Liliana's 10th Birthday Celebration & Birthday Interview

I truly can't believe it, but our third child hit double digits this week! Lily is such a sweet, smart, and funny girl, and we love her so very much. Turning a decade old is a big milestone, and we had so much fun celebrating her 10th Birthday!

We filled Lily's birthday with favorite traditions, favorite people, and favorite things. She started celebrating at midnight, took a small break to sleep, then was back at it at 7 AM. She didn't stop celebrating until her birthday was officially over, and then she simply crashed from exhaustion!

Every year, Lily claims it was the best birthday ever, and that says so much about her. Grant and I believe that because childhood is fleeting, birthdays should be magical. We make it a point to celebrate each child to the fullest on their big day, and they are always so grateful. Turning ten is a big deal, and we loved celebrating one of our most favorite people in the world!

A Blessed Birthday and Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend was a busy one! It started off with my birthday on Good Friday, was filled with our favorite Easter traditions, and ended with a beautiful Easter Sunday. I know I'm in the minority, but Easter is one of my favorite holidays!

We packed a LOT into 3 days! I had a mini birthday celebration, we dyed Easter Eggs, we had two backyard egg hunts, we had a mini Saturday evening Easter dinner with two friends, and we celebrated Easter with my parents and my sister's family. Other than not being able to go to church in person, the weekend was perfect!

I planned on posting the day after Easter, but apparently when I turned another year older, my body decided to break! I pulled a muscle in my lower back for the first time ever, and I literally could not move without feeling excruciating pain for two days, and I ended up in bed for hours. Thankfully, it went away quickly, and to celebrate, I got my first vaccine, and felt yucky for about 24 hours. But, hey, let's get back to my birthday and Easter!

Happy 14th Birthday, Alexandria Elizabeth!

On February 22nd, our sweet Lexie celebrated her 14th Birthday! I can't believe how fast she is growing up. (All of our kids are growing up too fast!) We shut down just a few weeks after her 13th birthday, and never got to have a party, and she had another pandemic birthday this year. We tried to make her day as "normal" and as fun as possible!

Her day was filled with our usual birthday traditions, a trip to Starbucks, lots of presents, dinner at a restaurant, and a mini party with my parents. She also got to skip school, too, which is a favorite tradition! It *almost* felt like an ordinary birthday!

We try to make birthdays extra special for our kids. Social distancing definitely got in the way of some of our traditions, but we made the most of it. Lexie was smiling all day, and said she had a great birthday! Here's how we celebrated her special day...

Our New Favorite Birthday Tradition

Last year, Lexie and Coen's birthdays fell days before the pandemic made our world shut down. We were able to celebrate their birthdays, but had to put their birthday parties on hold. Lily had been hoping for a big birthday party with her friends, because she had never had a party with classmates due to having a Summer birthday, but as August 3rd approached, we knew it wasn't going to happen. She was so diappointed, so we decided to come up with a fun alternative!

On Lily's 9th birthday, our new favorite family birthday tradition began! We tackled our usual birthday traditions, then after Grant finished work for the day, we loaded into the car, dropped off our dog at my parent's house, and took the party to a hotel with a swimming pool. Thanks to lack of travel during the pandemic, we had the entire hotel to ourselves!

We had such a great time that we decided that it needs to be a permanent tradition! Once a year around Dylan's birthday, once between Lexie and Coen's birthdays (14 days apart), and once between Lily and Liam's birthdays (15 days apart). I thought it would be fitting to share our new favorite tradition on Lily's half birthday!

A Week In Mom Life - The First Week of 2021

The first week of January has passed, the Christmas season is officially over, and we have returned to reality! In one short week, we went from holiday break to back to work/school/remote learning. We ended this first week of January by finding out that the rest of our kids can join Liam in going to school in person again!

Life lately has been a bit tough, but we're taking it one day at a time. Lexie is dealing with a terrible loss right now, and we can't do anything but help her through it. Liam is going through a scary health issue, and will be having surgery next week. We're hoping it's just a glitch in his otherwise excellent health history, but we are nervous about him going under general anesthesia, the doctors cutting into his neck, and receiving the biopsy results. 

Luckily, the busyness of big family life keeps us from overthinking things - it's those quiet moments that get us down. We do have some exciting things coming up, though! We're REALLY looking forward to some good!

Dylan's Sweet Sixteen Pandemic Birthday

It seems like just yesterday that I was staring down at my firstborn child, who had just arrived in our lives, making us a family of three. I blinked, and sixteen years passed by. Now I'm staring UP at my son, and wondering when he slipped through my fingers and who, exactly, this young man is! I desperately tried to slow down time, but today, he celebrated his SIXTEENTH Birthday!

When I started this blog, Dylan was 3 and Lexie was 1. Now they are both teenagers, and we have three more children. Sometimes it's really hard to wrap my mind around that! It's even more difficult to accept the fact that my first two babies are not babies anymore, and are just a few years away from leaving home. That's the point of raising children, but I don't have to like it one bit!

2020 was a rough year for everyone. We try to make birthdays a big deal in our home, but this year we had 4 major milestone birthdays, and we weren't able to celebrate with parties. Sweet Sixteen is supposed to be a big deal, and we had big plans at the start of the year. Unfortunately, we weren't able to follow through with those big plans, but we made the day as special as we could for Dylan. It may not have been exactly what he expected, but he had a great 16th Birthday!

Celebrating the LAST First Birthday

On Sunday, March 8th, our last baby celebrated his first birthday! It was just days before life as we knew it came to a halt. Although we had to cancel his first birthday party due to coronavirus and social distancing, we were able to celebrate his actual birthday with our parents. It was a special day!

Coen's first birthday was probably the most bittersweet one we've ever celebrated. He is our last baby, so it was in our minds all day that this was the last time ever that we would be celebrating a first birthday for one of our children. That first year goes faster with each child that we add to our family, so we were reeling from the shock of having a 1 year old ALREADY!

That day, we introduced Coen to our favorite birthday traditions, and made sure he was properly spoiled. He was showered with attention and love, which is what makes birthdays so special. There is no doubt that our beautiful bonus baby is loved beyond measure!

My Birthday in Quarantine During a Pandemic

Today was my birthday. When I envisioned this birthday, I imagined it would be my usual day of driving my kids around, breakfast or lunch with a sibling or friend, going out for dinner with my husband, and a little party with my family in the evening. In reality, my birthday was much different. I never imagined I would be celebrating it in quarantine, during the coronavirus pandemic!

I would say that my birthday felt just like any other day, but that isn't quite accurate. Nothing is ordinary right now! Instead, it was just like every other day we spent social distancing. It was a bizarre birthday, but definitely one I will never forget!

There wasn't a doughnut breakfast, I didn't have to drive kids to school, I didn't meet a friend or sister for lunch, my husband and I didn't have date night, the presents came from my Amazon wishlist, and there wasn't a party. This was the first time I didn't get to see my mom on my birthday. Heck, I didn't even leave the house except to get the mail! Birthdays in quarantine, during a pandemic, are definitely out of the ordinary! Despite the circumstances, I still felt the love!

Happy 12th Birthday, Lexie!

On Friday, February 22nd, Lexie celebrated her 12th Birthday! I started this blog when Lexie was just 18 months old. Back then it was just Lexie Loo & Dylan Too! The blog has grown quite a bit since then, and a few of my regular readers have been around since the very beginning. The years went by so quickly, and now we're just one short year away from having another teenager! 

Lexie had a great birthday this year, and was very relieved that I didn't go into labor on her big day! We allow our kids to have one "cheat day" to miss school each year, and Lexie chose to skip on her birthday. Grant worked from home for a half a day, so the day was all about her, and it was extra special!

Here is Lexie's yearly photoshoot, yearly interview (which she filled out on her own), and how we celebrated her big day!

Sweet November - A Photo Recap

I said it before, but November went by ridiculously fast! Then again, that's every month these days. The truth is, the more kids you have, the busier life is, and the faster the months (and years) go by!

November was filled with so many sweet everyday moments, but we also celebrated Dylan's birthday and Thanksgiving, had many school events (which ended up on my smartphone's camera roll), Dylan started basketball, and we kicked off the holiday season! Because our December has been so busy, I've only been able to blog once a week, so I figured a short and sweet life lately post was the way to go!

Here's a glimpse at life in November...

Dylan's 14th Birthday & Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving was extra special, because it was also Dylan's 14th Birthday! Our Christmas baby decided he wanted to be a Thanksgiving baby instead, so every few years, Dylan's birthday falls on Thanksgiving. When that happens, we try to make his birthday the main focus, so our Thanksgiving was very casual!

On the day before Thanksgiving, my 24/7 morning sickness decided to go back to being severe. With that nasty comeback, it took all my energy to focus on preparing for Thanksgiving and Dylan's birthday, so sadly, my photos are lacking this year. I tried to capture Dylan's special day, but didn't do so well with Thanksgiving memories. Dylan ended up having a great birthday, though, and that's all that matters!

Here's how we celebrated our firstborn's 14th Birthday...

Virginia Beach: The Final Recap

It's hard to believe the final Virginia Beach recap I'm posting took place almost a year ago to date. I didn't intend for that to happen, but life got in the way of blogging about vacation. I wanted to finish it before this year's vacation, and I hope to be more timely with that recap!

Speaking of this year's vacation, as this post goes live, we will be preparing for our trip to the beach! We're leaving very early Saturday morning, which also happens to be Liam's 5th Birthday. Spending 12+ hours in the car isn't exactly the best way to spend a birthday, but he will be spending the evening of his birthday on the beach! (Hopefully that will make up for it.) We're all looking forward to spending a fun, relaxing week together at the beach!

For now, let's go back to almost exactly one year ago today...it was day seven of our Virginia Beach vacation, and it was Liam's 4th Birthday...

Happy Birthday, Lexie! The 11th Birthday & Yearly Interview

Our beautiful Alexandria Elizabeth celebrated her 11th Birthday today! The day Lexie was born was one of the happiest days of my life, and she continues to be an absolute joy who fills our days with so much love. Lexie is an extraordinary human being, and we celebrated her to the fullest today!

Happy 12th Birthday, Dylan!

This morning, at 8:54 AM, my beautiful firstborn turned 12 years old!

I swear I blinked and my tiny newborn turned into a young man. Time truly does fly.

Last night, as I prepared for his birthday, I questioned whether he would still care about all of our birthday traditions. I hoped so. I hoped that all the special things that we do for birthdays would be fondly remembered and carried over to his own children one day. But I was still doubtful. The answer, however, is yes. These birthday traditions matter very much, even at 12 years old.

Just how does a 12 year old celebrate his birthday?

Well...it begins with asking his parents if he could skip school on his birthday. And said parents just might have agreed considering he maintains good grades despite leaving class 4 times a week for band and orchestra AND playing basketball, and has has never asked for this before.

 

So the newest 12 year old in town got to sleep in until 11, wake up to a bedroom filled with balloons and the "Happy Birthday" banner on the living room wall, and have birthday donuts and smoothies with his mom and baby brother!

After that came a drive to the school to pick up his little sister from Kindergarten and a trip to the store to pick out his birthday outfit. Three shirts later, he was all set! After a quick stop at Target, which resulted in free popcorn, we headed to Storytime at the local library. He just might have colored a Thanksgiving picture to pass the time, then make his own fingerprint turkey craft with his little brother and sister!

After a quick lunch, Dylan's MawNaw and Nannie arrived for a visit and brought some gifts!

Dylan spent the rest of the afternoon building a new Lego set, and enjoying the private Instagram account that his parents finally allowed him to have. (With rules. SO MANY RULES.)  He was so thankful that he even willingly posed for a quick birthday photoshoot in the 28 degree weather!

When Grant finally arrived home from work, our entire family piled into the SUV and headed to Taco Bell for Dylan's birthday dinner. Birthday kid always gets to pick the restaurant!

Back at home, Dylan got to open his gifts from his siblings and a small gift from us.

He loved his light-up earbuds, wireless rechargeable speaker, cologne, hair gel and Pokemon cards and is really looking forward to his big gift, which is coming next month!

Dylan spent the evening watching TV episodes with his dad and brother while the girls went to dance. As soon as we were all together again, we ended Dylan's 12th birthday celebration with a homemade cake!

Dylan said he had a great birthday and that it was definitely his best birthday ever!

Dylan's 12 Year Birthday Interview

Age: 12

Grade: 6

Weight: 75 lbs

Height: 5'1"

1. FAVORITE COLOR? Blue!
2. FAVORITE TOY? I really don't have a favorite toy. Video games? (Sadly, toys are nearly a thing of the past.)
3. FAVORITE CHARACTER? The Joker.
4. FAVORITE SUPERHERO? That's a hard one. Can it be a supervillain, too? Deadpool! (Which he has never watched...)
5. FAVORITE FRUIT? Raspberries! Easy. The best. The best fruit EVER.
6. FAVORITE VEGETABLE?  Sweet peppers. (Agreed.)
7. FAVORITE BREAKFAST?  Donuts. All the way!
8. FAVORITE CEREAL? Frosted Flakes.
9. FAVORITE LUNCH?  Soup.
10. FAVORITE DINNER? Steak and mashed potatoes. It's delish.
11. FAVORITE DRINK? That's a hard one. Mountain Dew Kickstart. (Uhhhh...what?)
12. FAVORITE SNACK? I'm going to have to say fruit snacks. I guess.
13. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Taco Bell. ALL THE WAY.
14. FAVORITE TV SHOW? Bob's Burgers.
15. FAVORITE MOVIE? Suicide Squad. Alllll the way. (All the way is the hot new phrase. Obviously.)
16. FAVORITE ACTOR/ACTRESS? Heath Ledger.
17. FAVORITE SONG? I'm going to have to say Heathens by Twenty One Pilots.
18. FAVORITE SINGER/BAND? Twenty One Pilots.
19. FAVORITE BOOK? Eggs by Jerry Spinelli.
20. FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? Percy Jackson.
21. FAVORITE OUTFIT? I'm going to have to say high tops with joggers, a short sleeve shirt and a hoodie. With a hat!
22. FAVORITE GAME? Life.
23. FAVORITE SPORT? Basketball.
24. FAVORITE ANIMAL? Frogs.
25. FAVORITE PLACE TO GO? The beach!
26. FAVORITE THINGS TO DO? Skateboard, play basketball and play video games.
27. FAVORITE SUBJECT? Science.
28. FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL?  UGH! The Dylan bear I got when I was born. The one with the converse and leather jacket. (This was not a favorite question...)
29. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Friday!
30. FAVORITE MONTH? November!
31. FAVORITE SEASON? Summer.
32. FAVORITE HOLIDAY? It's a tie between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
33. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Jack.
34. WHO DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH? Jack, Dom, Logan, Tyler, Braden, Bre, Sophie, Cole, Tristan, Shane, John and that's it. I think.
35. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY? Hanging out with friends and family.
36. WHAT SCARES YOU?  Spiders. They're horrifying. I hate them!
37. WHAT MAKES YOU SAD? Seeing other people upset and losing a loved one.
38. WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR? To have a good life. (Amazing answer, buddy!)
39. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY? When I climbed the tree and fell down and cut my leg open. (REALLY?!?)
40. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? NBA player or an engineer. (Engineer.)
41. DISLIKES? Let's say...boot cut jeans. Freezing weather. And, ummm, hurting myself.

Any final thoughts? I like answering these questions. Well. Most of them.

I can't believe my beautiful son is 12 years old! 

 

He entered this world a month early and I fell in love the moment I first laid eyes on him. Dylan truly is a special boy. Yes, we deal with tween moments now, but this kid is filled with love and kindness beyond compare. 

 

Last week, when we had to say an unexpected goodbye to our horse, he sat with me on the cold ground and held my hand the entire 2 hours. It was 30 degrees and horribly sad, but never once did he complain or leave my side. I told him to sit in the car but he said he wasn't going to let me deal with it alone. That's just the person he is. He loves fiercely and is kind to everyone he encounters. I have no doubt that he will be an amazing husband and father one day. 

 

But time needs to slow down just a bit. The teenage years are just 1 year away. He will be able to drive in 4 years. In 6 years, he will leave home for college. And every single time I look at him, I picture that tiny, beautiful newborn, and the fact that 12 years passed by in the blink of an eye takes my breath away. I just want to hold on to him as tightly as I possibly can and never let him go. 

 

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy. You are so loved!!!

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