We started out the month with me turning 34. Seriously- how am I 34? I can remember my mom being 34.....that was seriously old. I'm not old though. I'm okay with it- my life is everything I wanted it to be at 34 so there's not much to be sad about- except that I'm not so much early 30's as mid 30's....every year seriously goes by faster than the last one. It's crazy. I understand now why my mom never knew how old she was when I would ask as a kid....its easier to try to forget. In my mind I'm 26. For the longest time in my mind I was running about 5 years behind- so I always felt like I was my brother's age. Now even that guy is getting too old- so my little brother is older than me. Weird.
I told Chris to get me a nice slab of cake stand - that way the gluttony would only last for a day.
I think P blew out the candles right after they started singing. He is quite a pro now.
Next up we had P's 2nd Birthday. That poor guy- its a good thing we're not having anymore- I'm pretty worn out on birthday party planning- I took his pics for his invites the week of the party and got them 2 days before. January is just too soon after the Christmas photography mayhem- plus its pretty ugly outside. They are still sitting on my counter waiting to be mailed- the square cards require extra postage and I'm too lazy to make a trip to the post office just for that. I do have his birthday shoot on my blog though! So if you are waiting on an invite you can tide yourself over for a bit. BIRTHDAY POST
He said he wanted Pancakes and Gum for breakfast on his special day.
Aunt Brandy came and spent the night but had to leave right before his party to get Madison back for cheer practice. She got him some cool gifts.
That Elliott had to promptly try on
My friend Suzanne made his adorable little Mickey Cake
I constantly have to take the iPad away when we have friends over- if I let them play this is what they end up doing the whole time.
This is the face he kept giving me when I'd try to take a picture of him
It was a little party- we just had family, and Chris's mom was sick so they weren't able to make it either. Another big difference in Elliott's 2nd Birthday and Patton's. We had 2 parties- she had a playgroup friends party on Friday and a family party on Saturday- that still included a ton of friends. Poor P doesn't really have any buddies his age. We need to work on that!
Playing on the trampoline.
Looks super safe huh?
So I caught this little series of events. He thinks now that he's 2 he can just help himself to whatever he wants. He pulls a chair from the bar halfway across the kitchen and puts it in the pantry.
Busted!
Berk at gymnastics- she looks so big! Now I know why my mom used to call me skinny minnie when I was little- I think she only has about 5 pounds on Patton. There are more pics on my blog- I'm doing a 52 week project - which might actually turn back into a 365 project- I'm attempting a pic a day right now but I figure if I fall off the wagon I can at least manage one a week! They are all in a category HERE
We hung out at Amanda and Brad's last Saturday night- its so nice now that the kids can just run off and play- they got to stay up super late and had lots of fun together!
Our 3rd Birthday of the month was a half Bday for Elliott. I'm glad I was a better mom back a few years ago and started these traditions that I never in my right mind would start now. They totally enjoy them- I might have not done it if I realized that Patton and Elliott were going to have bday/halfbday's back to back!
It was actually super fun this time because Elliott FORGOT that it was her half birthday! She knew it was coming up but I think she just forgot about it when it got close. Usually we make a half cake together but since she had forgotten I thought it would be fun to try to surprise her. I kept hoping she wouldn't remember. When she woke up that morning I had her door half covered in streamers (one of their favorite things to wake up to on their bdays). She was so excited!
I'm really into black and whites right now- I've been converting things over when I edit and I keep being drawn to them.
Patton got her several packs of gum (that he got some pieces of before he ever gave them to her) Berk got her a movie and some lipgloss and we got her a lunch box since her old one was broken.
We got to have Tucker for a couple days- he had a sore that he kept scratching and since J and Ray work he needed supervision. We tried to tell them he ran away so that we could just keep him but they didn't believe us. He is SUCH a good dog- my floors have not been this clean from crumbs in years! Having him around actually led me to a weak moment when I saw an 11 week old potty-trained labradoodle online and begged Chris for it. Lucky for me he was strong- and then I remembered its a goldendoodle that I want....and that I don't want a dog.. I have an untrained puppy, his name is Patton.
But look at that face?! There is a pic of him and P that I love on the other blog too.
Everyone was campaigning for him to sleep with them- but he chose to sleep with us.
Trampoline boy
Berk is super into games right now. I love when they get to this age- its so much better than barbies and tea parties for me to play, it can hold my attention for more than 5 minutes. Monopoly Jr and Guess Who. She cracks me up with Guess Who though- its the one with all the people and ask questions to try to figure out what person they have. She always wants the girls- but if you have played before you know if you have a girl its like the easiest way for them to guess who you have since there are only 5 of them. She still doesn't get it- and she kept getting mad that I was winning.....what? I'm not letting you win even if you are 4, that's not how mama rolls. Plus she is somehow a shark at Monopoly Jr. I still haven't beat her.
She get's very into her dice shaking
Waiting for cookies to be ready. Someone needed to keep an eye out- I think I burned 3 batches :-(
