playdate posts...long past due

some of you have kindly remarked that i do a great job of keeping up with my posts. well, here is a little bit of proof at just how behind i really am! these pictures are all from wonderful april playdates that i haven't yet posted....this is my attempt to catch up, before i begin the big packing project of today. (read: i am procrastinating) so here goes:

last thursday the reeves' came to play. we (steph and i) are pretty good about getting pictures of the girls, but look who had fun this time! THE BOYS! trip and bauer are only five months apart...aren't they sweet?
and on last wednesday, we had pizza night at the lee's. i stole the idea from the loibner's and aunt sissy offered her kitchen. look how intent miss vivian is!

she even thought to "pat" her pepperoni in place.

the week before...we made another trip to the zoo, this time with the dillman's. (vivan loves drew dillman!)

it was a beautiful day...everyone enjoyed themselves!

and the week before THAT, we spent saturday morning with the dillman's.
here drew and vivian are ordering breakfast at cracker barrel. (note the vastly different clothing, we didn't know it at the time, but it was our last COLD day!)

sweet little ben is helping bauer with his milk break at the burns park playground.

oooops, mr. scott catches ben! :)

and vivian rides away on the ponies!

ohhh wait, she's back for one last slide with mommy! hope these pictures will tide you over for a while...i am afraid the packing is no longer on the back burner. let the countdown to moving "day" begin...less than a month!

the birthday twins

well, not EXACTLY twins! but it is april 26th again, and two special people have birthdays...first off is MISS NATALIE! look at what an amazing job cathy did on the themed invites! (i have NO shame, i will be stealing this idea for a future vivian birthday.)

and secondly, uncle seth turns 29! we are headed to the ranch this afternoon for a crawfish boil, some fishing, and some family fun...so check back for pics.

happy birthday!! we hope you both have a great day! :)

the "b" weekend

while thinking of a title for this post...i realized that much like on sesame street our days were themed with the letter "B". so here goes:
#1. baby shower...isn't kat hills the prettiest pregnant lady ever?! AND, it was a gorgeous day for a beautiful bbq couple shower.

#2. baby birds...for some reason this momma decided to build her nest in our light on the back porch. all together now....awwwwwwww.

#3. backyard burgers, and baby bauer biter biscuits (actually melba toast, i have issues with those biscuits.)

a rare appearance by josie "gigi" griffin.

miss vivian using her "hammer" to fix the table and momo watching dutifully.

not to mention, yummy daddy grilled burgers for the whole crew eaten outdoors.
#4. big BIG piles of dirty laundry. seriously thirteen loads, no lie. but even that was sort of fun...vivian thought it was cool to jump in it, and daddy hid under it as a surprise!

#5. baseball park. we met the mulhearns to watch the travs play.

what can i say, she is my child and LOVES hot dogs.

clif at dickie stephens.

and the older cousins get a good chug-a-lug.

we hope your weekend was fun, and of course, letter themed! ;)

new house news

i have been waiting until we jumped through a few more hoops to post any updates. SOOOOO, today was a big hoop...BOTH houses passed inspection! woohoo!! so to celebrate...here is a picture of the new digs...

it is THREE living spaces (one of which is a huge 20x15 family/sun bonus room), a double garage (obviously), an eat in kitchen and a formal dining room, three bedrooms, three baths, a wood burning rock fireplace, tri-level, new sod, new siding, AND a laundry room (this is the MOST exciting to me, because our little 1942* park hill house's washer\dryer is in the kitchen.) all that is left is the appraisal portion of the sale...the new house won't be a problem, but say a little prayer for our old house. we should know more in a week...but as of today closing is may 23rd!! yeah!! :)

*clif says 1952, we have been arguing about this since we bought the house in 2003! sheesh!! ;)

being a good mommy

i was very fortunate to have a great mother, and i am equally blessed to have friends and family who i look to for guidance during this period of early motherhood. however, the other day i got some advice from an unexpected source...miss vivian. i had laid bauer down for his nap when i heard his door open...upon investigation, i saw vivian coming out of his room. fearing she had waken him, i stuck my head in the door....but vivian had other ideas...she gently tugged on my arm and whispered, "quite pleeeeease, mommy, MY babies are sleeping! come on i'll give you manmans." (these are the EXACT words i say to her, when i am bribing her!) i almost fell over laughing, then i realized she had said babies--plural. when i went back to check this is what i saw...

indeed, miss vivian, the BABIES are sleeping!! :)

playtime with momo

"they" say that age brings patience...well, in dogs that might be true. monday louise has always been pretty easy going, but she is considerably more patient than miss gigi. (hence: you will see no pictures of gigi in this blog).

bauer absolutely loves her...and she loves for him to pet her.

vivian likes to give her kisses (i know....it's gross, but sweet).

and what on earth are bauer and momo watching, you ask....well...

miss vivian is putting on a "performance"! what else?! :)

just an average week

the real reason i haven't been updating the blog is because i have been a little busy lately. sunday after church, we went to look at a few open houses...and fell in love with one! so as clif headed out of town on monday, i headed to the mortgage lender. that night we were approved and made an offer on the house. on tuesday, i showed our house to a girl, who made a verbal offer. wednesday, we signed the papers on the new house and listed our house with an agent...and tonight we are supposed to sign the written offer!!! not too shabby for a week's work! i must admit i am a little sad to go. this is the only house our children have ever known...BUT 2200+ square feet verses 1300 is a NO BRAINER!!! :) it isn't final yet, so say a prayer and i'll keep you posted!

little...big, baby bauer

i thought this progression of photos was appropriate...anyone who knows our beautiful bauer knows what a sweet smile he has, and how everything he does ends with a spit-up! ;)

because there is so little bauer on this blog, i thought it might be time for a bit of an update. on thursday we took him for his six month shots (he is actually seven months, but we are a month behind because we switched physicians). he is 18 pounds, 29 inches, and has a head circumference that ranks in the 95% percentile! he has started doing the inch worm crawl, and laughs and smiles at EVERYTHING! everyone who sees him, says one of two things: he is gonna be a linebacker OR what a happy boy, he smiled at me! i don't have the heart to tell them he smiles at everyone. he loves to jump, make dinosaur noises at his sister, put everything in his mouth, shake his toys, play peek-a-boo, eat his veggies and puffs, and take a bath. he is now almost too big for the bjorn, and barely fits in his infant carrier.

he is getting to be such a big boy!

literary festival

the state festival was at the historic arkansas museum, and even though the kids are a little young i thought it might be fun. there were readings by various children's authors, free snacks, and (unbeknown to mommy) EVERY child received a little stuffed toy upon entry. we even met with the cat in the hat, winnie the pooh, laura ingalls wilder, and a plethora of other literary characters.

of course, vivian wouldn't have her picture made with a single one of them! (go figure) so you'll have to settle for a picture of the whole crew. after eating lunch at the flying fish, we then made our way across the riverfront park and market to see the black stallion. vivian had been talking up the "horse sighting" for almost an hour...then...she wouldn't get out of the stroller.
aaaaaggggghhhhh! oh well, what do you do? it was a beautiful day to stroll through downtown, and i did convince vivian to have picture made with her daddy (for some "manman" treats...sheeeesh!). hope you all had a lovely saturday!

remembering when...

this is a just because post. just because i love this picture of you and mr. nick. jb you let me be a part of this special day. jb we have been friends for 15 years (yeah i did the math and i can't believe it either). jb we lived together for two of them. jb you always laugh at my jokes, and i groan at your puns. jb we only see each other once a year, but it feels like no time has passed. jb you always shared your clothes, your ideas, and the answers to homework. jb i have suddenly developed a case of insomnia (it's 450am). jb you read the blog regularly AND comment. jb i love ya, ol' girl...and you are missed. and just because i would NEVER forget sister mary jenny singing sheryl crow!! :)

birth-day's

happy, happy, birthday to our mawmaw day! here she is with miss vivian last may.

and to honor her birthday...ok, maybe because denny was 41 weeks pregnant...the newest addition to the buttrey family arrived this morning at 8:45. welcome miss bella rose buttrey. she and mom (and dad, too) are doing great!

congratulations and happy birthday to our great mawmaw, and beautiful, baby bella!!

an old dog...times two

the old saying goes, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." well...i beg to differ. yesterday was monday louise's 11th birthday, and that ol' girl has STILL got it!

and as for her old momma...well, i hope you are enjoying my newest addition to the blog: a playlist. i've never been a HUGE music buff, so bear with me...i like what i like (mostly from the old high school days), but i am open to suggestions...help me out here, leave a comment about your favorite tune and i'll add it! :)

look at us when we were babies...monday 2, somer 22! happy birthday to my first baby, momo!

happy anny, mulhearns!

i can hardly believe it has been three years...

here is the beautiful engagement picture on the beach (very fitting).

the bride and groom.....aaaaaaawwwwwww.

this one sorta sums them up, and is one of my personal favorites. we hope you have a great day! happy, happy anny, we love ya!

for miss war-eee

as most of you know vivian goes to school three days a week. what you might not know is that she has THE best teachers, miss kim and miss lori. everyday they do some kind of art, sing songs, learn about animals, books, holidays, spanish, and all kinds of other fun stuff.


they really take the time to get to know and love every child...so much so, that today miss lori told me how vivian had eaten her chocolate pudding and gotten it all over herself. she said, "i knew you would not want to miss it." so before she cleaned her up, she took a picture! isn't that thoughtful and sweet?! she is the best! so this post is for you miss lori...thanks for all you do! we love you!!!