Carson's Rodeo Parade!

My little cowboy sang and danced his little heart out this morning at his rodeo parade! It was so fun to watch, especially after each song, when he checked to make sure I was watching. I love him!

Carson Turns Three!!!

Wow, it has been a big week! On Monday, Carson had his Thanksgiving feast at school. He wore a homemade Pilgrim hat and sang Thanksgiving songs with his class before enjoying a whole bunch of treats (video of singing to come). On Monday afternoon, we hosted playgroup at our house, and Karen made another AWESOME cake to celebrate his birthday...Yoda looked so real! Then, on Tuesday, he turned 3!!! I basically spent the day spoiling him with chocolate milk and treats. I can't believe my baby is three!

And...We're...Done (Or Are We?)

After having cake a playing for a while longer, the party came to an end. Then, Brady got to open his presents! He was such a good big brother, letting Carson open one each time he opened one. Brady's friends seem to know him well, and he got awesome presents. Thank you to all of our thoughtful family and friends...Brady enjoyed getting his "dollars" just as much as he loved getting toys. I think that Brady would say he had an awesome birthday this year...is it finally over?!

Carson: The Bubble Series

Regan took these pictures of Carson going crazy after my neighbor started blowing bubbles at Brady's birthday party. We call one of them "the thriller picture"... guess which one. I giggle every time I see it!

The Extravaganza Continues...

The week before Brady's big party brought us several visitors, and it was a fun and memorable week. First, Stephanie and the Rasamny Family came for a few days, and we got to spend time with Emmy and J.R. (of course, we loved spending time with you, too, Steph and Jk!), AND Aunt Reggie and Uncle Eric came and stayed for the party. Everyone was super helpful and made everything more fun.

At the party, the kids had a great time bouncing in the "jumpy house". (Carson was very put-out when the owner of the rental company came to retrieve his house. He kept asking where it was and why it was taken.) They also dressed up in pirate gear, fought with foam swords, decorated flags, ate goodies, and went on a treasure hunt! Jeremy headed-up the treasure hunt, reading off clues, and having the kids figure out where the next clues were hiding. It was complete chaos, but the kids had a blast. And, most importantly, Brady had an amazing birthday...he was VERY happy.

PS - In the picture with Eric, Brady has pants on, he had just spilled something on his shirt. I didn't want anyone to be weirded out.

Brady Turns 5: A Two Week Extravaganza!

It all actually started a few months ago when I started planning the pirate-themed party that Brady asked for. I, of course, went way over-board and will probably never have another party at home again (who's in charge of reminding me that I said that?) because it ended up being not as cost-effective as one might have thought (unless one knows me and my afore-mentioned over-board tendencies). Anyway, I will discuss the party in one of my next posts, but these pictures are of Brady's actual birthday. He took a half day from school, we went golfing as a family, and had pizza and cupcakes for dessert. It was everything that Brady asked for and we had an awesome time. After they go their PJs on, the boys disappeared for a bit, then showed up in the kitchen in full pirate garb. They had raided my treasure chest of costumes. It was truly a great day...I can't believe that my little boy is 5!

The Egg Hunt

Let's just say that I don't exactly have ultra-competitive children. Carson was happy to open eggs as he found them, and Brady stood around for a while before he got started. Luck was on our side, however, because the lazy kids in Brady's age range gave up as soon as all of the eggs APPEARED to be found. Brady and I found many eggs that were hidden in pine needles. Brains almost always beats out speed. What fun!

We were also so happy to see Daphne and the Torr family this morning. Daphne looked so adorable in her dress!

Let the Easter Party Begin!

We had such an awesome time at Redstone today. They had a totally kid-friendly Easter brunch that included a kid-level, kid-centered buffet (plus awesome grown-up food), the Easter Bunny, face painting, balloon animals, a jumpy house, and an Easter egg hunt. The boys had so much fun, and I got to enjoy 2 cups of coffee. It was a truly lovely morning.

Easter Morning: The Good, The Bad, and the Handsome

Good = Candy.

Bad = Having to put on a real tie and new shoes.

Handsome = If I have to explain this to you, then you are hereby exiled from this blog.

My boys were serious troopers about having to wear "fancy clothes" and uncomfortable dock shoes. They wore their ties willingly because they were "like Daddy usually wears". They even managed to only spill their breakfast on the satin chair covers at Redstone...none on themselves!

Happy Easter!

Santa Was Here

I know, I know...Santa was here in December and it is now February. Where has the time gone? Well, yesterday the groundhog (which Brady called a beaver...Justin Beaver, to be exact. What is he learning at school?!) saw his shadow, so we have another few weeks of winter. If it's still winter, I'm off the hook for lateness. Did you follow my logic?

Anyway, here are a few picture of the boys enjoying some of the same rituals and traditions that we enjoyed as children. Well, I think they enjoyed the cookies, but waiting on the steps while I took all of the pictures I wanted to take might not have been as much fun. Consider it a lesson in patience!

A Carson story: As soon as the boys came downstairs on Christmas morning, they ran to see if Santa had eaten the cookies they left. Santa ate everything except one piece of cookie, which Carson happily grabbed and shoved into his mouth. We all laughed so hard that he got startled and it scared him. He ran and jumped in my lap, hiding his face. It took a while to coax him into opening presents. Poor little guy, he just didn't want to waste a perfectly good piece of cookie!

Stay tuned for more.

Christmas in Pennsylvania, 2010

As usual, we packed a million fun things into our trip home for the holidays. Brady guilted the family into going to cut down a real Christmas tree, Aunt Boo and Poppy took the boys on the Polar Express where they met Santa, we visited Aunt Jenny's 3rd-grade classroom, made homemade cinnamon rolls, went to Great-Grandma Sara's nursing home, fed the horses on Grammy and Pap's farm, ate dinner at a ski slope, built a snowman, decorated cookies for Santa, went to the Please Touch Museum, opened tons of presents, and stayed up to greet the New Year (well, Brady did). We were sad to leave Nonni and Poppy's house. Now that we are back in Humble, the boys are very disgruntled by the lack of attention they receive!

More pictures to come.

Carson's Second Birthday!

OK, before you say anything about what a terrible mother I am for not posting these sooner, I will give you a perfect excuse...as soon as I think of one. I guess life just got in the way. We just returned from our Christmas in PA, and our house looks like Santa's workshop exploded. The boys don't know it yet, but we are getting rid of some stuff to make room for the new toys. Without fail, they always fall in love all over again with whatever toys they see us trying put away! I'll have to be sneaky.

Anyway, the birthday party is pretty self-explanatory. My friend Karen, whose daughter shared the birthday party with Carson, made another rock-star cake. At the end of the night, I found the number 2 which Carson had taken a bite out of. He must not like fondant because it was a tiny bite!