Happy Birthday, Brandon!

 Brandon had to work on his birthday like many people, so we didn't get to spend a lot of time with him today, but we woke up this morning and gave him his gift when he came down ready for work and then we met him for dinner at Serrano's this evening.  The kids were very happy to celebrate.  Andrew was so excited that when we got home, he ran into the house and went straight for the refridgerator and grabbed the cake out so we could sing to Daddy and have him blow out the candle.  But being a clumsy 4 year old, it slid out of his hands and over onto the floor!  I about lost it, but held it together okay.  It could have been much worse, I know.  It just landed on it's side, so one side of the cake's icing was gone.  So we scooped it up and still had our birthday celebration.  The cake was still delicious too!  A yummy white cake with strawberry filling from Randall's. 

Brandon, in just 3 days it will be 13 days since I met you and in some ways it feels like a lifetime ago and sometimes like yesterday.  It was the best thing that has happened to me.  You are a wonderful husband, father, and friend!  I hope you had a great birthday!  You deserve it!  I love you!

Brandon and the crazy kids

My men!

Lillian with Daddy at Serrano's

Cake time! ( the side with no icing is facing Brandon! ha)

Surprise, Uncle Clay!



My sister, Katy let us know way back in the spring that she was going to have a surprise birthday party for my brother-in-law, Clay for his 30th birthday.  So we have been planning the trip and everyone was sworn to secrecy...no emailing or talking to Katy about it in case Clay snooped and found out. So my mom, who had a longer 8 hour trip compared to our 4 hours to Abilene went down there on Friday and then we met her there on Saturday.  We had to spend the rest of that day there hiding from Clay.  His friend had taken him to play golf while Katy supposedly hung out with his wife all day.  She actually went with his wife and mom for a pedicure and then had lunch with us!  We met up with them at Abuelo's.





Marjorie at lunch at Abuelo's



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Lillian and Andrew with the Abuelo's statue



After lunch, Katy had to go set up for the party and get ready, so we went with mom back to the hotel we would be staying in.  The kids were so excited because they didn't remember staying in a hotel before since they were very young the last time we have stayed in one.  And this one had an indoor swimming pool, so that was also a fun new experience for them.



Lillian jumping into the hotel pool





Grandma Teddy and Andrew in the hotel pool

After spending some time in the pool and getting ready, we headed to the restaurant in Abilene for Clay's big surprise.  We were there about 20 minutes before his arrival and everyone was getting excited.  No one was quite sure if he would really be surprised or not.  Then when he finally arrived, we gathered facing the door and yelled "Surprise!"  and we saw Clay's surprise face.  We definitely got him.  Especially us that had come so far and hid out without him knowing.  Good job, Katy!  I think the hardest part for all of us was not being able to post any pictures on facebook of what we were doing all day because he would see where we were.



Clay, Katy, and Parker



Clay opening his gift from us while Lillian watches closely

Marjorie was excited to sit with Grandma Teddy

Clay with Andrew and Lillian definitely not posing

Marjorie with Uncle Clay..."Who is this guy!?"



And this picture pretty much sums up the rest of the weekend and Monday.  Marjorie didn't sleep well in the hotel room with me, Mom, Lillian and Andrew all there.  She went to bed late and then couldn't go to sleep with all that was going on.  We learned we will definitely need a separate room for her nexttime or suite with rooms.  She was exhausted and slept like this all the way to Katy's the next day.  Then was tired and crabby the rest of the day, so I didn't take pictures of us out swimming at Katy's house or anything and then we spent today driving back home.  It was a fun, but very tiring weekend!  We had a good time though and hope Clay had a great birthday!  We were glad we could be there to celebrate!

A First Birthday

We celebrated Marjorie's first birthday with a party on Saturday, July 14th so that family could come and celebrate with us.  Brandon spent the day before bbqing all day even in the downpour of rain that came suddenly and we also rented a waterslide for the kids to play in.  The weather turned out to be as perfect as you can ask for in July in Texas.  Not too hot and it waited to rain until nighttime.  Everyone had a wonderful time visiting and watching the kids play in the water.  It was so good to have family and neighbors together to join in the festivities.  We were especially excited to see my sister Tory and her boyfriend Drew that flew in from Arizona for the occasion and also Brandon's cousin Brian and family who we love, but don't get to see very often.

Marjorie has been teething like crazy lately and was waking up a lot in the nights surrounding party day, so she was a tired girl.  Luckily, she napped right before the party began and then we hurried through playing, food, cake, and presents and put her down for her 2nd nap.  She was a trooper and enjoyed it even with a runny nose and some hurting gums.  She was excited to play in the water with the kids and look around at all the people.  She also loved her cake and lots of gifts.  She is discovering them more and more now that it is getting back to normal around here. 

She also decided to learn to climb the stairs this weekend too, so we are in for some fun now on the baby watching!

Happy 4th Birthday, Andrew!

Andrew had a great birthday. He woke up this morning and openned some gifts I saved for today. He got a remote control Cars 2 car from us, some new clothes from Grandma Teddy, and a ChuChi from Aunt Tory....this is a stuffed animal you sleep with that lights up like a nightlight.

After opening gifts and talking to several family members on the phone and computer, we went to the gym followed by lunch with Daddy at El Arroyo. Brandon had to work all weekend, so he met us there for Andrew's birthday lunch. The kids were excited to see him and behaved so well. We got complimented on having "great kids" by a photographer sitting nearby. He had even changed his lens to take a picture of Marjorie after she flashed him a big smile the first time. After eating, the waitors came by and sang Happy Birthday to Andrew and he shyly stared at them. He enjoyed it, though.

Then after naptime, I took the kids for frozen yogurt for one last birthday treat. I think Andrew had an awesome day. I can't believe my baby boy is 4 years old! It is hard to remember now what it was like having a baby boy! Happy 4th Birthday to Andrew!

Here is Andrew at lunch watching the waitors sing to him.

Andrew's Birthday Party

My baby boy turns 4 on Sunday, but his daddy has to work all weekend, so we had his party today, Friday. Andrew started getting into dinosaurs a lot this past year, so he decided on a dinosaur party. It was tougher than I thought to find dinosaur party things. There was one small section in Party City and HEB didn't make dinosaur cakes of any kind. I guess I could have paid more and had one made or been crafty and tried to make it myself, but I decided to just order cupcakes and put dinosaur figures on top of them. They turned out to be a hit and were delicious too!

Andrew was so excited about his party today he couldn't sleep and kept asking why it wasn't time yet. When everyone arrived pretty much all at the same time, he was super happy! The kids had a great time running around playing and it turned out well considering we had to stay indoors because it was wet outside. Everyone had hotdogs and then we ate the cupcakes.

Now Andrew is very confused about why I tell him that his birthday is on Sunday. It is too difficult to explain to a 4 year old that we had the party on one day, but his actual birthday is another! Any takers on explaining it to him? :)

before the party

The cupcakes

Singing Happy Birthday to Andrew

Opening one of his many gifts. I wish I could put them all on here! This one is one of the Dinosaur Train dinosaurs that talk to each other to go with his collection he got for Christmas. It was from Grandpa JD and Jamie. They also got him another one and a new big boy backpack for school. I'll have to take a picture of him with it before school one morning!

Thank you everyone that came to the party and for the gifts. Andrew had a very special day!

Parker's 1st Birthday

We made the long trip out to West Texas this past weekend to celebrate my nephew, Parker's 1st birthday! Because the trip is so long and Brandon had to work, I was lucky that my mom and sister Tory could come and ride with us so I had help with the kids and probably also a shorter trip since I would have had to stop a lot more to feed Marjorie and tend to her. Tory was the great baby whisperer of the weekend and took on that job and visited with the kids in the back of the van so we could keep going.

We went out there on Thursday evening, so we got to spend Friday with Katy and Parker before the party. Our eventful day was eating out at Dairy Queen and playing at the city park. The kids loved it!

Then Parker had an awesome "Up" themed party on Saturday. He had lots of people there to celebrate. He got some great gifts and loved his birthday food and cake. It was fun getting to see him with all the "ball" presents mostly since he is obsessed with balls right now. My mom got him a tent ball pit and the kids all went crazy jumping in the balls and throwing them everywhere.

It is so sweet getting to see Marjorie and Parker together too as they are getting bigger and more aware of each other. They just grin so big at each other and Marjorie would be playing in the exersaucer and Parker liked coming up and showing his toys to her. They have many many fun years ahead playing together.

Happy 1st Birthday, Parker! We love you and were so happy we could be there to see you turn the big 1!

Lillian's 5th Birthday Party

Lillian had a great 5th Birthday party at the park with her buddies! It was a beautiful day with comfortable temperatures, a nice breeze and sunshine. The kids ran all over the place playing and stopped for cupcakes and juice before running around some more with their sugar highs. Lillian was so excited about every detail. She had chosen princess cupcakes and they were delicious! She got lots of great gifts that she has been playing with at home since she opened them all! I can't believe I already have a 5 year old!!!

Eating the cupcakes

Yum!

With her friends Quinn and Lucie

Early Birthday for Lillian

Dad and Jamie came in to visit this weekend and go with us to the Tx State football home opener game and since they thought they may not see Lillian for her birthday, they went ahead and brought her birthday gift. I had told them how obsessed she was with using my iPad and about this new Leapster toy that came out like an iPad, so that is what they got her and she is hooked! Now we have to invest in some games for it. Good thing her birthday and Christmas are coming up! Thanks Grandpa JD and Jamie!!

Oh, and if you look to the back of the first picture you will see what they got Marjorie as a baby gift....her convertible carseat for when she outgrows the infant seat! Momma was excited about that one! :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Brandon had to work yesterday, but the kids and I wanted to make sure he had a special day, so we met him at the door when he was coming home in birthday hats and gave him the cards the kids made him. Then after dinner, we brought out the cake we bought him at the store earlier and sang him "Happy Birthday" and watched him blow out the candles! Lillian and Andrew had been waiting to eat that cake since we bought it! Marjorie wasn't all that impressed, but she enjoyed her birthday hat.

Happy Birthday, B! We love you!!!

I'm 30!

Wow, I'm finally entering my 30's and exited the crazy decade of the 20's. From what I hear, the 30's are great for most people. I think I'm through with all the major life changes like graduating from college, getting married, and having kids. So now maybe I can just enjoy all these things. I'm still having kids of course now, but not going through that first and 2nd kids adjustment from having none. I'm looking forward to what is to come!

We didn't do anything big on my birthday. Brandon had to work an evening shift, so he got me an ice cream cake and we ate it for dessert after lunch. Then I went shopping that afternoon and got myself a Kindle with my birthday money. It is really neat and I think I will use it a lot once I get some books downloaded. I have downloaded a couple of free classic books so far. So if you have some great books to recommend, I'm all ears!