Happy 3rd Birthday!

  It's hard to believe that it has been three years since we got the phone that changed our lives forever.  Samuel is such a joy to us.

 I was sad for him to have a birthday in the wintertime, because I have a winter birthday. I didn't like it much as a kid. The weather was usually yucky, so I couldn't have my party outside.  I was really glad when Samuel wanted to have a snowman party this year.

 I got the cupcakes from Whole Foods, and they were very tasty - and very affordable. They were just over $1 each.  I got some of the decorations at after-Christmas sales and I made the rest. Disney missed the mark on marketing Frozen themed items for little boys. All of the party decorations that I could find were very girly.  If I had been able to find plates and party hats with Olaf and Sven on them, I probably would have bought them. I managed to track down Olaf though! He was a hard character to find in St. Louis, but I finally found him through a friend. He was provided by Once Upon a Party. That company was great to work with, and they even sent Olaf with a gift and card for Samuel. Olaf and his assistant played a couple of game with the kids.

The first game was "building a snowman." The kids wrapped each other in toliet paper.

 The second game was stick-the-nose on Olaf. Samuel decided that he wanted to stick his paper nose on Daddy instead of Olaf.

Eva Kate had no problem posing with Frankenstein at Halloween, but she didn't want to pose with Olaf. I had to get in the photo with her. Next, it was time for presents and birthday cake.

 Samuel was given two sled for his birthday, but no snow. He is still getting to play with them inside though. One of them has become a little boat that he and Eva pull around - or get pulled around in themselves.

We were blessed to have all four of our parents in town for his party, and we had several of our friends join us as well.  Thank you all - you made the day special for Samuel!

Eighteen Months

Eva Kate turned 18 months old today.  It's hard to believe that it's been a year and a half since our surprise baby girl popped into our lives.

 It's fun to see her personality develop.  She can be pretty sassy sometimes.  She's not talking much yet, but she understands much of what we say to her.  She loves to eat applesauce, pumpkin, waffles, and cheese.  She is fearless, and while that characteristic makes me crazy right now, it is my hope that God has a plan to work though her in her fearlessness. These days her fearlessness is played out by climbing upon anything that is stationary, but it is my prayer that she will follow fearlessly after Our Redeemer as she grows.

 We gave her a little gift to open today.  Nothing extravagant, just some fun little things.

 A bottle of bubble bath.

 A bag of balloons. Balloons are a fun thing to have when we're stuck inside with bad weather, but I forgot about my latex allergy when I bought them. I blew one of them up for her, and I was immediately reminded that we can't have latex anything around here.  Sigh. Yes, I'm a pharmacist.  James is going to be responsible for blowing up the rest of these balloons.

 And a little ball with Tinkerbell on it.

 I made some brownies for her that we shared with our small group from church this evening.

Happy Half-Birthday, my girl!

Happy Birthday, James

I love you more every year.

Thank you for providing for us, so that I may devote most of my time to the children. Thank you for taking cake of the kids in the evenings from time to time so that I am free to pursue my hobbies and friendships.

Thank you for your steadfastness in waiting for these two gifts from God. I love watching you interact with the kids.

 Lily is thankful for you too. Because, let's face it. You're her favorite human. 

I love our time together, whether on a trip or at home. Our nights at Busch are always fun.  I love it when you wear your baseball cap backwards. It always takes me back to this night -

Can you believe that was 14 years ago? Twenty years old. A year away from being married. You had already captured my heart, but it was this night that my love affair with this city -and the Cardinals- began.

Eva Kate Turns One

Three weeks ago we had the joy of celebrating our daughter's first birthday. We had her party in my hometown of Hot Springs, AR at Lake Catherine state park. The weather was beautiful.

 The party favors were chocolate bars from Crown Candy Kitchen in St. Louis. They had an image of the St. Louis Arch on them. Yummy!

 My mom and mother-in-law did a great job helping me with the decorations.

My dad did a wonderful job grilling burgers and hotdogs. His burgers are always some of the best I ever eat.

 My Aunt Sandy and Uncle Charles allowed us to use their vintage convertible for Eva Kate's one year photos. Thank you so very much!

 My mom made Eva's tutu & I made her onesie.

I got the cake from Ambrosia Bakery in Hot Springs, and it was fantastic. The did an awesome job with the cake decoration and it taste like homemade cake.

 It was a blessing to have our family there to celebrate with us.

Thank you to my cousin Kenzie for these fabulous photos!

Samuel's Second Birthday

 We celebrated Samuel's 2nd birthday last Saturday. We had his party in James' hometown, and we got to see all of our family in the area.  He has become fascinated with trains, so that was the theme of the party.

 A big thank you to one of Louisiana's finest for making this little fella pretty happy. A state trouper let us take photos of Samuel with a caboose that he owned.

James' Uncle and Dad got this train set up for the party. It was the highlight of the party for Samuel. Thank you for sharing it with us!

 The cake came from Linda's Specialty Cakes. It was delicious, and it was
way cheaper than his first birthday cake.  One of the benefits of a small town, I guess. James' parents took care of the party planning, which was a huge help to me.  Thank you! We had the party at the activity building of the church James grew up in. We've had several family celebrations in that building.

Samuel, you are a joy to us!  It is so much watching you learn how to do new things and seeing you grow. We are so thankful for you.