Kasen had so much fun creating this card for her Papa - we’ll be hand delivering it later today.   Sooo, even if Papa sees these pictures before we get there, the outside of the card will definitely be a surprise.

See ya’ later!!

I have a story to tell about this picture, of course! LOL  But I’ll be back later to share.

Look at that face!  She was SO excited to have a little friend.

See ya’ later!!

Just a little bit of fun before Holden hit the hay.  He was playing earlier on the slide, actually in the buff , but he wasn’t sliding too well like that! LOL  Kasen wanted to stay outside and play, so Brad took over outside duty.  I then headed inside to give Holden a bath and get him ready for “Nigh Nigh” as he says.  Well, as I was gathering all of his stuff, he saw Brad outside and had a fit.  He was grabbing the doorknob, standing on his tip-toes, saying “Oww-side!  Owww-siide!  Owwww-siiide!”  Listening to that cute voice and watching him work so hard to get outside, I, of course, took him out for one last little playtime.  And that’s the reason he’s in his jammies.  A few slides did the trick and he was ready to head for bed.  LOVE the look on our little man’s face in these pics.  Love, love them!

The kiss-off from Kasen. LOL

Kasen helping Holden take off.

See ya’ later!!

As promised, here’s my second niece that will be graduating in 2011, another senior this year!  Doesn’t she have gorgeous eyes?!  Well, they both do - and they’re beautiful as well, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.  I have lots more to edit and I will be posting those.  However; I had to come and share this one first - I just love it.  I hope you do too Tess.

You know, I just had to share even if embarrasses Tess - she’ll understand when she’s older and has nieces of her own . . . . . I hope.  Anyway, she was always so happy to see me when she was little.  She would come running to me, with arms outstretched and yelling, “Aunt Taren. Aunt Taren.”  LOL  Never failed to warm my heart.

See ya’ later!!

Kasen just returned from a camping trip with Brad’s parents, her Mae Mae and Papa.  She’s one very lucky little girl to have such great grandparents.  They are making such wonderful memories with her, ones that will definitely last a lifetime.

Me, well, I couldn’t have been happier to see her run into my arms this afternoon.  I really missed her.  Holden and I even played in her room a lot while she was gone so we could have some pretend “Kasen time.”  Holden has started calling for her now.  In the past, he’s called her “KayKay,” “ShaySay,” and now his latest is “Kayyyyyy-Seeeeeeee.” LOL  I could tell that Holden was a little off his game while she was gone, but he hung in there.  Kasen waited patiently for Holden to wake up from his nap after she arrived home.  She discovered him first on the monitor, saying “He’s sitting up.  He’s sitting up.  Can I PLEASE go see him now?”  It’s very sweet how much she loves him, and it’s definitely a mutual admiration society . . . . . well, most of the time! LOL  He seemed pretty excited to see her enter his room and they even read a few books in his crib together and played a bit before getting on with the afternoon.  They had fun chasing each other and playing with trains, balls, and a pretend vacuum cleaner (Holden’s fave).  We only had one infraction which landed Kasen in time-out.  My favorite line ever - “You can’t be mean to me.  I’m FIVE now!” LOL  Well, being mean to her little brother was what landed her in time out.  Holden did his usual - going to her while she was on time out, pointing his finger at her and yelling “No, No, No, No, No.” LOL  Then he would squat down so he could see her eye to eye.  It actually turned out great because it made her laugh, and it happened 10 seconds before her time-out was over.  Everything ran smoothly after that, thank goodness.  Just testing her limits I’m sure - has to see where she stands . . . guess she found out.

We had a little play time in the backyard late in the afternoon, it was a little cooler then.  They really did great.  Kasen is such a good helper when Holden starts getting into things he shouldn’t.  It’s a good thing too, because he’s super fast now.  A lot of the times, she can get to him before I can and steer him in the right direction, which is wonderful.  Actually, she can be quite the Mother Hen.  I gave him a cheese cracker this afternoon and she promptly took it from him, telling me, “That cracker has cheese in it.  Do you know that cheese has milk in it?  Holden CANNOT have milk.” LOL  She’s right about the milk, but he’s doing quite well with the crackers . . . . as long as he doesn’t have too many.  Funny girl, she is one smart cookie.  Okay, back to playing in the backyard. They both had some swing time, they played in the fort, and Holden ran around touching stuff and saying “Hot! Hot!”  LOL  He’s not a fan of the hot.  We were outside the other day and he touched one of our patio tables and yes, it was super hot.  He pulled his hand back so fast, put it on his chest, and looked at me with the most serious (and shocked) face and said, “Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot.”

Here’s Kasen playing on the swing, obviously upside down.  Look at that sweet face.  Oh, how I’ve missed it.  The cuddles all afternoon and the numerous times she said, “I love you” and “I missed you soooo much” just warmed my heart.  I was holding her quite a bit today, and when I had to get up, she said, “Nooooo, I wasn’t done loving on you yet.”  Awwwww, another Mommy melting moment.  What a sweetheart. <3

See ya’ later!!

This is what Holden says every single time he sees me on the phone, all while he furiously reaches for the phone . . . . and cries.   He loves to say “Hi,” “Bye,” and “No!” LOL  And he loves to press the buttons.  It’s almost become a huge hassle because he does not want me talking on the phone now at all, HE wants to talk.  We do have a phone that has been plugged in, but the telephone line has not been connected . . . . . . which is great.  That means it makes sounds when he pushes the buttons, he can make it ring, but at least he’s not calling China.

Check out the tears in this photo.  I finally gave him the phone so he could talk to my Mom, after a HUGE meltdown.  He quieted down the minute he had the phone in his hands.  Stinker!

Having a deep conversation with his Mimi.

Holden cracks me up with this smug grin.  You can just hear him saying “Yep, I got what I wanted.”  Silly boy!

See ya’ later!!

Crazy!!  I’m just amazed that my twin nieces are seniors this year.  I still think of them as three year old flower girls at my wedding - oh yeah, they were THE cutest flower girls EVER!!  :) And now they are beautiful young women.  How did THAT happen??!! Anyway, I’ve been working on their senior pics, but I wanted to show just one for now.  I’m showing Molly first because she’s older . . . well, by a few minutes anyway. LOL  Here she is. Just gorgeous!

See ya’ later!!

Holden’s cutting his molars right now, so he’s been quite fussy lately.  Now, we also have a five year old cutting her adult molars.  I thought it sounded funny when she said that she had half a tooth and when I went to investigate, it was like looking in Holden’s mouth.  I could see half of her tooth poking through her gums.  Whew, crazy around here!!  Teething strips for everyone. LOL

I haven’t taken as many pictures of Holden lately because he is ALWAYS on the move.  He hardly ever sits still now, and continues to climb on the kitchen table.  I’ve been putting the chairs on top of the table and the kitchen island so I don’t have to remove him 100 times a day.  He is still getting in to everything he’s not supposed to.  The thing that cracks me up the most lately is him dancing when I turn the vacuum cleaner on, he likes to groove. LOL  Smacking the the juke box with his hand is code for “turn that thing on” - as soon as he hears a tune, he’ll start busting a move.  He was getting Kasen to turn on musical toys today so he could dance.  I’ve never heard of a child starting to dance when he hears a drill saw, but Holden sure does.  Funny, funny boy.  He’s talking a LOT - I think he has about 20+ words now.  He asks to go “owww-side” every single day.  When he touches something he’s not supposed to, he says, “Hot” even when it’s just wet.  Falling is so frequent around here that I just look for blood immediately.  I always pick him up and say, “Oh honey.”  Soooo, now when he’s upset or he gets hurt, he comes running to me and cries, “Honeeeeeeyyyyy.  Honeeeyyyy.”  So sad, but precious.  First thing in the morning, he asks for his “Bobble” (bottle) and he asks for his “Buh-eeeeee” (bunny) every single night - actually, he’s asking for it a LOT during the day now.  He used to leave it in the crib in the morning, but now he reaches back for it and won’t leave the crib without it.  That poor bunny, it’s looking BAD.  It was washed again today.  I can’t wash it more than about every three days or it would fall apart.  I did ask my friend where she bought it for him, and I’ve already got one on order.  I’m just hoping he’ll take to it so we can retire the poor bunny that once had white paws to his memory box.

Here’s our little man - both sides, happy and serious.  Can you tell how much he’s slimmed down with all that walking?!  I knew he had, but looking at the serious picture, I can really see it.  Little man is growing up . . . way too fast!!

It looks so funny to see that big molar in his mouth just surrounded by gums.  Love those pearly whites he has~

See ya’ later!!

We had a little downpour this evening, which was greatly needed.  I walked on to the front porch to see if it cooled down this crazy Texas heat, when I was suddenly joined by my little sidekick.  We started holding our hands out to feel the rain and slowly, but surely, Kasen inched further and further on to the front walk.  Before I knew it, she was already on the sidewalk.  Soooo, I did what I always do, I grabbed the camera.   It was so cute to see her twirl, run and jump in the rain.  By the time she was finished, she was soaked, but smiling from ear to ear.  Precious.

Love her toes in this next one ~

And this is when she heard the thunder. LOL  She booked it right to the front door.

See ya ‘later!!

We heard a lot of “I can do that by myself now.  I’m a big girl.  I’m FIVE you know!”  Kasen had her annual doctor’s appointment today, and she was only too proud to wear her shirt with the big number five on the chest.  Just in case people weren’t aware that she was five, she had the shirt as a conversation starter to let them know . . . . and she did . . . . several times.  LOL  I can’t even tell you how many people know all about her birthday party too, in great detail.  She’s hilarious.

As I watched her get weighed and get her height checked, I got a little melancholy.  I remember her first time at the doctor’s office, Brad and I unbuttoning her tiny, pink, cotton outfit so she could get weighed, while she screamed her little lungs out.  How did she get so big so fast?!  Whew, it really does fly by.  All those moments swirled in my head, just wondering where the last five years went.  She did everything the doctor asked her to do, no prompting from me, no holding her down, no crocodile tears while the doctor looked in her ears and mouth.  How far she’s come.  She was quite concerned about the shot though and kept telling me that she didn’t want one.  However; when the time came, she got the shot, got her finger pricked and there were no tears.  She was SO proud of herself.  Beaming and giggling, she said, “I got a shot and didn’t even cry.  I whined a lot, but I didn’t cry.” LOL  That’s our girl.

Oh yeah, she weighed 39 pounds, she’s in the 45th percentile.  She measured 41 3/4″  high - again, in the 45th percentile - just about perfect!

See ya’ later!!