Alex is 4

Happy Birthday to our special girl, Alex!! This girl lives for her birthday. She is always sad when someone's birthday is coming but it's not hers. First, of course, we had a family party and she had a bunny cake with cupcakes

It was awesome that the Boyacks from Virginia were in town this year and could come to her party.

In preschool, the children get to celebrate their birthdays by bringing in things like a poster to tell about themselves. I came in and we talked about Alex and then she wanted to give everyone a rice krispie treat.

We weren't sure if a friend party was too ambitious or not for a 4 year old, but we did it anyway because Alex just loves to socialize and have friends. It was a little hectic and I took a few days to recoup when it was over, but I'm glad we did it. It was a lot of fun. James even came home from work for a while to be the entertainment.

We had some good help from Grandmas and my sister Jodie, and at the last minute Aunt Mindy was able to come because her flight was too full, which was awesome!

Alex and I had talked for months about the birthday cake she wanted to have for her party. It had to be pink, and her favorite princess is Aurora, so we thought we'd try out the doll cake. After a lot of advice from others, I made the cake and had the doll all ready to decorate. Sweet Nancy made the icing for me and then took the kids to go get Mindy and some lunch. I had about an hour and started to frost. I was immediately overwhelmed at just how difficult it was, and had to stop before I had a breakdown. My two angels came to the rescue, Grandma Nan and Mindy, and frosted it for me while the party was starting. Didn't they do a great job!!!!

So, I can't take any credit for it, but I was happy Alex could have her pink princess cake.

Zoo Lights

There are so many fun things to do at Christmas time and if you want your kids to see Santa there are lots of places to go. We headed over to Zoo Lights with Tammy and Grace and I witnessed my little boy growing up. If you scroll down the blog you'll see Johnny crying just like Grace on the big guy's lap last year. He did the same thing for the Easter Bunny in April. He was great this year though. Boy, these kids grow fast!

1st Sweater

I recently learned how to knit, and after doing a scarf and a couple of other little things I thought I'd tackle an article of clothing. My goal was to make this orange sweater for Johnny and have it ready to wear in the fall. I kept picturing him in a pumpkin patch with it on, but I just didn't get it done in time. Sad, but I'm so glad I didn't just not do it because look at how cute he is!!! He has pretty much already grown out of it, but I guess that's ok since I'll have another little guy that can wear it in about 2 years:)

When Santa asked Johnny what he wanted for Christmas, he replied, "STICKS!"

So, I chose mantel #3 and absolutely LOVE it!!

I'm so glad we covered the hearth with stone too.

After

Before

Here are a bunch of mantels I like. I should probably narrow it down a little better, but maybe you can tell me what you think of these. :)

Happy Birthday Johnny!!!

I can't believe it is already July!! And here my boy is already 2 years old! Where does the time go? We are so thankful Jonathan entered our lives 2 years ago at 6:13PM. He has brought us so much happiness that we don't know what we'd do without him.

Some special things about Johnny include:

His Smile- it absolutely lights up a room. And don't you just want to grab his cheeks?

The Way He Snuggles With You- you are supposed to put his blanky on your shoulder and then he curls up into it.

Going To Bed- after laying him in bed he says, "kiss," so I give him another kiss and then he says, "kiss," and so I give him another kiss. And he'll keep saying it until you somehow pull yourself away. (which is hard to do. I could kiss him all day.)

Trucks- Johnny loves "Big Trucks," and lucky for him there seems to always be work going on in the neighborhood and we'll see "DIGGERS" drive by.

Orange- This kid is so drawn to the color orange. Whenever he sees something that is orange, he excitedly points and says orange and wants you to acknowledge what he found. Whenever there is a choice (which crayon to use, what color plate or cup to give him, which free balloon he'll get at the grocery store) it is orange. I love that he didn't have to tell me that's his favorite color, just by knowing and observing him I know it is.

That's one of my favorite things about having children... I get to know these two little people better than anyone else in the world. I know their little likes and dislikes and what makes them happy and sad. I am the one who gets to see the first smile of the day, and the one who knows how to make them feel better when they get hurt. I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to have this amazing motherhood experience.

Spring 2010

A few glimpses of what has been going on around here this past spring. We're excited about all the fun times this summer will bring... including Johnny's 2nd birthday!!!

One of my children's favorite things to do is to throw all the couch cushions over the banister so they pile up by the front door. Then they create beds or jump on them over and over again from the stairs. They haven't been able to do it for a while because our couches are all stored elsewhere while we redo our living room (I'll show some before and afters once that project is done. I'm so excited!)

We went to the park with Tammy and Grace. Both of my kids love to swing.

Grace and Tammy

Alex is a great climber!

Johnny has no choice but to play with jewelry when that's what his sister is doing.

I just think they're so cute when they get out of the tub and their hair is all wet.

Grandma Nan took the kids for a ride out in the back yard in some sort of wheel barrow they have.

Alex is holding on to her cousin Grace as they ride around the yard.

Sadie and Taylor put "wings" on Alex and then they all started "flying" off the couches.

Jumping off Grandma's couches.

Easter Sunday

Johnny loves TRUCKS!! He has been in heaven as they've been building a house two doors down from us, because he can see BIG TRUCKS from our backyard everyday. And his favorite color is orange, so a BIG ORANGE TRUCK is all he needs to be happy.

Mother's Day

I've never done much gardening before but I wanted some planters to put on my porch this year, so I tried my hand at it. What do you think? I am excited to see how they look in the fall... that is if the deer don't eat them up first.