A Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

The kids' birthday party was a huge success!!  We decided to have a joint birthday for Mason and Eva since their birthdays are so close together.  I just didn't feel like I had the energy to do 2 parties!  We went with a Hungry Caterpillar Birthday theme - caterpillars for the boys and butterflies for the girls.  It was too cute!
Mason was SO excited and asked me for weeks if it was time for his party yet.  The big day finally came and he had a blast.  I made Mason a Hungry Caterpillar t-shirt, and Eva a Beautiful Butterfly t-shirt.  Of course I forgot to get a picture of them together in their coordinating shirts, but they still fit...so maybe I will snap one and pretend it was from the party.  haha.
We had LOTS of bubbles, a Hungry Caterpillar bean bag toss game (where the kids tossed bean bag fruit - made by yours truly - into the caterpillar's mouth), ring toss, giant frisbees and other fun things.  The bubbles were a big hit!  Kids just love bubbles!  I had an awesome caterpillar/butterfly themed cake planned for the party.  We have a friend who does AMAZING cakes.  However, the order was overlooked, and just as the guests were arriving I received the call that she had forgotten about the cake.  I did cry a little!!  But the party was still great...I just ran to sam's and picked up a sheet cake while everyone was eating.  No one even knew the difference.  Without further ado - the party! Enjoy the pictures!

 

Here is Eva's present - that we FORGOT to give her...just like we did with Mason at his first party!

 

Bean bag toss!

 Eva went nuts over this little Cinderella plush doll.  She grabbed it out of that bag and just bear-hugged it!

 Mason's awesome face when he saw that Mommy and Daddy FINALLY bought him a bike!  He's been asking for one since last Christmas!

3 Years Old

To Mason:
I Love you
I am your parent, you are my child
I am your quiet place, you are my wild

I am your calm face, you are my giggle
I am your wait, you are my wiggle

I am your dinner, you are my chocolate cake
I am your bedtime, you are my wide awake

I am your lullaby, you are my peek-a-boo
I am your good night kiss, you are my I love you

What a blessing it is to be your mom!  My big strong three year old...you are so special.  You are also very smart!  On your third birthday, you can: recognize every letter in the alphabet - and tell me what sound many of them make, count to 20, count to 10 in Spanish, know all your colors and shapes (including hexagon, pentagon, octagon and parallelogram),  recognize and spell your name and a few other words as well, get dressed all by yourself, cook a waffle in the toaster - with close supervision, of course!, work the DVD player and buckle yourself in your car seat.  You can also sing along in Italian to Josh Groban - (which totally surprised your Daddy the first time he heard you do that!)
Your favorite color is orange - and you are always trying to wear the same pair of orange socks...even if they are dirty!  Your favorite drinks are apple juice and milk, and you like to eat crackers, strawberries and blueberries.   You say some of the funniest things.  I wish I could write all of them down - just tonight I asked you if you wanted to sing a certain song.  You replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, mom, I just can't."  hahaha.You have refused to eat carrots because you say they make you sad, and you won't eat chicken pot pie because you think it sounds too "dangerous."  You make life so interesting, son!
You still struggle quite a bit with separation anxiety from mommy, but we are working on it!  You are very observant and do a great job of reenacting different experiences and events.  You have the most incredible memory!  You often tell me of things you remember us doing from over a year ago.  That blows my mind!  You love to sing and dance and play your guitars, piano and toy violin.  You also love "shooting hoops", kicking the soccer ball and playing baseball and football.  You still just tolerate your baby sister, but I think deep down inside you really do love her, because when she is sleeping or not around you are constantly asking about her.  Mason, you are truly one of a kind and I couldn't be happier that you are my son.  You are the greatest!!  Happy Third Birthday.

Easter 2012

Well, we managed to almost be well this Easter! Last Easter I was struck by a horrible stomach bug and ended up in the hospital. We were hoping that this year we would all be well so that we could hunt eggs and have some fun! Eva and Mason ended up with ear infections, and I ended up with Strep throat. Um, Bummer! But thankfully with some heavy pain medicine I was able to participate in a fun Easter. This year we had lunch and an Egg hunt at the Leavelle's. It was so fun! Here are some pictures from the day:

Our Family Easter Picture!
Eva all dressed up!

Mason asked me to take his picture and he struck this pose on his own for the camera. Hilarious.
Sooo excited for her first egg hunt ever!
Little Man
Hunting Eggs!
Mason with his loot
EEEEEGGGGSSS! There's Candy inside here, Mom!

Bee-leven Months

Eva is 11 months old!! Wow!! I titled this blog entry Bee-leven months because that is how Mason says eleven. It's cute, people! Our Eva is such a big girl now. She is saying several words, including uh-oh (which is her favorite), Mama and Dada. She will also repeat short single syllable words that we speak to her - like Boo, Up, or Oh. It is so fun to see her grasp and develop a vocabulary.
I am a busy bee planning the big birthday bash. Since their birthdays are only a couple of weeks apart, I decided to do a joint birthday party for kiddos. So, the theme is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and all the boys stuff will be caterpillar and all the girls stuff will be butterfly! We decided to have a cookout and invite some of our closest friends from church. Hopefully, some family will be able to come too!
Eva is developing more personality every day. She loves to give hugs and kisses and is definitely a daddy's girl. I mean big time! She is starting to display displeasure when Mama won't let her do what she wants. I feel some terrible two's coming on awfully fast...
Eva, we can't wait to celebrate your big day with you here in a couple of weeks. We love you sweetie!
Here are some pics:




Um, Mason, can you back off please?
Just had to include this one!Ok, Mom, wrap it up! I'm done!

Happy Birthday, Mike!

We had such a fun time celebrating Mike's birthday this year. His totally awesome and amazing boss let him have half of the day off to spend with his family. So while Mason was still in school, Mike, Eva and I went out for a quick lunch. It was so fun for us to spend a meal with just Eva. We have rarely had any two on one time with that precious girl. It was neat to focus only on her and dote on her constantly. So sweet!
Then we picked Mason up from school and came home to open cards and the birthday gift. We also sang Happy Birthday and let Mike blow out the candles on his cake before we ate some! After that we decided to try out the new double jogging stroller I got at the consignment sale and went for a walk to the park in our neighborhood.
We decided to eat dinner at a local restaurant that used to be a Cotton Gin. The food is so authentic and homemade tasting. We had so much fun! After that we walked down to the river and listened to a band who was putting on a show out there. The weather was perfect, the food delicious and the company unbeatable!
Finally, we went over to the new TCBY and got some YOGURT! I love TCBY and there aren't many of them left! We just had the most wonderful family time celebrating Mike's life.
Happy Birthday, Mike! You are the love of my life and my best friend. Thanks for the memories!

10 Terrific Months!

Eva is double digits! Wow, it seems like 12 months is closing in fast. I can't believe we are about to have a one year old in the house! It has sure gone fast. Eva is finally starting to cut a couple of teeth - at once! She has been pretty cranky about that and just wants Mama to hold her all the time. So Mama hasn't been getting much done. She is into everything and developing quite an opinion. We love seeing her little personality continue to develop!
At 10 months, some of Eva's favorite things are: opening cabinets in the kitchen, taking toys away from her brother, eating veggies - this girl loves her greens! (Just like her Daddy). She is still madly in love with Barney, Jake, and Mason. She smiles every time I look at her - which is opposite of Mason - who usually shoots me an angry look when I look at him...Ah, life with a 2 year old. She also loves taking baths and playing in the water.
Some of the things she doesn't like are: getting her diaper changed/getting dressed (it's like wrestling an alligator!), having things taken away from her, and sitting still!
She has kind of started cruising around the furniture, but is still not as adventurous with that as her big brother was. One of his favorite things to do at 10 months was to push the laundry basket around as a walker!
We are just so blessed by you, Eva. You truly are a beautiful angel!