Finley Katie

Finley Kate
10/14/12

 So on Sunday, we were planning on going to the beach, since Michael loved looking at the Ocean when we were on vacation. Julie called us and said she was having contractions. Not really sure if it was the real thing or not, since she still had 3-4 weeks until her due date. We told her we would come over  to sit with her, until Steve got home from church. Well, while we were on our way, she called us back to say that her contractions were about 3 minutes apart, and once we got there, they were headed to the hospital, so we had to stay with Coleman at the house. They arrived at the hospital at 11:45 am and baby Finley made her debut at 12:30! Talk about fast!! We couldn't believe it! I am so excited that I was there and able to see the baby right after she was born!

Fun Weekend!

Michael and I spent this past weekend visiting friends near Charleston. We had such a fun time with Jennifer, Julie and Coleman. On Saturday, we went to the farm and had a ton of fun.

Michael and Coleman going through the hay bale maze

Michael running through the maze

Playing in the corn pit

Burying Michael in corn

on the hay ride

Coleman and Michael loved the hay ride

I tried so hard to get him to look at me, but he was too
 interested in everything going on behind me.

Loved the pumpkin

Cute little buddies

 On Sunday we were supposed to go to the beach, but our plans were interrupted by Miss Finley Kate. She wasn't supposed to arrive until November 4, but she had other plans. I am so glad I was down there so I could meet her. I'll post more about her tomorrow!

Our Vero Beach Vacation

Our vacation to Vero Beach was perfect! We had such a great time and were able to relax and just enjoy our time as a family.

We stayed at the Disney Vacation Club resort. This was our second time there. The last time we were here, in 2009, it rained all week long! We had much better weather this time.

We checked in on Saturday afternoon and went straight to the pool. There was a little pirate ship toddler play area, but Michael preferred the the big pool and the big water slide. 

Pirate Ship Fun!

Michael loved the Big Slide! He rode it more than any of us!

The ocean was way too rough for Michael to play in, but he loved to look at the ocean, and watch the big waves.

 We ate some wonderful meals on vacation. On Sunday morning we went to brunch buffer and we all ate our fill. On Monday evening was the pirate dinner with Goofy and Donald. Michael loved the characters from a distance, but once they got close, he got really shy. Of course, he does that with people he knows too. 

 We ate off property one night at Squid Lips. It was really good food, with a great view!

Saturday morning was Goofy's Breakfast buffet with Goofy and Donald.

We didn't do anything too exciting on vacation. It was just nice to get away and relax for 8 days!

Michael loved the playground!
He also loved the alligator and shark 

Mommy and Michael by the pool, Michael in front of the
DVC Resorts sign, Sunset at Squid Lips, Sun Rise over the Ocean,
Daddy and Michael in the pool

Vero Beach on Dwellable

Thrift store Finds

It's been a while since my last Thrift Store Friday post. It's not that I haven't bought anything, I just forget to post about my great deals.
So, here's what I got this week:

A pair of rain boots for Michael: $1.00
A pair of (real) Crocs for me: $1.50
A beach chair (not pictured): $5.00
A nerf gun: $.50
20 kids hangers: $2.00 ( I know this is the same price as wal-mart, but I would much rather my $2.00 go to Miracle Hill than WM.)
A short sleeve t-shirt for Michael: $1.00
2 long sleeve Carter's shirts for Michael: $1.00 each
Polo shirt for Andrew: $3.50

Total: $16.50

Organizing Michael's Artwork

Now that Michael is in a Sunday School class, and not just in the nursery, he comes home every week with some sort of artwork. As a sentimental mom, I would like to keep all of these papers. Just keeping them in a big pile, or a box didn't seem practical. I went to Pinterest for some inspiration, and found this.

You can find info about this project here

 

Michael obviously isn't in school yet, but it's the same idea as what I was looking for. So, here is what I came up with:

I used my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator program to make the front and the labels. 

                                  

 Now, on Sunday's I put the new artwork on the refrigerator and move last weeks into the box.

Once Michael is in school, I will make a different box for all of his school papers. But this works great for right now!

This is what handsome looks like

Michael looked to grown up today, that I had to grab a few pictures before church. He loves that he has pockets in his shorts and walks around everywhere with his hands in them.

24 Months

 It's official, I have a two year old. No more counting in months, no more monthly updates. How on earth did he get to be two already? It really does seem like just yesterday we were holding this tiny little baby, and now he is anything but tiny.

He sure is proud!

- Michael is now 35" tall! They say if you multiply a child's height at age two, that will be how tall they are when they are full grown. If that's the case, Michael will be just under 6" tall. I think he is going to end up being taller though. He has his two year check up on Monday, so we will see what the doctor says.

- He is talking in full sentences now. We are trying to make sure he adds "please" to all of his requests. He is really good about saying Thank You. He is in this habit of saying "mama" or "Daddy" at the end of phrases. Like when he is showing us something, he won't just say the object, he will say, "Tractor, Mama." or "Book Mama." It took him forever to say Mama, and now he is making up for lost time. I hear "Mama"  a hundred times a day. And it never gets old.

- His favorite songs are Jesus loves Me, and Twinkle Twinkle. He knows almost all the words to twinkle twinkle. I am hoping to get it on video soon. We have to sing both songs at night before bed.

- He now knows all of the letters except for F, N, R, V, and X. He also gets J and L confused, but after looking long enough, he figures it out.

- We are working on shapes, and he can point out a circle, star, and a triangle.

-Since we babysit a little baby two times a week, Michael is getting a bit jealous of the time I spend holding the little baby. He has started asking us to "Hold me like a little baby." and we happily oblige. Any chance we get to hold and cuddle him, we jump at.

- Potty training is still a few months away, but he does sit on the potty everyday. Some days he will go pee, and others he won't. It isn't something we are forcing, just trying to get him familiar enough with the process.

When I ask him to say "cheese", he says it and signs it.
That is what he is doing with his hands.

Michael, you are our pride and joy! We love you so much and having you in our lives for 2 years has been the biggest blessing of my life.

MICKEY MOUSE PARTY

The invitation I created

This past weekend was Michael's 2nd Birthday party. We had it at home, and everything turned out great.

We had about 28 people - and that was almost all family, except for Jessica's family of 4.

We had a modest of menu of hot dogs, potato salad, pasta salad, chips and fruit salad. For dessert we had cake and ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, mickey mouse cookies, and rice crispy treats. I forgot to take pictures of any of the food, except for the cake.

My mom made it, and it turned out super cute.

For decorations, I had looked into making my own birthday banner like this one. But after finding this one in the store that was cute, and cheaper than I could make it for, I decided to go the store bought route for almost everything.

Dining Room decorations

Balloons on the front porch

There is really no need to spend time making all of these decorations, and wasting precious time, when I can just go to the store and buy everything I needed.

I did, however, make the mickey mouse ears and I love how they turned out.
They were really cheap to make, and really didn't take all that long. I started about 2 months ago, and had them all finished about 2 weeks ago.  I got the instructions here.

When we decided to have Michael's party at our house, we looked into renting a bounce house. After realizing it was going to cost more than we wanted to spend, I looked on Craig's list to see if anyone had one for sale. And I found one for $125! It has been a great source of entertainment over the past few months, and it was wonderful to have on Saturday. All of the kids loved it! And Michael spent most of the party bouncing away in it.





Another thing I forgot to take a picture of was the party favors. I bought these bags and filled them with M&M's, Disney Gummies, and Mickey Mouse Stickers. All of the children also got a pair of Mouse ears, and a Mickey Coloring book.

I'm really happy with how everything went. The weather was perfect. The kids all had a great time. The adults all got to talk with relatively no interruptions. Michael got spoiled rotten by everyone who loves him. It was a good day!

** I ordered his shirt from HERE.**

Happy 2nd Birthday Michael

 Happy Birthday Michael!

We loved you before we knew you.

We loved you as we waited to go get you.

In the Hospital before we even knew you had
been born.

We loved you the moment we laid eyes on your sweet face.  

We loved you the second you were placed in our arms.

We have loved you everyday since. 

And we will never stop loving you!

The first time holding you!

We are so proud to be your parents. You are the sweetest, smartest, cutest little boy that I have ever met, and to think that I have the privilege of calling you my son, is amazing! You amaze us every day with what you are learning, or how sweet you can be. You keep us laughing on a daily basis with your funny sense of humor. Everyone talks about how hard being a parent is. Maybe we have just been blessed with a especially wonderful little boy, but there is not one day that passes that I am not thankful to be a Mom, and specifically, your mom.  You are an answer to so many prayers, and I can tell that God was showing off when he created you.

Happy Birthday Son! I hope you have a wonderful second birthday and we can't wait to celebrate with you at your Mickey Mouse Party on Saturday.

Love, Mama