daddy for the entire beginning of our evening, and my sweet family was playing with the boys and Laney. Miles was having fun in Uncle Jack's lap. Grant joined them later. He called over to me and asked if Miles liked to have his nose tapped or his chin tickled. He remembered me telling him a couple weeks ago about how to make each of them smile. Isn't he a sweet big cousin!!Sam spent some time with Johnny, my little sister's sweet boyfriend.

The kids were playing on Aunt Cait's bed. They were "sleeping" and then waking up and racing out of her room at full speed. Laney was trying to pick Tessa up and put her on the bed.

Laney "sleeping"

More of this fun game after it moved down to the floor!I seriously think that Laney may have her first crush! She LOVES Johnny. She would walk up close to him and say, "Hiiiii Johnny" and then wait for him to chase after her. Such a little flirt!

He is such a good sport. He seems to genuinely love playing with our kids and hanging out with our crazy family. He definitely knows how to get a ringing endorsement from me. If you make my girl this happy, you are a keeper in my book!!!!

This is my one and only picture of the birthday girl. She is kissing this frog possibly in the hopes that it will change into something else. This was part of our gift to her.

Free Panckakes!

My mom, Jess and I took Laney, Tessa and the boys to IHOP yesterday for some free pancakes. They were giving out a shortstack in exchange for a donation to the Shiners. It was lots of fun. Laney was really really excited about pink syrup!!!

Love this giant cheekful of pancakes!

Definitely worth the trip to merit some of this sweet excitement!

Aunt Jessa snuggled up with both girls on her side of the booth.

Laney's Favorite Forsie!!!

We were looking forward to celebrating our sweet friend Ella on Saturday morning for her birthday. Poor Ella got sick and had to postpone her party. Boo!!! We can't wait to celebrate that happy girl the first chance we get! Laney was really excited about Ella's party, and I was really excited that we were all going to get to go together. Todd has been working insane amounts of hours lately. So, we decided to do something else that is near and dear to Laney's heart. She loves to ride the "forsies" at the mall. I don't know why she says forsies. She is completely capable of the H sound, but not when it comes to her forsies! This horse is her favorite. Seriously, this big, black, armored war horse is totally her favorite. She waves to it whenever we pass by the carousel and chooses it every single time we ride.

Laney was so excited to be riding next to Todd, she had to lean over and give him a kiss on the arm.

Silly girl on her battle ready horse!

Elvis Makes Miles Smile!!

Miles got to wear the cute Elvis onesie that Jessica gave us. He loved it....or he loved looking up at Todd with that adorable smile!

Sam's cool onesie is a Johnny Cash reference (so I'm told) He wasn't quite so smiley, but just as cute!!

Here's a little Sammy smile from a couple of days ago!

Tummy Time!

I am really bad about making sure that the boys get lots and lots of tummy time. They don't love it and I don't love making them cry. I can usually catch them in a small window right after they eat and before they get sleepy in which they will give me a couple of minutes of tummy time, but it is not their favorite time of day!
Cute Sam Bones (not sure where this nickname came from, but it is the most commonly used one at our house)

This boy looks so much like his Daddy!!!

Our Mister looking a little worried about what he knows I am trying to do here.

And here he is in full out protest of the mandated tummy time!

Laney's Valentine's Day

We had lots of fun last weekend with our little Valentine. We got her a heart sprinkled donut and I set it out for her with her gift when I got up with the boys. My Valentine's presents were always waiting for me in the morning at my place at the table when I was a little girl, so I wanted Laney's to be all set for her too. She was really excited about her donut!!!!

We had a very Dora heavy celebration, starting with a card from Daddy.

I got Laney a Dora Valentine's book months ago on a big sale somewhere. Luckily her love for Dora has only gotten greater over the last few months

Todd decided to get Laney something that could become a tradition every year. He is going to get her a CD each year. I love that idea, because he loves music so much. I hope that he can pass that love and appreciation down to her. I have absolutely no musical inclination at all. One year, as a New Year's Resolution, I decided to exchange tardiness in my life for an appreciation of music. It didn't stick!

So this year, Laney got....big surprise.....a Dora CD!!!! I think that Todd is anxious for years to come when he can give her CDs that don't have songs led by cartoon character voices. But, she loves it!!!! A couple of times in the past week, we have been driving around aimlessly in an effort to keep our boys sleeping soundly. You would think that would be boring for Laney but she is happy as can be singing along with her "movie" as she calls it. The funniest thing about her CD is that it has verses in Spanish, and every time it starts, Laney laughs and says that they are singing backwards! She says, "I can't sing along now, it's too hard."

Laney got down to read her new book to Miles. The boys enjoyed their first Valentine's Day too. I got them some milk....they loved it!

Draped in Babies

Todd said that I look really mean in this picture. So, I wasn't smiling, but I am seriously excited about what is being pictured here. Miles is being worn in the Bjorn in front of me and Sam is on the back in the world's girliest Mai-Tei. So great!!! Right after I took this picture, I went outside to play some soccer with Laney. (the phrase playing soccer is being used very liberally here!)
I hesitate to put them in carriers all the time, because typically they go right to sleep, but it is nice to have as an option!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Laney helped me make heart shaped Rice krispie treats for her class's Valentine's Day party yesterday. She really did use the cutter and cut several of them out for me. As usual when we are baking, she was quickly distracted by her immediate need to sample our creation!