The Big Celebration!

Daddy's been promising Carter a giant birthday party since the little guy was one week old. Well, he certainly delivered! We had our family over for a Subway party sub, and the kids played in the back yard with the bouncy castle, while the rest of us just relaxed and chatted.

First, let me tell you about the cake. Our dear friend, Anna, made Carter this AMAZING cake. It was bigger than he is! It tasted just as good as it looks. THANK YOU ANNA! Carter (and the rest of us) LOVED it! It certainly made his first birthday even more special. The cake was simply perfect!




She made a little cake for him to dive into as well.






He liked it at first until some of the frosting got stuck in his cleft and he shot it out his nose lol! Everyone spoiled him with clothes and toys. We figure he deserves it though! Carter had a little cold, so he didn't quite make it through the opening of gifts before he needed a break, but that was OK since brother and sister didn't mind opening them for him. All in all it was a truly excellent day, and a birthday that I won't soon forget. I'm now the proud mother of a one year old! Thank you to everyone for making his day so special!

Jovie's Birthday

Here is my long overdue blog post.

Jovie had an excellent birthday!  We made cupcakes and had Happy Meals for dinner.  She insisted on wearing her crown that was given to her by her preschool teacher.  What a cutie pie!

A couple of days later we had her birthday party.  Most of our family came and we had a fun night of Olympics and pizza.  The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins.  It's been a long time.  There were times when Carter got a little overwhelmed with all of the noise even with his hearing aid off, but with a little love from his Aunt Stacy, he warmed up by the end of the night.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To my baby girl....

Happy Birthday to you!

We are now very proud parents of a four year old girl. 

What can I say about Jovie.

Well, this little darling came to us with an extremely easy labor.  I remember that she cried for the first hour until I nursed her.  Then she settled right down, and was a very easy baby from that point on.  It's a good thing that she was so easy, or else we probably wouldn't have tried for a third baby.  I know, I know...she's going to be a TERRIBLE teenager, but we've got awhile to worry about that.

From day one she adored her big brother.  They are still the best friends. She and Mikey are always finding new games to play like Transformers takes over My Little Ponyville, or Disney Cars vs. Super Pony. I hope that they can stay this close for their whole lives.

She has had a very big year.  Since her birthday last year, she has become an amazing big sister, has started dance class, AND preschool.  She's even learned to write everybody's name in our house (even if her e's are backwards).  She's still into Disney Princesses, but has added Dora to the mix as well. Jovie knows at least 20 signs, and uses them daily for me.

She still has the middle two fingers as her security.  Maybe we can break her of that before her next birthday.

Yep, there she is with Rude Off.  Actually, Rude Off has a little buddy that I hadn't mentioned yet.  Her tag reads Thunderbolt, but her name is pronounced "Horsie Funderbolt".  Wherever you find Rude Off, Funderbolt isn't too far behind.

We love you so much Jovie Jo.  Thank you for bringing sunshine into our lives each and every day.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

My Sweetheart

Today was Michael's birthday.  He had to work, but once he got home it seemed like we had a lot of visitors and phone calls with birthday wishes.  Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate today. I know that it meant a lot to him. I'm very proud of Mike for all of the hard work he does.  He really is the best husband that I could have found. I'm a VERY lucky girl!

Jovie had a Preschool program last week, and she looked so pretty.  She and her best friend, Lauren are in a class together. As you can see they have similar taste in clothes.

Mikey had a mini talent show in his class on Friday.  Michael and the grandmas attended.  He was so worried because he "doesn't have a talent....he only knows how to do Kung Fu" which I assure you he does not.  We taught him how to say Merry Christmas using Sign Language and he did great! What a cutie.  He's getting to be so big.

Carter had his first Synagis shot today.  This is the vaccine for RSV, and for a baby his size it costs $2200 a month.  He has to have it once a month for 5 months, but THANKFULLY our insurance is covering it.  I also swallowed my pride and asked the Pediatrician to fill out a form to get a Handicapped plaquard for our car. I do fine carrying Carter and all of his accessories most of the time....but lately it's been REALLY hard finding a parking spot at the hospital.  Usually if I do find one, it's so far away from the building that I'm exhausted by the time I get inside.  I usually take the stroller, but there are some appointments where it is such a tight fit. I guess we'll be sportin' a plaquard for awhile.

Our Secret Family is still delivering little surprises to us.  The Nativity is almost complete.  I'm going to share a picture when it's all done.  Our kids kept asking when we could be someone's Secret Family, but since it was a little late to do that, we decided to start leaving little gifts for our Secret Family instead.  The kids have had a blast with it.