the last night at home.

May 24, 2012.

That’s the last night our boys slept at their beds in their first home.

Coincidentally, I had scheduled our family pictures for the same night long before I knew it would be our last night there as a family of four.  It was serendipitous timing for the photo shoot.  I have bragged on our photographer before, but she never ceases to amaze me.  Every time she leaves, I’m thinking she didn’t get anything good, but somehow, she always does.  We wanted to make sure some of the pictures had our house in the background.

The main reason for the photo shoot was to capture my baby boys, ages 1 and 2.
Photos courtesy of Simply Angie Photography
I can’t help it, I just think these two are the cutest peanuts in the pack. After Angie left, we decided to take one last walk to the Dairy Queen down the road.  We can get to it from behind without ever leaving our neighborhood.  We took in all of the sights and sounds and smells.  Fresh cut grass.  Kids laughing and playing.  Cars driving by and people waving.  Neighbors saying hello and nodding at one another as they pass on the street.  It really is a wonderful neighborhood. 
In an unexpected twist, Theo chose the stroller over the wagon for our last family walk.

Ordering our treats.

The air conditioned store was a nice break.

This is what we get now when we tell him to smile for the camera. 

I WANT ICE CREAM.

Monumental day, monumental first:  His very own ice cream cone.

And boy did he make that thing disappear, down to the last bite of cone.

Now that’s a good big brother!

Theo decided he wanted to walk/run home – the whole .8 mi home!

He knows the way.
It was getting dark so we went inside and turned on a little Lightning McQueen to end our day with some normalcy.  We tried explaining what is happening to Theo but I don’t know how much he understands.  He just keeps saying “I wanna go to mommy’s house.”  When we tell him we can’t, he says “my stuff’s all gone!” We took him there after we had moved everything out.  He thought it was fun hearing his own echo and driving his Little Tikes car as fast as he could through the empty rooms.  
xo,
~C~

Dexter’s circus-themed 1st birthday party, Part 3

The one you’ve all been waiting for:  The fun!

Did you see Part One and Part Two already?  No?  Go on, get caught up.  I’ll wait.

Well, as you saw in Part One, I decided to rent a bounce house to entertain the little ones.  It is a bit much for a 1 year old’s party, I know, but most of Dexter’s friends, cousins, etc. are older.  The party is about pleasing the guests as much as the guest of honor, right?  So we planned big fun.  Some gifts that we assembled ahead of time were big hits too, like the Little Tikes Police Car, Step Two Waterpark, and Step 2 All Sports Climber.  I think there was something for everyone!

A friend at the babysitter’s house, Beau

The babysitter’s sweet boy, Layton

Another friend, maybe girlfriend, Abby!

Our newest friend, Kingston (3 little weeks old!)

Time to eat!

Water park time!

This kid loves to splash.

Playing in the water with cousin Spencer.

My sister and grandma both made it in from out of town.

I LOVE TO BOUNCE!

More friends, Angie, Cody, and baby Dawson.

Me and tiny Kingston.

Me & Ang.  I realize now that I did not do a good job of making sure I got pictures with all my/our friends.  So bad about remembering to do this!

Well, we hadn’t planned on opening presents naked, but after getting soaked at the water park table…it seemed like the only reasonable option!

A new backpack!  Wait…it’s not your birthday!

Time to smash!

He didn’t know what to do, so big brother had to show him the ropes. 

Figured it out.

Bye bye cake.  And camera battery (good timing!).
There are lots of other friends and family members that came to celebrate who are not pictured in the blog – I hope no one is sad that I left them out!  We were just thrilled to have such a great turnout and such beautiful weather on this very special day.  At the end of the day, my heart was full of love for our people and pride for my baby boys.  Also, my stomach was full of hearty laughter because we saw Aziz Ansari at 8:30pm.  That was waaay too much to do in one day, but I couldn’t miss a chance to see my favorite celebrity make me laugh my butt off.  Not literally. It’s still there.  
Start to finish, it was one fabulous day.  Thanks to everyone that helped to make it that way! 
xoxo, 
the very happy mommy of a 1 year old and a 2 year old

Dear Dexter – 12 month letter to my boy

Dear Dexter,

1 year.  366 days (leap year!) since you popped into our lives.  You were born in one push and everything else has gone by just as fast in the last year.  You’ve gone from a squishy, helpless newborn to a curious, funny, smart little boy with a contagious laugh.

20 months ago I found out I was pregnant with you and I was so scared. I couldn’t imagine what life would be like with two babies just 14 months apart.  Today I can’t imagine life without you or our family’s future without these two sweet little brothers that look nothing alike.

You are adventurous and fearless and you keep us on our toes.  You’ve learned how to climb up on chairs… and tables… and you’ve yet to learn that these kinds of adventures aren’t always worth the risk.  You’ve got some bumps and bruises ahead of you, crazy boy.

You’re walking!  Just this week you’ve started navigating on your own from one end of a room to the other.  Those shaky steps are so fun for us to watch and bittersweet at the same time as you are literally walking out of babyhood.

Yesterday, 40 people gathered at your house to celebrate you turning one today.  It warmed your mom and dad’s hearts to see how much you are loved by people outside of your immediate family.  One is a big milestone, little boy, but there is so much more ahead of you.  Of us.  We can’t wait to see where this road takes us.  You are precious, and you and your big brother are our world.  You keep us guessing and learning.

You just keep being your own little man, mister.  We wouldn’t want it any other way.

Today we share a special day.  It’s Mother’s Day and it’s your first birthday.  Thank you, little boy, for coming into my life and letting me be your mom.  I’ll do my best.

xo,
Mommy

Brand new
One month
Two months
Three months

Four months
Five months
Six months
Seven months
Eight months
Nine months
Ten months
Eleven months
One Year.