Matching PJ's

A friend of mine (Traci) got the kids matching Philadelphia Eagles pj's for their birthday. I couldn't wait for the cold weather to try them out so they won't need blankets tonight.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MICHAEL JOHN!

I can't believe a year has already passed since we expanded our family and became parents to Michael. It's been an amazing year watching him grow and develop into the walking and talking little boy he is! Today was another bittersweet day for me. I officially have NO babies in the house, even though they will always be my babies they are toddlers now!
I wanted to make today a special and fun day for Michael just like I did for Lauren so we headed up to Wellington Mall with Amanda and her kids for some fun. We started out at build a bear. Lauren helped pick out a bear for Michael and chose a Pink Bunny (which she later named "Big Girl") for herself. Lauren was a little scared of the stuffing machine but got hearts for Michael's bear and her bunny and gave them lots of love to put inside!

Lauren was a big helper carrying the bears in their house

After finishing at build a bear we went to the indoor play area which Michael LOVES!

We ended the day of celebrating with a backyard bbq with Grams, PopPop, Amanda, Jon, Nathan, and Alex. Michael once again ENJOYED his cake!

Michael's ice cream sundae cupcake- I got a VERY small bite and it was delicious! (I got it at whole foods)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

This is the look my mother got from Michael when she tried to take his cupcake away- he was NOT having it!

Big Girl Bed!

Lauren has developed some sleeping issues lately. My AMAZING sleeper who has slept through the night since 13 weeks old and by slept through I mean from 8pm to 7am has been waking up in the middle of the night. She is a VERY wild sleeper and turns around a lot in her sleep. Since she is so tall we decided its time to convert her bed to a full. The bed is HUGE! It's so tall but she loves it. Hopefully she sleeps in it since she has been sleeping on the carpet in her room lately instead of her toddler bed.

Hudson's 1st Birthday Party

We spent the day celebrating our good friends Scott and Courtney's son Hudsons 1st Birthday. They had the party at a park on the lake and brought their boat. If it was up to Lauren (and John) we would own a boat again. The 2 of them went out on Scott's boat and were on it for atleast an hour. Michael however was not a big fan of the boat- he doesn't really like having to sit still and he did not like wearing the life jacket so for the most part I hung out at the party with him!

Lauren spending some time with Daddy on the dock.

Hudson enjoying his cupcake.

As we were getting ready to leave I was changing the kids out of their bathing suits and back into clothes- Lauren took off in her underwear!

Daddy Love!

Watching TV!

Today We Dedicated Our Baby Boy to the Lord!

After way too long of not attending church (due to moving, having babies, and my own issues with putting the kids in child care) we finally started going back a month or so ago. What's great is the church we are attending (Victory Christian Center) is the church John and I attended together before we were married, we completed our premarital counseling through this church, were married there, and dedicated Lauren there before we moved to NH.
Today we dedicated Michael along with our friends Amanda and Jon who dedicated their 1 year old son, Alex. We were a little sad Pastor Don (who married us and dedicated Lauren) was out of town and wouldn't be there to do the dedication but Pastor Scott (the youth pastor) and Cathy (Pastor Don's wife) did an amazing job!

Pastor Scott

Cathy reading a few passages from the bible.

Praying for Michael

Michael and Alex's cake (made by Alex's Grandmother)

Michael got into the cake when he got up from his nap!

IT'S A PARTY!!!!

Today we celebrated the kids birthdays with a joint Mickey/ Minnie Mouse party. I have been planning this party for months (because I'm so anal about everything being perfect!). I spent the past week finalizing the details, baking the cake, making the banner, and plenty of shopping. It was a perfect day- blue skies and not too hot. For their birthdays John and I got the kids a bounce house, it was the perfect gift to go along with the backyard party we had.
The day was spent with many special people: Grams and Pop Pop came, Granny and Pop Pop came in town in their "bus", and  many of our friends and the kids friends came.

The Big Cake

Michael's Smash Cake

We're ready to party!

Lauren's ready for her big day!

 

 

My mother (Nams) got the kids a sandbox for their birthday - I think it's safe to say Michael

Nams introduced Michael to watermelon at the party.. he now has a new favorite food!

The bounce house John and I got the kids for their birthday.

The youngest guest at the party- Tammy's little man, Brody.

Time for cake!

He LOVED it!!!

 After a very busy day the kids are exhausted and so are the parents but all the planning was VERY much worth it- we had a BLAST!

Grandpa and Nancy came to visit

I got a call from my father earlier in the week asking if we would be around over the weekend- I was instantly VERY excited! It has been almost a year since we have seen him and I couldn't wait for him and Nancy to get here so they could see the kids and how much they have grown and so I could spend time with him. They were only here for a few days but while he was here Lauren took a real liking to them.

They brought presents- that always helps Lauren warm up to people faster!

Michael wasn't sure of the water....

Then the wave came up and got him...

And he was off!

He decided he doesn't like the beach!

Michael and I hung out on the towel while Lauren went back down to the water and got some time to play with her Grandpa.

Building sand castles