Let her eat Cake

Callie's 1st birthday party was a huge success. We had a nice group of people, not too small yet not too big. Family, some close friends, and yummy food. The highlight of the party was Callie eating her "smash" cake. When you order your cake from Publix (If you have never had a Publix cake you have no idea what you are missing) you get a "smash " cake for free. A smaller version of the birthday cake for the birthday child to eat/smash. She loved it!!! There was cake everywhere and we even had to give her a bath before she could open the presents. Now I only have to figure out where to put all of the new toys!!

Callie's First Year

Callie's first year is almost over. She turns One tomorrow. When Bryce turned one I was so excited. I was almost relieved that the first year was over. We were past all of the formula, bottles, baby food, late nights, and tired days. But now that Callie's big day is hours away, I do not feel relieved. I haven't minded the things that I was so happy to get rid of with Bryce. Maybe it's that I know how quickly she is going to go from baby to toddler. I know that in the next year she will be jumping out of bed instead of smiling up at me when I walk in her room every morning. Or maybe it's just that she is such an easy baby...rarely cries, always smiling, and soooo laid back. Don't get me wrong...I look forward to the milestones that will happen over the next year: first steps, first words, etc. I also look forward to her and Bryce really starting to play together and becoming friends. So tomorrow we will sing Happy Birthday and let her eat her muffin all by herself. And Sunday at her party she will get to wear her party dress, her first birthday hat, and get to smash and eat as much cake as she wants (which means a lot of cake!! the girl can eat!!). And I'll be sure to tell you all about it and share pictures.

Bryce's Fourth Bday

Bryce had a wonderful birthday. He got to have his birthday party on his actual bday this year. We had our first "big kid" party at Jungle Jump (or the jumpy place as Bryce calls it). He had so much fun. He had about 15 friends there (siblings included) and I think they all had a great time. First they jumped, ran and slid for one hour. Then we had "monkey" cupcakes and opened presents. He got way too much stuff! All in all it was a wonderful party. It was the first bday that both Aunt RoRO (Lauren) and Aunt Tracy have not been at since Bryce was born (which seems like it was just yesterday). We really missed having them there. I know they will enjoy seeing the pics!! Bryce now insists that he is a big kid. Some new things about him:

• He loves anything that has to do with firemen, fire trucks etc
• He is turning into quite the little smarty pants. Definitely has Bryan's quick wit!
• He goes to the pool everyday with his Daddy and is starting to love swimming
• He loves picking veggies from "his" garden. Cucumbers are his current favorite
  
  Look at me...I'm four!
  

Bryce and Cody getting ready to slide

Jeff looks so excited to be in charge of the presents!

Bryce and Stephen

Five minutes in the car and out like a light... partying takes alot out of a 4 yr old!

I Love New York

It has been so long since I blogged. I will try to catch everyone up on what's been going on soon but wanted to share about my NYC trip.
I had a blast in New York. We stayed with Lauren at her apartment. It's small (she had prepared us!), but is so really cute. It was so nice getting to spend time with her again. And she makes the best tour guide! We took trains and buses and cabs and squeezed in sooo many things! My Aunt Rain came on Sat and spent the night and most of Sunday with us. It was a great girls weekend!! Here is a brief list of what we did:
Went to see Tracy's apartment and had a great Italian dinner with her
Saw Rent on Broadway and had great seats!
Ate at a great Mexican restaurant in the East Village and had the best Italian pastries at this adorable Italian place (We even had some for breakfast the next day!)
Did all the touristy things: Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Times square, and too many more to list!
I got an Italian Ice!! (see pic below). I made Lauren and my mom walk back down to the East Village to get a yummy rainbow flavor ice. If you grew up in the North then you know what I am talking about. It is one of my most favorite things from my childhood and it tasted exactly as I remembered it...paper cup and all.
It was a fun trip and was over way too soon. We boarded the plane (dozen bagels in hand) tired yet happy and already planning my next trip to the big apple! Thanks again Lauren!
Here are some pics

My mom and me in Times Square

The Chrysler Building

view from the top of the Empire State building

my three favorite ladies... Aunt Rain, Lauren, and my mom

Lauren and Me in Times Square on our way to see Rent (I highly recommend it if you are going to see a show anytime soon...amazing!!)

Me Cheesing it up with my Italian Ice....YUMMY!!

Take me out to the ball game

Bryce's first tball game was this afternoon. He is officially a Muckdog (who names tball teams anyway?). It was a great game. Here is how 3-4 year old tball works. Every child gets to bat each inning. When they hit the ball they run to first. The last batter on each team gets to hit a "home run" and run the bases. They play three innings. That's it. No winner and no loser. It makes for a very entertaining afternoon (thank goodness... we have games twice a week for the next 4 weeks). Here are some video's of Bryce's first big game.

This is Bryce hitting the ball. He's not too bad!!


This is Bryce playing pitcher. He loved "catching" the ball and throwing it to first. He would yell at the batter "hey you, hit it to me!".

4 + 3 + 11 months = mass chaos

Bryce's sleepover and zoo day with his friend Cody was a complete success. They finally went to sleep around 12 pm after much threatening by Bryan. They were up early ready to go and were outside playing by 9am.

We headed off to the zoo at 11am. Things were going just fine until we arrived at the front gate. Then mass chaos broke out and did not stop until we finally got the three of them back in the car around 4pm. There must be some rule that two 3/4 year olds will not want to see the same animal at the same time. There must also be a rule that says every huge animal (elephant, gorilla, tiger, etc) must poop while the kids are looking at their backside. The 3/4 year olds then feel the need to yell out what is happening while making sound effects and laughing hysterically.

Other funny moments included:

Bryce dropping his pants and peeing into the kangaroo exhibit much to my horror and everyone else's amusement.

Watching Bryan try to keep up with Cody and Bryce while they were running in two completely different directions.

I was more tired after our zoo trip then I was after walking 10 miles last week!

Thank God I have a child free weekend coming up next weekend! I think hanging with my mom, Lauren, and Aunt Rainy in the big apple will be a lot less chaotic and I can't wait!!

I like to stand

I know I already posted a blog today but thought I would share a picture I took of Bryce and Callie today. She LOVES to pull herself up to her feet and cruise around the couch or whatever else she has pulled up on. She is getting so big!

Friends are Fun

Bryce is having his first sleepover tonight. His friend Cody is over for the night. They are having a ball and are currently camped out in sleeping bags with popcorn and watching Thomas the Train. Bryan and I went to college with Cody's mom and dad. Now our kids are becoming friends....wierd.
Hopefully they make it thru the night. We are planning on taking the boys and Callie to the zoo tomorrow. Wish us luck!

cell phones can't swim

Callie decided to take my cell phone for a swim in her baby pool last week. After a little CPR it came back to life but only for a day or two.
So I headed off to the T-mobile store to figure out what free phone I could get with a plan extension. The free phones looked great and I'm sure they work just fine but I was coaxed into getting something a little bit better (not by the salesmen but by my dad who was footing the bill...it's a company phone). So here is what I got...

love it, love it, love it! Best thing ever invented. It keeps all of my phone numbers, all of my to do's (with friendly reminders), all of my passwords, and my calender. I can also get my email (and my dad's email...the man is completely computer illiterate), browse the internet, get directions and maps with this great map feature, and take pictures. Don't know how I functioned with out it.

Don't know how I functioned with out it.

Thank you Callie.