kate's header....

we were outside playing in the backyard and on the trampoline and david was throwing andy in the air. andy was loving it. you can't actually see david ... he is there - just photoshopped out. pretty clever, huh?

this is my 3rd header for april ....

Ben's performance at school

Ben had his first performance at school. The 1st graders performed at the PTA meeting. Ben did great. He wasn't nervous at all. He had a speaking part and he spoke clearly and did well. We were so proud of him.

Andy, Will and I stayed home. I let David take Ben alone. I actually wasn't feeling well - so it worked out ok. Andy and Will would of been running around going nuts. David took Ben to his performance and then they went and had dinner together. It was nice time for the two of them. I was sad to miss it actually. I had a very hard time staying away. I almost packed up the boys and went to the performance. I didn't feel well - but i felt very guilty for not going. I felt like somehow I was letting him down (mommy guilt)! It turned out ok - Ben wasn't too disappointed with me. He said he was fine with me not going ... but i am still sad.

When he got home, I watched the video and I was very proud of him. His speaking part starts at 1:04. He's so cute and he really did great. He studied for his part all by himself and really took it seriously.

love notes with food...

whenever i make the boys food that require ketchup or some type of dressing - i like to spell out little 'love notes' to them. it's fun and they really appreciate it.

here's one i did for ben...

here i am with my top braces on....

i got my top braces put on april 9 and my bottom will go on may 21.

they put clear on top, but will put metal on bottom.

here's me w/just the top. it's definitely taken alittle to get use to. at first, i didn't know how i would eat - but now that's settled down and i'm doing ok w/them.

i anxious to get the bottom put on so that i can get them removed : )

i know the end result with be worth it - but right now, 2 years seems like a lifetime.

will ... my sweet boy!

will, most of the time, is very sweet. both will and andy love these little smoothies. i think andy had already had like 10 (maybe not quite that many, but it certainly seemed like it). i told andy he couldn't have anymore. but i allowed will one b/c he hadn't had any. he got a smoothie and got 2 straws so he could share with andy.

so sweet.... i love that andy's holding his hand.

andy's 2nd "Word World" birthday party

Andy turns 2 on April 23. We had his party early this year - April 18. When considering his theme - it was no question that it would be a Word World theme. It's a show that comes on PBS during the day. He LOVES it! He watches it over and over throughout the day. It's a great show and he's really learning a lot from him.

I began researching on the internet for ideas. There wasn't alot of information as the show is new. I knew I wanted the cake to be really cute and have the cow, the dog and the frog on it. Those are Andy's favorites. I corresponded with my friend, terri, who makes my cakes and she had some great ideas. I finally gave up and gave all the creativity to her and it definitely paid off. The cake was so cute. And Andy LOVED LOVED it! He was so excited to see it.

if you have never seen the show, everything is spelled out. it's really neat. here's some details from the party:

the cake..




i wanted terri to do something with his name. i wasn't sure what. i told her to make him an animal, any animal. she started thinking about it and then decided to make him 'just andy.' what a great idea. it turned out so cute. and i will keep the little 'andy' made of fondant for a very long time....


the food. light sandwiches, apples, and a vegetable tray.


got a few word world balloons...


goody bags. i couldn't think of an idea. so i got these white bags and thought we could print something on them. david stayed up late and made a template for them and printed 'fun bag' on these white bags and we filled them w/goodies.


balloons. lots and lots of balloons. i also made a banner from the invitation that david created. we hung it over the fireplace on the mantle.


The party started at 1pm and we had lots of guests. Granny and Papa; Aunt Linda, Tiffany, Courtney, mommy's BFF, Angie, and her 2 sons (Brayden and Jared); mommy's oldest friend, Aunt Misty, Uncle Nacho, and her two kids Trey and Adrianna; our neighbors the Guidry's and the Kratz's.

here's granny and you....


from left to right: aunt linda, tiffany, mrs. guidry, jacob, mommy, papa, and granny

Time for presents.... you got lots of great gifts. A big car and a airplane from Granny; coloring book, crayons from Aunt Linda, Tiffany and Courtney; little cars from the Guidry's; the movie Madagascar 2 from the Kratz's; mommy/daddy/ben/will got you a baby doll stroller (blue one); some cash from Misty and her family; and Angie and the boys got you a boy baby doll. You loved all your gifts.... Thank you to our special friends!

the car from granny...

opening a few more. from left to right: ben, jared, mrs. angie, brayden, mommy, jacob, will and you. (i adjusted this photo and thought the tint would be cute. it's not now - i see that. but we'll leave it : )

mommy and the birthday boy... trying to get him to smile.

cake time...

singing "Happy Birthday." We sang once and then you said and signed "more". And again, and again... you were so cute.

here you are blowing out the candles. you blew out one,

then two.... you were so happy!


you and mommy, the kratz kids, and the guidry's son and william. (more photo adjusting : )

mommy's BFF, Misty. she's enjoying a cold beverage... It was a complete surpise that she and her family stopped by. I'm so thankful that they did. It was great to see them and hang out.


And Mr. Misty... also enjoying a cold beverage ... but of a different kind : )

here's your daddy taking pictures and sporting his almost not there hair (that's a story for another day).... and you - crawling on the floor. sometimes you crawl - even outside you'll crawl. it's pretty funny!

Happy Birthday our sweet, sweet ANDY!

Will's trip to the ER

On Friday evening, Ben, Will and Andy were having fun playing in the rain. They were laughing and really enjoying themselves. It was time to come in and I wanted the boys to dry off at the door (as I'd just cleaned the floors to get ready for Andy's party the following day). Will was coming inside naked w/a very long towel wrapped around him. He tripped on the towel and fell on the hardwood floors. He hit his eye on the floor and it split just above his eyebrow. The verdict: 7 stitches.

First photo after the fall. My boys know if there's blood .... we must take a photo before we clean up. Have to document these memories....


Cleaned up a little.....


In the ER. When we first walked up to the doors, Will bolted in the opposite direction. He remembered having to get an IV for lung related issues. Luckily there were 3 policemen outside helping another lady to their car. One of them caught him before he ran into the street and the other showed him his scar from a injury he had in the same place. It helped to get Will through the doors.

Then - he had to talk to everyone, explaining how he and his brother were playing pretend pac-man and he fell and broke his head.


They put a bandage on his head w/numbing medicine, and then gave him a little something extra to drink b/c I told them Will was anxious and would be very difficult otherwise.


A pulse-ox on his toe.... he wanted me to get it glowing.


The doctor beginning to stitch him up. They gave him shots of numbing medicine in the cut. It hurt him pretty bad. But the doctor said "count to 10 and it won't hurt." it didn't take till 10 and Will was saying "this doesn't hurt. hey - it's ok - it doesn't hurt."


a close-up....


another....


After he was stitched up. I took this photo and showed it to Will. He said "Awwweesssssoooommmmeee. Thank you doctor." The doctor, still in the room had a big smile and said "wow, that's the first time I've ever been thanked for stitches." Will of course thought he resembled that of a super-hero.


All -done and enjoying a popsicle while we wait on paperwork....


The medicine that they gave him by mouth made him sorta act as though he was 'drunk.' He was so funny. He couldn't walk well - he was stumbling; his speech was slurred; and he was cracking me up. He kept asking why he was walking funny. Then on the way home he said "can we go back there again. that was so much fun. i want to go everyday! can we go back now?" i wish i would of gotten that on tape....

he goes back in 5-6 days (Thursday) to get the stitches removed.

andy's 2nd birthday party invitation

andy's invite was actually very late going out. i sent out emails to our friends to remind them and give info about the party. we had many photo shoots with him trying to get the right picture, but nothing worked out. we got this photo by accident (as you can see he's wearing his drolled on bib).

david stayed up long hours - making this work.... that husband of mine - is certainly creative. i never doubt his abilities on the computer - he's awesome.

here's the finished result....




i had a banner made up as well....

Kate's headers

David has been designing the headers for the blog, b/c I don't really have the time and frankly he rocks at photoshop and I am still finding my way through it. I can do somethings, but he knows how to work photoshop and use it to it's elaborate ability.

This month (for April) I decided to change the header in honor of Andy. His birthday is April 23 so I wanted to spotlight that. My baby is turning 2! I can't even believe that 2 years has gone by already. He's the most wonderful little person.

So - here's my header I made.... simple, but sweet!