Birthday Party For A Cupcake - Part 1

Look at those thighs! 

Kate's birthday theme was 'Cupcakes'...because she's my little cupcake and I just want to eat her up!

Our only family picture from the big day.  

Kate's Cupcake Shop!

Steve made the cupcake stand and cake pop stand.  I really wish I had more time to decorate more on the walls around the stand, but I just ran out of time and energy!

Kate had four different types of cupcakes (that were special ordered just for her party).  They were all so yummy! 

Mini desserts, pretzel rods, cake pops. Sugar coma!

My family helped with the food and it was all so delish!

The mantle with Kate's monthly pics. It's fun to see how much she changes every month.

Some of Steve's side of the family. Grateful for Lori and her kids, who drove 3 hours for the party and drove 3 hours back!  That's love!

Me, my mom and sister with the birthday girl.

Kate with her grandma's.

It was such a great day for my little cupcake. And while everything wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be (I didn't get to change her into her birthday outfit, the decorations weren't complete, etc), it was still a fabulous day.  

I hope Kate knows that she is loved by so many and how much joy and happiness she brings to our family.  We love her to the moon and back! 

Kate turns 1!!!!

My baby girl turned 1 on August 9, 2015. 

Has it really been a year?!  It seems like I blinked and my little baby is this beautiful, amazing, lovable, kissable big girl.

Kate is a happy girl!  She loves to laugh and play with big brother Matthew.  He adores her too.  She gets excited when he comes home from school and gives him big hugs. She exhibits the same excitement when daddy comes home too! 

Kate started taking a few steps around 11 months and now is walking all over the place.  She loves to climb the stairs and her favorite place to play is the pantry.  She extends her little arms as high as she can and pulls things down.  Luckily, nothing has fallen and bonked her on the head, yet.

Kate is now on whole milk and is no longer eating baby foods.  She eats yogurt, bread, cheerios, pasta, rice, fruits and NOT a lot of vegetables (we are working on that).  She LOVES watermelon!  And chocolate is another favorite of hers (grandma Whitcomb is so proud).  She even eats peanut butter and jelly!!

Kate is usually up around 6:30 AM. She has a morning bottle and plays a little bit while I get Matthew ready for preschool.  After we drop him off, she gets to eat her breakfast while we wait for Mrs. Krista (babysitter) to come.  Kate LOVES Mrs. Krista!  She has been such a blessing to our family.  Mrs. Krista plays with Kate and then she goes down for her morning nap (with a bottle).  The rest of her day is pretty easy, gets up from her nap, eats lunch, plays for a few hours, bottle for afternoon nap time, then wakes up around 4 pm.  Her evening schedule is very similar; play, eat, play, bath time, sleep.  

At her 1 yr check up, she weighed in at 22.1 lbs (80th percentile), and height is 30.25 lbs (75th percentile).  She has two bottom teeth and one on top.  I love her squeezable thighs and joyful laughter!

What an amazing year it has been.  Kate has filled our family with love and laughter.  She is starting to really express herself and I can't wait until she starts talking!  

Mom of 2!

These pictures were taken on Mother's day.

These little two munchkins bring so much joy and love into our lives.  I love being their mom!  It's a job that doesn't pay and there are never sick days but the blessings that come from being their mom is beyond measure.  No amount of money could make up for the love that I feel in my heart for these little ones. They were worth the wait and the journey!  

I am lucky to raise these littles with my eternal campanion.  We love daddy and all that he does for our family. 

4th of July 2015

  

We spent the 4th of July with family and then home to watch the neighborhood fireworks.  Love the 4th and all the red, white and blue on display.  Grateful for my freedoms and all those who serve our country so that I can have freedoms. 

Truly grateful for my little family and the blessings they are in my life.

37!

Another year in the books.  I turned 37 on April 15th.

It was a great day with the family. We went to dinner and had Carvel ice cream cake afterwards.

They make every day a happy day!

Matthew got me a cute little necklace that says, 'I love you to the moon and back'.

Kate got me a water pitcher that I can add lemons to.  (She must know I really need to drink more water!)

Steve got me a meat slicer. Yep! This is when the saying, 'it's the thought that counts' really applies.  I love him to the moon and back, BUT....I don't NEED a meat slicer (especially an expensive one).  So, it will be going back.  In his defense though, every time we make pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), we always say it would be nice to have a meat slicer to cut the beef.  I just never thought he would actually buy one!  I love him!

These two are the best presents in the world.  They bring joy and sunshine into our lives.

These folks make growing one year older (and wiser) fun.  

Don't look too closely, you can see the gray hairs in my bangs!

Easter 2015

We had a little Easter egg hunt with cousins and neighbors.  The kids loved collecting the eggs and finding out what's inside.  We stuffed some with $1 bills. Matthew collected $3 total.  He's already talking about next year's egg hunt!

We took this picture the week before Easter while we were visiting family in NJ. We really need to take a family picture on a real camera (not the iPhone).  I guess you get what you get!  I love my little family.  

In These Moments

My baby girl turned 8 months  yesterday!  Where did the time go?!  

Parenting two kids is hard!  I admire all those who have more than two, especially the single parents.  Caring for a toddler and a baby is exhausting (and working full time), but it is also a blessing.  A blessing that I prayed and yearned for for years.  God has trusted me with these little humans and I strive to do the best that I can to raise them up to do good in the world.

There are good days and hard days. And sometimes during those hard days, I have to work extra hard to focus on how truly blessed I am.

At the end of the day when the children are sleeping and I can snuggle with them and just listen to them breath and wonder what dreams they are having and if they know how much of my heart belongs to them.  It's in those moments that I want to stop time and keep them little forever.  Everyday is a blessing.  I need to remember to find the good in each day!