Hannah's 1st Birthday Party

Our little princess had her 1st birthday party on Saturday.  She doesn't officially turn the big ONE until Monday - but Andy and I are in Chicago this weekend for a wedding, so we scheduled the big party a week ahead of schedule. 

I am all about cake and dessert - so knew the cake had to be good.  I was referred to a lady that works in the building I manage.  She makes cakes on the side.  Not only do they look great, but they are delicious and cheap!  For these two cakes (the big cake alone serves 30-35 people) she only charged me $25!

It isn't a party without the chocolate fountain!

Or a game of bags!

Bennett loving him some chocolate.

Georgia having a little issue with the rice krispies!

Look at all four teeth coming in on top! 

Aunt Heidi and Uncle Nate hanging with the boys.  Henry did very well with sharing. 

I loved watching the boys play ball.  It was the first time watching Henry do this.  It made me realize just how grown up he is!

The girls playing in the yard.

Time to open presents!  Finally some girly books and toys!  Hannah has been playing with her brother's toys for the past year, so she was very excited to get her very own toys. 

Chaos - I loved every minute of it!  And I know Hannah did as well. 

Playing with the kitchen we bought her.  She kept trying to drink out of the fountain.

Isn't her apron the cutest!

But mom - no water is coming out??!!

Time for some yummy cake.  Hannah had her very own cake.  It took her a few tries, but she finally dug her hand down deep.  She didn't eat too much of the cake.  She played with it more than anything. 

Hannah and her friends.  Peyton 9 months and Georgia 14 months. 

Baking cupcakes with her friend.

Henry giving Peyton a hug goodbye.  Check out P's face!!  Priceless!

Hanging out with her grandma's. 

Overall it was a perfect day.  Crazy to think that my little baby has entered toddler hood. 

Hannah is one spoiled little girl who is loved so much!  Happy 1st birthday baby girl!

Friday Morning Playdate

What a great Friday morning.  My girlfriend Annie brought her two adorable girls over this morning for a play date.  Annie and I met in college at Iowa, then when Andy and I lived in Atlanta they moved to Chattanooga, TN, where we visited them, and then they moved to Atlanta a few months before we moved back to Iowa.  Then, they moved back to Iowa City a few years ago. 

Luckily I have a very flexible job, so I was able to stay home with the kids this morning and then came into work this after lunch. 

Claire was born on November 20th, just a month and a half after Henry.  They had so much fun together.  It is fun to see the difference between little girls and little boys.  Claire is terrified of bugs where Henry will go and stomp on it and then pick it up and throw it outside.  I love it!

Having fun on the play set.

Claire learned how to pedal today! 

Hanging out in the front yard while the little babies slept.

Got Claire to smile!  Henry also taught her how to say 'cheese'.  She did not want her picture taken the first hour we were together, but she warmed up.

All the kiddos playing together.  Emma was born last August, so her and Hannah are just over a month apart.  Annie and I are both crazy and had our kids 21 months apart!

Henry loved playing with Claire's baby doll. 

While Annie was trying to feed Emma her bottle I heard Claire start crying about something.  So I ran into the play room to find Henry coloring on the baby's face.  Awesome.  Luckily they were washable markers...

It was a great start to the weekend.  We are so lucky to have such great friends so close! 

Now time to prepare for Hannah's 1st birthday party tomorrow!

Daddy's Little Helper

 It is definitely true that little boys want to be just like their daddy's.  There isn't an activity or chore that goes by that Andy does that Henry doesn't help out with.  Henry's favorite chore by far is mowing the lawn. 

Henry mows next to Andy the entire time.  He helps pick up sticks that are in the way, and loves picking up the grass clippings.

You can see his collection of grass clippings on top of his mower.

Henry - say 'Cheese'.

Even Hannah gets in on the action!

Only a few more years and Henry will be using the big mower and mowing the lawn instead of us!!

Andy's 29th

Andy turned the big 2-9 on Sunday.  On Saturday we had friends and family over to grill out and celebrate. 

Mandy and Paul brought him a delicious vanilla ice cream cake decorated very nicely by the high school worker at TCBY.  The worker asked Mandy how old Andy was (thinking she was going to say 3 or something), when Mandy responded 29 he laughed.  You are never too young for a decorated cake!!

Brian and Brianna giving Hannah her night time bottle.

Henry loved getting attention from Mandy.  She was scratching his back for him and got him to sit still for almost ten minutes!  Mandy and Paul also bought Henry his very own Buzz Lightyear.  He hasn't put him down since!

Blowing out his candles.  There were several still lit after the first try.  Brianna cracked the not so funny joke of 'Guess that is how many kids you will still have!'  There were at least four candles lit - so as I said - not so funny!

Watching and singing one of Henry's favorite songs - Happy Birthday. 

Sunday we spent with Deb and Dale out to eat for lunch.  The kids behaved surprisingly well.

Looking back to when we were 21 years young, I didn't think there was anyway I could have loved him anymore than I did at that point.  Boy was I wrong. 

Thank you to everyone for celebrating Andy's last birthday in his 20's!  

Cousin Justin

This is my cousin Justin.  We go way back.  Every summer we used to spend weeks at my grandma and grandpa's farm building forts, camping out in the campers, playing on the sand hills, and searching through old barns.  He now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma and works as an underground tank inspector.  He travels quite a bit and visits Des Moines a few times a year.  It is great for us because he gets to stop by for a visit!  He was in town last Tuesday night and came over for dinner. 

At first Hannah wasn't quite sure what to think of Justin.  She actually started crying the first time she saw him.  It was pretty funny.

By the end of the night she warmed up and let him hold her!

Can you tell we are related??

She even let him give her her bedtime bottle. 

Henry on the other hand wasn't quite sure what to think of Justin.  When it was time for him to leave I told Henry to give him a hug goodbye.  Henry looked at me with big eyes and said

'No mom, I don't like that guy'

I couldn't believe he said that!!  I'm sure this is just the first of many embarrassing comments that will come out of my children's mouths....

Thanks for stopping by Justin - you are welcome anytime!!

Walker!

I would consider this walking - wouldn't you??!!  Look at her go!!

Reasons we love our Zoo Pass

Reasons we love our zoo pass:

1. The new dinosaur exhibit - Henry loves it!!

He isn't so sure about T-Rex...

2. So many fun activities for the kids.

3.  Zoo keepers bring around animals for the kids to touch and get up close and personal with - even yucky snakes!!  

My children have no fear....just yet...

4. You get to be outside on beautiful days.

5.  The Giraffes!!  (Andy isn't sure who gets more excited to see the giraffes, me or the kids.)

6.  Feeding the animals

Even Hannah got to help this time.  Luckily my mom caught her before she tried to feed herself the fish food....

7.  The train ride - Henry's favorite!

8.  Family time

While the Des Moines Zoo isn't the best zoo in the country, it is perfect for little kids and makes for a great weekend outing.  The Zoo was just purchased from the City a few years ago and the new owner is doing all sorts of construction improvements to make the zoo even better for all of the Iowa Families.  I know we will be annual zoo pass members for years to come. 

Icy Pops!

Growing up in Iowa, there wasn't a summer that went by that our freezer wasn't constantly stocked with icy pops.  We bought a huge bunch the other day and they are now a nightly treat for the kids (and me) after a long, hot, day. 

This is just one of the many things we love about summer!

Chi O For Life

Over Memorial Day weekend I headed down to Siesta Key, Florida for some fun in the sun with some of my best college girlfriends to celebrate Anne's upcoming nuptials.  The trip was everything I expected and needed.  Each day consisted of laying out on the sandy white beaches, steps away from the clear ocean.

Our days were pretty rough.  Up by 9am, on the beach taking in the rays by 10am, we would stop for lunch and then head back out for a few more hours before hitting up the Daiquiri Deck, which is now my favorite place in the world!

After a few daiquiris we would get ready for dinner and a night out on the town. 

Me with the bachelorette!  Love you Anne!  

Out for dinner.  All the Chi O girls!!

Julie loves her Patron!

We hit up a karaoke bar the second night we were there.  If you know me, you know I love some karaoke.  I was the first and the last one on the karaoke stage.  It was such a blast!

For my readers that have upcoming bachelorette parties to attend - here is a hilarious game for you.  You tie a string around your waist and on the end tie a hot dog around it.  The first person to fling the hot dog up with their waist and catch it in their mouth (hands behind your back) wins.  Obviously a few drinks were involved first - but this was one of the funniest bachelorette games I have ever played!!

Anne's parents were nice enough to let us stay at their beautiful condo on the beach for 4 nights.  It was amazing.  I missed the kids like crazy and was so ready to see them - but it was so great to have some time away.  Props to my wonderful husband for taking on the task of caring for two crazy kiddos for four nights. 

In college people always gave me a hard time for 'paying for my friends', but it was worth every penny!!  I am blessed to have met all of these girls and have truly found life long friends!

XO4L