...and speaking of babies...

yep, i TOTALLY bootlegged this photo from this handsome boy's mother. if baby day #3 turns out half as cute as max....we've got it made!! :) congrats again, nick and jenny...i'd say he's a keeper!

showered

yesterday was a not so lovely afternoon of weather...but never fear, we were warm and dry inside...

at our baby shower!! steph, su, and celeste were wonderful hostesses to a fun filled (yes hokey, but great games were included) shower to honor little day #3!!

since vivian is a VERY big four year old, i thought she might enjoy the festivities as well...

and so she did!! she and anna, ruby and mackenzie had a great time playing upstairs while all the big girls played downstairs. thanks to everyone who made it, and even those of you who couldn't but dropped off gifts.....i am truly blessed and completely "showered" in your love and good wishes!! :)

"valenties" day

yeah, that's right...i said "valenties", but we will get to that in a minute. this morning i awoke to a very sweet gift from cliffy.

a heart shaped cake made by a local baker in park hill, complete with chocolate covered strawberries. yummy.

miss v enjoyed a nice breakfast of bacon (yes the kid ate six pieces! she is mine, it is official.) and a big strawberry.

but upon further inspection i noticed we had something extra EXTRA special....our own personal cake wreck!! BONUS!!! (if your not familiar with the site...do yourself a favor, check it out here.)

and so as we enjoyed a yummy nontraditional breakfast of bacon and cake (yeah, that's what i wanted...what of it?!) AND the extra giggles of now officially OWNING a cakewreck...i had an idea. what if this isn't a mistake? let's do a little research and break it down....
VALEN or VALENT are derivatives of the word valency. which by definition means either, a. Psychology The degree of attraction or aversion that an individual feels toward a specific object or event. OR b. the capacity of one person or thing to react with or affect another in some special way, as by attraction or the facilitation of a function or activity. SOOOO, combined with later half "TIES" it sound to me like the perfect sentiment for a lovey-dovey-cake! who wouldn't want their husband of nearly eight years to be "attracted and connected" to them....who knew? ;)

and in case you were wondering...the monsters were a hit. and apparently created a modern day miracle....all three people looking AND smiling at the camera (in only one shot!). so far the day is looking GOOOOOOOD!!

pre-v-day

because clif is working, and THIS great lady had a wonderful idea, we were able to spend a little time playing cupid today...

we picked up our packages*, filled with yummy "causecupcakes" and delivered them to family around town. it was lots of fun, and the kids enjoyed seeing how excited everyone was to receive their cute little package.

it made coming home and finding our own valentine treats even more special. gege & pawpaw, AND popa & dotdot sent neat cards just for the kiddos....

and popa even picked out a movie for them to watch: monsters, inc.

i'd say it was a GREAT success...look at those frary monsters!! ;)

and speaking of monsters...look what the little monsters made for their daddy to find when he gets home from work tonight. teehee....i wonder if he'll be scared?!

*cupcake photo by whitney loibner (of course)!

serious snow

UPDATE: it has snowed so much our little snowman is covered up to his HEAD, and the gnome has snow over his booty...AND he is under the eaves!
this am, like every monday, we got up and started getting ready...clif went downstairs to let the dogs out, and i heard, "holy cow!! somer, you might want to look outside."

i did. and THIS is what i saw! huh?! did i miss the weather? i guess i DID miss something...

and so did clif for that matter, cause we had NO clue. oh well...

at least we were warm and dry inside. or at least for the moment....

SOME people were ready to explore the white wonderland.

and make snowmen...

and chase their siblings...

and just giggle and have fun!!

we played outside for a good hour, but it has snowed so much since ten this morning that ALL of our footprints are completely covered, and even though clif cleared the entire driveway it is covered, too! in fact this family of southerners is TOTALLY amazed at how MUCH snow we are getting...it's hard to tell who is the most impressed the grownups or the kids!! :)

fancy

two good looking folks having a civilized tea...and what a fancy tea it was!! this was mine when i was little. it is sterling, and something i have been saving for quite some time. vivian was thrilled!!!

and daddy was pretty excited to whip out his fancy manners, too!!

valentine cuties

friday was the annual sock hop. mr. c and miss v were pretty excited, don't ya think?! ;)

clif is working a strange schedule this week (due to impending MAJOR changes. STILL nothing final yet....ugh the wait....but i digress), so we had a little unexpected daddy day time.

this, coupled with a few days of sunny above freezing weather, gave us the perfect excuse to try out some of our new soccer moves, as a family.

i think this might be bauer's idea of defense: playing dead. ;)

vivian still is working on her dribbling....

and bauer (after his defensive moves were mastered, of course) decided it was a good idea to join in as well.

MY favorite part is the excited little girl who scores on her daddy, the goalie. look at that face! :)

after a quick snack (yes, i know their faces are funny....that's real life folks!)...

we headed to the playground.

where vivian showed us her climbing skills...

and bauer repeated her every move! ;) can you say pete and re-peat?!

let the countdown begin...

today we had an appointment with the ob, and due to multiple reasons, i asked the BIG question..."how much looonger?" (trust me, it is said with the same whine as a child asking "how much furrrrther?" on a big trip.) don't misunderstand...i LOVE my ob, but we have NEVER agreed on when i get pregnant, or when i am due. SOOOO i knew i was in for a bit of a....let's say discussion. after deciding i did NOT want to be in the hospital on easter weekend, and hearing the hospital's new policy of NO c-sections before 39 weeks...we decided on our big day. APRIL 8th!!! mark it down folks....we did!! hence the countdown calendar...lovingly made, and colored (yes, every single square) by two sweet children.

who, by the way...are quite "buzzed" about her arrival!! (get it?! buzzed? i crack myself up.)