Makin' Tracks

We've wanted to get Will a powerwheels for a couple years now, but they're so expensive! He has always liked the idea and enjoyed 'trying them on for size' any time we visited Toys R Us. Well, this year (or last technically) we decided it was time so for Christmas and birthday ideas we mentioned to family they could contribute toward this purchase. We went back and forth about whether to surprise him with it at his birthday party or let him help pick it out. Eventually we chose the later but waited to tell Will until a day or two before his party. He was very excited! The week after his party we found one at Essex for half the price of toy stores or online. It's a pretty cool one, too with a real radio so they can listen to tunes while driving! Will and Maggie both love it!

Some good quotes (1/16):
"I'm ready for action!"
--right before their first test drive--

"Ok, can you stop taking pictures so Maggie and I can just drive please?"
--heh, you can't blame a mama for tryin, right?--

Will's 5th birthday party

Superheros. Need I say more? I've been really excited about planning and executing Will's party for awhile. Probably since his last birthday. His 4th birthday was a CARS theme even though he was already into Spiderman (dressed as him for Halloween a couple months before turning 4) and the Super Hero Squad. He loved Cars 2, so I figured keep it young one more year then move on to superheros for his 5th birthday. And that's what I did.

So the superhero fan boy was already emerging then seeing the Avengers last summer only solidified that love. Enter mom. With an awesome superhero birthday party! Oh wait, new job for dad, time to move. Re-enter mom super duper busy the last quarter of the year and just not having time to craft for a super-awesome party. I didn't even get started 'til a few days before the party. I accomplished a few thing, though, certainly enough to make Will happy, but I didn't even have time to print food labels! I made up the names but couldn't follow through with the execution. Oh well, next party maybe. :)

My goal with this party was to craft items that could be re-used to decorate Will's superhero room. We'll still buy a few things (like bedding) but it'll be nice to have these personal touches and Will loves them all! On to the details...

First things first, the invitation

I like how colorful it turned out but I sure need to start making 4x6 invites, the 5x7 are much more expensive and you know most people throw their invites away. Shame, I could add them to Will's scrapbook

Next, a wreath for the door

I went back and forth between this cupcake liner and a balloon wreath for awhile. In the end, this was more budget friendly. More details on how I made it here.

The cake

Initially I wanted to do a superhero cake and incorporate all the guys from his party- spiderman, iron man, hulk, captain america & thor (basically the avengers movie plus spiderman)- but I do not possess the skill to create the superhero squad ship out of cake. My other idea was a tiered cake with all the guys represented. Uhm, no. I'm pretty sure that's more cake than we had at our wedding! So I decided spiderman...it's hard to say exactly who is Will's favorite but I know spidey is up there and Will can crawl walls just like him, so it made sense. Here's how the cake turned out...my fondant stretched in some places but overall I was pleased

 The dessert table

'Cause cake is no longer all you get at birthday parties...though I still like it the center of attention :) I made one dessert for each superhero at the party, plus the number 5 sugar cookies. The bunting is made out of pages from Daniel's old comic books (he gave me permission since they're not worth money). I didn't know if glue or staples would be best so I checked online and found a better idea here. I plan to use this in Will's room. The silhouette is a long piece of cardboard (one plus to having just moved) that Daniel traced Nashville's skyline on then I cut and painted black. I decided to incorporate streamers like I did at Jake's gender reveal but used multiple colors to represent each superhero. Then added balloons, of course. Props to my mom who placed desserts on the table while I was tending to other last minute things...she did it exactly as I would!! Thanks to my parents for letting us borrow the table for this, it was the perfect size. 

Iron Man whoopie pies- I would've done red cake with yellow icing, but I'm not a fan of red velvet, so I did yellow cake and red icing instead

Hulk cake balls- the chocolate sprinkles are meant to be his hair and I drew a mean face on each one but the food writer markers didn't work well for me and I had to use a toothpick on most of them

 Thor mini cupcakes- my take on Mjölnir (Thor's hammer)- turned out a little broom-like to me, but fondant would've taken alot of time. Mini cupcakes really are the best size...perfect for those little fingers grabbing treats off the table 

 Captain America cookies- meant to look like his shield. I knew I wanted to make his shield a dessert (considered it for the cake) but didn't know how to execute it. Found this tutorial and went for it!(I know, too much white, not enough red, my bad) Unfortunately, I couldn't find star-shaped sprinkles and there was no time for royal icing accents. I also made '5' cookies....a few are topped with store bought cookie icing and the rest just sprinkled

 Mantle Decor

I've always included the fireplace in the party decor with banners, balloons, toys, etc. but really wanted to make it pop this time. The family room with fireplace at our Birmingham house was right next to the kitchen and only separated by a half wall but the kitchen and family room here seem all-inclusive, so it lends to one, big, open party space. I bought a yard of superhero fabric- liked it better than the superhero squad fabric- and cut another piece of cardboard from a box and attached the fabric to it. I painted the W (found at JoAnn) and added ribbon to the edges. The frames were 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby and I added photos of Will dressed up- these will be perfect in his room! I made the banner below with my handy Cricut (paper found at HL), draped another bunting above and added balloons. I love it!

Other tables were decorated with super hero toys- I think this is a great inexpensive way to decorate, plus no worries if the kids decide to play with them! The SHS ship is directly below and Loki's head keeps coming off so we posed that table as if Thor defeated him. Thanks to my FIL and SMIL for loaning us the table and folding chairs in the hall!

I made SHS bottle labels for the water and mini Hawaiian punch bottles. I love making these and think that add such a cute touch to parties!

Food

We bought Firehouse Subs platters again (did this for Will's 2nd birthday- a "firetruck" theme). This time we chose them because they taste good and it would save me time in the kitchen.We also offered pb&j for the kids, salad, fruit, popcorn and pretzels. I had names for all of them, like "hero subs," but ran out of time to print the labels.

For activities I had several ideas, but only time for one and barely that. Thanks to my dad for blowing up all these balloons! The kids had to safely defuse these "bombs" placed by the bad guy...they received a treat for each one popped. I would've done water balloons, the weather was warm enough, but rain was scattered so this was the better idea. They also brought superhero costumes to play in or dressed in Will's. And all received a favor cup with pencil, notepad, an Iron Man gummy finger puppet and superhero fun sticks (they were candy cigarettes when I was a kid)

Oh, and there were people there too :)

Happy 5th birthday, Will! I enjoyed planning another party for you! You're my big boy, growing up too fast. 

To our therapists

We miss you! Before I mailed your pictures, Maggie was talking to the frames one day and smiling, so I know I'm not the only one! I'm hoping once things get started here we'll be pleased but this has yet to happen. Being attached and comfortable with the way things were before, I have reservations with how the EI system works here. Maggie will have a developmental therapist, called a teacher, come out to the house on a weekly or bi-weekly basis but to see PTs, OTs and SLPs we have to go somewhere for that. And I'm talking EI therapy, not outpatient. Just weird to me, but maybe I'll love it. Who knows...from the way it sounds, they don't have to complete their evals until April which is pretty much when we'll be starting the transition process. Hopefully we'll fall in love with everyone here too and all will be well. Anyway, I have some photos to share with you all. :)

For Ms. Marliese, Ms. Katie and Ms. Brittany

Running around in our new place. You can see/read about good cruising here and the new gait trainer here. I wish I had more photos for you, but it's so hard to take them when working with her. :)

For Mr. Andrew

 She's very motivated to self feed when sweets are involved! Then just a couple days after moving into the new house, I set her up for play-doh time and she started rolling it out all by herself! I wish you could've been there to see her.

Getting a good picture of her pointing is difficult, but she's getting pretty good at using it outside of pointing to pictures for speech. She works so hard!

For Ms. Sally

Maggie started saying "Isla" the day we moved into our new house. Isla is Maggie's cousin and she just loves her! Until that day, she always said "I" for Isla then in the middle of our empty family room she said Isla as plain as day as if she'd been saying it her whole life. The "up, up, away!" started a couple weeks ago when I was playing with her. She loves to make her toys fly and I said "up, up and away!" then she promptly mimicked me. It was a little crisper than even in the video here (she was lying down at the time) but it was very intentional. She still doesn't quite have the "p" on "up" but you know how she's worked to say two-syllable words so to hear her string three words together, one which is two syllables is just amazing.

I started writing this post a week ago or more, I've since been told I should be contacted by the teacher next week to schedule Maggie's therapy. Hopefully!

Jake is 4 months old!

Ah, wow. My Jakie-poo is already 4 months old.  He's no longer a newborn baby but has officially moved into the infant stage. Well, technically newborn is only 0-3 months, but I probably wasn't ready to admit it last month. Must have been my Christmas gift to myself, ha! You know, one would think that time would move slower with each subsequent child. Wrong! Time seems to fly by even faster. I can't believe our sweet newborn is already 4 months old. It literally feels like yesterday he was born. Though the first 2.5-3 months of his life are pretty much a blur with everything going on...this 4th month did slow down just a tad. :)
All about Jake at 4 months:

• Length: 25" (50th percentile) Weight: 13lbs 9oz (20th percentile) I always forget to write head
• You're rolling over! From belly to back-- you've only done it a handful of times but you still roll side to side plenty 
• You have such a sweet little baby voice; I love listening to you talk and laugh. Big brother Will got you chuckling one night playing peek-a-boo with you. I wish I had a video camera rolling to catch it- too precious for words
• You're very intrigued with your mouth period. Besides talking and laughing, you like to stick out your tongue, make noises with your lips and blow bubbles. You still chew/suck on your hands and fingers plenty. So sweet watching you learn and figure things out
• You also found your feet this month! They haven't made it to your mouth yet, but I'm sure this will happen soon
• You have a sensitive side. I've known this for awhile but I think daddy noticed it recently
• You pull your binky out of your mouth all the time then sometimes get upset....you're trying to put it back in but you're not there yet :)

Jake, you are such a sweet, snuggly baby and you love people! Sometimes when you're upset it seems all you want is to be with the family. The other night we sat you in the Bumbo while eating dinner and you quite enjoyed it! You still love to look around- you've always been alert, that's why we call you bright eyes- just walking around so you can see everything can calm you down if you're upset. You're taking it all in! I'm so honored to be a part of this...watching you grow and learn and become you. I feel blessed to call myself your mommy. I love you, Jake.

Will's words

The first 2013 installment...though I can't recall the last 2012 one that I posted. I guess having another child and moving on top of the holidays was the push that stopped me from writing down so many things he says! I still don't catch everything...Will's a pretty funny kid. Some of the things he says and crazy excuses he comes up for things are hilarious. Like "I can't stay awake and talk to you, grandma 'cause the windows are foggy and I can barely see out my window," as we drove to get lunch. I mean, where does he get this stuff?!!

12/23/12 (ok, so technically last year, but didn't have time to post it)
W: Do you know why cookie dough tastes so good?
D: 'Cause it's made with a lot of usgar
W: Yep! And 'cause it's made of cookies!

Man! that's too much sugar for me!!
--didn't know this was possible--

12/27/12
W: you forgot to get me a fork
Me: I'll get you one (move in that direction but Will starts to get up) Or you can get it
W: That's ok, you're already on  the job

1/4
I was starting to think you were never coming back! Because you hate us.
-- upon returning from Hobby Lobby and being gone less than an hour--

1/7

W: You should be a doctor (after giving him medicine) because you know how to make kids feel better. Like me and my friends
Me: Well, I don't know enough to be a doctor honey but thanks for your vote of confidence

W: When I die, I'll come back to life
A: In heaven
W: No, here on earth
D: No, that's not how it works
W: Yea. I asked Jesus for an extra life

Hopefully I can get back to writing down his comments/questions/little conversations on a semi-regular basis again. I just love my little man!!!

2012 at a glance

I realize we're halfway through January and I'm just now doing my 2012 recap, but things have been busy and I just couldn't get to it until now! Anyway, 2012 was full of many highs and lows, here's our year in review:

January & February
We started the year in St. Louis for a funeral. It was nice spending time with extended family, but under very difficult circumstances. We celebrated Will's 4th birthday party, Maggie was sitting pretty well, took her first steps in a walker and Daniel introduced her to Dora the Explorer for the first time, plus we found out I was pregnant with our third child. Surprise! Indeed, the first pregnancy we did not plan.

We had company, played outside in pretty nice weather, celebrated Valentines Day with Will and took Maggie to the neurologist for a 6 month check-up where she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

March
We announced my pregnancy, Will practiced riding his bike, Maggie had her first hair cut, started pulling up in her bed and found the 'W' sit and we watched my sister's kids over spring break. Then my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She had surgery to remove the tumor as quickly as possible and we, fortunately, were able to be in town.

April
Daniel and Will found a lizard in the backyard and decided to keep him- Will named him Jumpy. We celebrated Easter, Daniel went to MMS in Las Vegas for a week, we held a gender reveal party and Zoe was diagnosed with cancer. These first few months of the year were not bringing about good health news.

May
Will finished preschool, we celebrated our 7th anniversary, Mother's Day and Daniel's birthday. We switched Maggie to a forward facing seat, took a trip to St. Louis for my cousin's baptism and I started my craft blog, Cutiepie Creations. This month we also said goodbye to our Zoe. Only 3 weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, she was gone. Oh I miss my Zo Zo, she was such a good dog.

June
Maggie pulled herself to a standing position and began drinking more independently when I found sippy cups with handles and straws. We took a boat ride on the lake (Maggie's first), a trip to the beach and I turned 30, eek! I also had a surprise 30th party.

July
Maggie went to CRS to get AFO's and a gait trainer, we finally put together my craft room, Will rode his bike lots, we went swimming, my belly grew and plenty of therapy, as usual.

August
We continued enjoying summer days with trips to the pool and park, bike rides and a final pre-baby trip to the botanical gardens. Maggie got her AFO's and a loaner gait trainer 'til hers came in on order. We also got to work making room for baby Jacob. Plus Daniel was offered a job with Deloitte in Nashville; we decided to keep it hush 'til we could tell family.

September
Big month! Maggie turned 2, we announced our move to family, started packing to stage the house for sale, Daniel had his last day at the job that brought us to B'ham and started a new one, plus added a member to our family- Jake was born!! Even with all this, the move had not yet sunk in. I loved so much of our life in Birmingham and though Nashville was closer to family, it didn't feel real that we were leaving.

October
Another busy month. We put up our house for sale, Jake was dedicated, Maggie finally started back to therapy- which was bittersweet because I had to announce our move. We sold our house and bought one (on the same day). Daniel went back to work and worked in Nashville during the week and came home on the weekend while I packed, packed and packed in between caring for the three little ones, of course. Will and Maggie got walking pneumonia and then there was Halloween. Even with buying and selling, the move still didn't seem real.

November
This was a tough month. It felt like I was constantly packing, we said so goodbye to our friends, our church family, our therapists, our home and visited places for the last time. We had a delay on closing the house in TN which forced us to move over Thanksgiving weekend, our good family friend, Mike, passed away unexpectedly,  I got the flu and walking pneumonia and we packed up our home and said goodbye.

December
Well, we're officially TN residents again. My, that was a whirlwind! Looking back, even though we're not that far out yet, I just can't believe it all happened so quickly. That we managed to shove that much going and doing and selling and buying and moving into such a short time frame. This month was crazy busy as well- now all the unpacking and placing had to be done, scheduling appointments for Maggie's therapy and finding a pediatrician, plus lots of Christmas events and Will's birthday! Goodbye 2012, here's to a healthy and blessed 2013.

One of the first and last pics of the kids together in 2012: