Our Latest In-The-Car Pastime

Is talking in our play cell. She calls everyone under the sun and asks me what their number is to dial it. Makes for some amusing car rides. :)


On another note along those same lines...we get very impatient driving home (not surprisingly) and we have a couple of billboards on our way that let us know we are getting close to our house. The first one is a real estate couple "Chris and Dee" and then the other, closer and more popular one was for an insurance guy named Bill somebody...well guess who decided he didn't want to pay for another billboard this year!? So now we get, "Where is Bill?" I am explaining over and over that Bill didn't want to pay for a new billboard. :)

Supper Guests, Family Pictures and Babes Hokey Pokey

It was one of those weeks...we did a lot of running around and a lot of socializing.
Monday Lorelei got the bug Makin had last week so we recouped. The first few days this week Makin also decided to get up at 5:30 AM instead of 6:30 AM, and one of those days Lorelei accidentally (but should not have been messing around) knocked a bowl full of milk and cereal all over the freshly mopped floor before guests were coming over...I'm not sure if that was the same morning my coffee spilled all over the microwave down to the top of the stove... and lets not forget to mention that I got pulled over (only happened one other time my whole life) and got caught still having my Virginia license...so ANOTHER trip (we went before and they told us to get our plates first...so really its their fault) to the DMV is in order ASAP...that week where you want to "move to Australia" because everything is wanting to make you pull your hair out. BUT I'm going to highlight the fun parts. :)

Ahhh the Stegers came for a visit Wednesday evening! This is always so enjoyable and we are again so happy they moved here to be with their kids! One of the highlights were the little light up worm things Jerry brought (Joyce said he is known for picking out weird random gifts that people love). I loved watching them read books to Lorelei before bed and the next morning we all devoured the banana bread Joyce baked for us. Both kids just loved having them for a visit and so did we!

Friday morning was family picture day. We had originally planned for Brad to take the day off so we could enjoy pictures and then spend the day at the Dallas Gardens...but he is in a major crunch to get a huge project done (gee doesn't that seem to happen a lot in his line of work!?) so he just went in a couple of hours late instead and we changed locations. This meant our photographer had to scramble to find a new location near his work, but she did a great job and we found a fun place with an old red barn and some wooded/grassy areas. I loved her and her style and cannot wait to see how they look. The kids cooperated "ok" but not as good as I would have liked...why is it your kids always rebel against smiles when you want them to smile the most!? :) Right now I am hoping we just make this our yearly family professional shoot so we get one each year with the new age. So, here is the start, with our one and three year pictures. :) Of course, will post the pictures as soon as I get them. Should be in two weeks! :)

And why are we at Starbucks? Well that is the special treat I kept promising Lorelei if she behaved...not sure she really deserved it but at least it could have been worse too. :) And believe me, after attempting to get them to smile for many pictures, I deserved my Starbucks treat! :) Oh and they are looking through the door at a lady who was cracking up making them smile. :)

A Friday night out!? Apparently those do exist! :) Sorry for the blurry pictures, but our camera does not seem to ever want to let us use the flash. This is the group of little girls we spent Friday night with at Babe's. This is a popular restaurant around here that we went to with the Furr family and several other families to celebrate Quintin's birthday. They play lots of music, the waitresses even sing some, and then they did a round of Hokey Pokey with the kids. Lorelei even sat by herself with the group of girls at the "girl table" and loved her mashed potatoes. :)

And oh how nice it is to get out and enjoy some time with other adults! :)

King Of The Mouse

This guy loves the computer mouse. When he gets ahold of it, you never know what to expect, and often have no sound as it has been muted or who knows what else. He has recently started wanting to watch Elmo videos, and when I left to do something in the kitchen, I came back to find him clicking away and somehow he turned on two videos at the same time. :)

Sugar N Spice

Our other first day of fall tradition (a day late) is baking leaf cookies! Yum! Lorelei was very good at sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar on them before baking.

Bouncin With Friends

Quick play-date Friday afternoon with Addy and Josie after nap. Lorelei finally enjoyed their little bounce house! (She has been scared when tried other times.) She loved that she could do somersaults too! Yay!

First Day Of Fall

Well, as long as I don't have a newborn at home, its my tradition to head to Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte on the first day of fall. :) So, off we went today. I was just thankful it was only a high in the low 80s instead of 95 like the weekend is going to be. :) We enjoyed an extra-special treat getting pumpkin scones and ate them outside on the patio before we took a walk to the nearby playground. We had to run into Walmart for a packet to make stew and ended up getting some scarecrows...which I'm sure you will see in posts coming up. :) Was a wonderful morning and look forward to it finally getting cooler, baking lots of yummy pumpkin goodies and lots of park time! :)


Lorelei's quote of the day: (quick reminder that Makin is drooling like crazy from teething and also has a runny nose...) "It okay he have stuffed animal. I like slobber on my stuffed animals." What a sweet big sister!

10 Years Ago...

Well, I know you kinda quit counting dating anniversaries when you have wedding anniversaries instead, but after counting them for four years, the date does stick out to me each year as special. After all, our wonderful family would not exist without "the old days" :) and it is fun to take the rare trip down memory lane. Just had to share...this is our first picture together right around 10 years ago.

Thanks for asking me for a date Brad, and putting up with me for 10 years and many more to come, can't imagine my life without you. :)

12 Month Ugh Craziness

What else is there to be said? Its one of those transitional times where you are just getting through it. :) Getting picky on foods, dropping but needing naps, still waking up in the middle of the night and thinking he should stay awake, teething, having a cold, getting rid of the bottle, hitting...you name it. Ugh.

Eating with a spoon. He is thrilled to do this and now taking in more applesauce...at least its makes mopping the floor more fulfilling because I can see how much cleaner it is than before...















Uh Oh...gee...what did I drop this time?


















Feeling slightly guilty from Mom's dirty look for throwing spoon...or maybe it was the sippy cup this time, not sure.

















"If I smile at you, you will stop looking at me like that and remember how much you loooove me..."

Ugh. Figured it out at 12 months. Wonder how often I will see that guilty grin?





And another update...Makin's naps. He is working on skipping morning nap, but still totally exhausted and possibly more so after our rough weekend without sleep. He now seems to be not wanting me to rock him (What in the world is up with BOTH kids deciding they don't want their mother to rock them at age one!?) and I am now rubbing his back which seems to be working. Miss the rocking but have been trying to break the habit in hopes he will sleep for a nice long afternoon nap. Crossing fingers!

Mon - Thurs

Monday - First Little Elm MOPS meeting. I was excited to go and get a chance to chat with other moms, but nervous on how Makin would do since he is more clingy now than he was back in the spring. Both kids were fine and I was able to get lots of discussion time with other moms at my table. Looking forward to playgroups coming up! Also a bit relieved they don't have a craft every other meeting like the Plano group. Whew! ;)

Lorelei's update was that she had a big red mark on her forehead from falling on the way out to the playground. They said she didn't even cry and they were holding her to see if she was okay and she just said, "Can I go play now?" :) Makin on the other hand...the report was that he was "playful" (they give me a little paper on how he was and any naps, diapers etc, which is VERY strange for me but makes me feel a little less devastated not being around him for 2 hours) but he did look like his face was a little red when I went to get him. The lady said she held him a lot (only because she had a son who is now 18 born with a cleft and so was instantly attached and wanted to cuddle him) and that he was quiet. He was also super tired because of skipping morning nap so probably had been rubbing his eyes from that.

Anyway, looking forward to getting involved and hoping the kids continue to do okay (and better for Makin!)

Tuesday - Storytime! Tons of fun again and talked about different kinds of weather.

Lorelei found a grasshopper and was so proud to catch it on a weed to get a nice close look. Then she let it go and who's little hands are quick enough to catch the thing? Yep! Makin grabbed it and you can imagine how gentle a 12 month old is with a bug...I made him let it go, although the poor grasshopper was injured in the process...he then kept trying to catch it again and I wouldn't let him and you can see what he thought of that. Made me think "he's such a boy" when watching him determined to catch that thing...glad I'm not the one he will be chasing around when he catches frogs someday...I hope.

Must have painted Lorelei's nails this day too. She chose this color for her birthday and we ran out of time to paint them. Blue with "farkles" :)

One more fun Lorelei quote would be the other night when I poured a little too much salsa on her plate...we got her first non-coached, "Whoa Baby!" (Hope some of you are fellow old Full House fans!) :)

Wednesday - Errands. Bleh.

Thursday - Day at home recovering after Makin got sick late Wednesday night. It was gorgeous fall weather and we did get out and enjoy it in the yard a bit and just having our windows open. Makin caught up getting some much needed extra sleep to feel better.

And if I can just insert "played in sandbox" for pretty much every spare second of the day it would be accurate. :) They want to go in the sandbox as soon as they wake up and until supper. Thank goodness it has cooled down enough to be tolerable out there!

Plano Balloon Festival

4:05 AM - Brad and I start getting up and going. Thankful it isn't raining like the night before!

5:10 AM - Kids in car ready to go. Lorelei super excited and Makin wondering what in the world his parents are doing to him. :) Lorelei had been anticipating this for weeks and was ready to hop out of bed as soon as I got her up. The night before, when she was supposed to be going to sleep she hollered at me, so I went into her room unhappy and she said, "We go see hot air balloons now!?" No you haven't even slept yet!!!! :) She was more than a little excited.






7 AMish - Kids enjoying the picnic breakfast we packed, strawberries, bananas, grapes and even home made cinnamon rolls!

There was supposed to be (I think) a morning "glow" where you see the balloons lit up, but none of them were out yet. We are guessing from the rain the night before, but then after doing more reading they may only do that in the evenings...but it seemed like everyone was there early to try and see that!



Wanted to show the process as we were watching it. Finally around 7:15 vans started coming out to set up their balloons. Of course started rolling out first, then fanning, then up...you get the idea.

Their reactions watching the balloons go up.














State Farm was one of the sponsors so had to take a few pictures for Aunt Heather!




































The lady bug was one of our favorites.



















Since it was so cloudy, the balloons did not go up as planned, so I guess they decided they better give us a little something for our money, so everyone was let out on the field to get an up-close look. We all loved this chance, and Lorelei even got to sit on the basket for the purple people eater. You can see the flame behind her and she didn't even flinch at the sound and the heat! :) They liked that her bow matched their balloon. :)












Owning the balloon field. ;)














Then we headed to the fair...and do you know what this smart mom did? She was so worried about her breakfast picnic she didn't think to pack...you guessed it, the STROLLER!!! Yep, I toted around that 26.4 lb boy and will never forget a stroller again! And yes, my arms are aching as I type this. :)

The highlights were the free art tent where Lorelei got to do stamps, stickers, chalk, and even get a few tattoos. Then we headed over and did a little spin art, which was a lot of fun. The other big hit was the State Farm bear. This girl loves her a mascot. :)

And the really best part? We got to go inside a hot air balloon! They had it set up just fanning it open with air and let people go inside. As you can see the reaction was pretty fun. :) These balloons are huge!

9:30 AM - Annnnd who doesn't need a mid- morning snack of chocolate ice cream? :)

We were home by 11 AM where we regrouped before heading out for the night!

Yes, we woke our kids up early and kept them up late, but it was for a good reason! Jerry and Joyce Steger moved back to Texas on Tuesday, and their kids invited us to their family get-together Saturday evening to celebrate the move as well as Joyce's birthday. It was a great time for all of us and we are so glad we got to meet their kids and extended family as well. Lorelei was thrilled to have more cake and candles...we cant go a week without them these days! :) Oh and I have to mention a)they had TWO dogs there and Lorelei could not leave them alone of course and b)the host had a pool in his yard and Lorelei swam across it (with floatie) all by herself! :) It was awesome.

And did we pay for this on Sunday? You betcha. :) Thankfully both kids are now fast asleep and hopefully we recouped enough today. :)

Forgot One

Can't believe I forgot this other story from Lorelei and that I have yet another good one but couldn't not put it on her post, so will move with her other stories but knew none of you would end up reading it! So, here it is for a couple days and then will just add it to the rest.

There were a TON of black birds perched on our fence that runs along the street. I said, "Why do you think there are so many birds on our fence?" and Lorelei said, "Maybe they're waiting for the school bus." :)

September Family Picture

Sunrise

This morning (which was AMAZINGLY cool and fallish) Lorelei was out playing in the sandbox and said, "Mommy come here! I have to show you something!" and was so excited to show me the sunrise.

Bouncing and Rolling

And loving the latest birthday present from Aunt Sarah! The kids got spoiled completely rotten and got multiple packages last week from friends as well as Aunt Sarah, Hannah and Karter. Had to include some of the crazy and fun pictures from this latest gift. As you can see, its not only used for jumping! :)

Makin At One/12 Months

Wow. I remember writing your birthday on the calendar and thinking that it seemed so far away and that I couldn't imagine you being one. You are growing up so fast and I guess I better try and just get on board. :)

You are 31 1/2 in tall (95th %) and 26.4 pounds (90th %).

You still love to eat and will pretty much never allow me to feed you. That results in applesauce on the floor...so we are not too big on the mushy foods right now. You are also suddenly a very picky breakfast eater. Ugh. We are working on getting you off the bottle and you are not happy about it. You seem to be hungry all the time, and will go grab a snack out of the diaper bag and bring it to me to let me know you are hungry! You have to eat at 5 pm. It does not matter if you just had a huge snack at 4, at 5 you want to eat again and will cry and hold your hands up to me until I get you some more food.

You are doing a little bit of pretending, which is so cute. Usually it is with the play dishes and you pretend to eat something, or feed me something and then make the eating noise.

You always go and mess up the play kitchen. You seem to think that the cookie sheet and shelf in the oven do not belong there or the baskets should not be put away. I clean it up, and as soon as you see that, you head over there and mess it all up again. The same goes for the towels in my real kitchen. Really, you are just super-talented at making messes.

You have started driving your cars a bit more. I'm amazed to see it because somehow boys just do it differently than girls! You try to make the "vroom" sound when I say it while playing with cars...what else are we supposed to do with cars? :)

Words...you have been talking a bit more lately which has made me feel much better. I noticed you talk more in the high chair. My conclusion is this...you have been too busy working on walking/running so the only time you think about talking is when you have no other options. Plus we all know boys can't multitask! Anyway, I'm hearing a better variety in consonants, but still no D!!! Poor Daddy...not sure when he will hear his name from you. Anyway, Mama is for sure, Ma - more, um- yum, wa wa- water, and those are pretty much all you say without some talking from me first. You also try Lorelei and it sounds like you are even attempting the L sound and usually do something with the "i" sound at the end. The great thing is that you are actually trying to say the words when I ask you (well most of the time...and look at me like I'm nuts when we try to get you to say Daddy) so can't wait to see the progress we will keep making!

Running as fast as your legs will let you. :) And falling plenty too!

A bit clingy. You tend to just grab onto my pant legs and follow me everywhere. In the morning this can be rough. The other day you ended up getting hit in the head with the refrigerator door and running your head into the corner of a drawer both within 30 minutes. :( Lots of bangs and bruises right now but you are pretty tough.

I'm not even going to talk about sleep. It better be a good report at your 18 month milestone when you have dropped morning nap and are sleeping perfectly every night and taking a 2+ hour nap every afternoon...better be.

Loving outside and dirt like your big sis! You throw your 1 year old fits if we have to go in when you are not ready, and are ready to head out before the sun comes up :)

You are now a pro at the whole-body head nod. It is AMAZING how much communication this opens up. It makes me realize that you understand pretty much everything and this is so great to be able to communicate with you so much better!

Love to grab my face and smile and give me hugs and I am blessed with a little bit of that sweetness each day.

Lorelei At Three

Above picture: if anyone asks how old you are you just show them with a long drawn-out attempt to get the three fingers up.

Wow. It is amazing to me that you are three, yet I feel like I can't remember you being a baby, and cannot believe there was ever a time you couldn't talk. :) You talk our ears off. :)

You are 39 1/4 inches tall (90th %) and weighing in at 32 pounds (50th %).

Your main loves are still anything outside and animals.

Playing pretend has taken a biiiig part in your everyday life. We even have to make cars talk to each other instead of drive. :) You love doctor/vet, hair fixer, and also make up things to do with characters from your favorite TV shows. You do play with dolls but still not as into them as I hope you will be. I am instructed who I am and what I'm supposed to say/do.

When you count it is "One, two, three, five, four." With help you can count to ten.

You can identify some letters and sing ABCs but wouldn't be able to say them on your own. You do try to draw your name and Makin's name and get the L made fairly well.

Your favorite color is still blue, but thankfully you still like all the others too. Yesterday you told me you wanted your bed painted blue rather than white.

You take 1 1/2 hour nap each day.

You do a great job with prayers. Right now you love the "Johnny Appleseed" prayer and sing it very well, and that is pretty much all we ever get to say at mealtime anymore. Your evening prayers make us chuckle as Brad just starts you, "Dear Jesus, thank you for..." and you continue...many times thankful for your light, your wall...last night you even said forgive my sins...a few others and then..."forgive my sins again..." :) And then when you are done its a loud exuberant, "Amen!" :)

You have become quite the singer. I love this! I love catching you singing and making up songs. You are also super sweet with this with your brother when he is upset. You usually just sing, "It's okay Makin, Its okay..." You have been caught singing along in church too.

You get the giggles. This is hilarious. So girly and so contagious. Love it.

You still do not ever like to play by yourself. We did just find something yesterday you would do by yourself though...the sandbox!

You insist that I take your hair out before bath because, "Daddy is a boy." (And they don't have long hair so they don't know how to take it out right.) And you also specified that Grandpa could not take your hair out either because he is a boy too. ;)

A few fun stories:
Way back when I was 13 or something going to some babysitting camp for a day I was told to say, "Tell me about your picture." instead of "Whats that?" so you don't insult the kids. For some reason that little lesson stuck with me, so I use it with you all the time. The other day we were driving and you were drawing and had me draw something at the stop light. When I handed it back to you I got, "Tell me about your picture!" :)

Me: Are you out of patience today?
Lor: My patience went out the window!
Me: Where did you learn that?
Lor: You!

Me: Lor would you like a bite of yogurt?
Lor: No, (grinning) I would like a bite of coffee!

Brad told her to do something...
Lorelei: Just a minute, I have to check my phone.

Me (while driving in the car): Do you want a book or the drawing thing?
Lor: No, I just want to talk.
(Suddenly I know just how Brad feels...lol)

(As we pull into the garage you notice the super tall ladder we had to buy.) "Hey! There ladder for birthdays!" :) Well, so far that IS all it has been used for!

"It's gorgeous outside today."

We are often told "Be a good girl/boy." And the way you say girl is "gayel" :) You have some kind of funny accent when it comes to your rs. :)

You talk to EVERYONE when we go out. We often get comments about how friendly you are. :) Today in Walmart you seemed extra chatty as you wanted to do a return all by yourself and the lady was very impressed with you. :) I did help translate a bit. :) You also said "Oops sorry!" if you noticed you were in someone's way and told the greeter on our way out, "Bye, Have a good day!" :) Oh how we love watching you spread smiles!

The Start Of Story-time

For our last (crossing fingers) 100+ degree weather day, we enjoyed heading to the library for story-time. (Side note, we have now just survived the hottest summer on record, with today being the 71st day over 100.) The kids had a great time. We got there very early as there are three different story times and you have to go pick up tickets to make sure to get a seat. The first two classes were for the younger group and I decided to take Lorelei to the class for 3-5 year olds. Just thought she would seem a bit old compared the other class that had 18 month olds in it. Which means its a noon. Not great timing, but worth it to go to this class. Its like a little 30 minutes of preschool we get for free and I get to enjoy with her. They do songs and this time read two books. They even have a theme each week and have that printed on paper! They must be reading my mind. :)

Anyway, we got there very early so had lots of time to play with puppets and pick out books, and even get them checked out before we headed outside to eat the lunch we packed. Thankfully they have tables and chairs outside to enjoy. Hoping sometime Brad can work from there and get to enjoy some fresh air while working! The pictures are from our quick lunch break before heading back in to the class. Lorelei loved it and Makin enjoyed it and behaved wonderfully. He even clapped and then figured out how to stomp his feet (if he holds my hands he can do it!) and waved goodbye for the song at the end too. Planning to go to this each week. They have it Tues, Thurs and Fridays, so hope to make this part of our weekly routine!

And as for the ride home...Lorelei and I were both hoarse from yelling to keep Makin awake...that will be the real challenge each week. :) Food didn't work as I'd hoped! But boy he took the best nap he has taken by himself in a long time!

Belated House Tour

Not sure when we will have the house remotely clean again so thought we better go ahead and give you a tour. (Took the video the day of her party, but had to wait for Brad to get it uploaded for me.) Can't wait to get pictures up etc but wanted you to see it. :) And for those who have been asking. :) Sorry it took so long!



We love love love having a house. The first day after work Brad asked what I liked about having a house and I honestly just had to say...everything! Of course we have the usual problems to deal with and more time to spend on projects, but it just makes life so much less stressed and confined. We are usually shocked to look at the clock and realize we need to get the kids ready for bath and bed! Time flies so much faster here. I jotted down notes of what we loved but they are lost somewhere...but yeah, we definitely love it. Cannot wait for our next set of visitors!

Superman

Amanda and John, can you tell who ALSO enjoys Makin's First Superman book? ;) Its a huge hit with BOTH kids! :)

First Tennis Shoes

This video is actually a couple of weeks old, but I either need to learn how to upload them to youtube myself or just take them when I get them from Brad. :) Anyway, its worth sharing even a couple weeks late. Makin has run around barefoot the entire time he has been walking(shown on the first part of the video some of how he looks barefoot), but I figured shoe time was upon us now that he wants to walk around in stores etc. I thought he needed some tough shoes for some places along with the pair of soft shoes he has. The reaction was priceless. :)

Sandbox

Well, Brad and I have this huge elaborate sandbox plan in our head that he is going to build our own huge sandbox that lots of kids can come over and play in...trouble is figuring out where/how/when to do that with all the other things we have on the list that are limited to the very precious time we have together two days a week...as it goes with owning your house and projects like that...SO after the last few days watching the kids play in rocks and mulch, we decided to get a small sandbox temporarily. They just love it soooo much and I think we will get many more hours of contentment before the huge one can be built. And of course there is always c-list when we decide to sell it. :) Anyway, it already proved to be a huge success as they played in it for about an hour as soon as it was full of sand. :) Now I just need my morning "shade" for the patio and we will be set.



Side note: Getting the sandbox...having the kids in their Husker outfits (Thanks again Grandma!)...took me back to almost exactly a year ago when we were doing all the same things with a brand new baby...which took me back to the Sept 2010 part of the blog and then you keep reading and boy, how simple it seems now looking back at surviving those first few weeks with two kids and then Makin's surgery. Getting him off the bottle and dropping morning nap now are a piece of cake in comparison. :) Ready to enjoy a much easier fall! :)

Two Good Mommy Pics!?

This never happens. Mulch must be good for them. :) Just loooove the pic with each kid. :) So blessed!

(Will have to work on Daddy pics...but man does he need a haircut! :) )

Park Rocks

We have to drive a ways to our pediatrician, and after close to two hours total in their office, the kids definitely deserved a park break. And thank goodness it was another beautiful day to enjoy! There is a park right across the street so we decided to try it out. They did the swings and then spent the rest of the time, that's right, playing in the rocks. Do you know how dirty they get from that? Yeah, good thing I'm such a cool mom. ;) Good reports from the pediatrician and I'll include info with their 1 year/3 year posts.

P.S. Does Makin look old in this pic or what!?

Makin's BIG Birthday Day!

And boy was it BIG!

Early morning presents...he didn't know what to make of all these fun new things for him when he first woke up. Lorelei pretty much just unwrapped while he happily just played with whatever got unwrapped. We tried to get him to do it and he didn't really have much interest. :) Then of course, our Mickey Mouse pancakes! He actually really seemed to enjoy it this morning. Must have known it was a special day. (He has gotten really picky about his breakfasts and hardly ate his on Lor's bday.) He was NOT happy about the hat, so this is the last time you will see it. But isn't it cute!?



Then, off to get...his hair cut!

So, at this age it was pretty hard to decide what to do with his hair. I mean with girls you can just keep letting it grow because you want them to look like a girl, but his was to the point of a little long, but the curls were so cute...anyway the don't-want-him-to-look-scraggly-and-I-keep-looking-at-it-thinking-its-a-little-long won out, so gone are the curls and here we have such a handsome little man.



He had taken a 10 min cat nap in the car so I was a little worried how he would do. He did okay just sitting but then when she put the little "cape" on he started crying. Notice I took a picture of him holding my hand. After just a few tears he got distracted by the tv and did just fine.

All spiffed up and ready for his party...a little too ready. Guess who decided he didn't need a nap when Mommy needed to frost his cake? Yup! But then WHILE frosting the cake he got tired and whiny. Thank goodness Brad was home to help out so I could get it frosted before putting him down for a quick late nap. The 30 min got him through the party till bedtime.












And we had his party on his actual birthday. It worked out better for both families invited to do it on Thursday instead of the Saturday we had originally planned, so Thursday it was! And the little snag we ran into...I realized around 9:30 pm Wednesday night that I did not have any food die for the frosting...not good! This meant running to the store after the haircut and then frosting it during nap. Which as you read earlier, was extra tricky. But it got frosted in time and the only thing I was still doing was cutting watermelon when people arrived. :) And my favorite of the decorations was the wall with his pictures from the year across it.

We could not have had a better 1st Birthday party...except for having ALL our friends and family there, but we were just happy to have those we did.



This is while he was being sung to. As you can see the cake is not cut yet someone has some blue frosting already on his mouth... ;)



From top left to bottom right is the actual order of pictures taken while eating the cake. He took a while to get started but then dug right in and at the whole thing. :) He loved it!

We had a low key night for the party, Brad grilled burgers and the kids played outside for most of the visit. We even broke out the sprinkler after cake and they had a lot of fun. We were so glad to have Uncle Bob and Auntie Di here to celebrate with us as well.


Annnnd another attempt at a family picture...maybe next time, but Lorelei cracked me up anyway. :)


And both kids crashed despite the sugar rush and Makin slept VERY well after two days of short naps and so much partying. Thank goodness! :)