Mother's Day {2012}

I walked in the door to get Weston from preschool and he had the biggest smile on his face. He hands me a bag and says, "I have a present for ya." He ripped the package open and threw a bunch of home made gifts at me. Literally. He was so excited and so happy. It was the sweetest thing ever and I loved every second. These little home made gifts are treasures to me. 

I love my boys and I love being their mom. I feel so lucky to have them. I love my own mom and love all the special women in my life. Hope all you mamas out there had a great day!

Bunnies and Ducks

A few weekends ago we had to go to Danville for paint {because we are torturing ourselves by painting our whole house}. We made a few animal stops along the way... first up... Alamo Hay and Grain. A friend told me about it and I have a soft spot for bunnies. This little guy reminded me exactly of my bunny Fluffy that I got when I was eight. Believe me, if Cameron wasn't with us this bunny would have been in our back seat. Seriously, look at Weston's face. 

Then we went to Blackhawk Plaza for a picnic and some duck time. Weston was less than enthused today about his whole duck experience and Holden only wanted to dive in. The entire time. Lunches {or breakfasts or dinner} are just never relaxing... or maybe that is parenthood in general? Anyhow, the day was gorgeous and Draeger's Market never disappoints. 

Date Nights

We've been trying to get babysitters a bit more these days.... sounds lame, like we've had to make an effort.... but it's true. It's been way fun and really good for us. We've been to a few concerts, the temple {thanks to a great babysitter we found}, movies, dinners, and on a few Target runs. Seriously, date nights are good for the soul. 

{In S.F. seeing Nada Surf}

{seeing Better Than Ezra}

Happy Hollow

You would think we had never gone to an amusement park based on the amount of photos I just uploaded. I seriously can't help myself... we are ride junkies. We spent the day at Happy Hollow when Cameron's mom was in town. The weather was gorgeous and the lines were short. Perfect. 

Weston loves himself a good coaster- he went four times in a row and we had to drag him away. 

He wouldn't sit back in his seat this time. I think all these pictures are so cute seeing him pressed up against the lap bar. Not sure how his neck felt about it but there weren't any complaints??

Even Grandma had a run on the coaster... go Grandma!!

All you get is giggles on the frog hopper and Weston keeps telling me this is his favorite ride.

Watching these two on the cars melted my heart a thousand times. Holden adores his big brother and Weston is slowly catching onto the love. 

The boys loved the ponies, goats, and sheep. I finally convinced Weston to stop brushing the ground and to brush the goat. He was into it for about 30 seconds and then went back to brushing the ground. 

Holden loves anything that moves so he was chasing those goats around non-stop. He'd give them a big  ol' slap or hair pull anytime he got close enough.... just to let them know a baby was in their territory. Poor lil' goats.

Grandma Visits

We were so lucky to have Grandma come into town for a few days. Weston loved being read to at all waking moments and Holden warmed up towards the end. He's been having a lovely bout of "I cry when I can't see my mom." It's real fun. Anyhow, we love you grandma and we were so happy to have you visit! 

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!!!

Practice Makes Perfect....

at least that's what we keep trying to tell Holden. We have baby boot camp over here every day trying to make the poor thing walk. He's sooooo close. He can take about 12 steps, he's balancing, and letting go a few times during the day and taking a step or two.

Here's how Holden feels about the whole process....