bluebonnets.

i love the pouty picture. and can you believe how big my kids are?! what's going on?! look at will. he's really looking like a stud in his new jeans with that dimple and eye brow going on.

Spring Cleaning Week

I only clean once a season and this week is when it's going down. I'm following along with a bunch of other mommies and we're all doing the same thing. Today was cleaning off the surfaces. My kitchen surfaces are a joke, constantly being cleaned and dirtied. Constantly. But the top of my dryer, and the neglected top of Will's dresser.... those got hit today. Not a bad start.

I'm feeling domestic. I might even bake a pie or something. Who knows? Look at that lady on the cartoon! She's all smiling and scrubbing. That's me.

Easter Weekend on the Farm

We spent Easter at Whispering Oaks and just got back last night. The kids had a blast, communed with nature, and wore themselves out. In fact, it's Monday at 2pm right now and they're still in their pajamas. Here's a run down of the pics. Above is Abby "posing" in her Easter dress. The quotation marks imply sarcasm in this instance because she was really airing out her bum after dropping a bomb in a pasture. Her diaper's over there on the sidewalk. Maybe too much nature. And maybe time to consider potty training.

Will and Savannah playing in her hideout, a fig tree. It makes sort of a tent with a bit of a clearing in the middle. She says she loves it in the summer because it stays cool. The leaves apparently get gigantic. Will liked it in there.

Here's Savannah looking lovely in the morning. I love how it looks in the morning.

And here's one of the kids on the ride home. They were soooo tired. They had so much fun and that kind of fun wears you out! And here's a funny tidbit. That box that Will is holding is the "kennel" of a chocolate bunny. On the side it's actually encouraging him to go online and get a birth certificate for that bunny. Imagine the conflict, naming a bunny that you know you'll eventually eat... And all that on Abby's face? That's chocolate.

Looks toasty. But it's not.

It's still cold, but the kids still want to go in for about 3 minutes. I can't believe that my kids are old enough to look like this. Do they just look giant to you?

say hello to pico

we finally got him today! he's super fun. we adore him. he's just a little spoiled. :)

and naturally, he's chosen brandon as his person. of course.

Meet the Budgie.

This is Budgie, the budgie. Today, after many years of wanting a bird, we are finally going to bring our baby home. But this is not that baby. This is a throw-down bird. We just got him because I had an extra cage and thought a cute little parakeet might be fun. The thing is that Brandon and Will are super bonded with this budgie now. Isn't that funny?

Bathtime

Here's a little update on Abby. It's all random, but I'll just throw it out there.

• Abby loves music. She doesn't speak much English, as Will says, but she's got the melody and the last syllable right
• She could stay in the bathtub all day
• Her hair is getting long. There is an adorable bob that I thought would be great on her, but I can't cut it. Turns out there are a few curls in there.
• She looks alot like Hannah did at this age. Her body and hair and mannerisms.
• When she gets out of bed in the morning she insists on taking one of her blankets or animals with her. It's not always the same on. Depends on the day, but there are a few favorites.
• Abby LOVES strawberries.
• She likes to pick out what she wears sometimes.
• Her napping schedule is killing me. She's going down to one nap, but she's pretty tired in the evening.
• Her favorite show is American Idol. She loves applause and there's clapping on there every few seconds.

I think that's about it.

will's new tent

our neighbors, the Serokas, gave us a bunch of fun toys including this tent that will is now sleeping in. it's on top of his bed. next weekend we'll be painting his room. it'll have stars on the ceiling. not sure about the walls yet. but it's time for will's room to get some love and he's ready.

abby let me take some pics too.

don't look too closely. she's got snot and ketchup on her face. it's the nature of the age, right? i had no idea we were doing a photoshoot. she just didn't cry when i put her on the chair and that was that. it's a lucky chair. next time i'll prepare. but super cute anyhow!

i got a new chair.

sometimes he just cutes me out. that dimple is adorable. doesn't he look too cute? i was ready to kill him this morning, but once again, his life is lengthened by his adorability.

My hair

i have no idea what to do with my hair, but clearly there is too much to be dealt with. cutting it short isn't a great option either. as it gets longer, it gets larger. *brandon gets a kick out of my self portraits*

abby's hair is the most immediate concern, though. tomorrow we'll be going in for a consultation. the mullets not working out and she flat out refuses to wear hair accessories. we need some guidance for sure. from a trained professional. i'll post some pics tomorrow if she gets a cut.

the torch is passed.

will has passed the torch to abby. now it is her job to make sure that the throw pillows remain on the floor. and she's gifted. a natural.

Mr. Will's Valentine's Day

this is will's new tea set. he's been really enjoying tea parties lately, but he's been playing with abby's set which is glass and girly. so we got him the manliest tea set ever. black and red scottie dogs. he really likes it.
he has an array of new camera faces. this one tops the charts. nice, huh?
he painted this lovely masterpiece for grandma and papa. fancy.
and he insisted on getting his professional portrait taken in his pajamas with a pirate face on.

happy valentine's day!!!

abby's new shoes.

we went for a shopping trip with nana this morning. we spent alot of time in the toy store, and way too much money at carter's. i bought abby some crocs. they are the funkiest red shoes you've ever seen. they look like foam plastic, and feel like it too. they're like gardening shoes, but everyone says they are the most comfortable shoes ever, and 1 year olds can get away with freaky fashion like that. i cannot even tell you how much she loves these shoes. she loves her new shoes more than stuffed animals today. she wants to wear them every second. she wants to wear them over her pajamas (and they have built in feet). i'll have to show you these things. it's the goofiest.

out of it.

will and abby had a very low key weekend and early week. they watched too much tv, clearly. look at them.

but last night destiny and jordan brought their new bundle, christian, over. look at his cute little duck blanket. he was so good and sleepy the whole time. i do think he hissed at me though

they also brought two bags of candy for Will, who was a raving lunatic by the end of the evening. i'm not saying it was the candy. i'm just saying... i can't wait til Christian gets a little bigger.

do you think i'm weird?

would you think it's weird for me to really really love this tape? i think it might be odd, but i really love it. and i know you guys don't really care about tape. i'll take some pics of the kids today.

LOST starts tonight!

That's all. Mucho excited. I'm going to watch it and finish up a quilt (hopefully)!

valentine shoot with nana

here's a cute shot of will and nana. she needed a quick shot of her and will together for a valentine's day project. super cute. speaking of cute, you know what mr. man did yesterday? ok, maybe it's not cute. it kind of is. it's also kind of horrifying, but we'll call it funny since he's four. anyway, we're at a light and a truck pulls up next to us, and without warning, will rolls down the window and yells, "you need to go to the carwash!". brandon is scrambling to roll the window up and lock it. i don't think they heard. anyway, funny but horrifying, right?

Brandon's New Projects

On the Brandon front, all kinds of wonderful things are happening.

#1. He has another new guitar. It's a classical. It's sweeter. Plays nicer. And that's important because he plays it alot. I mean alot. He's playing right now and there's a child physically on his back.

#2. His dream of founding a community garden is coming true. The church is implementing it and Brandon has been working SOOOO hard on it for the last few months. Groundbreaking is this Sunday morning. 8 am. Email us if you want in. There'll be a food drive too.

#3. Spring is right around the corner, and that means cheaper beer, Dos Equis, baby!

So, a big congratulations to Honey!

She likes to Draw

She's been really taken with drawing lately. She spent a huge chunk of the afternoon playing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. She's really got some patience with it. Really remarkable attention span. And hair also. Isn't her hair remarkable? It is. She got her first set of pig tails last week.