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!!

the ACTUAL day of birth

tuesday, september the 9th was vivan's ACTUAL birthday. we started the day off right by heading out to school.

after a quick stop by gege's office...

and a reminder of just how old the birthday girl was...

("see mom, i'm three!")

it was off to class. vivian brought cookies for all of her classmates, and her teachers made her a special birthday crown. but she said her favorite part was the "birthday song".

then it was off to gymnastics in her new leotard (a present from mommy and daddy), to do her best ta-da pose.

then popa and dotdot met us at mcd's for a little dinner. they even had a few mermaid surprises for vivian, including a coloring book and bracelet. it was a great way to end a great 3rd birthday!! :)

three years ago...

yep, that's right...it's almost time for ANOTHER day birthday. on tuesday, miss vivian will be three!! a dear friend of mine asked me, "can you believe you are the mother of a three year old?" of course, the answer is, "NO!!!" but (sigh!) here, indeed, is the photographic proof...

the week before her first birthday.

before her one year doctor appointment with mommy.

the first day of school.

swimming in popa's pool summer of 2006 (with rare cameo by monday).

daddy teaching her all about golf, april 2006.

first swim in the ocean, may 2007.

in daddy's tie, with mommy's purse.

our first bikini (look at those abs) may 2006.

first and last biter biscuit (incidentally, also first time mommy did the heimlich on her own child).

posing in daddy's belt.

the summer we spent in dallas with brinker (2006).

grillin' with dad...and maybe tasting?! ;)
you've come a long way big girl. we are so proud of you...and can't wait to see what your future holds!!

fam-lee and friends

friday evening clif finally made it home from the coast, and we were SO happy to see him. saturday morning was the dillman boy's party (pictures to follow, later), and then it was time for a little razorback football. the lee's came over for some ribs and grilled veggies...

and bauer and the newest lee had a little bonding time. my dad called during this time, but it was so loud that i couldn't really hear him. it was at this point i realized that there was a 4, 3, 2, 1, and newborn in the house! WOW! :)

on sunday after lunch, we went to visit with popa and dotdot. you think bauer is having a little bit of fun?!

and vivian and popa had some quality reading time. fam, lee's, football, birthday party...what a great weekend!

new and old loves...

while daddy was traveling this week we discovered many new things:

bauer LOVES his new thomas the train shirt. it even makes choochoo noises. thanks benderlings! AND his new bday blocks...thanks, reeves!

mommy loves sunshine (and has a whole new respect for noah), and gets a little stir crazy after 72 straight hours of rain (with no other adult supervision). hence the quiznos cup photo shoot.

this is vivian's new vanna pose...one of her new greatest loves.

and speaking of new great loves....gymnastics! look at that gal on the beam!

and a chin up! can you do that?! (lord knows, i can't!)

and mommy's oldest love...taking an insane number of pictures of those gorgeous kiddos!

labor day zoo trip

i know...i KNOW...you are STUNNED that we went to the zoo ;) BUT on labor day we thought it might be a good idea. bauer is finally big enough to enjoy the animals, not just the stroller ride. he even is kind enough to point out things to his mother.

like the clif and bauer version of the apes. they are too cute...and look how much the baby has grown!

vivian has grown too...she ASKED to ride the camel this trip (a first), and was LOVING it (definitely more than her mother).

although i don't think she expected this photo... ;)

bauer enjoyed the camel break, and took the opportunity to re-hydrate himself...with his sister's drink.

oh, i love these beautiful creatures. i think they must know....they were so close we could pet them (almost).

and apparently the love is genetic. no one wanted to look at the camera when they were around.

we ended the day with a little train ride (another first) and one of our fellow riders even took our picture (ok, it's blurry, but we are all looking and THAT is pretty impressive!).