Little Helpers and Sunshine from Cousins...

The other night, Ty had a few last boards to put up on the play set... Richard had a great time being daddy's little helper and had to use his little tools to lend that extra helping hand!

Richard received a surprise package in the mail the other day - a mailer envelope covered with airplanes - it was from his two cousins in Texas! He was so excited as he opened it and discovered that Maddie had painted him a canvas with a race car and also one with a big green dinosaur. Greyson had collected him some seashells. They both drew him Valentine's Day cards as well - we hate that Texas is so far away..

My Hunny's Birthday!!!

Ty and I have been out on more dates in the last week than the last six months: and boy has it been fun being able to spend time as a couple: I am now officially broke, but it was worth it!! LOL To start with, we didn't think that we would be able to see the MSU vs. Kentucky game because it was supposed to be on ESPN (we cut our cable off a couple of months ago) so I made arrangements with mom and dad to keep Richard that night - I didn't tell Ty till the day of where we were going - we went to the Alumni House (great atmosphere to watch ANY sports and not have to be in a loud "bar" setting). On Ty's actual birthday he and Richard got back in town about five so we had a low key evening and ordered a pizza and hung out as a family at home. I had Ty several gifts to open - the theme was 39 and he had 39 items as presents - Richard LOVED that each box was numbered and he was super helpful with opening the presents and blowing out the candle on daddy's favorite cake that I made: yellow cake with chocolate icing!! Next, I asked Jennifer (the BEST sitter in the ENTIRE world) to come over on Friday...so she and her fiance came over about 3:45 and kept Richard while Ty and I caught a matinee showing of Pink Panther, ate a delicious supper at Osaka, and then watched the seven o'clock showing of He's Just Not That Into You. What a fun night. I love you baby and am so glad that you are my husband. My your 39th year be your BEST, most SPECIAL, and FAVORITE ever!!!

P.S. NO - neither one of us like the couple picture of us, but that's kinda what you get when you use the self timer....

Can You Say MOOOOOOO....

Claire, another friend from Mrs. Beth's had a birthday recently (yes they all have birthdays REALLY close together) and the party was at Chic Fil A. Richard LOVED every bit of it... the Cow especially!!! Claire looked great in her shirt that Mrs. Robin made and pants that a friend of mine from work made. We always have fun getting together with everyone...I'm not sure what Richard will think once all of these parties end - with all of his friends and the three in our family we have been celebrating non-stop since December!!

BTW - my comment to Kozy: THANKS A LOT FOR CLAY DOUGH (yes NOT playdough - modeling CLAY) TO PLAY WITH..... sure give it to the kid has carpet all at his house!!!! He really did have fun playing with it with his MeMe on the wax paper on the table after he "got over" it feeling "icky" on his hands...

Who Knew McDonald's Could Be So Much Fun...

One afternoon after picking up the kiddos from Mrs. Beth's the moms decided to take the "long" way home - some days are just like that you know.... the result was the kiddos having a blast trying to outrun, outscream, and outyell, each other while racing around the playground. Thanks for the fun we always have - we better still get together next year when we are "Flames."

New Library Time...

and so much less crowded. Mrs. June read a book as always, they sang some new songs, played with the parachute, and matched some colored circles (which totally delighted Richard). What fun - maybe we have found a new library time....

Playset Almost Complete...

...and so much fun at night..... Ty has worked so hard on Richard's playset...and oh what a delight!!! We led him outside and then Ty turned the switch so that Richard could see that it is lit up at night (just like Pooh's Playground at Disney World). OH the look of pure delight on his face!!! He had so much fun checking it all out and having his daddy swing with him - he had to check out both of the swings, the slide, and the fort!!! It has come in quite handy as we grill outside: he always gets upside when you have to go outside to check the grill and he is left peering out the kitchen door - well, no more!!! Now he can play on the playset while we take care of cooking supper and it is well lit and far enough away from the grill that he is safe. Thank you to my sweet, patient, and hardworking honey who built it from scratch (his says "NEVER again - the next one will be built from a kit in a box). Anyway, thank you Ty - Richard is having a blast!!!!

One Man's Trash: Another Man's Funtime/Treasure...

One morning when I arrived at Beth's house she told me that Marc had to replace their water heater - OUCH - but out of that not-so-fun experience for them, came several days of fun for the kiddos. They had so much fun playing inside of the box and helping to add their own "artistic expressions" i.e. crayon scribbles to it. What fun! Wouldn't it be great to be three again, if just for a day!!!

More Baton Rouge Fun...

The next morning, Richard had one more present to open. A really special one. WallE!!!! Yes, the real thing: he dances, "sings", walks in ALL directions, and blinks his eyes...what a cool tool for a little three year old fella who is obsessed with WallE to have. After banging into walls and chair legs a bit, he really got a grasp on how to use the remote.

Before we left, we watched our Disney World DVD of pictures together (when PatPat and Richard are snuggling) and of course Richard gave out good lovin before he left.

Richard's Birthday Celebration with Poppa and PatPat!

The weekend after Richard's birthday we headed to see Poppa and PatPat since Poppa is not up to travel these days. When we drove up, they had a Mickey Mouse birthday banner hanging on the garage and when we walked inside there were balloons and birthday cupcakes. Richard opened a few presents and then turned in for the night....Yes, he lines up all of his night time friends too....

I love the picture of Richard and Poppa walking hand in hand to the mailbox too...

Richard's Birthday Party at Mrs. Beth's House...

I made some cupcakes for a birthday celebration at Mrs. Beth's house. I learned my lesson from his actual party and did NOT have colored icing: ONLY white with Cars and WallE decorations and cupcake wrappers. None of the pictures of Wes showed his face (I don't think he was in a picture taking kind of mood) and poor Claire was half asleep. I love that the puppy is waiting to see if any of the kiddos drop a crumb or smuggle him a bite to eat: no such luck.

Birthday Fireworks.

I married into a "fireworks" family - I was not raised in a family that shot fireworks on any of the holidays or on special family occasions. After getting home from GattisTown, Ty got all the "pyro" fun together and ready for a mini birthday show for Richard. My camera is AWFUL at shooting fireworks, but he was absolutely delighted that his daddy shot fireworks off for him!! Afterwards we came inside and opened family birthday presents and ate a cupcake. Yes, I know that he has all of his cars all lined up...and NO my floor under the table is not spotless...whose is? His huge smile sums it all up: Turning THREE is absolutely GRAND!!!!

P.S. As you can tell, I couldn't find his hat so I just stole the hood off of my ski jacket!

Richard's Family Birthday Celebration!

It was so much fun having Richard's birthday fall on a school holiday this year. Richard and I headed to MeMe and DD's house to play and feed the ducks. That night, the three of us headed to GattisTown for pizza and gametime fun. Richard was quite a pro by the end of the evening and could swipe his own card. I was so glad that I rediscovered his little race car sweater vest while cleaning his closet that day (it has a number 5, but I think it kinda looks like an S). The crowds didn't seem to be so bad (probably because we went right after Ty got off of work). Richard had fun as always playing basketball and bowling....what is it about boys and playing games with balls?!?!?! Of course at the end of the evening he just had to take a picture with his little treasures all lined up neatly in a row! This poor little cake only had a couple of bites out of the icing when I threw it away, but it was yummy.

Play time with a friend....

It seems as if it was a million years ago, not just a little over a month....but Cindy had been telling me that Emma kept asking about Richard (she was at home right after her baby sister Emily was born)...one afternoon Richard and I had been home for just a few minutes when Cindy texted me this simple message "Mommy I wanna see Richard" - after a few quick texts back and forth and some reassurances that I would not make an offer I didn't mean, Cindy, Emma, and lil Emily were pulling up in our driveway....the visit was shortlived as Cindy didn't have any extra formula or diapers for Emily - but we had soooo much fun and look forward to them coming back really soon for another play time!!!!