My "Surprise" Party

Nicholas threw me a "surprise" birthday party w/ the help of his Magi.  And it was still a good surprise despite the fact he talked to me about it nonstop.  She took him to Walmart and the Dollar Store where he picked out my cake, decorations and presents.  One of those insightful gifts was a huge bottle of bleach.  He told the cashier that his mom liked to clean.  Not sure where he got that one.  He actually did a really fantastic job.  I loved everything, including my bottle of bleach.  Much thanks to his Magi for indulging him.  You could tell he had a good time planning my party.

Helping clean up before the party

This had nothing to do w/ the party, but it was just too pitiful to leave out.

Magi making it all better.

He insisted that we all wear party hats.

One Sweet Party!!

So for Abby's birthday party, we went with just family.  We kept it short and simple.  We also decided to hire my friend, Dawn Lensing, to take pictures so that we could relax and enjoy ourselves.  She did an awesome job!  With the exception of the last two and the ones in the invitation, all pictures were taken by Dawn.



Since the theme for Abby's nursery was sweets shoppe, I used that as inspiration for Abby's birthday as well. I've never done anything like this, but it was so much fun making the decorations and treats.  I used Dimpleprints diy kit for the invitation, banners, cupcake toppers, water bottle labels, etc. 

She's never paid attention to her clothes before, but you could tell she felt pretty in her tutu. You should have seen her prancing around. Thank you Noi for making it!

An Asian tradition, what you choose determines your future.  First thing she chose was thread (long life) and second thing was a pen (she'll be a scholar).

We thought she would attack this cake, at least mush it a bit.  She wasn't too sure about it.



This is an ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress.  Thank you Aunt Tam!  It was funny watching her walking around being all prissy.



Please click HERE to see the rest of the fabulous pictures.  Thank you to our family who helped us celebrate Abby's special day.  We love you guys!!

The Big ONE

Today our sweet little girl turned one.  How is it that it's been a year already?  We can't imagine our lives without you and how we ever managed before.  You are truly a blessing to our family.

• You are an itty bitty thing.  You don't even weigh 18lbs, that's 5th percentile!  You are 27.5in which is right about average.
• The most difficult thing about you is your eating or lack thereof.  You don't like taking a bottle and you know how to eat table food, you just won't do it.  You have to watch Mickey Mouse while taking your bottle or you won't do it.  Oh, and you have no intention of holding that bottle anytime soon.  I know this because you are related to your brother.  It's just as well, if I didn't feed you, you'd never eat.
• You're still a pretty good sleeper, especially at night.  But those 2 naps are more and more erratic.  We are not ready for you to go to one.  You were taking 3 naps a day just 3 months ago.
• We often wonder how far and long you would walk if we could just let you go.  It seems you put alot of miles on those little feet.  How can you not be hungry?
• You love climbing up the stairs and get sooo mad when we pull you off.
• You love to dance.  You get your smooth moves from your mama.
• You are curious and constantly getting into things.  As Nicholas says, "you're a mess."  I'm sure if we put your food on a dirty floor, you would have no problem finding it and eating it.
• No words yet, but you don't have any problems getting your point or opinions across.  You babble alot.  You point and often shake your head no.  Speaking of the word no, you understand it.  But listening is another thing.
• You watch and follow Nicholas around all day.  When he laughs, you laugh.  You do what he does, except eat.
• You've got a favorite stuffed animal, Bunny. You carry her around the house by her ears all day.  It's so stinking cute.

Happy Birthday, Abigail!  We Love You!!!

Happy Birthday Old Man!!

Today is Scott's birthday. I won't say how old he is, but to quote Nick, "he's old." We love him anyway.

He is a wonderful daddy. He teaches our kids perspective, patience, empathy, honesty, and loyalty by example everyday. He is a wonderful husband. He eats my cooking and never complains, always telling me it's my best yet. He washes the dishes w/out my asking. He helps me put the kids to bed every night. He unloads the dishwasher. He wisely ignores my backseat driving, most of the time. Most of all, he makes me laugh.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!!

(look how handsome he is!)

Huntington's Birthday

One of Nick's friend from school, Huntington, had a birthday party over the weekend. His mama, Ashleigh, did a nice job w/ the party. Theme was Backyardigans w/ bouncy house, face painter and an appearance from Pablo himself. As we were leaving Nick announced that he had a really good time and immediately asked to come back the next day.

Huntington, the birthday boy.

Hunt's mama Ashleigh

Making silly faces at the camera.

Our Little Man - 4 Years Old!

Dear Nicholas,
Today you are 4 years old. Where did the time go?! I get so so sad thinking about how big you're getting. You are such a sweet, funny, crazy little boy. We love you more than we can ever express and more than you will ever know. This post is dedicated to you, all things Nicholas.


Some of our favorite pictures of you from the past year:

A few of your favorite things:

(My friend Heidi posted on her blog a series of questions for her kids. I thought it was such a fun idea. ) So I posed some of the same questions. It will be interesting to see how it changes by this time next year. It actually changes day to day.

favorite color - "green"
favorite dessert - "strawberry shortcake"
favorite drink - "water, that's helfy (healthy)"
favorite candy - "jellwee beans"
favorite ice cream flavor - "cookies and crweam"
favorite buddy (his stuffed animals) - "Doggy"
favorite tv show - "Super Why"
favorite outdoor activity - "pway on my swingset"
favorite toy/game - "Super Why toy"
favorite animal - "a dog"
favorite book - "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs"
favorite song - "ABCs"
favorite holiday - "Halloween"
what he wants to be when he grows up - "a Chef" (He initially said a bee, but after I explained to him, he reconsidered.)


Here are a few of our favorite "quotes" from you:

"I want to go to the colored park" - referring to the colorful church playground down the street. Thank goodness no one was around to hear that one. I suggested we call it the church park.

I saw something about tofu on tv and jokingly asked if you would like to eat some tofu. You replied, "No. I don't like to eat 'toefood', and I don't like 'feetfood', either." This is a ironic since you're obsessed w/ feet right now.

"I'm gonna throw your words away" - when we tell you something you don't want to hear.

"That was craaaazy!!"

"Biscuit's gotta come out soon. Maybe in one week." - this when I was about 6mos pregnant.

"I want a tickle spanking. Not a hurt spanking."

"Mommy/Daddy. You were Wrong!!" - this is one of your particular favorite things to say. You say it w/ relish, too.

"I should like that." - this is how you answer in the affirmative most of the time.

"Do you like feetie?" - you do this while shoving your foot in our faces and laughing hysterically.

"I'm feeling cry-ey/laugh-ey" - you add "ey" at the end of a word to describe how you're feeling.

"Ina should come here and cook that for us. I should like that." - every time we watch Barefoot Contessa.

"Wenember that?" - remember that?, we love it when you say it.

What you're doing right now:

You love anything that has to do w/ letters and numbers.

You can tell time and negotiate extra minutes before bedtime.

You can read. I'm not sure at what level, but you could read almost all your birthday cards w/out any help from us.

You can do simple math, addition and subtraction up to 10.

You're proficient on the computer and have figured out how to Google games (need to keep a better eye on you.) You work Windows Explorer like a pro.

You could swing for hours, unfortunately for you, Mommy wears out after about 20 mins.

You love watching Super Why, Caillou, Barefoot Contessa, Giada and KNWA news.

You love to help me cook, especially using the microwave. You love to watch the timer run down.
You're not a big snacker, but love, love, love sweets. Very much like your Daddy. You will often ask for candy for breakfast just to see if it's your lucky day. Not yet.

You're interacting w/ Abby more and refer to her often as "my Abby." You have the sweetest smile on your face when you see and hear her laugh.

When I wake you up for school, you now say, "I want to sweep for just a wittle bit wonger." or you say, "I'm not feelwing very well, I need to stay home."

You don't take naps anymore, you do "rest" time. This distresses me to no end. However, I can still threaten you w/naptime. If you only knew.