First Day of School

I know, I know...long time no blog.  I am trying not to even think about how much I have to update on here...but for now, we will start with Ellie's first day of Pre-school!

This school decision was a long time coming.  We had originally thought she would be going to full time pre-k at Greenfield.  After that fell through, I scrambled trying to find another option.  I knew she needed a structured learning environment to ready her for Kindergarten and once I found this program, I knew we had a winner!

She will only go 2 days a week, from 9-2.  I was very impressed with how organized and structured they are. There is a steady curriculum and schedule and I am just so excited for her!  I have learned in any situation...big or small, everything always seems to work itself out--and it definitely did in this case.

We of course had to take the obligatory "first day" pictures complete with chalk board sign.  We packed her lunch the night before and talked it up BIG.  This girl was ready!  I didn't worry about her one bit.

Her teacher and the director updated me throughout the day.  They even have a private Facebook group where they post pictures.  I got a text from the Director saying what a great day she'd had!

We went for celebratory ice cream after I picked her up and then headed to her new Dance Studio.  Lots of changes for our girl but she is handling them well.  She was VERY tired after we got home, which was to be expected, so I think we will work on an earlier bedtime Thursday!

Miller's First Birthday--Smash cake time!

Miller was so much fun to watch with his smash cake.  He was covered in RED icing!  He put on quite the show.

 Big sis thought he needed a little help!

Sweet baby!

Of all of the parties I've done in the past, this may be my new favorite.  It was a lot of fun to put together and everything seemed to go smoothly.  Most of all, the birthday boy was perfect and enjoyed every minute of himself!  Happy birthday to our sweet boy!  WE MADE IT!

Miller's First Birthday (setting up and the guests)

We had mostly family and a few friends attend the party.  It was laid back and so nice being outside in the fresh air.

We put everyone to work all morning long.  Here is Don and Peeps blowing up balloons.  They were such troopers and did anything I asked.

Don and Mammie scooping out salads.

Peeps grilled hot dogs for us.

 We loved having Matt, Rachel and Evie here for the weekend.  Sadly Rachel did not make it into a single picture!

 DeDe stayed pretty busy entertaining the babies and keeping them fed, happy and rested.  She pushed Miller in his car the morning of the party for hours in her PJ's!

The birthday boy and PawPaw.

Sweet cousins had fun playing outside!

The whole crew.

We are thankful for everyone that came and celebrated with us.  We of course missed Granny and Grandonna but glad they are home resting and taking care of themselves!

Miller's Nautical First Birthday! (the details)

This past Sunday we celebrated our sweet boy's FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!  It is so hard to believe that we made it through the first year.  Miller definitely deserved a big birthday bash...it has been quite a year for our little guy.  Thankfully the past few weeks have been wonderful and I finally feel like we are over the hump.

When I started thinking about his first birthday, I wanted something sweet and not too "themey".  When I came across a few nautical ideas online, I decided that had to be it!

Having an outdoor party was a MUST.  Luckily the weather was absolutely perfect on party day.  We worked hard to get everything together to have it in the back yard.  One of the biggest additions to the yard is our new swing-set!  Don worked tirelessly day and night finishing this monster before the party.  I think his hard work was worth it because the kids entertained themselves and had the best time playing!

I knew if I could  find an old cheap high chair that I would want to paint it apple red for the smash cake. Luckily I found one for less than $10 and spray painted it in about 10 minutes!  Easy easy and it turned out sooooo cute  (in my opinion).

We had BBQ, hot dogs, baked beans, slaw, potato salad and chips.  I hung his monthly picture banner above the food table.

The favor/drink table.  We had iced sugar cookies and koozies for favors.  I decided to do something different than the usual treat bags.  They were a bit of a splurge but worth it!  I also set out bubbles and sidewalk chalk for the kids.  They were a hit as well I think!

I set up the cake table inside.  My usual cake lady was booked.  I was bummed at first but I think Sam's has yummy cakes!  I ordered Miller's smash cake and cookies from a bakery and Sam's did the cake and cupcakes and I thought they were all perfect!

I may or may not have rented table cloths and Don may (or may not have) said YOU RENTED table cloths?!?!  HA!  I just couldn't justify buying them for a one time deal or using plastic.  I HAD TO HAVE navy table cloths.  I'm weird:)

And of course we need a picture of the birthday boy himself!

Craziest weekend ever

Life is crazy fun!  We've got lots going on these days so I thought I'd do a little update.

And let me just say...I am still learning to be a more flexible "fly by the seat of my pants" type of person.  It's still just hard right now with a high maintenance very scheduled 11 month old that NEEDS his rest and routine.  We ran both kids ragged this weekend.  We are actually thankful for a fairly restful week ahead!

Friday night was t-ball!  7 o'clock games are hard on a baby that is usually bed by 7:30 but we survived!

After t-ball we snuck into Prom to see all the big kids dressed up.  Ellie thought she was SO big and even posed for a few pictures!

Saturday morning we had t-ball pictures bright and early then TWO games afterwards.  I had to take Miller home to nap so I missed both, but we've got plenty more ahead of us!  Ellie played well but was soooo tired when they finally got home.

Miller took a THREE HOUR NAP that morning and woke up so sweet and happy!

Later that afternoon we went to the cutest Princess party for our friend Kensie!  Ellie was in heaven.

Saturday night Don and I managed to sneak out to dinner KID FREE!  Much needed.  No pics to document the occasion, but I promise it happened!

Sunday morning, my matching green babies.  Love it!

Sunday afternoon right after church Ellie and I rushed to McKenzie because she had dance pictures!  My pretty little ballerina.  Love her so much!

We are planning on having Miller's party outside so we've begun working on a few outdoor projects.  Don just finished painting our carport and patio and it looks SO much better!

I'm tired just re-living all the craziness!  Looking at our calendar, it doesn't seem like things are slowing down anytime soon.  

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend!

We started it off with a visit from Peeps and DeDe!  I always like to have a couple of fun things to do while they are here so we dyed eggs and made a bunny cake Friday night.

Saturday morning was our church egg hunt!  We had a great crowd and Ellie of course had tons of fun.  We came back to our house for a yummy lunch and played outside that afternoon.

Easter morning was a usual hectic Sunday for us.  We ran through the house like tornadoes trying to get everyone packed up, dressed and pictures made. Oh!  And of course the Easter Bunny stopped by!

Mammie came over for lunch after church and we headed over to the barn that afternoon for more food and egg hunting.  It was a jam packed weekend that flew by, but we enjoyed every minute!