Holden: 2 Years

Holden was super excited for his birthday. His birthday morning he was so excited the second we pulled him out of his crib. He came running out to the kitchen as fast as he could. We have lots of blurry and bad action shots to prove it. He loved opening his gifts and the big deal we made about him all day long. 

The boys play "birthday party" all the time so he thrilled with his real candles. That was about the only thing he was thrilled about... Holden really isn't a breakfast person. He took one bite of his nutella and banana crepe and he was back to playing with his digger.

Holden has a really fun and strong personality. One could probably describe him as bossy and very very loud... but I'll just sum that up as "strong." He loves to keep up with his brother and friends and seriously hates to miss out on anything. He loves to scream your name till you answer him... and he gets louder and louder each time he yells for you. He loves to wrestle, sword fight, play with diggers, trucks, and trains, has a major sweet tooth and he even loves sour candy and anything minty. He loves to laugh, loves the color blue and purple {kind of to the point of obsession}, and his favorite foods are hummus with pretzels and olives, and pizza. We love you Holdie! Happy Birthday!!

Holden got a scooter for his birthday and he's been loving it so far. I think he mostly loves that he gets to scoot with Weston on walks now instead of riding in the wagon. Kills me that my kids keep growing up. Stop already!

Holden's 2nd {Farm} Birthday Party

Holden's an animal lover so we went with a farm/petting zoo theme. I'm just seriously relieved I wasn't in the hospital delivering baby boy.... although I seriously knew I couldn't get that lucky but I had my friends on back up just in case!!! Holden likes to be heard {to put it nicely} so he's been shouting "two" and "party" for weeks now. When Cameron pulled up to the park that morning the look on his face was so perfect. We love you Holdie and we hope you had a perfect day. 

The petting zoo ended up being perfect... and it included the nosiest pigs you've ever heard. Chickens, baby goats, bunnies, hens, ducks, and pigs made lots of kiddos pretty happy.

Hold's favorite part of the party was his free access to sugar. The kid has got a sweet tooth and we have no idea where that came from. His rotation went something like Cheetos, donuts, juice, Mexican Coke, caramel apples, then repeat. You only turn two once! 

Holden's 1st Birthday Party

Our little Hold's woke up to streamers and presents. Pretty sure Weston was convinced it was his birthday and his presents.... but I guess two excited kids is better than just one!

That night we had a small party for our birthday boy....  the kids all had a blast, Holden loved his cake, and it turned out to be a perfect night. 

Don't get me started on my cake issues.... I used this chocolate cake recipe and this salted carmel frosting recipe. The cake is turning out to be one of my favorite recipes and the frosting was really great too.... but it didn't turn out thick enough nor sticky enough. It basically just slid down the cake. Hmmmm?

Favors were our favorite giant chocolate chip cookies sprinkled with sea salt. Sea salt on cookies is really the only way to go. 

The smash cake failed miserably.... but Holden didn't care. Three cakes later I ended up with this and was just happy to have a cake for him before the party started. Holden loved the candle and loved having this giant cake all to himself. 

To say he enjoyed his cake was an understatement. I love, love, love this age.

We had 5 minutes of silence while the kiddos were eating and then we went back to chaos. The kids had a blast. 

{Holden, Evan, Weston, Brayden, Conner, and Ava. Not pictured: Luke and Ronan}

We love you to pieces Holdie! Happy 1st Birthday!!

Holden: 1 Year

It's true what they say... the years just fly by.  A year ago this little guy joined our fam... 

and now look at him. One is so much fun... Holden's walking, talking, yelling, laughing, and busy, busy, busy. 

He hates to wear anything on his head, 

loves to be around people and his big brother, is starting to cuddle up to you when he's tired {for about 10 seconds but it's an improvement},

is getting into everything between crawling and walking, loves to put everything in his mouth, is completely obsessed with using a spoon and fork, will eat anything, loves music and his music class,

loves books, is sooooo easy going, loves Mickey Mouse, loves to do a scream/yell thing when he's happy, always wants what his brother has, has a sweet tooth, is completely busy but is also completely content being held.

We love you Holdie!!!

Holden's Birth Day

One c-section = more c-sections = leisurely pictures outside the hospital before you give birth {in clothes that don't really fit anymore}.

I thought the first c-section was way better than the second because I had no clue what was going on the first time around. This time I had major deja vu because I prepped in the same room, delivered in the same OR, recovered in the same room, had some of the same nurses, etc. The smells, feelings, cold room, the spinal, etc. etc. were all the same so it was kind of a weird experience.

But in the end I think I enjoyed the experience a whole lot more because I kind of knew what to expect. I loved seeing Holden for the first time and couldn't wait to hold him.

Cameron giving Holden his first pep talk.

Weston's a little unsure about the whole baby thing. He'll say baby and look at him and occasionally kiss him but that's about it. Holding him is definitely out of the question.

Holding a newborn makes you want to have a about a hundred babies... seriously, could anything be any better?

My mom flew into town and has been a major help shuttling Weston all around and keeping him entertained. Welcome to the world Holden!

Introducing...

Holden Gray Rosenhan

8 pounds 12 ounces

21 inches

May 2, 2011

12:50 pm

We're so happy he's here... Holden is the sweetest, calmest, sleepiest, chillest baby ever. We love him! Naming your baby boy may be one of the most complex tasks around. After some intense negotiations we decided on Holden's name right before we left the hospital. His middle name, Gray, comes from my great grandma. She is a woman who I miss and love so much. She touched my life and I hope Holden knows what an honor it is to be named after her.