Evie's 2nd Birthday

Yep. You read that right. This post is dated one month ago on Evie's actual birthday. Ah, the glory of post/pre-dating blogs. Evie turned two years old! That little spit-fire is two going on ten. She is a great big handful. She hits the ground running in the morning and her birthday was no exception to this. She had a great birthday this year. We basically kept it low-key. I honestly haven't really done a birthday that was basically just us. With Alex having a birthday just a month before, it was tough to ask people to come to the house again for another party. Also, I didn't feel like I wanted to host anything major.

We had cupcakes for her official birthday in the middle of the week. But Josh wasn't around and I really wanted to make a special cake for her. I enjoy making fun cakes for the kids. Evie is really into the movie "Frozen" and she loves Olaf. If you don't know who that is, you've been living under a rock. It was probably one of the easier cakes that I've made, but it still turned out cute.

We celebrated her birthday on Sunday. I got a few balloons and some "Frozen" plates and napkins and invited my mom and my friend, Mandy (a.k.a. Aunt Mandy). It was so relaxed and simple that I am seriously considering going this way every year. If the kids didn't love playing with their cousins so much, I'd totally go for it. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy seeing the family. I just get really stressed having to "entertain". That being said, we had a great time and miss Evie was super pumped about all of her presents. It turns out that she is at that phase of toddler-dom that involves loving opening presents. Christmas this year will be fun.

She got a few fun new toys and some new bed sheets with Anna and Elsa on them and her favorite, an Anna doll that she can sleep with and carry around. Thanks Grandma! The past two years have been crazy and fun and I can't wait to see what she's going to do and accomplish next. She's a smart little thing and can already sing 90% of her ABC's and count to five. I can understand most of everything she says and she knows all of her colors and most of her shapes. She doesn't sleep well still, waking several times a night, and sleeps in our bed after I go to sleep. *sigh* Oh the joys of an accidental co-sleeper. I'm so blessed to have such a sweet, fun and spirited little girl. Happy Birthday Evie!

Mixing her own cupcake batter. She then proceeded to spill all over her shirt.

Birthday cupcake time!

Thank you, Nana! (Evie calls my mom Nana instead of Grandma for some reason.)

Anna!

Evie's Olaf cake.

Halloween 2014

 

I love Halloween. I'm sure I write that every single year. One of my favorite parts is getting to dress up in something fun. I tend to really get into the character of my costumes and enjoy it very much. I've wanted to go as Super Mario for some years now, but have yet to have time to find the things needed to make a good costume. This year, I stumbled upon a large fake mustache and instantly knew that I could pull it together this year. My mom had a pair of my dad's old overalls and that made it a guarantee. The funny part is that the overalls fit me perfectly. Like, the kind of perfect that made me feel so comfy that I'd be willing to wear them on a non-Halloween daily basis. But I won't. The kids at school all loved my costume and I got a lot of high-fives and "Hey! It's Mario!" yells.

Alex and Abby were set on their costumes from the moment we saw Guardians of the Galaxy in the theater...twice. Alex wanted to be Star Lord and Abby wanted to be Gamora. Just google it if you need to know who they are. Star Lord? Not a problem. We managed that fairly well because my brother Aaron gave Alex a mask for his birthday. Gamora? Well...that was slightly more problematic. She's green. Like...all green. She dresses in tight, black clothes with...well...slightly more skin showing than I wanted Abby showing. Luckily, I found a way around it. Abby was ready to paint her face green until the time came to actually do it. The best I could convince her of was painting her hair ends pink and doing eye makeup. She looked really good! Evie was a ladybug. She didn't care, as she's only almost two. So I found a $3.00 costume at Goodwill and that's what she got to be.

Halloween was a blast! The kids got to design and carve their own pumpkins this year and we had homemade pizza (milk-free). They both told me that it was the best Halloween ever. We really get into the holiday spirit around our house. We went trick-or-treating in a new neighborhood this year and the kids were so excited to see all the cool decor and fun things. We even got to meet Alex's favorite monster - Frankenstein's monster. I have no idea who the super-tall dude was, but he was into character and, in true dork fashion, I talked to him as if he was actually Frankenstein and we all got a picture with him. Franky even put his arm around me. *blush* Aw, shucks! The kids are at an age where they just run up to the houses without me and do their thing. They even use great manners. As for Evie? She was in her element. She spent the whole night carrying her candy as if it were a prize. She then got home and dumped her bucket several times so she could smell each piece of candy and sneak several packets of smarties. It was so fun. I'm glad that we're a crazy Halloween loving family. It's always been one of my favorite times of the year. Now...what shall I be next year? Hmm...

Alex's was Frankenstein on the left and Abby's was a fellow student named Jordan on the right. Not bad for their first real try.

I did Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Here we are with Frankenstein. :-)

The Pumpkin Patch 2014

We haven't been to the pumpkin patch since Abby was in preschool. Alex hasn't been there since he was in preschool. Abby asked me several times if we could go to the pumpkin patch and I started thinking, 'why not?' So off we went! In pre-k, we went as a group and got the group discount, so I didn't realize how expensive it would be to take the whole family. It was fun, regardless. It was actually quite hot that day and we were all pretty sweaty after a couple of hours. I even got Josh to go with us, which is a rare thing these days. So that was nice. The kids had a lot of fun and to make the trip even better, I took them to Sonic to get cherry limeades and to the store to get pumpkins (much cheaper than the ones at the patch). It's funny watching how involved Evie is at this age. Things are getting easier with her. (You know...when she's not climbing bookshelves or handing me her poop.) I'm kind of sad that October is over. But next stop...Turkey day!

Poetry by Alex

Alex has been writing poems lately. It's kind of strange to think my eight-year old is writing poems. The funny thing is that they really aren't that bad. You know...for a kid. Actually, it's probably better than what I could come up with. But then again, I really don't like poetry. Josh, being a fan of poetry, is pretty happy that his kid is interested in the subject. So without further ado, I give you the poetry of Alex. (I will leave in his spelling for your entertainment. Think phonics.)

A Mummy that's a Dumby

By: Alex

Once there was a mummy that was a dumby.

He was not a chubby that patted his tummy.

But he patted his tummy.

But he was a dumby,

that old chubby mummy.

 A Shark in the Dark

By: Alex

Once there was a shark named Clark.

Clark lived in an aquarium.

Clark had a brother named Bark.

And a sister named Fark.

Clark played in a park.

An animal that was at the park was a shark.

But we were in the dark.

A Frankenstein Named Frank

By: Alex

Once there was a Frankenstin named Frank.

He had a tank that drove to the bank.

And he had a dog that stank.

Frank alwas got a spank.

But the spank did not hurt.

Surprise Visit

We had a surprise visitor this month. I was minding my own business at home, when my mom unexpectedly knocked on my door. This isn't unusual, as she stops by very frequently these days. I told her to come in and went back to attending miss Evie. I heard her open the door again but didn't know why. Turns out that she was letting my baby bro, Aaron, into the house. He came around the corner and I just sort of...well...I stared at him. It took me a moment to process that he had to fly here all the way from California in order to be standing in my house. You have to understand that he lived around us for so long, that sometimes it doesn't really feel like he's gone and moved to the coast.

So Aaron got to visit for about four or five days and it was really great to see him. The kids had a great time seeing him too. They miss him. Uncle Aaron was in their life for pretty much always until he moved and got married. When it was time for him to leave, my kiddos were actually pretty bummed. They wanted to know why he had to go back again. I tried to explain that he is married to Aunt Shelly now and they live there, but they aren't really sure why he's not coming back. The good news is that we got to see him for awhile and celebrate his birthday while he was here. The bad news is that we probably won't see him again for another year. It's always weird for me to think that he isn't around. It's funny how you take things for granted through life. I used to be able to call him for help with a flat tire or something in a pinch. Now, he's living his life half a country away. I'm happy for him though. You can't always stay at home forever. While he was here, he gave Alex his birthday present - a Star Lord mask and gun set from Guardians of the Galaxy (favorite movie). He was pretty pumped about this and wears it daily. He also shoots everyone with his Nerf Star Lord gun every day too. Which isn't annoying at all. We had a big BBQ where everyone ate too much and felt horrible later for doing so. But that's sort of our 'thing' in the family. I will always hear my dad belch and tell everyone how badly he overate while rubbing his stomach on these occasions. My dad was the other reason Aaron came down. He hadn't visited dad's grave since the burial over a year ago. I can't imagine how rough that was on the kid. I go to his grave fairly often to talk to dad. We all miss him on these kind of fun occasions.

It was great having Aaron here and we hope to see him (and hopefully Michelle) again soon.

Uncle Aaron gave Evie her birthday present early. It was an Olaf stuffed toy. She loves it!

This picture cracks me up! Evie doesn't like the camera flash so when you tell her to smile, she closes her eyes.

They sure do miss their Uncle.

Alex's 8th Birthday

I got him an adventure vest. He loves it. Look at my big boy!

Eight years ago, I was sitting in the hospital in horrific pain and waiting to give birth to my first born. I'll never forget seeing him for the first time and how amazed I was at seeing this perfect little boy that I'd carried for over nine months. Fast forward to today and I have an eight year old boy, full of amazing talent and personality. It's amazing how fast he's grown. We went to go buy him another pair of shoes (he goes through a pair every two months) and he's in a size four. That is one size (men's shoe size chart) from my feet. Sometimes, when I'm out of socks, I go borrow a pair of his because they fit me so well. It's strange. But I'm so happy how he's growing up.

This year for his birthday, he wanted to stray from his shark theme. Though still into sharks, he has also found a new love - monsters. Frankenstein, mummy, wolfman, creature from the black lagoon...that kind of monster. He loves them and finds as many books about them that he can. I have no idea what got him started on it, but hey...whatever makes him happy. The great thing about monsters is that he has an October birthday. Halloween stuff is everywhere and that's what he wanted. So I think I may have made my best cake yet. I will make my kids fun cakes until they tell me they don't want them. That's my personal gift to them as Mom. He woke up last night to go pee and came into the kitchen to see if I was done decorating it. When he saw it, he flipped out. I'd say he was happy. Which made me happy, of course.

This year, there was no big party with friends. We kept it to just family. It was still great and he said to me tonight, "You know what mom? This was the best birthday ever!" Of course, he says that every year, but I'll take it. I'm so happy that Josh's family came to celebrate. Alex is always excited to see his cousins, Aunt Heather, and especially his Uncle Ben. It was a good day.

On another note, he did get to celebrate the his official birthday at the doctor's office. Turns out the kid got bit by a brown recluse spider over at Grandma's house. Oops. He's okay, but it's been a bit worrisome for me. The doc said it sounds like it's already starting to heal well, but we have to watch it for a week at least to make sure. Whew...what a birthday!

Before the party day, we had birthday soy ice cream sundaes to celebrate the official day.

Gotta love the cake decorating. Lovin' the cake this year though.

Cousins!

Almost Two

Evie is almost two. Two is also the number of times that she wakes up within the first two hours of putting her to bed at night. Also the number of hours I spend a day rocking her in the rocking chair. Oh...and it's also the number of inches I have to sleep on in my own bed thanks to her inability to sleep in her own stinking bed. Yeah. She's taking this whole number two thing pretty seriously. But that's okay. This too shall pass. Until then, I will admit that her cuteness throughout the day makes up for her insanity at night. This year for school pictures, I decided not to get Evie's done. Last year it was fine, but the prices went up and I just wasn't willing to donate a kidney to be able to pay for it. So I took pictures of her myself and that's what I'm having printed out to hang up on the wall. She can wait until Preschool to get the official pictures. So much cheaper this way. So, while I sit here and try to figure out just why my couch smells like urine, I'll leave you with Evie's adorableness.