belated birthday.

toms 29th birthday was last wednesday.

so I took him on a scavenger hunt.

the first stop was 

"a date. for the best thing he ever ate."

the great grandma pat breakfast sandwich.

white toast.

scrambled eggs.

bacon.

peanut butter.

I don't know which was better.

 devouring her cooking.

or hanging at grandma pats.

one vote for hanging.

two votes for hanging.

our last stop was home.

where our family was waiting

to surprise tom.

and eat his fave treat.

warm stuffed brownie sundaes.

everyone brought a gift.

and read it aloud.

but it was just the thought that counts.

sweet reality.

my favorite mouseketeers.

xoxo

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

we burkets love a good time.

so we woke up at 4.

for breakfast with our favorite mouse.

I thought trent would be exhausted. boy I was wrong. 

we met some characters.

lila loved. squealing and giggling the whole time.

and had them sign our autograph book.

much more trents style. other than high fives. he didn't want to get close.

he did not like the mouths and whiskers.

and then we were off to the magic kingdom on the monorail.

quite possibly trents fave part.

and waited for the Mayor to officially open the park.

prince charming.

sooo worth the wait. the train arrived with all the characters. 

glitter. streamers. music. fun.

just my cup of tea.

there were no lines. so we stayed till the crowds and heat came at lunch.

and then headed back to our hotel for naps and swimming.

dinner at the grand floridian before returning to the park for the parade.

 with goofy.

and mini mouse.

we had a wonderfully magical time.

zip a dee do dah.

we had a meeting with the mouse.

more fun to come.

xoxo

the little I love yous.

when it comes to loving your babies.

well...thats just easy.

 I clean their diapers. put on their sunscreen. and read them books.

I make them eat healthy food most adults wouldn't touch.

and get cozy with them and our favorite 

goldie the blanket.

I teach them about God and pray with them always.

We go on walks each day.

and I constantly profess my love for their heart. 

their laugh. 

their every little part.

but it seems that these things can slip right by.

maybe in the years to come they will see what they mean.

but for now I like to do little things.

the little I love yous.

thats more their language.

for trent.

one little thing.

while he is sleeping.

or playing cars in his room.

I like to make displays out of his own toys.

this time.

playdough.

he comes out and sees all sorts of little shapes and figures

he wouldn't normally be able to create on his own.

and I just leave it there.

until he happens upon it.

you can imagine.

one point for the cool mom.

ding.

home security.

with the recent slew of neighborhood break-ins.

I decided to take matters into my own hands.

not only does a hardworking.

big.burly.man. 

live here.

but he can run fast too.

little miss 8 months.

 meet little miss 8 months.

I mean jeepers. really. already?

she is quite the little lady.

she has learned to squeal. loudly.

she loves mashed potatoes.

and her mommy.

she takes baths with her brother.

and her face is always drooly.

her feet twirl with happiness all day long.

her brother calls her lilabelle.

she loves her dog maddie.

and her pacifier.

she has no interest in crawling.

but talking is another story.

her cackle of a laugh is amazing.

she is perfectly lila.

and we are all so in love with her.

Happy 8 Months Lila!

babyface.

I finally made silhouettes of the babies.

I hope to return to this project each year.

they turned out so sweet. 

but then again these are my babies.

and everything about them is so sweet.

here's how.

catch a profile picture with your camera.

and cut it out.

paint the picture with black craft paint.

cut out card stock. and glue them on.

voila.

sweet reality.

we love our Sabbath Sundays.

I think you can tell.

resting is wonderful.

God is so good.

the bunny trail.

trent's first easter.

lila's first easter.

a hop down the old bunny trail.

love you two bunnies.

good friday.

tom surprised us and took the day off.

we packed the kids up and went to our fave beach.

I had to rub sunscreen all in miss lila's rolls.

...and then she stuffed her creases with sand and shells.

trent chased waves. chased birds. and chased other kids.

we wrapped up the night with a hot date.

(thank you to the world's best babysitters)

at a new french restaurant cassis.

good friday indeed.

love him.

when he does something he shouldn't.

like finding the jar of jelly beans...

it's "I love you so so so much mom.

I love you so big like one hundred.

so so big way up to a giant."

oh honey, I forgive you.

and I love you more than you know.

like waaaay up to a giant!