i haven't blogged lately due to a little knee surgery i just underwent. keep me in your prayers if you don't mind. i really need to get better so i can start taking care of my family again. until i get back, my wonderful in-laws, parents, and husband are doing a great job.

laney would rather chew on books than read them these days. luke's not to happy that she chose his "big truck book" to chew on...

Laney - 8 months

playtime

Valentine's Day

We had a full day at the Philley house. Our morning started out with Christmas-like excitement. Thanks to great grandmas and grandmas, the kids had more than enough gifts to get them all keyed up.

We were even pleasantly surprised to find it snowing...

Laney enjoyed playing with her flower and Luke's ladybug...

And Ron came home from the mall with glasses! Yep, it ends up he has an astigmatism. He is amazed at how much clearer he can see. He came home and said the kids were even cuter than he thought. With it being Valentine's and all, he asked me if I still loved him now that he has glasses. I told him I thought the real question was if he still loves me now that he knows what I really look like. I'm glad we get each other's sense of humor... and the answer to his question is "yes". It's a joy to have him as my husband.

Valentine PJs

the boys loving on laney...

The other day while Sam was in his room napping I heard his door open. It opened and closed so quickly that I was intrigued to go see what it was about. I found his little doodler at the door. You can see the heart, sam, and omo. (He has since learned that "mom" is not spelled "omo".) I opened the door to his room and asked him what it said. He said he would read it to me. It said "Dear Mom, I love you so much. I want you to have a treat. Love, Sam." I kissed him and thanked him and started to leave. He asked me if I would write him a love note and leave it at the door for him to get when he woke up from his nap. Oh, how sweet...

bath time siphoning?

what?

luke and pops had fun the other night siphoning water in the bathtub. pops said it lasted for quite a while. i hope this eagerness to learn stays with him throughout his school years.

laney's new teeth

i can't seem to get a great picture of laney's new teeth. she's getting her top ones in. but not the ones in the middle, the ones on either side. it's so darn cute! her pediatrician said babies get those before the middle ones about 30% of the time; it may be somewhat common but i've never seen it before.

just for fun

i heard that dockers was giving away a pair of pants to the first 2010 people who went to the dockers website after their super bowl commercial. i pulled up the site before the game began and put in all my information. i happened to be walking by the tv when the dockers commercial came on. i ran to the computer, hit the enter button, and waited to find out if i won a pair of pants. i got an email today that i did... how fun is that? so ron is getting a brand new pair of dockers flat-front khakis for free. awesome!

since i'm on the subject of the super bowl, i have another good story. ron went to watch the game with some guys from the hospital. i mentioned to my mom when i talked to her yesterday afternoon that i was bummed i wasn't going to be able to watch the game. i'd be taking care of my 3 children instead. i love my kids, but i also love football. the pizza was delivered at 5:15 and we were sitting down eating dinner when my doorbell rang. it was pops, my step-dad. "what the heck are you doing here?" i think were my exact words. he works in huntsville some during the week and was planning to come on monday. he decided to come a little early so i could watch the game. i spent the next several hours watching football while he played with my kids, bathed them, and put them to bed. i am amazed by this man and his selflessness!!

love me some ribs...

Ron fixed ribs this weekend on the egg for the first time. They were by far the best ribs I've ever had! The boys enjoyed them too.

funny faces at lunch

the boys entertained themselves while lunch was being fixed. sam pulled luke around on the wood floor and they both had fun.

the kiddos before church

Like mother, like daughter

I emailed this picture to my mom and Ron's mom to show them how Laney likes to play...

My mom sent me this picture from my childhood as a response...

a friend just emailed me this picture from a triathlon in guntersville this past summer. sam has changed in such a short time!

to catch you up...

Ron took this picture of Sam. I wasn't in the room, but I assume he was playing his PBS video game on the computer. Sam's started biting his nails; he gets that from me. Sam has also started going to pre-school every day; this week is his first week of it. He's so happy.

Laney's two bottom teeth are adorable. Yesterday we discovered that two more are beginning to break through...

Luke moved out of his baby bed into a big-boy bed. He and Sam have enjoyed playing on it together. He has NOT enjoyed sleeping on it. Last night was his first time to sleep in it. I laid with him and sang songs. Ron laid with him... It wasn't until Pops stood over the bed for a good 10 minutes rubbing his belly that he fell asleep. Oh Pops, I wish you were here at naptime today. Right now, Luke is asleep on the floor by his door. (I peeked under the door to check on him; I had a feeling he never got back in bed after his crying wore him out.)

Laney's learning to sip out of cups...

One more thing about Luke's new sleeping arrangement. He learned how to open doors about 4 days ago. Pops had a brilliant idea and within 5 minutes had changed the doorknob where we can lock it from the outside. It sounds a little mean to lock your child in their room; but it's necessary. He still knows we love him... I hope. ☺