Laney falling asleep...

Buddy gets buzzed

Sam let Pops buzz his hair last night. This meant that his dog, Buddy had to get buzzed too. This dog goes everywhere with Sam and is probably his best friend. Buddy can even sing! Yes, we drive down the road singing a song and Sam asks "Can you play it again so Buddy can sing it?" Sure enough, we play the song again and Buddy sings "ruff, ruff, ruff,etc." in perfect pitch. And that lasts the entire 3 or 4 minutes of the song! So funny...

show the love...

Rick and Bubba, Rick and Bubba...

so you're probably wondering where i'm going with this post. well, ron and i are celebrating 10 fun years of marriage this coming friday, july 31st. we have big plans. well, not really. but we are going to the rick and bubba show with golden seat tickets to sit in on their hilarity live. i got these tickets back in january, so i've been looking forward to it for quite a while. i think ron's just going along because he knows how much it means to me and he's such a good husband.

that being said, rick and bubba are always suggesting that the listeners show them the love. now before i lose you to another more-interesting blog post, i may offer cash incentives to those who comment! (probably not, but it's worth a try...) my friend becky mentioned that people just don't comment as much as you'd like. she's right. so i was hoping i could beg hard enough to get a few of you to suggest something we can do for rick and bubba on friday... any suggestions?? they love food, so baking homemade goodies is always an idea. but is there something creative and fun we can do for them? post any ideas you have... even you, bull. i know your idea could be the winner as you often think outside of the box. ☺

thanks ahead of time...

our friday night

Holding babies so that they will sleep is not common around here. But we gave in and did it... how could we resist this face?

Luke went to bed early last night so Ron and I took advantage of the extra time we had and watched a movie. We got "He's Just Not that Into You" OnDemand. The movie was cute at times, but I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone. Not quite squeaky clean... But it was nice to enjoy a little entertainment and hold our little girl while we did so.

Sam is coming home today after being in Clinton, MS with Grandee and Pappy for the past week. It was the perfect time for him to get away and have some individual attention and for me and Ronzo to only have 2 kids to look out for. A good break for everyone, but I'm ready to have him home. Thank you, Philleys for showing Sam such a good time!

Waffle House

We took Luke to the Waffle House for his first "real" experience there. Waffle House is a special place to me; during my junior high and high school years our family went there for breakfast on most Saturday mornings. Although Ron and I don't take the kids every Saturday, we enjoy getting out for breakfast every now and then.

Just like Sam's first time, we wanted to get a picture of Luke wearing the Waffle House hat. He didn't want any part of it! This really surprised me since he's so easy going about everything.

After a few attempts and only getting tears, Ron showed him how it's done...

After Daddy did it we had a happy baby...

how we keep busy...

multiple babies needing bottles...

and luke giving kisses...

Luke got tubes...

Luke's procedure went great this morning. We got to the Surgery Center at 7:05 and were pulling out of the parking lot at 8:15. Talk about fast! After getting him dressed in his cute little gown, they took him back around 7:45 for a little gas to put him asleep. We had him back in our arms around 8.

I love this picture of Ron and Luke. His position reminds me of a Sumo wrestler right before the match begins... legs apart, arms by his side, ready to go...

I know I look rough in this next picture, but I feel great! I made the switch to formula yesterday and Laney is doing great. Pops spent the night with us last night (he's back working in Huntsville a few days a week) and offered to get up with the baby. So I slept through the night. 8 whole hours of sleep!! I'm on top of the world. Thank you Dave for being so wonderful!!!
Luke is taking a nap right now. I expect he'll wake up hungry but back to normal in no time. Thanks for your prayers...

Siblings

I finally got all the kids together for a picture in their matching attire. Sam is wearing his "big brother" shirt, Luke is wearing his "in the middle" shirt, and Laney is sporting her "new kid on the block" cap.

Luke's fake cry...

Pops came by for a few hours after work yesterday and managed to capture some shots of me and the boys loving on each other.

to infinity and beyond

a friend gave us this buzz lightyear costume that her son had outgrown. sam put it on right after she left. he can't wait to be buzz for halloween this year...

check out the pose...

as if he's joey from "friends" saying "how you doin'?"

Laney is 1 month old!

Time has flown by. It's hard to believe our little girl is already a month old. It seems like just a few days ago that I was about to leave the hospital and couldn't wait to get home to see a pink bow on my mailbox. (...didn't think I'd ever have a pink bow on it...)

more pictures from the fountain

Thank you, Amy, for taking these wonderful pictures. My heart just gushes for these kiddos, and having pictures like these to save the memories is more than I could hope for.

The Children's Fountain

I met some friends from church up at the splash pad downtown for our kids to play. Unfortunately the fountains weren't working when we got there. We waited 20 or 25 minutes before the city technician got them going. Fortunately I had picked up some donut holes on the way, so we all enjoyed munching on them and visiting with each other while we waited.

I took this picture of Luke right when the fountains came on. He was thrilled. It was our first time to go to something like this, but I knew he'd have fun. Sam, on the other hand, never got wet. He doesn't like pools or fountains or being wet in general. So while the other 8 kids jumped and played in the water, Sam just played around the perimeter. On the way home he promised me he would play in the fountains next time we go. We'll see...

At one point when the water turned off, Pierson jumped on top of the spout in anticipation for it to come on again.

Luke was so tired that he rode home the whole way in his naptime position...

the highlight of my day...

the highlight of my day was sitting on the couch with luke eating popcorn (for the first time). i'm glad he shares my love of popcorn.

Here are just a few pictures including Sam holding Laney, Sam in PJs, Laney's first time with a pacifier (it worked gloriously), and Laney sucking her thumb. I know it's not exciting stuff, but it's all I've got right now...

Because I LOVE taking pictures so much I never understood when people would say things like "I just don't have time to take pictures". Now I get it...

My goal today is to get a few pictures of my 3 kids and actually put them on the blog for the grandparents to see... Wish me luck.

visiting with old friends

While in Birmingham during the 4th I got to see some longtime friends. We have grown up together at Briarwood Church and School since we were just babies. Anna is my age and Becky is my brother's age. Our families got together often for game night; the Cheelys are a fun group!

Anna holding Laney

Becky with her two girls

KB loving on Luke

the 4th

cuddling and watching tv with pops

all the cousins

me and my 3 kids

sam, anne madison, avery

Laney's Photo Session

Amanda came over to take pictures for Laney's announcement. Here are some pics that didn't make the cut, but are worth sharing...

"Seriously, do we have to do this?"

Luke is trying to kiss Laney, hence the open mouth. I promise he's not about to eat her. :) After a few close calls of Luke almost crushing Laney due to rolling over on her we decided this pose may not be a good idea.

"Really y'all, I'm bored."

you know you haven't lost all your baby weight when your 3 year old says something funny and while you're laughing he says "look mommy, your belly is laughing too!"

yes sam, thanks for pointing that out...

Smocking, here I come...

Call me crazy, but I'm taking smocking classes starting next week. Barb's Sewing Center is offering a 3-week class for beginners. Now that I have a girl, I have to be able to smock. It's calling my name... If any of you have suggestions or tricks to make smocking easier let me know. And for you Huntsville girls who have time, come take the class with me. I'm sure it's gonna' be fun.