"Tell me about your picture!"

(Alternately titled: "Child, would you please cooperate so I can take one stinkin' picture?")



"Hey Nat, show me your picture!"



"Hold still so I can take a picture of you with your picture!"


"Tell me about your picture, babe!"



"It's YOU, Mama!"

One Reason He'll be a Good Husband

I can't explain it, but Christopher loves the garbage can. He'll go get a tissue and halfheartedly wipe his nose, just so he can race the tissue to the garbage. Whenever I need something tossed, I hand it to him and he flashes a bright grin and runs to the garbage.

We are missing more than a few items around here. Our best guess is that our sweet boy was trying to be helpful, but Natalie's brand new turquoise flip-flops are probably peacefully resting at the city dump.

So when he got a card in the mail from Grandma last week with 2 dollar bills enclosed, I was determined to watch him closely.

I wish I had the video camera in hand! He played with the dollars for a few moments, closing them in the card, then pulling them out again.

Then, sure enough, he crumpled them up and ran away.



It's a bit embarrassing to post a picture of our bathroom garbage can, but I assure you that nothing too disgusting was in there....just half-used tissues from our son's perfectly dry nose.

And no, this is not an advertisement for Pantene.

Happy Easter!

Ally and Christopher would like to wish you a very happy Easter!

I'm guessing Natalie would wish you the same, but she didn't want to cooperate with the sticking-your-head-through-the-hole-and-smiling routine. Go figure.

Have a blessed day!

Her First Boyfriend

Occasionally I help out my sweet neighbor friend by watching her kiddos. She has a regular daycare provider, but for some reason the sitter has been a bit flaky lately.

Riley is 3 (just about 2 weeks younger than Natalie) and Caitlyn is about 5 months old.

The other day Riley and Natalie were sitting primly at the table, snacking on granola bars. Riley, mid-mouthful said, "Hey Natalie?"

"Yeah?" Natalie responded.

"I love you." He effortlessly stated.

Without a thought or even a pause, she replied, "Me, too."

I LOVE lovable kids.

And since they're three, I'm not too worried about the ramifications of her first boyfriend.

The Slumber Party that Wasn't Really a Slumber Party

Yes, it's true. I attempted a slumber party.

Not really. Ally wanted a "nighttime party" and would have jumped at the chance for slumbering with her friends. But her parents aren't ready for that. Not nearly.

So we had a jammies party. We ate dinner and cupcakes, painted pillowcases, played "pin the star on the moon" (Ally's own creation), and had a candy hunt.

Her sweet friends showered Ally with gifts that were absolutely perfect.

It was loud.

Dave's exact quote was, "It's just not natural to have that many 7-year-old girls together at once." Hehe.

A fun time was had by all. Here are some pictures from the night. (Sorry the first one is fuzzy...it's the only one I snapped of everyone at the table...)

Super Seven!

Our Allyson officially turned 7 about 8 hours ago. SEVEN. It's a big number, right?


She had a great day at school, handing out cookies to her classmates and several teachers. She breezed through her spelling test and enjoyed her favorite show after school.

Her choice for dinner was Noodles & Company. A girl after her mom's own heart.


After cake and ice cream, she giddily opened her gift from grandparents and us.



When David signed papers for his new job (more on that later), he received a water bottle full of cheap candy. Ally oohed and aahed and declared that was the best gift ever. So, of course, our version was one of her favorite gifts of the evening.


She loved everything...clothes, games, Polly Pockets, crafts...

But her favorite was quickly named "Sugar."


She has much to look forward to, as tomorrow she celebrates her special day with friends from school. Don't worry, I'll post pictures!