Big Bear's Birthday - Project 365 Day 1

Big Bear is 8 years old!!!  I am hardly able to believe that 8 years have passed since she was born.  She is so smart, beautiful, and fun loving.  We are constantly amazed by her willingness to try new things - SO NOT like her mother!  She loves to read and devours books like crazy.

I'm going to take a stab at the 365 Day Photo project.  It's about taking a picture a day for a year to document your life. You want to be able to look back and remember the year through pictures.  This is the first one.  Even though Big Bear's birthday was on New Year's Eve, we had the family celebration yesterday and this picture reflects what yesterday was all about.

Pink and Green Birthday

We had Big Bear and Me Too's birthday party yesterday.  Me Too's birthday is in November and when I called ASI to ask about scheduling a party, the soonest date they had was Dec. 17th.  That got my wheels spinning for a double party since Big Bear's is on New Year's Eve.  It ended up being way cheaper than having two parties.  And since the girls all do Adventure Princess together, many of them know each other so it was tons of fun.  I decided to do a pink and green theme.  Me Too's favorite color is really purple but pink is a lot easier to find.  So here's what the party room ended up looking like...

 Big Bear's green side

 Me Too's pink side.

Most of my inspiration for the crafts you see are from...where else...PINTEREST!!!  Best place EVER!!  

The puff balls turned out super cute I think - even though the pink one is kind of sideways.  I found this craft here. They are super easy and fun to make - check out her tutorial but it's just cupcake liners on a styrofoam ball.  I think I'll add liners to the bottom which I left blank to go on the little candle holder that I got from the Dollar Store and spray painted white. 

 The G & the K were also super fun to make.  I found the little balls at Hobby Lobby a long time ago and knew they'd be adorable super glued onto chipboard letters.  I had tons left over so I put them in some little glass votive holders and super glued ribbon to them.  I stuck a little flickering candle light that I had gotten from the Dollar Store long long ago when preparing for Me Too's Rainbow Birthday Party.

I forget where I got the idea to do the popcorn for the goody bags.  It was sometime after a failed attempt at melting crayons into shapes with cookie cutters.  I don't know how people do that...I've read tutorial after tutorial and blog post after blog post and can't make it work for me.  They turned out cute but WAAAAYYYY more expensive than I expected - long story but it had a lot to do with my not being either smart nor able to speak up when things go wrong.  That's another blog post for another day when I feel like spouting off.

See the little box up there?  I found those (the pink only shown here but of course there is a green one too) at Hobby Lobby as well.  They were on clearance - probably because there is no way to latch it.  There is what looks like a latch but it doesn't actually work.  I had NO clue what I'd do with them but got them anyway knowing I'd figure something out.  And I did - just hours before the party!  I had decided to make candy coated marshmallow treats and realized it would be fun to use the boxes to display them!

Last is my cupcake stand.  I painted these Dollar Store plates using stencils that I made with my fun fun toy...my Silhouette Cameo!!  I super glued them to a candle holder that had been clear glass but I spray painted white for a Christmas display. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how these turned out.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it all turned out.  

 And the kids had a blast.  They have such sweet friend with such sweet families.

  In fact, we stated specifically on the invitation NO PRESENTS.  Apparently, our friends don't follow directions!

Here's a video of the kids having fun!

Hope you enjoyed our pink and green birthday as much as we did!!

Happy Birthday Doug!

Yesterday was Doug's birthday!  Happy birthday!  For his birthday, he got to sit around all day watching Nascar and football while I toted kids around to soccer games and a fun little ballet performance that a friend's daughter was in - The Nutcracker and the Nativity.  All of the characters of the Nutcracker gave baby Jesus lots of presents and Clara came to know Jesus and gave Him her most prized possession, the Nutcracker.  My girls LOVED it!

But on Saturday, I had tons of fun making Doug's present (and lots of Christmas crafts too).
 
I got a little serving tray at the Dollar Store and spray painted it with white primer.  Then I painted the middle with chalkboard paint.  I made the little Daddy, we love you because you... using Picnick.com.  Then I took pictures of the kids with their tray.  I know, Campo should be on the other end of the bench.  He was first and the girls sat on the other end and I wasn't thinking.  By the time I finished the project, I was NOT going back to redo!  Eventually I will because it's really driving me crazy.  Then I uploaded all the pictures into Picasa and made a collage, printed and put it in the frame!!  So much fun!!  The only cost was the tray ($1) and the frame which I got at JoAnn's with my 20% off coupon last week.  I can't remember how much it was but not more than $9 all together!! 

Doug took it to put on his desk at work this morning!

Six...Yay!!! Boo!!!

Big Bear is 6 years old today. It is so hard for me to believe that she could be that old. She is changing so much - saying things that blow us away, reading everything she sees, and physically growing taller.

I was thinking a lot yesterday about her birth. She was due in late January. I went to my regular doctor appointment with my mom. We were going to go have lunch and do some shopping afterward. Instead I ended up being admitted from the hospital and having a baby the next day! She wasn't getting nutrition like she was supposed to and so they needed to go ahead and get her out.

I remember sitting in the hospital room after my mom left and before Doug got there thinking about how upset I was that it was happening this way. It was early and I wasn't mentally ready. I was disappointed that her birthday would be New Year's Eve. It is too close to Christmas!! I was worried that it would it would always get overshadowed by all of the other holiday stuff going on. My friend called me and when I told her that I was disappointed by how it was all happening, she just could not understand what I was talking about. I felt really guilty for having the feelings I was having. Of course I was happy to be having my baby. I couldn't wait to see and hold her. But it just wasn't happening the way I thought it would. It was such a mixture of emotions.

What I've come to realize is that Big Bear's whole life will be this way for me. Every event, every birthday and every milestone in her life is a mix of emotion for me. Turning 6, starting kindergarten, or losing a tooth - all are happy and normal childhood events but they are all also somewhat bittersweet for me. Every birthday makes me so sad that she is one year closer to being old enough to leave me. Every milestone is making her more independent. And while I feel those things for the other kids, I've noticed it's just not quite the same intensity as when I go through it the first time with Big Bear. Maybe that's just how it is with first children.

I am so proud of the wonderful kid she is becoming! She keeps reading things and it takes us all by surprise! The other day someone said a word, can't remember what, but she said, "Oh, that's an action word". And it was! I just can't believe how much she's learning at school! I feel so blessed to have such a great kid as my bittersweet firstborn baby!!

Campo Turns One!

I know, I'm way behind in updating lately! Campo turned one about a week ago! I'm finally getting pictures up! Better late than never I guess. Doug's family has an annual family get together for Christmas and it happened to fall on Campo's birthday this year. We decided to make it a Christmas/Birthday party. It was a lot of fun for us to celebrate with the extended family. It's sad to say but we only see most of the people who were there once a year at this party. They are Doug's cousins and their kids. Anyway, Doug's mom and aunt got a bunch of Thomas the Train decorations and a big cake. There were tons of presents, lots of commotion and tons of love for Campo! He was the hit of the party and everyone just adored him! Here are some pictures!

From Campo's Birthday

Dino Bash!

We had Big Bear and Me Too's birthday party today! It was a Dino Bash. There was a dinosaur bean bag toss, dinosaur dig where they dug in sand for dinosaur eggs with tiny dinosaurs in them, a bounce house, dinosaur craft (Christmas ornaments and dinosaur bead necklaces), a pinata (guess what, a dinosaur of course) and lots of other fun! We had a great time. Here are the pictures!

Dino Bash 2008

Me Too Turns 3!!

Me Too had a birthday yesterday! She is three years old! I can't believe it. We had a little impromptu party for her last night. It started with let's just have some pizza and cupcakes with Grammy and Grampy and before you know it everyone from both sides of the family were here! It was great! We had so much fun and Me Too got lots of great presents - mostly coloring related because that is what she is so into right now. What we did not get lots of were pictures. For some reason, most of the pictures turned out very dark and you can hardly see anyone! So, here are the two we have!




Campo goes to the Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) doctor today to see what is up with his ears and maybe find out if he'll have to have tubes or not. The girls went with Grammy to have a fun day which is nice because Doug is very sick with whatever we are all passing around. Maybe the quiet will help him get to feeling better.

Campo is walking all over the place these days. It is so cute. Here is what it looks like!

From 2008-11-12

I had a parent teacher conference for Big Bear this week. They let us know how they're doing in relation to being ready for kindergarten next year. Until I worked in a preschool, I never realized how much you have to know to do well in kindergarten now and how many people hold their kids back an extra year to be ready. But they said that Big Bear is more than ready and will do great. She is doing well academically, but more importantly to me, she is a really good kid at school. They said she pays attention, doesn't follow the other kids if they are doing the wrong thing, she is polite and well behaved. I was glowing after that report. What more could a mom ask for? Now we just need to decide where she'll actually go to school! We are trying to decide between public school and Catholic school. It is a very tough decision and there are pros and cons to both. We can't seem to get going either way so it's time to start investigating a path and see where it leads us!

So, overall life is good. The big glitch is the job/financial situation but we're just leaving that up to the Lord and trusting that everything will work out...well, I'm trying to do all of that anyway!!

S-I-X-T-Y????? Happy Birthday Grampy!!

Just want to say happy birthday to the very best dad and Grampy in the world! You have touched so many lives in your short sixty years...especially your family. Your grandchildren adore you and are busy working hard right now on their cards for you...well, except for Campo. He's just sleeping as usual!

Hope you have a special day today and that God blesses you in a special way!

We love you!!

Campo Is Here!!

Campo was born at 8:05 on December 14, 2007 and weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. He is just perfect! Healthy and pink! So far he seems very easy going and agreeable to just about anything you want to do. After a perfect start to nursing we have run into some little glitches but nothing major.

The girls are very taken with him...especially Me Too, as we all expected. She loves to touch and name each part of his body...she seems especially of his toes. It gets a little dicey at times - like last night when she was touching his head and I noticed she was pushing down right on the soft spot! It kind of freaked me out! Big Bear really likes him too - she thinks he's cute and likes his funny faces. She just doesn't gush over him like Me Too does!

My recovery is going well. I feel better this time than I ever have - partly due to the fact that this baby sleeps at night much better than my other two...so far anyway. We actually slept an entire 3 hours in a row last night - unheard of for a one of my babies! And it's great having Doug home to help all week. I do miss Grammy's spoiling...she hasn't been able to spoil me since she's been feeling under the weather and doesn't want to expose Campo.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our sweetie! Enjoy!

Countdown to Campo - Running Down!

This time tomorrow my baby will be about 8 hours old! I can't believe it. I'm a jumble of emotions. Excited to see the baby, nervous about surgery, and a little wistful about our family as it is coming to an end...yet anxious to have the new and better version of our family starting. I haven't slept much this week but somehow I have the energy to get through each day and actually feel very prepared which is unusual for me! The girls are sleeping over at Grammy and Grampy's tonight and then spending the weekend with their other grandparents in Granbury - about 2 hours west of Dallas. Their grandparents in the country have horses, dogs and cats at home and a pack of longhorns pass the house at some point in each day. There is tons of room to run and play outside and lots to explore so it is huge fun for them to go there. I am going to miss them terribly! It will be Tuesday before I get home with the baby so it feels like I'm going to be gone for forever! It will be a nice break though. I always enjoy the stay at the hospital. I nurse but I do ask them to feed the baby a bottle in the night so I can sleep through and rest up for the long months coming up!

If anyone can spare a prayer...I could use one! It may be my 3rd c-section but it is no less intimidating to lay on a table awake knowing they are cutting your body open and pulling a human out of it! Yikes! I just hope I can find a way to get some sleep tonight. We have to be at the hospital at 6am!

God bless and we'll get pics up as soon as possible!