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Happy 8th Birthday Madison Elaine!!!! We love you!!!

need some smiles

With the news yesterday, I decided I needed to see some funny pictures of our little guy...

"ummm...the food is supposed to go where?"

"More prunes please!"

He's ready for some food...and yes, finally, after 8 days, the prunes worked their magic!

"Why...hello camera...can't you see I'm busy eating?!"

more prayers please

Remember my Aunt Barbara? Well, we just found out that her husband, my Uncle Mark also has lung cancer. I am just in utter shock. Barbara just went through her second round of chemo at Johns Hopkins and they had to drain fluid from her lung. Now, Uncle Mark is going to have surgery soon to have some of his lung taken out. Our family is going to take turns helping and wish we could do more. I want to help out my cousin Matthew, because having both parents within a month diagnosed with cancer is overwhelming I'm sure. Plus he is getting his new business started, so he has a lot on his plate. My Aunt and Uncle are going to be going home to Texas within the next week before the surgery and next round of chemo so our family is going to be taking turns going down there until Thanksgiving to help out. I'm not sure if I'm going to go to Texas with my mom to help or head to Baltimore to help my cousin after his dad has surgery. It's really just a lot to take in and not knowing what to do or how to help....so if you could send some prayers their way, I know they (and we) would appreciate it. Thank you...

Top 10 Etsy Favorites

My favorite ETSY faves right now...wish I had a bazillion dollars! :)

1. Transportation Set by Imagination Kids...love the handcrafted toys
2. Christmas Alphabet folded tags by Ormolu
3. My treehouse treasures...lots of great ideas here...can't tell you exactly what I like since I have been Christmas shopping here! :)
4. Personalized photo blocks at PersnicketyMe...love the onesies and photo blocks here!
5. This shop is another Christmas gift but BragAboutIt has such fantastic hand stamped jewelry. I have the tiny hand stamped silver disc that has Evan's name, birthdate, and birthstone. I love it!
6. Eco Wall Cards would be adorable in a playroom!
7. College Themed Sports Blankets by Walteramylee...these would be great gifts!
8. Twogreenolivetrees has an adorable thankful turkey tee
9. MimisCrafts has the cutest coin purses that I've had my eye on!
10. Giggles and Glam has the cutest scrabble tile pendant. Two of my friends and my aunt have been diagnosed with breast cancer or some form of cancer, so I really like the saying on this pendant.

• What are your favorite sites on etsy?

beauty

Sometimes what's left unsaid......speaks the loudest...

3...3...3...

• THREE NAMES I GO BY

1. Kasey 2. Kase 3. Mrs. Laughlin

• THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE

1. waitress at TGI Fridays 2. Soccer coach 3. Teacher

• THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED

1. St. Louis, MO 2. Miami, FL 3. Columbia, MO

• THREE TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH

1. Biggest Loser 2. Grey's Anatomy 3. Lost

• THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN

1. grocery store 2. Target 3. Cayman Islands

• THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO

1. anywhere warm 2. Puerta Vallarta 3. Italy

• THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS

1. pasta 2. steak 3. reeses pieces

• THREE THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO

1. holidays 2. a hair cut 3. a bubble bath and a good book

• THREE ANIMALS WHO I HAVE BEEN FRIENDS WITH

1. Nugget 2. Gracie 3. Jack

• THREE THINGS I AM REALLY SCARED OF

1. the dark 2. storms 3. losing my family

• THREE FAVORITE BOOKS

1. way too many 2. anything by Karen Kingsbury 3. Twilight/Harry Potter

• THREE FAVORITE BANDS/SINGERS

1.Carrie Underwood 2. U2 3. faith hill/tim mcgraw

• THREE FAVORITE DRINKS

1. Lemonade 2. Water 3. Apple juice

• THREE THINGS I FIND MOST ATTRACTIVE IN A GUY

1. legs 2. smile 3. sense of humor

• THREE THINGS I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT

1. Mike 2. Evan 3. Food/H20/O2

soccer...

I'm all for good, clean, hard playing during a soccer match, but I think New Mexico went over the line against BYU...good thing BYU won! :) Watch this...

Happy Sunday!

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com Hope you are having a great weekend...I know we are! Someone...I won't mention any names, but, that someone has finally, the past two nights, slept through the night! Down at 7:30, a quick feed around 11, and then up around 7:30-8 am. Love that! :) woohoo!

3 things interview with my hubby

• THREE NAMES I GO BY

1. Loffdawg 2. LD 3. Kasey's baby daddy

• THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE

1. teacher 2. lab assistant 3. wine connoisseur

• THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED

1. San Antonio, TX 2. Tulsa, OK 3. St. Louis, MO

• THREE TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH

1. Lost 2. Flashforward 3. Curb Your Enthusiasm

• THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN

1. Kenya 2. Bermuda 3. Puerto Vallarta

• THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO

1. Australia 2. France 3. the bathroom

• THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS

1. pepperoni pizza 2. lobster 3. steak

• THREE THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO

1. seeing Evan tomorrow 2. sleeping (#1 and #2 were done after a long night at work after the football game) 3. the holidays

• THREE ANIMALS WHO I HAVE BEEN FRIENDS WITH

1. Jack 2. Gracie 3. Bear

• THREE THINGS I AM REALLY SCARED OF

1. fear itself 2. self fear 3. fearing it

• THREE FAVORITE BOOKS

1. Harry Potter 2. Twilight 3. The Book of Life... ;)

• THREE FAVORITE BANDS/SINGERS

1. The Boss 2. CCR 3. John Cougar

• THREE FAVORITE MOVIES

1. Unforgiven 2. Big Lebowski 3. Dumb and Dumber

• THREE FAVORITE DRINKS

1. Rum and Coke 2. Coke 3. Rum

• THREE THINGS I FIND MOST ATTRACTIVE IN A GIRL

1. mammers 2. personality 3. smile

• THREE THINGS I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT

1. Kasey 2. Evan 3. oxygen

Social Saturday

Good Morning! :) I hope you are having a fantastic day so far! The sun is shining and I'm looking forward to having friends over, hanging out and just relaxing! I thought I'd let you know about a few blogs that, you may or may not read, that I love...go grab your cup of coffee and enjoy the reading!

• BooMama she is hilarious! My favorite part is that she writes quotes from The Office. Love that show...

• Waiter Rant...Since I used to be a waitress at a few different places, I find this guy completely honest about the industry and funny. And this bill is insane!

• The McNulty Quads and Steece's Pieces are two quad baby blogs and are so real about being a mom, especially to quads! I can't even imagine! The best part is these quad moms are friends in real life after meeting through blogland. Love that!

• Whatever is another favorite of mine. Meg is so talented and so colorful! She takes amazing pictures and her kids are so darn cute!

• Nitty.Gritty. is about Jody, her hubby and six kids...1 in heaven and five here on earth. She is uplifting, real, and has a great heart.

19 lbs of love

5 months

We took Evan to his well baby check yesterday and since we went at 6 weeks old and not 8 weeks, his schedule is a bit off...so it was supposed to be his 6 months check. Anyhoo, we have a cute little chunker on our hands! He weighed in at a whopping 19 lbs! 90th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for length and head. The good news is since he isn't 6 months old yet, he didn't have to get any shots. :) But, we have to head back the 1st week in Dec. to get them :( I do like that he got a sticker for being a "smart patient!" We were joking around that the 19 lbs is a bit off considering he has not poo'ed in a week and there is probably a good 2 pounds that needs to get out! augh! I'm not sure what the deal is. Our doctor said to give him an ounce of juice with an ounce of water mixed together....so we are trying prune juice right now. Hopefully that will do the trick. If is hasn't worked in a day or two, we have to call back. Any advice out there????

Thankful Thursday

5 reasons I am thankful for this little guy...

1. He makes me laugh
2. He is always very alert
3. He has the most gorgeous eyes
4. He is such a happy baby
5. He makes our life complete

Carousel Ride

Today I went to meet up with my very good friend Laura and her two kiddos, Maddy and Emma. We ate some lunch, took the kids on the carousel, and read some books at Barnes and Noble. It was Evan's first time on the carousel and he loved it! At first he wasn't so sure of the animals all around him, but once it started he had the biggest smile on his face. It was too cute...

Top 10 Tuesday November Edition...

Top 10 reasons I'm looking forward to November

1. Time spent with family during Thanksgiving
2. Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and rolls. Yum!
3. Evan's 1st Thanksgiving
4. My Mizzou class is almost over for this semester
5. Playing in my high school soccer alumni game
6. My parents 31st anniversary
7. Colder weather and wearing sweaters
8. Evan's 6 month old birthday (wow! Time flies!)
9. Finishing Christmas shopping
10. Enjoying each moment and being thankful for each day...

Here and there

Here...

There... Ahhh...I miss there...

Happy Birthday Sawyer!!!

Happy Birthday to you...Hope you have a fantastic 4th birthday!!!!

Florida Day 6...last day

Sigh....We had a great trip and were sad to leave the warm sunshine! We want to thank my mom who came with us, babysat Evan while we went on a few dates and let us have our own family of three time too...We had a great day even though we had to check out of our timeshare at 10 am and our flight didn't leave until 5:45 pm. We headed to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch...it was delicious! It was our first time being there (my mom had been there before) and it was very cool. Evan liked seeing the gorillas and elephants move! After driving around the city one last time and seeing a few more sites, we headed to the airport early to return the rental car. It was a good thing we did. Check in was a nightmare and we were glad to not have our car seat, pack n play, and 4 bags! Whew...I'm sure we looked hilarious with all of that luggage. It is amazing all of the things a baby needs! Since it was Halloween Eve, we decided Evan should sport his skeleton costume. He made lots of people laugh and smile with this on. He even took a great nap while we were at the airport. heading home... Goodbye Florida...we'll miss you!! Evan was a champ on the plane...slept almost the whole way! I know Great Grandma and Grandpa were excited to see us...ahem...make that excited to see Evan! ha! :) Jack boy was excited to see us!!! We missed him! Thank you to Mike's parents and Dave and Sarah for taking great care of him while we were gone...especially since it rained almost every day!

Florida Day 5

Today I only took a few pictures...it was nice to just be able to enjoy the moments with my family. We went to the pool again, went shopping, and just enjoyed being on vacation...We met my college roomie and her kiddos again for dinner before getting ready to head home the next day...It was great to just live in the moment and not being worried about getting the memories on camera.

November 1st????

• Wow! How can it be November 1st already?! The weather today is absolutely gorgeous with the sun shining...we even have the windows open! Craziness I tell ya! I love it! We have been very busy since being back, but I am so glad to join BaToBloMo

• I want to get better about writing out thoughts and what is going on in our lives rather than just posting pictures all the time. So...here we are on Day 1 of posting every day for the month of November! I love this time of the year....the weather is cooler, holidays are fast approaching, and even with all the craziness of trying to fit everything in family wise and the busyness of the season, it is important to take a step back and remember what it truly important. I know I am thankful for many things and I'm going to try to take this month of November to reflect and write about that...here are 5 things I am thankful for today...

1. I am thankful for being able to take a vacation (even thought I don't like unpacking and putting everything away). We had a great trip (2 more posts to come!) Sorry for the overload of pics from Florida, but I want to have them down for memory's sake!
2. I am thankful for being able to finish my masters, so hopefully one day, when I want to go back and teach, I can use it to teach ELL students part time. We have a few big assignments coming up, so I need to get focused! :)
3. I am thankful for my handsome 5 month old...today was the first day we put him in Kidscrest at church and he did fantastic. He was smiling and laughing and it is the best feeling in the world to get him after the church service and the volunteers tell you that you have a happy baby.
4. I am thankful for Jack...he did so good while we were away. We really do have a great dog! Even with all of the rain the past week, he didn't tear anything up and I know he is glad to have us back!
5. I am thankful for the gorgeous weather today so my hubby can rake up the leaves! :)

• Hope you are having a great November 1st! :)

Florida Day 4

Wednesday was spent looking around at all of the changes my college has undergone. I attended FIU and played soccer (for those that don't know) so being back there and seeing the huge changes the campus has undergone has been amazing. They now have a Division 1 football team...I think they have even won a game! ha! Their stadium is of course huge and immaculate, while the soccer stadium is still the same...not very good! Their are so many new buildings...they now have a nursing school and law school. It was great to be back and be able to take Evan there. We even got him his very own FIU shirt to sport when he's a little bit bigger. Standing in front of the basketball arena...Isiah Thomas is now the men's head coach! The good ol' soccer stadium....it brings back such memories of when I was in shape! ha! Campus and the library... After reminsicing we headed down to Miami Beach. The weather was gorgeous and it was great to be able to just hang out in the sun, listen to the waves and relax. We brought Evan down to experience the waves (which were bigger here than up in Fort Lauderdale) and the noise and seeing the water come at him scared him to pieces! He was not a big fan! Poor baby!!! Once we took him away from the loud, crashing waves coming at him, he was fine... Hanging out with Grandma while Mike and I swam Once we got back to our place we swam some more... It was a good day!

Trick or Treating and a party

We headed over to Grandpa Laughlin's to trick or treat...Evan is the cutest little skeleton ever! then over to Uncle Dave and Aunt Sarah's house before heading to Mike's work party... This is baby R...Evan and her were born on the same day (5.27)! :) We had a great night for Evan's first Halloween and I hope you all had a Happy Halloween too!!!

Florida Day 3

Beach day!!!! It's amazing how different vacations are with a little one, but we wouldn't change it for anything! The weather was perfect...a bit windy, but overall a perfect day! :) We headed over to Fort Lauderdale Beach and took some pics of Evan's first time at the beach... This is my absolute favorite picture....Mike got the perfect shot! Evan was holding his hat and wouldn't let go...I guess he thought it was windy too! A little drool never hurt anyone :) Touching the ocean water... Grandma and Evan So Big!!!! Footprints of our family... Evan did pretty well sleeping in the pack n play considering we were at a new place, he had a snotty, runny nose, and his schedule was off. This picture was taken while he was trying to take a nap! I looked over and saw his cute little smiling face and had to get this shot...

Happy Halloween!

Round 1 of trying to get Evan's pictures in his Tiger Halloween costume...he was not liking it! Round 2: Finally...after eating, he is one happy baby! He looks so cute in his Halloween costume!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Florida Day 2

Day 2 was spent at the pool and hanging out with my college roomie Heather and her family. The weather was gorgeous! Evan's first toe dip into the pool! It was nice that Ikea was only about 3 exits away! We headed over after a few hours at the pool for a nice relaxing break! Love that place!!! It is absolutely breathtaking down here at sunset... We headed over to Heather's house for dinner. It was so nice to catch up and visit. Her daughter, Sage, is 4 and her son, Jaden, is 4 months older than Evan. It was nice to be able to visit with Heather and Marcus and catch up. The reason why Jaden is turned around in this picture is because Evan would. not. stop. kicking him! He thought it was so funny! After a few attempts, we kind of got a good one! ha! Evan still wanting to kick Jaden....he has his eye on him! Heather and I... We gave the kiddos a bath Group shot....thanks Mom for taking this! The weather has been absolutely perfect....I heard that its been pouring rain in Missouri while we were away....hopefully we'll be able to bring the sunshine home!

Florida Day 1

We took off early on Sunday....Mike only got a few hours of sleep from having to work the MU football game the night before. We were so excited to enjoy lots of sunshine for the next week! Evan was excited as well to go on his first plane ride! Grandma Merritt and Evan....ready to go on vacation! Evan did SO well on the flight....even after missing his naps! He was super silly and smiley and laughing at the people behind us. He did fuss for a few minutes on the take off and landing, but other than that, did great! He even nursed and took a good hour nap! I'm sure the other passengers were thankful that he didn't scream/cry the entire time....we were glad too! :) Leaving good 'ol (and cold) Missouri....don't the trees look pretty though?! And arriving in sunny 80* degree weather! Ahhh...perfect! Evan even got to sit in the cockpit after we landed. It was so tight in there! I'm glad we arrived safely though. :) Shades....check. Car seat/toys...check 1st vacation with our son...priceless!

BaToBloMo

I'm in....join in the fun!!! Thanks Heather and Nicole for getting some great ideas!

• Mondays: "Not Me Mondays" (blog about mis-haps embarrassments)

• Tuesdays: "Top Ten Tuesdays"(make a top ten list for whatever you want)

• Wednesdays: "Wednesday Works" (share something of the old "works for me" school of thought or share a project you're working on, want to work on, need help with or even share a behavior/habit you or your family is working on)

• Thursdays: "Thoughts for Thursdays" -of course!- (blog about a topic of opinion)

• Fridays: "Flashback Fridays" (blog about a memory or even photo from the past)

• Saturdays: "Saturday Social" (share new or favorite websites or blogs you come across)

• Sundays: "Sunday Survey" (random questions)

All smiles...

I heart faces...Halloween Dress Up

This week's theme is Halloween dress up and for Evan's 1st Halloween, we decided to put him in his first costume...the tiger. He didn't like it at first (it could have been because he was hungry too!) But, check back on the 31st to see his sweet smiling face in his tiger costume!!! Head on over to see all of the other great entries!!!

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5 months

Happy 5 month birthday!!!!!

We love you!!! (pic to be added when we get back home...off to the beach today!)