Gardening with Dad

Dwaine recently planted our spring garden and Alli joined in on the fun breaking in her new "shobel" from Grandma.

It was a lot of hard work, but they were up for the task (daddy's back paid for it however).

Putting that shovel to use. Anytime Dwaine or I ask to borrow her shovel, she tells us "Grandma will buy you one." I'm not sure grandma has agreed to that yet.
Alli working on her assigned task which was to throw the big clods of dirt out of the way.

Her other job when the actual planting of the seeds started was to put a seed in each hole daddy made. As she dropped each one in, she would say "There you go hole."

The dirty aftermath!

New Accomplishments

Here are a couple of Alli's newest tricks that mommy likes to show off...

Her first recognizable drawing!!!! A rainbow- just in case you weren't sure :-)

Yes, my big girl writes her name all by herself! She kind of surprised me with that one while we were writing thank you notes. When I asked her to write her name, I was expecting her usual trademark scribble. Instead she started drawing some actual letters. We worked on it a little to get it looking as good as it does in the pic, but now she's pretty consistent with it. I'm not proud or anything though :-)

First Dad and Daughter Dance

Dwaine and Alli attended their first Dad and Daughter Dance at church the week before Valentine's. They both had a great time and look forward to making it an annual event.
Alli came home soooo excited exclaiming "We danced, and then we had a drink, then we danced some more, then I got some candy, then I popped my balloon, then we took our picture...." all in one breath. She just couldn't contain the excitement!

My beautiful daughter and my amazingly handsome husband- how lucky am I?
The pic taken at the dance- not the greatest, but I love it anyway!

TJ's 1st Haircut!!!!!

I did the unthinkable this last weekend. I took TJ to get his hair cut for the first time ever with no camera! I know all you modern day moms out there who never leave home without a camera must think I'm crazy.
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It wasn't a planned event. As Dwaine and I were finishing up a family grocery shopping trip, I thought it might be a good idea to run into Cool Cuts for Kids to do what definitely needed to be done (after all, D had just made a comment that morning that it was probably time to do something about that out-of-control hair- something I had been aware of for about the last couple of weeks).
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What I said was "Man, I wish we could go get T's hair cut while we're out, but I don't have the camera." Dwaine gently reminded me that everything should not revolve around the camera and I knew he was right.
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So I nervously sat TJ down in the fire engine chair without my camera. Nervous more because I wasn't sure if I was ready to say goodbye to some of those fluffy curly locks. I instructed the stylist to be sure she left plenty of curls- just shape it up a little and get it out of his eyes. And, please be sure to catch them before they hit the floor- they will definitely be making it into the baby book just like daddy's blonde curls which are tucked away safely in his baby book.
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So, yes, this picture-worthy event occured without a camera. And to make me feel worse, right as we were finishing up, another curly headed little boy sat down in the chair next to TJ for his very first haircut. His mom was of course standing by with camera in hand snapping great shots like a good mom should.
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Thankfully, I feel no great void or emptiness from never having seen "before", "during" and "after" pics of my first haircut, so I think TJ is gonna be alright and hopefully I will be too:-)
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All was not lost however, 'cause we do have one polaroid of the "after" courtesy of Cool Cuts for Kids (which is overpriced by the way)...

Yay! Still plenty of curls left and they are actually a little tighter now. Doesn't he look handsome! He did great- no tears. He just sat super still with his thumb in his mouth the whole time- a little something TJ does in new and uncertain situations (kind of helpful for mommy!)

These are a few "before" pictures for reference. The one above being just days before the cut. And, the one below was taken on a particularly bad day a while back.
I literally chased him around the house after we got home trying to get a good pic of his new do...

By the time I was able to snap any shots, his hair was a little messed up again.
Hiding from the camera and climbing and jumping on the couch. I finally tackled him on Alli's bed. I think he thought we were playing a game, but I was serious about trying to get a pic.

Speaking of new hairdo's, Alli also got a cut this weekend. Hers, however was not overpriced. It was free! Mom has a few tricks up her sleeve...
Not too bad if I do say so myself.

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Dad also got his hair cut by yours truly, but he wouldn't let me take any pics of his new do for the blog. OK, so I didn't really try to take any pics of him, but he does look very handsome. You'll have to take my word for it!

Alli's 3rd Birthday- Part 2- "The Party"

This was the day Alli had been waiting for and talking about for a few weeks prior- her birthday party with Gabin! And I definitely think it met or exceeded her expectations.
It was a long day as we packed up and headed to Katy early in the morning and returned the same night, but we had lots of fun. The butterfly/safari party was a great success...

The Birthday Girl with the cheeesiest of grins- literally :-)
The Birthday boy looking oh so handsome!
Alli and her very good griend Autumn. We were so glad Alli got to celebrate her birthday with Autumn this year- icing on the cake to a fun out of town party!
TJ and his beloved Cheetos. That boy would eat nothing but Cheetos if we let him- probably not a good idea.
Shelby also enjoying the popular cheesy snack.

Lainey smiling pretty for the camera. Unfortunately sister Maddy couldn't make it to the party. She was at home recovering from a nasty fall off the top bunk. We missed you Maddy!
Cade in the sponge pit. Every time I see a picture of him, I just can't believe how grown up he is getting. Wasn't he just a premie in the NICU like yesterday or something? He is the sweetest of boys!
Lainey on the run. Almost all of the pics of her were blurry- not sure if that is due to the fact that she was constantly on the move or if her mom wasn't used to using my camera.
Another one who is constantly on the move (unless he's munchin on Cheetos of course). TJ had a blast with the balls- anything he is allowed to throw is a favorite of his. He is such a boy- a momma's boy, but still a boy.
Rollin'
Ready to jump...

I think she really liked that coach in the pit (the one you can't actually see). He was so good with the kids and made a point to make it extra fun for the birthday girl and boy.
First time sliding down a pole- looking like a pro!
Gavin having fun and looking so cute in the sponge pit.
Quick stop for a pic.

First time climbing a real rock wall too. She ran up to that thing as the coach was explaining the rules and scaled it in no time flat. She's such a natural in the gym. I think she gets it from me :-)

Silly girl making a silly face
Proud mom and dad with their big 3 year old girl and her little bro'
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Thanks so much Gavin for sharing your big day with Alli. She had a blast! And thanks Aunt Marcie for all the planning that went into it. I think we make a great team! Speaking of that, I think I ought to include a picture of our handy work...

Just perfect!!

Alli's 3rd Birthday- Part 1

Alli will be having her birthday party out of town this year. She is sharing a birthday party with her cousin Gavin who turned 4 the day after Alli turned 3. She is very excited about it, but I think is a little confused 'cause she thinks she already had her birthday party.
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Let me explain. I wanted her to be able to have some kind of celebration with her friends here, so I planned a "birthday playdate" if you will at a bounce house. Unfortunately some of her closest friends were not able to make it (we missed you Jack, Grant & baby Jake), but she had an awesome time with Talia and Tatiana which was great 'cause she had not seen them in a long time.
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And of course I didn't feel like it was a proper birthday "celebration" (not a party) without some kind of cake or goodies, so I ordered a cookie cake too...

Alli's "butterfly cookie birthday cake"

She just can't wait to sink her teeth into those butterflies!

Sure enough- they were delish. Notice, she ONLY ate the butterfly- not the cookie underneath it- little stinker!

Just bouncin!
Bouncin' with Tatia (that's what Alli calls her).

Trying to get Alli to pose as well as Talia- not working.
Now that's a poser!!!

Daddy came home with some birthday flowers and gummy worms for Alli (I think the gummy worms were really for daddy).
Then she opened a couple of gifts with the help of TJ... Daddy, Alli and TJ doing the monster mash while listening to Alli's new music...
Not sure what this was about but she kept doing it and alternating legs up in the air. She's so goofy sometimes.
It was a fun day for an amazingly beautiful, sweet, silly & extremely loving 3 yr old little girl! She will be so thrilled to repeat it all but in an even bigger way this weekend.

To be continued...

Sea World

My friend Melissa and I took the kids to Sea World on New Year's Eve. We have been a few times before, but this was the first time Alli and TJ had a chance to ride the kiddy rides. The kids rode every ride they could- some numerous times- and had a blast doing it. We also saw the sea lion show and of course Shamu. It was a fun day. Can't wait till we can go again in 2 or 3 mos when it opens back up.

Jack and Alli ready to take off on the Shamu express! Alli was definitely a little uncertain while the ride was in progress, but had no objections to hopping back on for a second go 'round.

I thought that was fun! Didn't you?
TJ in the paintpot (reminiscent of the teacups)
Weeeeee!
"Tiny little TJ" dwarfed by the amusement ride seat and safety bar. Note my death grip on his leg. He absolutely loved every ride and showed it by throwing a fit every time we had to get off.