Party in my crib.

Making his move.

We've got two beautiful boys, so Papa and I like to think. Therefore, we've already prepared ourselves for the day it happens.

The day one of them falls for a girl who makes his heart pitter patter - and then the other charms her with his good looks and funny personality.

Then steals her away.

We will be there to console the heartbroken. And reprimand the thief.

More than likely, it will happen more than once.

More than likely, both Lane and Evan will be guilty of theft at some point.

We can already see it coming.

Just not this soon.

Monday, at the water park, Andrea took notice of Evan for the first time in six months.

He's sitting up, alert, taking part in the playful fun, smiling - and charming ladies with his good looks.

Andrea sat down next to Evan, started to tickle all of his adorable rolls, got a few good laughs out of him and lots of smiles. And she no longer had any interest in the water - or Lane.















Ohhhh, so cute.

Paola and I thought it was adorable.

Evan ate it up.

That leaves one other person.

Lane.

He didn't like it. Not one bit.

That's his very best friend.

That's his love.

That's his Bella.
(His very special nickname for Andrea that he assigned her himself.)

He walked up to his brother, looked at his mama, and announced, "I want Bella to play in water park with Lane. Not brudder."

There you have it.

He grabbed his love's hand and walked her back out to the water.



I'm sure there will be one or two girls he won't mind passing on to his brother but not this one.

No way.

That's his Bella.

We went back.

With just his very best friend and his brother.

And, he loved it.



















One huge victory for mama.
One fun summer morning for my babes.

Lots more trips to the water park for all of us this summer.

A mama deer.

Remember the mama deer who came to visit us last year?

We think she has returned. (Or maybe it is one of her deer mama friends.)

Each night, for the last two weeks, a mama deer comes to munch on the grass in our neighbor's yard or snatch up some of the fallen berries from our mulberry tree.

We've started to expect her around dusk each night. As soon as we hear the dogs begin to bark, one of us will rush outside to see if mama deer has come for her nightly visit.

She'll hang around for a few minutes - until the dogs barking or the naked boy fresh from the tub scares her off.

Our Goo Goo Doll.

If there's one thing I've learned since becoming a mama, it is the fact that time moves so very quickly when children are involved. However, every 30-something days, I am totally shocked that another month has passed, and my children are yet another month older.

June marked a special occasion here on Allison Drive - Lane's two-and-a-half birthday and Evan's half birthday.

While it feels as if Evan has been here forever, I can't believe it has already been half a year since I first held him in my arms.


If you've had the pleasure of spending time with our babe then you know the pictures I post on this blog don't lie. He really is this happy.

He greets everyone with a smile and loves to flirt with anyone who will flirt back with him.

He's our laid back little man. I think the best way to describe Evan would be to say he's curious and content at the same time.

He can now sit up on his own - giving him a chance to play by himself or happily watch his brother play. (Or snatch up one of brother's Monster Jams while he isn't looking.)


He's got great control of those chubby little hands, which we find constantly reaching on the table to grab some food or into anything else that might have something else he can grab.

Countless times a day, I fill up that blue bucket with baby safe toys. And, countless times a day, he dumps the bucket over to pick up a ball, chew on his papa's Sophie or stare at himself in his lady bug. Sometimes, the blue bucket becomes the toy of choice as he grabs a handle and swings it around his chunky body.

At yesterday's well visit, the doctor remarked at how well he's done developmentally and told us he's right on track - with a nine-month old.

That sounds about right considering that's what size clothing he's wearing these days. Because, chunky is the right word to describe Evan.

Weighing in a 19 pounds and a few odd ounces, he's decided to eat like a nine month old too and give pureed foods the boot.

He's our little food stalker. If there's food on a plate and one of his family members is eating it then he wants it too.

And will stare you down until you figure out a way to serve him a little of what you've got.

I try to enforce a no teeth - no foods that can choke my precious babe rule around here.

So, we stick to soft foods from our plates, including sweet potato casserole, gravy from chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, roasted squash, little bits of smashed green beans, some soft bread and pieces of biscuit - to name a few of the foods he's enjoyed from our plates.

He also added yogurt to his diet this month. Would it shock you if I told you he loves it?

Obviously, eating is one of his favorite pastimes.

Coming in right before tub time. He still loves to take a bath each night. Only, now we've kicked papa out of the equation, and he chills bath side with his big brother.

Since he can now sit up, he happily splashes and kicks in the little blue baby tub we used once for Lane while his brother takes up the rest of the space in the downstairs tub.

The two sit facing one another, and Evan giggles and smiles as he watches Lane move toys around and make a mess with the water. If he's lucky enough to get splashed in the face, tub time becomes even more fun.



The whole thing is just too cute for words - and I want to wrap up each of my boys like burritos and eat them.

That's how much I love them.

With so much playing, exploring and eating during the day, my boy gets a good amount of sleep at night.

He still prefers a 7:45 pm bed time. Just give him a little time to nurse, his duck to snuggle, a nice comfy bed and he's out. First, he rolls on to his belly, places his duck blanket close to his body and then it is off to dreamland.

In the last month, he's given us a few all nighters, sleeping for 11 hours uninterrupted. However, most nights he wakes after 7 hours for a few minutes to nurse and then goes right back to sleep until morning.

I know with a little persistence and the knowledge that his belly is full, I could let him cry it out and have him on an all night schedule. But, I can't. Just not yet.

So, for now, I cherish our time in the middle of the night - feeling his little body pressed against mine and listening to his sweet breathes.


As papa described our lovely little boy the other night as I snapped this picture of all his rolls, he's like one of those little angel babies - a cherub.

Yes, he is.

Getting the swing of things.

Usually after a spaghetti dinner, Lane heads right to the tub to get washed. However, on this particular spring night, he decided a swing in the hammock was in order before getting washed and ready for bed.

All was right with the world until his mama came outside with his little brother.

Lane's done an excellent job at catching on to his new gig as a big brother. But, sometimes, he just wants to be left alone.

Such was the circumstance on this night.

However, being a big brother requires a bit of patience and a lot of understanding - especially when your mama insists your little brother take part in your activities.

So the frown came out when the baby brother got in - and Lane let us know that he was not too pleased with his new swinging partner.




Evan, on the other hand, was thrilled - as he usually is when he has the opportunity to get close enough to touch his big brother.

He grinned his big toothless smile and tried to charm Lane with the same looks that always win over his mama and papa.

And it worked.

For a minute.




After that, his mama and papa were instructed to get his brudder out. He was done sharing.

Then all was right in his little world again.

A few days late.

To the father of my children,

Sorry I forgot to wish you a Happy's Father's Day until Sunday evening. Things were a little hectic.


Thank you for giving me these carbon copies of yourself. Boys I get to call my own.

Thank you for being just the papa our boys need you to be - every day of the year.

Most importantly, thank you for sharing this crazy, hectic life with me.

We love you.

Lana, Lane and Evan