Seriously . . . . . .

Does it get much cuter than this???

See those 2 top teeth peeking out?

Her Too???

Oh No!

Could it be???

Did she get it too???

The DeKeyser Trait Strikes Again!

Ryder

This is Ryder - he belongs to my friend Stephanie. I went over a few weeks ago to visit and couldn't resist a few pictures. He's 8 months and cute-as-can-be!

Don't you just love a squishy baby?

Look at those wittle thighs. Don't you want to pinch those wittle thighs and those wittle cheeks? OK, sorry - cute squishy babies make me revert to baby talk - can't help myself.

And here's the happy family - Adam, Stephanie and Ryder. Hope I can come back over and play again in the summer!

Cute Carey Beth

This is cutie Carey Beth. She's my cousin Courtney's little girl. She's 15 months old and busy, busy, busy!! She's an girl-on-the-go and can't be bothered to sit down and smile at the camera.

Here she is running. . . . .

and running . . . . .

and running!

OK, maybe she's not running here, and I'm not really sure what she is doing, but she is awfully cute as she's doing it!

Finally, she had enough and sat down in the flowers for a little rest.

I miss my family in Mississippi, and am glad I got to see them earlier this month!

What's for Dinner Tonight?

It's cold here. It's sleeting. It's snowing. Oh, and did I mention it was cold here? We are hunkered down in the house because of the mess Mother Nature is dumping on us outside. For goodness sake woman, it's Spring - didn't you get the memo? Anyway - here's a nice view from our deck, and this is just getting started. Did I tell you yet that it was cold here?

Weather like this makes me want something warm and yummy. Two small children make me want something cheap and easy. Now, if there was a way to combine all these wants and desires. . . Enter my favorite cooking device.

A crock pot is a beautiful thing. I love the dump and leave aspect of it.

Stewing away in the crock pot is my Aunt Sissie's 7 Can Soup. This soup is such an easy meal. It's a perfect mix of chili and soup, and don't the weather pictures above just SCREAM chili and soup?

Ah, yumminess. . . . right out of some cans. Now I have to decide if I want cornbread or grilled cheese or straight-up saltines to go along with this soup.

Oh, the recipe - super easy, OK. 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can vegetable beef soup, 1 can lima beans, 1 can chili with beans, 1 can chili without beans, 1 can mixed vegetables and 1 can of water. It feeds a small army of people, or you can have lunch and dinner the next day (my plan). Thanks Mom for passing this recipe along to me!

His Latest Obesession

I'm told this is a DeKeyser trait.

He's in full concentration mode, with that tongue stuck out to help him. The tongue helps you think. The tongue helps you stay focused. The tongue is something I've seen Dirck's father do when he's measuring for cabinets or deep in thought. I guess it skips a generation because I've never seen Dirck do it. It's involuntary and quirky, and on my baby, it is beyond cute.

Please forgive these blurry images - they are extreme close-ups, and my zoom lens just isn't THAT good (does anyone read this and think "Christmas Gift 2009?")

Well, he's doing something that he LOVES! He talks about it when he first wakes in the morning, when he's riding to and from his babysitters, when he's taking a bath and he even talks about it when he's in bed at night.

You know that time when he's in his room alone and in his bed right before he falls asleep. He's singing and talking about random things and occasionally I will hear something recognizable come out of his mouth on the baby monitor (yes, I still have a monitor on in his room - he's a big boy, but still my baby). I love this time. I love to hear him speak his own nonsensical language. It's funny and cute and sweet and I love it!

Anyway, back to the business at hand. . . . . Have you guessed what he's doing?

Here's a hint . . . He does it with his Daddy and it makes my heart melt to see.

Well, here it is. He's a country-boy-wannabe - guess he gets that from my side and Dirck's side of the family!

"Greyson Drive Tractor!" - it's repeated in my ear several times a day, and I know plays through this kid's mind hundreds of times. I'm sure he even dreams about it. He lives to drive that thing, and it must be a lot of work because he sure is concentrating! I guess he's just a farm boy at heart. Ride on little man - Ride on!

Our Visitor

I came home last night and Dirck met me at the door to tell me we had a VISITOR on the back deck. I looked out there, and here is what I saw. . . .
He's beautiful, right? And he is a good dog (you know how I feel about good dogs). I went out and put a collar on him and walked him over the the neighbor's house, but they didn't know who he belonged to either.

My kids adored him. They squealed and laughed whenever he would come to the door and look in.

You know he's got to be lost. This dog is loved - he's well taken care of - and he's such a sweetie. It makes me a little sad to think there is a family out there upset because they can't find their baby.

Dirck said "Don't feed him", so I only gave him 3 scoops of food - I couldn't stand to watch him cry and drool as our dogs were eating. It stormed last night and sadly he was gone when I woke this morning. I can only hope that he found his family. If he comes back, do you think I could talk Dirck into another dog?

Goodbye Sweet Jackson

There are few things in life better than a GOOD DOG. I'm serious! Think about it. A good dog loves you unconditionally, and is always excited to see you. A good dog listens to your secrets and never tells anyone. A good dog can instantly make you have a happy day - Yes, I'm serious, and there have been studies to prove the benefits of having a dog (although I'm too lazy to try to find one and site it for you - but they are out there!).

This is Sweet Jackson. His two pets are Elizabeth and Nick - friends of mine from work. Sweet Jackson here has cancer. He's a sick little guy although you would never know it to look at him. Jackson has had a good life with Nick and Elizabeth. I went over yesterday and he was the perfect little subject - even smiled perfectly for the camera! Well, I wanted to show Elizabeth these pictures this morning when I got to work, but I found out she had to go the the Vet's office with Jackson this morning. Seems he had a rough night, and I learned that Jackson won't be coming home today. He was a great dog. You can tell from the photos how loved he was and how much joy he brought to his owners.

Goodbye Sweet Jackson! You were loved and will be missed and I'm glad I had the opportunity to play with you yesterday!

Good Friend, Cute Baby

My good friend Mia recently moved to the area. I spent yesterday hanging out with her and her cute little baby boy. He's only 6 weeks younger than my little rugrat. My two kiddos had a great time there - there were lots of new toys and a nice new house with open spaces to run, run, run!


Here's little Bryce. Isn't he Handsome?

Check out those eyes, and the 2 little teeth!

I'm so glad Mia lives here now, and I look forward to spending some fun weekends with her and her babies!

Sticks and Stones

So here's my girl - kinda CUTE, huh? OK, beyond cute I know, but she's my kid so of course I've got to think that, right?
She's got her eye on that stick right there. See it? Next to her little cutie knee?

Yep, that's the stick right there.

She's gonna grab that stick and head for the hills.
Or maybe just her mouth. Don't scold my mother skills - I grabbed the stick out of her mouth before she got any dirty stick germs - so she's good.

And did I mention CUTE???

What's in a Name?

So I'm trying to find a good name for this blog - should I just use my name? Everything I think is creative has been taken - so much for creativity. It's just my name for now until I can think of something else. . .

Welcome to my blog!

Bear with me. I'm new at this. . . very, very, VERY new to this! I wanted a way to share photos with my family and to be able to describe the pictures, and this blog just seemed like the most logical thing to do! I'll be posting pictures and stories very soon, so if you like cute kids (maybe the cutest in the world - could I be biased?), cute dogs (well, we think they are cute), and sometimes silly stories with the occasional heartfelt message, then please come back and visit!