Grace turns 3!!!

Well.. I wasn't quite as timely in getting Grace's birthday post up... but it has been a crazy week... and it's not getting quieter anytime soon!!! We took Grace out for her birthday supper the night before her birthday. She chose to go to Applebee's! They brought her out her own ice cream dessert with a candle on it and sang happy birthday to her. She was smiling and laughing and thoroughly enjoying the moment! :)

Grace wasn't quite sure what she wanted her birthday theme to be. In the weeks leading up to her birthday she wanted Strawberry Shortcake, WonderPets, Princess, and a few others that I can't think of at the moment! :) It wasn't until we were at the party store that she made her final decision: a Princess Party! :) We decorated after she went to bed in light pink, purple, and blue... a big change from the very bright primary colors from Isaac's birthday the week before. When she woke up, Francis and I went to her room and sang Happy Birthday to her... she was grinning from ear to ear. We headed downstairs and she just ohh'ed and ahh'ed over her decorations.

Francis left soon after to go to Walmart. While we were putting together her new scooter we found that the main frame was cracked. So he headed to get it replaced (come to find out all of the ones they had there were cracked in the same place and he ended up having to go to Target to get one!). Since he was out he brought munchkins home for her birthday breakfast! When Isaac got up he didn't just say happy birthday to her, but he sang to her too.. it was too cute! After breakfast she finally got to open up her presents. She loved everything she got!

That morning was our MOPS playdate, so we headed to the church with her new scooter and Isaac's new bike in tow. They were able to spend a good couple of hours with their friends riding around on their new toys! :)

Even on her birthday Grace had to take her nap, but it gave me the time I needed to get her birthday balloons and finish her cake. I had just put the final touches on it when she woke up and her friend, Michaela (and her family) came over to play.

We had a fun afternoon and evening together. She loved having everyone celebrate her and it was so special for me to be able to remember how much my baby girl is growing up... right before my eyes!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Grace!!

My baby girl turned 3 today..wow. We had a fun day..and are all exhausted. It's amazing how quickly the time goes..3 years ago I was in the OR listening to My Daughter's Eyes (by Martina McBride) playing and minutes later my daughter was born. Today she is my little bundle of energy, growing and changing each day. I have so much more to say...but it will need to wait for another day. Happy Birthday Gracie-girl... I love you so much! :)

Isaac is 5 years old!

Finally... I'm getting to post about Isaac's birthday... only 2 days late... not too bad :) The night before we decorated the entire eating area of our kitchen in his chosen theme... Nascar! Surprising, huh? At first he said he wanted Thomas again... but he had that the last 2 years... so we suggested a few other things. When we finally went to the party store to pick up the decorations he settled on Nascar. He has races with his cars atleast once a day... so it was a good choice for him. When Isaac woke up in the morning Francis and I went to his room and sang happy birthday to him. Then we headed downstairs and he was so excited to see all the decorations that were up for him.

Jess, Nate, and Hannah were still here and he continued to receive birthday greetings as everyone woke up in our house... even from a very sleepy Hannah :)
We went out to breakfast because Jess wanted to have an omelet at our local restaurant that she hadn't had since the morning of her wedding. It was nice to all get to go out together before they had to head out. We came back home and loaded up all of their things. Monday is the day Grace has storytime at the library. Isaac always wants to go but the times he is usually off on a Monday tend to be holidays where the library is closed. This week they were open though so we went and took Hannah and Jess with us too. It was very exciting for Isaac to get to see what Grace does while he is usually in preschool. Once story time was done we sent Jess, Nate, and Hannah on their way back to PA and we came home so Isaac could open his presents.

He really loved everything he got. We took him out on his bike in the afternoon, but it was kind of cold and he was just getting used to it so he wasn't on it for long. But in the last 2 days, after some adjustments to his bike and a little more practice, he has become a little pro. He bikes all around the church parking lot with very little help now. He loves riding around especially now that he is getting the hang of it.

After lunch I had to get a few more things for his cake. On my way home I picked up his friend Thomas and surprised Isaac with a playdate for the afternoon.

It worked out well because Francis was able to finish picking up the house from the craziness of the weekend and I was able to finish the cake.

Thomas' family came over for supper and we had a really nice evening together. All too soon it was time to say goodnight. All that was left was to take his "yearly" picture. I've included his pics from the last 5 years... my how time goes by! :)

Easter Weekend

I'm a bit behind with blogging. I chose to spend my time with Jess and her family over the weekend. We stayed up way too late and got up too early. It was wonderful to get to be together and enjoy each other face to face. We talk on the phone atleast twice a day and will try and catch each other on the computer once or twice a week... but there's nothing like being in person. We kept busy all weekend. On Friday, Jess and I took Hannah (my niece), Isaac, and Grace shopping. Yeah... 2 pregnant ladies with 3 kids... we were outnumbered... but we survived and actually managed to have a very nice time. The kids were very good, which definately helped! On Saturday, all of us headed to the mall. We don't ever get to go down there because it is about 45 minutes away and doesn't really have the things we generally buy (Walmart and Target usually take care of those things!)... so Isaac and Grace we so excited to be going to the mall!!

We ended up having Isaac's birthday "dinner" (for lunch instead) while we were down there. He chose to go to Friendly's and said it was the best hot dog he had ever had there :) All 3 kids loved the big ice creams they got too!

Sunday was filled with all of the Easter fun. The kids found their Easter baskets after they had eaten breakfast.

We headed to church and enjoyed a wonderful service.

After lunch they found all of their Easter eggs.

There was a lot of fun to be had the whole day. Sunday night, Nah and I had a chance to be alone and talk for an hour before bed without any interruptions. It was so nice to have that time together. Usually there is atleast one child or hubby vying for our attention! :) It was sad to have them leave on Monday... but we really made the most of the weekend we had together. I'm already looking forward to seeing them again this summer... after both of our babies have been welcomed into our families!!! :)

PS- If you are waiting for pics of Isaac's b-day... it's going to have to wait another day... I'm exhausted and choosing my bed over writing another blog tonight! Sorry!!! :)

Happy 5th Birthday, Isaac...

We had a very fun day today celebrating Isaac. I can't believe it was only 5 years ago when I was craddling this precious little baby boy in my arms. I will write more tomorrow when I am not completely exhausted. I love you, Isaac! Happy Birthday little one!

Easter Eggs!

Tonight we colored Easter eggs with the kids. I spent Tuesday morning blowing the yokes out of 2 dozen eggs and then let them dry until tonight. Isaac and Grace have been so excited to "paint" eggs. They have been asking me repeatedly since we bought the dye kit, over the weekend, when we would get to do it! It was even more difficult after the eggs were ready yesterday, but I wanted to wait until Francis could be here to watch and help! One of the things that surprised the Isaac couldn't remember how we colored them last year... but he jumped right in when we started tonight. Grace was a little too excited and splashed quite a bit of the dye out of the containers before she settled down. They each had fun deciding what colors they wanted, if they wanted a picture drawn on it, or if they wanted to use the "shrink wrap" papers. Decorating eggs has always been one of my favorite traditions and it is so much fun to be able to share it now with my kids! :)