A Wild ONE!

On Thursday, July 13, our sweet August Michael turned ONE!  It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly time flies.  It seems like only yesterday we were waiting for his (or her-since gender was a surprise) arrival.  This past year has FLOWN by!  Maybe it was because we were only in Missouri for a year or maybe that's just the way things go.  The older you get, the faster time moves.  

This year was great.  Andrew has been such a great big brother and we've loved watching Aubrey take on her role as big sister.  She's such a little "mama" and takes excellent care of her little brother.  The love between the three of them is so precious, it makes my heart want to explode!  The Lord has been good to us, that's for sure!  

August started his birthday with pancakes.  And even though he looks less than thrilled, he enjoyed them (as he does all food, if you can't tell).

 Andrew and Aubrey helped him blow out the candle after singing "Happy Birthday."

Later that day, Aubrey had a big appointment...

Granna wanted a photo shoot with all her grands!  She has such great vision when it comes to these photo sessions.  She set everything up and Erica Amos worked her magic to get some great shots!

(Doesn't my baby look all grown up with her haircut!)

 And since we had the photographer there, we might as well get in a smash cake session!

 Gracie did a good job helping to decorate the smash cake!

 Sweet baby thought that the yellow polka dots must have been the yogurt bites he's used to, so he kept trying to pick up just the yellow spots.  

On to the party~

In honor of our month long AMAZING adventure, we went with the camping/woodland animal theme:  August is turning a WILD ONE! (My amazing mother did all the decorations! She's talented like that!). If it hadn't been for her, we would've had a cake and sang "Happy Birthday."  LOL So thanks, Mom, for making out boy's day really special!

 I feel like my kids always get the short end of the stick when it comes to my cakes.  I'm always so busy getting everything else together, that the cake is always rushed and I never get to do "exactly" what I had planned.  Oh well.  It was still cute!  (And thanks to my Sister for saving me a couple of hours by doing the tee-pees.  

 Speaking of my sister, look how cute her fruit owl was!

 Jack and August with Grumps

 (I love that he wore the hat!)

 "Who me? You're all singing for ME?!"

 You know how hard it is to get a good picture of all of us?

 He takes eating very seriously!

 Though he was happy to share with Uncle Adam!

 I hardly took any pictures, really.  The majority of these were taken by other folks.  I was trying to enjoy the moment!  It was such a special day.  We had family and friends with us to celebrate our boy.  It was so nice having everyone together.  With us living so far from family, that hardly ever happens.  We missed all the ball players in my family who were off at different tournaments.  Thanks to everyone who came out to make his day special.  

Andrew and Maggie have been friends since they were babies.  Since her Momma is my BFF, it's only natural that they get along so well.  Just like with me and Erin, they picked right up where they left off and had a great time together. 

 Water fun!

August wasn't the only one that had a birthday while we were home.  My sister turned 33 on the 15th!  Drew and I were able to spend some time with her and Jefforey without the kiddos. (Thanks Mom and Dad). We went to dinner on Friday night and then on Sunday night we got to play some games at their house.  Good times were had by all!  I sure do miss my sister!  Living so far away starts to wear on you after a while and spending some quality time with her was good for my soul.  I always count down the days until we can do it again!  Love you Sis!

And just like that, our trip was over.  Next stop...VIRGINIA!

Pre-Christmas Fun

I helped Andrew put together a gingerbread house kit that his Grammy got him.  She also got him his cute chef's hat.  We worked in two sittings.  Before bed one night we "constructed" the house and let it dry overnight.  It took total concentration to get the roof on!

 My little chef

 The next day, we decorated.  Andrew told me where to put the icing so he could "glue" on all the candy.

 His finished product.

 Since I'm on bed rest, our families had to come and see us.  Drew's family came the weekend before Christmas.  Drew's mom made chicken gumbo, his aunt made potato salad, and we had desserts galore. (Including Uncle Adam's coconut pecan caramel pie...YUM)  I did a horrible job taking pictures, but I did manage to snap two from the recliner.  I could have sworn I took more, but apparently not.    

Costume Capers/Bear Jamboree

Today started out at school with Andrew's "Costume Capers."  The whole school dresses up and they parade around the track for all the parents to see.  I got out there before the kids marched in from their classes and I saw my little pumpkin holding hands with Ariel (a.k.a. Shaylee) all the way to the track.  (Even though according to him, he "loves"Harley, so apparently he takes after his Daddy in the ladies department. 

 Once they started marching, I spotted Logan our neighbor and Andrew's good buddy.

 Several times along the way the kids would stop and do a dance.  This would be the Cha-Cha Slide. "Hands on your knees, hands on your knees." (That's Andrew's teacher, Ms. Harris in the pink.)

 There were lots of unique costumes, but my personal favorite was this peacock.  Too bad she was "sprinting" on the track and I didn't get a better shot of her.

 My lil pumpkin heading back to class.

 After school, we went home and did our homework and then it was time to head back to school for their fall festival called the "Bear Jamboree."  Andrew played lots of games....

 ...ran the bouncy obstacle course about 100 times....

 ...and won lots of silly prizes!

It was a fun night.  The PTO did a great job putting it all together.  Andrew has already asked if they'll have one next year!  (I think he approved!)

Busy Baking Weekend!

September 15th must be a very popular birthday.  (I have a cousin with that b'day)  I had two cake orders for today and turned down two others.  (I HATE having to do that, but I can only do so much.)

So now run on over to Sissy's Sweets to check them out!

School Easter Party

Today, Andrew's school had their Easter party and egg hunt.  I made cupcakes.  They were lemon flavored.  The eggs on top are chocolate with jelly beans inside.  You can read more about them on the baking blog.

The kids had lots of goodies to eat.  And they were all wearing their cute bunny masks they made.

 My little bunny!