Two!

Happy 2nd birthday, Hazel!!


How can my wee baby be two already? Where does the time go? I want to push pause and keep her this sweet, happy, snuggly, innocent thing for as long as possible.

She sincerely is a joy. She's like Mary Poppins...practically perfect in every way. She even unloads the dishwasher. Yes, you heard me right. She unloads the dishwasher. And puts her toys away while singing, "Clean up, clean up. Everybody do your share." And she snuggles me. Oh, I wish I could keep her in this stage for just a little while longer.

We started the birthday off right...with a partay in the morning! Crepes for breakfast...

...and a pile of presents!

Look at the excitement and intrigue on her face!

It's a lovely necklace from her GreatPapa Sperry. Thank you, Papa.

More excitement. She really knew how to respond when opening her presents. It was so cute.

All dolled up! She loves this dress.

These two cute little girlies are Hazel's favorite pals. They were born within ten days of each other. We had a really simple birthday party and invited these girls, along with their moms and siblings.

Cupcakes! Hazel anticipated her birthday with balloons, cupcakes, and a party with her friends. A side note, see the tablecloth on the table? It is my mom's. She had it on our table for all of our birthdays growing up. I love that tablecloth. I love that it's a real linen rather than a plastic cloth. And I love the continuity found in having it at all our family's birthdays over the years. I made a banner to match it. I love that little banner. I had fun making it and hope it will have the same effect as the tablecloth, linking family members together through our birthday traditions.

We finished off the night with a dinner party at Red Robin!

She got shy when the servers sang to her. She snuggled in to me and hid her face...peaking out every now and then. She liked the whipped cream!

Just for fun, Daddy's boots. I thought it was so funny when she wanted to put these on. She couldn't step into them herself so I helped her out. Once she got them on, she felt pretty proud to be in Daddy's boots.

Happy first, Hazy!

Hazy turned one in January! She was a perfect baby and she's still the epitome of joyful sweetness!

She fell in love with this baby doll at the store. Every time we passed it she got excited and talked to it. She was so excited to have her at home too!

Hazy enjoyed her cake. At first she touched the frosting and tasted it. Then she poked her finger all the way into the cake. Then she stuck her hand in. The cake looked intact from the top and the other sides...but this side looked like a little wren's nest in a saguaro cactus.

We really missed having family here to celebrate her first birthday. But we were very happy to have these good friends celebrate with us! Yes, Hazel's in her birthday suit. After the cake, she needed a bath!

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Robison!

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Ford!

Birthday dinner at Red Robin. Hazel may have had some help from her siblings in choosing the venue.

Carter loves their cheeseburgers.

Lily loves their mac and cheese. She only ate two servings of it this time!

Where's Hazy?

Peek-a-boo!

Happy 31st!

My man is getting old! Okay, not really, he's just as old as me now. Aaron was out of town for work on his birthday. He said the folks at work sang Happy Birthday to him and were surprised to hear that he is 31 and has three kids. Good for him, looking like a young 'un.

He got home right at bedtime so we had a late dinner and birthday celebration.

We gave him cowboy boots, which he's been wanting for several years now. Hooray! His parents also gave him a Cutco knife. Wahoo! My parents gave him gift cards for Red Robin and a leaf blower that he's been wanting. Well, his gifters know what he wants!

Aaron doesn't love birthday cake. So he got brownies with Breyer's mint chocolate chip ice cream. It was delicious! Hazel was intently focused on the candles on Aaron's brownie. Lily was too, in fact. She tried to blow them out for him. :)

Aaron is an amazing man. I couldn't ask for a better husband, friend, and father of my children. He is incredible! Happy birthday, Aaron!

Late is great!

My mom-in-law and I have something in common: we can't get to the post office to ship off packages in a timely manner. And this time it made for a really fun birthday and Easter celebration yesterday morning!

Carter (and Lily, I might add) loves this Thomas Lego set. It is so much fun!

Who doesn't love Easter candy early in the morning?

Grandma knows what Carter likes!

Grandma chose beautiful new Easter outfits. I loved having something fresh and new for my kids to wear to church. Thanks, Grandma!

I love, love, love when my kids are dressed up nice before church starts. I think I like it so much because with three kids, everything is usually in disarray. ;) In this moment I enjoy the illusion that everything is clean, bright, and tidy!

Lily turned 6!

Lily girl is so fantastic. My first baby girl is no longer a baby. She has grown so much and is a wonderful girl. She is helpful, fun, clever, and smart.

Another birthday

I had a very happy birthday. My family made me feel very special that day. My mom made me a delicious zucchini cake. The zucchinis were grown in my dad's garden and the walnuts were grown on my grandpa's tree. Lily and Carter helped mom frost the cake. They love licking the beaters!

Dad was so sweet and thoughtful. He sent me off to get "that thing done to your feet." My first pedicure ever. Isn't that so thoughtful for a dad to come up with?! We had dinner at a restaurant that I love. It's called Neapolitan. It's delicious italian food.

As you can see, for Aaron it was more work than pleasure. He sure did give me a break by wrestling Carter that evening. He also made me crepes for breakfast that morning. What a dear.

Growing up my mom put a special table cloth on the table for our birthdays. To me, it's the epitome of birthday. You put that on the table and the whole house feels birthday-y. She was so sweet to bring it with her and put it on my table for my birthday.

Thank you, Aaron, Lily, Carter, Mom and Dad for a wonderful birthday!

Happy 2nd birthday, Carter!

My little boy turned 2 yesterday! He is such a delightful little guy. He's happy, easy-going, and can sit and play with cars and trucks for a looong time.

We had a birthday party for him Friday evening because Grandpa and Grandma Robison and Uncle Mike and Uncle Nate were in town. It was great to have them here for Carter's party.

I baked his cake Friday morning. Carter wanted to eat the batter so badly. I told him we had to bake it and then we'd have it after dinner. A little later he said, "Excited." He's never said that before and it was so darn cute. I asked him what he was excited for and he said, "Cake." It's the first time he's ever expressed emotion with words. I loved it! He associates cake with his birthday. He talked about cake whenever we mentioned birthday. Once he saw his finished cake he wanted the toys off it but was so patient to wait until we were done singing to him. When it came time to blow out the candles he did the "fff" sound, which didn't blow the flames out. So Lily helped him.

Carter thinks Dylan and Sammy are the coolest boys around. You can see here that they are!

More photos from the month of April:
Easter, Grandma & Grandpa Robison's visit, and more of Carter's party.