For some reason I've been having some hormonal issues, lately. Maybe peri-menopausal, maybe stress related -whatever the reason, I know I've been prone to weeping at things that are sad, cute, disturbing, hilarious, etc. THIS photo falls into the cute category, for sure. Tears in the eyes, people. Nothing cuter than a little girl who loves her brother A LOT. And that big brother adores his little sister.

Viv turns 1!!! We decided to celebrate Viv and Eric's birthdays the same day. Because we are crazy and don't think things through, we also decided to finish some home projects before the party. Needless to say, that was one crazy day. It was fun and I think Vivian enjoyed the attention. What am I saying, OF COURSE she enjoyed the attention!!

Aunt Crissy and Uncle Chris gave Ally these horse cake pans, and she agreed to let us use them for Viv's cake. Ally did get the privilege of decorating them.

This is what was left after the cake carnage. At first, Viv wasn't sure about diving into the cake - pretty sure it had more to do with all of us staring at her. We didn't realize until after the fact, that we took more video than photos. Haven't figured out how to get those off the camera, yet. All in all, it was a good time -my how the year flew!

Viv's a maniac. She is a little "Hurricane Viv" as we lovingly call her. She has no fear and despite her exceptional coordination, she will fall....a lot. She already has 2 marks on her forehead from wipeouts, and yesterday added to the "owies". It started when she screamed bloody murder when I attempted to feed and water the dogs outside without her help. I was in a hurry, so didn't take the time to put her shoes on. Sure enough, she stepped on a rock/stick that was sharp enough to put a small cut on her foot. *Guilt!* Later that evening at the ballpark, Viv fell on the rocks and put another small cut on her hand. Then, not an hour later, in the bathtub, she fell and cut her mouth on a plastic toy. Now this one was bad. As she's writhing and screaming, I'm trying to assess the injury. At one point there was a line of blood about an inch long, which looked like the cut, itself. This would surely have meant stitches. After she calmed a bit, I realized it wasn't quite that big, but still ballooned to the size of a grape. All this was bad enough, but on top of it, we'd been to the doctor during the day because she has an ear infection! She has a nasty cold and there are 3 teeth coming in! Eeek!

The life of a toddler.........

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It's DONE!! I have been trying, in vain, to get Vivian's room done before the weekend birthday festivities. Once my mom got here and was able to watch the kids, I was able to finish it. I posted awhile back a poll as to what quote I should put on the wall. I decided that I couldn't pick just one. I ended up putting 4 quotes on the wall!! I had big ideas for fancy fonts and pretty pictures. This was quickly sidelined since I just wanted to get it done!! It still came out great and the obvious unprofessional and non-uniform letters are to make it look more "handmade". That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

This is how it turned out......

For you Gilmore Girl fans.....like the dragonfly??? :)

Max drew the firefly for me and was always there for me when I needed creative advice.

True.

Entire quote next to "Rosie the Riveter" says, Courage, determination, pride-that's what little girls are made of.

The frames to the left of the rocking chair are pictures Max and Ally made for Vivian. The picture of the horse is our horsey angel, Cody.

Awesome Easter!!!

My brother, SIL and nephew came from Indiana to help us celebrate Easter along with Grandma. We had a blast!!
WooHoo!!! Q even got to drive!!



In the bucket is the first toad of the season. In addition to bucket fishing, toad hunting, horse grooming and EZGo riding, we had an egg hunt, Easter ham meal and plenty of chocolate consumption. Could it get any better?!

I have been trying to sign to Vivian for months now, with absolutely NO response. My nephew has been signing for a long time and knows many, many signs. Within a few days of Q being here, Viv signed "more" and "milk"!! Apparently, she thought I was full of shit, but since Q did it, he must know what he's talking about. She also said "mama" in the grocery store for Grandma while I was trying to track down french fried onions.....argh!!

Ally loves her cousin and I think the feeling is mutual. Undeniably adorable!!

Yummy cupcakes.............................................
April Fools!!!!

This is actually meatloaf with mashed potato frosting. Since my kids are on to me, I had to get really creative.

Grandma had just gotten to town the day before, so the next morning I told the kids Papa had called and Grandma's store had flooded and she had to go back to Iowa early. Max says he didn't buy it, Jay was on the fence, but Al fell for it. Sure, it wasn't a funny ..ha ha...kind of prank, but I'm getting desperate!!

The kids sure were surprised when the cupcakes were put on the table. I also had green, yellow and orange Skittles in a bowl made to look like peas, carrots and corn. It was fun to tell the kids to quit eating their vegetables and finish their cupcakes!!

Eric's 40th birthday came and went without much fanfare. We are doing a combination birthday for Eric and Viv this weekend, to truly celebrate the occasions.
This is Eric's birthday present. Mark had an opportunity to get Eric some pistols for the cowboy mounted shooting at a great deal. A bunch of people went in on the gift and they were presented to him at the practice shoot.

Slowly, we are attaining gear for the shooting club. Now, if we could only buy time......

Eric and Viv on Jack.