oh lordy.

While on our run yesterday afternoon a menacing-looking motorcycle dude zoomed past us, to Sarah's glee. She shouted out, "HEY MOM! HE HAS A MOTORCYCLE JUST LIKE MY GRAMA AND GRANDAD DO!!!".

And I'll admit it might take me a while to digest that fact.



But as I say to my mom everytime she mentions "Lola", their beloved Goldwing..."better you than me!"

10/28/05, 7:17 a.m.

It's no small thing watching your child grow before your eyes.

Today the one who made me a mama turned three.

the royal teaparty.

I realized when I was preparing images for this post that I never posted a shot of Sarah's birthday invite. I accidentally deleted the actual invitation from my hard drive but here's the image I used on the front...

The tagline said, "Nobody likes a pouty princess...So don't even think about missing my party!"

Anyway, it was a royal tea party and all the children were invited to dress up. I was really hoping to make the day special for all of the guests...not just for the birthday girl. When Sarah's first little friend bounded up to the door dressed in pink from head to toe with a HUGE grin on her face I knew it would be!

My dad and stepmom arrived on Thursday and were a huge help getting everything ready. Before Thursday evening I hadn't done a thing besides a quick trip to the Dollar Tree for goodies. After the kids went to bed Friday night we had a blast working in the kitchen on all the food, treat bags, cupcakes and tidbits. Well, *I* had a blast...I guess I shouldn't speak for everyone else! ;)

First, the table...

We had tea sandwiches (peanut butter/honey and nutella/banana), dipped pretzels, cupcakes, candy, and cookies. For the record I did buy cherry tomatoes but I forgot to put them out. At least I thought about offering a healthy alternative, right?

I loved having the chance to use some of my grandmother's milk glass. I'm addicted to it and pull it out every chance I have. I found the princess placemats at the Dollar Tree and bought enough to send one home with every child...even our two knights in shining armor.

I had waaaay too much fun rolling these cupcakes.

Does anyone else remember these frosting-dipped circus cookies with sprinkles? I saw a bag at the commissary and practically squealed with glee. They were a staple at my grama's house growing up. My mom says she remembers them from her childhood too but that they looked more like animals and had better sprinkles back then. I mean way back then. =)

SEE! I told you we had knights!

Forgive the group shot. I was in mom mode, not photog mode. But they're still stinkin' cute, wouldn't you say?

The gift opening was a hit, of course. Art supplies were the gift of the day and Sarah couldn't have been happier about that. The girl LOVES her some paint.

We made wands for party favors. We being my stepmom. We were fabulous at it. Thanks we.

They were a hit too.

Have you noticed how all the little girls wore crowns? Sarah had a special "birthday girl" crown but she would have nothing to do with it. I thought when all her friends arrived donning their own she would change her mind but apparently peer pressure has no hold on her yet.

After the hoopla was over I asked Sarah in a quiet moment what her favorite part of the day was. I didn't really need to ask. I already knew: eating cupcakes.

And finally, the aftermath.

Thank goodness we had another set of grandparents to help with clean up duty!

The only thing missing from our perfect day was a visit from Aunt MayMay and Charlotte. My sister has been planning on coming for months but she got bumped from her standby flight and they didn't make it. Don't worry though Meghan, we ate enough cupcakes for both of you!

party day.

It was wonderful.



I'll have all the delicious details tomorrow!

this, I want to remember.

A quiet house. Just you and me. You in your Cars jammies, me getting ready to tuck you in. Snuggling in your rocking chair reading "Skidamarink". Gently tickling your cheeks and forehead and nose as you lie still in my arms, smiling.

11 months old...and just as precious as the day you were born.

snippets.

An early morning email exchange entitled "Save the Business!" between a certain husband and wife who shall remain nameless...

" I forgot to grab the county sales tax envelope. Can you please take it to the post office, or take it to the sales tax dept at the courthouse? We need to avoid a late penalty. Love you and hope you feel better!"

to which the wife promptly responded...

"No prob...I'll take care of it.
Love you,
Joe the Plumber"

and then received this...

"Thanks, Josephine. That's the kind of change, the hope, we need on MainStreet these days, you betcha it is."

to which she closed out the volley with...

"Yep, I sure was thinkin' that about those."



Happy Monday. =)

the perfect pumpkin pick.

Last year when we would ask Sarah what kind of pumpkin she wanted to get she would respond with: "a yi-yull orange pumpkin". This year: "a perfect one for B-Ro".

She was on a mission.



She tested many pumpkins for the perfectness she was looking for...



And after getting B-Ro's approval she settled on one...



I have to say, the search had the potential for being exhaustive but she managed to wrap it up in under 10 minutes. Mainly because she was terrified of being left behind by the tractor-pulled hayride...



When she didn't think we were moving fast enough...



I laugh at her, I do. But in all honesty she's so me. And we won't even get started on her daddy.



Happy perfect pumpkin picking friends!

pumpkin patch, year two.

It hardly seems right that we've lived here long enough to have yearly traditions and yet, here we are - year two of Tate Farms with some dear friends. You may recall last year's trip when I was hauling around an 8 pound pumpkin of my own.

Same girls, new year.

And, um, why does my daughter insist on staring at her friends that way? I have to say it's starting freak me out just a tad. Oh look, she's not doing it in this one...maybe she's not a stalker after all. =)

As long as we're getting happy with the hyperlinks I'll go ahead and hook you up straight to last year's shot. Humor me.

And oh yeah, B-Ro was there!

But most of the time he was riding in style...

We even pawned him off on a fave cousin who wasn't afraid to admit that carting the little dude around was pretty fun. (Hi Lori!)

Possibly my fave shot of the day...the windblown Pi'bears hunkered down safely in the corn pit.

Safe from what, you ask?

Her thrill-seeking daddy who insisted on launching her out of a barn window. What you may read on her face as joy is actually sheer terror. And for the record, she didn't leap - she was pushed. Please enter into evidence the hand on the bottom.

Some among us weren't so timid...

Today the fun, tomorrow the pumpkins. Stay tuned.

kickin' it B-Ro style.

At Jennifer's insistence today is all about B-Ro. She says she's going into withdrawal. And since I'm pretty sure Jennifer is my biggest fan I've got to keep her happy.

Just a couple of my littlest man...





As we say in our house: he's real good.

****

Now that I've gotten that Buddy Ro love out of the way I have to link you up with my fave thing today! If you're a fan of the photography blog you may already know that while we were in Nashville we hooked up with Angela Crutcher for an amazing family session swap. She's so awesome and I've been beside myself with excitement over having our family photographed by her. So I've spent the last week stalking her blog waiting for a sneak peek and today she posted it. Check it! I absolutely love how different my kiddos look from her perspective. And that family shot is so, so us. It's so joyful and real and I think it rocks that you can see my snaggletooth. =)

Today I'm a happy girl.

making it.

Brent always gauges the stress-level of my days by whether or not I've blogged. Considering that I've only blogged one this week I think he's a little on edge. =)

Not to worry though...here I am...3:13 on a Friday afternoon and I find myself with 5 minutes to spare. So before a child wakes up or the phone rings I better get some pics in here!

I came home from my mom's house on Wednesday and was greeted by a new lens on my doorstep...any photog geeks want to take a guess? (Amy doesn't count!)

Believe it or not Sarah ran crying from her room after I left to upload these. When I asked her what was wrong she sobbed, "I want you to come back...and...take more pictures!!!". I think she's seen the light!