Sidney and Evan bday // Four & One!

With the kid's birthdays just a few days apart, Lindsay was able to have a joint birthday party for Sidney and Evan. I tell ya, if my boy's bdays were closer together I would totally do this!  She decided to have the party at a local pool, awesome idea at the end of July!  We started in the pavilion for burgers, dogs, cake and presents. It was HOT but the kids were troopers. Back and forth between the pavilion and the park..

Before you knew it, it was cake time. The theme was Mickey Mouse Luau. This was Sid's cupcake birthday cake. Super cute!

Evan got his own "little guy" birthday cake.

Sid was ready for it, steady studying her daddy light the candle. It was quite the task with the wind blowing every direction.

After Sid was able to dig in, it was Evan's turn. The candle lighting was still a major challenge but Nathan prevailed!

Evan was excited and a little confused, I think :) I wish I had a different angle of him blowing out his candles. Oops!

 

 Mema (Lindsay's grandma) was so sweet and took Dane off my  hands for a few minutes. He LOVED her!!

Sidney was so cute. She couldn't get close enough to him and just wanted to hug all over him. So sweet!

I mean seriously.. How stinkin' cute is this kiddo?!?!?

This one is pretty stinkin' cute himself. He was just sitting watching the older kids. I think he was confused by everything that was going on....and he was tired!

Present time!! Chaz decided 1) to remove his shirt as he was "super hot" 2) to be the trash man.

Evan was pretty pumped!

All the kids started shedding their clothes and offering to help deliver presents. Ana was no exception!

Evan with his Gramma C.

This is one excited little four year-old!

and one year-old!

And one happy trash guy! I was so impressed with how helpful Chaz was for the party. He was all about clean up!

Gramma C knew her role :)

Brayden was hot as well and decided to take off his shirt as well. His momma decided to splash him with come water to keep him cool. He thought it was so very funny!

Yep, nothing like being told to "earn your keep" on your first birthday. HA!

Sid was so sweet, stopping to read a new book. LOVE!!

I couldn't get enough of this toothy grin. I could just eat him up!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of her face. This was our and she loved it. Chaz picked out a big box of all thing Princess. It has several costumes and lots of accessories. She was very excited. I even got a message from her momma later that evening, Sid all dressed up, princess style!

Evan wasn't really sure what to think of Ryan. In the Hubs defense, he didn't just take off his shirt at a kid's bday party. He had changed and was heading to the pool with the rest of the party.

SWIMTIME!! This pool was awesome! There was a HUGE pool with slides, diving boards, etc. A "no kids pool" thank goodness for that because these kids were crazy!! And a little 1 foot pool for the little ones. We flocked to the kiddo pool. The adults used it as a wadding pool and the kiddos just cut loose.

Such a fun party!!! We love these little ones so very much!! Happy birthday Sid and Evan!!!

Dane 10 months // August 2012

As I write this I realize, again, I am really behind on my blog. Ugh! I simply cannot get caught up. Point in case, my son is actually ELEVEN months old as I write his ten month post. Maybe it is his fault I can't get caught up?? Yep, that is my story. I am going to blame it on the baby. Thank goodness he is cute!

So we begin, my little guy is ten months old. I honestly have no clue where the past ten months went. I know it is so cliche but I feel like it was just a few days ago that I had him. "Time flies" just doesn't work her. "Time warps?" Yes, that will do it.

He is a mover. Really, a mover. He never sits still. Even to hold him is simply exhausting.

I spent the majority of this shoot pushing his back into the chair and hoping he wasn't going to come crashing into my lap. He looks like a GIANT compared to his monkey. Check him out at one month. WOW!

He is almost always smiling and it is simply infectious! He gained two more top teeth this month. He is up to a grand total of six.

His eyes are blue and will most likely remain that way. They say this is set at six months. Chaz has beautiful blue eyes! The Hubs and I do too. I think it is a done deal.

Instead of laughing, which he only does if he is being tickled or his brother is showing out, he does a noise that really just sounds like he has had the breath knocked out of him. It is hilarious!

That would be the Hubs strong-arming him back into the chair. I think this picture is awesome. We don't take ourselves to seriously around here. Take that kid!

Baby boy weighs in around 19 lbs now. Yep, still kickin' it in the 10th percentile for height and weight. He eats like a cow so I know it will all even out. The day he turned ten months we noticed his school sheet said he had spaghetti for lunch, TWO HELPINGS. Wow. This boy can eat!!

This past month he started standing on his own. No holding onto walls, toys or mommy. All by himself! he took his first step in my closet but I was so excited I shrieked and he fell to his bottom. The next several steps were taken at school and then more at my folks house. I think the most so far is around seven! Chaz walked 100% at eleven months and one week. I think they will be spot on.

Always on the go! I just love this little bit! Thank you Jesus for answering our prayers and exceeding my expectations. This little boy is everything I asked for and more. With my three boys, I am truly blessed.

The Fourth // 2012

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I look forward to it every year. This year we kept it small. Just us and my folks. It was awesome. We just hung out all weekend. Playing in the pool, eating good food and enjoying each other's company.

I love these pictures. I have a picture of Chaz when he was just a little bit, Ryan was tossing him WAY up in the air. These make me smile!

Look, she does exist! I actually made it in some pictures. Thanks to my momma!

Brother teaching Dane how to splash. Dane thought it was hilarious!!

So fun! I love these little guys!

Mr I-want-to-swim-before-I-can-walk.

Gotta keep the head above water!

Then it was time to retreat from the water as we were all a little pruney

Dane was napping and we decided to make home made ice-cream, one of my FAVORITE 4th of July traditions BTW, yummy Butterfinger ice-cream!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!Chaz was super excited to help make the yumminess!

Then he started to get goofy!

Chaz took the opportunity to put ice down his daddy's drawers. Love it!!

We used the electric part of the ice-cream maker for as long as possible...and then we needed to rely on the muscle of the Hubs......and the boy

Chaz thought this was so cool. This was the first year that he was really old enough to be part of the process. He was so very excited to make his very own ice-cream.

We had barely got a spit of rain all summer so we were on MAJOR burn ban. So much so that I really prayed they would ban the actual selling of the fireworks. You know there is some redneck jerk who is going to think it is ok to shoot some major fireworks into a dry field. The thought just terrified me. With that said, I did let Papa and Chaz continue their annual tradition of going down the road to the local stand to purchase a few small fireworks to shoot off in the driveway. The rule was, nothing that goes in the air. Chaz was very good at asking Papa "Does this go in the air? No, ok we can get it!"

This is what they came home with, this little bag made my boy have the BIGGEST smile on his face!

Probably one of his favorite things in the bag. I am pretty sure you can buy these year-round.

This is it. This is the loot.

Assessing the loot. Lots of "hmmmmmm"s and "Yeah"s

First up. The grossest of all fireworks. The snake. Really, why do they even sell this crap anymore?!?!? But Chaz thought it was cool. Whatever.

Confetti poppers. Again, pretty sure these are year-round.. But the boy l.o.v.e.d them!!!

If you have been following me (or are a personal friend) for any length of time you will know that I often refer to the Hubs as Cityboy. It is because of things like this.. Fireworks + barefeet? What the heck?? At least put on some flops!!

Back to the fun. Remember: Nothing that goes in the air!!

Lots of fun. Racing cards, tanks and trucks!!!!

I loved that the 'rents decided to supervise.. You would hear giggles, laughs, "Watch out"  "Ryan" etc.. it was hilarious!

Turned around at one point to see this. He said "I'm done!!!"

Gaga and Papa are so good and convinced him to come back and join the fun.. sort of

More snakes.. puke. They are just so stinkin' gross but we purchase them every freaking year! HA!!

We ended with sparklers.. the best tradition ever!

Chaz has never held a sparkler himself so I was really excited and incredibly nervous all at the same time. I honestly didn't think he was going to go for it based on his previous "I'm done" comment. BUT he jumped right in!

So proud!! He thought it was awesome!

Daddy started getting crazy!!!  Hahaha! Two sticks at once.

He began to become a little unsure of himself but was hanging in there. I think they bought 119,123,675,567 boxes of sparklers.

Gaga got into the fun. I don't know that she wanted to but Chaz really wanted her to participate. Such a good sport!

Whaaaaat?? Who is getting crazy?!?!

What a fun holiday! We didn't do a lot, just lazed around for the weekend. It was nice and relaxing. I am so proud of the boy for getting in the mix (even if just a little) of the sparklers. What a fun weekend!!