Happy 6, Olivia!

Happy 6th Birthday, Olivia!

We have had quite an adventurous year! A few highlights:

For spring break, we visited Cuyahoga Valley National Park with Uncle Jon and Aunt Danielle. We had a blast hanging out with them, hiking, and playing at an indoor adventure park.

You graduated preschool.

We bought property on a little lake nearby, and MAC is going to build a house for us.

We took a road trip to Texas! On the way there and back, we made a few fun stops.

Elephant Rocks State Park

Flea market in Texas

The beach in Texas

Hot Springs, AK

Indianapolis

Over the summer, we had lots of beach days, like usual. We also went camping for the first time, had cousins spend a week with us (which was awesome!), and your first concert.

Camping near Ocqueoc Falls with the Grays

Drive-in with cousins

Chris Janson

You started kindergarten! You love everything you're learning, and your friends, and your teachers...but you are kind of a stinker at school. You refuse to line up sometimes and need reminders to follow directions (I'm not shocked). But you are loving everything you're learning, and you're doing so well starting to read.

In October, we went to Disney World, and Grammy Patti came with us. You were my little thrill seeker who wanted to go on all the fast rides.

We also went to St. Louis (on the way to Texas and again in November). City Museum was the coolest place ever, so we went both times. In November, we rode the Polar Express.

A little bit about you at age 6:

You love art. You color every single day, and you also really like painting, and crafting in general. 

You and Emma are still besties, but you have some other good friends at school too. Brantley is still one of your good friends as well, and your cousin Charlie might be your favorite person in the world (well, next to Uncle Jon).

Some other things you enjoy: Gabby's Dollhouse on Netflix, riding your bike, swimming, skiing, helping me cook and bake, washing dishes (I don't get it, but I'm not complaining), and torturing the cats with snuggles.

You are suuuuuper sassy. I admire your fierce stubbornness sometimes, but we definitely need to tone it down a bit, and that's something we're working on.

For your birthday, you requested a unicorn cake, and we spent it mostly at home. Celebrating you is one of my favorite things. I love you so much, Livvy Jo. Happy 6!

Love, Mom

Leland Turns Four

Yesterday, my big kid turned 4! This year, we decided to have a small birthday party at a local fire station with his friends from school. Since all of Leland's school friends are teachers' kids, it worked out fine to have his party on a Monday, since they were all off work too. Unfortunately, a few kids couldn't make it, so it was smaller than anticipated, but Leland just loved hanging out with his school friends again.

We planned to do a little sledding and then come in for pizza and cake, but Mother Nature did not cooperate and we didn't have any snow for his party. I was pretty bummed about that, but the kids had fun anyway. We got a tour of the fire station and the kids got to sit in some of the trucks.

Apparently, only the birthday boy gets to drive.

Paw Patrol Cupcakes

My friend sent me a recipe for birthday cake "pup-corn" - Alden is obsessed with the stuff.

When the fire fighter handed Sophie a pink hat, Leland said he wanted a pink one too. The boy loves pink. :)

We attempted to play on the playground outside, but it was SO cold so we only lasted 5-10 minutes.

Later that day, we had our usual grandparent birthday dinner. Leland fell asleep 30 minutes before grandparents were supposed to arrive. Once he's asleep, he's out. There is no waking him up, at least not without lots of whining. So he slept through about an hour of the "party."

Once he woke up, he was all about opening some presents.

He's been asking for this book (Bad Boys Get Cookie) for at least a month.

Legos! Regular sized Legos are new to this house as of Christmas. We've only ever had Duplos or MegaBloks)

Any shirt with a truck is a winner.

After presents, it was time for cake! Leland requested a Paw Patrol cake. I love to make and decorate their cakes myself. It's fun for me to plan it out and try to be creative (and the kids get so excited if there are toys on their cakes). I wasn't sure how I was going to do a Paw Patrol cake though until I saw a picture online of a dog bone cake. So I went that route. I'm definitely not super talented with cake decorating, and my calligraphy is kind of terrible, but I still thought it turned out cute. Leland dug it.

It was a busy day with TWO parties, but it was a good one. We are so thankful for everyone who helped us celebrate Leland's special day.

Alden's Birthday "Party"

After the first birthday, we do simple "parties" with grandparents. They come over for dinner and cake and it's just an intimate gathering. We like that it's not a huge production, but our boys still feel the birthday love from their grandparents.

Here are some pictures from Alden's birthday.

He opened a few presents himself, but Leland was a big helper for most. That's what big brothers are for, right?

They had to open the duplo sets immediately, of course. Daddy helped put the vehicles together.

Growing up, we always had homemade cakes instead of store bought (homemade = from a box, but still made at home). I much prefer homemade cakes to store bought, so I like to make my boys' cakes myself but still try to be a little creative with them. Since Alden loves Blaze and the Monster Machines, I made him a Blaze monster truck cake. He dug it.

Of all the toys he received for his birthday, his favorite was the shovel from the Lego duplo construction set. He even ate his cake and ice cream with it.

Such a fun night celebrating our favorite two year old.

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

On New Year's Eve, my mother-in-law turned 60, so we threw her a surprise party.

Dave and I told her we were taking her out for dinner for her birthday, and when she walked into the restaurant, a few of her favorite people were there to surprise her.

We all enjoyed visiting...

Ate our yummy meals...

Patti opened her gifts (with a little help from Leland)...

And then we had cake!

A little help from some of the grandboys.

And then, before we left, we attempted some group pictures.

Just missing Kennedi and Elli

I was so glad we were able to pull off the surprise. I thought for sure she would have figured it out. What a fun night celebrating my sweet mother-in-law.