Surprise Homecoming!

I was so excited when my best friend Desire asked me to come with her to photograph Keenen's homecoming almost 4 months early!  I'm in love with this couple and I had to be there to witness their faces when they saw each other.  They were all smiles. 

 I know Desire's eyes are closed in this picture, but I just love the way that he is looking at her.  Makes my heart happy. 

The next day Keenen surprised the kids at one of the most beautiful things I have ever had the chance to witness.  Keenen dressed up as Frosty the Snowman at the Home Depot's Christmas Village.  Everyone was in on the surprise.....except the kids of coarse.  The Whidbey New Times was also there.  The Whidbey News Times did a wonderful story on the kids surprise here. 

The kids showed up, looked around at the animals, and festivities planned, rode around on the train with Frosty.....and they had nooooo idea.  I was giddy watching them! 

 It was finally time to reveal the surprise so Santa and Mrs. Claus asked them what they really wanted for Christmas this year.  They all said they wanted their dad to come home.....and a cell phone :)  So all of the kids closed their eyes and wished really hard. 

Frosty took off his head and their was their daddy!  The kids were ecstatic.  Their wasn't a dry eye in the house.  Such a magical moment. 

 What a wonderful Christmas blessing to see such an amazing family back together again.  We love you guys so much!

Welcome Home Keenen! 

Jaxon's Tattoo Theme 1st Birthday Party!

It's Birthday party day!  If you know me....you know I love parties and entertaining.  I especially love being a mommy and having parties for our Little's.  Jaxon's First Birthday had to be perfect.  I worked really hard to make every detail special.  Lily did too.  She made his birthday cupcake....."All by mine self." According to Lily :) 

 I purchased a long sleeve black tshirt from Walmart for $3 and cut out letters onto scrap fabric that I have.  I wanted him to be able to wear it all year long and have it as a keepsake so I stayed away from happy birthday.  One was perfect.  I ironed on the letters using fusible webbing.  I bought a yard a while ago for around $5 at the craft store and I am still using it.  It goes a log way.  You can also sew the letters after you iron them on, but I wasn't very good at using my machine yet.  Next I made a birthday hat.  I used the pattern from here.  So easy and quick to do.  I wanted the party to have a tattoo theme, so I purchased kids tattoo sleeves from the $1 store.  I cut the sleeve and used it to cover the party hat, and a large elastic hair band (5/$1) and voila.....tattooed party hat!  I am absolutely in love with it. 

 We try to buy our kids one special thing for their birthday.  Jax's special thing this year was a tool bench that we purchased from Amazon.com for about $35.  I was so excited to receive it, when Brad finally put it together it was so tiny.  I was disappointed because of how small it was, but Jaxon seems to love it. 

 I made the invitations on my computer using publisher and a tattooed font that I downloaded from dafont.com.  The invitations were so cute.

 I also made gift bags for all of the kids who were Jaxon's party guests.  We kept the party very small.  I just wanted family and Desire's kids.  Inside each bag was a juice box, Cracker JAX (get it?), a twirly straw, and candy.  I decorated the outside of the bag using scrapbook paper and I printed extra invitations to cut out and use for the bags so they would match.  Each bag cost me $2 to make! 

 Here is my sweet 1 year old showing off his shirt and birthday hat. 

 Here are the cupcakes that we made.....ahem....Lily made :)  I made each of them special by printing toppers for each of the cupcakes and hot gluing them onto a toothpick.  Cost:  Free!  My mom found these adorable 1st birthday plates and napkins on sale, so she picked them up months ago.  She is always thinking ahead.  One of the many things I love about her.   

 Me-maw also bought noise makers.  Lily and Me-maw had a great time playing with them! 

 Jaxon was so sleepy, that he didn't even make it to the cake or presents part of the party.  So instead everyone got Jax snuggles. 

 Jax received so many adorable little gifts including books, outfits, stuffed animals, cars, puzzles, and so much more.  When he woke up he was very excited, but still wasn't himself.  Later that night he developed a large welt on his face.  I was sure he had been bit by a spider so I thought nothing of it. 

The next morning when he woke up he looked like this!!!!!  So I immediately called the doctor, cried, and had a panic attack.  They told me to watch it and if it got worse to call back and make an appointment.  I gave him Tylenol since they were seeming to bother him.  They would go away.....and come back in different spots.  I had no idea what was causing the welts.  I washed everything, checked for spiders, cleaned everything, checked food for possible allergies, but nothing was different.  After talking to the doctor, I realized that it was most likely an allergic reaction.  SO he was on a strict food diet until we figured out what it was.  After process of elimination, we discovered the laundry detergent that we always buy from Costco changed their ingredients.  Same bucket, same label, but different ingredients.  The only reason why i even figured this out was because I kept past buckets for car washing.  So I changed my detergent to hypo allergenic baby wash and they went away.  I have used the detergent since he was a newborn so it was so weird that he was suddenly allergic to it.  So I slowly reintroduced  it back into our laundry since I have a huge bucket.  So now I only use 1/2 the amount I was using and he is doing great.  I'm thinking it was because it was very concentrated and I was just using too much.  Either way. 

 

My sweet baby boy feels much better and is welt free after a week of panicking.

Happy 1st Birthday Jaxon Hawk.

I can't believe our baby boy is one today.  I feel like he was born just yesterday.  Everything is still so fresh in my mind. (If you want to read Jaxon's birth story click here).  How hard it was to be on strict bed rest laying on my back (click here), not being allowed to sit up while my husband worked night shift, having to humble myself to have other people give us help.  I'll never forget when I found out I was pregnant with him (click here).  I was terrified.  I had no idea how on earth I was going to be able to take care of two babies, when I barely had the hang of one.  But somehow.....everything just worked.  Now I feel like he has always been here and my life wouldn't be the same without his sweet smile.  I love everything about having a little boy.  I will never forget the first time I saw him.  How I was completely in love with him and was so overwhelmed with pure happiness. 

On a day where I should be overjoyed about my baby hitting his first birthday, I am honestly really sad about it.  It went by so fast.  I feel so guilty for having to work and feeling like I missed so much.  Though its bittersweet, I do love watching him grow and change every single day.  In just 3 months his face changed so much.   

 He is getting so big.  He says Mama and Dada.  He crawls so fast and gets into everything.  He walks along side furniture, but isn't ready to fully commit to walking.  Honestly I am in no hurry to see him walk.  That means he is no longer my baby....it also means I will be chasing him around and never stop moving.  He roars like a lion.  He loves bath time.  He crawls around with his favorite little bear.  He gives the sweetest baby kisses.  He drinks sooooooo much milk and eats and eats and eats.  He is all boy!   

At 5 weeks old, my best friend Desire started watching both of our babies along with 4 of her own while i went to work.  It amazes me everyday, how she can do it all.  She loves my kids just as much as I do and I could not have survived this past year without her.   

 I am so over the moon happy to have our little boy in our lives making our family complete and full of love. Our family of 5 makes me smile everyday and I adore being a busy mom of 3.

Jax's party is this weekend and I can't wait to celebrate with our family and watch Jax dive into his cake. 



Happy Fathers Day My Love

Brad,

 These two little girls.....

and this sweet little boy think you are the bestest daddy in the whole wide world....and I think you are pretty fantastic too.

Thank you for letting me snuggle in your bed and watch a billion episodes of Sesame street.  .

Playing tea party with me. 

Teaching me boy things like watching sports. 

and loving us with all of your heart. 

Thank you for being the leader of our family. 

We love you all the way to everywhere and back Daddy. 

Happy Fathers Day.

Love Laney, Lily, and Jaxon.  

Happy Mothers Day to me

Happy Mothers Day to me. I did it! I have successfully survived the first two years. It seemed like just yesterday that I met Brad...you can read about it here

Became a step mommy...you can read about it here....our family of 3

My first mothers day (the day I brought Lily home from the hospital) you can read about it here....our family of 4

And now my first mothers day with my sweet baby boy....our family of 5!  We are on a tight budget this year, so no gifts allowed. All I wanted was to spend time with my family.   

 Our family has grown so much.  I have grown so much.  I have learned so much about myself over the past couple of years.  I have decided what kind of wife I want to be, what kind of mom that I will be......what kind of person I will be.  We could not have made it without the love and support from our family and friends.  Bed rest, childcare, working full time, late night phone calls of girlfriends advice, long distance friendships that keep me grounded and remind me that I'm not alone, play dates, birthday parties, snow, bad flu, family dinners, no money, surgery, cancer scare, changing jobs, night shift.....we've had it all.  The crazy thing is, I wouldn't have changed a single thing.  Without all of those things happening I wouldn't be who I am today. 

I have become closer to my mom.  After having kids I realized how much my mom sacrificed to be the mom that she was.  How much my mom really loved my sister and I. How lucky I am to have a wonderful mom who loves being a grandma.    Always caring for me when I was sick, volunteering at my school and all of my friends said that my mom was the coolest, making our Halloween costumes...I could really go on forever.  Here's more about my mom and I here. 

I have become closer to my mother in law.  Without her help in watching our kids while we were at work for the first year, we would not have made it.  We couldn't afford childcare for a newborn, but I had to work.  She gave everything up to stay at home and watch our kids and her grand babies and I am forever grateful. 

I wouldn't have reconnected with Desire, who watches our kids while we are at work now and has become one of my close friends who I trust more than anything.  Her family has become my family and I love everything about them.  I especially love that she loves our family.  She loves my kids.  And they love her right back.  Dropping them off to go to work is so sad, but I couldn't be happier cause I know that they are with her. 

I wouldn't have connected with my friend Nicole who lives on the other side of the county....she makes me feel normal and that working full time and staying up all night while trying to keep a clean house, kids that are dressed, care about yourself, care for your husband....is manageable. Her emails have motivated me throughout the year and I am so thankful for her friendship. 

I wouldn't have been so involved in our church.  Other people's kindness and prayers while I was on bed rest and not being able to spend any quality time with my husband while he worked on night shift. 

So.....now I'm a mom of 3 and its getting better and better.  We have each other, our family, and friends, good jobs, and a beautiful place we call home.  We may be broke, but we are pretty happy.  Sounds perfect to me.  Here's to another year!

Sunny Days.....Lily is 2 Today

Today is my Sweet Lily Girl's 2nd birthday. I have no idea how the time went by so fast, but she has completely changed my life and I love everything about her. I remember the first time I saw her. She looked at me with these big beautiful eyes. We finally got to bring her home from the hospital on Mother's day, my very first mothers day. I had no idea what was in store for me and I what I would learn about babies, being a mom, taking care of someone 24/7, and learning more about myself. If you want to read more about the day she was born click here. I never knew how much love I would be overwhelmed with the minute she was born. Okay Okay.....enough of that or I'll start crying again. 

Today we are celebrating Lily's 2nd Birthday.  If you know my Lily, she loves her Elmo.  She won't watch any other cartoons except Sesame Street and Elmo goes everywhere with her.  The only way I can get Elmo away from her is to give Elmo a bath (in the washing machine) he gets soooo gross.  So I couldn't have picked a better theme for Lily's birthday party. 

I have recently became a member of pinterest.....wow thats an amazing site.  I found a ton of blog links and ideas to make Lily's party perfect.  I want to be that mom.  That mom that does really special things.  My mom was that kind of mom.  All of my friends growing up would tell me how cool my mom was.  She would bring cupcakes to my class, dress up for halloween and show up to my class, she would make birthdays and holidays so special and decorate, she would make our halloween costumes.  I wanna be that kind of mom.           

Lily's 2nd Birthday Party invitation that I made on my computer in microsoft publisher. 

My favorite part of the invitation is.... This party is brought to you by the letter L and the number 2. I had 40 printed at our local print shop (2 per page on 80 to 100lb. paper, no cuts meaning they don't cut it out for you, our print shop charges per print cut so I cut them myself to save money. Grand total cost for invitations......$4 Total.)   

Lily is telling me that she wants to go outside and is pouting, so its not the best picture of her, but its the best picture I have of the dress I made for her.

I found this dress on Etsy and thought.....I can totally make that.  I have never made a piece of clothing so I thought that it would be special that the first piece I ever made was for her. I wanted to make the dress, but more Sesame Streer.....more colorful.  So I cam across this print and fell in love.  I purchased 1 yard of fabric and I had a ton left over to make a penant flag and some to cover her birthday hat with.  My girlfriend Tiffany graciously let me use her sewing machine and showed me the ways of sewing.  It was so much fun.  I found the pattern for Lily's dress here.  I found the fabric on sale and I only needed a yard so Lily's dress including ribbon cost me......around $12. 

Lily girl wearing her birthday hat on the swing. 

I thought for sure Lily would be pulling off the hat the entire party, but she did the opposite, she wanted to wear it all day.  It was so cute.  I found a pattern to make a birthday hat here.  I used thicker cardstock paper to cut out the hat and then I just covered it with leftover fabric from her dress.  I had a hairband from the dollar store that I used for the elastic to keep it on her head.  So simple to make and so cute.  Total Cost:  left over fabric from the dress, old hairband and a cereal box.....free :)  

Desert Table with Thank You gift bags for Lily's friends.

On the desert table I had sugar cookies that were cut outs of the letter L and the number 2 (thanks to the Morgan girls helping me make cupcakes and cookies) and a personal cake for Lily to dig into.  My mom made it just for her with M&M's all over it since she loves choc-ate....as she calls it. (We are saving it for her birthday party that we are having with just the five of us, with Laney on skype tonight).

 

My mom and I also made Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird cupcakes to make it extra special.  I found a tutorial on how to make them here.  I learned a couple things....Use fondont on the eyeballs.  I didn't and mine kept melting.  So lesson learned.  I also didn't have any fruit rollups to use in big birds mouth so instead I painted it with food coloring.         

A little closer

Up close.  They are not even close to what the picture looked like in the tutorial, but I tried and I think they are pretty darn cute for my first try at character cupcakes.  I will get better!

Here's the food table decorated with giftbags for Lily's friends.  I wanted health snacks so we had fruit  and veggies.  We also had hot dogs, chips, and ham & cheese rolls that my friend Desire brought.  All toddler friendly foods.  

Thanks to Laura Nagal and Brooke Morgan and Olivia Morgan for helping me make the giftbags. 

  Here are the thank you gift bags that I made for Lily's friends.  In each bag there was a sesame street coloring book, crayons with a thank you note inside, sesame street stickers, and a box of goldfish crackers from Dorothy, Elmos's best friend.  I used construction paper to create the faces on the bags.  I bought all of the supplies for the gift bags at the dollar store.  Most of the supplies were in multipacks saving even more money.  Each bag cost me about $2 to make.   

 

Bubble with Big Bird Station.  I bought these cool wands from the dollar store and a giant bottle of bubbles.  I added a fun label to the bottle that said, "Sunny Days sweeping the clouds away."  Just a fun little touch.  Total cost $3

My Lily girl playing with bubbles.  The kids loved it!

Jaxon had to be dressed up for his sister's birthday party too. 

  I made the cutest little tie onesie shirt for Jaxon.  I found the tutorial here.  It was so easy and it was so adorable to have the kids in Elmo outfits.

Lily checking out all of her gifts. 

Our church playground is so nice, it was the perfect place to throw a kids birthday party.  Since we are a member there we can use the space for free! 

The birthday girl with her daddy. 

My favorite picture of the day eating rawberries and gok gogs as Lily would call it. (strawberries and hot dogs).

   Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet girl.  You are my everything.  I am so happy to be your mommy and to watch you grow.  Thank you for teaching me so much.  I love you all the way to everywhere and back.