You've Got the Cutest...

...little baby face! I'm a boring blogger lately, so here are some baby pics to make you smile.

I love bathtub pictures! Baby fat seems even cuter when it's immersed. It's fun to see him kick and splash in the tub. Babies always love bathtime!

I was trying to entertain Parker one morning while I was making the boys' beds, so I handed him this crocodile and he loves it! It's a startling color, it has interesting bumps and textures, and it squeaks! With three little boys, I am doomed to a life full of reptiles.

Enjoying the morning sunshine on Mommy's bed

Special delivery! It's a baby in a box! He looks like he's ready to go sledding. The kids always think it's so funny to do silly things with the baby. Parker kind of enjoyed it in there too.

So we have to work on his posture a little, but at least he's giving his legs a workout. He seems so short to be standing up already!

Spencer says it's difficult to read with a small helper like this. I can't imagine why!

Do you think it's distracting if someone holds onto his ear?

Parker loves his toes! He never fails to be delighted to see them. I would be too if my toes were so tiny and cute.

One quick story: I was reading a little "Curious George" to the kids the other night and Spencer asked if the author was dead. I said I didn't know. I then mentioned (in a different line of thought) that I enjoyed Curious George stories when I was little. Spencer put the two ideas together and exclaimed, "Oh WOW!! So he IS dead then!"

Imagination

We have imagination explosions around here all the time. It seems so commonplace to me that I don't even notice most of the time, but today I decided some of my readers might enjoy knowing what goes on. Tonight there was a bouncy ball contest. Which of our many little rubber balls can bounce the highest in the entryway? After all the contestants had a turn, there was a post-game press conference, in which the winners shared their feelings about their performance as well as how they developed such great skill. I was quite entertained, certainly more than I am by actual "athletes" on TV.

Then there's the continuing saga of Legoland. This has been going on for months now. The main characters consist of two families. The first is John Brigham (familiar name to some of you), his wife Zelda, and their sons, Jo-Jo and Hudson. The second family is Jeff, his wife Rosie, and their son whose name I forget. There are also many others, but like any good soap opera, it's too hard to keep track of all the relationships. Little girls play House with their dolls; boys play Legos. The structure of the game is similar, but with boys there's a lot of destruction and peril. They like explosions, natural disasters, and crumbling buildings. People are constantly dying and then being reincarnated as...themselves! (How convenient!) They also redesign their vehicles often. One day they drive monster trucks, the next day they've turned into Corvettes. The other day Andy came home and asked why we had little squares of paper with names on them everywhere. I explained that those were Lego beds and he was NOT to throw them out. Just FYI--Lego people are awakened each morning by the crow of a rooster, and their nights are very, VERY brief!

Pre-Christmas

We have a little catching up to do--these are some pictures and stories from the weeks just before Christmas...

It was such a busy month, I didn't keep up with my blog very well. There was one Sunday that was particularly bad. Spencer was sick with a fever and the Christmas tree fell over and almost landed on the baby. I heard the crash from the next room and ran in to find little Parker sitting calmly in his baby chair with a big tree across the play tray and broken ornaments all around him. He just smiled (he always smiles) and looked at me as if to say, "What happened here, Mommy?" I forgot the third unfortunate event that day, but I remember Andy saying our life was like a country-western song.

The streak of bad luck resumed on Christmas Eve when I backed into another car in a parking lot. I was out searching for some new Christmas socks for Andy to wear to church the next day. Silly, I know, but it was the last little surprise I wanted to get. I went all over the place, seeking in vain for festive church socks. I was about to leave another disappointing attempt when CRUNCH! That fearful sound strikes terror and dread in my heart. It wasn't horrible, but it sure wasn't what I wanted for Christmas. The other driver (an older man with his wife) seemed pretty disgruntled at first, but he softened right up when he saw how distressed I was. Turns out the insurance companies decided to split the damages 50/50, so he's probably disgruntled all over again.

Despite the hardships, we still had a lovely Christmas season. Who could be unhappy when you have a cute little face like this around?

Grandpa Elf and Baby Elf

Carson actually SANG in the church Christmas program. He doesn't usually want anyone to know he can sing, but he has made great strides in the last few months.

As we decorated the tree, I had some holiday music playing. Carson asked what one of the songs was called. It was "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies" from The Nutcracker. Later in the song, the music gets more intense and exciting, and Carson asked, "What are the fairies DOING??"

Spencer's sense of humor continues to develop in leaps and bounds. He loves doing skits in Cub Scouts. He cracked up one night when he saw an advertisement for a TV show called "Wipeout." They sang, "Deck the halls with flying people...." He laughed about that for days!

Christmas Day

As always, we had a wonderful Christmas...quiet, relaxed, and low-key. Though Spencer had big plans to catch Santa in the act, he slept through the big visit and woke up at 8:00 just like every day. Andy and I got a new TV and computer for upstairs, so hopefully it will be more convenient for me to blog.

This was Parker's first Christmas! Of course, he didn't know what all the fuss was about, but he liked his new stuff, including this "wonder wheel..."

And his very own soft teddy! (as well as his first two teeth)

After church, I took a luxurious nap and woke up to find the boys playing K'Nex with their dad. He had made an expert praying mantis--quite impressive!

They got new cowboy hats (the old ones had been through too much rough-ridin' if you know what I mean). When I pulled out the camera, they immediately assumed this pose.

Spencer got an LSU football jersey. Originally, he adopted LSU as his favorite football team because they wore yellow, his favorite color. Recently, they just happened to become pretty good and have been in the news quite a bit.

Andy had it personalized too. It's pretty big (it fits like a little dress), but at least he can wear it for years to come!

Dakota got a big bone flavored like peanut butter. She loves it dearly, and makes lots of trips in and out with it. Sometimes even in the middle of the night she worries about her bone and has to go check on it.

This morning Spencer dropped his French toast on the floor, so I let Dakota take care of the mess. She was being well-behaved, so I let her roam for a while. She wandered into the bedroom where Slippy was and got swiped with a paw. Spencer ran out to tell me that "Slippy was going for the kill!" I don't think she's much of a danger. She doesn't even have claws, but apparently she conveyed her message clearly!

Out and About

Here's a cute little teddy bear who fell asleep in the car. I can't stop smooching his cheeks!

He's a very noisy baby when he's awake. He loves to hear his own voice. One day he was yelling a lot (in a happy way) and Carson thought aloud, "If it was night, he would wake up all the people, but if it was morning time and they had to wake up, he'd be PERFECT!"

A new stroller! After two children, I finally got sick of my big heavy stroller and I'm trading it in for this smaller, lightweight one. SO much nicer!!

Now we can cruise the mall!

Carson and I went to the children's museum. Spencer was invited too, but he preferred staying home to watch the football game. (I was surprised too--he seems so young to be that "into" it!)

He's pretty excited about police now that we've been for a tour of the station.

I'd like a chair like this at home. And a crown. And for all my little subjects to wait on me and do my bidding. Yeah, right!!

One day Carson wanted Spencer to do something. When Spencer refused, Carson threatened, "If you don't, I'll show you my bum!" I don't think he ever did get his way, but at least I stopped the mooning. How do boys know about stuff like that??

Off Track Activities

Spencer has been out of school all month, so we've been having some fun. A lot of kids get bored while they're out for so long, but we didn't have any trouble with that! It will be a little sad without him here now.

This is my favorite thing to do...reading stories. We used to fit in the big chair by the window, but now we fill up the couch! (Try to avert your eyes from the blinding, white legs!)

A man and his phone can never be parted. This is something Spencer has noticed quickly. Text, text, text.... It won't be long before he's not just pretending.

I put the boys in swimming lessons. Neither of them is fond of the water, but I insist they become good swimmers if only to redeem myself for not knowing how. Spencer is getting pretty good at propelling himself through the water now.

Carson is still reluctant to go under, though he does it if someone makes him. We'll just keep repeating the class until it feels more natural to him.

The water isn't really warm, and the cool fall weather doesn't make it easy to stop shivering, either!

I told them that if they both tried their best at swimming, we could have an "Upside Down" party at the end of the week. We ate "Upside Down Pizza" for dinner and "Upside Down Cake" for dessert (under the table, instead of on top). Then we played "Old Maid" with our cards upside down. Carson and I were on a team together. He needs to work on his poker face. When we had the Old Maid, he kept shouting to Spencer, "Pick this one! Pick this one!"

We also visited my cousin, who is a police officer in a nearby town. He gave us a private tour of the station and let the boys sit in the car and check out all the lights and stuff. Carson thought the handcuffs were the best part. He wants to be a policeman now.

Carson is also very worried about who he will marry. I have no idea where this concern stems from, but he has mentioned it twice now. I've reassured him that he has plenty of time to figure it out, and that he probably hasn't even met the girl he will marry yet. First things first.... We just gotta get to Kindergarten right now!

One night Spencer was a disaster on wheels. He tried to pour himself a cup of Sunny Delight, and of course it ended in (what seemed like) half a gallon of stickiness all over the counter, floor, etc. I grabbed paper towels and was mopping up the mess, when he decided to take advantage of Carson's squeamish nature by pretending to eat the paper towels. Carson can't stand it when people chew gum or eat something non-edible, so he started to gag and cough. I warned Spencer, "You're going to make him throw up, and if he does, YOU'RE going to clean it up!!" Sure enough, I had to make good on my threat. Spencer wasn't too thrilled about the job. Hopefully he will think twice before teasing his brother again!

Tiny Hands

My babies are growing so fast! I wish I could slow things down a bit because I'm afraid I'll forget too much. I hope that in the next life the Lord lets me relive some of my favorite moments, like rocking my babies and lying on the bed and giggling with my boys.

This is my attempt to capture the cuteness of Parker's little baby hand. If only there was a way to preserve the softness and the pudgy feel of it. Baby hands and feet are the cutest!

Look who's sitting like a big boy! He likes to be on the same level as his brothers and feel like he's part of the fun.

And this is what they do to him when he's being "part of the fun!" Yes, that is a pretend skunk hat, and he doesn't know how to get it off, so he's stuck there looking silly!

Poor Parker, he doesn't have a chance with these two characters!

Mmm! First taste of rice cereal! He still doesn't like it very much, and he makes rotten faces and bawls through most of the meal.

Getting better at tummy time! It helps when there's a cute little friend in the mirror who keeps smiling at him.

He recently discovered his feet! Now he's always leaning over to examine his toes. He had no idea those interesting things were connected to him!