not your grandmas egg salad.

organic mixed greens & arugula.

fried egg.

sea salt. cracked pepper.

and on this particular occasion 

some of the boys leftover organic sunday bacon.

yes we celebrate sundays with bacon!

glass of wine. comedy thursday. me&tom.

nice.

little I love yous 2.3.4. and 5.

little I love yous are easy. free. and a bit creative ways

to tell the little ones in your life you love them.

just in case they don't appreciate

the broccoli. diaper changing. 

and smothering of kisses the way you hoped.

this is a little more his language.

#2. I love to do things while trent is sleeping.

 display of a collection of his things.

this time I did all disney things.

some things he knew he had. some things he didn't.

I took a few things home from our hotel room.

a paper coaster. monorail cards. napkins.

#3. he notices little things.

and loves it.

he loves talking.

reliving trips. events. and memories.

#4. another one is printing off coloring pages

of his "favorite guys" from the computer.

having a little station set up to color after nap time. 

while I cook dinner.

#5. big boys need love too.

we are always so happy when dad gets home from work.

a little note makes sure he knows that too.

he's so right.

we spent the better half of the day in the yard.

trent said he wanted to go inside and wash up.

I was beaming.

He started hollering.

so I walked in.

there was water.

mud. 

dirt plugging the drain.

spilling over the sink and down the front of the vanity.

the toilet. the floor. the shower. 

everything was dirty.

I said

trent how did this happen?

and he said.

as a matter of fact.

little boys do this.

and boy is he right.

note: these pictures were taken after the initial shock and clean up.

I decided it was then safe to grab my camera and capture it.

love him. loving today.

belated birthday.

toms 29th birthday was last wednesday.

so I took him on a scavenger hunt.

the first stop was a date

for the best thing he ever ate.

the great grandma pat breakfast sandwich.

white toast.

scrambled eggs.

bacon.

peanut butter.

I don't know which was better.

 devouring her cooking.

or hanging at grandma pats.

one vote for hanging.

two votes for hanging.

tie. full of love.

our last stop was home.

where our family was waiting

to surprise tom.

and eat his fave treat.

warm stuffed brownie sundaes.

we and for gifts. everyone brought a gift.

and read it aloud.

but it was just the thought that counts.

Grandma Dee gave Tom a guest appearance on his fave show

The Office.

Grandpa John gave him a 75 foot light yellow fishing boat.

The Vargas gave him a hunting trip in Northern Wyoming.

Laurie and Tobyn gave him a lotto ticket.

I gave him all access to the Wizardly World of Harry Potter, before it opens.

Complete with a lunch at Three Broomsticks, the great feast, pumpkin juice, butterbeer,

dessert of feverfudge, pumpkin pasties, and jelly slugs.

Happy Birthday to my dumble dork!

We really outdid ourselves this year. wink.wink.

time flies when your having fun.

this was only one year ago.

I mean really?

sweet reality.

If you live to be 100.

I want to live to be 100 minus one day.

So I never have to live a day without you.

- Winnie the Pooh

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

we burkets love a good time.

so we woke up at 4.

for breakfast with our favorite mouse.

I thought trent would be exhausted. boy I was wrong. 

we met some characters.

lila loved. squealing and giggling the whole time.

and had them sign our autograph book.

much more trents style. other than high fives. he didn't want to get close.

he did not like "him mouth and cat things".

(plutos mouth and whiskers)

and then we were off to the magic kingdom on the monorail.

quite possibly trents fave part.

and waited for the Mayor to officially open the park.

prince charming.

sooo worth the wait. the train arrived with all the characters. 

glitter. streamers. music. fun.

just my cup of tea.

there were no lines. so we stayed on our favorite rides.

or not so favorite rides...

over and over.

mousin around. before dinner. enjoying the day.

its a small world after all.

goofy.

mini mouse.

when you wish upon a star.

we had a wonderful time.

toms loved the racecars with trent. 

he lets him drive. 

and his burger with lobster.

trent loved the racecars.

goofys rollercoaster. we rode 6 times.

and dairy free cookies in the park.

lila loved the characters. the fireworks.

and wearing her silly mouse hat.

my favorite part?

food? family? fun? 

yea. all those were great. 

but. it was getting late so we got baths. jammies. 

and went to the hotel pool to watch the fireworks.

everything was so beautiful.

the first one went off.

trent screamed.

"I've got to get out of here, you've gotta get me out of here!"

and ran like a crazy man.

tom and I couldn't handle it.

we were so blessed to have a most wonderful time with our little family.

watching the kids faces. spending the day with tom.

this is the sort of thing I always dreamed of.

zip a dee do dah.

we had a meeting with the mouse.

more fun to come.

xoxo

true burket style.

dirty feet.

on the go.

sit back and watch the show.

we run. and jump. and spin. and fall.

we roar. we laugh. we have a ball.

burkets love to have a good time afterall.

picnics. playdates. the nursery at church.

there's fun to be had. 

as long as you search.

the little I love yous.

when it comes to loving your babies.

well...thats just easy.

 I clean their diapers. put on their sunscreen. and read them books.

I make them eat healthy food most adults wouldn't touch.

and get cozy with them and our favorite 

goldie the blanket.

I teach them about God and pray with them always.

We go on walks each day.

and I constantly profess my love for their heart. 

their laugh. 

their every little part.

but it seems that these things can slip right by.

maybe in the years to come they will see what they mean.

but for now I like to do little things.

the little I love yous.

thats more their language.

for trent.

one little thing.

while he is sleeping.

or playing cars in his room.

I like to make displays out of his own toys.

this time.

playdough.

he comes out and sees all sorts of little shapes and figures

he wouldn't normally be able to create on his own.

and I just leave it there.

until he happens upon it.

you can imagine.

one point for the cool mom.

ding.

home security.

with the recent slew of neighborhood break-ins.

I decided to take matters into my own hands.

not only does a hardworking.

big.burly.man. 

live here.

but he can run fast too.

sweet.

I mean. I've heard of a chocolate mustache.

But an entire chocolate smile...

now that's just too sweet. 

little miss 8 months.

 meet little miss 8 months.

I mean jeepers. really. already?

she is quite the little lady.

she has learned to squeal. loudly.

and sit in her high chair.

she loves mashed potatoes.

and her mommy.

she takes baths with her brother.

and her face is always drooly.

her feet twirl with happiness all day long.

she is so big. and yet so teeny.

her brother calls her lilabelle.

she loves her dog maddie.

she loves being outside.

the swings at patrick's park.

and her pacifier.

she has no interest in crawling.

but talking is another story.

she cackles like a little witch.

she is perfectly lila.

and we are all so in love with her.

Happy 8 Months Lila!