Valentine's

Gaaaa! We've been hit! It's a drive-by heart attack!

Wait...no it's just my curly-haired holiday fiend hard at work.

If her hands were not covered in blisters after that kind of output I would be shocked. What began as a lone heart on the door by Daddy morphed into us needing to restock on tape and pick up teeny bits of paper for days on end. All in the name of love right?

She didn't stop with the door decor. She carried right on into class valentines. Please note the Fun Dip to the side.

Nothing like a Fun Dip explosion in your backseat to get Valentine's started, am I right?

Parents, you are welcome.

I am starting to see the light with older kids. Shelby cut out all her own valentines, addressed them, and stapled the Fun Dip packets on. My job was to hunt down the extra Fun Dip packets and eat the sugar sticks inside. Can't leave those laying around now can we? Some say they taste like petrified powdered sugar.

I agree.

And I still love them. (says the girl who loves marshmallow fluff straight out of the can)

Shelby even began to wax poetic about the upcoming holiday of love. Clearly she is showing signs of brilliance as she is not boxed in by silly rhyming patterns.

She even made Walker a sympathy Valentine.

Here is a shot of the approximately 3 minutes Wyatt was contained and "helpful" with the Valentine stuffing. 

Time for the goofy "boy smile." Trying to get him to just take a normal picture is not in the cards during this age apparently. 

He might also be a little hopped up on Fun Dip fumes.

Hard call.

Visiting cousins

A Cajun Birthday Cake!

Trip home. Looks like the fun caught up to him.

Wheeeere's Walker?

After scanning the backyard and garage, I couldn't find Walker. I then found him below. He had been sitting in his stroller for at least 10 minutes which is nothing short of a miracle for  an 18 month old.

My little sneaker! 

Gotta watch this one but he sure is cute!

Sucker!

Yup. Mom got suckered into a purchase at Target. It's so hard when $12.00 can buy such unrestrained joy (and hours of occupation as your son fights imaginary ninjas in the backyard).

Look at that face. 

His smile is so big he might strain something in his face!

So the mask leaves a little something to be desired...

Wy loves these so much he insists on sleeping with them which means he is developing quite the arsenal in his bed (swords, three pronged thingies, daggers, a shotgun and a stuffed horse & coyote-the last two aren't weapons unless you count the fact that he launches them at his baby brother)

He is sure turning into "all boy" lately!

Wrong Decade

So Shelby has my hair, and, I hate to brag, but I have always said I have awesome 80s hair. 

Unfortunately we live in 2013.

Uncanny, yes?

I say curly-haired girls unite! Throw away your flat irons and embrace the volume! 

Who is with me? 

We are practically there! The headband is making a resurgence and I've noticed studs cropping back up in clothing. We are one step away from glamour shots people!

Together we CAN return to hair's era of awesomeness!

1st Dove Hunt

So Daddy asked our not quite 4 year old if he wanted to go dove hunting with him one Saturday afternoon. Normally I would be worried about him getting "ants in the pants" thirty minutes into it, but he did wait patiently for OVER AN HOUR to take a picture with the Heisman trophy (Dad was ready to bail but Wy insisted he wanted to stay). So off they went where I later received  the picture below. 

I will refer to this one as the BEFORE picture...

Here is the AFTER...

Please note the dirt on his face and the random rope he found in the field that still sits in our outdoor toy box. 

Another side note: Seth keeps trying to throw away what he insists is trash, and I insist are the kids' favorite toys. Case in point- the frayed rope above.

Ok kids, gather around the dead animal and say "cheese." 

Nothing says "Texas" like a picture with camo and your kill.

Unexpected Gift

Uncle Chris and (soon-to-be) Aunt Stephanie asked Shelby and Wyatt to be in their wedding this summer by sending them personalized pencil cases full of goodies including a ring pop (important fact for later). 

Unfortunately I should have told them that my kids don't really love surprise gifts all that much. I think it's pretty obvious here that Shelby is only putting on a good show to make everyone feel better.

Even Wyatt managed a weak smile over stickers. He tried to pretend he liked them by promptly covering the house, himself, and his younger brother in them, but I saw through his charade.

Yep. An entire family eligible for an Oscar pretending they are thrilled OUT OF THEIR MINDS by the unexpected package in the mail. (The funny part here is that Walker has no clue what he is holding yet is still smiling like it's Christmas)

After some of the initial excitement died down, I thought to whip out the camera since it seems like the last time I filmed might have been when Shelby started walking. 

What I ended up filming made me cry.

My husband teased me about re-watching this video so many times, but I think all the other mothers out there will see why I have come to treasure this unexpected moment with one of my children. Sometimes as moms we seem to constantly be pouring into our kids with no immediately visible fruit to show for it. Yet, here I was given a moment where I could see that they are listening, and thinking, and remembering beyond their next snack or tv show.

Yes, an unscripted moment.

An unexpected gift.

(*Important background: we packed ring pops in our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for the orphans)