Y's Birthday Party

Y has finally reached an age where we thought was appropriate for her to have a few friends over for a birthday party.  Truth is, that was probably last year but since I had only recently given birth to Q, there was no way that was going to happen!

The worst part about Y's birthday is that if falls at the very beginning of September which is also when Labor Day occurs each year and then school begins right after that and the life of parents gets a lot more crazy!  So in dealing with those 2 events we decided to have Y's birthday party on August 25th.

Though we have a decent sized home, I didn't feel it was large enough to hold 12 children (including Y) and a parent of each child so we decided we would have the party in our garage which worked out perfectly since it was really a pool party and we planned to just walk them all over to the pool as the main event.

I was extremely nervous about the party as I'd never thrown a party for children before and because I have this annoying tendency to over-analyze everything.  Fortunately it turned out to be a beautiful, hot day - perfect for swimming - and the kids all really enjoyed themselves.

We went with a Princess & Knight theme so I bought each girl a tiara and made them a satin sash that said Princess followed by their name.  They then got to decorate their sash with all different types of jewels and stickers.  For the boys I bought them foam swords and made them shields from cardboard which I then spray painted silver - each shield was personalized with "Sir" followed by their name and they also got to decorate those.  Both were a big hit!

Unfortunately, I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked but that's what happens when you're in the middle of hosting a party!


The before photo, you sort of get the idea.

They started decorating their sashes and shields as they arrived and waiting for the others.

Nana B. made the cake, she did an awesome job!

A Big Change

There's a big change coming to our family very soon.  As much as I'd love to go into specifics, I am bound by my dear husband to keep my mouth shut! ;)  It's not something I do very well so you'd better believe as soon as I'm given the all clear, I'll be here to write all about it!!!

Y - The Flower Girl

Well over a year ago, B's cousin asked us if Y would be the flower girl in his wedding.  Y had no clue what a flower girl was at the time but I was through the roof with excitement and once I explained to her what a flower girl was and what they do, she was thrilled as well.

We were asked in Spring of 2011 if she could do it and the wedding wasn't until late summer 2012 so we waited until February of this year to go and try on dresses.  We tried a couple, took some photos and then sent them on to the bride and groom for approval.  They were satisfied with them all and we were told we could pick whichever one we wanted.  With that, we let Y choose which she liked the best. 

Fast foward to May 2012 and we went in to order the dress!  Y didn't really understand that we wouldn't be taking home the dress she tried on that day.  I had to explain that we were just trying on two of them (a size 3 and size 4) to see which one would be the best fit for her in a few months - we went with the size 4.  The dress came in several weeks earlier than expected, we had been told mid-late July but it was in about a week or 2 after we ordered it.  As happy as I was with the quick service I was not happy to have to tell Y over and over again that she couldn't wear it yet.

The wedding day, August 11, finally arrived and I've never seen a little girl so excited.  She loved every moment in that dress and every moment of the wedding.  She had a little hiccup with throwing the flowers and getting down the aisle quick enough but once that was over she was all ready for the reception.  She pretty much stayed on the dance floor the entire night, yes, even during dinner!  It seemed as if everyone at the wedding was taken by her, when time came for everyone to start dancing she was right there in the middle of them having a blast.

Unfortunately we weren't staying in Toronto for a second night so we ended up leaving the wedding right around 10pm.  Y was exhausted, she had had a full and very fun day.  When we asked her what her favorite part of the wedding was, she replied, "dancing!"



It had been raining all day and suddenly 5 minutes before the ceremony was due to start the sky cleared!





Y posing with the Birch arch that Uncle R built for the wedding.





On the dance floor during dinner.

Still there...

The life of the party!





She was a big hit, everyone loved her and she loved every minute of it!



Q at 12 Months

I had completely forgotten just how much fun it is to have a 1 year old in the house!  Q is really a little ball of fun now that she's crawling around.  She loves to follow her big sister around or even just crawl around on her own.  I'm never surprised to find her in a room alone playing, she's fairly good at entertaining herself but she is still very much a mommy's baby.

Over the past few weeks she has really begun to start trying to mimic words and sounds, they can be words or sounds from us or even from her toys.  It's too early to tell but I wouldn't be surprised if we have another early, clear speaking baby.  From a very young age we always heard comments about how clearly Y was able to speak.

She has more teeth coming in, the top two front teeth and that's been affecting her napping but she's still a great sleeper at night.  She's still a great eater, she loves to eat her baby food but she also wants to eat whatever food we happen to be eating as well.  She absolutely adores her big sister but she is also beginning to let Y know what she doesn't like.  She also likes to play with whatever toy Y happens to be playing with at the time, I like to explain to Y that it's what I like to call payback.  All-in-all they get along extremely well, but that can always change as Q grows older and even more strong willed and independent.

As for me looking back over the past year, I can't believe how fast it all has gone.  I know everyone says it and I know it's a cliche but it's still so very true.  Sometimes as I think about my baby growing up I get a bit emotional.  I know I've been through all these emotions before with Y and I'm sure I'll go through them again but each child is different and I can't help but want to hold on to them as long as I can.  I'm also having a hard time giving up breastfeeding.  When my babies are first born I really, really dread it but I do it because it's what's best for them (and what's cheapest) but by the time they are a year old and I can wean them I have a really hard time giving it up.  I guess I can chalk that up to trying to hold on to my baby as long as I can.

Q's Birthday Celebration

We aren't big fans of throwing big elaborate first birthday parties for our kids, for us it's more of a family event - we like to save the parties for when they're old enough to remember them and enjoy them.  With Q's birthday falling on a Wednesday we decided to head to Canada and celebrate it with family the weekend before her big day.

We drove up on Friday after B came home from work.  On Saturday we spent most of the day relaxing and after dinner we all sang happy birthday, ate cake and let Q open her gifts.  It was interesting to watch her eat the cake, she was all about the icing but didn't like the cake at all.  Her reaction to the cake was the same as her reaction to her birthday cake in North Carolina, I think she doesn't like the texture because both times, even though the flavor was different, she spit the cake out of her mouth.

On Sunday we were able to go to church, have dinner and drive to the bridge for a lovely walk all before coming back home.  It was the perfect way to celebrate our youngest princess, quiet and with family.

 

 

 

Welcome Home, Cruz

It's been a long time coming, but we've finally purchased a second car!!!  It's been something that we've desired for a long time but we 1.) wanted to save up a substantial down payment and 2.) wanted to wait until B was earning more money at work.  We don't like to spread ourselves too thin and with his work schedule previously being 8am-4pm and then 6am-2pm we were able to make it work with only one vehicle.

When he received his promotion and his hours changed from 8am-5pm things became a lot more difficult.  We began having to cram all of our errands into Saturday and it really was becoming quite frustrating.  All the while B had been keeping his eyes out, via the internet, for the "right" car.  Well, on Friday, July 21st he found it!  By the time we decided to go look at it on Saturday afternoon, it had been sold.  They had several other similar models in stock but none of them had the second row bench seat that B really wanted, they were all captain's chairs.  I wasn't really sure what my preference was between the two so I happened to ask the salesman if they had anything on the lot with a bench seat so I could compare it.  He said we could drive around and check so all of us hopped on the golf cart and went looking around at the different Ford Flexes they had on the lot. 

Turns out the only one they had with the bench hadn't been cleaned, detailed, priced, etc.  We knew we liked it but didn't know what price it would be so we asked if we could take it for a test drive even though it still wasn't officially in their inventory yet.  The salesman agreed and while we were out he found out what the price would be, got us a copy of the carfax report, etc.  After we drove it we were pretty much sold but the price was a bit higher than we wanted to pay.  After a little negotiating we were able to talk the price down a bit, not exactly where we wanted but they agreed to put on new brakes and  new tires so we made a deal!

We finally brought it home the following Thursday and I named him Cruz.  Cruz because if we are ever blessed with a little boy, I'd love to name him Cruz but B (so far) will not agree to it.  So I told him if I couldn't name our future son Cruz then I'd name my car Cruz!  As far as details about him, he's a 2010 Ford Flex with just over 29,000 miles on him. He truly is in perfect condition and by reading the carfax we know that his previous owner took care of him in the same manner that we take care of our car(s).  He always had an oil change on time, took him in for all scheduled maintenance and never had an accident!

Oh, and can I say just how liberating it is to be able to jump in the car at any time and take the girls out if I need/want to?!?  I'm loving it!

Y Says

After going to the baptism of the son of one of our friends Y keeps saying, "I want to be bathtized."  I love to hear her interpretation of words or phrases such as the Mistake Center when referencing our Stake Center or the United Stakes when referring to our country.  There's a whole list of them and I love to hear her say them!

Last week while on the phone with Nana B. Y looks at me with this very seroius and shocked look on her face and she says, "you lost your tooth."  So I respond by asking her, "who lost a tooth?"  Well she then tells me that I had in fact lost a tooth.  So I quickly ran my tongue over my teeth just to make sure they were all still there, and of course they were.  And when I look at her with a look of confusion I see her put her finger up to her mouth and place it between her two top, front teeth.  When she did that, still with a shocked look on her face, I literally could not keep myself from laughing!  She was referring to the gap that is between my 2 front teeth!  The same gap that she has seen every day of her almost 4-year old life.  I think I probably laughed for 5 minutes straight and I still laugh every time I think about it or tell someone about it. 

It All Started with Knitting...

I've officially gone off the deep end!  The crafting deepend anyway.

I am now the proud owner of a sewing machine...and an apron.  What do the two have to do with each other?  Well when my grandma gave me a sewing machine I figured I'd need to know how to use it.  So I devised a plan that I would buy a pattern and materials and while visiting my mom in NC she could teach me to sew using the stuff I had bought.  Great plan, right?

So what pattern did I end up buying?  Yep, you guessed it...an apron.  Those who know me best will see the irony in this:  first off, I own a sewing machine; second the first thing I chose to sew was an apron!  Since when do I spend enough time in the kitchen to justify the use of an apron?  Since when do I get excited about having a sewing machine?  Why do I get all googly-eyed over KitchenAid mixers that I can't afford (or justify buying anyway)?  Why do I fall head over hills for any item in black and white damask print?  Why do I have more recipes than I know what to do with?  I'm the girl that always hated cooking, remember?

I have become the woman I never though I would be, the woman I never thought I wanted to be, I'm...domesticated.  How did I get here?  When did this start?  I blame knitting, it's been all downhill (or uphill) from there.

But in my defense, I still hate to clean, so I guess I'm not fully domesticated!  Whew! ;)

Anyway's, here's my creation!  My favorite print combined with my favorite color!  Thanks Mom for all your help, I really enjoyed our bonding time!

Stoney Creek Metropark

After we returned from vacation we received a call from some friends that they were heading to Stoney Creek Metropark on that Friday afternoon and they were inviting a few friends to join them.  Since B was still on vacation from work and we were just relaxing at home we decided we'd join them.

We had an awesome time with great friends, great fun and great conversation.  We are so fortunate to have such great friends here in Michigan, it really makes being so far from my family a little easier.

A beautiful sunset made it even more perfect!

Vacation, Part III

On the trip home we also decided to divide it into two days, only this time instead of staying in a hotel we took a little detour so that I could visit a good friend from college.  I met Crissy my freshman year of college at VT and we were pretty much instantly friends.  She left a few years before I did when she got married and moved to Utah. 

When we were deciding to stay in a hotel while overnight in the DC area I was reminded of a post she put on Facebook a couple years back mentioning that they were moving back East.  I knew that her family was in the Maryland area and so I messaged her to see if she have moved back to the Northern VA/DC/Maryland area and she replied that she was now living an hour north of Baltimore.  She was going to be out of town during our travel dates going to NC but it would work out perfectly for us to stop by on the drive back to Michigan, I was so excited!!

So when we left NC we made a stop at the Washington DC Temple, where we were married 6½ years ago.  It ended up being perfect timing for a stop because rush hour was starting and the traffic there is BRUTAL!!  We ended up stopping at the temple until 6pm and then we got back on the road (still congested but moving) and we made it to her house in Pennsylvania right at 8pm.

They say that you can tell good friends because when you get together with them it's like no time has passed at all.  Let me tell you that was no exaggeration in this case!  It had been approximately 10 years since we had seen each other but it was like we picked up where we left off only this time with husbands and kids in tow. 

Even though I was pretty tired and dreading the drive home the next day we stayed up late talking and we even ended up leaving late that morning because we kept talking and catching up.  I was so very glad that we were able to stop in and see her and meet her family.  She has 2 boys and we joked that we'd have to make sure we keep in touch so that Y and her oldest son will grow up together and get married some day.

We left her home around 10:30am and enjoyed a pretty uneventful day of traveling.  We stopped 4 or 5 times, mostly for potty breaks and Q must've been exhausted from the trip because she slept almost the entire trip.  We finally made it home at 10pm, I got the kids to bed and B unloaded the car...and then we slept!

The perfect ending to the perfect trip!