Lainey is 3!

(Okay, so I wrote this post on Lainey's actual birthday buuuut I'm just getting around to posting it.  OOPS!)

I've heard it said about life with kids that the days are long but the years are short.  I couldn't agree more with that statement today as we celebrated Lainey's 3rd birthday.  That steamy weathered, long, long summer day I spent 3 years ago in a hospital room seems like just yesterday.  Never would I have imagined what life would look like being the mom of a 3 year old girl - a sensitive, bright, intuitive, early rising, princess loving, soft hearted girl.

We started out the birthday celebrating the weekend before with some family time.  My parents came down with my niece Claire.  Unfortunately, my nephew Will was sick so he and Emily had to stay back :(

Lainey's birthday dinner choice was Hickory Park.  No complaints here!

Birthday treat #1...

And #2.  I tried my hand for the first time at homemade buttercream.  Um, yes.  Never buying a can of frosting again!

 

Excitement abounds.  It was as delicious as it looked!

Lainey's 3rd birthday also marks the 1 year of anniversary of us living in our new house, which seems CRAAAZY to me because it still feels new.  Though, the scuff marks and hand prints on the flat painted walls remind me otherwise...  Since last year, we couldn't really offer her the celebration we would have liked, we hoped to make up for it a bit this year.  

Our little early bird was up with the sun.  How can you sleep when you know it's your birthday?!

We let her enjoy opening some birthday presents right away.

Princess helmets are pretty cool when you're 3.

You can see in her right hand is a roll of bubble gum.  She had been asking for months to try gum and we said we'd let her try when she turned 3.  Yeah, don't do that.  She swallowed it.  A few times.

7:00 AM scooter ride!  She scored this sweet scooter from her Ma and Papa over the weekend.  The helmet really completes this ensemble I'd say.  Safety first!

Jed took the day off and we decided we'd take a family day to the Iowa State Fair!  We headed to the Capitol complex to park and ride because when you're 3 and 1.5, the bus ride to the fair is almost as exciting as the fair itself.

(They look so big in this picture, I can't even handle it.)

We hit all of the great kid spots - Animal Learning Center, Little Hands on the Farm, etc.

 Then, Wyatt had had enough.  Passed out with cotton candy in hand.

 We took the birthday girl for an ice cream treat while Wy snoozed in the stroller.

But even the sugar rush couldn't keep her awake.

Then Wyatt woke up!

I'm proud to say we actually lasted over 6 hours at the fair.  My expectation was 3, maybe 4 so I was excited.  It was nice that the kids napped at different times so that we could do and see more and we gave each kiddo a special experience and treat (Wyatt got a fair square but I didn't get a pic :).  The pregnant lady got a treat too... mmm... cheese curds. :)

We rounded out the birthday with some bike practice.  The helmet gave her some crazy new confidence and she's a pro now!

Like I said, last year Lainey's birthday was overshadowed a bit with the move.  I don't remember exactly how the conversation flowed but Lainey pretty much decided on and planned a birthday party all on her own.  I don't even remember if I offered to throw her a birthday party to be honest, but she had the idea and we went with it!

Her requests were "just girls" and she wanted to "paint nails" ... easy enough!

So with a little help from pinterest, we kicked the boys out of the house and went with a spa theme!

A little craft to make some fancy flip flops!

The nail station complete with a foot bath!

Lainey has some of the cutest little gal pals!  The girls all had a really fun time and it was so cute to watch them play together - many of these little ladies have siblings and several of them have brothers so it was extra fun to have just mommies and girls I think!  I can't wait to try to recreate this picture in 5 or 10 years!

All in all, we had a fabulous time celebrating our sweet girl.  Birthdays are so fun to me.  It was especially fun that she had a greater awareness of the fact that it was HER day and we were celebrating her.  She was incredibly thankful for each gift she received and has been so excited to enjoy them too.  Blessed to be her mom and excited to see what the Lord has in store for her life this next year!

Celebrating Wy Guy

We had SUCH a fun couple of days celebrating Wyatt's first birthday this past week.

I took this picture the night before his birthday.  Maybe I'm the only sentimental one out there, but I was really kind of sad putting him down for the last time as a baby!  I started to reflect on the year and think about the past 365 nights (yes, I'm almost positive I've put him to sleep every single night since he was born).  365 sounds like a big number but wow... those days and nights went quickly.  I've heard it said, when it comes to all things mom or parenting related, the days are long but the years are short.  How true.  Time could slow down one of these days...!

The night before his birthday I took Lainey to the store to pick out a balloon for her brother.  She waited patiently (or not...) for the birthday boy to wake up the next morning so she could bring him his balloon!

Loving it!

 Daddy made some waffle batter before he left for work so we could have a yummy birthday breakfast!

Num num!

His first birthday gift!  A total hit.  We love Melissa & Doug toys!

This balloon was an even bigger hit.  They've been playing with it constantly!

Took the birthday boy to HyVee for some grocery shopping and a cookie.  He loved showing everyone his pointer finger to say, "HEY I'M ONE!"

We didn't really plan on doing much in the way of celebrating the night of his actual birthday, we thought we'd save the partying for Saturday but Daddy came home with this adorable little cake.  What a great dad!

Let's just say, Wyatt really, really enjoyed it.

Sugar!!!

DELICIOUS!

Thanks to HyVee for the greenest green frosting that was ever created.  It required a long, long bath to get all clean!

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little difficult to get this dude to bed that night after a huge sugar crash from all of that cake and frosting.  Worth it?  Yes!

The next morning we had Wyatt's 1 year well check...

23 lbs, 6 oz (54th percentile) and 31.3 (96th percentile) inches of pure perfection!

He actually only gained about a pound in the last 3 months but grew about 2 inches. Big guy is slimmin down. We got the go ahead to try a bunch of new foods.  He is not weaned yet but we will try introducing some whole milk and see how it goes!

We planned a football themed party for our active little dude for Saturday!

I will never, ever win any awards for cake decorating. But I try. 

Sneaking some snacks :)

Wyatt's cousins from Cedar Rapids were able to come to the party!  So much fun having so many little ones so close in age!

Love singing "Happy Birthday" to my sweet baby!  He was obviously too enthralled by that cupcake instead of enjoying his serenade.

Another delicious mess!

Our family and friends were so generous with gifts for our big guy.  I have a lot to learn about boy toys... from tractors to big rigs and front end loaders...

He had lots of helpers trying out his new toys and new books :)

So much fun!

What can I say that I haven't already said when it comes to our boy, Wyatt.  What a blessing this little surprise was.  I had so many fears and worries about having another baby so soon but Wyatt has made it easy on us.  I know I gush about his sweet demeanor, his joyful smile, his contagious laugh often enough.  He is a joy, plain and simple.  My prayer is that he would become kind and compassionate, generous and gracious, strong and wise.  I know God has great things in store for him and I am blessed to walk alongside him and by God's grace, guide him, teach him and love him as his mom.

Happy birthday to our Wyatt!