Tater Birthday Party!

Birthday weeks are not just for me anymore….Tater Man had a birthday week of his own. He felt so special and spoiled this week and I have to thank all my family and friends for loving him SO much!

His Auntie Sameemee and Uncle Chris gave him a little taste of his birthday early last week with some dino pajamas. Tater would pull the jammies out of the bag about 50 times, each time in total shock because there was a present for him in the bag. It was a dark hour when I finally put the jammies in the closet. He kept asking for his pezent!

Then on Wednesday, November 2, his actual birthday; Mr. Randolph and I met his parents at Toys-R-Us to pick out some more presents for the Tater. We wanted to get him a bike but after a few tears and unwillingness to peddle Tater decided on a Thomas the Train scooter. He also racked up on some more Hot Wheels and a big Mater truck. FYI the Mater truck has gotten more play time from the adult men.  After shopping we went out to dinner at Ground Pat’i. Tater Man ate all of his dinner and got a huge brownie/ice cream for dessert.

Saturday, was his birthday party with our friends and family. It was a big hit even though the guest list was small. We had a nice spread of food, chicken tenders, chips and queso, cupcakes (brachiosaurus), cake (Lightening McQueen), cookies and brownies. If the guests left hungry it was their own fault lol. Tater got another Clovis the Crawfish book (Grandma and Grandpa Clavier), Super Hero outfit (Uncle Joey), Helicopter (lil friend McKayla), Cars 2, Dino plate/cup, Cars writing board, and AIRPLANES (Cuz Jackson), Lunar Moon Lamp and Remote control Truck (lil friend Milly), and Cammo pow-pow (Uncle Richey). I hope I didn’t leave anything out! I swear this is why the child is rotten.

He had such a great time at his party and to end the day we watched the University of Louisiana win their football game in the last minute, followed by LSU beating Alabama in overtime by a field goal. Tater loves his Tigers and growled the whole night.

Brachiosaurus

Its like they are stalking him lol

nomolicious!

I agree cuz!

Love these sweet boys but not that damn spot of light!

Presents!

King Tater readying the army!

Loves his new airplane. He is addicted now!

Love my boys!

Our sweet baby boy is THREE!

Sunday we spent most of the day lounging and letting Tater Man play with all of his new toys. Later that night we went to my parent’s house for dinner and Taters umpteenth birthday party. He racked up on Cars Jammies, Cars 2 characters Siddley and Holly, candy, and T-Rex shoes (they are Reebok's that I guess remind him of T-Rex?). His cousins CC and Lil Buck bought him this cool easel with a chalk board on one side and dry erase board on the other. It also came with magnet letters and numbers and they also got him some new coloring gear. Tater was so happy. Although we had a mental break down after the airplane was unwrapped. He did not care to open anything else. I guess he felt the best present was already opened and he didn’t need anything else?!?
My mom made the best spaghetti and meatballs along with bread. Mr. Randolph and I made some pigs of ourselves. Momma got him and awesome Cars cake that had Lightening McQueen and Mater toy stuck on top.  Tater’s Nanny joined us at my parents so she could get some time with him and then we rolled home to pass out.

Look at my cake toppers and my new jammies from Maw and Pap!

 It would have been out of the norm for the Randolph birthday celebrations to be over after only 3 birthday parties. Of course we had to have a special birthday celebration with Auntie Mishy and Uncle Kris because they were unable to make one of his other birthday parties. Mr. Randolph and I were so amazed at the spread and detail that our friends went into for our little Tater Man. Thank you both SO much!

I want to say thank you again to all those that spent time with us for Tater’s special birthday weeks! We love you all very much.  Still today he wakes up yelling, "LETS GET THE PAWTY STAWTED!"

Big boy chair!

We went to visit Tater Man's Nanny today and she was able to give him his present. He finally has a car seat that fits him! I mean really the child's head was above the top of his old chair. Now he can grow with his new chair. I am so excited! It's his Lightening McQueen chair. I guess its the red liner that reminds him of his Kachow?! It has two cup holders but instead of putting his water in either of them he has one car in each.





Gotta love the fake cheese, right?!

Happy 3rd Birthday Tater Man!

Clayton,

Hi honey! This is mommy and I am writing you a special letter today in celebration of your third birthday. I can’t believe that I have watched a beautiful baby grow into a sweet boy. I am amazed each day at how much you learn and how mature you are for your age. It’s a real blessing .

Our morning routine is me fighting you to get out of bed because you have become your father, meaning you are not a morning person. You stumble into the bathroom with your eyes closed grumbling the whole time. I have to cover my mouth most times because I giggle. You look forward to your daily green beans (vitamins), as well as, passing out mommy and daddies green beans. I love the fact that you make sure daddy eats each one. The best part is you count each one of your own green beans to make sure mommy is not holding back.

Then we brush our teeth. Clayton, you also have a bad gag reflex so this is a tough for you. I haven’t seen you give up though and you insist on doing it all by yourself. I am still working with you on spitting the tooth paste out because you swallow it then try and spit. I don’t know what to do with you!

Clayton you currently still attend a local daycare that we love. The class is capped at 10 and your teacher, Mrs. Cheryl, loves you very much. She says that you are her biggest eater and one with a great imagination. Sometimes you are caught in a day dream but she says that’s where you get all of your best ideas. You are quite the talker and great with group play. She also played a huge role in getting you potty trained. You look forward to see her each day and I will be crushed the day I will drop you off at big boy school.

Daddy picks you up in the afternoons since I can’t get to you in time. I am not sure what goes on for the hour that you guys are alone but you are certainly wound up and full of stories when I get home. Remember me mentioning the imagination you have grown. Well last week we found out that there is a Brachiosaurus living in our house! Thankfully he just hangs out in your room but he shows up a lot and makes a huge mess in your room. You tell us that we have to be quiet because he will hear us, so we oblige.

Our night time routine is much different then the morning. You run around like a crazed man and speak so much and so fast we can’t keep up. You like to help mommy and daddy cook and that has become our family special time. I let you stir and play with the spices. You were brave one day and tasted the coriander….lets just say you won’t like mommies spices again.

After dinner we go straight to bath time. You don’t spend a lot of time in there and I can’t leave you any more by yourself. Not because I am worried you will drown but mostly because when you are done you jump out of the bath wet and soapy and run to your room to play. I freaked out the first time I ran in there and saw you sitting in your lazy boy naked, playing with you know what.

When it is time to finally go to sleep daddy and I take turns with putting you to bed. You like to sing you ABC’s about 6 times, say your numbers about 10 times, and then con us into another 3 rounds of ABC’s only to follow up with a round of prayers. We don’t even care that putting you to bed takes about 30-45 minutes.

I am happy to say this year has been void of any crazy doctor visits or sicknesses. Truly a blessing! You did have an annual check up this year and of course you topple the scales with being 98 percentile for height and weight and I believe your head is 100 percentile. That noggin is a big one.

Tater you are getting great with directions and you tell us just how to get certain places. You tell us where to turn and who you plan to see that day. I guess what they say about men having a natural sense for direction is true. Each morning you go to daycare you tell me I am going the wrong way because Nana and Papaw don’t live on this road or Cousin Buck lives in the opposite direction.

Your daddy says that you sound like a little old Cajun when you talk sometimes. Phrases like “Meh yah” , “Don doo Dat”, and “Don eat Dat” come out of your mouth frequently. Hilarious!

Clayton I want to tell you how much you mean to me and that these last few years have been simply amazing. You have taught me so much and I adore you. I love your button nose and sweet disposition. You are very polite and say Please, Thank you, Welcome, Bless you, I sorry, we are working on the ma’ams and sirs and seem to be catching on nicely.

I love that now you finally like to let mommy cuddle and put you to sleep sometimes. You usually like to go to bed alone. Such a big boy!

I can’t wait to celebrate your birthday this weekend with all of our family and friends. They love you so much Tater Man.

Happy Birthday Baby!



Love,
Mommy


Here is a note from daddy:


Tater-Man,

I am writing to you on your third birthday, before you know how to read, because I want to
you know now and always what a special place in my heart you hold. I hope that you will look back on
this one day like I do with the letters papaw has given me with a smile on your face and warmth in your
heart.

The first moment I laid eyes on you, I knew life would never be the same. I have cherished these
last few years with you, and I try every day to teach you and guide you through life both as a father and
as your friend. I hope that you will know that I will always be there for you and I look forward to the life
and adventures we will share. I know you will grow up to be a great man no matter what path you
decide to take at life’s many forks and I look forward to being by your side for many years to come.

I love you bubba and I hope you have a Happy Birthday and many, many more.

Love,
Dad

Mr. Randolph's Birthday Party

This past Saturday night our friends(family) all gathered to celebrate Mr. Randolph's birthday. I am so glad that we always celebrate every ones birthday. Its very important to surround yourself with friends and family for such occasions. Our friends always gather for some sort of dinner or party for every ones birthday. It's not the gifts but the companionship that you miss when you don't celebrate your birthday.

I do my best, and sometimes fail, at making sure each person in our lives know they have a place in our heart. You never know when God will need you so celebrate each birthday, anniversary, holiday to its fullest.

Anyways..... ;-)! The pictures depict all the events of the night. Enjoy!

 Our friends come in all shapes and sizes and we love them all.

His second wife! Wheazy takes better care of him anyways. She made his favorite meal, Chicken Alfredo, from scratch. How special is he!?

I loves my Nanny!

Cheese for Parrain!

We combined Mr. Randolph's birthday and CC's birthday. How special! Uncle Matthew loves his Princess CC so much and I do believe we will have to make it a tradition that they share a birthday party.

Future Mr. & Mrs. Kristopher O'Neal! Aren't they freaking adorable!?

 Claire decided that her birthday present to her brother would be a cake.in.the.face! He is never spicious of her doing bad things so she was able to sneak right in there. HILARIOUS! Well at least we thought so, and then he chased her with the cake. Yep, we are all adults!

I had a get some loving from a few of my girls. They were nice and toasted so they didn't fight the camera shots like the smart ones do....Mishy and Wheazy!

Loves my Mr. Thevis!

PS. See that nice little cut on my eye....yeah I fell...on the floor...with my face...while sitting!

Weekend at the Camp!----a year ago?!

Wow, so I found this year-old post in my drafts. This from Mr Randolph's birthday celebration last year! Better late than never.


The first weekend in October we decided to celebrate Mr Randolph's birthday. Since the weather was beautiful and we took the Friday off we decided to take a three day weekend get out town. Our little family of three, two couples,and two of our friends decided we would go to Mr Randolph's families camp. The drive was only 2.5 hours and Potato did great!

We were ready at 5:30am Friday to start our three day weekend. Joey, had already started his drive at 3am. Way to early for me but he drives a bike and would rather not be on the road with a lot of crazies! One of the little towns just outside of the Enon has a Wild Life Preserve. We wanted to check out the prices and times so we drove in and Potato was all to excited to see all of the Eldafants(deer & ellk)! He was losing his mind.

As we drove up to the camp we saw our favorite sign "Nice and EZ." Potato only had a diaper on at the time because there was an explosion in the backseat on the way. I think he gets motion sick like I do. Anyway I took him out of the carseat and just plopped him in the grass. He was amazed by the huge front yard. Then he took off. Happiness does not explain what I felt.

 After unpacking and deciding where everyone would bunk we all sat outside and enjoyed the weather. Mr Randolph and I ran to the grocery store for supplies. I mean what camping trip can you have without roasted wieners and mooshmellows?! ;-) The boys took the tractor out to gather wood for the fire. Potato did not care to ride the tractor....to loud. While they gathered wood, Potato and I went and played on the beach.

The water was extremly cold but he did not care. He just kept screaming WHADDA! I swear the child should have been a fish! We made a big fire that night and our two other couples rolled in after a long fight with traffic. It was so nice to see everyone.

The next morning I woke up and started making the mac daddy breakfast. Breakfast ala Kayla consisted of waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee, and apple juice. I have never made so many waffles in my life. Everyone chowed down. Since they weren't able to see anything that night we took them all on a tour of the property and spent a lot of time at the beach.

Mr Randolph and Joey brought a few guns and we did a lot of target practicing. Lets just say I haven't lost my touch. Potato even got in a few rounds. He loves watching his daddy shoot the pow pow. I am going to have to pick him up some shooters muffs (ear protection). We all went to a buffet in town for lunch and then by Saturday night our two couple friends were headed back home.

Then my bestie came in that night.We greeted her with a big bonfire and mooshmellows. Sunday morning was a little bittersweet since it was time to pack up. Afte rwe cleaned up everything and loaded up the car, I had to force the boys to get going. We made it home to watch the Saints win the football game. What an incredible weekend and we can't wait to go back!

Wrapping up my birthday month!

Oh boy I do love when my birthday comes around. I have so many people in my life that take so much time and effort into making me feel loved. I am not sure what I do to deserve all the angels in my life.

Well my first birthday was a surprise party that my mom and dad threw for me. We had boiled crawfish and bar-b-que! It was a very beautiful day and of course all the babies were covered in cake by the end of the afternoon. My mom spoiled me with gift cards to my favorite stores and my sister got me the most beautiful dress.

The next party was with all of my dearest friends. A few of them couldn't attend but I know they were with me in spirit. We had it at my house and I bought about a million pizzas. Amazingly enough I had room to fit everyone in my little house with the help of some lawn chairs....ghetto I know. Do what you got to right?! Well one of my best girls made a red velvet cake, while another made some crescent rolls with nutella. Talk about eat your heart out. Even with all the food we still ran out. The party did not end until 3am because we are just awesome like that and my friends are perfect. We ended up going to my girlfriends house at some point to play some cards. I ended up getting a much needed gift card to a spa from my friend Michelle, an LSU bracelet from Nicole, and Sammy got me my favorite bottle of wine. I would be so lost without these women in my life!

Ok so the next birthday get together was with my in-laws and they made me and my family a wonderful brunch and surprised me with a gift card to Victoria Secret but most importantly I got a handmade tea pot. My mother-in-law does pottery and I have been begging her to make me something and well my wish has come true. I will have to take a picture of it and post it soon. We spent the whole day relaxing with them.

Yesterday ended my birthday extravaganza. My friend Stevi and Emily got a slip-n-slide and we brought in the summer the right way......with JELLO SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They got me a huge birthday cake from Sam's Club. So awesome! I am clearly hurting today from all of the sliding and drinking but it was so worth it.

I feel so blessed and honored to have such great people to share my life with.

Newest Painting!

Happy Birthday Clayton!

Tweet

Dear Potato,

It seems like daddy and I have lost a whole year. How did time fly by so fast? I have been an emotional wreck today!

After I shot the photos below all three of us sat at the dining room table to have a piece of your cake. We sang Happy Birthday and I swear I saw tears in your eyes. I am not sure why because you had a smile on your face. I told myself it was because you feel so special. Mommy cried while cutting your cake, while daddy looked at me in fear. ;-)! Hell I cry as I write to you.

Each month I list all of your accomplishments and well this month you have definetly grown. I will make note of them all in a later post.

It feels like I am flashing back and remembering the morning we ran to the hospital. Sunday, November 2, 2008 daddy and I were lying in bed being lazy. You were a few days overdue and I was so exhausted. Daddy leaned over and laid his head on my belly. He figured he would have the first man to man talk. It went a little like this:

Daddy: "Son it's time to come out! You need to come and see us today."

Potato: You kicked the freaking crap out of me. We heard a loud pop.

Mommy: I ran to the bathroom because I had to pee. Well after about 6 wardrobe changes because I kept peeing on myself we realized that you had busted the water bag.

The rest doesn't matter until I saw your beautiful face and kissed that nose. You were all daddy and I had ever hoped and wished for in our lives. We thank God each day for adding your to our family.

I hope you had a great birthday baby.

Love Mommy and Daddy!