Date night.

The hubs and I had a date night last weekend.
Our BIG plans were to go see this guy.

And
oh. my. funny.
am I glad we did!!

We've watched a few of his videos on YouTube,
but there's nothing like being there in person.
I laughed SOOOOOOOO much.
If you ever get a chance, GO!!

Our other BIG plans were to go here.
I was only interested in the cheesecake, but the food was great too!

WE. WILL. BE. BACK!

{the waitress thought I was kidding when I asked her to bring my cheesecake with my meal [actually, BEFORE]....uhhhh, hellooooo. Me eat sweets.}

We've learned a thing or two...

about traveling with kids.

Hungry kids make for poor travelers.

So, now we break up the drive to Billy's parents home with a stop at a small town cafe.

It's just a little hole in the wall, but it has a lot of charm...

and GREAT food!

It takes us longer to get where we're going,

but everyone's happier when we get there!!

It was a lot of fun going to visit everyone. It was Lynden's first trip and technically our first trip since last October {when we came for the yearly town festival}. We made a short trip at Christmas, but didn't get a chance to "make our rounds" to see everyone.

Raegen and Lynden made themselves comfortable while we visited with Billy's former Pastor and his wife. It's always nice to have friends that make you feel at home.

At the time of our visit, Pawpaw was living the life of a bachelor {Nana was in California} so we took him out to eat. Raegen made sure everyone in the restaurant knew his name before we left!

And Lynden just sat back and relaxed!

I made sure we got some pics with Pawpaw before we said our goodbye's

What's with the "ants in my pants" pose?

Is this something the kids teach each other?

"Hey, wanna drive your mom crazy?!

Pose like THIS!"

Thankfully, I get a good one every now and then. ;)

Lynden Rucker - Five Months

Lynden Rucker,
you are FIVE months old!

You weigh 19lbs, 4oz.,

and I need to measure you!! :)

You are staying strong at TWO teeth, but by the way you CONSTANTLY chew, gnaw, and drool I wouldn't be surprised if we see some more soon.

You are a delightfully happy baby.

HOWEVER, you don't travel as well as your brother did at this age.

If you need to burp, you let us know!

If you have a dirty diaper, you let us know!!

We have pulled into many a gas station to meet your demands. Once we fix the problem you're ready to hit the road again.

And boy have we been traveling! Three weeks ago we headed north to visit Pawpaw and the past two weekends we've been in NWA visiting family. You met your Aunt Bridget, Uncle Danny, cousin Sean, and brand new cousin Gracie for the very first time. You also went to your very first football game...cousin O did a great job on the field!

You are now flipping and flopping so much I never know if you'll be on your back or your belly! I walked in to find you on your back during naptime and clinging tight to Lammie Pie just the other day.

Oh. My. Word.

Precious.

Your first time to flip from back to belly was Friday, August 13th...just one day before you turned five months. In a matter of minutes you were flipping back and forth and within the hour you were rolling all over the living room floor!

You are still strictly nursing and eat on demand five or so times a day. Lately you've been getting in a few "middle of the night" snacks too

{hello 2a.m....I really don't want to be your friend}...

growing spurt, maybe?

My absolute favorite thing to do {STILL!}, is strip you down to your diaper and make you pose by babies twice your age!

{poor Rusty wasn't feeling well when we visited}

You're catching up to cousin Brody!

{who is just one month shy of his first birthday!}

You are an absolute dream.

It's so much fun to see how you respond to Raegen. You have the biggest smile when he's around. He is so sweet with you and knows exactly which songs to sing to calm you down. He's also great at bringing you toys.

And just tonight I caught him trying to "help" you back onto your gym mat...

uhhhh, let's hope that doesn't happen again! :)

I love that when you're sleepy, it doesn't matter where we are, I can rock you right to sleep in my arms. It's a lot of fun to work that "mommy magic" as Daddy calls it. :)

Little Miss Gracie Dove

SHE'S HERE!!!

Miss Gracie Dove {Billy's sister's new baby girl}

was born Saturday evening.

We got word early Saturday morning that Gracie wanted to come out and play so we packed our bags and hit the road! headed to church for the final day of the youth conference {because we all know there's nothing fast about labor!}

And sure enough, fifteen hours later Miss Gracie was taken by section weighing a whooping

NINE pounds, EIGHT ounces

YES, nine and a half pounds of pure joy!

21.25" long

with LOTS of sandy blonde hair

In other news...

Only Uncle Robby can turn this...

into this...

in five minutes flat.

HA!

We were JUST discussing how many of the nieces and nephews Uncle Robby has injured when,

well...the picture speaks for itself. We need to add another tally mark.

I think his motto is:

Get tough!

;)

So very thankful for another healthy, happy addition to our family.

Words of advice, Gracie...

get tough!

{when Uncle Robby is near}

Birthday Blessings

Happy Birthday Paw-paw!

We hope it's wonderFUN!

So busy.

Lately, we've been to all corners of the state and EVERYWHERE in between. I sooo need to post some pics for fam, but for now I'll leave you with a few

"Raegen Ramblings":

~

My stomach is crying. It needs food.

~

{Upon picking him up from Granddaddy and Mammie's}

I don't want to go home.

Don't you want to see your daddy?

Yes. Can he come here?

~

Granddaddy says I'm never quiet.

He says I go, "wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-WAH!"

~

So you had Sunday School with the three-year old girls today?

Yes, I don't like those stinky girls! Stinky girls! Stinky girls!!

You know what I told them?

No, what?

I POOP!

{upon which we had a discussion about "private" affairs}

~

{While skipping through the commercials to start "Sesame Street"}

MOM! You have to let other people do something?

What?

You have to let those other people do something. Can you not do that?

You don't want me to skip through the commercials?

No. Can you not do that? Those people want to do something.

Should we take offense...

that this cutie...

NEVER wants to be home with us?!

Dad came over for a few days this week to help me with some projects and Raegen made it VERY clear he wanted to go home with Grandaddy!!

I often get teased because SAHM I am, but I'm never "home"!! haha...well, Raegen's gone so much I'm not sure where I should have his mail delivered!

Maybe he gets this from his Nana that's always on the go...

Cuttin' Up

During the summer months my MIL travels 99% of the time. This summer she's been to California, twice!, and brought back some fun gifts. She picked up this whale shaped cutting board for Raegen.

It's made of leftover counter top...

I think it goes, the maker is the husband of Nana's sister's friend...pretty sure it's something like that.

He makes all shapes and sizes. The above picture is of the sticker on the back of the cutting board...give him a call if you're interested. I have NO IDEA what his prices are or what shipping would cost. Just thought I would share his cute creation.

Dad Life

Saw this on my brother's FB page and wanted to share...

I guess you can find anything on YouTube!