Who knew??

My little guy is SIX.

Wow!

WHO KNEW?!?!

Who knew I would get through one baby shower at work and then you would make your entrance EIGHT WEEKS EARLY, thereby thwarting any and all other showers that were planned?



Who knew you would come into this world EIGHT WEEKS EARLY and still weigh a whopping 5lbs 9ozs. {You looked like the line backer of the NICU team}. Those numbers are unheard of...



Who knew you would make your entrance nice and early thereby avoiding potential harm from a TRUE KNOT in your cord? (And yes, your head was wonky, but CHECK OUT THE KNOT).



Who knew you would survive your first few weeks at home with two weirded out nurses and one weirded out mom who acted like you would die if we didn't write down every poo, every breastfeeding, every burp, every bath, every cry and every nap.




Who knew you would survive your first year and be COMPLETELY and TOTALLY healthy with absolutely no problems by your first birthday?






Who knew by the time you were 16 months old, you would have a little sister who would totally annoy the heck out of you and drive you crazy as often as she could, all the while looking innocent and totally precious?




Who knew she would become your best buddy {sometimes}and partner in crime?












Who knew you would love so many different things?

Like swimming...




And gaming...




And legos!!




Who knew we could love you so much?











God knew!

That's why he gave us you!



We love you, Whittaker Cole! You make us so proud!

Happy Birthday, buddy!

Lakers!!

Not the basketball team. US!!

Come on now, ppl. You know me better than that!

It's been a loooooooonnnnnnnnggggg time since I've been to the lake.

When I say a long time, I mean long enough to forget How STINKING Fun It Is!!

We went a few weekends ago and just had the best time. Papa Joe brought his boat and when he put it in the water, the party started! Even though the whole family joined in the fun, only a few of us could be on the boat at once.

As only she could, Olivia pitched an immortal fit about wearing an "ugly" life jacket. Apparently, a life saving device that obstructs the cuteness of her bikini was just not going to be tolerated. That is, until she found out, "no life jacket, no boat," at which point, she conceded.











My kids had the best time!

If you have a lake house and/or boat, please invite us. We'd love to come!!

Olivia will even wear a life jacket with no back talk.

I promise!

See you at the lake!

Soooooo...what's going on in your world?

It's been a while since I've really had anything blog worthy going on.

Actually, that translates into "Whit's out of school and I have nothing to gripe and complain about anymore."

Just kidding.

Let's see. What have we been up to?

Well, early in June we went to Whit's longest-running best friend Jackson's birthday party. Whit and Jackson have been best buds since they were just 2 or 3 months old {if you can have a 'best bud' at three months old, then Jackson would've been it, for sure}. They were born just weeks apart and, at the time, Laurin and I didn't know each other at all. They both stayed with Sissa from the time they were born until they turned 3. Who would've known that six years in, the boys would still be best buds and their mommas would be tight too?!? Crazy!

Here they are, just as silly and weird as ever!



And, I must say, Jackson had THE COOLEST birthday cake I've possibly ever laid eyes on. Jackson is currently into lizards and his mom, being the super cool mom that she is, got him the cake of all cakes to make his little heart happy. I love "A Color of His Own" by Leo Leonni. And, props to Spartan Bakery for piling on the cuteness.


ADORABLE!

Moving on.

Billy and I went to a wedding in NC with some high school friends and had the best time. It was so nice to get away and have whole conversations (without interruption) for 9 (yes, 9) hours straight! Plus, we got to dress up (major bonus!! I love dressing up)...




Olivia was taking the picture for us and you can't tell, but in the first picture, Billy is bent over beside me, shaking his rump for the camera. Olivia was laughing quite hysterically.

Before hitting the hard part of this post, I'll let you in on a Theo secret.

We've been eating tons of ice cream lately.




I shouldn't really say "we." I don't really care for ice cream much. But the kids do! They love it. We've definitely had our share over the past few weeks.

Now onto the hard part.

Tragedy struck the Theo household shortly after the birthday party. We lost a family member on June 10th. It sent me spiraling into a deep depression from which I thought I might not be able to return.

It was bad.

It was horrible.

It might possibly one of the worst losses I've ever experienced.

We knew it was coming. We've known for FOUR YEARS that the day was coming. I just didn't think it would be as heart-wrenching as it was. I really didn't think it was possible to love something quite so much.



That's right.

My heart van.

It's gone.

I'm devastated. Really.

It was leased and it was time. I've been preparing myself for quite some time now. But, when I tell you I lost it for two days, I'm SO! NOT! KIDDING!

I cried. CRIED!! Cried a steady stream of wet, salty tears for TWO HOURS after we left the Honda dealership. Then I continued to cry on and off for the rest of the day. My husband was worried. My kids were worried. Heck, even I was worried. I seriously thought I might not recover from the pits of despair at which I was residing. I was ready to have a nice talk with Mr. McProzac.

But, I came around. After Whit mentioned {a couple of times} that I was crying "like a big ol' baby," I decided it was time to pull myself up and move on with my Camry-driving life.

I inherited Billy's car. It's not bad. It's just not me. Call me crazy, but a tinted down, spoiler sportin', ghetto fabulous Camry just doesn't scream "LEIGH" like my van did.

Now, before you go judging me, thinking I'm all high-falutin' and cocky and maybe I should be thankful that I even have a car, well, I am.

I am ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, thankful to have the car that I have.

I'm thankful that it's tinted down so that no one can see me driving it.

I'm thankful that I can easily reach my children's legs when they are aggravating the tee total snot out of each other and me.

I'm thankful that I can turn the music up one notch and the whole interior of the car sounds like a concert in action.

I'm thankful that I can park in the garage and let the door down without worrying that I'm going to take out the entire tailgate of the car.

I'm thankful that I get daily back massages from Olivia's feet grinding and thumping into the back of my driver's seat.

I'm thankful that I can park in parking spaces with ONE shot. Never again will I have to back up and pull forward 14 times to make sure I'm in.

And, I'm also thankful that at the end of the next four years I don't have to be accountable for ANYTHING that gets spilled, poured, sneezed, dropped, puked, pooped or exploded in the car. {Whew, what a relief that is}.

So, there. I'm thankful, okay?

Let's not tear down, people. Let's build up. How's that sound?

Just don't ask me about the van anytime within the next six months and I should be okay.

I still shed a tear here and there. Especially when Whit reminds me of how nice our van was. Or, how easy the doors were. Or, how convenient all that stuff on the steering wheel was. Or how clean mommy's car was compared to daddy's.

See, now I've upset myself again. Sheesh.

I'll be back later with more Theo happenings.

Oh, but one more thing...

The Theo kids had a lesson in laundry one afternoon. While I was folding clothes I decided to do a full-on tutorial for folding {practical living, right??). After the tutorial, I left them alone with a big pile of their clothes to practice with. I was really so proud of myself and of them until I walked back in the room to find this...




Peace out.

Rainy days = clay days!!

Last week it rained.

And rained.

All day on Thursday. And then they said it was going to rain Friday, too.

Just when I thought the rain would drive the insanity right out the back door of our house, a new favorite past time erupted right in our kitchen.

CLAY!!!

That's right.

Clay.

We tried clay about a year ago and my kids wanted nothing to do with it.

Nothing.

Then, on Thursday evening, after it rained ALL. STINKIN. DAY. I pulled it out again and tried to give it another whirl.

Have mercy, people. The kids took to it like nobody's business. They made all of these items BY THEMSELVES! They stayed busy at our kitchen table for at least an hour and a half.

Did you read that?? AN HOUR AND A HALF!!

Take a look:






Pure awesomeness.

In case you didn't notice, I'm a bit artsy and I would really like it if someone in the Theo household could have a little artsy bone in their skeletal makeup as well. After seeing these creations, I do believe we are well on our way.

If you haven't tried clay with your kids, you should. You totally should.

We bought ours at Michael's (thanks to Ms. Sophie who so lovingly guided my clay shopping experience). It's made by Fimo and you bake it so that it will harden.

The kids are STILL playing with their creations.

Happy clay-ing.

So proud!

This girl makes me smile.



Actually, they both make me smile, but the one I'm referring to currently, is the dark-headed, 17 year old. {*Ahem* excuse me, 18 as of tomorrow}.

She's my niece, Kaylyn, and she just graduated from Dorman last Tuesday night.



I just cannot believe that she is old enough to graduate high school and head off to college. Sheesh, where does the time go?

I clearly remember her birth, her first birthday, her first words sentences (she never spoke just words...it was always complete, concise sentences), her first songs, her graduations, her recitals, her programs, her riding in my car to get icees when she was two and I was SIXTEEN. {Note to self: probably not a good idea to send any precious baby riding around with a sixteen year old in a Nissan 240 no matter how mature and responsible the sixteen year old seems - what were we thinking???}.

I certainly haven't been the best aunt in the world, but I hope I've at least been there for her. In the end, that's what we all need, is for the people we love to be "there" at the exact time we need them to be.

She's a beautiful, talented, smart young lady heading off to find her future. She's passionate and caring, loving and inquisitive. She has the whole world before her and she's ready to make her mark.

We could not be more proud!

So, go get 'em Kay Kay!

We love you!

This could be the problem....

We went to Whit's end of the year celebration and Kindergarten graduation last Monday.

It was, well, a typical end of the year celebration and Kindergarten graduation. It wasn't outlandish nor was it mundane. It left me fulfilled and wanting nothing more. Honestly, I'm so glad to be done with this year that I wanted to run screaming from the building like my bra was on fire, only it wasn't and I maintained.

There were lots of proud moments in the classroom.


There was lots of smiling while on stage (or, rather, on the floor).


There was lots of waiting.


And then there was this:


I'm thinking Whit may lack the self control to hide it when he's bored to tears.

What do you think??