TWO for TWOS-Day - Cousins

I (heart) this picture!

They are growing so fast! They keep getting prettier and smarter and so darn grown up. Katie and Paige (my sister's daughter) have a special cousin bond that I just know Katie is on her way to having with Emma (Chris's brother's daughter). I love seeing the dynamic of Katie being the younger of the pair AND the older of the pair. (Would you believe I don't have a SINGLE recent/good picture of that duo? They are so difficult to get to stop and smile at the same time.)

Recently we got to visit Paige at the county 4-H fair. She is a member of the 4-H club and loves to learn about horses. She got to decorate a horse stall and ran ribbons to the horse ring for the winners of riding competitions for an entire day. We took this picture just minutes before my nephew Alex announced to Katie, in front of the pigs, that we eat them and they make yummy bacon and sausage from them. Ironically, that was just after this post - so Katie wasn't too shocked, but I can say that I got some horrified looks from the mothers of young children. Oh, and then the fun continued and Katie walked off and we had to have a "lost child" announcement over the loud speaker. And oh heck...this was supposed to be just a Two for Tuesday post, but while I'm at it here's some pics of the boys chowing down at the 4-H fair. We had nephews Alex, Teddy, and Henry with us for the weekend for a sleepover and to do some fun outtings for their belated birthday gifts. Henry ate 1 and a HALF barbeque chicken dinners and loved every bit. Alex gobbled his sandwich and Teddy made short work of his burger and then helped out by feeding Timmy.

If you want to join in the Two-some fun, visit Debi at Who Says 8 is Enough?

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What's in a Name? - Part One

Today, I wanted to write about the meaning/background of my blog name:

"The Other Boufs: Mommy, Daddy, Katie ... and More"

1. The Other Boufs - This actually stems from a few sources. My SIL Debi has a great blog, Who Says 8 is Enough?. If you're not already coming to my site via hers, I highly recommend checking it out. Last Christmas time, she talked about coming to our house for dinner and mentioned that her family had been to dinner at the "Other Bouf's" house. So, since she was my inspiration (do you call nagging to start a blog inspiration? :), there's a bit of a shout out to her in my name. Honestly, I'm really glad I've started and have quickly learned how addicting it can be. Here' some pic shout outs of her beautiful family:

Ok, this pic is really old, but it's one of my favorites taken in Disney World in April 2004. When Katie was born..this was the pic of her cousins that I chose to put on her family picture board (clockwise from the bottom right are Teddy, Henry, Alex, Gabi, David, and Stephanie):

Fast forward 3 1/2 years for the entire Bouf clan (from left to right: Keith, Stephanie (holding Emma), my Katie, Henry, Gabi (holding Will), Alex, Teddy, and David) during Christmas 2007:

Anyone who knows Debi knows that pics of her are hard to come by and I think she'd prob kill me if I put up any of the pics I DO have of her since they are MOST flattering - lol - but here's a terrific one of BIL Russ (on the right) and his little (but bigger) bro (my husband Chris). Pretty much shows their true personalities...aren't they so cute dressed like twins?

The other inspiration for "The Other Boufs" was that right around when I actually created my blog, I had just seen the "The Other Boleyn Sister" with my sister, Lori, which was a really good movie (despite what the critics say and it's departure from actual history). Since Debi already had her blog, which is pretty widely read in the twin and multiple circles of the net, we are clearly the lesser known Bouf family.

2. Mommy, Daddy, Katie - Well here we are:

Thanksgiving 2005

And a bit more recent, from this past January:

Katie absolutely LOVES "Mommy, Daddy, Katie" time. From the time she was very little and barely spoke, her favorite phrase was to just repeat over and over "Mommy, Daddy, Katie...Mommy, Daddy, Katie." Even now, she is never happier then when the three of us are together going somewhere in the car..usually out to eat or to a store together and STILL likes to chant her favorite phrase. However, as much as she loves it being the three of us she is so excited about her new brother on the way that I don't think she's going to have any problem changing her phrase to "Mommy, Daddy, Katie, Timmy" in November.

I'll finish up with the "and More" in Part 2 since the formatting is driving me crazy in this post every time I add a new pic.

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