Turtles and Tutus combined birthday party! :)

This year, we did a combined party for the kids, which worked out really well. Carter wanted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Addison didn't care, so we decided to make it "Turtles and Tutus"! We had it at my parent's pool to make it even easier (for us) HA!

"Toxic ooze" jell-o, which looked awfully close to the "sewer slime" gak I made for part of the kids' favors. We made sure to clarify the difference at the beginning. ;) 

What kid party is complete without a pinata??? 

I made a couple small things for the kids to dress as their favorite turtle (swords, two types of masks, rings). The girls got little tutus and masks for a stuffed animal, and all the kids got homemade Gak. It's really cool! 

We kept the menu nice and simple with pizza (the TMNT's favorite, of course!), fruit and veggie trays shaped like turtles, chips and salsa, salad and jell-o (and cake and ice cream of course)! 

While I was driving to my parent's house to get things ready, I was so bummed. It was dreary, cold and windy and I was pretty sure the pool party was going to be a bust. Then, around 11:30, THIS happened. The sun came out and it got so nice and warm!! 

(That's one cute Donatello if you ask me!) ;) 

Sword fight with cousin Eli! 

The cake! (Side story: I ordered just that center cake but when I got there to pick it up, there was nothing on the cake but writing and 35 cupcakes (which I did not order) around the outside. Plus, they forgot to put the turtle decal on. To do so, they had to rush it and they had to scrape off the writing and start again (which is why it doesn't look perfect). I was bummed but they would not let me pay for any of it because they messed up. So, besides the fact that we have enough cake to feed a small army, there isn't much to complain about since it was free! 

Making their wishes! :) 

Happy birthday (party), Carter and Addison! You are SO loved! (And thanks, mom and dad, for hosting!)

Pre-school graduation

I can hardly believe it, but our little man is a pre-school graduate. I vividly remember what I wore (and what he wore) the very first day of daycare back in August 2010. And this past week, I sat and watched that sweet boy walk across the stage in his little cap to pick up his "diploma!" 

When I grow up, I want to be... (cute sidenote: he said the exact same thing on the first day of Pre-K this year. He's consistent!)

Hugging Miss Sam, the best teacher ever! 

Next stop: Kindergarten

Hold me.

School pictures

Mother's Day 2015

A summary of Mother's Day: Slept in, church, grilled out for lunch, read outside alone (while kids and Seth did Legos inside), played outside, did some gardening, took a nap, out for dinner, grocery shopped alone (hey, a mom can't get a whole day). The kids and Seth got me a massage and some precious homemade crafts and cards. Love my people and am thankful to be mama to my babies (I can call them babies forever, right?!?!) :)

We're also so thankful to have wonderful mothers and mothers-in-law to celebrate and honor on Mother's Day!

Carter's bowling party

This past weekend, Carter celebrated his 5th birthday with his friends from pre-school. His family birthday party is in June with Addison's, but this one was at a local bowling alley. His birthday was a few days before his party. He opened his gifts from mommy and daddy! He got a board game, some TMNT figurines and vehicles, a rocket launcher, legos and a couple other little things! :)

On Saturday, he was ready to head to his party! Before the party, he had a baseball game and the game of a friend so he had been moving all day! (We also had a picnic after his party too! Busy day!)

The simple set up at each setting. I made the swords out of the jumbo paint stir sticks, paint and electrical tape.

His cupcakes were vanilla and chocolate--as requested by the birthday boy--with yummy buttercream and TMNT rings (a hit with the kids!).

Time to blow out the candle!! 

They had such a blast bowling. There were 6 kids per lane so things were definitely lively. :) 

Part of the gang! 

He had such a blast -- I love seeing him so happy and excited. And, it was by far the easiest party I've ever thrown. Wrap up the disposable stuff and toss it, pay the bill and head out (with someone else cleaning up the mess...my kind of party).

Five years.

Five years. I can hardly believe it, but five years ago today I was calling Seth at work to tell him that I thought it was time. It was time to meet our sweet baby boy. I was hot, I was cranky, I was tired. But, boy, was I excited because I was about to meet the little guy who'd make me a mama.

The experience was nothing short of wonderful in meeting that sweet boy.

And it's been nothing short of wonderful since. 

Sure, we'd lost a lot of sleep. We've battled a lot of will. I've had many days where I wanted to curl up and cry. But for every one of those things, we've learned a lot of lessons and we've loved more than we ever thought humanly possible.

Carter, you are such a sweet, sensitive little boy. You are kind, energetic (like really energetic), thoughtful, loving, smooch-able, curious and playful. You made us parents and you've made the past five years the most joyful we could have ever imagined. You are so very loved.

Happy birthday, baby. We love you all the way to Guatemala.

Let's play ball!

Well, it's time. He's no longer my little baby. In fact, he's registered for kindergarten and is now a baseball player, too. (Hold me.) 

He's on the young side for t-ball, but they made an exception because he only missed the birthday cutoff by a few days. His team is the "Fire Rocks." This league focuses heavily on teaching the game and making it fun, so there isn't a whole lot of skill yet. They can't really catch, throw or hit...but they're learning and working on it. Already since opening day--which was April 11--I've seen some improvement. 

Here's our sweet #7! He's our favorite player! :)  

Their season is actually semi-intense. They have a lot of games for little kids. This week alone, there are three! Can't wait to see how much my little Fire Rock grows in his baseball skills. GOOOO, Carter!! 

Easter in NJ

We were in New Jersey for Easter this year and I actually had off on Friday for Good Friday (one of the many benefits of working at a Christian college!) so we left around lunchtime thinking the kids would nap in the car. Silly us. :) Needless to say, we made a Starbucks stop on the way so mama wouldn't lose her mind! On Friday night, we hung out at Ben and Salli's so all the kids could play. 

Saturday morning, I gave the kids their Easter baskets because I knew Easter morning would likely be crazy. I kept them simple this year but they loved them anyway! 

We headed to World of Wings on Saturday morning. It was a cute place that had lots of reptiles, butterflies, and other fun exhibits for kids. (Yes, that is a band-aid on Addison's forehead. No, it was not necessary.)

The kids were running around so quickly to each exhibit--which they could do because we were basically the first people there that day. It was awesome to have a lot of it to ourselves for a little bit. 

The kids did the extra add-on of the bounce houses...of course. :) They had that to themselves too, which was so awesome. Free run of giant bounces is probably every kid's dream! 

On Sunday, we made the kids do the obligatory Easter photos. Thankfully, I was able to snap a couple cute ones before we headed off to church. Love these munchkins!! 

After church, we went to Aunt Cindy's house for a delicious brunch. Getting this bunny sunglasses photo was pretty hysterical. :)

And in a fun twist, Oma and Opa kept the kids for a sleepover through Tuesday night! After a tiny bit of apprehension from Addison we headed out. Thankfully she was totally fine. We had a PEACEFUL trip home (rare these days), and enjoyed a full night of sleep. On Monday, I worked a half day so that we could have a date day. We went to see a movie and tried a new restaurant, which was fun. On Tuesday, we worked normal days. We were planning to meet Seth's mom part way for the hand off but she ended up bringing them the whole way home. The kids had so much fun at the park, wrestling Opa, playing checkers and playing with cousins, and already ask when they can go back. Thanks for the fun memories, Oma and Opa!

Easter-ish things

A couple weeks ago, Seth and I formed a small group with three other couples from church. We did not know them prior to this but matched up with them during a meet and greet one night back in February. We are so thankful for this group already and we are only a couple weeks in. All the couples are similar in age and all have kids, so it's perfect. On Palm Sunday, we got together for an Easter "party"--we painted eggs and had dinner as part of our weekly get together. 

Carter and his new BFF, Lucy. They get along so well and every time we see them, Carter asks if we can have a sleepover. :) 

Addison got a little dirty. Surprise.

The set up for the party! 

This is just some of the 40 eggs we painted that night.