Ethan’s FIRST birthday party!

We had such a great time celebrating Ethan’s first birthday with family and friends.  He loved his smash cake and even shared with those that wanted a bite.  Beware of picture overload! The camera was hit or miss with all the fun we had and the lighting from room to room.  Thank you to all our friends and family that came over to help celebrate this little boy! A special thank you to my sister and mom for helping me make, cut, sew, hang and decorate for the party!            

Kendall is THREE!

On January 4, I put my little two year old to bed, behind her crate paper decorated door (that she hadn’t yet seen). And on January 5, I woke up a sassy, energetic, sweet, smart beautiful THREE year old.  Crazy, crazy how time flies, I tell ya.  She actually woke up in the middle of the night and thankfully didn’t get scared by the hanging streamers.  It was cute to witness her excitement, in realizing it was just for her.  She took cupcakes to school and we had a party for all of our family and friends to help celebrate on . Her birthday party was at Monkey Joe’s (an indoor jump castle spot) by her very own request.  She loves Monkey Joe and will dart after him anytime we are there.  And bouncing…she would do it all day if you let her.  She had a blast!  Her cake was a castle cake, at her request as well.  Thank you to all of our family and friends for helping to celebrate our incredible girl!It is bittersweet to know how fast time can fly by, truly in the blink of an eye! Happy third birthday to our baby girl! We love you so very much! 

Ethan’s baptism day

The day was perfect, well all except for the weather.  It was a dreary day but that didn’t stop us from celebrating our sweet boy.  Ethan wore our family baptismal gown and added to the list of family members to carry on the tradition.  I am so grateful for traditions, they mean so much.  He was awake for the whole service and when Reverend Ripley was baptizing him he whimpered very softly almost as if to say, “ooh that was cold".”  It was so cute and no crying (sorry it’s blurry).Doesn’t he look so sweet? We celebrated the occasion afterward, at the Grant’s with a nice lunch and some more family time. The weather was not very cooperative for picture taking but knowing everyone was there for this special reason was just as memorable.  My sister had this cake made for our little man and it sure was tasty. Our family has been so blessed with Ethan and we thank everyone for coming to share in such a special day for us.   God is good!

Palm Sunday

Wow! What a difference a year makes.  We celebrated Palm Sunday like we did last year, with family and an egg hunt.  Ryan had to travel to North Carolina for work so he missed the egg hunt again.  During the church service, Kendall, Emory and Sullivan were part of the group of children that helped to carry palm branches to the front of the church.  Kendall held Lindy’s hand and followed the rest of the crowd.  She wasn’t sure what to think but didn’t make a peep.  Way to go big girl!Sullivan helped Kendall with the egg hunting when the eggs were hidden extra good or in hard to reach places.  Thanks Sullivan!  Kendall had a blast finding eggs and was so proud of each and every egg in her basket. I think Sullivan counted twenty one eggs in Kendall’s basket. Look at that happy girl and her cousins. Love Ethan’s face.  Looks like he’s checking out Kendall’s sucker.    My face is a little hidden but I love this picture of my and my first born!

Ethan’s Shower

I am so thankful for my family and friends that joined together to celebrate the soon to be arrival of our sweet baby boy.  Michelle, and two friends- Rachel and Karly hosted a very nice brunch at a local restaurant. It was perfect! Ethan is already loved and spoiled so much and I can’t wait to introduce him to all of those that love him.

Kendall’s Art Party

I had a lot of fun planning Kendall’s 2nd birthday party with the help of Pinterest.  I decided to have the party at an art studio so that each child could paint something and take it home with them.  It worked out perfectly and with less mess for me to clean up if I would have had it at home like last year.  Here is your WARNING of the picture overload, enjoy! Thank you to my sister and mother in law for all of these great pictures! I really appreciate all of them!

Happy birthday party day to you sweet girl! I really enjoyed making these chocolate covered Oreos to snack on and I think they were a hit with everyone! You just can’t resist chocolate on an Oreo! Thankfully they weren’t too messy! Along with the ceramic each attendee chose to paint, I made Rice Krispie treat paint brushes to hand out as a thank you! One of the Pinterest ideas (along with the Oreos).Possibly Picasso was the name of the studio and the staff was very helpful in helping the kiddos pick out which animal they wanted to paint.  I think the most popular was the pony and monkey.  I missed out on getting a picture of all the final products but check out these faces of concentration…adults included! Kendall wanted to paint a dragon.     I think Uncle Randy had just as much fun as Sullivan, painting their Steelers penguin.Once everyone was done painting, it was time for cupcakes and presents.  I saw the idea to make cupcakes in mason jars (on Pinterest) and loved it.  They almost looked like paint jars. We hadn’t practiced with blowing out candles so I didn’t know how Kendall would do.  She needed some help from mommy and daddy and blew out her 2 candles in three tries.Sweet girl was all about the icing and tried to stick her face in the jar.  She had icing in her hair, on her face, up her nose and managed to get some in her mouth.   She was a hoot! i think I should have brought spoons instead of forks, oops!! And some presents… We hope everyone enjoyed themselves and we thank you for celebrating with us.  Our 2 year old had so much fun and it was clearly evident when she went to bed that night.

Guess what?

After multiple tries at the “best” picture, this is the best I could get of the front of Kendall’s shirt.And this is the back… Kendall will have a brother or a sister around February 11, 2012.  We are so excited and big sister is already aware that there is a baby in mommy’s belly.  It is the cutest thing to see her kiss my belly!

Myrtle Beach trip

Friday after work, we packed up the car and headed to Myrtle Beach to celebrate Mr. Grant’s 70th birthday.  The only thing he asked for, for his birthday, was for the whole family to be together and that is exactly what he got.  It was a fun filled weekend in Myrtle Beach!  I promise these first three photos have not been edited in anyway. As a matter of fact, they are from my phone! Beautiful, wouldn’t you agree?This was the view from the balcony of our room on the eighth floor. We tried the beach again with lil’ miss but she still was not a fan (yet, I hope).  Emory went with us, in hopes that she would see her cousin enjoying the sand and join in.  Not so much! The playground area, however was a huge hit.  Kendall, Emory and myself made our way to the play house while Lindy, Granddaddy, Ryan and Sullivan tried out some putt-putt golf that was nearby (they were close but too far away for pictures).We stayed at Dunes Village, which was quite the resort I must say.  It had a 30,000 square foot indoor water park that was spread throughout the three towers.  Anyone who knows, SC weather, can appreciate the idea of having this be inside.  It was perfect for all of us.  Kendall LOVES the bath but yet again, was still unsure of the new water and surroundings.  I was lucky to catch this picture of her on a float in the lazy river.  Sullivan had a blast playing basketball. This was just day one of the trip.  I still have some pictures to send from my phone to the computer so there will be a continued post.