Merry Christmas from the boyz - Take 2...

Trying again for that glorious "life is sparkly and perfect" picture for the Hummel Christmas card...

 

Full Tummies - Check

Coordinating Outfits - Check

Calmed Fluffy Hair - Check

Nice Setting - Check

 

The first one is always the best, but looking a little forced...

 

Guess who was not wanting to cooperate with picture taking.  Oh and low and behold tried and true beaver face strikes again... 

 

Track sneaking away slowly... 

 

and he's gone, but don't worry beaver face is still up for more... 

 

Changing scenery should do the trick...P R E C I O U S capture of Track and Coop...Graham is apparently stunned... 

 

Come on boys...Silliness,  Sweet Coop and Beaver Face... 

 

After these pictures everyone lost it to their own level of goofiness... 

 

 

Let's Hear it for an Upcoming TAKE 3

Merry Christmas from the boyz...

I've been trying to snap a good decent ok picture of the little boys for our Christmas Card...

...nothing says Merry Christmas like Beaver Face, Uninterested and Sweet Sweet Cooper Seth.

 

This one is good, but if you get up close Graham has a giant snot trail coming out of his nose...NICE.

 

Hey Guys...Look over here...

 

And were DONE, but look at how cute Coop is...

 

Let's Hear it for Effort

Graham Birthday Invite - 4 Years Old

I realized I didn't include Graham's birthday invite to either of his birthday posts and I wanted to make sure to store it somewhere special...

 

I loved the way this came out...thanks as usual to Kelsey.  She is the queen of helping me pull off weird ideas, fast and in good form.  Everyone needs a Kels in their life, especially those of us who can be a bit indecisive.

 

Isn't Graham so good with chalk?  You wouldn't believe how many people actually asked me if he drew this...I mean he is smart, but he is also four people.

 

The rest of the invite was cute with our address and phone number, but I edited this picture so no one would feel tempted to drive by and take a peek at my super luxurious life.  I mean only luxurious people make chalk invites, post about how great their kids are and make dinner while nursing a baby, right?

 

Let's Hear it for Creativity

October 30, 2013 - 4 Years Old

Life really seemed to "start" for me on October 30, 2009 - 4 years ago.  As we celebrate this year with my favorite big boy I am thankful for four full years.

We started his day with a 9am wake up call to balloons of course.

 

 

Then a special breakfast of blueberry scones and eggs, served in the trampoline...

 

CHEERS to you big boy... 

 

I took the day off work and my mother in law kept the little boys.  We played in the "hot tub" room of the house, which is typically off limits...and if you haven't been here we really do have a random hot tub room...strange and a little icky... 

 

 

Then we headed off to Trailer Cakes to pick a very special cupcake for everyone to share after dinner... Of course he chose the one loaded with sprinkles...I mean who wouldn't. 

 

This was his "excited beaver" face...BOSS MAN... 

 

Then we headed off to the library for some special time with mom to pick any books and videos he wanted... He even got to listen to a book without being interrupted by a little brother bear...

 

Next up, Quiggleys Clay House...we made a plate together and managed not to break the other 5000 ceramic things in the store which was a miracle...

 

We picked up the brothers and headed home for naps.  Everyone should get to nap on their birthday...

 

Mike got home from work and we loaded up for dinner.  Birthday boys always get to choose their dinner local.  Mike was giving him the full court press on Liberty Burger.  Trying to get him to fall for French Fries and Milk Shakes.  It was shameful really.  Graham had his mind made up...Panera Bread...Turkey and Cheese, Yogurt with Water.

 

 

Home to close out our day...I wanted to setup a special "tacky" table that I knew G would just love...SUCCESS.

 

 

 

This might be the best picture I took all day...precious smile of pure joy...

 

Last on our list was a scavenger hunt of 10 clues to find a special gift from mom and dad.  Actually it appears we did this second to last as it was still daylight and in the above pic he is already holding said below present.  Not changing it now.

 

 

The last clue led him to his favorite place to play...mom and dads bed.

 

 

He opened a very special "guy" and sweetly remarked "he has always wanted".

 

Meet "Graham Dog".  I love it when he names his animals silly stuff.  He thinks it is just the perfect name for his new guy and I do to.

 

Graham is still smart, kind and tenderhearted.  The child came out of the womb this way.  God was kind to us with our first child.  I am convinced that He designed this child to do great things.

 

Let's Hear it for my Fluffy Haired Big 4 Year Old

Grahams 4th Birthday Party...

We had Grahams 4th birthday party here at the house this past weekend and it was a major success...

We wanted to have a old school classic party with a lot of outdoor options.  We had 35 adults (4 pregnant ladies) and 16 kids - it was a sight to see for my out of town family.  Mike drew a race track in the backyard for the kids to drive their bikes/ trikes on and we have a swing set, some various "plastics" and chalk.  The kids stayed outside 100% of them time and played HARD all over the back yard.

I felt really blessed to have a house on a great lot that everyone felt comfortable in.  It was the best party I have ever thrown and it was almost overwhelming to have so many dear friends and family stop their weekend to love my family and celebrate Graham.  I am so thankful to have friends and family so near and it isn't even November (you know Thanksgiving...Thankful...Thankfulness).

Here are a few pics...
 

Thank you Carie Jean for this cute orange idea...

Wondering what the T, G and C stand for...Track, Graham and Coop - der.  I love that he insisted on wearing his "snow hat" for this picture.  He obviously needed it with his shorts and water shoes.  The menu was super simple...chili for the adults and hot dogs for the kids.

A little collage love for my guy from birth to now...sniff sniff.  Graham is my 1st born and getting ready for his party brought back some fun memories of us paving this new road together...we had some sweet one-on-one time when he was a little guy.

The rocket ship piñata that G picked out was awesome...It was actually a 1980's challenger replica from NASA, but he saw it as a really cool rocket ship...

 

 

I constantly struggle with what to do with this pass through space, but it was perfect for birthday décor...maybe I can decorate it seasonally all year round...I think that makes me sound about 45 years old, maybe ill come up with a better plan...

I bought 12 punching ball balloons and they were a big hit (pun intended) with the kids...

 

people everywhere...

 

Delicious Carrot Cake with some extra flair and a special Veggie Tales candle that grand mom found just for Graham...

 

This face you will not see very often and it almost moves me to tears...this is the sheer joy face of being sung happy birthday by all of his favorite people.  The "i'm so excited and happy i'm about to burst or cry" face...

 

Kids doing kid stuff...

 

He looks so little here to me...I LOVE the closed eyes...concentrating...

 

The kids couldn't break this one, so before I know it Mike was swinging the bat and all of the innards were flying towards my face...cool pic.

 

I really love all these little people...maybe I need more kids...

 

Random Fact:  I like to blog whilst watching River Monsters Unhooked.  Its fascinating.

 

Graham got a bunch of really fun gifts and more importantly had such a great 4th birthday party.  His actual birthday is Wednesday and I have taken off of work and gotten my MIL to keep the "littles" so G and I can have a special day together.  It is safe to say that I am likely looking forward to it more than he is.

 

God always knew he would be mine.  It's like HE had a special gift just for me that he patiently waited 30 years to give me. I never knew I could have such joy living with a little boy.  I had Graham and realized "this is what I was made for". 

 

He has always been mine.

 

Let's Hear it for 4 Years and a Boy Who Is Dearly LOVED