Body Armor!

So it turns out that Reagan fractured his arm afterall. They x-rayed again after two weeks and it suddenly appeared. We are in a sling for two more and then the doc thinks he should be all healed up. It's amazing how kids get by perfectly fine with a cast on. After a couple of minutes and after the shock of not being able to bend his arm wore off, it was as if he had had this cast his whole life! He ran, climbed, worked very hard at his Papa's ranch and never missed a beat. I am mostly happy that I no longer have to wrap his arm in a trash bag just to give him a bath! So, all is well in the Land of Laney again:)

Chalk-o-lot's debut

Thanks to all of you who attended the business expo at United Methodist Church this morning. It was a great success and I was so grateful for those of you who came out to support me and my new venture Chalk-o-lot! I also hope you were able to get some great Christmas gifts from all of the wonderful vendors there. It was a true testament of moms supporting moms. I will be busy at work for the next several days replentishing my chalkboard mat supply. I sold out of my entire inventory this morning and there's more work to be done! I'd like to take a minute to thank those of you who have been cheering me on as I embark on this new creative path. I appreciate the positive feedback, advice and words of encouragement you have given me. You are where I get my motivation! God knows I couldn't muster up any on my own. Ha! If you know anyone who might be interested in this great gift idea, please continue to pass my info along. Have them check out http://www.chalkolot.blogspot.com/. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Reagan's 4!

Wow, what a day we had at Pump It Up! Reagan celebrated his 4th birthday with lots of friends and family. He had an awesome Batman cake and the kids played their hearts out. I can't belive my little guy is getting so big! Unfortunately, the party took a turn for the worst when Reagan fell of one of the slides backwards and landed on his arm. It was quite a ways down and he was hurt badly. Needless to say, the last hour of his party did not go as he or any of us had planned. Poor baby...he spent the rest of the time on my lap (crying mostly) and then only let me feed him a few bites of cake before we wisked him away to the doc. After two days of x-rays and a trip to the orthopedist, Reagan is now sporting his very first, bright red cast! He has really learned how to get by with only one functional arm. I don't know how he does it, but he's been very brave throughout the whole ordeal. It was a very memorable day to say the least:) Happy Birthday Reagan!

Happy Halloween!

I'm a bit late loading these pics up, but they are worth the wait! Reagan and Landon were Batman and Robin for Halloween and they had a blast! Reagan pretty much stayed in character the entire day and refused to answer to anything other than Batman. Lexi was a sweet ballerina and kept up with her big brothers trick-or-treating as best as she could. We ended the night at Luke and London's where they poured out all of their candy and sorted it all out on poor Jennifer's floor. I think they are still running on their sugar high!

I also included some pictures from Reagan's party at school. He was taking his role very seriously:)

Gig 'em Aggies!

Landon attended his very first Aggie game. He had a great time with his daddy. He took a picture with the 12th Man, sported his A&M jersey and he even left with blue lips and teeth after eating a yummy snowcone at the hot game. I think he's ready to become an Aggie like his mommy and daddy.

Achin' IKE

We are so thankful that our lives are back to normal. Or at least our version of normal. Ike blew through The Woodlands like a terrible hurricane....wait...nevermind. It knocked out our power and left us in the dark for a week. I can't complain too much since we got it back long before many of my friends. Sorry girls! It's truly amazing the luxuries we take for granted until they're taken away from us. Like light and air!! Duh... Oh, and who would have thought that ice would become the most sought after commodity on the planet after the storm! Not to be upstaged by gasoline of course.

The kids did great under the circumstances. The weather was actually really cool during those powerless days and so playing outside for long periods of time became a necessity and a joy. The down side was that we lost virtually everything in our freezer that we didn't get to eat in time. The good news is that I've cleaned and now I can see the bottom of my fridge and freezer! I had forgotten that it was white on the inside!

Here are a couple of pictures of our neighborhood. Luckily we didn't have any damage to our house other than a very messy pool.

More Firsts!

First Day of Preschool! 9/3/08

First Day of T-Ball! 9/10/08

Landon's 1st Day of 1st Grade!

One Down and Two to Go!! Today we dropped off Landon at his first day of school. He was very excited to meet Mrs. Stepp and all of his new friends. Luckily he sat right next to a friend from Kindergarten and there are a few other old friends in his class. He is such the studious one...went right into serious school mode when he entered the room. Lunch box in basket, backpack at desk, sit up straight and ready to learn! It's always so funny to see all the parents that linger forever in the hall after dropping off their angels (us included). It appears they've even recruited a lady to walk through the halls and say things like...."Okay, we'll have them ready for you at 3:00!" and "We'll keep your little ones safe!". She might as well said, "Get the heck outa here you crazy overly-protective freaks!!" We all eventually got the hint and moseyed out the door with our parental tails between our legs. Now, when does Reagan start pre-school?? Here we come SEPT. 3rd!! Goodbye summer!

Almost Walking!

Lexi took several steps all by herself on my birthday! What a wonderful present:)

DVD Overload!

Party Princess

Lexi celebrated her 1st birthday with close friends and family. She
really had a ball opening presents and eating her cake. I can't believe she's already a year old!

Happy Birthday Lexi!

Happy 1st Birthday to our little Princess Lexi. She's already demanding an upgraded breakfast and shouting things like..."I want my milk WARM!" and "PINK is the only color that matters!" Oh and also, "It's my birthday and I can POOP if I want to!!" I can't believe our little girl is ONE!

The big brothers are very excited about her birthday. Landon has already engineered a way to have paper explode when we light it tonight. Their Uncle Bread (Uncle Brad) called this morning to wish the birthday girl a happy birthday and she was very happy to chat on the phone (like her mommy). Reagan picked up the phone and opened with "Hi Uncle Toot Bread!!" He's obsessed with potty talk right now. I don't know where he gets it (Daddy). As you can tell from the pic, he's quite a little clown. Landon refused to be photographed this morning.

My Sweets at Sweet Tomatoes

Just a night out at our favorite restaurant ! Lexi was just getting into her cherrios here. We're well on our way to mostly table food now. My good little eaters!

NAPA

Chris and I went to Napa to celebrate our 8th Anniversary and also Chris' birthday. It was so gorgeous there, I can't wait to return. We tasted lots of great wines and joined a few awesome wine clubs. Chris rented a limo to pick us up on our first tour day and take us all around Napa. I loved our limo driver (although his name escapes me...no shocker), he was so knowledgeable and took us to all the hot spots and hidden treasures. We continued to learn the lay of the land the following days and went to some amazing wineries. I am sure we were over-served at a few of them (and by WE I mean ME!) We finished off the day with massages and great food! We missed the kiddos of course, but cherished the long awaited getaway we needed to refresh. We left with a new appreciation for great wine and alone time:)

Thank you Disney

The Laney family all took a fabulous trip to Disney World in June. It was Lexi's first trip although the boys had been to both Disney World and Disney Land once before...they're pros! Although we were exhausted and sweaty beyond comprehension throughout most of the trip, we had an amazing time and look forward to our next visit to the home of Mickey and Minney. We visited the Animal Kingdom where Chris and I rode the new Expedition Everest Ride. It was such a blast! Then we went on the Dinosaur where Landon and Reagan were frightened to tears. I do not recommend this for small children regardless of the height requirements! Yikes! Needless to say, the boy's love for dinosaurs took a slight turn after this experience. After that, we went on to visit Hollywood Studios, Typhoon Lagoon and Magic Kingdom. The boys and grandparents went bike riding, watched parades, we ate at great restaurants, we even met Goofy and friends. It was a great week and we thank Grandma and Papa Roy for helping out in so many ways.