found!!!

yep, just as the wise, WISE, cousin cathy suggested...the old camera has been found. i won't go into great detail, let's just say it involved a laundry basket, some computer cables, and bunch of garbage. somehow, i had led myself to believe that there truly weren't any pictures that i hadn't already downloaded, BUT i was VERY wrong. so to celebrate :) here are just SOME of what could have been lost forever (in no particular order):

the day we closed on our house. (it seems like we sat in these exact same chairs and closed on our first house not all that long ago.)

miss vivian took advantage of one of the many, rainy, may days and played in a few puddles.

aren't kids the greatest reminder of innocence...EVER?!

and speaking of innocence...here is a very GUILTY miss vivian, caught red handed eating mommy's chili! silly girl!!

oh, i am so glad we didn't loose this one...bauer's new "come 'hither" look. teeeheeee. what a handsome hunk!

and finally, we have found a use for mommy's old or hats.

two very sweet kiddos posing for their mother (for a father's day card picture).

vivian had her last day of school, and even though she was just waking up from her nap, i HAD to take pictures of her sweet teachers miss kim...

and miss lori. this was such a great year in school, we could not have been more fortunate. these were the best teachers, taking so much extra time and effort. they truly LOVED their kids. we miss you SO much. (although we KNOW you had a great time in hawaii!)

a little project vivian and i worked on together. this doll house was around when i was little, but was in desperate need of repair. after a thorough scrubbing, and vivian selecting just the right paint and fabric, we assembled (together) to make this lovely home. some of the furniture had been stored from the summer we spent in dallas (circa 2006 ikea), and some i ordered from london. as you can tell she LOVES it.

on may 31st my dad turned 77. the crow's came up from texarkana and we enjoyed some family time. (notice vivian, like her mother and aunt shannon, is holding her baby). ;)

baby bauer always the helpful gentleman lends a had during the move. heheee.

this is just a little proof of the antics-o-bauer. he has become a real ham lately, and can make some of the funniest faces. this is one of my favorites.

so there you go, lost and now found. can you imagine if i weren't a religious download-er? i mean this was only a week and a half! shheeeshhh! ;)

a little help with dinner

bauer has become a little bit of a momma's boy lately. in other words, he needs to be held ALL the time. his happiness is in direct correlation to his proximity to his mother (or more specifically her bosom). so making dinner is a bit of a challenge. today i decided to try a trick my mom used...

"hmmm.....what are these," he says.

"hey, i like this!"

"look, mom, these are cool!"
but wait...half way through the green beans, and before i could get the cake made...this is what started to happen...

"mom, hey, it's me bauer...i need you to pick me up now, it has been five minutes."

"hey mom, still down here...can you feel me pulling at your skirt? please pick me up...we don't really need cake anyway."

"maaaaaa.....m-m-m-maaaaaaaa!!!!!!! this is child cruelty! forget the cake...pick me up!"
in case you were wondering, we had lemon jumbles for dessert. ;)

drew and vivian sitting in a tree...

K-I-S-S-I-N-G!! seriously, have you every seen more of an old married couple?! these two LOVE each other...so, we were only too happy to accept an invite over to the dillman's for a little lunch and pool time.

the kids were SO good at the picnic table...but who wouldn't be? don't you love a good apple and uncrustable?! not to mention a super yummy juice box!

then sweet vivian helped her brother apply sunscreen.

time for a dip!

ok, so about this swimsuit...it is actually a swim diaper. (which non-potty-trained babies are required to wear) but this one might be a weeeee-bit too small! ok, so it is just plain ridiculous, but pretty funny for pictures, right?! after a long morning of playing...the kids were willing to sit for a little picture, talk about stair-stepped. (drew will be 3 august 28th, ben 2 on september 8th, and vivian 3 on the 9th.) they are so sweet!!

and of course, i know you were wondering about big 9 1/2 month old mr. bauer...well, after a quick swimsuit change he headed to his favorite spot at the dillman house, the swing!

that is one happy baby!! :)

asms aunts

i am so blessed to have such loving life long friends. this week we were blessed to have had three of the asms aunts in town. on thursday aunt cyn came and spent the afternoon. she of course brought presents: a viewfinder for vivian, cool trucks for bauer. unfortunately, the camera was MIA for cyn's visit, so i will have to steal pics from her later. on saturday, jenny and nick had some quality time with baby bauer. after bestowing their gift of a red sox hat upon him, and heading out to the lewis shindig, they spent some MORE quality time reading books and hanging out with miss vivian.

we even taught her to say "go red sox!!".

is that what made uncle nick giggle?! hmmmm, i bet so...

then on monday (a rare treat) aunt addie spent the WHOLE day with us. at first we played, then had lunch at the purple cow with mimi and darcy...then the water hose emerged. i must say poor aunt addie was a good sport when the water monster vivian attacked.

thanks ladies, for a wonderful week. i love each of you so much!!

6-0 x 2 + engagement = BIG party!

this past weekend was super busy for the day clan. lots of friends were in town: cyn from berkley, jenny and nick from boston, and addie and craig from philly. why you ask? well...

...because addie and craig are getting married! YEAH! :) we are so excited!! that is what i call a reason to party. apparently, the lewis' agreed because they threw a shindig to celebrate the upcoming nuptials, AND to celebrate BOTH of their recent 60th birthdays!

if you know rich and emily at all...you know how perfect this picture is. she is shy and easy going, he is entertaining the crowd and giving directions.....you gotta love those two!

we were fortunate to have our first overnight house guests (nick and jenny), and we even thought to have our picture made together. (girl, we have come a long way since the sister mary somer days!!)

overall, it was a great weekend, we even got to visit with darcy and jacob while dining on yummy trios! happy happy and congrats to the lewis clan! :)

"see my new playroom?"

the lee's were our first official playdate in the new house. clearly, they had a great time. i don't think i mentioned it, but we bought this sectional (yes, i know it is purple) from the old owners for $400! it is HUGE, and has quickly been nicknamed the world's largest sectional. please excuse me...i'm still new house giddy! ;)

grocery shopping...

...with kiddos! so lots of you that read this blog are mommies, but for those you who aren't going to the grocery is always an adventure. you can bring snacks, juice, books, lists, plan around naptime, playtime, and lunchtime, but sometimes, it is just a crap shoot. just like ol' forrest said "you never know what you are gonna get"! imagine my surprise when my children were COMPLETE angels for a two hour wal-mart trip! i was only too happy to dish out fifty cents for a pony ride!

or maybe miss vivian was the happiest....what a face!

the house

here is what you have been waiting for...NEW HOUSE PICTURES!!!

the apothecary cabinet, a gift from granny b. (and let me tell you this picture does NOT do it justice! it is HUGE, it took the guys forever to get it in the house!)

a little bit more of the kitchen. (yep, i took the doors off, you know how i love my fiesta.) and check out those brand new eco-friendly bamboo floors...all together now...."ooooooh, aaaaahhhh!"

the formal living room (not even NEAR completion).

the already completely packed playroom on the first floor. vivian asks everyone upon entering the house, "do you want to see my playroom?" :)

and a little sneak peek at the third floor bathroom. you already saw the color in the previous post and this is the fabric order from purl soho in new york. i am bursting with excitement, but not yet time to reveal....
so that is really all i have finished, except for the dining room and family room on the main floor. the bedrooms still need some work...i'll post those pictures later. thanks to everyone for your help with the kids\moving\prayers\etc. we couldn't have done it without you! love to all...and come visit...SOON!! :)

the zoo, again...

so what better way to test a new camera than an afternoon at the zoo? baby bauer is ready to go!

and so is miss vivian....she certainly does love those ponies!

"hey daddy, look...it's a monkey!"

and have any of you ever seen such crazy fish?! i should have taken a "cathy sizing" type picture. i promise the smallest one is at least ten inches!

everyone's favorite: the river otters.

the chimpanzees.

the daddy, vivian, and baby camel yearly photo op.

mommy's favorite, the giraffe.

a little family of day's.

a little family of gorillas. the weather was great, the family time was spectacular. so great, that everyone is now taking a nap before our dinner guests arrive! i plan on taking lots of house shots tonight (now that i have the hang of the camera)...so stay tuned!

"hair rollers, please!"

so vivian has become much more independent lately. she doesn't want ANY help getting into the car, climbing the stairs, washing her hands, etc. she does, however, want me to roll her hair. i am not quite sure of how this trend started. but today she INSISTED i take her picture...and i was only too happy to oblige!

here we are all rolled up, and a little sneak preview of the new outrageous hall bath color.

and taaadaaaa....pageant hair! she loves it, and clif has even taught her to do the "christie brinkley"...you know where you toss your hair over you shoulders!

i love that sweet smile! :)

i'm baaaa-aaaack...

well, sort of....the move went well. we are THRILLED with our new home. please feel free to come by and visit if you are in our neck of the woods...(and that even goes for my favorite blog stalkers...you know who you are!) however there is a bit of bad news. in every move something is inevitably lost. NO, we didn't lose vivian or bauer, or even momo or gigi for that matter....however we did lose the camera. i know, i know, the horror...but the truth is i had been eyeing a new one anyway, so today after a discussion with clif....i got it:

as you can imagine vivian LOVES the color. (is it insane to think that the purple camera can have magical powers to make her smile more often?) anyhow stay tuned, the battery is charging TONIGHT! :)