Grayson's 1st Birthday Party Was a "HOOT"!

By our standards, Grayson's first birthday part was a rather small, and intimate little party. We celebrated with just family, our little brood of course, aunts, cousins, and {some, but not all} grandparents. I made simple cupcakes, a simple little smash cake, and some not-so-pretty, but oh-my-gosh-SO-DELICIOUS owl cake pops.

The decorations doubled as props for his one year photos! I bought some letters at our local craft store and threw a coat of paint on them, picked up some balloons from Party City, and found the cute banner at Target for just a few bucks. I designed a little print for Grayson and found an awesome frame from the same craft store I purchased the letters. It's now in his room. ^_^

We visited with each other, enjoyed the yummy desserts, then sat back while Grayson destroyed his first birthday cake. After opening presents we called it a day! Doesn't get much more simpler than that.

With it being his first birthday, I wanted it to be special, but didn't feel the need for it to be over-the-top, the way I've done other parties. He isn't going to remember this party! He will know though, that those who loved him most gathered around to celebrate him on his first birthday. And that's all that matters in the end. :)

Hailey's Tea Party Birthday Celebration! {7 Months Late}

Hailey knew months before her birthday came exactly what she wanted to do! She wanted to have a tea party birthday! I set out and began planning right away. I searched thrift stores for tea cups and china, table clothes, frames, and other trinkets and treasures that would beautifully decorate a little girls tea party.

•"Keep calm and have a spot of tea."• I ran paper lunch sacks through the printer, used a decorative punch along the edge, folded it over and tied it off with a ribbin.• I filled an apothecary jar with Hershey kisses that just so happened to coordinate with the pinks, blue, and teals Hailey requested.• I found the 7 which was originally black and spray painted it white to commemorate her seventh birthday! ^_^• I ordered beautiful tea party cake pops from a local baker who makes AMAZING cake pops.• I chose a beautiful bouquet of meadow flowers {artificial of course} to accent the table.•

•I hunted high and low for the perfect table cloth and just never had any luck. While making a trip to Ikea I just so happened to browse the curtains where I found the most PERFECT pattern! Because they were curtains I didn't buy them right away, but at least I now had an idea of exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately I never could find fabric to use and ended up making a trip back to Ikea for the curtains to use as the table cloth and no one even knew that it was actually a curtain!• I found pink chinese lanters, and a garland of flowers, and made the remaining "puffs".• Hailey's Grandmother has a beautiful little tea pot collection she shared with us. They were in the most adorable shapes; a couch with a cat, a sewing maching, a cupcake, and a little cottage.•

•A tea party wouldn't be complete with cucumber sandwiches  These were a request from the birthday girl and a MUST-HAVE. We served them along side deli roll-ups on a 3 tiered tray made from tea cups and saucers.• I found the cutest pink "H" at one of our local craft stores and it accented the table beautifully!• Cream puffs were piled high upon a tray that I had give little makeover just for the party. {A little spray pain and ribbon go a long way.}• Here is a closer look at the beautiful and DELICIOUS cake pops.• Another print I made wishing my Hailey Jo a very happy 7th birthday.•

Normally I wouldn't want to compare my beautiful 7 year old to a popular movie prositiute {HA!} but how Julia Roberts Pretty Woman is this?!?! LOL This is one of my most ♥favorite♥ photos from the special day.

The girls got to chose what part of a tea set they would like to paint and got to create their own little masterpiece.

After painting their little cups, saucers, and tea pots they decorated cupcakes. There were all sorts of shapes, colors, and things to sprinkle over the cupcakes.

And of course we had tea time! A tea party would not be complete without tea. :) {Although very quickly we realized that little girls do NOT love tea. and it turned out to be a "lemonade in tea cups" party.



{Aren't her lashes to DIE for?! People pay good money to have things glued onto them to make them look like they have those lashes right there. And look at that pinky! ^_^}

Hailey's party was so fun, and so special! I loved that we were able to use special family heirlooms and collections mixed with new finds that we love for all time! I never would have thought that a tea party would be so fun to plan. But I loved it. :)

A Very Zombie Birthday

Joshua and I began collecting ideas for his 10th birthday about 9 months in advance. Originally he wanted to do a Lego birthday. I thought it was an awesome idea! As his birthday grew closer though he became unsure and was truly undecided as to what kind of party he wanted. I told him that it was completely up to him, but that he needed to let me know soon so that I could begin shopping, and crafting for the big day!

We spent COUNTLESS afternoons on the computer searching birthday websites and blogs for ideas. We tossed around ideas like a Hunger Games birthday, an army birthday, a Lego birthday, a science lab birthday, Star Wars, hunting/camo, Adventure Time, I could seriously go on and on.

Once we found it though, we knew INSTANTLY it was "the one".

ZOMBIES

There's no hiding the fact that my son and I are somewhat insanely zombie obsessed.I knew this was going to be just as fun for me to plan as it was going to be for him to celebrate!

Inspiration was somewhat hard to come by. I couldn't really find any other zombie birthdays. But luckily when it comes to zombies I have all I need to become inspired right at home!

This was Joshua's 10th birthday. DOUBLE DIGITS! So I wanted this to be a big bash.

{Clockwise} I was able to find some awesome bags from Oriental Trading! I bought test tubes from Amazon and filled them with nerds. They were the 'zombie antidote'. I found zombie necklaces, and my favorite, syringe pens! They were the zombie 'vaccine'.

I lucked out and our local Dollar Tree had "CAUTION: ZOMBIES!" tape, and even blood splatter window clings, complete with a bloody smeared hand print. :)

I made good old fashioned Jello dirt cups, and stuck some zombie hand cupcake toppers in them, topped with a gummy worm.

I found an awesome recipe for "swamp" cake and thought it would make a GREAT graveyard cake. After adding some zombie hand cupcake toppers, eyeballs, and various other severed body parts it looked perfectly zombiefied and almost too disgusting to eat!

We had a "Zombie Outbreak Response Team" kit filled with survival gear that you would need to survive the zomie apocolypse. Rope, a canteen, flashlight with batteries, various bandages, a screwdriver, etc. These were the prizes you could pick from if you won a game!

{The "Let's Paint the Town Dead!" table cloth was from BirthdayDirect.com, along with the blood splattered gauze, plates, cups, and zombie hand cupcake picks.}

{Clockwise} We had a "zombify station" where our party guests could get into character. We had make-up, fake blood, bloody bandages, and zombie teeth to help give them the perfect zombie look!

I lucked out because my mom had a brain Jello mold! We made it into a worm filled Jello brain.

"Pin the Brains on the Zombie"! {I would have loved to see the face of whoever printed that out at Staples! lol} We had to have some zombie games and what's more perfect than feeding a zombie some brains? When I first thought of the game I just assumed we would pin the brain to the zombie's head where his brain would go. But after having it printed and hanging it I decided that we should do the obvious and pin the brain to where it SHOULD be. The zombie's mouth!

Okay, so technically these are mummies, and mummies aren't zombies, but they ARE the walking dead. So close enough right? I just called them "walking dead dogs".

A closer look at how the table came together.

{Clockwise} The birthday boy! I think the smile means good things. :)

The zombie walk!! First we had a zombie walk, where each guest did their best zombie impression one by one. Then we did a zombie race! But you couldn't just run, you had to move how a zombie would move.

We used a bandage as a blindfold and the guests got to try their best to get the brain to the zombie's mouth.

A zombie hoard!

{Clockwise} A zombie party wouldn't be complete without Ghoul Aid! I started with a recipe I found online and just added a few things here and there until we ended up with something yummy but completely gross looking!

"DO NOT ENTER: dead inside"

Zombie cake pops! I did my best to make some living dead cake pops. Some zombie had their eyes gouged out, some had nasty zombie teeth, some had mohawks, some were bald. They were as different and unique as real zombies! And they were delicious...

"CAUTION: zombies ahead"

Another shot of the graveyard cake, this time with 10 candles for the birthday boy!

{CLOCKWISE} After "pin the brains on the zombie" our zombie became a target for target practice! Nerf bullets were dipped in fake blood to mark where they hit. {It served to purposes, we knew where the bullets hit, and it created a really cool splatter effect!}

The boys chowing down!

Taking aim at the zombies brain.

This was one of my favorite pictures of the day. Grayson just stood by observing all of the chaos and activities with his little hands behind his back! It was precious. :)

Joshua making a wish and blowing out the candles!

The zombie party was definitely a success! The food was good, the guests had a blast, the activities were fun and prizes were won. When the goodie bags were handed out and everyone headed home we were POOPED.

This was hands down my most favorite party to plan! I hope Joshua will look back and remember this party for the rest of his life!

GJR 1 Year!

Grayson James, it came and went buddy! Your first birthday! You are officially one year old. :) You are growing SO fast and are more like a toddler and less like a baby everyday! It's almost too exciting to be sad, but alas there is still that sadness there that you are growing so very quickly.

You are so brilliant son! You learn several new things EVERY DAY and it just blows me away! Today, after your morning diaper change, you picked up your diaper, and I watched, silently, as you toddled into the kitchen, right up to the trash can, and threw the diaper away! It's so apparent that you watch us and everything we do and learn so much from it.

You are up to SO many words! It's hard to remember them all. Here's a list:
Mama {Sometimes for some reason you call me "Nana".}
Dada
Bubby and Josh {Sounds like "bubba" and "dotch".}
Hailey {Hay-eee}
Leah {Eee-ahh}
Ball {Bow}
Diaper {Bi-pur, you really emphasis the "per", it's darling! ^_^}
Grandpa {Gam-Pa}
Kay Kay {Day Day}
Milk {Mole, this is new, in the past few days you've been saying it along with signing.}
Cracker {Ckr-Ckr, you emphasis the last syllable and go up a pitch with a lot of your words, this is one of them.}
Piggie {You say, buppa, which sounds nothing like "piggie" lol, but we know that's what you mean.}
Bye Bye
Hi
Bad Boy {Ba Boy}
Up {Uh-hh you make this a two syllable word and go up in pitch at the end.}
Down {Doe}

These are words you use all on your own, but you will repeat almost anything back to me. {If you're in the mood.}

{Your dramatic display at Monkey Joes}

Your dramatics are decreasing in some ways. But you're still known to throw yourself to the ground, and/or slam your head into the floor. You also arch and/or go limp when you're going for the full-blown production. You are SO ACTIVE! I have a hard time getting pics of you anymore. :( They're all blurrry. I get one sly smile and then you're off to conquer some new activity. You are into EVERYTHING. I mean everything. The house is in pure mess and chaos, and there's no keeping up with you. You're super fast too. It's a tough combo! One of the funniest things you do? When you have something and are told "no, no Grayson!" you will throw whatever's in your hand in one direction and then run in another direction! It's hilarious!

Random memory: When we say "chicken nugget" you shake your head and hands, and say "aahhh!". It all started with your crazy sister Leah. :) She would go crazy when I said "chicken nugget" funny and make a funny face, and you started copying her. ^_^

{Practicing for the big day!}

You're still nursing, 372 days and counting! There doesn't seem to be an end in sight, not any I'm looking for anyway. Your brother and sisters were so different and weaned themselves yet you show no interest as of yet. Maybe it will sneak up on me one day, I don't know. Right now I'm just trying to cherish these moments with you! You have finally mastered the straw and I have been buying the sippy cups with straws. You don't do as well with normal spouts. You really don't drink much else than your milk though. You're beginning to eat more, and while it's hard to get you to try new things, usually when we can get a bite in you, you realize it's yummy and then will eat more. But if you're stubborn, and we can't get you to try a bite there's no chance of getting you to eat. You love chicken nuggets, really any meat! Chicken, hamburger, bbq, meatballs, you're a little carnivore! You also love watermelon, cooked carrots, goldfish crackers, or any cracker really. You are not the biggest fan of chocolate surprisingly.

You LOVED your little birthday cake! You dove right into that thing with gusto! You weren't timid or shy at all. :) And of course, you made SUCH a mess. ^_^

Random Memory: You pick up Joshua's guns and make machine guns sounds! It's hilarious! We first noticed it maybe a month ago. You blow raspberries basically as you point the gun at random things. We were even able to get a little video of it. You make me laugh so much!

{You love pasta! Well...actually it's the meat sauce you love. ^_^}

You love being outside, reading books, dancing, playing "I'm gonna get you!" with mommy, being tickled, blowing raspberries, your family, sleeping with mama and dada, your milk, snuggling when you're sleepy, running, baths, popsicles, toys, chewing nerf bullets {still}, "jumping" on the trampoline, playing with Joshua, being baby'd by Hailey, riding your zebra {although it's not match for a good leg horse}, loving on "babies {any baby doll or stuffed animal}, "sweeping" lol you have a silly obsession with the broom and walk around with it, and the dustpan, often. I'm also beginning to think you love making a mess. Any kind of mess, any place, any time. :)

{Birthday kisses from bubby and sissy.}

I love you SO, so much!! It's impossible to describe or express! You're SO incredibly sweet! You make my heart melt every single day I see your face. Thank you SO MUCH for making me your mama! ♥

Here's a quick look through your first year! {And also the back of your party invitation! ^_^}

11 Months
10 Months
9 Months
8 Months
7 Months
6 Months
5 Months
4 Months
3 Months
2 Months
1 Month

Happy Birthday Hailey!!

My baby girl turned 7 today....(by the time this posts it will have been a few days I'm sure.)...I know she's not a baby but your babies are always your babies. She's not my youngest girl but she was my first baby girl and first, third, last, middle it doesn't matter to me, they're all my babies.

Hailey Jo 3/9/05 7lb 13oz

Hailey's first year was rough. Going through a divorce sucks. I don't remember enough about wee newborn Hailey because life just wasn't good then. I am so glad it got better. I am so glad that eventually I was given the gift to stay home with her. That we were given a new start. The last 6 years, the majority if H's life, have been amazing.

Hailey 1 month Joshua 2 and 1/2

Hailey is something else. Let me tell you. She's the kid we almost went on Supernanny for. She is the little nugget that pushed me into reading "The Strong-Willed Child". She is my lively, emotional, dramatic, spunky, mean, fun, spirited, SWEET, nurturing, beautiful diva.

Hailey at a few months old. Look at her hair! Ahhh I could die! ^_^

One of the first things people say about Hailey is how beautiful she is. I can't disagree of course. But more importantly they speak of her strong character. Of her desire to help others. Of her kindness. She is the epitome of beauty inside and out.

Hailey's First Birthday

She makes me smile and laugh every. Single. Day. Her love for her baby brother melts my heart daily.

I just love her so incredibly much!

Hailey Today:

Favorites
Color: pink
Song: Anything by Adele
Tv Show: The Vampire Diaries
Book: Fancy Nancy
Toy: iPod
Favorite Game: (family)Yahtzee (video/device) Angry Birds
Movie: Justin Beiber Never Say Never
Food: peanut butter and shepards pie (not together)
Restaurant: Logan's Roadhouse
Store: (clothes) Justice (anything) Target


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

An Olivia Party

Okay, so ever since Grayson's "Hello Baby" meet-the-baby party I've been somewhat obsessed with...I actually don't really know what to call it. I wouldn't say party planning, so much as party design maybe? I had so much fun designing all of the little favors, decorations, and doo dads for G's party I couldn't wait for Joshua and Leah's upcoming birthdays! Joshua was SO indecisive and in the end decided to ditch the birthday party all together and just have a day of fun with his dad. But I still had Leah and her party to pull together!

From the get-go Leah had a really hard time deciding between Olivia and Yo Gabba. I would spend almost every evening searching Olivia and Yo Gabba parties, showing her pictures of birthday cakes, and decorations. Finally, she made her decision and went with Olivia and I was SO excited to get to work!

My original plan was to just order the birthday set online, with the cups, plates, napkins, balloons, etc. and only make a few things to add. Well with extremely low funding it came down to either a birthday present or ordering a super expensive party kit online. Obviously I'm going to go with the birthday present. {Plus, I kinda sorta ran out of time and shipping would have been out the rear end for the supplies to be here in time.}

I had already put together a few things. A banner with Leah's name, and cupcake toppers. But the party would definitely need more than that to be a true Olivia birthday party! I made another, longer banner for the table, treat bag labels, straw labels, and a little 5x7 print for the table. That combined with blue and red balloons, table clothes, bowls, plates, and napkins and it turned out PERFECTLY!

I was so worried about it being "Olivia" enough, but I think I was able to pull it off...

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Joshua is 9

 

I can't believe we're here again! Celebrating yet ANOTHER birthday for the kid who made me "Mom". A year short of a decade ago I gave birth to two lives. The one that grew in my belly and would breathe his first breath, and to the new life I would live from that moment on. A life of selflessness, a life with one purpose. To nurture, and coach, and raise another human being. I still can't believe that someone trusted me with that job. But I can honestly say, hands down, that it was the greatest gift ever given to me. You know the phrase, "With great power, comes great responsibility?". Well that is parenthood. You're given a lot of power and you best not abuse it because a life depends on it. Literally.



Joshua is 9 years old. Nine. So what is it, do boys just skip hop on into preteen stage when they hit 9? My precious innocent boy, my baby, recently discussed his wishes to live in a South American tribe so that he can look at naked woman as much as he wanted without it being inappropriate. I laughed until I cried. My boy is growing up. There's not much more that screams "growing up" like wanting to see naked ladies. {Hey, what can ya do, boys are boys, right?}

Other clues my baby is becoming a young man? He's actually starting to care about what he wears! Hats? They now only go on sideways. Hoodies? They're worn even if it's triple digits outside. Favorite foods have gone from burgers and chicken nuggets to steak and ribs, tacos to pollo con creme, and suddenly he's too old for the kids menu. Saturday mornings are even different. No 6am wake up calls. When left to his own devices he sleeps in! Then makes his own breakfast of cereal or some sort of toaster pastry. Long gone are the days of "The Wiggles", even Spongebob, and iCarly have been neglected these days, replaced with shows like Deadliest Warrior, and Falling Skies.

Joshua's Faves @ 9 Years Old:

•Food- Mexican

•Drink- Gatorade & Root Beer

•Animal- All kinds.

•Color- All kinds. Except pink. {Of course.}

•Hobby- Hunting, fishing, drawing, playing guitar {thanks to his oh-so-awesome birfday gift from ma, pop, and Grandpa} & reading.

•Sports- Basketball, Football & Soccer

•Movie- Striking Distance, Zombieland, Commando, Terminator, Expendables, Rambo...{okay, pretty much any "dude" movie} oh and Surf's Up. {Maybe there IS a little kid in there somewhere. ^_^}

•Book- Zombie Chasers, The Red Pyramid, Goosebumps Horrorland

•Toys- Lego's, Nerf guns & cars {Hot Wheels and such.}

•Video Game- Call of Duty {Hmm, funny, he's not allowed to play Call of Duty.}, Donkey Kong, Mario

•Gaming System- PS3, Wii, and DSi {It was IMPOSSIBLE for him to pick one. For the record we only own a DSi and Wii.}

•Subject in School- Art, math, and science.

•Asked "If you were given $100 what would you do with it?"- His answer, "Give it to charity.". {Ohh my little humanitarian! ♥} 

 {Don't be embarrassed, it's the newest I have! And you look cool, dentist bib and all. ;) I promise a new pic as soon as possible.}

Lastly, a letter to my son, on his ninth birthday:

Joshua,

9 years ago I was given my greatest and most precious gift. YOU! You are my biggest joy Joshua! You are so funny and whitty and you make me laugh like no other. You were the cutest baby, most adorable little kid, and now you're growing into the most handsome young man! I am blown away by how smart you are. I can't wait to see where your intelligence takes you in life. I know it will be far. You are destined for great things!

I can't say it enough; You are awesome Joshua. You're everything I could ever want in a son and more. I am the luckiest woman alive to have you call me mom. Whoever you pick to be your wife will be so blessed! I know you will be the most amazing husband and daddy because you are the most amazing son and brother.

You are loved beyond measure and one of the greatest things about you is that you're humble enough to know it. Never doubt yourself. I love you!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

♥Love, Mom xo

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Hailey Jo at 6 Years Old

Hailey Jo

Spelling of Name: H-a-i-l-e-y-

Favorite TV Show: Wow Wow Wubbzy {Which is strange, because she rarely watches this show. I'd say it was more Wizards of Waverly Place.}
Favorite Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks (And the squeakquel too.) {Again, this answer surprises me. She never asks to watch these movies. In fact the movie she picked to watch today for her bday is X-Men Origins: Wolverine.}
Favorite Book: Spongebob {I don't think we even own a Spongebob book. She's not much of a reader, sadly, but she like the Little Critter books most of all. I think anyway.}

Favorite Food: Shepards Pie
Favorite Snack: Fruit Snacks
Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk
Favorite Restaurant: Nakato's {Japanese Steakhouse}
{All above are completely accurate.}

Hailey is in Kindergarten, she loves her teachers, and she loves to clean out the class pets bowl. {Donald and Daisy, two ducks.}

She is very picky when it comes to picking out clothes, and shoes. She prefers boots over sneakers, and slide-ons over any shoe. She is a girly girl and loves wearing dressier clothes and shoes if possible. She also loves having her hair done. She recently when through a stage where she wanted a side ponytail every day like the girl from Napoleon Dynomite. {She loves Napoleon Dynomitea and does a hilarious accurate impression of Kip.}

She tends to go completely valley girl, complete with the eye rolling and hair flipping. She totally has the attitude of a preteen. She is already preoccupied with what will make her "popular" and is already getting embarrassed of things 6 years old REALLY shouldn't be embarrassed of. {I.E. me :*(} I'm just hoping she's getting all this "teen angst" out of her system now.

Sometimes it's hard to remember she's only 6. And she JUST turned 6 today. She truly has the attitude and humor of an older kiddo. I constantly have to remind myself that she's a little girl.

She's beautiful, just gorgeous, and has been since birth.

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My Birthday!

This past Sunday I celebrated my 26th birthday! It was seriously an awesome birthday weekend! The weather was GORGEOUS, in the 70's, hitting 80 both Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday, I got to sleep in later than usual, which meant 9am instead of 8am. Most awesomest part of all? The kiddos and husband cleaned the whole house! I got to sit and relax while my house was cleaned around me. Talk about awesomeness! Although I did feel like somewhat of a slave driver. I was tempted to tell Joshua to "Fetch me grapes, and fan me with palm leaf!" but I refrained.

While I sat watching my children clean their little hearts out, feeling selfish and lazy, Leah brought the mail to me to open. One card she mistakenly opened thinking it was for her. {Somehow she missed the memo that this was MY birthday weekend and that all must bow before me and submit any giftly mailing.} Somehow or another a gift card landed in my lap, as though it had fallen from the sky. A gift card to none other than IHOP! The very same IHOP which I had literally just tweeted about 30 minutes before. My dad totally has food ESP. It felt like a gift from the gods, and I've been tempted to tweet about other cravings to see if other various restaurant gift cards will fall into my lap...

When I was almost to the point where I could no longer stand anymore feelings of selfishness and guilt I was plucked from my throne of glory and whisked away to a day of shopping with my sister and mother.

We hit up Michaels {the awesome craft store} and I was able to find several trinkets for future postnatal usage. After spending way too much time walking through the store, I ended up having to sit in the car and wait on my sister and mom because I was feeling faint. Boo. Which reminded me that I hadn't really eaten yet for the day. {Gestational carrier fail.} There was an awesome bonus to this though, we were a mere block away from Jimmy Johns! One of my newly FAVE sandwich shops!!!! I was able to order my ultimate fave, the Beach Club. This thing is like the epitome of yum. We're talking fresh baked turkey breast, provolone cheese, avocado spread, sliced cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. {I got mine sans sprouts because I just wasn't feeling sprouty this go-round.} Yea, yea I know, lunch meat, and sans-sprouts ANOTHER gestation carrier fail.

After wolfing down half of my yumtastic sammich, we hit up the AC Moore down the street. There I was able to find a few more trinkets, as well as some awesome scrapbook paper! Again, I ended up having to sit in the car and wait. This was okay though because it gave me a chance to finish my Beach club.

Lastly we visited the Target next to AC Moore where I made my final purchases of the day. And I won't mention what they are because they are fetus related, and I vowed to keep the blog fetal free...but I will say I got an AMAZING pillow that has assisted in giving me somewhat more sleep at night. {I love this pillow more than any woman should love an inanimate object.} I also got Leah some more BGP's, and a water to quench my thirst.

Saturday night it was just me and Miss Leah while Mel took Hailey and Joshua to their first hockey game. You would think this would be cool and all, but I really wasn't liking the whole "being at home alone" thing. We packed up and headed over to my sisters for dinner. {Yum taco bake, thanks D!} Afterwards, Leah went to stay the night with her mamaw {my madre} and I headed home to be 100% ALONE. Only not. Because I couldn't bring myself to do it. I texted BFF A to see if she and her hubs would accompany but they were at a party. Boo. Luckily they were about to leave and vowed to meet me at the hizzy. That wasn't good enough for me. That still left at LEAST a 30 minute window of aloneness. So I called BFF C and totally crashed her house for 30 minutes. It was awesome though because I love C and don't get to see her often. After the brief house crashing A texted to let me know they were almost to my house so I headed home. They weren't there when I got there so I decided to just sit and listen to a few tunes in my car. Yes, I sure as hell did. I'm scaredy cat, what can I say??



I ended Saturday night with A and her hubby T laughing my ass off at hilarial YouTube videos we streamed through the bluray player. Hubby finally arrrived home, and instead of Hailey and Joshua he had Leah. So we all chilled and ate some late night McD's snacks, and laughed until almost 1:30 am! {Which is UNHEARD of around here.}

We woke up Sunday morning to J & H knocking on the door. Didn't get to sleep in. Which was crap. I was tired! Mel had the AWESOME idea for IHOP for breakfast so we all enjoyed some IHOP yumminess via my godly IHOP gift card. The kiddos left early that afternoon for a movie and park time with their aunt, before dinner with their grandparents, while I finally got my nap.

We met up with my sister, mama, and BFF's A & B and their SO's at my FAVE restaurant Firebirds for an early 4pm dinner. I literally ate mysefl retarded. After coconut shrimp with mango/habanero chutney, lobster queso and chips, fresh baked bread, a BLT salad, half of a NY strip, and loaded baked potato, I had an amazing dessert of key lime pie. I basically had to be rolled of the restaurant.

I came home to an awesomely sweet card from my amazing husband with $ to do whatever I want with! He suggested getting my hair did. {He may be trying to tell me something.} I basically NEVER have $ to spend on me so I don't know what I will do with it! My 3 choices are hair, Ikea, and new phone. I'm thinking I can pull off hair and a new phone, or hair and Ikea, or Ikea and a new phone. But not all three. I will definitely post with my decision. And if I go for the hair I will pretty much HAVE to do a before and after pic. {I haven't had my hair done in literally 2 years and have 8 in. roots. Okay maybe they're only 6 inches, but still, it's NOT attractive.}

It was seriously an AWESOME birthday! So awesome that it almost made me forget that I am now only 3 years away from the big three-oh!

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My baby girl is T W O!!!! 2 people!

I am late to the game, but I haven't been blogging lately so is it really much of a surprise? {Which by the way, I MISS IT TERRIBLY!!!}

Anywho, Wednesday, September 8th, Miss Leah officially became a TWO YEAR OLD! At exactly 7:48am.

Happy Birthday Leah!

Here's some stats and info on the 2 year old Leah bug:

Height: I honestly don't know, but will find out at her well child check.
Weight: Just about 26 lbs
Size: She's just now moving up to 2T, but really 24mo. fits her perfectly

Some cute things Leah Says:
"Thank you SO MUCH!"- She really puts the emphasis on "SO MUCH!". Not only is this endearing because she is using her manners at such a young age, but it's ADORABLE because she's so enthusiastic about it, and has the cutest chipmunk voice.

"I love you SO MUCH!"- Yet again, she really throws that "SO MUCH!" out there! And to me, this is even better than the "Thank you SO MUCH!". I mean, to have your daughter say that is just HEART MELTING.

"I hear it SO MUCH!"- Yes, again, I know, with the "SO MUCH", she's just really at an enthusiastic age! This is what she says when something is loud. I mean, come on, how cute is that?!

"Happy Birthday Cake!"- Instead of the traditional, "Happy Birthday to you!" Leah used to say an OH SO ADORABLE, "Happy TO YOUUUUU!". It was cute with a capital C!!!! Now, for some unknown reason she says, "Happy Birthday cake!". I know, you're probably already nauseous from the cuteness and we're only halfway through the post.

When you tell Leah how cute/pretty she is she either says, "Yup!" and nods, or says, "I know!". I say, "Leah, when someone says something nice you say 'Thank You'." So of course she then says, "Thank you SO MUCH!". She adds "SO MUCH" to a LOT of what she says. As you can see. lol

Leah LOVES Mickey House. Yes, I said House. She loves Mickey Mouse, but calls him Mickey House. "It's Mickey MOUSE Leah.", "Yea, Mickey House!" She says.

{Leah inspecting, and then enjoying her Salami}

Favorite Food: Pizza, Steak, Mac 'n Cheese, and Chicken Nuggets. She also loves apples, and salami!
Favorite Drink: Sunny D! Which I'm not proud of, and I don't really like giving it to her, but I guess it could be worse.

Favorite Book: Five Silly Monkeys

Favorite Show: Anything on Playhouse Disney, but mostly Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Favorite Movie: Toy Story, 1&2 I can't wait for 3 to come out on blu ray, I know she'll love it!

She speaks REALLY well for her age. Sometimes I will have to ask her to repeat things, but for the most part she's easy to understand, and she's speaking in full conversation now. She passed the whole "speaking in sentences" long ago, and is up to paragraphs! lol She honestly never shuts up. But I love it. :)

She is our most accident prone kiddo, and in one week acquired a HUGE bruise on her thigh from falling off Joshua's bed, a cut on the top of her foot from a tile falling on it, and a CT Scan and bruised face from falling while "helping" me do dishes. Sometimes I honestly worry about social services knocking on our door one day! {Remember, she is the one who broke her leg at the beginning of the year, and had her finger smashed resulting in surgery at the end of last year.}

She LOVES helping me. From washing dishes, to laundry she is my little helper through and through. She does a very good job at helping too. :)

She has been VERY clingy lately. Falling me everywhere, wanting to be held, or in my lap. Sometimes it can be annoying, but secretly I love it. :)

She is a natural model. I can't pull out a camera without her posing, or giving a cheesy [AND OH-SO-ADORABLE] smile. 

Well, that was my attempt at putting Leah in a nutshell! Come to think of it, I really need to share more about Joshua and Hailey.

Okay, last but not even CLOSE to least, Leah's two year pics!!! We JUST got them done last night, and because I'm SUPER special and loved I got to see a sneak peek already! {They are awesome, and I can't WAIT TO SEE MORE!} They were, of course, done by Dimples and Curls Photography.

{Her outfit was custom made by the AWESOME Millie Roman, with some help from Melissa Carol. The mother, and sister of the fabtastic photog Christine Bryk.}

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