Baker's birthday party

For some reason the 3rd birthday is the low-key one. And after the girls' big party it's right on time. Still, I'm never one to skip things completely in the birthday department. We celebrated your day and then decided to have a little get together at Grandma & Paga's this weekend. We had some pizza, chips & dips, fruit, carrots and my mom made these really good mini taco appetizers, yum. Then the kids swam, Jake opened gifts and we had some cake. It was simple but a lot of fun!

Happy 3rd birthday Jake!

Oh our sweet Jaker Bo Baker, you're already 3 years old! Our last Birmingham-born baby, you were only two months old when we moved here. So not only is it crazy that you're 3 years old now, it's also crazy we've lived here almost 3 years. And it reminds me what a blur your newborn stage was with packing, selling a house, moving and unpacking. I certainly have sweet sweet memories of you as a baby, but it was a whirlwind and you went with it.

My sweet Jakers, I love you, Happy birthday!! You can be such a sweet, lovey, laid-back boy but you can also be stubborn and throw a tantrum like nobody's business and sometimes for no apparent reason. Your binky and blankie have certainly helped with those laid back moments so you are growing out of them some. You love to go places and visit people but are happy to get back to "Jake's house" too.

I love how you can keep yourself entertained with your little creative imagination, oh how I love watching you play. It's so cute how you sometimes want to kiss me on the lips and say "I love you babe." I wonder where you get that... ;) I wish I was better about writing down the things you say 'cause you say some really cute things, but they're usually one liners. And I love love love love how you'll run to me saying "huuuuugs" and give me big 'ol hugs. You've actually done less of this in the last couple months, but you still do sometimes and it's a part of your cutie little personality. I can't say I love that you boss Allie around but it is interesting to watch the dynamic you have with your siblings- you're more bossy with the girls, I think in part because you watch will boss Maggie. All in all you are just a cool, funny guy and you're at that age where almost everything you do is so cute. I just love you my Bo Baker and I'm so glad you're mine! Happy 3rd birthday!!

How we spent your day:
We had to do your birthday shopping with you, so you got one present the night before your b-day since you saw some things get in that cart.Your last night as a two year old:

First day as a 3-year-old, happy birthday Jakie!

We picked out donuts for your special day then went to Grandma's for a haircut. You had fun playing for a bit then we got home in time to enjoy your day, do presents, have dinner and a little b-day cake.

I scattered your presents throughout the day. You were so excited to get these Legos with the boat and the shark, you just had to get in the tub right away to play! But they played on land some too :)

After dinner at Firehouse, we sang happy birthday to you- I was surprised you chose strawberry shortcake, but no complaints- and opened more presents.

Happy birthday my baker, I hope it was a great one. I love you.

Allie at 13 months

That baby girl is moving right up, growing so fast, never slowing down! I won't continue to update monthly but Allie has taken her first steps since turning one so I had to write about it! You are a great little one year old, sweet pea. All about you:

• You took your first steps on September 4th! You took one little step then a couple days later, 2-3 steps, so you'll be walking more and more
• You may not be in full walking mode yet, but you will stand up and make yourself heard! You still cruise around furniture plenty
• You're up to 4 teeth now and are working on a couple more, the big 8 will be in soon, I'm not looking forward to the molars. :)
• I'm working on weaning you off your night feeding-- getting the frozen milk out and seeing how you do with a bottle before bed. You enjoy almond milk during the day and some of my frozen milk, but I'm mostly saving that for night time
• You love eating! All table food and now with those few teeth you're into almost everything. Fruit- bananas and grapes are your faves- potatoes, peas, beans are staples. I'm trying to keep the healthy foods at the forefront of your diet but do let you have goldfish and you've tried a pb&j. So far, you're not very picky, one of my favorite things about this age. :)
• Sleeping is still going well- 2 naps a day, morning and afternoon- and about 11-12 hours at night.
• Mostly 12 month clothes, but there are some 6-9 summer outfits that still fit well so I'm finishing out the season with those. Moving things around and going through the 12 month winter clothes, I'm excited, many favorites from Maggie! Still size 2 diapers
• I love the little faces you make, the scrunchy sniffy one is so cute and you still love blowing raspberries
• Oh your laugh is so sweet and you're sounds are getting clearer, you have more words and are mimicking what we say a lot. Some words include mama, dada, bro (sounds like bwa), up, bye, hi, more, uh (for uh oh) and you have your versions for Will, Maggie & Jake. 

 waving bye to the cars

You biggest brother, Will, just loves you sweet pea