THAT Behind. Spencer turns 4!

We gave Spencer the option of having a birthday party with a few of his friends or going to The Rainforest Cafe and then to see "Toy Story 3." Let me tell you, the incessant "Toy Story 3" advertising has totally washed over my son. He is obsessed. It was an easy choice for him - lunch and a movie it was!

We were happy to have Aunt Emily along for the afternoon!

There's a little story behind this picture. We've been to the Rainforest Cafe a few times. The very first time we went Janelle was a baby and she hated it! Every time it would "thunder" and the animals would start moving and making noises she was scared silly! 6 years later, she still isn't a huge fan of the "thunderstorms."

Two kids later...Ally is completely indifferent to the noise and chaos. She didn't shriek in terror and she didn't laugh or smile out of joy. She simply didn't care what was going on. I guess she's used to the chaos. ;)
We let the birthday boy get a birthday slushie - since his favorite thing in the whole world is a sugary drink. ;)

Stoked for the movie!

We also had a family birthday party with Grandma and Grandpa. Spencer's cake request was a Buzz Lighyear chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Here's what I came up with...

He approved!

Janelle made this sweet card for her little brother. She drew a picture of Buzz and Jessie.

Let's just say this was the birthday of Buzz. I was so excited to finally get him a new bike because he's outgrown his tricycle. However, once the Toy Story advertising mania began in the spring, Spencer has been adamant that he really really really REALLY wanted a Buzz Lightyear. "Are you SURE you wouldn't rather get a new bike?" "Nah, I want Buzz Lightyear with the laser light!" Okay, okay. Buzz it was. Apparently, Grandma was on the same page and got him a zip line Buzz, so he is all Buzz'd out! I have to admit, he LOVES that toy. I've never seen him play with a toy so much without getting bored of it after a few days. We're hoping Santa will bring him a bike, he'll be pedaling along on his tricycle when we walk Janelle to school all fall!

Happy birthday big boy! We sure love you!!!

7 on the Seventh

Happy 7th Birthday Janelley Belly!

I cannot believe Janelle is 7! She is growing into such a beautiful, smart, friendly and fun little lady. We love her to pieces! Here are a few things we love about her...

• Her beautiful smile
• The awesome big sister she is to Spencer and Ally
• Her sweet little spirit
• Her pretty voice - she is ALWAYS singing!
• How she is nice to everyone she meets
• How smart she is - she's reading at a 3rd grade level and is on the A-honor roll at school!
• Her venturesome spirit - she loves rock climbing, roller coasters, climbing trees...actually climbing anything, and riding her bike downhill!
• Her big heart
  
• How she loves to dance while we're shopping
• Her hugs and kisses

We love you Janelley Belly and hope you had a great 7th birthday!

Happy (Belated) Birthday Dad!

Sunday we spent the afternoon with my Dad for his birthday. My mom and one of my sister's was out of town, so we went over and cooked him dinner and then ate his yummy cake we'd bought the day before at Eatzi's.

It was a great afternoon despite the havoc from these two monkeys...
They were some intense candles.

Happy birthday Dad!!! Love you!

Happy Birthday to You!!! (Kyle, that is.)

Kyle's birthday ended up falling on the busiest day of the week for him - a Thursday. Poor guy! Not only did he have to work all day, but he also had class that night meaning he didn't get home until late. I felt sorry for him and tried my best to make it somewhat an enjoyable day!

I got up early to make his favorite breakfast - biscuits with sausage gravy, which he thoroughly enjoyed until he cracked one of his molars. That's right...on his birthday! Fortunately it wasn't too much of a bother for him and was able to get an appointment for the next morning. But still! There's nothing like having to get an expensive crown put on your tooth for your birthday!

Here are the sleepy kids I woke up early so we could celebrate with Daddy.
I also sent cupcakes with Kyle to his office - which apparently were a hit!
Then Spencer and I drove out to UNT to have lunch with him. I was happy to see that his co-workers had decorated his desk so nicely!When Kyle finally made it home, I'd bought a take and bake pizza and caesar salad and some dessert from La Madeleine and we chilled in front of "The Office" season premier. I know it was a crazy day for him, but hopefully it turned out to be kind of nice!

This weekend we are celebrating at a new seafood restaurant (Kyle's choice) and having cake and presents. Can't wait!

Busy as a bee.

We're headed to Yellowstone on Saturday for a week and then Oakland after that, as a result this week is a crazy one! I am sooooooo excited for our vacation though, it's what is keeping me motivated. I've been looking forward to this all through the miserably hot summer!!

I finally got Janelle totally set for school to start the day after we get back - the biggest relief! She got accepted to a charter school in June, so it's been crazy trying to get her withdrawn from her other school and then getting her ready for her new one! (Uniforms, school supplies, last minute forms that have to be signed and turned in, etc.) Fortunately today we finished the last few things that needed to be done, yea! First grade, here she comes!

On top of that Spencer has his 3-year-old checkup tomorrow, I have a level 2 ultrasound on Friday (nothing to worry about, just checking on her size), our A/C was due to be serviced on Tuesday, we had to get haircuts done, laundry needs to be finished, I need to start packing and cleaning, and Kyle has been working overtime and then trying to finish up his online statistics class before we leave. Whew! Busy, busy, but we're getting there. My to do list is slowly getting things crossed off. :)
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These pictures really don't have anything to do with this post, I just thought they were cute. They were from Daniel's birthday/Monica's graduation family party we had last week. We had so much fun while Monica was here, we all love her to pieces! I took her bridal pictures last Friday and they turned out beautifully!! I'll post them after the wedding.

Kyle lovingly throwing Emily on the couch...Ah...family gatherings!

Daniel's "I'm-getting-married" belly and my 29-week pregnant belly...who's bigger? :)

The happy couple!
It is SO funny seeing my brother so smitten! Monica couldn't be more perfect for him. I love it!
The other little boy who's smitten with Monica. :)
Spencer showing off his muscles for the babes.
Daniel and his Blue Bell Groom's Cake Ice Cream.
And then torching his ice cream....boys.
Those are 23 candles all tied together stuck in a sundae.
Janelle enjoying Daniel's ice cream.

Daniel got a car tool kit for his birthday and Spencer thought it was the coolest thing ever! (Daniel was pretty excited about it too...obviously.)

How I feel about turning 28...

This year my birthday fell on a Sunday. When I was a kid I hated it when my birthday was on Sunday, but now that I'm an adult, I LOVE it! Kyle was home and we had a nice relaxing day!

Kyle and the kids made me breakfast, then we went to church where the primary kids sang to me :), then we headed to my parent's house for dinner and cake!

Kyle and my mom made me the BEST dinner (thanks guys!!!). Kyle butterfly-grilled a whole chicken that had been marinating for a day and a half, then we topped it with fresh tomatoes from my mom's garden and real mozzarella cheese. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...good!

(Sorry the picture isn't very good, I was too hungry to have the patience to play with my manual settings to actually get a good one!) Just take my word for it, it was AMAZING!

My aunt, cousin and grandpa were able to make it for dinner as well as my sisters and parents, so we had a nice time dining and chatting. After dinner we opened presents and then enjoyed an ice cream cake from Market Street. Mmmm!!

Lovin' the new sunglasses the kids got me!

Thanks to everyone for making my day so special!

Spencer's Month of Birthdays

We definitely brought in Spencer's 3rd birthday with a bang! First we had his little friend party, then we had an official family party with Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and cousins, then we had an unofficial party just with our family and Grandpa...and THEN it was his real birthday! Lucky kid. I think he got sung "Happy Birthday" to like, 20 times over the course of the month!

Party #1 a few weeks ago.

Party #2 last week at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Spencer LOVED his sign and crown Aunt Emily made for him. Emily likes to call him "Spenc-aroni," hence the bowl of macaroni noodles on his sign. He liked the sign so much I caught him picking pieces off of it and eating them right before we left. Hopefully the dried glue didn't do too much damage!

Grandma and Grandpa gave Spencer a "Cars" helmet and pads so he wouldn't have to be humiliated anymore by wearing Janelle's pink one. :) He loved it! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

Blowing out candles for the second time!

Cousin Mark's birthday is a week and a half before Spencer's so we had a combined birthday party for the boys.

Party #3 the day before his birthday. My dad came over for Sunday dinner (because my Mom and sister are out of town), so we had Spencer's final birthday bash.

Blowing candles out for the 3rd time!
(This time just in ice cream...I was tired of baking. And ice cream is his favorite treat anyway.)

Bottoms up!

Opening presents, yet again! Spencer has been talking about a "big basketball" for a few months. So we let him pick out his own basketball at Target the day before. I love how easy he is to please!

Then Janelle found a fun way to entertain herself while Spencer finished opening presents.
Spencer loves, loves, loves Legos and every time we go somewhere where there are "big boy" Legos (AKA: the teeny tiny ones that get lost everywhere and kill your feet when you step on them) he is totally enthralled by them. So Grandma and Grandpa Mammen got him his first set of non-baby Legos. He LOVES them! This is Spencer telling Janelle, "You can make a dump truck, a steam roller and a bulldozer." Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!! He's already spent hours playing with them!

I think Kyle had just as much fun playing with the Legos as Spencer!

The birthday boy in the new PJ's I made him...they're construction truck themed, of course.

After so much partying and the fact that Kyle was gone from 7am until 10:30pm, Spencer's real birthday was pretty low key. I was originally going to take the kids swimming, but it rained. Instead we got doughnuts with Daddy, watched morning cartoons (something I rarely let my kids do), played Play-Doh, made zucchini muffins (at Spencer's request), blew bubbles in Mommy's bathtub, played with cousin Mark, read Spencer's favorite books, made mac & cheese for dinner and then played a game before bedtime. I think he had a good day!

Birthday doughnut breakfast...and blowing out candles for the fourth and final time!

The zucchini bread we made, it was yummy!
Bubble blowing in the bath.
Just some cute pictures I took playing around with my camera.

Happy Birthday Spence!! We're glad there's a whole year 'til your next one! :)