Sam is 2!

Sam turned 2 this past Sunday! I absolutely cannot believe how fast it has gone by. With him being the third, I honestly feel like I blinked and now he is 2. On Saturday night, as I rocked him for the last time as a 1 year old, I started to feel very sad thinking how fast it has gone by. He is my baby so I am trying to savor the small moments in every stage. Once he passes it by, I know it's gone forever. I'm really loving this 2 year old stage. Yes, I could do without some of the tantrums but that is just part of it, I know. I'm so thankful for this little guy and for the sweetness that he adds to our family. He really is a sweet, sweet little thing! It is quite a treat getting to be his mommy!

Here is our big boy on his birthday morning, eating his number 2 pancake. Last year, he would have nothing to do with his number 1 pancake. Well, it was the opposite this year! He ate every bite and then some! (Click HERE to see the pictures of him and his number 1 pancake from last year.)

He is trying to hold up 2 fingers and he is saying "two" as I snapped this picture...

David had to work on his actual birthday so we enjoyed the sunny day playing at home after church. He loves these new golf clubs Mrs. Jessica got for him...

And check out this big boy with the shades on and a gun! Oh my...I LOVE LITTLE BOYS! I remember I freaked out with Logan wanting to play with a gun. Now I feel kind of silly that I even thought twice about it. Boys will be boys...

There is so much to love about this little boy. He is just a sweet-hearted, loving, laid back, happy go lucky little thing, especially when compared to my others. I know I'm not supposed to do that but I'm just so thankful he is who he is! I know God knew what I could handle when he gave me my sweet Sam I Am!

Here are some fun things about Sam as a 2 year old:

• He loves to play with cars and trains. He makes the cutest vroom, vroom sound when he is playing. He also really loves playing ball and being outside!
• He is a big follower of WoWo and Ahee (Logan and Addie). He doesn't let anything stop him from at least trying whatever it is they are doing. He also keeps his guard up with them and he can hold his own, if necessary.
• When he wakes up in the morning, he wants his cup then he wants to get back in the bed with his daddy if he is here. It's very sweet!
• He is talking a lot but I have a few favorites: "seeeeee"---he says that anytime there is anything to see, "peeeez"---he has just started this one if we say no to something he doesn't like. It's very cute! It's hard to write the words the way he says them but he has a lot of expression in his words that make them even cuter!
• He makes the absolute cutest facial expressions. Some of them are not so nice as he makes them when he gets very frustrated. But, they are so stinking cute because he is so stinking cute!
• He still loves his pacifier (yes, I am ashamed, especially since his big brother and sister never had it past 12 months...he is a third child...for sure!) and the cloth diapers as his blanky. I do try to limit the pacifier. He is very good about giving it to me anytime we get out of the car or go outside to play. At least he knows his limits. Our summer goal is going to be NO PACIFIER!
• He is not a big eater at all. This is so new for me as Logan and Addie have always wanted to eat. They still do! He will try things if he sees the big kids eating them. He really loves spaghetti and ice cream. Sounds just like his mommy!
• He is more of a snacker than an eater. He loves goldfish or cereal. If he wants some, he brings me the box and a ziploc bag. Of course, if I say no he says "peeeeez". If I say no again, he crosses his arms and stomps off then goes to ask WoWo or Ahee and they always give in to him.
• He is perfectly content to sit in my lap for a while (he is right now), get down to go check on WoWo and Ahee, then come right back and sit in my lap some more. He is quite the snuggle bug! I just LOVE IT!

It's been a sweet 2 years with our Sam-Man! Can't wait to watch you grow into an even sweeter little boy! Happy 2nd Birthday Sam!

Sam's Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Sam's birthday with pizza, cake, and ice cream at the park. We just couldn't resist the beautiful weather and I just couldn't find enough time to get our house ready for a party. So, it all worked out and the kids had a fun time playing!

Here is our BIG 2 year old. Happy as can be...just like always!

He was so happy to get a little set of golf clubs from Mrs. Jessica. He plays with them non-stop!

Time to sing Happy Birthday...

Now make and wish and blow out the candles...thank you Addie for the assistance...

Sisters in black (no, it wasn't planned) cutting and scooping...

Happy boy eating his ice cream, still just doesn't love cake...

Sweet picture of Daddy and Sam...

Here are the golf clubs that he loves, loves, loves...

The kids had so much fun playing on the playground..."Seeeee" (that is what Sam says if he wants you to see something. So sweet!)

Everytime I looked someone from our party was on the see-saw...

And the tire swing...

What a fun way to celebrate our Sam-Man's birthday! Thank you friends and family for coming out to help celebrate, especially on such short notice. Now this mommy is looking forward to a little bit of birthday party throwing break...at least until July!

A Fancy 5th and an Enchanted 4th Birthday Party

We had a weekend of celebrations for our Addie and my niece Claire. Addie had her Fancy Nancy party and Claire had an Enchanted Princess party. What a fancy-fun time all of these girls (boys too) had!!!!

THE FANCY 5th BIRTHDAY PARTY
To party Fancy Nancy style, the girls got all fancied up and we headed to Burger King for dinner. If you don't know Fancy Nancy, well, you need to know that she gets her family all fancied up and takes them to The King's Crown for dinner...that is why we chose Burger King.

Don't they look POSH...

Then we came back to our house for more fun...presents, cake, and PARFAITS (that's a fancy word for ice cream sundae).

Addie's pretty cousin, Ashton, had a Fancy Nancy party very similar to this one. So glad I have a creative sister-in-law to pave the way!

Present Time---Check out Logan's face in this picture. He was surely being the best sport he could be about all of this fancy, girly stuff! POSH just is not in his sporty vocabulary!

And here is her fancy cake that was SOOOOO much fun to make! It was a lot of work but well worth the time and effort!

Do you see the smile on this pretty girls face? It was well worth it!!!!!

She held my hand while we sang happy birthday to her. OH MY GOODNESS...I LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!

The fancy girls, including Grammy, eating their cake and fancy PARFAITS.

Here are some candids of some of the guests, enjoying their cake and parfaits as well...

Big Sam and Little Sam---Little Sam is a BIG ICE CREAM LOVER!!!!!!

Sweet Savannah is obviously a big ice cream, I mean parfait, lover too!

Addie was so happy to get Just Dance Kids for the Wii. All of the girls were...

I caught Logan with a smile on his face once these boys arrived...

Grammy and Papa Skip are holding our newest niece, Emma Grace. She is my brother's youngest daughter of 3. She is BEAUTIFUL with a head full of black hair!!!!

Grammy and the Fancy 5 year old...

I absolutely could not have made it through the weekend without my fabulous parents. They did SOOOO much to help out so that I could finish the cakes. They went above and beyond and even folded all of our laundry and changed all of the sheets on the beds. They are AMAZING! We love you Grammy and Papa Skip!!!!!

THE ENCHANTED 4th BIRTHDAY PARTY

The day after all of the fancy fun, we got to celebrate Claire's birthday with enchanting princesses. These girls can never dress up too much. That point was proven this weekend!

Our birthday present to Claire was the Belle doll inside of her Belle birthday cake. This was another very fun birthday cake to make! It was also time consuming but so very worth the time and effort!

The smile says it all!!!!!

2 pretty princesses that I can't wait to see what they get into together as they grow up.

The Paynes were able to make it to the princess party. We were so glad to see Mamo.

PRECIOUS!!!!!!

Caitlin is growing up so fast! Sam was so happy being around this sweet girl!

Another picture to prove how very much Sam LOVES him some ICE CREAM!!!!!!

The partying and celebrating has officially ended for our now 5 year old. She will have to wait until next year. But, don't go too far because our Sam-man has a birthday coming up in less than 3 weeks! He will be a big 2 year old! Time is flying by! Please, please, please slow down just a little bit! Before I know it, he is going to be counting all of his years on one full hand...

The REAL DEAL

Our Addie officially turned FIVE today! She can count all of her years on one full hand! Days and nights can seem soooo long sometimes but THE YEARS ARE GOING BY WAY TOO FAST! (One of my favorite quotes from who knows where but it is SO true!)

**The bottom picture makes me smile. Look at Sam's face! He was VERY excited about Addie's ice cream cake!

Top Five Things to Know About Addie:

1--She loves music, especially country music, and is always singing to the tune of her own song!

2--She LOVES Fancy Nancy but is totally into anything girly like accessories, painting her nails, and playing with make-up. I know you are shocked!
3--Her favorite food is anything sweet. If you consider gum a food, then that beats sweets for sure!

4--She loves to dance, especially like a ballerina princess. While she is singing to the tune of her own song, she is also dancing around and around to that same tune.

5--She will not go to sleep unless you scratch her back and sing to her.

Addie, you are SO loved! We have been blessed and cherish every moment of being your mommy and daddy! Keep on growing as the sweet, beautiful girly girl you are on the inside and out! WE LOVE YOU!

The partying isn't over yet! We still have a party to throw...the Fancy Nancy way! Stay tuned...

A Surprise Birthday Weekend

To celebrate Addie's upcoming 5th birthday, Addie and I (yes...just the girls!) went on a roadtrip. We left all of the boys at home, thanks to some help from Nana and Pop, and hit the road. Addie had no clue where we were going. At first she thought it was Grammy's and then she thought we were going to visit Logan's first grade teacher and my sweet friend, Ms. Knapple. It was so funny to hear her theories! She started to recognize some landmarks on the interstate from our summer beach trip and that was her next guess! She was no where close to being right...

We went to Atlanta to stay with my best friend, Jamie, and her husband Peter. (Logan was in their wedding if you remember back a few years ago. Remember the dancing video? It was hilarious! Click HERE if you want to see those fun pictures and Logan's dancing video.) Addie was so excited to pull into their driveway. She asked me if we were still on the same planet(hahaha). But, the surprise wasn't over yet! I put her to bed and told her there was an even bigger surprise for Saturday! You might be wondering "why Atlanta?"...just keep on reading...

On Saturday, she got all dressed up and we headed to the mall...
And we found the coolest store that put the BIGGEST SMILE on my girl's face...THE AMERICAN GIRL STORE!!!!!! She walked around and around and around and we looked and looked and looked until she found the doll she wanted for her birthday!

She picked MOLLY as her very first American Girl doll! YAY!

And then we got to have lunch in the American Girl Cafe with Molly...just the girls! I don't think she stopped smiling once...

And then she got a sundae with a candle on top with the waiters singing the Happy Birthday song to her! Look at her face!

When we left the mall, Addie said the sweetest thing..."Thank you for taking me to the mall and getting me everything I ever wanted! That doesn't always happen!" I thought it was sweet that she was thanking me and I was very proud of her for knowing it doesn't always happen, because it just doesn't and I am happy for that! I just love my little girl!!!!

The fun just continued on Saturday night. The Bourgs took us out for a yummy dinner at the cutest little place called The Frickle Pickle. Did you know that Jamie and I have been friends since we were 9 years old and now we are celebrating my girl's 5th birthday together? How fun is that!!!

The night ended with more celebrating with Gigi's cupcakes and the Happy Birthday song again!

This little girl is one loved little girl!

Especially by her momma!!!!!!!

The birthday celebrating has officially started! What a special way to start the celebration...just mommy and Addie doing the girly thing together in Atlanta! I don't think that has ever happened as we normally have at least one boy with us. Thank you to the Bourgs for being such sweet hosts and spoiling my little birthday girl! Only 2 more days to go until the official big day! Stay tuned!