happy first b-day, TRIP!

our sweet little friend, trip reeves, turns one on the 30th, and today was the big party!

it was a super CUUUUUUTE (steph) baseball themed get together of family and friends. here are the reeves: rex, ruby, steph and the big birthday boy, trip.

i think he really liked the cake his ya-ya made him shaped like a baseball glove.

and of COURSE miss vivian loved seeing her friend miss ruby. here they are in action...

and trying to "princess pose" for the cameras. i swear that girl looks just like an ole miss co-ed!! ;)

and of course, bauer was there too. he even had on an ole miss baseball jersey and hat to match. (i think steph got a picture of the hat. i'll steal it, and post it later.) why ole miss you say?! well, you know WHY...but the more important question is HOW? daddy made an extra trip to oxford this week (he was working in memphis and batesville) just to surprise the kids...thanks daddy!! and thanks to the reeves for a great party. happy, happy number one to the tripster!

johnny [bauer] jump up

with your first kid you try everything...with your second, well....you try what you know works. i realized the other day, that vivian had LOVED the jumper and that i had TOTALLY forgotten to get it out for mr. day.

when clif got home he hung it for us....and it was a HUGE success!! he thought it was so cool to move himself around...i love this mid jump shot! teehee...

but as usual, vivian didn't want to miss out on any of the action...so after a few minutes she had found a way to be right in the thick of things.

when i asked her what she was doing she said, "i'm reading on my fool (translation: school) mat, mommy. bauer wants a story." fine by me...if the crew is happy, i'm happy! :)

btw, the easter post has been updated with lots of new pics...check it out!

mother and son

i realized today when i was putting bauer's shoes on, that he and i have the same pair. then i got this weird idea...to take a picture. now i won't name any names, but somebody out there does this sort of thing all the time (so i can't really claim the idea as mine. frankly, i'm not sure if i would even want to...) but, the picture came out kind of sweet.

i mean, look at how tiny his foot is (just for comparison, his are 2 1/2 and mine are 6 1/2). maybe i'll get vivian a pair...ok this IS the weirdest post ever...go on, make fun of me...

our little picasso

ok, so i haven't gone through the easter photos yet, but i have gone through today's painting ones! for christmas this year, santa left vivian (at gege and pawpaw's house) an easel. it is the really cool melissa and doug version with crayons, markers, a dry erase side, a chalkboard side, paints, and everything else you can imagine. we use it every single day in a multitude of ways...well, all except one...the paint. as a parent you can imagine what a mess this would be, so i have been waiting until we can go outside....and today was the day. while bauer napped, vivian began her "blue period"...

in case you couldn't tell those are "dinosaurs crossing the street".

she was very intent...for a while...then it was on to sidewalk chalk.

and then it was back to work...this time she concentrated on the "red period".

oops, we got a little on our face...no biggy!

wait...we had to take a break again to be a scary paint monster and chase mommy around the front yard.

oh, here we are back to work....incorporating all the colors.

"mommy, look at my hands!" heheheee. i asked her before bed if she had fun today. she said, "i like the painting, mommy. don't worry we can do more tomorrow." great! :)

easter "day" style

first of all, i need to say how great it is having clif home "normal" hours. this is the first year he has been home for easter eve in years. we had a great family dinner and then a good talk about jesus and the easter bunny. since i had been too busy to remember carrots at the grocery, i asked vivian what she would like the bunny to have as a snack. "mmmmm....let me see....CHEETOS! with dip (translation: ketchup)!!"

so that's what he got.....and mmmmmm.....i heard it was TASTY!! ;) in fact he liked it so much he left a little thank you note (what good manners you have, easter bunny).

i also HEARD that the easter bunny worked VERY hard on the baskets this year, spending weeks searching for an age appropriate barbie (why must they all look like hoochies?), and cool wooden teethers for bauer.

bauer seemed to be taking it all in...

while miss vivian, was instantly thrilled with her goodies!!

alas, bauer found something to his liking.

and soon it was off to church!

vivian had to wear her new shades...isn't she cute?

then after a quick stop at popa and dotdot's we headed to the mulhearn ranch.

where the easter bunny had made additional stops for all the cousins. vivian got lots of cheetos (oh, the irony) and boostick (translation: chapstick).

while bauer got puffs, a ball, and some big boy baby food. we had a wonderful, fun filled easter, and the easter bunny (as you can see) was very kind to us all.....we hope you had very happy day with your loved ones!

it's a zoo (no...REALLY)

seriously...i mean the little rock zoo! today was gorgeous, and being good friday gege was off...so after a bit of discussion, we thought it might be a good idea to make our annual zoo visit. BUT this time we thought to invite gege and pawpaw, and su and setler. it was so much fun having the whole crew...

vivian loved the carousel. it is one of only four working wooden "jumping" carousels in existence. it was very pretty, and a new addition to our trip.

also something new, was the hands on bird exhibit...vivian and i got to touch the rainbow....uhhhh....rainbow
....uhhhhh...ok, i forgot its name. sorry.

and look at this happy man, he is so easy to please!

vivian was so excited to see her gege....

and setler was super interested in the animals. look at that intense stare!

i think bauer, like his mommy and aunt su, liked the giraffes best...

wait....i guess EVERYONE liked the giraffes best!!

luckily, since i had done this before i thought to pack a picnic lunch. so we all sat down and had a little snack. here are the girls and babies...

and here are the boys (the ncaa tournament was a hot topic today, of course!)

and for some reason vivian thought it would be fun to pick flowers. i didn't see her do this, nor did i take this gorgeous picture, so i must give credit where it is due...thanks, aunt su! :)

i guess you can say a good time was had by all....it was a little exhausting though...teeheee!
thanks guys for joining us...we had a great time! love ya!! :)

*be sure to check su's blog for more pics...

our annual photo op

so because we go to the zoo every year. here is our traditional photo (taken in front of the elephant pen). kinda hard to get all four folks to cooperate...

and here is 2007...look how much vivian has changed! (and bauer too, seeing how he is only about three inches long in my belly at this point!)

and 2006...WOW i can't believe this was just two years ago....look at BABY vivian!

ruby is BACK!

because our schedules have been a little nutty lately...we haven't seen as much of our friends, the reeves' as we would like...but yesterday (after school) they joined us at the park! vivian was SO excited to see her friend...

they climbed...

and had a fine time of the swings. "FASTER, FASTER, MOMMY!"

it was so great to see you guys...it had been too long....let's do it again soon! :)

a new day...

a new look. i was inspired by so many of you who are sprucing up for spring. i thought i would simplify and do the same. ENJOY!

yet ANOTHER post...

we have been going to the park almost every day since the weather has been so nice. so after vivian's nap today, it was no surprise that she thought we should get in the stroller and head down the street (even though it was a bit on the chilly side).

anyone who has met bauer knows this is ABSOLUTELY him....that big, beautiful, loving smile (ok, so maybe i am a BIT prejudice). but the funniest pictures, by far, are the ones where clif tried to surprise vivian and i by climbing up the slide. wait for it....

here we are...a bit surprised...

then she said, "hey, i get you, daddy!!" teeeheeeheeee!!! :)

our little jailbird

today, after church i was changing everyone's clothes when this jailbird tried to break free. he thinks he is so big....but who could stay mad at a sweet little face like that?

palm sunday.....& drewy

we have been preparing for this day for a while. jill tipped us off to a great children's book about easter, and we have been reading it every night. last night i told vivian that when she woke up it would be palm sunday and we would go to church to wave our branches and say "hosanna". she thought about this for a minute, obviously a little hesitant, and then said "with drewy?" i said, "yes". she said, "ok mommy, night night."

so here they are...i guess the moral of the story is this...palm sunday is great in the eyes of a two year old...as long as drew dillman is there, too! ;)