Mother of the Year

On Friday part of Toby's tooth fell out. The sad thing is, I saw it coming. Neither Trey nor Toby has had enamel on their front two teeth. I liked to tell myself that this must be bad genes because it couldn't possibly be bottle rot, especially in Toby's case - he never took a bottle. I also liked to secretly pat my own back when it came to Toby - you see I nursed him until he was 22 months old. I know, I know, that is A LONG TIME - but don't you think I could have been named La Leche League's Mother of the Year? Turns out while I could win an award with their organization, I am probably on the American Dental Associations list of Worse Mothers. Who knew that bottle rot was just a name given to teeth that rot because the child is going to sleep while drinking or drinking during the night.... Interesting. So Toby now has 2 new front teeth. They are beautiful and shine with a guilt free sparkle every time I look at him.

Now, I need to win back the approval of the dental association. Perhaps I should stop taking my children to places like this....



Hmmm, something to think about while I nurse JK - I need to hurry because my cookie brownie is almost ready to take out of the oven.

It's time

It's time for lots of these - I can eat a whole pan by myself



And a bowl full of this...


While the smell of this is in the air...

Happy Fall Y'All!

4 years old

To My Toby,

You are four years old now. You are so sweet and thoughtful. You always say thank you and are always willing to help clean up your messes. You adore your baby sister and think the world revolves around her. You are very smart and very athletic. Your teachers at school say you are an angel. With this sweetness is also quite the spark. I sometimes say you have a temper to match your red hair. When you are naughty you are the naughyest - someday I will have to tell you all about the "adventures" you have taken me on. (You are the reason child locks were put into cars, and yes, because of you I know that spanking is not the answer - your daddy once decided it was time to see if a spank would reform your naughyness and your response to that first spank was to look at your daddy and say "that didn't owie"). You keep me on my toes constantly and you ALWAYS make me smile. You are beautiful, wild, loving, strong, happy, and our family would not be complete without you.

We Love You!

PS - The below picture is of you opening one of your presents. You thought it was socks at first, you yelled: "Socks? What the - I'm going to throw you in the trash". And that my boy was a direct quote.

My Sisters Wedding

My sister Natalie was married on August 22nd. It was a wonderful day. Everything was beautiful - especially her.



The boys were back together again and rocking their matching shirts that my mom dyed twice to get just the right color.

The backyard was beautiful and ready for a party! The colors were awesome. Everything POPPED!

Just in case this fountain wasn't big enough there was a smaller one for white chocolate - the food was fantastic!

Being with family and seeing old friends was wonderful. Everything really was magical...


Some of the behind the scenes prep work...


And now for some of the partying...

Congratulations Ben and Natalie - We love you both! Have fun at your party in Utah this weekend! Wish we were there!