Guess who HAD a birthday

Frank-o did!!

He turned 3 on June 7.



And, as always, he is smiling from ear to ear and doesn't care one little bit that his Momma is exactly one week and two days late posting about it.



As of today, I am unsure of his height and weight to add to this post for him to one day look back on....once again, doesn't bother him.

What did matter, was the party!!

What I do know is this.....

He is:

a real-life miracle

always smiling

isn't potty-trained and {shocker} doesn't care

eats anything tomato-based; salsa, spaghetti sauce

still drinks only soy milk

prefers Skittles over M&Ms

one of the smallest in his class

loves music

still enjoys watching Dora the Explorer

obsessed with LSU baseball

carefree regarding clothing, shoes, appearance

fascinated with his Momma's hair

likes to be held

a fantastic little brother

a fan of Doritos chips over cookies anyday

full of facial expressions

and lights up the room just by entering!!

4 year old birthday festivities

busy week::Mommy has sore throat::high probability of rain for the next few days::warmer weather means break out the shorts::St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday if it's not raining::Dad's off this weekend::LSU baseball game on Friday night for Mom, if it's not raining::less blogging this week::date night Saturday night; MIL keeping the boys overnight::Buck-a-roo's birthday was great; need to post pics::American Idol is good this season::Dancing With The Stars new season began this week::we got two new fish (Pillow & Timer)::both boys are sleeping better in their own beds ALL night::no time for sitting, there's work to be done::several friends' birthday parties coming up; need to buy gifts::need to go to grocery store and SOON::still haven't clipped coupons from last Sunday::daylight savings time is great for playing outdoors, but not so great for getting the boys to be at a decent hour::less sleep at night means grumpy children in the morning::overwhelmed::why is LSU baseball team losing::Daddy Buck's dealership is finally beginning to sell cars again is wonderful!; does this mean our economy is making a turn for the better::need to send in my deposit for the MckCrusise::planning trip for work in June to PA; first trip away from the boys and during Frank-o's birthday, nonetheless::Spring school pictures in two weeks::can't eat meat on Friday::sinkhole almost completely repaired; next phase....sodding:: is couponing really getting me anywhere::I LOVE Spring::taking on new responsibilities at work::really need to make a trip to Alexandria to see the grandparents and my brother::Easter is April 12::Mother's Day is coming up::the boys have wet the bed many times this week::laundry is mounting up::what should I cook for dinner tonight?::housekeeper comes today; also, getting first pedicure of the season today and taking my friends' mother out for lunch {aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh}

that was me putting all the various random thoughts that are racing through my head this morning into words....

on Buck-a-roo's actual birthday, we took him to Chuck E Cheese...

(click to enlarge)

his birthday party was 2 days later at a local farm....

(click to enlarge)

Festive Flashback Friday

We have come leaps and bounds (no pun intended) from these feeble feet....

to this frequent footwear....

And, have come a far cry (once again no pun intended) from this fragile FOUR pounds FOUR ounces....

to this fabulous FOUR year old....

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Buck-a-roo, Happy Birthday to you!!!!

Dear Buck-a-roo,

Your dad and I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was a Sunday and we had just put a frozen pizza in the oven for lunch. I went to the bathroom and my water broke, only minutes after Maw-Maw had just left our house headed home following her visit for the weekend to attend my baby shower. You were due on April 30 and despite a long 10+ week battle in and out of the hospital, 45+ visits to the OB emergency room, 2 amniocentesis, constant contractions for 8+ weeks and numerous medications to halt my preterm labor....today would be the big day!!!!

We arrived at the hospital around 1:00 pm and you were born in the OR shortly after 8:00 pm and our world would forever be changed in the most magnificent way. Following 14 days in the NICU to allow you time to learn how to feed and continue to grow....you came home with us weighing 3 pounds 9 ounces and haven't stopped bringing joy to our lives ever since.

Today you are an excellent big brother and a super well-mannered boy. You weigh 38 pounds and are 44 inches tall. You consume more chocolate milk than you probably should and are the ultimate picky eater. You color in the lines beautifully and have just begun to ride your bicycle without the assistance of training wheels. You adore music, musical instruments, and dancing. You know how to snap your fingers, wink on command, and try your darndest to whistle all the time. You prefer to dress like a "little man" on a daily basis, button-down shirts, collared polo shirts, blue jeans, or "striped" pants (corduroy). You choose to wear boots for footwear daily, work boots, rain boots, cowboy boots; you have 'em all. You can count to 30, spell Z-O-O, write your name, and recite your weekly Bible verses with ease. You are definitely a people-pleaser, enjoy affection and still, four years later, make us smile until our face hurts every single day!!!!

We love you and I mean it....no more birthdays after FOUR!!!!

Love,

Daddy and Mommy

Saturday of 1sts

Frank-o was invited to his first birthday party for a classmate from his preschool. It was at Gymboree Play and Music . Ball, tunnels, monkey bars, bean bags, music, slides, parachutes...a terrific party for early toddlers. He had a fantastic time at his very first invited-by-a-playmate birthday party...




(click to enlarge)

Because I take with issue with bringing siblings to birthday parties that they were not invited to, my MIL offered to keep Buck-a-roo for me (seeing as Daddy Buck was working). Then she decided she would take him to the movies; sweet, right? Except, he has never been to the movie theatre; it was his first time! {sniff.sniff..} They saw Hotel for Dogs and he talked about it all afternoon. Don't think I would let his first trip to the movie theatre go undocumented by a picture. I qucikly snapped this pic as Frank-o and I drove away.

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow...

the ridiculously, insanely, overwhelmingly LONG post

I haven't posted since Wednesday...busy days, busier evenings, long nights! Buckle your seatbelts and hold on tight, this is gonna be a doozy of a post...


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Allow me to preface the paragraph that follows, by saying, that Daddy Buck and I had the day off (well, I was on-call) together on Thursday...


I was raised in the deep south in the great state of Louisiana in a family that worshiped the outdoors. From sports, to fishing, to hunting, and everything in between. My grandfather, father, brother, and husband are avid hunters. From deer, to turkey, to ducks, to doves, to elk, and everything in between. With this upbringing, it's hard to believe that I had never fired a gun. Not a rifle, not a shotgun, not a pistol, or anything in between. That is until this past Thursday! My dad has tried for years to teach me, take me, coerce me...if not for the sport of it, at least for self defense and personal safety. Daddy Buck finally won the battle and I agreed to go to the indoor pistol range and finally "bite the bullet", if you will.








Here's what I have to say about it...I did it (after tearing up and almost backing out), I was decent at it (fired 6 shots from 20 feet and hit the target ALL 6 times), I was NOT a huge fan of it.





Daddy Buck, on the other hand...recreational hunter with a military hunter background, need I say more?




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After the pistol range, lunch, and grocery shopping, we got the boys so that we could enjoy the outdoors and our spring-like temperatures before Daddy Buck and I left for "date night".


Frank-o has finally become proficient at riding his bicycle that Santa Claus brought as evidenced in this video clip (pause the music player at the bottom of the page):






And, just for kicks...enjoy a laugh on me at this video clip of my two sweet, lovely, innocent boys attempting to run me over (take note that Frank-o has the hiccups from laughing so hard):






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Daddy Buck and I had "date night" on Thursday...dinner at a nice, quaint, local Italian restaurant and then we met another couple to enjoy the music of an 80s cover band.






Our neighbor snapped this unscripted series of pictures as we were leaving using the continuous picture-taking mode on my camera.






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You didn't think I would overlook my two weekly Friday blog carnivals, now did you?? Better late than never...



Flashback Friday







These pictures are of Frank-o in February 2008 the day of his surgery to have tubes placed in his ears.





Why choose these pictures for Flashback Friday?


Speaking of surgery??



Remember that my boys were scheduled to have surgery (again) this past December and it was cancelled when Frank-o got sick the day of the surgery.....it has been rescheduled for February 12 and has become a wee, tee, nintsy little bit more extensive!! It will be tonsils, adenoids, and tube in ears for BOTH boys. senile, loony, exhausted, teary-eyed, whiny, short-tempered, sick, cranky, hungry, drugged, cramped...are all words that come to mind. Pray people, pray like wildfire!






Favorite Things Friday








1. Our ENT....because, hopefully within the next three to four weeks, she is going to drastically improve the quality of life that exists within our family. Less runny noses, fewer ear infections, better nights' sleep....who could ask for more?



2. My Parents....who came in town this weekend to visit the boys and I while Daddy Buck made a short weekend trip to Mobile, AL to visit his uncle. They are always a blast when they visit. I love them and my boys adore them!!



3. Birthday Cake....today was my nephew's birthday party (more on that to come), so it's fresh in my mind. Bakery fresh in my mind with lots and lots of frosting!




Head on over to The Boren Life for more Favorite Things Friday entries (even though it's Saturday night now)...


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Since I just mentioned my blogging pal, Tiff (The Boren Life), I should also mention that she has bestowed upon me my very first blogging award/honor, Hug Me Hug You!

Though, this "ecru IT" with his "HUGS banner" whigs me out a little....I greatly appreciate the recognition and I will follow through with paying it forward:

This award is given only to those who have said or done things that make an impact as well as provide comfort to others. It is given to those who induce positive emotions in others, while leaving them with the warmth of knowing that they too are special.

Hugs everyone:

1. Trish @ The Blondin Five

2. LeAnna @ Our son....Patrick

3. Amy @ Savage Stories

4. Mandi @ Monistere Maddness


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ARE YOU KIDDING ME???




I am stoked, pumped, fired-up, honored, and downright bedazzled that my boys picture that I entered in this week's Kids' Faces contest at i Heart Faces was featured on their blog.


Check it out here....It seemed to me that the Top 10 winners that were chosen were all taken by professional photographers with the exception of maybe one or two, so I was stunned to even be amongst the "not-so-honorable, accessorized, honorable mention" picks!


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Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Brock, Happy Birthday to you!!

Monday is my nephew's 2nd birthday and as I previously mentioned, we enjoyed his birthday party and CAKE today!!






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Tonight at bedtime....I read, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to my boys. The special detail to this tidbit of information is that, it was my book from when I was little that my mom read to my brother and I complete with three stuffed three bears hand-made by a family friend. My mother brought it to my boys and I this weekend.






Thank you "just plain ole" Maw-Maw!!!


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Out of the mouths--

Frank-o as we are passing Daddy Buck's work en route to church last Sunday morning..."Daddy, there's YOUR school!!"

Buck-a-roo as attempts to explain to me where milk comes from...

B-A-R: "Mommy, do you know that cows make milk from how we potty"
Me: "I didn't know that Buck-a-roo"
B-A-R: "Yep, the farmer pulls their potty-thingie and milk comes out!" "That's where chocolate milk comes from!"
Me: {alrighty then}


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And that, my friends, is the 4+ hour post

"GoodNight"

Happy 8th Birthday!!

My sweet cousin turns eight today!!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Carly Rae, Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday on PrincessMom's Birthday

I thought I would devote my birthday post to sharing some pictures of my boys' BIRTHdays!!


Buck-a-roo:
March 06, 2005
4lbs. 4ozs. (32 weeks)

(*this picture is actually three days after he was born, because that is when we were able to hold him for the first time)


:: for the record now....37lbs. and 41 inches




Frank-o:
June 07, 2006
5lbs. 11ozs. (37 weeks)



:: for the record now.....33lbs.



that wasn't so WORDless was it?!?

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Trish, Happy Birthday to you!!!

Weekend Wrap-up

My parents came in town for the weekend....that means we had a weekend chock full of climbing on, beating up, hitting wrestling with Papa Cody. They also had tons of fun playing "made up" games with my dad. Why is it that I spend endless amounts of $$$$$$ on toys, bikes, puzzles, crayons, play-doh, etc... and my dad, with little effort, whips out two pieces of rope from the back of his truck or plays his "Which Hand" game where he hides Kleenex in his hands and they guess which hand the Kleenex is hidden in and it's the best two games/toys on the face of the earth!!! Ultimately, it's because he's Papa Cody!!

Buck-a-roo also provided our Saturday evening entertainment....he really enjoys for me to put the TV on the country music digital channel and he dances/sings his heart out (TV remote control microphone and all). The picture below is his grand finale!!

Might I also note that it was a hard-fought, UGLY win; but, a win nonetheless, for the LSU Tigers on Saturday night.

On Sunday, we had a birthday party for our neighbor, Drew. It was a bowling party and the boys had a blast. Daddy Buck and I were so jealous that the kids got to bowl, that we took time out of our vacation day this afternoon and went bowling. We had a blast too!! I believe that bowling will be our new rainy day, winter time, indoor family activity!!

Finally, on Sunday evening we went to Daddy Buck's sister's house for a family get-together, including Daddy Buck's uncle/aunt that traveled way down here to the deep South all the way from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It was an evening of family, fun, hamburger/hot dogs, bicycles, and scooters.

Daddy Buck and I are both off on Monday and Tuesday....hopefully I will post about our two fun-filled days later in the week!! On tap....Christmas shopping, bowling (as I already mentioned), breakfast/lunch dates, mid-afternoon naps, and a trip to New Orleans!!!