Birthday

Forgot to put these pictures in:

Not the best vies, above, but I had pulled the kids table out of the playroom and set it up in the kitchen for them. They all sat at the big table and Nanna ate at the kids table.

Birthday wishes and CARS dreams

Happy Birthday Connor!!!

There are alot of pictures here of the big party.

(I will share my thoughts at the end)

Look at me- I just turned 3

The set-up and cake

Obviously it was a CARS (the movie) themed party and I now believe we own EVERYTHING CARS has available. We had the invitations, balloons, cake, arts and crafts, wore the T-shirt, got the gifts...all CARS!


Cake Time

Colton enjoyed pizza and cake also

You think he liked it?

Milla (our neighbor) helped blow out the candle


The arts and crafts

We had foam cars to decorate with stickers, coloring pages out of all the characters, and race tracks to decorate with more stickers. All the lightening bolts ended up on 1 car!! A couple of the kids enjoyed it.

Ilan-sat and "watched" the cake

Milla-enjoyed our boy toys


The Gifts

Connor got Cars pj's which he changed into right away-SHOCKER

Aunt Amy (godmother)

Good ol' Pappa Lou

I must first say, I can't believe my baby is 3. And I have never seen anyone so excited about a birthday. He woke up at 6am on Sunday (his actual birthday) telling me "I'm 3 now". I went through all the bitter sweet emotions; sad he is growing up so fast; excited to watch him enter this next stage of life and learning. He amazes me more everyday. I looked at my baby pictures and remember his birth. However, I failed to tell him any 12 hour labor stories, figured I will need to save those stretched truths for when he is a bit older and I need to guilt him into a hug or kiss. Will it ever work?

So the party...

The plan in your head, the execution, and the guests acceptance don't always jive and I certainly felt this way with this party. I had some really great ideas that didn't come to life the way I expected. My table scape did not work out-I had planned to make a race track runner (but ran out of time and energy when shopping for supplies) and I had some great decor to use on it that I will now return to the store. I opted for arts and crafts instead of the usual goody bags. I envisioned the kids sitting around the table coloring and placing their stickers. Yeah right, what was I thinking? They are 2 and 3 years old, and while my child loves that sort of thing when you are a child in someone else's house with different toys-that trumps stupid stickers. I debated long and hard on the cake. I ended up last minute ordering a cupcake cake (cupcakes decorated all together). It was OK, a little messier to break apart than I was aware of but the kids didn't seem to mind at all. All that really matters though is that Connor had a blast and he did! All but 1 friend showed up (his parents were out of town) and he was so playful with all the guests he had.

His guests....

Milla and her parents Ronnie and Johnette and baby sis Amelie

Ilan, whose parents couldn't come but he spent the day with us

Haley (K) and her parents Jeff and Elizabeth

Leah and her parents Louis and JoAnn and baby brother Alex

Uncle Jon, Aunt Charlene, and chunky-monkey Carson (7 months and 25 lbs)

Aunt Amy-best godmother

Nanna and Pappa Lou, Aunt Barbie, Uncle Bob

And Nannie

The gifts...

CARS, CARS, CARS!!!

He got a Lighting McQueen that shoots out of a track, bubbles, Tow Mater, a book, a pop up car track, stickers, Lincoln logs, pajamas, a gas pump, and a CARS bicycle and helmet (it will have it's own post with lots of pictures and video and hopefully no stories of broken bones). I hope I didn't leave anything out..hard to remember right now.

His actual birthday...

The party was Saturday morning because we had plans to spend Sunday as a family. All Connor wanted to do was go to the bookstore. We never made it. We went to the toy store first so he could pick out a gift from us. He chose 3 CARS cars. His collection is now almost complete. Then we went to McDonald's, his choice, for lunch and playtime. After nap we took his new bike to the park so he could ride around the trail. He did great and had a fun day. The only thing he did not get was another party. We also took cupcakes to his school today to share with his classmates for his big day. He thought he had another birthday. I hope every year he does not expect 3 days of celebrations.

Quick Update

I just got my computer back so I am trying to catch up on email, blogs, and FB!! I will try to gather all my thoughts from the past few days and post later. I will say that this weekend is Connor's birthday/party so I will have lots to share!

Funny Sayings

Driving in the car this morning, beautiful clear sky, airplane flying above...

Connor-is my daddy on that airplane?
Me- no honey, daddy's not on a plane today. He is in Chicago.
Connor- Oh. Where's Cago?
Me- Chicago is in the state of Illinois.
Connor- Oh yeah, that's where Santa Clause lives
Me- No honey, Santa Clause lives in the North Pole
Connor-Oh. OK.

A couple of hours later on the way home

Connor-Mommy, is Santa Clause coming out to play today?
Me-No honey, not today.Santa is still resting from Christmas.
Connor-Can it snow so he won't be tired anymore and can come over and play?
Me-Maybe later
Connor-OK.

Spring Break Day 5

The excitement for Day 5 was Target and that was just fine with me. Truth is I think we were all too tired to do much, so when our scheduled play date was under the weather, it was no big deal.

I am not sure why I was so stressed about Spring Break because we did survive the week. With Mark being gone last week and through the weekend I was knew it would mean no break. Then I started thinking about my friend Casey who has been going 3 weeks at a time sans hubby and 3 kids, not to mention all the single moms out there who never get a breather. But it is times like this that make me really sad not to live near my family.

I am very grateful for the fun times we had this week and all the memories we did make. We got to play with alot of friends whose school and nap schedules don't always match up with ours. I am also grateful that Spring Break is finished and we can return to our normal routine come Monday.

Sleepless in Plano

Both Connor and Colton are excellent sleepers. They go to bed at 7pm and don't get up until 7am. It is very rare that one of them wakes in the middle of the night. Last night Colton woke up about 10pm crying. I was just laying down to go to sleep with a splitting headache I had been nursing since dinnertime. I waited the appropriate few minutes, praying that he would settle down. No luck!!! I tried rocking, singing, back rubbing, snuggling in my bed....nothing! All the while my head is pounding and my eyes can barely stay open. I put him back in his crib-he screamed for 10 minutes. I went back up, this time it was evident he was WIDE awake. I shut his door and layed on the floor, he played. A little after 1am we came down stairs and I put up the play pen and turned on cartoons. I fell asleep (I know bad mom) so I am not sure what time he finally dozed. He was snoozing at 3 when I woke up to check on him. I thought for sure he would sleep in.....That's funny....6:30am WIDE awake again. Maybe it was that Icee?

And there are no pictures to go with this post because who is getting a camera when they should be sleeping???

Target

Who doesn't love Target? (Casey, I know you blog about this being your favorite store quite often). I didn't even really have a list today, just needed to get out of the house. And besides, do you have to have a list? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I think there is an unspoken Target law that you must spend a minimum of $100 every trip.

I knew in the back of mind that I needed bananas which meant Super Target (yippee!). So even though it was a little bit further away, I thought we would check out the brand new one. So worth the extra drive!! I have certainly found a new favorite location. They have great carts that seat 2 kids facing the basket (with working seat belts if needed), full shelves, and a whole new selection of goodies to look at that are not available at all stores.

I thought the boys would do better with a popcorn snack and an Icee. Well I was really hoping that it would keep them busy and I could shop around. It almost worked...mental note-next time buy 2 Icee's!!

I spent more time passing the cup back and forth than shopping. Colton loved his first Icee though! And check out the cool shopping cart.

Had to share this one...
when I looked up from buckling Colton's car seat, Connor had taken his shirt off and buckled himself up. I am telling you I don't make this stuff up or exaggerate-he is always naked or changing clothes.

Spring Break Day 4

Thursday was a relaxed day. We did our regular morning routine. After nap we went outside to play with Milla, the little girl across the street who is 2 years old.

Connor did go down the street and talk some of the other neighbors into letting him ride their Lighting McQueen car. Now he won't stop talking about it. Moms, Nanny, Aunt Amy-any takers on that??? He added it to his birthday list.

Milla and Connor

A nice dinner to end the day

Spring Break Day 3

Day 3 of Spring Break involved a regular morning routine at the gym, minus the rush to head to Connor's MDO program. It's amazing how much more fun you can have when you don't HAVE to be anywhere. Then we got much needed hair cuts at Connor's request. I had briefly mentioned cuts a few days ago and he remember. (Mental note...don't make any promises to a toddler to get them to do something because they WILL remember it.) We went home for lunch and naps and met BFF "K" at the park this afternoon.

Connor told me he looked like a 3 year old with his new hair cut.

Looking good. Mark will be thrilled that I no longer have a barrette in his hair to keep it out of his eyes.

Hot day at the park today.

Connor and Haley"K"

peek-a-boo

Connor and Haley "K"

Feeding the ducks

Checking things out

All cleaned up

This one is blurry, but too sweet not to share!

Spring Break Day 2

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Spring Break Day 2 was kind of off to a slow start...

Connor woke up at 5am crying and screaming. I took off for the stairs thinking he had fallen out of bed, thrown up, or had a nightmare. The answer is D-none of the above. He had changed clothes, now trying to put on the 3rd outfit, and couldn't get the pants on right. So he came down to our bed,but it took him a while to fall back asleep. He ended up on the floor nestled in the pillows. I did have to give him so medicine because he was coughing quite a bit and has a stuffy nose. Say a prayer it doesn't get worse. I don't know if I can handle another sick child.

We did make it to the gym as usual then lunched and napped. The day was beautiful yet again, so after our trip to the grocery, I opened the back door for playtime. Colton still has that baby wobble and I love it!

Next we made brownies. We had talked about it all morning, but had to wait until after we went to the store because we needed eggs. Connor was so excited about the eggs. The last time he had anything to do with eggs was last Easter....maybe he thought we were dying the egg first?

He was actually "reading" the box to me.
Connor-"It says we need a egg and a bowl and chocolate"
Me-"It does?"
Connor-"Yeah, egg first. I'll do the egg"



Ok, so letting the toddler mix too-probably not such a great idea. How much chocolate is bad for dogs? What you can't see in the picture are the dogs cleaning every powder drop right up. At least I won't have to mop!

I may regret this. Not so much the mess, I can deal with that. The sugar/chocolate high and then crash may be another story.

YUMMY!!

The brownies turned out OK. A little mushy but good. I'll just call it extra moist. I had a picture of them on here, but got a little fast with the delete button -you can visualize can't you?

Spring Break-Day 1

By the end of Monday I was kicking myself for not having a better plan for Spring Break. It's not like it snuck up on me, I knew it was coming for months. Partially I was waiting to decide when we are taking the boys to Memphis for a visit and Mark has a big trip this week. Anyway here it is and we are unprepared so I am trying to get in some play dates and enjoy the sun that we so missed last week.

We got up and went to the gym as usual, but stayed a little longer since I did not have to rush out of there to get the boys to school. Then we went to Chick-Filet for lunch. The boys were playing nicely when Colton had a nasty diaper. The unprepared mom that I was yesterday had no wipes so we had to leave.

Connor at the park-in a diaper and t-shirt because he had an accident (that's an entire blog entry on it's on that I will have to vent about later). We went there to meet Nathan and Cody but also saw Ilan and Castel. All 6 boys had a good time in the sand.

During nap time, obviously Connor was not sleeping, I heard this horrible cry. When I get to the stairs Connor is on the landing crying because he can't get the sweatshirt on (or off, not sure which he was going for here). I was laughing and had to run grab the camera before I could help-I know good mom right? That's what happens when you change clothes 18 times a day.

Here is one of the 6, literally, pairs of pants he put on Monday. He never changed his shirt because it was Cars. One day soon I am going to photograph him from bedtime to bedtime so I can have proof of how many times he changes.

About 5 this morning, the screaming cry came out of Connor's room. I run up there afraid that he has fallen out of bed, had a bad dream, or thrown up. No...he just panicked because he couldn't get his 3rd pair of pants on because they were inside out, which sometimes bothers him. I put him to bed in matching pj's. When I checked on him before I went to sleep he was wearing the same shirt but no diaper and pants. This time he took off his pants to go potty and that's when he had trouble with the next pair.

He also woke up with a slight cold so maybe it's best we don't have too many plans. Let's hope we caught this early because Colton has been sick enough for both lately.

Family Dinner

Sunday night I cooked dinner, nothing special just some chicken breast on the George Foreman and some steamed veggies. I decided that since it so rare that we are ALL home for dinnertime that we were going to sit and eat together for a family meal. I even set the table as opposed to just making the plates at the counter like I normally do when it is just the boys and me. When I went to turn the TV off I did, however, get the eye roll from Mark...I turned it off anyway!! We sat and chatted about our day and week as much as you can converse about such things with a 2 year old. None the less it was a great meal and a great time, at least for me.

My boys-all 3 of them

Connor tried feeding Mark

At least Colton liked my cooking

Of course I had help with the dishes from a NAKED Connor. Why does he always get naked? And thanks for the "bum" shot dear!

Sunday, March 15

1 cloudy,cool Sunday morning+2 tired parents+2 non-tired boys= Chuck-E-Cheese

A car built for 1-not to worry- Connor just sat right on top of Chuck

Driving the monster truck

This game was fun

Colton fit right into this game-literally

It was much easier this way

This was there favorite. They watched a screen-it was suppose to like a roller coaster ride (I think)

This was only the 2nd time we've ever been and the first since Colton could participate too. They both had a great time. It was a little crowded since it was a weekend. Last time we went during the week and we were the only ones in there so Connor had the run of the place without me having to worry too much. Today Mark stayed with Connor and
I stayed with Colton. The pizza was OK (and way over priced). Connor earned enough tickets for a sucker -10 tickets, but the nice guy working let him pick out another 10 point prize. At the very end while we were picking out our prize, Chuck-e did come out for an appearance. We did not get to see him up close because he was making his way around all the birthday parties first. But Connor did want to meet him so I guess that means we will have to go back. I think Mark had a pretty good time too. Whether or not he will admit it is another story.