"Hot Wheels"

This evening was our friend Sophy's fourth birthday party. And it was at the skating rink. We've never done the skating rink. Mommy enlisted Daddy's help for this one! Two little Ledet's on wheels! We started out trading our shoes for skates. Landon, you reminded me of Bambi on his new legs! You and Daddy practiced first on the carpet, and then you hit the skating rink floor. And you hit it again, and again, and again! I checked with the attendant and changed out your very loose wheels for some that were a little stiffer. Then, you did really great. You palled around with Maddison and Jaelyn. Y'all were pretending that you were putting on an Disney on Ice show. Shelby, you had an awesome time. But you wanted very little help. You looked so cute in your pink tutu trying to roller skate! Your wheels were pretty tight, so you were able to manage pretty well. Once y'all were set, Mommy and Daddy let loose. Mommy spent many hours on roller skates back in the eighties, and it had been many years since I'd had them on again. But just like riding a bike, we were back! And neither one of us fell one time. I'm sure we'll feel it in the morning, however!

"Fundraiser Fun"

In our first weeks at Stockwell, we were hit with our first fundraiser. You know, the wrapping paper, the gifty type items, the chocolate covered everything. We sold a little, but we really wanted to be able to participate in the two incentives: the Mega Bash party and the limo ride to Johnny's pizza. Healthquest made a donation to make that possible! You and about fifty stinky feet kids piled into the gym for a dance bouncy house party for about thirty minutes. You all had a lot of fun, and hey, you were out of class! The following day was the limousine ride. You had never ridden in a limo, so you were pretty excited! Overwhelmed but excited! We had two stretch Cadillac Escalade limos filled with dozens of little people eager to chow down on as much pizza as your little tummies would allow. When you got to Johnny's Pizza, you settled in and had about two pieces; pretty good for you. And then Daddy showed up to surprise us with our new car! A Cadillac SRX! We love it. Finally enough room to stretch out and haul more kids!

"Cheese-Wagon, Here We Come!"

Ok. It's been about a week that you've been in school, and you are ready to ride the bus! And come to find out, your bus driver is one of Mommy and Mush's childhood friends, Natalie. It's great to have people at your school keeping an eye out for you!

You had never been on a bus before, so you were pretty stoked, while at the same time very cool about it. We marched out several minutes early and waited. Chloe came out and we walked down to the bus stop, where we met up with Cain and Courtland. When the cheese started down our street, I could tell you were psyching yourself up for it. You boarded like such a big kid, and Natalie was in the driver's seat with a smile. You and Chloe took a seat near the middle together. And you were off.

Mommy was eagerly awaiting the 3:15 arrival of the bus this afternoon to hear all about your first ride. You bounded off, a little pink in the face, with a big smile. The bus was great, and you are ready to do it again!

"Ballerina Girl"

Oh Miss Shelby. Today was your first dance lesson. And let me just tell you, you were excited about it! When we registered, we purchased your leotard, tights, and slippers. JuJu added a couple of ribbons for the back so it would stay on your little shoulders. There was no quibble about me pulling your hair up in a bun (ha! you see how short it is), or wearing the clips or bow, because it was for your dance class. Sophy rode with us and you two looked so cute in your pink ballerina get-ups. And then we got to class. You marched right in and did everything that was asked of you. You tried so hard to do it exactly right. You looked precious! When class was over, you cried to stay longer. You had a wonderful time, and we can't wait until next week!

Free digital scrapbook made with Smilebox

"The First Day"

Today was the first day of Kindergarten! We were up bright and early, even though we had done everything the night before. We were ready! You looked so handsome in your khaki shorts and light blue polo all tucked in with a belt. We had to park a long way away; lots of other first day kindergartners too! You walked eagerly up to the front doors of Stockwell, stopping of course for a few photos. Once we got in the school, you started getting that deer in the headlights look. It was all so overwhelming, but we found your classroom and got your lunchbox put away and hung up your backpack. We found your desk, and got you situated with your little coloring project. I could tell you were very anxious, as I took a few proud shots of you sitting at your first real school desk. Your chin quivered a little, and I knew that was my sign to get out of dodge, before we were both sobbing. We stopped by the cafeteria for the moms' "Boo Hoo Breakfast" and Shelby, JuJu, and I had some juice and donuts. On our way out, we peeked in your room, and it looked like y'all were listening to a story. You looked more relaxed and were listening attentively. Amazingly there were no tears. That is until I got home and read this:

The First Day
I gave you a little wink and smile
As you entered the room today.
For I know how hard it is to leave
And know your child must stay.
You've been with him for five years now
And have been a loving guide,
But now, alas, the time has come
To leave him at my side.
Just know that as you drive away
And tears down your cheeks may flow
I'll love him as I would my own
And help him learn and grow.
For as a parent, I too know
How quickly the years do pass
And that one day soon it will be my turn
To take my child to class.
So please put your mind at ease
And cry those tears no more
For I will love him and take him in
When you leave him at my door.

(View the pictures starting at him in front of the sign and go counter-clockwise)

This picture collage generated with Smilebox

"Kindergarten Eve"

This evening we've been scurrying around getting everything ready for your first day of Kindergarten in the morning. We did a dress rehearsal to make sure we had it all together, and my, do you look handsome in your uniform! We packed your Scooby Doo lunchbox with a heart shaped peanut butter sandwich, carrots and ranch, a yogurt smoothie, goldfish crackers, and a granola bar. Your backpack is ready, and we are set. When you were ready to crawl in to bed, Mrs. Theodos had given us a little packet of "Ready Confetti" to sprinkle around our bed. The story with it told us that it would help us relax so we could get a good night's sleep, and it would take away any jitters and have us ready to face our first day of Kindergarten. Although it was almost eleven o'clock, you drifted right off to dreamland.

"Open House"

Today was Open House night at your new school Landon! We gathered your school supplies and all loaded up to head to Stockwell. I know you were a little nervous, because Mommy was extremely nervous! We met your principal, Mrs. Schnell, who Poppie worked very closely with in his many years with Bossier schools. Then we headed down the kindergarten wing, and discovered that you were in Mrs. Theodus's class, along with Sante and Abby from your preschool, and Samantha from church! We were a little overwhelmed as we took it all in: the decorations, your desk, sorting school supplies, forms to fill out, and all the new friends you will make. Once we were finished in your classroom, Mommy took a walk down memory lane to her kindergarten teacher's room. Mrs. Green still teaches kindergarten almost thirty years later. When I told her who I was, the look on her face was priceless! She almost fell out when she saw all the familiar faces and a few new ones too. Then I got to see my childhood best friend, Tina, who teaches third grade down the way. We ordered our many t-shirts and even took one home tonight. Of course, you had to wear it to bed. I think much of the angst and worry may have lightened up (I know it did for me!). Knowing I have many people looking out for you helps me rest a little easier. Now just a few days before the start of KINDERGARTEN!

"These Little Piggies Got a Pedicure"

Today we went out for an all girls day. Shelby, it was time for your first salon experience in getting a pedicure. Okay, it wasn't a full pedicure; just a soak and nail polish. But none the less, it was your first time. Mush, Kylie, you, and I went down to the Boardwalk to Destiny Day Spa and got our piggies pampered. There were so many colors to choose from, but you had no problem finding just the right shade of hot pink. You sat with me in my chair, because your legs would have never reached the bowl in that huge chair. All was great, until you thought it would be funny to splash your feet around in the water. Well, it splashed in the nail technician's face! I don't think she appreciated foot water in her eye! Once our polish had set, we strolled down to Copeland's for a little snack. We had a great afternoon together-just us girls!

"We Were Flocked!"

This morning when we woke up, we discovered we had been flocked! Last night members of our church's youth group placed about fifty pink flamingos in our front yard! It is a fundraiser for their senior trip. You two sure got a kick out of it! Landon, you wanted to keep them. Imagine that!

"Lucky Strike"

Mommy is trying very hard this summer to keep everyone happy, entertained, and COOL! Our bowling alley offers free bowling for kids all summer long, so I signed us up. (You know I love anything free or with a coupon!) Today we brought Chloe along too. Once we got our shoes and the prettiest balls picked out, we headed to our lane. Shelby, you looked so cute with your ruffly socks and those tiny little bowling shoes! And they had music playing which was great for you to dance to. With the help of the bumpers and the ramp you roll the ball down, you kiddos did pretty good. Embarrassingly enough, y'all actually beat Mommy! I never said I was any good. Landon, you won both games as it turned out! We will definitely do it again soon.

"Nina's Last Day"

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"Birthday Bonanza!"

This year we decided to do a combined birthday party at our house. Mommy planned and crafted for weeks beforehand. It was a Spongebob/Yo Gabba Gabba theme, and I searched high and low for inexpensive party decorations, favors, and fare. I ended up making most of the decorations and the treat bags, and they turned out pretty darn cute. We decided to have a hot dog bar with all the fixins, chips, a huge fruit tray, and of course, TWO cakes. We rented one of those huge waterslides; it took up almost our whole backyard! We set up a baby pool with our little tykes slide for the little ones, which included you, Shelby. You weren't real keen on the big one, which really surprised me, but I think I traumatized you when we were at Splash Kingdom and you went down their big slide not liking it. You both got some really awesome gifts! We ended up partying for six plus hours, and it was evident that everyone had a great time.

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"Splash Kingdom"

On this hot and sunny day, DeeDee took us to Splash Kingdom to have some water fun. Sunscreened up, we were ready to hit the pool. Shelby, you had a great time in the kiddie pool area, but Landon was ready to get on the big slides. You and Nina must have gone down them over a dozen times. That's a lot of stair climbing! And you had no fear; you even went on the yellow bonzai slides that go straight down. We had some sloshing fun in the wave pool and got bored in the lazy river. You both enjoyed playing in the deeper pool; Landon, you practiced underwater swimming while Shelby did lots of jumping in. It was a sun-filled, fun-filled day!

"Homecoming"

This has been a long time coming. After a whole year of Nina being gone out to Arizona, we arranged for her to fly home for a visit. You two knew nothing about it though. When DeeDee and I took y'all to the airport to pick her up, we told you we were picking up JuJu's friend for her. With camera and videocamera in hands, we waited in the Shreveport Regional Airport for the arrival of her plane. As she raced down the hall with tears flowing down her face, Landon, you asked DeeDee who it was. Then you quickly recognized her, but were a little shy at first. Shelby, you were very happy to see her and eager to give hugs and kisses, even though you kept calling her Mush. It wasn't long after getting the luggage (and Landon's license plate t-shirt he had to have) and settling in the car, that it was like we never missed a day. You both quickly remembered your Nina, and were ready to get home to start catching up on that missed playtime. We are so glad Nina is doing well and is healthy and happy. WE LOVE YOU!

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"Royal Tea, I Mean Juice, Party"

In the wee hours this morning, was the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. And, it's not every day a regular girl turns in to a princess right before your very eyes! So we decided to have a little tea party celebrating the wedding. We had wedding cake cupcakes from Buttercups (yum yum!) and little sandwiches (no crust!) to snack on while we watched and fast forwarded to the good parts, the DVRed version of the wedding. We had a few princesses of our own at the party. Chloe and Miss Jodie came, as well as Miss Cheryl and Sophy (and Austin). We colored and decorated a wedding cake, and once everyone left, we got to our hat-making. We really turned out some amazing fascinators! It was a fun time with friends to commemorate the making of a princess and future queen.


Everyone eagerly waits to see the bride.

Shelby enjoys cake (which I had to hide from her once we got home after listening to her chant 'cake cake cake CAKE!!! all the way home)

Sophy strikes her best princess pose.

Landon and Chloe color their decorations for their cakes.

Sophy gives Mom the thumbs up for the pinky up while she sips.

Our fascinating fascinators!

"Easter Eggstravaganza"

"Diaper Boycott"

Okay, Shel. This makes four times now. Four times that after I've put you to bed, and you are fast asleep, that I find you with no pajama pants or diaper on! Once the diaper was wet, but the other times, dry as a bone. Guess you just didn't want it on!

"Palm Sunday Fun"

Today was Palm Sunday and Landon 'sang' with his Kids in Praise group. I say 'sang' because as we know, you have a little bit of stage fright. You did not wave your palm, and you did not sing a note. But you looked cute. And a little terrified.

The day ended on a much better, relaxed note. It was Louisiana Sunday Night at church. Dee Dee and Mammaw were in town, so they came too. Landon, you, Daddy and DeeDee tried to fly a kite, but appparently the one I bought was a trick kite for experienced fliers, which we are not. The church boiled 500 pounds of crawfish, but all you two cared about was the ice cream truck. We met up with Miss Cheryl, Austin, and Sophy and shared ice cream together. We checked out Spike, Miss Tina's bunny. He was huge! Then, it was on to the egg hunt. Shelby, you weren't quite quick enough, but we helped you get some eggs, which you were eager to open up to see what was inside. Landon, you raced up a slide and lost all your eggs that another kid tried to swipe. In the end, we had plenty of candy. But y'all spent the most time in the wild bounce houses that made Daddy and I nervous. He ended up sitting in one to make sure y'all didn't get trampled. It was a really great way to end a great day.

"Little Things"

Some of my most favorite little things about you, Shelby are...

~the way as soon as you have your wa-wa you wrap your arms around yourself and say "MINE!" in the most desperate, dramatic way possible telling us we need to find your pink blanket.

~the way you smell the corners of that pink blanket; the dirtier and stinkier, the better.
~how after your bath, you can't get dried off and away from me fast enough, so you can run naked and free.
~how I never have to ask you twice if you want to go blow dry your hair.
~your insatiable appetite for ice
~your voice
~the way you love all things Snow White, particularly the Snow White baby doll that you pointed to in Wal-Mart, and after showing you Cinderella, Ariel, and Belle, we finally picked up Snow White, and that was the one.
~the way you intentionally aggravate Brother
~your preference for your navy, pink, and red bow, your turquoise blue Children's Place socks I got for ninteen cents, and your fuschia polyester "MooMow" (Minnie Mouse) pajamas

"Spring Has Sprung!"

Today after church we went over to Poppie and JuJu's to take some spring pictures in their front yard, where the azaleas are in full bloom. Here are some of the images we captured.

"Cows & Corvettes, Hockey & Hooligans"

Last night we had a little family outing first to Chick-fil-A to eat and check out "Cows & Corvettes," a car show benefitting juvenile diabetes, and then to the Mudbugs hockey game. We ended up not having too much time to see all the corvettes because someone is the slowest, most distracted eater I have ever known! But the ones we did see were fabulous and Landon, you got some great shots! I love the intensity on your face.

Shelby came too, but she just wanted to run. In the parking lot. At Chick-fil-A. So Daddy wrangled her.

When we left, we hurried over to Centurytel Center to meet Miss Jodie and her family in time for the 7:05 puck drop for the Mudbugs' playoff game. Landon, you have been to a hockey game before, but it was your first, Shel. You were pretty entranced for about the first period was over. Once we all ate our Dippin'Dots, you were ready for action! And the fact that Landon and Chloe were sitting further down front didn't help. We ended up, you and I, walking/skipping/running/ through the concession area of the arena. You were too funny; everytime I would try and take your hand because you were about to get run over by a mass of people, you would just freeze and refuse to walk until I let go of you. You clearly did not need MY help. Back in our seats, we saw the Dodge Ram and Claude, and of course the Zambonis clearing the ice, and even a fight! Landon, you and Chloe had a good time palling around as usual, but even you grew restless near the start of the third period. Needless to say, we didn't make it through the whole game. And as it turns out, the Mudbugs lost in sudden-death overtime.

"Silver Leaf Staycation"

This week is your Spring Break from school, Landon. Today, Miss Jodie invited us to go with her, Dalton, and Chloe over to Tyler to the indoor waterpark at Silver Leaf Resort. After a two hour drive with plenty of 'are-we-there-yets,' we arrived...an hour and a half before they opened (The lady on the phone clearly told us they opened at 10:00). So, once we finally got in, you and Chloe went straight for it. Little slides, tube slides, tall slides-you slipped down all of them with great delight. Chloe helped you out with the lazy river, floating around in the soft current in big inner tubes. But I think your favorite was the wave pool. You loved having the water splash up on you, but I think the real reason was that the water was a little warmer, and although it was a balmy 80ish degrees in there, you were cold. That didn't stop you from going non-stop for six straight hours! We had a really fun daytrip.

"Three Taking a Bath"

We had a fun lunch at Joe's Crab Shack down at the Boardwalk with Nathan and Cooper and their mommies. You all played on their playground for about two hours. And when we were through, you all were covered in dust from the pea gravel that surrounds it. As soon as we got home, we got in a bubble bath for two, which quickly turned into three once Nola jumped in! Here are some precious pics of our bubbly fun...

"Shamrocks and Shenanigans"

What a wonderful St. Patrick's Day we had! First thing this morning, Chloe rang our doorbell to get you, Landon to go check the leprechaun trap. Unfortunately, there was no leprechaun, but there was plenty of evidence that some had been there! The lucky charms were all eaten, and there were two green glittery buckets full of gold chocolate coins, shamrock beads and stickers, some cool green sunglasses and a green glow stick! We thought surely we would have caught one, but they are elusive little boogers! I think you may have been disappointed.

Peering in to see if we got one

You and Chloe discuss how he escaped such a well-engineered trap. Conclusion: magic!

Trying on the loot

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After I sent you to school with shamrock cookies in hand, Shelby and I picked you up to join Miss Suzanne and Nathan and Miss Marianna and Sante for a playday at the duck pond. Shelby was very silly in carline!

The weather was absolutely beautiful as you and your buddies romped from swings to slides and climbed on the monkey bars like wild little...well, monkeys! We brought a lunch and picnicked under the pavillion. We brought lunch for the ducks too. They enjoyed a little of our bread, but the fished really grubbed down. Across the pond, there were a whole slew of turtles, one of whom we are certain was Myrtle.

Once we were all pooped from the park we headed over to Krispy Kreme to grab a donut and hopefully get to see them being made. When we got there, a batch was just starting out on the long path the dough travels to become a donut. We decided we would defintely have to come back to see the complete process. In the meantime, we enjoyed delicious chocolate and green and white sprinkled donuts together.

You and Sante spy the sprinkle ones.

Checking out the long journey of the donut

Shelby is thoroughly enjoying hers!

Oh yeah!