Polka Dot Party

On Friday, September 26th, we had Katie Wynn's second birthday party.  After last year's petting zoo blowout, my only goal for this year's party was to keep it simple and have fun.  I promised Matt that I would majorly scale back, and I kept my promise.  I did not go overboard but it was still very cute and we had so much fun!

I bought three enormous red and white polka dot balloons (these) and centered the theme around that.  I only got three because at $7 each before helium, it's all I could afford.  Who knew balloons could cost so much?!  I found some cheaper solid red ones that were almost as big and used them to fill in.  I think helium ended up being my biggest expense for this party - even more than the food!

We hired a photographer to take pictures throughout the party, but I forgot to tell her to capture the details.  That's ok, though, because there weren't many.  I'm sure you can picture red and white polka dot plates, napkins, cups, and streamers to go with the balloons.  That was about it!  We had the party in my parents' backyard since they have a playset and just set up a few card tables and scattered around some outdoor toys.  I wheeled out our red wagon at the last minute and it ended up being the biggest hit among the kids!

Here's the backyard before guests arrived.  (Our photographer's name was Danielle Steele, but to my knowledge she does not have a website I can link to.  All photo credits go to her.)

The birthday girl was dressed in a monogrammed polka dot outfit.  :)  She is still incredibly shy and is going through a new phase of putting her hand in her mouth around people she doesn't know well.  I hope it's a short-lived phase!

She was shy for the photographer but as all of our guests arrived, she opened up and started running around the yard with the other kids.  She was a hot, sweaty mess!  I'm pretty sure she still had no clue the party was for her, but she had a blast!

We took advantage of having a photographer present and had lots of family pics taken.  I'm not posting them all in case some wind up on Christmas cards, but we got a LOT of frame-worthy ones!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the night.  We rarely have all four kids together at the same time and definitely don't get them all looking at the camera.  This was also Wyatt's first time to ever hold a baby, and look how good he's doing!  He didn't drop Thomas at all.  In fact, Thomas started to fall asleep in his arms!  Wyatt says he's holding out and still refusing to hold Katie Wynn.  Maybe this is just a brotherly bonding thing?

You heard of Stage Moms, right?  But what about Stage Dads and Stage Brothers?  These two made sure Thomas's hair was just right for his pictures.  :)

We did a Boys picture and a Girls one but I think the Boys may have won...

Most of the guests at this year's party were family, but I did also invite three of Katie Wynn's daycare buddies and their families.  I failed to tell the photographer to get a picture of all the guests.  Next year I will have a list of necessary pics to give whoever I hire!  Here are some of the kids having fun in the backyard.  

After we'd all filled up on grilled hot dogs, baked beans, chip and dip, and fruit, it was finally time for dessert!  I made a polka dotted cake so Katie Wynn would have a candle to blow out, but I also bought an assortment of cake pops for everyone.  My cake was kind of a last-minute addition and it ended up being delicious!

Notice the hand in Katie Wynn's mouth again.  She wasn't so sure about everyone singing to her.  I ended up having to blow out her candle for her, even though we had practiced at home and she'd done great!

After digging her fingers into the cake icing, Katie Wynn ate who-knows-how-many cake pops.  I just told myself she only turns two once! 

The sun went down as soon as we'd finished cake - it was like God was watching and waiting to turn out the lights.  I told the photographer the party was pretty much over and that she was off duty.  I am more than pleased with all the photos she sent me!

My mother-in-law, Patricia, was snapping pictures during the party too.  Many of hers are similar to the photographer's except from slightly different angles.  She did get my new favorite one of me and my little guy, though.  Look at the grin on that cute little face of his!  And those rosy cheeks!  He was a real trooper during the party and didn't mind getting passed around.

We waited to open presents at home the next morning.  More birthday related pictures to come soon!

Trying to catch up...

I'm sure you can guess from my absence around here that I'm back at work.  It's amazing how just spending 8 hours in an office 3 days a week can make all extra time disappear.  I have been trying to blog everyday but just can't seem to get it in.  I was hoping to sneak in some blog-writing time while at work but my webpage has been blocked for "pornography."  I guess I've posted too many nudie pics of Katie Wynn?!  Rumor on the street is that there's a blogging app too, but when I tried to download it I was prompted to update my iOS.  No problem, right?  Except that I don't have enough space on my phone - even after deleting everything I can! - for the update.  The blogging gods are against me.

So I'm going to attempt to catch up over the next couple of days.  We are definitely in a very busy season of life, but I'm going to try to make this a priority this week and weekend.  To start, here are some pictures from my phone that I've had ready to post for weeks now!

 Oh, but first!  Do you ever want to comment on my posts?? (Of course you do, what a silly question...)  Make sure you aren't using Internet Explorer to do so.  It may look like your comment is pending but it will never go through.  Just a little heads-up!

These pics are from Katie Wynn's first time to sleep in sponge rollers!  These were such a big part of my childhood.  It seems like I was sleeping in them every other night.  I bought them on a whim and surprisingly she sat pretty darn still while I put them in her hair.  The pics above don't accurately show how excited she was to have them in her hair!  I just knew she'd want them out when it came time to go to sleep, but she laid right down on them. 

She lost 4 of the 10 overnight and looked like a hot mess when we took them out!  I guess that's one way to put some volume in her hair.

I didn't know what to do with the half-curly, half-straight mess, so I swept it all back into a ponytail.  It ended up curling into the cutest little bun ever so it wasn't a total fail! (She would NOT stay still for me to get a good photo.)

On the left: chocolate cake.  On the right: mismatched shoes on the wrong feet.  Setting a new trend, maybe?

Don't you love this little golfer?? He can't wait to hit the course with his dad.  :)

We went to a neighbor's pool one afternoon.  Their pool has this really wide shallow step with an umbrella that is just awesome for little kids to sit and splash under.  Thomas wasn't particularly thrilled, probably because he was so sleepy, but Katie Wynn loved it.  We invited Addi Clare to come too which was icing on the cake for K-dub.

That same night, some of our other friends came over.  Thomas and Henry did some bonding.  They're like bros already.  Everett was there too and they both obviously look up to him.

Matching Sunday church clothes!  

One of Katie Wynn's newest Sunday traditions is sweet-talking her Mimi to take her for a ride in her stroller.  

Stickers!

Katie bug has gotten much braver on the playset.  She will climb up in the fort all by herself and I practically have to pull her out of it.  

Thomas has made the big move!  He is officially sleeping in his room at night.  It was hard to see him in that big crib at first, but we've all adjusted to it now and it's going well!

For some insane reason, Matt and I thought it would be no big deal to take both small kids with us to go out for sushi.  We probably won't make that mistake again.  Katie Wynn used the booth as a trampoline while Thomas screamed and refused his bottle.  We rushed outta there as quickly as we could and sat on the patio to finish feeding.  Katie Wynn practiced her hanging and swinging on the bike rack.  

Sometimes Thomas likes to show out by holding his bottle by himself.  

SO glad that we are getting to see his happy face more and more often!  He coos and laughs a lot these days.

This what Daddy gets for trying to do crunches.  He knows we don't allow exercising around here...

Another afternoon spent at the pool with my favorite little swimmers!  

This is the look of a sleepy-head whose Daddy just came home with donuts ("no-nuts") and chocolate milk.  

The boys just watched us girls scarf all the donuts down.  :)

Trying to get a family picture can be quite comical these days.  You just never know what Katie Wynn's gonna do.  Maybe she'll grab Thomas's head like the pic on the right below.  There are some other outtakes where she's pulling his leg into her lap so he looks like he's doing the splits. 

And this is how she hugs her little brother...

One night Jett (my nephew) grabbed my phone so he could run outside and take these cute pictures of the girl cousins.  I love seeing them play together!

Aaaaand this is where I'm going to have to call it quits on this blog post.  These last pictures are from about a month ago so there's still a lot of catch up to do.  More soon!

TWO!

Yesterday was the last day I could say that I have two kids under the age of two...as of today, we have a two-year-old!!!  Actually, at the time of typing this, I still have 1 hour and two minutes until she is officially two (8:51 pm).  But no, I do not plan on waking her up at her actual birth time.  Maybe when she's older!

Her birthday party isn't until Friday, so for the most part, this was just another ordinary day for her.  Mama and Daddy went to work, Thomas went to his baby sitter's, and she went to "school" (daycare).  She did, however, get to have a cupcake at school, though I'm not really sure she even knew why.  We have been talking up her birthday for the last week or so but she doesn't seem to get it just yet.  I had hoped that she would get to carry in her cupcakes this morning; I knew she would get a kick out of that and at least she'd know that she brought them.  But, the cupcakes weren't ready when I went to pick them up from the bakery so they ended up being delivered sometime during the day.  Oh well.

There were two extra cupcakes at the end of the day that we took over to Mimi and Poppy's house to share.  She "needed" one of them though so somehow she ended up getting to eat another one!  (Or at least licking all the icing off of it.)

I will have lots more birthday-related pictures after her party.  Like last year, I've hired someone to come snap photos while we party away.  I'm already excited to see them and the party hasn't even happened yet!

Happy second birthday, sweet baby girl!  I love you to the moon and back!

---

Not to be a downer after a celebratory post, but I don't think I can let today go by without also mentioning that we had to say goodbye to one of our furry family members.  Henry, the wire-haired dachshunds that lives at my parents' house, was hit by a car and passed away.  I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he's no longer with us; it still seems surreal.  I have never seen a dog that loved babies as much as Henry did, and there was no one better to snuggle up with for a nap.  He was always great at keeping my feet warm!  This is the first time in my lifetime that there won't be a dog running around my parents' house.  The silence will be palpable, I'm sure.  We're sure gonna miss our sweet "Hennie!"

Labor Day Vacation

For the long Labor Day weekend, we decided to pack up the kids and head to our beach house for a relaxing vacation before I head back to work.  Wait, did I say relaxing?  With two kids under two?  No, that's not right.  It was fun, yes, but definitely not relaxing!  

We invited my parents along for the trip so that they could help with the two littles.  Having the extra sets of hands made it worth it - I'm not sure we would've gone with just the four of us!

Matt and I made the genius decision to leave Thursday evening after dinner and baths.  With the two kids in cozy pajamas, we drove the first 5 hours to Montgomery and it was so easy!  After watching Frozen, both kids fell asleep.  We had to stop once to feed Thomas but other than that, it was smooth sailing.

This was my first time in a hotel with the kids!  It was Thomas's first hotel visit period.  Katie Wynn had stayed in one with her daddy one night, but not with me.  Since we only had one pack-n-play in our car, she got to sleep in the king-sized bed with us.  She was glued to her daddy's side the whole night!

Both babies slept great at the hotel, especially considering we had to wake them up at midnight to bring them in.  Katie Wynn loved the breakfast and having so many things to choose from!  Thomas is just happy to eat any time we let him.  :)

We hit the road again around 9:45 and both kids napped during the 3 hour ride.  It really was the best way to travel to Florida!  

We stopped shortly before arriving at our house for lunch at Whataburger.  Do you ever have those moments when you look at your child and just get overwhelmed with how much you love them?  I think Matt and I both had one of those moments at Whataburger.  Katie Wynn was such a doll and just so sweet and cute.  I could just eat her up!  And it helped that she ate a really good lunch.  I love it when she does that.

As soon as we arrived at our house, we wasted no time at all getting in the pool!  In fact, we were in the pool when my parents finally arrived.  Katie Wynn was hesitant to get in at first but after a few minutes was jumping in and even going under water!  It makes me very proud and very nervous all at the same time.  I don't want her to be scared of water but I also don't want her to be brave enough to think she can jump in when we're not around.

We ended the day with dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Cocina.  Rain was in the forecast for the next day (Saturday) so we had decided it would be our shopping day.  As luck would have it, it didn't rain a single drop!  But we shopped til we dropped anyway.  :)

When we got home that afternoon, the weather was perfect for sitting out by the pool.

We were enjoying our time out by the pool so much that we decided to have dinner out there.  Who doesn't love an impromptu picnic?

By the time dinner wrapped up, Dad decided he wanted to go for a dip in the pool.  And you know who has to get in the water any time someone else is in...Katie Wynn!  There was no time to bother with swimsuits so Dad jumped in in his shorts and K-dub went skinny dipping.  She thought it was extra fun since I turned on the light in the pool!

Katie Wynn has a bad habit of sticking out her tongue when she swims.  She drinks a LOT of water when she's in the pool.

This girl's got a little bit of junk in her trunk.  I just love that booty!  And that she needed to check on her little brother...

We had cereal for breakfast the next morning and Katie Wynn got to pick out her own (enormous) bowl.

Thomas only got to have milk but he was ok with it.

Sunday morning the boys had a scheduled golf game so Mom and I decided we'd take the kids to the beach before it got too hot.  We gathered up only the essential items since we weren't planning on being there long and knew we'd each have a kid in our arms during the walk.  It ended up being a big flop!  When we got to the top of the stairs that led down to the beach, we could see that the sun was out in full force and there was not a speck of shade for my fair-skinned baby boy.  We were hoping to "borrow" one of the beach rental umbrellas for a few minutes but they weren't even finished putting them out yet!  So Mom and Thomas sat up on a bench in the shade while I took Katie-bug down to the beach.  Aaaaand...she still hates it.  I sat her down so I could lay out our towel and she didn't move an inch.  She wouldn't dare walk near the shore with me!

After carrying her down the steps and across the sand, I was already sweating my butt off.  I decided it wasn't worth being out in the sun if she wasn't going to enjoy it, so we packed back up and headed to the enormous community pool instead.  And, just like the first day at our little pool, she was nervous to get in at first.  She is also a big-time people watcher and since there were other boys swimming nearby, I couldn't get her attention for anything!

Mimi and Thomas eventually joined us at the pool.  KW swam with Mimi while I got to hang out with my favorite little guy.  

My favorite little guy doesn't respect his Mama very much...

Crying at the beach plus swimming in the pool equaled a good afternoon nap for Katie Wynn.  Mom and I were able to sneak out and do some window shopping (don't worry, the boys were back from golf and stayed with the kids).  They met up with us later in Rosemary so we could have dinner at another one of our favorite places - Wild Olives. 

Katie Wynn is still pretty obsessed with pockets.  

She and I played chase while waiting for our food to come out.  

When we got home that evening, we hung the baby swing up on the balcony.  Turns out Thomas is a really big fan of the swing!  He sat happily in it (and eventually fell asleep) for an hour, which is a really, really long time for him!

Matt, Katie Wynn, and I all went for an evening dip.  It's so nice to have a pool in your yard - wish we had one at home! :)

Betcha didn't know I had legs that long, did ya?

Katie bug got to swim with her parents right before bed and then woke up and went swimming with her grandparents.  Must be the life!

After we got cleaned up, I couldn't help but take pictures of Dad with the kids since they all matched.  Katie Wynn was being difficult and wouldn't give up the paci.  

At lunch, Katie Wynn used a celery stick as a spoon to eat her ranch dressing.  I can't say I blame her, I've wanted to drink mine before!  (Matt just threw up in his mouth reading that...)

Most afternoons, Thomas and Poppy could be found snoozing on the couch together.

After lunch, Katie Wynn took a pretty good fall and skinned up both of her knees.  We patched them up with band-aids (and new love of hers!  Can't take them off; they have to fall off...) and kisses (another new love - every tiny booboo gets a kiss) and she felt much better.  Mimi felt bad for her though so she bought her a new puzzle as an afternoon happy.

While dinner was being cooked, Mom and I sat out by the pool with the kids.  We tried so hard to get a picture of me with both of them.  It may be years from now before we get a decent one.  

That evening, we decided to try the beach one more time.  I really wanted to try to get some pictures of the kids on it and thought with the guys' help, maybe we could survive it.  Plus, waiting until the evening meant no harsh sun.  I dressed the kids in their matching outfits and we loaded up in the car to drive closer to the beach steps.  

Surprisingly, there were no tears when we got down there!  Maybe because KW knew we wouldn't try to put her in the water if she didn't have on a swimsuit?  Who knows.  But then...the worst thing ever happened.

My camera fogged up. 

This has happened numerous times before.  I know taking my camera out from the air conditioning and into the heat will cause it to fog, and usually it clears up very quickly.  But that was not the case this time.  Instead of clearing up, it just kept getting worse and worse.  

I just can't even tell you how broken hearted I was.  I mean, look at how precious Katie Wynn looked!  Here we were, down on a beautiful beach with the perfect lighting, both kids dressed in cute clothes and in good moods, and my darn camera wouldn't work!  I broked all the rules, too, trying to fix it.  I used my shirt to clean the lens.  I even took the lens off and wiped down the inside of the camera with a very linty towel!  But it didn't help.  In fact, it got so bad that the camera just stopped taking pictures all together.  I was certain I'd completely ruined it.  

I was going to just take pictures with a phone but, as it turned out, NONE of us had brought one.  Seriously?!? Between four adults, how could none of us have our phone??

It may have been a little over-dramatic, but I was near tears when we left.  They don't stay this little forever, you know!  Matt knew I was sad about it so we did the only the we could do to fix it - we extended our vacation another day so that we could have a do-over!  Isn't the fleibility of maternity leave nice?  I don't want it to end!

Since we had another day, it gave us another opportunity to try the beach with Katie Wynn again.  This time we didn't even bother inviting Thomas - he stayed at the house with my parents - and Matt went with me so he could help hold her in the ocean.

We called the beach tram to give us a lift so we wouldn't have as much of a walk.  K-dub loved riding on it and getting to tip the driver! 

She still was not a fan of the sand AT ALL, but she somewhat tolerated being in the water.  Mostly she thought it was hilarious when the waves crashed into me and nearly knocked me over.  

Please note the bandaids on the knees!

When Katie Wynn woke up from her nap that afternoon, Mimi and Poppy had another surprise for her!  Mom and I had admired this collapsible wagon at the community pool and they stumbled upon one at Dick's Sporting Goods and bought it right away.  We love it already; it's so handy!  We immediately took for it a spin around the neighborhood.

The wagon came in handy that night as it was much easier to pull all of our stuff to the beach than to have to carry it!  This will be a required item to bring on future trips to Florida. 

Can you guess who was not very excited about taking pictures?  

But hey, at least my camera lens wasn't fogged up!!

Should I even be surprised that when Thomas finally looked up, Katie Wynn looked away?

I handed my camera off to Mom so that I could slip into the pictures too.  The kids weren't into looking at the camera, though.  

KW's attention was fixed on something so Mom shifted over to try to get her to look at the camera.  Close, but not quite.

How 'bout these of me and my cutie?

And my other two cuties!

Mom and Dad took a turn in front of the camera too.

The picture below is probably the best one I took that night. ;)

These three people are my whole world!

Katie Wynn was a pretty good sport until she got put down in the sand.  That wrapped up our photo shoot quickly!

I'll wrap up this post with a big cheesy grin.  We ate dinner the last night at the Cowgirl Kitchen - so good! - and in typical KW fashion, she knocked out a whole bowl of cheese dip using just one chip.  There was a mirror hanging behind our booth that she loved looking at her cheesy face in. 

We left for home by 7:30 the next morning and oh man, it was a loooong ride home.  Thomas, who usually loves being in the car, cried for about 60% of the trip.  It was exhausting but we eventually made it home in time for dinner and bed time.  

Even though it wasn't relaxing, I'm already ready to go back.  Maybe the next trip will be the one where Katie Wynn likes the ocean.  We'll see.  :)

Matching Buddies

A week or so ago, Thomas and I had a visit from my friend Jenny and her little boy, Henry.  When Thomas was born, Jenny had gifted us with a cute little outfit from Janie and Jack and said that she'd gotten one for Henry too so that when the time was right, they could have their pictures made together in them.  Well, when they came for their visit, the time was right.  

Who doesn't love two matching little boys?!

I realize my photography skills are majorly lacking.  I didn't have time to edit any of these either.  :(

Henry is exactly two months older than Thomas so he's a few milestones ahead of him right now.  It's funny how big a difference two months is during the first couple of years but then after that we'll just say they're the same age.  

Henry is pretty much sitting up on his own these days but during this particular photoshoot, he was feeling a little lean-y.  Also, see Thomas's hands?  I am pretty sure he's going to be a thumb sucker.  His hands are always in his mouth.  He doesn't always find his thumb right now but I think once he starts getting it consistently, it'll become his favorite thing ever.  

"Get off me, bruh."

Henry's turn to let Thomas lean on him.  :)

Thomas was the one who eventually put an end to my picture-taking.  Poor little fella just won't sit happily for long!