::imperfect perfection x3::

For Tony's birthday, we watched some football, had crockpot roast, mashed potatoes and cake. Can it seriously get any better?? (especially the cake part--- It was a chocolate swirl two teir cake with chocolate coconut icing and coconut flakes and toffee bits throughout. It was pretty yum-yum.) I have a video of Avery saying 'happy birthday da-da' but it won't let me upload it for some reason. I'm really sad about that. It is so cute. But, oh well. Here are some photos instead: cake Ashy (in a lovely outfit designed by herself) and daddy doing 'touchdown'! We all wish daddy the bestest year yet!

That is the theme for today. I said this over and over again, in a quite defeated tone, and I do not know where to start. Here is just a sampling of what my trials have been lately: 1. The girls keep stripping their clothes off. They do it to either: a) themselves, b) each other or c) all of the above. Which, in and of itself, is not that big of a deal EXCEPT for the fact that as a result of the 'stripping' their diapers come off as well . And they are not potty trained yet. Nor do they see a problem with peeing/pooping/whatever else- ing everywhere...then playing in it. I know. Gross. I began with keeping them out of snapping outfits. Pants and onesies are out of the question. I even tried putting pants on over the outfits or even under them. Yeah right. That was figured out in a day. I switched them to zippers, but they figured that out too. So, I put them in only snap-crotch outfits with snaps on the back neck. Eventually, they figured that out, too. I then decided to se...

I know, I know. You think I'm crazy that we just had our first trip to the park a couple weeks ago. But I tell you, chasing three in a large open area is not my idea of fun. Also, I had to wait until they were out of the 'lets put everything in our mouths' stage...well, at least two of the three are out of that. Ashleigh will put anything in her mouth. I don't know how to stop that. But, I digress. We had a great time. Here are some pictures of the fun:

Yes, we've now been married for five years. And yet, it feels like longer.... :D No, truthfully, it is weird to think we've been married five years . In that short span of time, just like in all marriages, we've had ups and downs, tears and laughter and we've acheived the greatest thing ever imaginable together---raising our three beautiful daughters. I can't imagine Tony not being in my life. He's a great influence on me, like helping me to come out of my shell and to enjoy the little things in life. I am happy and content even to just sit on the couch and watch TV with him. He makes me laugh, he's the greatest and most helpful dad and he is my best friend and the one person to whom I can tell anything. {{Thank you, Tony, for 5 wonderful years together. I look forward to experiencing more of life's great challenges and adventures with you. I LOVE YOU!!!}}

The girls have figured out how to push Stanley the Snail (referenced here ) around and use him to climb up and reach places they aren't supposed to. Here are some photos of the action: Because of this little trick, they got into the bag of teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy clear and black rubber bands I use for their hair. A bag of about 500. Not kidding. Literally 500. ALLLLL over my living room floor. They are SO easy to find....not! And OF COURSE they did this as I was getting dressed and about to leave the house---yes, getting dressed AND getting them in the car, pretty much simultaneously. I was overjoyed, as you can imagine. Picture: Clear AND tiny. Bad combo. Oh, and did I mention this was the SECOND time this happened?....today???? Ahh, yes, it was. Apparently I didn't move it far enough out of reach the first time. Yay for me. And, boy, am I glad I'm not still finding rubber bands every day........

My parents came in to town last week for a visit. The girls took to them right away and they had a grand 'ol time together. We hung out at the house, we went to the fair and all had a bbq at nanna and papa's house. Thanks for coming to see us! Here are some photos of the visit: