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 First Birthday, Baby!

My baby girl, Marjorie Elizabeth turned 1 year old on Thursday, July 12th.  She is now 20.14 lbs, 29.25 inches!  That is 70% for weight and 50% for her length.  She is a growing girl!  In the past month she learned to crawl and is immediately starting to cruise and taking steps now.  She is a little giggle bug laughing at her sister and brother and our dog Duncan all the time and now loves to explore the house and find new things.  She is still a momma's girl and very attached especially when new people are around, but still loves to say "hi" to all she meets in the store! Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!  I can't believe it has been a year!

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!

Friends and the Lake

My friend, Irene's husband was supposed to be traveling to India for his work for 3 weeks, so we planned a getaway with our kids to the lake several months back so she could have something to make the time pass quicker while he was gone. It turned out his trip got moved to later, but her kids will be back in preschool then, so we went ahead with our plans to go to the lake this week. We stayed in my family lake house at Lake Palestine in East Texas.

My friend/neighbor, Karen and I took my van with our 4 kids and Irene took hers with her 2. So we arrived at the lake with a grand total of 6 kids ages: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, and 1. I'm happy to report we all are alive and survived without any injuries.

Wednesday morning, we took out the party boat to tour around the lake. The kids loved it and it was the first time many of them had been on a boat. The kids danced to the radio and cheered when we went under the bridge over and over again.

Then in the afternoon, we swam in the lake, went down the slide into the lake, and played in a baby pool. After much hesitation by a few, they ventured into the lake water and learned that it wasn't as bad as it seemed! Growing up always swimming at the lake, it was commonplace to me, but I guess when you grow up only going to beaches and more clear water places, I can see how it would be kind of a different experience. Irene and I were the only brave souls that went down the slide. It was fun! The older girls did get on the end of the slide and drop down to us in the water, but they wouldn't go down from the top!

That evening, we had a birthday party! Karen's daughter, Audrey will be turning one on September 4th, so we celebrated early there. Karen made the girls all tutu's and the boys capes so they wouldn't be left out. She had a princess/ballerina themed party. The kids looked so cute all dressed up out by the lake. They enjoyed the pizza Karen ordered and the yummy cupcakes. I've never seen a 1 year old down a cupcake like Audrey either! Most kids on their first birthdays just smash it and play with it, but she inhaled that cupcake! ha ha...she is a doll!

It was a lot of fun, but we are all exhausted! We did manage to get the kids to sleep in the same room, but it was a lot of work and we didn't sleep all that well. It will be nice tonight to have them in their own beds and get some quality sleep.

Us moms had some nice evenings though when the kids did finally go to sleep. We brought movies, wine, and snacks to enjoy! It is always nice to have a girls night!

I'd be up for another trip in a few months, but resting is good for now! :)