Ethan is One!

Ethan turned one on Thursday. Bring on the whole milk and sippy cups! The first year of Ethan's life has flown by! Mostly in part to his laid back, "go with the flow" personality. On Ethan's birthday, Scott was able to take the day off after getting in from a business trip very early that morning. I was thrilled to spend the day together as the family and we planned to go to either Rolling Ridge or The Farm at Walnut Creek, but of course, it rained all day. We didn't let that stop our fun.

We headed to the mall to play in the indoor play land, which is nice since all of the older kids are in school so it was not crowded at all.

We had a great day hanging out as a family and ended the day with a cupcake!

We got to celebrate Ethan's birthday with family over the weekend and dedicate Ethan to the Lord at church. It was such a fun weekend to celebrate Ethan!!!!

 

Happy birthday, buddy! I love your ornery smile and open mouth kisses. You have brought a whole new dynamic to this family with your happy and laid back personality.  I absolutely love hearing you start to say words and try to walk.  I am blessed to be your Mom! I love you!!!!

Bailey Girl is 3!

First off, I cannot believe I have a 3 year old. What!?!?! Bailey turned 3 last Friday, and her birthday is quickly turning into a birthday month.  With Bailey opening presents off and on for a few weeks straight and getting fireworks on the eve of her birthday (also the night we had her first cake with candles), she is bound to have a skewed view of how we celebrate birthdays around here.  I just hope she isn't too crushed when she realizes the fireworks aren't for her birthday...

Side note: Bailey's birthday has been stretched out due to our family vacation with my family to the beach.  I'll blog more about that later, because this post is for the birthday girl. 

All Bailey wanted for her birthday were candles.  At this point, she has had 3 different cakes with candles to blow out.  The happiness she shows when you sing her "Happy Birthday" is priceless.  I love that she understands the celebration that a birthday truly is and enjoys it now.  It was fun watching her open her own gifts this year and get excited.  Of course, she wanted to open the box the Rapunzel doll came in that grandma got her right away.  I had to coax her into opening the rest of her presents before playing with her Rapunzel doll.  Here are a few pictures of Bailey opening gifts at the "beach house" as Bailey likes to refer to it...

 

 

I'm so thankful for all of the people in our lives that love Bailey and have made her birthday "month" special.  I am also thankful for the wonderful memory of celebrating her third birthday at the beach and that Bailey loves the beach as much as I do.  It's another thing that shows how much Bailey and I are alike.  We have many beach vacations in our future!

Happy birthday, sweet Bailey girl!  You bring so much joy and laughter to our family.  You actually make your dad and I laugh multiple times a day by the cute toddler things you say.  I love your independence and that you strive to do everything yourself.  I love that you absolutely LOVE Strawberry Shortcake right now and have even memorized the theme song.  Don't ever lose the joy that comes from singing through life! I love you!

 

 

28!

I had a great birthday yesterday!  So far, 28 is great! (Sorry for the rhyme!) 

I had to work yesterday, but my co-workers bought me Chipotle for lunch and Monica made me the richest, delicious peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes.  Seriously, these cupcakes were like a drug.  We all crashed about 30 minutes after we ate them!  Having a summer birthday, I was always the kid that had to celebrate my birthday at school in May with all of the other summer birthday kids because we wouldn't be at school, so I still enjoy spending my birthday at work on my actual birthday.

When I got home from work, Ben and Heidi were here to watch the kids so that Scott and I could go to dinner alone.  BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!!  I am excited for the day when our kids can go with us out to eat on my birthday, but at this stage of the game, it is probably best to not try it.  Scott and I headed to Olive Garden (my favorite) and ended the night at Target buying diapers.  Ha... we really are parents!

I also got serenaded by Gaving and Grady separately.  I laughed that Grady had to sing it by himself.  He wanted the spotlight to himself!!!

My favorite memory from yesterday was Bailey telling me before bed that Uncle Ben was fixing her tub with no clothes on.  What!?!?!  I knew that Ben had clothes on, but I had to get to the bottom of this story.  I came to find out that Ben had redone the caulking around our tub (another great present) and he wasn't wearing a shirt; hence, he wasn't wearing any clothes.  The classic story of "mowing with no clothes on" revives itself decades later.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post, but my mom hasn't come to celebrate my birthday yet so I don't have any.)

Two Special Boys

Before I was a mommy, I was an aunt.  In fact, I owe some of my mommy skills to my oldest nephew, Gavin.  He was really the first baby that I was ever around.  I still feel bad about the time I woke up with Gavin early in the morning when he was a baby to let my sister sleep in and I didn't change his diaper right away.  I just didn't know the rules!  Sorry for being a rookie aunt, Gavin! 

Like my own children, Gavin and Grady are opposites. 

Gavin has brown hair. 
Grady has blonde hair. 

Gavin has brown eyes.
Grady has blue eyes.

Gavin is cautious.
Grady is adventurious.

Gavin turned 5 on Monday.  I cannot believe that he will be heading off to kindergarten in the fall.  Seriously, where does the time go?  It has been so fun to watch him grow and go from riding his tricycle to a "big boy" bike.  I love that Gavin is always eager to hold his little cousin too.  Anytime we are together he has to get his Ethan fix.  I seriously love Gavin's tender heart.  He is going to be a great best friend for someone, and I think he'll be a runner too!!!  Maybe we'll run a race together someday!

 

 

Grady turns 3 today!  Grady is the definition of ornery.  If there is something to climb, he will climb it.  He always seems to be a man on a mission, and I absolutely love that big, ornery smile that he gives everyone.  Grady is only 5 weeks older than Bailey, and it is fun watching them start to interact and play more as they are getting older.  It was hilarious to watch Grady ride down our back driveway (that is a hill) without any brakes on his tricycle when they were here a few weeks ago.  Seriously, no fear.  What a fearless and fun little boy he is!

 

 

 

Happy birthday to two of the best nephews I could ever ask for!  Love you guys!

  



My Post-Baby Blogging Hiatus is Over

I decided it was time to get back to blogging after my post-childbirth hiatus.  I have written very few  and far between postings since Ethan has been born, but hey, I've been kinda busy.  First off, let me just say that I L.O.V.E. being Bailey and Ethan's mom.  Is motherhood always fabulous?  No, of course not, but as I watch Bailey and Ethan grow, I know without a doubt that it is the best thing I will ever do.

So, a quick kid update:

Bailey talks and talks and talks and sings and talks and talks and talks some more. :)  Scott and I laugh daily at the funny things Bailey says.  I'll try to do better at keeping you informed and writing them down.  Although, I do better at the day-to-day stuff on Facebook.  I cannot believe that Bailey will be three in a little over a month.  She has just started pedaling her tricycle on her own now.  Yesterday, she blew out "birthday" candles (just because) and wished for a car.  We laughed, but I realize this will be reality someday.  Bailey loves to do everything herself, and I am finding that she is also very in tune with other's feelings.  I love this about Bailey.  I love that Bailey is independent and compassionate.  I can already tell that she is going to be a doer, and she will do great things with her life!

Ethan is 8-months-old now and is my roller.  Bailey never rolled, so I am loving the rolling stage with Ethan.  With the second child, I am not as eager for him to crawl and walk like I was with Bailey.  He has also started talking or babbling "dada."  Ethan's personality is so different from Bailey's.  Scott and I always say that Ethan loves to just hang out and enjoy the little things.  How can you not adore the double dimple smile too?  His dimples melt this momma's heart.  I love that Ethan goes with the flow and just enjoys life.  When I put Ethan to sleep in his crib or pick him up out of the crib in the morning, he just smiles at me.  It is wonderful!  Ethan also loves to eat, and I am truly thankful for his love of food that eases this momma's mind.  I just love my content and happy little man! What a blessing he has been!

 

I am so incredibly blessed with two wonderful children!  God is blessing our family of four in many ways, and I can't wait to share more with you in the days and years to come!

A Verbal Toddler

Bailey is quite the talker. I need to do a better job at writing down the funny things that she says. Here are some of her latest super cute verbal sayings:

"Oh dear"

"Oh my"

"Oh, that be fun, mom!"

While we were at my parent's house for Thanksgiving, she walked out of her room into the living room the last two mornings where Scott was sleeping and would say, "Hello! Is anyone here?"

"Tasty"

"Little Bell" (Beauty and the Beast)

The infamous saying, "I do it myself," is boldy stated many times a day.

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" - Bailey
"Yes, Bailey." - Me
"I'm here." - Bailey

 

I have a feeling that she may do a lot of the talking for her brother.

My Crafts

I have had some time this week to actually work on one of my projects that I wanted to complete while on maternity leave. Here is the bow holder that I found on pinterest to hang in Bailey's room. I am really happy with how it turned out!

Now I just have to decide where to hang it.

I also made a wreath for our door this past Saturday while visiting our friends, Jeremy, Mich, Maddie and Jackson, in Cleveland.