like takin candy from a baby

I took Levi & Maggie to the playground tonight. It was HOT out. Shew!! Levi's friend from preschool, Kenzie, and her sister Maddie met us. I love watching the kids play!!!!!

Momma isn't quite ready to unleash Mags and let her "be free" on the slide!

Every time I'd turn around, this is what I would find...someone stealing my diet! NOT COOL, SON!!!

This is a happy baby who loves her sucker!!!

And this is what happens when it is all gone!

alright stop! collaborate and listen....

Our month has been so packed full of birthday activities!! After the kids party last week, I think I actually had a brain fart and forgot about my blog for several days!! To all my readers (all 8 of you!)...I am so sorry!! ;) Things have gone from wild and chaotic back to mundane and boring! Ha! OH...I do have to share that I had a crazy dream last night! I was on stage with Vanilla Ice. Yes, I am a sad, sad human being.

This is Levi's last week in preschool and his graduation is Wednesday. I will bawl like a baby and probably go to bed that night drawn up in the fetal position. {And my sister-in-law doesn't think I have a knack for being dramatic! ha!!} While I will be sad that this part of Levi's life is over, I am super excited for him to start Kindergarten. :-)

I had my first experience of trying to use coupons at the store. Lets just say I need some coaching! Is it possible to have coupons add to your total?? If so, that's what I did! I had good intentions, though! I think it will get better the more I work at it. If you have any advice, suggestions, good sites you use, let me know!! I'd like to get better, but don't really see myself on any upcoming episodes of Extreme Couponing! ;)

the train

Yesterday was Levi's actual birthday. He woke me up at 6:30am and said, "Um, Mom! Don't you want to tell me Happy Birthday?" Ha! He's a ham!! When I picked him up from school, he had a balloon tied to his back pack from his teacher along with new crayons and a preschool workbook. :) Too cute!
Anytime you ask Levi where he wants to eat, there will be one of two responses. Either Beef O'Brady's or Pizza King. He LOVES watching the train!! So, Mags and I loaded up and took the birthday boy to Pizza King. My parents met us there. Levi got 3 quarters to either watch tv or play the video game. He was in heaven! ;)

Little Miss Sass chugging her milk. She can throw down some milk!!

A big thanks to everyone who texted, called, left messages on Facebook, met us for dinner or even stopped by in their police car to wish Levi a happy birthday!! He was giddy. :)

birthday celebration

What do you get when you have 24 kids running around?

A BIG OL' PARTY!!!

We had a big celebration on Sunday! Maggie turned 1 and Levi is turning 5. Where did the time go? Geesh! It seems like I have been planning their party for months...I guess I have!! While it was chaotic and crazy, I had a blast and was so thankful for everyone that came to share in the fun with us. I was pretty bummed because we rented a bouncer, but due to the rain, it had to be cancelled. So, there were lots of people crammed in our house! Here's the birthday girl!!!

And, someone VERY SPECIAL drove a long way to party with us!! Thanks, for coming. We were excited to see you and the kiddos!

Levi wanted a LEGO cake, so we did up the LEGO theme big time!!

I called on my Mom to help me cut out Lego circles for the goody bags...I'm sure she loves it when I get an idea and run with it!! :-)

And, Mom found this cute Lego candy on their trip to Branson, Missouri. Too cute!

On to PINK!!! Maggie was easy to decorate for. Adrienne's (in Jeff) did these awesome cookies!

And, her "smash" cake was too cute!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the 5 year old...

...and to the 1 year old!!!

My little gal wasn't shy about diving into her cake!! LOVE IT!

Daddy helped open gifts!

Lots of people showed up to help us celebrate! I started taking pictures, but got side tracked, so I didn't get one of each family there. :(
Aunt Amanda, Tyler & Peyton

Gretchen, Jami and kiddos

Janna & Ashlyn (Josh & the other kids were there too!)

Lisa and her dolls Lilly & Maggie { we call her Maggie #1 ;) }

Jill & Janie

And even Bubba-Hope showed up! tee hee

And, a pic of all the kiddos together. Shew!The birthday girl politely yawning as the guests were leaving!! She had a BIG day!

After the party, she crashed hard for a little nap...so sweet!

And this little man was ZONKED out! He played so hard. He wanted to sleep with his new airplanes and in his new sleeping bag. ;)

Thank you to everyone who made this day so special for the kids! Levi and Maggie both loved their presents. Levi kept saying last night, "Mom, I can't believe everyone brought this stuff for me!" And, this morning, he said about fifty times, "Mom, thank you for my new sleeping bag. I love it!" He's so sweet. Maggie, on the other hand isn't so sweet about her gifts. She screams bloody murder if anyone approaches her new baby doll!! It's HER baby and everyone around her knows it! ;)

big present

When we got home yesterday, guess who had a present on the porch...
Yep!!! Miss Maggie had a BIG OL' PRESENT waiting for her on her birthday!!!

This thing was way bigger than her and Levi couldn't wait to help her open it. :) He immediately pulled out the "constructions" and began to "read" them to me. ;)

We began putting the present together and Levi said, "Look Mom, Maggie got an ark!"

Adorable that Levi ran to get his hammers and protective eye wear.

Mags had to join in on the fun too!

Thanks Grammy & Papa for Maggie's new toy chest!!!! She loves it! More pics to follow. :)

maggie may

Dear Maggie,

One year ago today was a day that changed my life forever. It was a day that I held the most beautiful baby girl in my arms.
I want you to know how much you were loved even before we knew you!! Once we held you in our arms, it was as if you had always been in our little family. We became a family of four and we were so blessed!! You had your Daddy wrapped around your little pinkie the very first time he held you.

You were a little cuddle bug. You loved to sleep all.the.time. Especially when someone was holding you on their chest. Each one of your grandparents loved to cuddle with you, but not as much as Mommy did!!! :)

From day one, your brother was fascinated by you. He loves you SO MUCH! He loves to play with you, laugh with you, pick out toys for you to play with, tickle your feet, brush your hair, hold your hand to help you walk, help you eat, pour juice into your cup...pretty much anything you need, he is there to help with! He adores you and I hope you two will always be close.

You have forever changed our lives and we will forever be grateful to God for entrusting you to us.

Maggie, I hope that you will always know that no matter how much Mommy & Daddy love you, God loves you more! It is hard for me to wrap my brain around that, but He does!

I am so thrilled to be here to see each new milestone you reach! You amaze me daily!

In one year, you have grown from this cute little helpless blob to a happy-go-lucky, spunky, lovable little girl who loves life!

Our prayer for you is that you will always seek and follow what Jesus wants for your life. We will support you to the best of our ability and help you along that path. We are so excited to watch you grow and so blessed to be a part of your life. We love you so much!! Love, Mommy & Daddy


It's been fun today to remember Maggie's birth. I had a really quick delivery!! They broke my water at 8am and a couple of painful hours followed. But things eased up once I received my epidural. Then, things moved so fast and everything was a blur! Maggie was born 5 hours after my induction started and I was so thankful for my healthy, happy baby girl to finally be here! Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle of babies!!

Here are some outtakes from today. I tried so hard ALL DAY to get a good picture of the birthday girl. I finally gave up!!! She did not want to be in front of the camera today! :(
Mags & Addi, her BFF ;)

This was the best I got! LOL

Love you so much, baby girl!!