Christian's first year of T-Ball

I see great things in baseball.  It's our game - the American game.  It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism.  Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set.  Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.
 ~Walt Whitman

I remember growing up playing baseball, and then softball. I can remember the handful of parents that took things entirely too seriously. None of those kids grew up to play professional baseball, so I'm not really sure what the point was. I've always known I would never make my kids play sports if they weren't interested, but I was delighted when Christian decided on his own to play. I knew that it would be so much more than just a fun game for him. I knew that him playing baseball would be fun for the entire family and a wonderful bonding experience. Below are the picture as proof. Enjoy!

Christian's Dino Party

Wow! I can't believe my little man is already 4 years old!

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Christian Daniel, birthday boy!

The Food and Decorations

Hard to see but there is brown sugar and dinosaurs underneath the punch as well

Christian's cake turned out awesome! It had dino footprints around the back.

Balloons that kept trying to blow away

Dinosaur claws [bugels chips] Sign made with construction paper, hot glue, and craft sticks.

Dinosaur [chicken] nuggets. Sign was made with construction paper, hot glue, and craft sticks.

The Activities

Dinosaur Tattoo Station

Fossil Dig

Fossil Dig

 The Piñata

Christian's grandmother home made his piñata

We love home made piñatas, they seem to hold up better than store bought ones.

Finally got it cracked open, Don't worry, the other kids got turns too!

Collecting the loot! 

Youtube video slide show "Christian is 4!"
http://youtu.be/q69TquQdlLk

Ian's Corduroy Birthday Party

I've already begun preparing Ian's first birthday party. I know it isn't until the end of March but there's a lot to do! Ian's nickname has always been "Ian Bear" so I knew I wanted a bear theme. Corduroy was the PERFECT bear to choose. I went to Pinterest and found..nothing. How does that happen? Pinterest is supposed to have everything! So I'm on my own here.. I decided I better blog this so when someone else searches they don't come up entirely empty. Here goes...

Step 1) Invitations.

 Step 2) Cake. We pretty much let the designer go nuts with her ideas. I think it turned out PERFECT!

Step 3) Decor. We ended up having most of the decor as food so I will explain that below. We had the corduroy book and I made a number 1 with buttons on it, as well as bear cups. We ran a string through balloons all the way around. Pics coming soon to explain.

I bought this punch container at Walmart for $15. The bear and buttons were in the bottom and the top had a separate portion for the juice. More pics coming of this! 

Bear cups (elmers glue, construction paper and sharpie) , 1 (super glue,spray paint, buttons), and bear hugs from Ian goody bags. 

Step 4) Food. The cake, of course, was the major hit but we had other things too. We had gummy bears in tin pails and the goody bags said "Bear hugs from Ian!" with teddy grahams inside. The punch dispenser was a hit,too! I found it for $15 at walmart. You can put decor in the bottom and punch up top. I used Cherry white grape juice to go with the color scheme. I'll post more pics once I get them uploaded.
Stay Tuned!

New Years 2013

2012 was a good one...

I feel like we've came a long way this year. This time last year I was still living in a tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bath rental house. We were only a family of 3, but I had a ginormous pregnant belly. In February we moved to Dyersburg in our own home. It's a very spacious 2 bedroom (plus a nursery), 2 bathrooms, large dining room, an extra sitting room, a 2 car carport, and a large shop out back.
On March 29 we welcomed Ian Joel into the world. He was a whopping 9lbs 12oz 21" with a head full of curly brown hair. Once I looked in his eyes, I knew our family was complete.
The rest of the year has been a blur! I turned 21, Christian turned 3, Joel turned 22. Fast forward and were were celebrating Halloween. Ian was a football, Christian was a football player. The holidays were also a blur. Santa was very good to the boys bringing them absolutely everything a little boy could ask for.
Bam! Now here we are. New Years. And I'm already thinking about the upcoming year. In just 3 months we'll be arranging Ian's birthday and then the blur will begin again.

So what's new for 2013

Ok, I'm not one for New Years Resolutions but there are some things I'd like to do differently this year. Joel and I recently realized over half of our day we have our noses stuck to one screen or another. We want to try to spend more time together and less time with TV, Xbox 360, and social networking. Sure we want to lose weight, too, but I'm not betting any money on it!
Probably the biggest change we'll see in 2013 will be with our Christian. He'll be able to play sports this year and will start school in August. It is the most amazing experience in the world to watch my children grow. Every day, Christian looks less like a baby and more like a little boy! Ian's not far behind him, either. It's only a matter of time and he'll be walking. He's already pulling up well. 

Where has time gone?!

It's way too obvious that time has absolutely left me, this year we'll try to savor every single second we have left of our babies being little. Don't rush your children. They grow too quickly as it is.