My Little Genius

Clara LOVES to talk, and is starting to show off just how smart she is.  

Over the weekend, I was gathering sippy cups off the floor (an often occurrence at our house) and I couldn't find Clara's.  I am looking under couches and tables and in toy boxes.  It is no where to be found.  "Clara, where is your cup??"  "I drink it all."  "You drank it all?"  "I drink it all."  "Well, where is it?  I can't find it anywhere!"  "Right here, momma.  On the counter."  She was pointing to a spot on the counter in the kitchen ... and there it was.  WOW.  Guess I am only used to things being where they SHOULD NOT belong :)

Clara is also VERY repetitive.  She will repeat the same phrase or sentence MULTIPLE times and want you to give her the same answer each time.  

"Daddy coming, Momma?"  "Yes, baby.  Daddy's coming."  

"OK.  Daddy coming, Momma??" repeat.  repeat.  repeat. 

Another thing Clara likes to do is be ANOTHER little mama (PLEASE, God!  Not another one!) If Ellie isn't obeying, Clara will look at me with the most serious face and eyebrows cocked to one side and say, "Ellie, soap, momma!"  or "Ellie, time-out, momma."  or "Ellie, pop on a bottom, momma."

That girl.  i.love.her.  So much personality.  So much potential.

Everybody ... OUTSIDE!!

So ... it's really LOUD at our house (in case you were wondering) ... One of my favorite things to do when I have the kids at home in the afternoon or on a Saturday morning is take them to the park.  They are MUCH happier outside and i love letting them just run around and be loud :)

At two of the parks we go to, there are only two swings .. and we have three little kids that want to swing ... so typically, Ellie and Coleman end up like this:

They love it :)

Here are some pics of playing outside at the house.  

The Big 4-0!

Eric is 40. We celebrated BIG this year in honor of him.  He is such a deserving man.  A loving husband who is always trying to love me better, a fun daddy who is pouring his life into his kids, and a selfless friend who makes himself available to talk, text, or hang out as his friends need him.  I wouldn't have been able to pull off this party without the help of Mrs. Nadean and Dr. Blevins.  Ever since I told Mrs. Nadean about my idea, she ran with it ... calling me when she found any "mustache" themed item while shopping.  She did an AMAZING job with the food (BBQ sandwiches, mashed potato bar, baked beans, and cole slaw) as well as with two delicious cakes and GALLONS of sweet tea.  When I called Dr. Blevins about having a party at his old office, he was so helpful and the office manager at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Center were SO easy to work with.  We had a blast.  About 70 of Eric's closest friends came out to celebrate with us ... including all of his family (minus Michael) and all of my family.  Here are some pics:

 I love him.

 Karla came up early on Saturday to help me!

 Birthday Boy Speech

 Pin on the Stache... 

 Some good friends ... Seth, Mr. Jack and Robert

 We love this family.

 Pin on the Stache Game

 The cakes

 The set up

 The Candy Stache

 The Food Stache

 Nadean brought old pics of Eric to display on all of the tables

 cute

 Guess the Famous Stache ...

Father/Son

 Garrards

 Blevins

 Boudreaux

 Bailey's

 Cason's

 David and Jessica

 Bui's and Cryder's

Eliza and Victor

 Garrards

Getts

John, Nathan, Eric, Seth

 Patti, Nathan, John and Jessica

 Hinson's

 Jack and Dave

 Hoese's

Kridner's

Lechner's

 Mrs. Mary, Mrs. Lindy, and Mrs. Patti

 Dennis, Tom, Sarah

 Pollard's

 Morris'

 Prater's

 Michael and Robert

 Jack, Nathan, Stephen

 Stephen and Stephanie

 Tara, Kelly, and Karla

 Shane and Tim

 Lairsey's

Will and Kelly

I need to get the others from Eric's computer... those are coming soon!!

The Little Mama

All of my girls are little mama's to each other.  Eve is the worst ... because she is the oldest.  She bosses everyone around.  I guess the little girls are learning from her.  After naptime this week, I put a movie on in the living room and had all of the kids situated with a cup of juice and clean diapers so I could get started on dinner in the kitchen.  Coleman (who loves his mama) started crawling after me into the kitchen and I hear Clara calling out after him, "Where goin', Coleman?  What doin', Coleman?  Mama. Hot.  Cooking."

He didn't pay her any attention, just kept crawling my way.

Daddy's Job

So... earlier this week, as Eric and Eve were praying on the way to school in the morning, Eve says, "Jesus, thank you for our day.  Thank you that I will have a good day at school and that daddy will have a good day at work preaching and texting.  Amen."  

In case you were wondering what Eric's job required of him ... now you know :)