Five on Friday

1. Matt filed our taxes this week. It's a relief to be done with that!

2. After having 17 kids in my 3 year old choir last year, having these fabulous five kids is a breeze!

They are loud, talkative, funny, spunky, loving, animated, and completely adorable. I look forward to my time with them each week and feel like they teach me instead of the other way around. They are all so different, yet they get along like the very best of friends. I am really enjoying how flexible our schedule can be with such a small group. 3. Wade told Buzz to "sit" this week, and he obeyed. He did look annoyed at having to take orders from a baby, but he is such a good dog. I can tell that they are going to be big buddies when Wade starts walking.

3. Lee got to go to Walmart with me this week, which is rare any more. He thought it was such a treat. Before we left, I asked if there was anything else we needed, and he said, "Well, we could always check out the 'as seen on tv' aisle." How could I say no to that? Of course, he pointed out a few things he needed and wanted to put on his birthday list. I took this picture of him this week sleeping on his Total Pillow. He should have his own infomercial.

5. When I went to pick Wade up in the nursery on Wednesday night, he wasn't wearing his pants. I thought he must have had an accident, but the ladies told me that they just kept falling down.

This was taken immediately after they put them back on him. I guess it's time to pack these up! I don't have it on video yet, but Wade learned to say "Buzz" this week and to tell him to "sit." He also said "bath" out of the blue while we were getting his towel the other night. Thinking it was a fluke, we tried it over and over, and he said it every time.

Sad Day

You'll remember that Wade got the boot from the church nursery a couple weeks ago. The only person who was sadder than Wade about his promotion was Ms. Bess. She made no bones about her preference for Wade in the nursery. They seemed to bond instantly. She was always waiting at the door for him and was in tears on his last Sunday there. For the past 2 weeks that he has been in a new class, she has gone over "to check on him." Since there are few babies that attend on Wednesday nights, he stayed with her then. Tonight, she was noticeably absent from her usual post in the nursery. We would soon learn while we were in choir that she had passed away. She got sick this morning, went to the hospital with her daughter, and she died tonight. We will miss her so much and never forget how much she loved our boys. She took care of Lee from birth until he started walking at 13 months. And she has loved Wade for 10 months. We are so thankful we knew her and for the many memories we have of her with our babies.

Playtime Pals

Hope stayed with us for a few hours while her Mommy worked at Lee's and Paul's school. She was so much fun. Wade thinks she is here purely for his entertainment. He just sat in the same place and watched her play around him. The funniest thing she said was after Wade messed in his diaper. She pointed her finger at me and said, "You stay right here while I go change him." We changed him together, and she was quickly horrified by his smell. So with the next dirty diaper, she looked at me and said, "It's your turn to change him this time."

They played blocks together, and Hope read a lot of books to him. One of my favorite things she says is the letter W. Every single time she saw a capital W in a book, she would stop and say, "Here's a W for you, Wade." He just smiled at her every time.
He tried to pull her hair. It's his way of showing affection, but she wasn't digging it.

She showed her affection with a really tight hug. He didn't dig that.

Finally! A picture with no hair pulling or head hugging=CUTENESS!

Birthday Boy

It's official...I'm married to a man in his mid-30's. We decided today that Saturday birthdays are the BEST. You get to drag the celebrations out all weekend. We had a great time doting on our favorite guy.

After supper in Jackson and some time at the Helping Hand auction, we came home to open gifts. Lee requested some "medicated bumper ointment" for his gift for his daddy. I found something close to that at Walmart, and it made one little boy very happy. He chose some other car washing supplies to complete the gift from him and Wade. I got Matt a trailer to pull behind his new lawn mower. It was really meant to help lessen the load when he is mulching and doing other yard work, but I think he is most excited about giving rides to the boys in it.

Next we enjoyed some strawberry cake for dessert.

Today, we celebrated at Nam and Pa's with the family. Matt got lots of wonderful gifts and 2 birthday cakes! See why Saturday birthdays are the best? What a fun weekend we've had! We sure didn't want it to end. I love you, and I'm so glad you were born 35 years ago, Matt!

Elegant Dinner

Today was picture day, and the PTO at Rhea planned a special lunch for the kids. The invitation said to wear their "Sunday best," and the kids would learn about table manners. Some of the parents got to serve the lunches to the kids, and I was so excited to be one of them. It was so much fun to see all the kids dressed up, and the kids enjoyed being served their lunches and someone else cleaning up their mess.

There was a head table for school board members and other special guests. Each class made a place mat that was used there. Here is the one Lee's class made.

This is Lee's class and teachers before they ate. Lee is the little lawyer on the far left.

Lee looked so handsome and really enjoyed getting to dress up for school. He has had this tie for a year, but he has never wanted to wear it. It was his idea to wear it today, and he loved it.

My big boy and me

Here are his classmates coming in to eat.

They had Parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and Lee's favorite yeast rolls.

Lee and Jackson Ridgeway

I was lucky enough to be able to get many pictures of our friends' kids throughout the day. Here are some of Lee's sweet friends from church, who are in different classes. L-R are Emma Jane Murphey, Sidney Anderson, Avery Bryan and Maci Jarnigan.

More church friends are clockwise from top left; Bryleigh Hayes, Chloe Knott, Berrett Watkins, and Kenson Kyle.

I'm not sure why Lee wanted to give me the peace sign, but he did and wanted me to take a picture of it.

The cafeteria looked beautiful, and you could tell the kids knew it was a special occasion.

Campbell and Marly Kate are in Lee's class. I was sad later that I didn't get a picture of Lee with MK. This was the first event that I didn't get a picture of the two of them together.

Lee and Paul still had their shirts tucked in well after lunch!

Lee can barely make it through church sometimes without re-tucking. I was impressed!

A special occasion is made even more fun with your best friend!

Cheap Entertainment and Favorite Snack

Now that it's warm and sunny, Buzz has decided to emerge from the garage to nap in the grass right outside our back door. If I have anything to do in the kitchen, I can park this guy by the door to watch him
He will sit there for 10 minutes watching Buzz. It lasts just long enough for me to plan supper, unload the dishwasher, or sweep.

If Buzz actually moves or does something other than sleep, Wade can barely stand it. He will wave and kick and giggle uncontrollably. He loves Buzz, as long as he is at a comfortable distance from him.

Then, if I'm not done with my current task before Wade is done watching Buzz, I'll keep him occupied with his new favorite snack...clementines!

Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! I love all the reds and pinks and flowers and hearts. I'm in love with love! Until this year, I haven't had many decorations for Valentine's Day. I found the cutest pink and red owls at a local store and some really cute and inexpensive decorations at Target, so I couldn't wait to decorate. Since Easter is really late this year, I decided that our Valentine decor could stay out for the entire month of February. We got the most obscene amount of cards and goodies from our loved ones, so I will use those as decorations too. We feel so blessed to have family we adore and the best friends anyone could ever want. Thanks to everyone who sent things to us and made us feel so loved on Valentine's Day!

Wade and his Valentine treats from Nam and Pa

He was really good at opening his goody bag. I think he'll be a pro at his birthday party!

Nam and Pa got Lee this super hero pop-up book. I bet I can guess which book will be our bed time selection this week.
This picture made me teary, because this is my definition of love. I love the way Wade looks at Lee. He adores him.

Two of my Valentines

Lee loves all things to do with Karate these days.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Hayes family!

Movin' on up

Wade got the news today that he was promoting out of the nursery at church. He didn't take it well.
Although when I went to his new room after church to check on him, Mrs. Pam had won him over with Cheerios.

I think it was love at first sight with Mrs. Tammy, Mrs. Kathy, and Mr. Dwight!

He agreed to give the nursery ladies one more chance on our way out of church. On a serious note, we truly adore these ladies. They have loved both our babies from birth and have been so sweet and loving to Matt and me. Our church is beyond blessed to have such a wonderful group of women, who are there every time the doors open to take care of our precious bundles.

This is old news now, but since I already had my camera out on Sunday, I got Wade's picture in his new/old car seat. He is now sitting upright and facing the rear. I think he really likes being able to see out the window.

Like Old Times

Lee wanted to hold Wade on the boppy, like he did when Wade was brand new. I think he was surprised at how hard he was to hold this time. Wade wasn't as cooperative as he was the first time around either:-)

5 on Friday

1. Matt has been working on launching a website for the construction company. We have had fun coming up with ideas and looking through old pictures to post on it. I'll share the address when it is up and running.

2. This has been one of the best weeks of Buzz's life! Not only does he absolutely L-O-V-E snow, but he has had his playmates home to play in it with him all week. He has run and played so hard that he will have to sleep all next week just to recover.
3. Saturday is our church's day on the Helping Hand auction. We have been planning our food for a couple of weeks. Luckily the roads were clear enough to go to the grocery one day this week for our ingredients. I started Thursday with my baking and finished the final item (#13) at 10:38PM tonight. We delivered our first load this afternoon, and Matt will take the rest in the morning. This is a picture of the first load.
This is the way my kitchen looked after about 2 hours! I cleaned as I went, but it was hard to keep everything cleaned and put away.

My partner in crime was not much help either.

4. Lee was a lot of help with the baking, but he bailed for a sleepover with Paul when I mentioned cleaning. He made a heart shaped strawberry cake with Valentine sprinkles...his favorite part!

5. Wade really wanted my Sonic cup (with water in it) one day this week, so I offered him a sip. He drank through the straw like he had been doing it forever. Now he is a pro and wants to drink from a straw all the time!