It's the "365 Days of Luke" GIVEAWAY!!!

In case there is even one person out there that doesn't know, my sweet baby Luke will turn 1 next week. So, of course, I am making preparations for his celebration. We will do a little something on the actual day with our family, and then he will have a party with all of his friends. (Yes. He has friends.)

Now, I love birthdays, but I am definitely a "keep it simple" kind of mom, so my kids' parties are more like playdates with cake and presents. I love hearing stories about the over-the-top parties, though. And, I bet you guys have some great stories to share.

So....onto the GIVEAWAY! Just leave me a comment about an extravagant party that you've been a part of, as host(ess) or guest. The winner will be randomly chosen on Saturday, March 7th, and here's what she'll get...

A pack of 3 e.l.f. lip glosses, a girlie little photo album and a bag of very yummy chocolate

Wordless Wednesday

I'm not sure what they do to flowers these days, but they certainly last a long time. I received these on February 14th and they still look beautiful!

Has anybody seen my weekend?

Okay...the weekend flew by. Literally. Maybe it's because it was fun. I got some girl-bonding in at my friend, Beth's house on Saturday. We didn't get too "crazy", but I did stay out later than I have in (at least) 7 or 8 years. That only allowed me about 2 hours of sleep so Sunday morning I was dragging a bit.

Still, we decided to take the boys to a play-place yesterday. It's called Little Bears Playground. I had wanted to check it out for a while because it's specifically geared towards the smallest tots...9 months - 3 years. We were all very excited that Luke would have so much to explore, but surprisingly, Sam had a ton of fun, himself.

They had a lot of climbers, ride-ons, puzzles, cars and trucks, chalkboards and even a bouncy. It was really neat. Plus, every 5 or 10 minutes the bubble machine would turn on...and we all know how much kids love bubbles! I took a few pictures, but just couldn't get Luke to smile. Don't get me wrong. He had a great time. He just had a very serious look on his face the whole time. At first, I thought it was because there was just so much new stuff to see and do. Last night, though, I realized that he is getting two back teeth at the same time. Poor little guy. His teeth haven't given him a break in 5 months!

And, finally, Luke had a photo shoot with my friend, Summer. It was for his 1st birthday and the pics turned out so great. You'll have to wait a couple weeks to see them, though! Tee hee.

A Thousand Words Thursday

I have always loved this picture, and since it's close to Fat Tuesday, I thought it appropriate. Sam loved these beads and played with them/wore them all the time. They came in a box just for him from a kind man in New Orleans. I had purchased something on Ebay from the man, and for some reason it took a lot longer than expected to receive the item. So he "was going to send me a little something extra for my trouble". Yep...the box of beads. It was a good sized box, too, and the shipping was like $10. I couldn't believe that he did it, and I also didn't know what I would do with a box of beads. But, wouldn't you know it! My 13-month old son absolutely LOVED them.

My boys look just alike, huh?!?

Wordless Wednesday

Orange Day Lily 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lots of love from our family to yours...

A Thousand Words Thursday

We often go for walks around our neighborhood, where we are blessed with a ton of greenspace. Lately, I have really noticed the trees. Some are twisted. Some are tall. Some are growing right out of the ground. And, some are just huge. They are all fascinating, so I thought I would capture a few.

(You can look back at my post from yesterday to see another.)

Trees. Glorious trees.

We have some amazing (OLD!) trees in our neighborhood. 
Here are a few examples...

Ashley has a tree theme for this week's In a Yellow House challenge and here's my entry...

11 months...already...

Today Luke is 11-months old. I really can't believe it. Really. I will be sending out invites to his little party in a week or so, which blows my mind.

It seems like it took forever to get him. The miscarriages. The fear. The pregnancy. The worry. And, now, his life is just flying by. It really is bittersweet.

So, on this special day, here are some pics of his favorite things at 11 months...playing with Matchbox cars, eating Mum-Mums and drinking from his new cup...

On a completely different note...I won a blog giveaway from Boyd's Crazy Mama (Nicolle). And, we just got the box full of goodies! Luke loved the red tissue paper, and may have digested a bit, but look at what was inside!! The softest slipper-socks ever, some yummy candles, Valentine's decorations, candy and more. Plus, my favorite, a sweet pic of Boyd.

It was such a nice surprise. Thank you, Nicolle!

A Thousand Words Thursday

I really love Pooh Bear...and I really love fat baby feet.

Wordless Wednesday

...The Adams Family!

We did some partying this weekend. A birthday party and Super Bowl party, both hosted by our friends Summer and Kyle.

The birthday party was a double-celebration for Matthew and Seth. I decided to take just Sam so that he could play all he wanted, without worrying about Luke. And I must say...play he did! It was at Gymnastics Academy of Georgia, and it was really nice. There was a ton of organized stuff for the kids to do, plus pizza and cake. Can't beat that!

Here are some pics of Sam doing his thing...

The Super Bowl party wasn't so much a "party" as it was a chat-and-eat-while-watching-football-evening. Which for me, at least, meant it was a great time out!

Neil and Kyle Matthew and Sam ran around like mad men, while Luke and Seth ate a lot of pizza. Luke also loved playing with all their toys...