FEELS LIKE HOME TO ME: May 2010

More Birthday Fun

It was family night for the Raifords and Parkmans. We had a double birthday celebration for two really cool people that are turning 30!

We enjoyed over-doing it on Mexican food and spending time together. And getting presents was nice, too!

*Mimi (my mom) was with us. But she said, "No" to pictures of her. Notice I complied with her request, 'cause she's still my momma and I listen to her! Don't worry, I'll get some of her without her knowing before too long!*

And as much fun as we had, we had to say goodbye to Uncle Drew. He figured he would lessen the blow by bringing Libby a gift. (Smart Uncle!) She loves her abnormally large-headed Mickey Mouse! Drew flew back to Colorado Wednesday and we'll miss having him around. We hope to see him soon. And thanks to some blog (and facebook) suggestions, we're going to figure out how to Skype so we can chat with Uncle Drew more often.

I hope you have a great holiday weekend. We have big plans! I'm looking forward to enjoying time with family and friends and turning off my work worries for a few days.

See you soon!

9:00 AM
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Swagger Wagon

Have kids? You must watch this video. Even if you don't have any kiddos, you'll get a kick out of this, trust me. Enjoy!

4:12 PM
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Happy Birthday, Drew!

This week we celebrated Drew's 30th Birthday! Can you believe I'm married to such an old man? What, I'll be the same age next week? Oh, never mind that comment.

We have more official celebrating to do with family, but we did eat some pie and sing "Happy Birthday" to mark his special day.

It didn't take long for Libby to sample the dessert.

Nice...

Happy Birthday, Drew! We love you very much!

11:00 AM
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Special Company!

Libby got a big surprise this weekend and boy was she excited! My brother, her Uncle Drew, is in town from Colorado for a visit. I started telling her Saturday that she was going to meet Uncle Drew. She immediately began asking, "Where Uncle Dew? Uncle Dew come here?"

{Stop! Did you notice that I have both and husband and a brother named Drew? Yep, I do. Okay, just didn't want anyone to be confused. }

Drew and my parents stopped by Sunday evening on their way home from the airport. Libby took about three minutes to size him up, then she decided she liked him...a lot! This was a relief for me because she was six weeks old the last time they hung out together.

After some hugs and high fives we all ventured outside to play on her swing set. Drew was a good sport and jumped right in!

Drew is headed south to spend a few days on the coast, then he'll be back for more family fun. I know this will please Libby so. :)

7:00 AM
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Reunion

If there's one thing the extended Parkman family believes in its keeping up with family. Every May there's a standing family reunion. Relatives drive in from all over, even as far as Miami. Before marrying into this family, I may have been to one or two reunions in my life time. I've quadrupled my record in the five years I've been married to Drew.

There is so much history and pride in this family. It's so interesting to hear stories how things used to be. I won't pretend I understand how all the pieces of the family puzzle fit together, but I have learned a lot in recent years.

One of the cousins brought this box full of old pictures. It's so neat to see how families lived in the early 1900's. Drew's Great Uncle Clyde is 80-something years young and can name almost every relative, who's child they were and where they lived. He's a walking history book! Here he is looking over some of the old pictures.

Libby enjoyed the playground and playing with her cousins. Many are second and third cousins, but she likes them just the same!

Cousin Georgia Lee was such a big help. Libby really enjoyed hanging out with her.

Another of Libby's favorite playmates is Cousin Elizabeth. She is so good with all the kids. So mature and patient. I asked her parents if we could draw up adoption papers so she could live with us. They laughed - I was serious!

Libby also got to see her cousin Sawyer. He just turned one and is such a cutie!

When she wasn't playing, Libby was greeting family and kissing babies. Here she is kissing baby Taylor and hugging her Great Grandmother Motsie.

Soon after she jumped in her Uncle Doug's arm. I know she isn't showing her enthusiasm in this shot, but she loves hanging out with Doug.

It was a fun afternoon. Libby was great with everyone and we enjoyed visiting with the extended family. We've already marked next year's reunion on our calendar!

9:00 AM
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Play Time

Libby has had lots of fun playing with new toys that she scored at her birthday party. Our living room looks like a full-blown play room. If I squint hard enough I can almost see the former spacious family room I used to have.

She loves this bright colored tunnel she received from her friends Riley and Reagan. She has spent hours perfecting her army crawl.

Since it looked like so much fun, I took a turn. Warning - being taller than three feet is not necessarily a good thing when you're trying to crawl through the tunnel!

After my basic training drills, Libby thought I needed to kick back and relax. She whipped out her new Disney Princess beauty set and styled my hair.

I think it's pretty obvious that Drew and I are loving this funny and playful stage that Libby's in. She very busy and is a two-year-old through and through.

4:00 PM
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Mother's Day Fun

What a great Mother's Day weekend it was! We had a very busy weekend that included lots of Mother's Day activities and a family reunion. (More on that later.)

Friday afternoon Libby's class at daycare hosted a Mother's Day picnic. We had lots of fun eating snacks on our blanket. The kids ran around, ate out of every one's picnic baskets and had a great time.

Libby's favorite teacher is Ms. Felicia. She is so good to her babies and they love her right back. Libby constantly talks about "Ms Beesha" and the things they do during the day.

Holding hands with her friend, Brooks.

These pictures were taken before lunch Sunday afternoon. Is my Libby Lou sweet or what?

I'm very blessed to be Libby's mommy!

7:00 PM
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Yard Work

A good yard ~~man~~ woman is hard to find. However, mine loves her job and happens to be really cute!

Now, if I could just train her to pick up her crayons and blocks we'd really be on to something.

4:00 PM
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Party Time!

We survived Libby's 2nd birthday party!

Libby invited lots of friends and family to her Fun on the Farm party. Lots of planning took place the weeks leading up the to the party. However, rain was NOT something I had planned. We all know that us human-types don't control the weather, so it wasn't up to me. We had a big threat of rain, but we persevered and thankfully, everything turned out just fine.

It rained off and on throughout the day, but we didn't get the severe weather that those in Mississippi and North Alabama got, just rain and some wind. We got a break from the rain during the party. The kids (uh hmm and adults) had a great time playing!

There were games for everyone...

There was even a hay ride around the farm.

My sweet friend Kathryn came down from Birmingham for the party. She didn't seem to be scared by all the rowdy kids!

We had a cow cake!

And Libby LOVED having everyone sing Happy Birthday to her.

Then the rain came...

But no one seemed to mind.

We had a great time and really enjoyed spending time with friends and family. Libby got so many great presents and we are thankful to have such fun memories! I will be resting until next year!

4:30 PM
3 Comments