Bunny Bungalow

What's Easter with out a Bunny Bungalow? The icing tasted nothing like I was hoping for, however, it seemed to be just right for my assistant! I think there was more EATING than decorating! I'm just saying......the pictures speak for themselves!

On this date last year...

Gus looked like this........

Happy 5th Birthday Lucas, love Cocoon Baby

Today is our sweet little nephew, Lucas' 5th birthday! We hope he has a great day and we wish we could be there to celebrate, but he is coming here in 2 1/2 days so we will celebrate then!! Since Gus was born we have said he looks a lot like Lucas. It could be the big brown eyes they both have, but their personalities are a lot alike as well! Lucas, we sure hope you enjoyed your bowling party!! Have a happy birthday and we love you and miss you so very much!!

Here is cocoon baby all snuggled and warm after a nice bath and no nap!!!

Axel Rose in training

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Nature walk

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Tent & Toddler - Day 2

I am not sure how this happened, but this should be between Tent & Toddler - Day 1 and Day 3, but it ended up here! Oh well, such is life. Our 2nd day camping was great. The weather was perfect. We slept great. Ate great. Went to 2 different parks several times. Felt like kids going down the slide over and over again! Swung. Played hard. Rode bikes. Smelled flowers. Went down to the beach area. Drove through the Bison and Elk Prairie. Gus made sure the entire campground heard him in the shower stall. Not screams of excitement and happiness. More likes shrieks of horror and terror. It was a simple cat bath (i.e. I wet the cloth wipe him with soap, rinse the cloth, wipe him and repeat.). HE NEVER GOT IN THE SHOWER, but you would swear I was holding him directly under it. Mommy needed a drink after the shower episode. Gus fell fast asleep. Jake hit the showers. I saw two skunks while he was gone. I stayed on top of the picnic table for about 20 minutes or so waiting for Jake to return. I was scared. We did not get sprayed. Jake and Gus were snoring their booties off while I lay wide awake listening to little rodents milling around our tent. I know we are in their territory, but still GO TO BED!

I do not have a picture, but 7 or so sites down from us was a 1990ish red Camaro pulling a kayak trailer loaded to the gills and each time it hit a speed bump it would bottom out. Well they decided to go for a joy ride WITH THE TRAILER at 10:55pm (quiet time begins at 11pm). I will leave it at that!

You just never know

Tonight as I sat down to check my email, I found myself in awe just starring at the screen. Jake had reconnected with an old friend of ours about a year or so ago. He found out that she had a child and he was born with a very, very rare condition and at the tender age of 3 had undergone countless surgeries and each day was a battle for him. She has a carepages.com account that she is very diligent about updating. I just recently joined her caring pages and have been keeping up with his progress. This past week has been hectic and I wasn't able to get to all my emails like I wanted to so tonight I went through deleted the junk and then went straight to her most recent update since it was the first in my inbox. On March 22, 2010, Wyatt celebrated his 4th birthday. Moe, his mom, said that he had been looking forward to his birthday and that he had a great day and wonderful celebration.

I was in shock when I read the following: "At sixforty pm this evening Wyatt Steven Lynas said goodbye peacfully in his mother and fathers arms." I could not get past this first sentence. I sat here crying my eyes out. Jake was in bed, but I knew he would want to know since he had been following little Wyatt's updates for quite sometime. He too was in disbelief and came down to read the update. We both stood silent starring at the computer screen.

As a mother, I admire Moe and can only hope that if I am ever in her situation that I can be half the mother she has been to Wyatt. She has been by his side from the day he was born and has been so attentive to all of his medical needs and keeping him well and making sure he gets the best possible treatment. She is a determined woman and that is one quality that she passed on to Wyatt.

Moe, we are so sorry for your loss and please accept our deepest sympathy for you and your family during this time. Love, Lauren, Jake and Gusley

Happy Belated Birthday Nanny Helen!!

I had a total mommy brain moment and thought that I had created a draft so that I could come back and finish my post. Evidently, I did not. Nanny, sorry this is not posted on your actual birthday (24th), but do know that we thought about you yesterday! It was a beautiful day for a birthday! I hope you enjoyed your day and we will have to bake a cake to celebrate! Happy Belated Birthday on the blog!! We love you!!!

The picture below was taken last year when we went out to the farm to see Nanny and all the animals. We can't wait to get back out there, as Gus is going to have a blast!! Nanny is in the background on her horse, La Bamba and Jake and Gus are watching as she gallops around the arena! This was a very exciting day for Gus! He got to feed the horses carrots and play with dogs and cats!

Swing time!

Not much to blog about today. The weather was perfect. We went to the park. Gus did not leave the swings except to slide a couple times. His gross motor skills are incredible. There are these inverted monkey bar type things that he managed to climb up with Jake and I spotting him to make sure he did not fall through the holes. Truly amazing to watch him play these days. Not to mention there is not much fear so we have to be on our toes at all times!!

I hope the weather was great for y'all! From what we hear, Louisiana has been having some pretty nice weather. Enjoy before the humidity sets in!!

Bo Bo

Word of the Day: Bo Bo, followed by ouch!!!

This started the other night when Jake was bathing Gus. Jake noticed a small scratch on Gusley's hand and he said to him, "do you have a bo bo?" And the rest is history! Now when we ask Gus about his bo bo (which is barely visible) he tells us, "bo bo bo ouuuch!" Then he comes to us looking for a bo bo. We tell him to kiss his bo bo and that is just the sweetest thing to watch, then he lets us kiss it! Then the ordeal starts all over again!! Too Sweet!!

Tent & Toddler - Day 3

And on the third day...it began to rain! We knew it was going to rain so we had everything packed up and ready to go except the essentials and a change of cloths for each of us. It had rained on and off during the night, but we stayed high and dry in our tent. Gus was a trooper while we broke down the tent (thank goodness for iPhone apps because I forgot the charger to the laptop so....). After the car was packed we headed to the bath house for a quick rinse and we were off to over favorite little secret in Grand Rivers, Kentucky...Patty's 1880 Settlement Restaurant! The rain did not stop us from milling around the grounds and chasing the ducks!

We were greeted by this turkey!

The two ducks that got a run for their money as soon as Gus' feet hit the ground!

Driving that train, driving that train.....

Daddy's boy!

Mommy thought he would like it if the horse moved, so she put a quarter in....BAD, BAD MOVE!





I don't think the horse incident scarred him - this smile was shortly thereafter!

Headed to smell the daffodils!

Ahh, the sweet smell of a flower!

None of us could resist the home fried potato skin nachos, not even little mister picky eater!!

Or the homemade WARM bread in a flower pot!

Mr. Big Stuff drinking out of an adult glass!

Mile High Meringue Pie - Pinki and Pops' thank you for dog sitting. The stipulation was that we had to try a piece!! ;-)

What a great trip we had! We are looking forward to the next time we go. Always a nice laid back experience and lots of good food and tons of laughter!!

Tent & Toddler - Day 1

Today we headed up to Kentucky for a weekend tent camping trip. This was Gusley's first tent camping trip. We left the house later than we expected, but the traffic wasn't bad so we got to the sight at 10:15pm with a sleeping baby. We were greeted by 5 deer at the campground entrance and saw like 7-9 on our way into the park! We had a plan...baby stays sleeping, we quickly set up the tent, Jake takes baby out of car seat while I set up the "bedroom", put baby in bed and we enjoy some wine and each others company out by the campfire. This my friends is how it played out......baby's head was slouched and slumped over so I attempt to fix it, baby is now awake, I take him out of the car seat and he snuggles up on me and is back asleep, meanwhile, Jake is attempting to set up our mammoth 2 bedroom tent ALONE in the cold night air while I sit in the car and giggle to myself out of pity for him. In the midst of setting up a tent a gigantic white skunk makes and appearance. This thing had a tail the size of mid-sized palm and it was fluffy. I saw it first and start hitting on the car window to alert Jake, (it was after 11pm so blowing the horn was out of the question) knowing he can't hear me, I flash the head lights and at the same time he sees our new friend. He gets the flashlight and goes to shine it on the skunk then we realize, what the hell are we thinking, we will oblige and be its friends, after all we like the way our stuff smells and would prefer not to wear the scent of skunk for the next 3 days. The skunk wins. (SIDE NOTE: Jake tells me I should feel privileged to have seen a white skunk as they are very rare...celebrity sighting perhaps?!) I am freaked out and my eyes are as big as saucers looking for more. Back to the tent....Jake gets all the poles in and needs me to hold one side up so he can anchor it down. I comply with a bundled up baby in my arms. The tent is up, the baby is still asleep so I pass him to Jake, they sit in the car as I set up the bedroom, the baby gets in the bed and is sound asleep. Jake gets a fire going and we stay up until, well we really don't know what time, but somewhere between 3:45am and 4:00am we would have to guess! Baby is awake at 7:10am and the day begins! Who cares how much sleep we get, we are together camping making wonderful memories! Stay tuned the rest of the trip is coming soon!!!

Letters O & Y

I picked up some magnet letters at Goodwill months ago and saved them for a rainy day. We took them out the other night and Gusley has been hooked on them since! He recognizes the letters O and Y and tells us "Oooohh" & "yuyuyu" and points them out! I feel that this deserved its own post. What an accomplishment! Keep up the good work Gusley!!!

Big Shoes to Fill............

A glimpse of what's to come.......

From the looks of it, I think we need to buy stock in Tide, Gain, Purex, etc.............



All in a days play!!! If knee stains are a fun detector, Gus had LOTS of FUN today!!!!!

Ukulele

Every night Jake plays his guitar for Gus and they sing and dance before or after (sometimes both) bath time!! We have showed Gus the ukulele before, but he really took to it the other night!! He LOVES it and goes get it when Jake gets his guitar! He doesn't know the difference. He thinks it is a guitar just his size. There is a commercial on TV with a ukulele playing in the background and when it comes on he goes get his and 'plays' along with the TV! When he is finished with it he props it up right next to one of Jake's guitars. I think a guitar is a bit much to fit in an Easter basket, but I do think we will be purchasing him his very own long before Christmas gets here!!

Happy 5th Birthday Lily!

Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet little niece Lily!! We wish we could have made it to your "pig party"!! Lily was so excited about having her birthday party and kept telling us all about it while they were here visiting us. She loves the color pink, hence the pig party (because pigs are pink!). Last year she had a flamingo party because they are pink! Can't wait to see what she comes up with next year!! Happy 5th birthday Lily! We love you very much and can't wait to see pictures of your pig party!!! Hope you had a wonderful and special day!!

Proud as a little Peacock!!

Gus and his little gal pal have been missing each other lately so this weekend we spent Saturday evening with she and her Mommy (while the daddy's were out and about) and then Sunday we all got together and went to Jumpzone. I think I love Jumpzone just as much if not more that Gusley does!! It is so much fun jumping on the inflatables and going down the slides and through the obstacle courses! I would love to get one for the back yard!!! (Hint, hint Daddy-O)!!

On Saturday evening Gus and Endi were having the best time playing together. Gus is drawn to all things art so he went straight to Endi's easel and got busy! This is his prize drawing!! Can you see the feeling of accomplishment on his little sweet face??!!!

Spring Forward

All I have to say today is that I have been waiting and anticipating dayligt savings since we had to "fall back". I can't wait for the extra light in the evenings!!! Don't forget to spring forward.


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An Apple a Day.....

Keeps the Doctor away!! I sure hope there is some truth to that! Gus has been loving all things apple! His favorite past time is biting into an apple! He bites all the skin off (and puts it on the floor for the dog) then begins to eat the inside of the apple!! Cute, yes!! A mess, yes!! Do I care about the mess? NO!!

He is telling me this is his AAA-PULLL!

Happy 2nd Birthday Nash!!

Today is Gus' Louisiana pal, Nash's 2nd Birthday! He is having a Yo Gabba Gabba party and we sure wish we could be there to celebrate with him!! We can't wait to see him and spend some time with he and his mommy and daddy when we are down in May!

Happy 2nd Birthday Nashie Boy!! We love you and miss you!!!

In a Pinch

These days Jake and I are real cute for a twenty-something year old couple. I have a bruised eye and last night he cracked his neck and as a result has a pinched nerve. He went to the doctor this morning and they examined him thoroughly, gave him a heavy duty anti-inflammatory shot and two Rx's and told him to get some rest today. We are all on rainy day schedule today and will more than likely have a movie marathon tonight!!

We have been exercising and watching what we eat, trying to set good examples for Gus and now Jake is walking like Frankenstein and I can't bend down without having a painful rush of pressure in my head. We are something else. I really hope we are not getting old before our time, but then again, it could be worse, way worse. So we will be thankful for all the things we CAN do!

Inspiration..........

My spring project is to transform Gus' room from a 'nursery' to a 'toddler's' room!! I have been perusing the internet for pictures and ideas and today I had my ah-ha moment of inspiration! I happened upon this woman's blog, her name is Lauren and she has a son about Gus' age and her taste are very similar to my own (looks like she has a much, much bigger budget) but, I have to start somewhere. Not to mention she decorated his room with the Little Golden Book, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, which is one of the pictures I have framed in Gus' room!!! I can't wait to get started with this project! First things first, convert the crib to a toddler bed and out with the changing table then we will take it one step at a time!! I will make sure to post pictures of my progress!

Seeing stars

So here is my vision of cooking.........................cute kitchen, precious apron (and a very narrow waistline), GREEN plants, freshly baked muffins, nice spring colors and a cute kitty!


However, I had this vision today..........................................black eye, seeing stars and saying to many choice words in under a minute....read on!

On the menu was corn on the cob, so I was in the pantry getting the big stock pot down to boil the corn in. As I was getting the pot down I did not see that it was pushing the cheese sandwich griddle pan off of its hook until it came crashing down on my left eye.......OUCH and a few other choice words came flying out of my mouth. I have a nice bulge and bruise on my left upper eye and it hurts pretty stinkin' bad. I feel a lot of pressure if I bend down or look to my left. Yes, the corn did get boiled and Jake baked some really awesome Tilapia! Thanks for making a house call, Pinki! You are the best...love you!!

ATL - quick recap

On our way home we stopped and got a Frosty and drove up Lookout Mountain for a view. We stopped here on our way home from our honeymoon and we just fell in love with the area so we always make it a point to try to stop when passing through.

Our view...

Us at the top of the Incline Railway

First ride of the day at Six Flags over Georgia ~ The Swings!! Who knew it had to be 50 degrees out before they would run any of the roller coasters? Not us! We waited 2+ hours for them to open, but had fun killing time getting acclimated with the park!

The Variety Playhouse - where we saw They Might Be Giants on Friday night!! Great show!