ketchup, catsup, catch-up

so as you may (or may not) have noticed...i have been a little mia. it was a much needed mini-break from blogging. the truth is i LOVE to document all of the sweet things these little munchkins (and occasionally us big munchkins) do, but it gets a bit overwhelming at times...i mean can you say SEVEN birthday parties this month? that is A LOT!! so here is a bit of "ketchup" for you. random things we have been up to. please know that i normally spend time chronologically organizing photos, but i didn't for this post. the scattered nature is very indicative of the last month of our lives...ENJOY! also be sure to scroll ALLLL the way down for some very important info...

ol' smiley! you take the kid to the park and all he wants to do is steal other kids' sippy cups and eat leaves...silly boy!

the playhouse has been a BIG hit. they both love to hang out and take turns playing "big bad wolf".

he will always be my baby...and a pretty one at that!

last saturday we returned to funland, this time with the lee's. thomas LOVED the cars.

the kiddos were so excited they couldn't hold still for a picture. :)

vivian adores hbl.

we also have had lots of fun with those sweet dillman boys. here ben is having a great time at the park.

sweet little miss vivian.

handsome big boy drew.

oh did i mention bauer is OBSESSED with eating? the other day he helped himself to an entire BOX of cheerios!

is he laughing from happiness or the fact that he knows i have to clean it up?!

obviously he just is starved!! yeah, right!! :)

vivian and bauer have also really enjoyed their new discovery of riding double. (i know the picture is blurry, but their faces say it all!)

hbl and vivian on their hogs....HIL-AR-I-OUS!!!!!!

this sign totally cracked me up at funland. my dad fits ALL of these things except pregnant woman. teehee...really...it kills me.

clif and vivian on the helicopters. she got off and said, "mom...that was too much fun!!"

bauer holds the train tickets for me...what a great helper.

daddy and the kids on the train.

playing at the park...

playing together...

what a big big boy!! (sniff, sniff.)

aunt addie came for a visit, spent sunday afternoon, and even stayed for ice cream on the front stoop...YUM!

since vivian got a big girl bike for her bday we have been spending a lot of time outside.

she and daddy are working hard at mastering the big hill in front of the house!

and there you have it folks. a small slice of the last couple of weeks. and here is the big news. after careful thought i have decided to privatize the blog. this is not to say that i don't love my blog stalkers :) i TOTALLY do. i actually have received so many nice compliments, and comments concerning my little take on this world, but for several different reasons (not to get too preachy) i think it is time. so i would like to take this opportunity to invite all of you to send me your email at clifday1@aol.com , i will gladly add you to the list. i'll probably wait a week or so...or you can also leave it in the comments. so that is all for now...hope you enjoyed the "catsup" (btw, what is up with that weirdo word? ICK!!)

THE pictures

i couldn't be happier with the results of our recent photo shoot by miss whitney loibner! this lady is a truly gifted artist. so, check her out if you are local...heck, check her out if you aren't, and make the drive (or be green with envy)! these are just a few of the nearly 80 proofs, and if i do say so myself....the subject matter "ain't too shabby" either...

don't you wish they were yours?! ;) need more? call\text\email me, i'll give you the password....maybe ;) jk.

saturday night entertainment

.ok..so sometimes...when it is football season...i find myself a bit bored. clif REALLLLY loves football,, and i enjoy a nice game or two (a week NOT a day) but i, no mater how hard i try, cannot watch 12+ hours of tv. so i finish projects (ottoman recovered), start new ones (rearranged BOTH kids' rooms), and piddle on the computer. and, look what i came across:

yearbookyourself.com. HILARIOUS. almost all of the 70's were great for clif. here is me in 1960 and clif in 1968*.

and clif in 1990 rocking the mullet!**

and me in 1998...not too far from the truth! check it out if you get bored...i'd love to see it!

*i find it strange how much we look like our parents in these photos. i KNOW i have seen one of my mother with this hairdo, and su, isn't this REALLY close to your dad in his wedding photo?!

**clif would like me to add a big thanks to his mother for removing him from sylvan hills, or this probably would have been what his senior pictures ACTUALLY looked like! ;)

a flashback\preview

huh?! i know it is a bit of a confusing title...BUT bear with me. today we had the kid's pictures made by a professional photographer. this is really a first for us (except for craig who is addie's fiance' who made last year's christmas card photo). whitney loibner did the honors...and she was AMAZING!! check out some of her work. she also happens to be the mother of two great boys (one of whom has been in vivian's class the last three years), and was SO kind and patient with a one and three year old.

so in anticipation of the new photos i went in search of the old. here are my sweet bedtime babies in january 2008. look how much they have grown! good to know the love still continues!! :)

vivian is THREE...

and saturday, we celebrated with a party that was under the sea!

complete with a mermaid dress! but let's back up a bit...

first, we went to pick up the balloons for the party (yes, she wore her cheerleading outfit), i decided it was time she had her first donut. she picked a very pretty, purple, sprinkle one....yum!

soon it was time for our party guest to arrive. harrison baker was our first arrival, and obviously a BIG hit!

popa and dotdot were next, and offered to take care of the babies as the other guests arrived. (doesn't jon embry look so tiny next to our big one year old?)

everyone looked so festive. aunt su wore her beachy buffet beads...
and surfer dude setler enjoyed hanging out with cool man ben dillman.

when everybody arrived we played pin the tail on the mermaid and colored under the sea creatures. then we had a very appropriate lunch of fish sticks and shells mac-n-cheese. soon it was time to cut the cake.

is everyone smiling in this picture? hallelujah!! :)

and here are some close-ups of the cake. it was amazing. bluecake company you ROCK!

next vivian wanted to open presents...

she got so much great stuff! thanks to everyone for their overwhelming generosity.

daddy even got a chance to try out some of vivan's new toys.

one of the coolest was this neat art set from the loibner boys. here wilson is explaining to vivian, ruby and myself how it works.

the biggest surprise of the day came from gege and pawpaw. they bought vivian seven tiny little goldfish. she LOVED it!!!

when everyone left we put the kids down for their naps and this is what i found about five minutes later. i would say that is a sign of a VERY successful birthday!! ;)

bathtime bauer

when we were little mother bathed us in the sink often, but for some reason i rarely do this. it always seems easier to use the tub. maybe if i had known how cute a sink-full-o-baby would be i would have done it more!

"what?! you mean washcloths aren't snacks?"

"oh mom, you're so funny!"

"aren't i funny and cute, too?"
AB-SO-LUTELY!!