my boyfriend's back!!!!

and he now has a new hard drive....BUT they were able to somehow find every picture I've taken of my children since June 2008! I have been more than a little sad for the past few weeks about the possibility of losing all of our pictures, but WOOHOO, my boyfriend has returned and I will be backing him up ASAP!!! Word to the wise---you don't think your computer will crash until it actually does. Don't be dumb like me---back everything up. Now.

In other news, somebody in our house turned FOUR last week! Emma Claire has morphed from the sweetest little baby into a precocious little girl in the blink of an eye....I'm still trying to figure out how that happened. She loves being "fo-ah" now and can't wait to do all of the things that "fo-ah ye-ah olds" do. :) We had a really fun joint birthday party a few days ago for her and Whitt, and I really think it might have been our best party yet. Pictures to follow soon!

EC had two of her besties, Tyler and Sanders, spend the night on her birthday, and they taught her how to walk like a model. It was HILARIOUS. Christie, Ben, and I were standing at the window dying laughing at them shaking their tails as they walked. I'll have to figure out to to upload a video from my phone to my blog--too funny not to post!

Grayson learned how to ride a two wheeler!!! (I took this right before Ben took the training wheels off). It was so amazing---it seriously only took about five minutes of Ben running him around in the yard and talking to him about how to balance the bike, and all of a sudden he was off! He is so proud of himself and keeps getting better and better every day. What a rock star!

Whitt is going to turn TWO this Saturday!! I have no idea where the time has gone...our baby isn't a baby anymore! His vocabulary is getting better and better and he is one fun little monkey. This boy has his mama wrapped around his little finger, for sure! How could you not resist this sweetness??? :)

Can you tell that these children pretty much live in their bathing suits this summer?

This little ball of fur and her siblings are getting cuter and cuter---and closer and closer to being able to be weaned. Any takers?? :)

Other happenings that have occurred recently around here include, but are not limited to, broken pipes in the kitchen, meltdowns in Walmart, EC dropping a jar of spaghetti sauce on the floor of Walmart (I'm never going back with three children again--they are the least helpful people ever), me calling 911 because a lady in the drugstore parking lot was passed out hanging out of her car (turns out she was drunk and had just left an AA meeting...nice), receiving a court summons to be a witness to aforementioned lady....just a small portion of some of the excitement that seems to follow us everywhere. :)

A few recent favorites that need to be mentioned:

* I found these Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp bars in Target the other day and I'm obsessed. They are SO good and only 110 calories! The hardest part is not eating more than one at a time---not because they're small (they're not), but because they're so yummy.

* Sing Over Me is our new favorite CD. It's made up of worship songs and lullabies, and it's so relaxing and calming. I love playing it in the late afternoons while I'm cooking dinner and the kiddos are reading or coloring. Such a fun way to wind down from the day!

* Real Housewives of NYC and NJ. We cancelled cable but I had a bunch of episodes DVR'd that I've just caught up with and oh my goodness, I'm hooked. I have to find a way to watch the episodes online or something. I'm loving the NJ drama with Teresa and Melissa and the NYC drama with everybody!! I'm starting to think that Jill is the only semi-normal one this season! Ob.sessed.

* I'm leaving soon for a 13-ish hour drive with all three kiddos. By myself. Pray for me. :) And please send tips for long car trips if you have them!