The Party Circuit

We're only a month and a half into the new year, and our social calendar has been booked solid almost every weekend!

We have a large family and a large group of friends, so there are a lot of birthdays to celebrate.  That just means we have a lot of fun!

The year starts off with my niece's birthday on the 1st, my sister's birthday on the 3rd, my dad's birthday on the 6th, and Grant's Grandma's birthday on the 22nd.   Lily and Liam got to snuggle with their beloved Papa on his birthday!



A few days later, we gathered to celebrate Amelia's first birthday!

 

My friend, Amy, did a fantastic job with the Winter Onederland theme for her little miracle!



That little girl is SO loved!



And she LOVED her cake!



The rest of the kids had fun, too!




After the party, Liam got REALLY sick.  Looking back on pictures from that day, I can tell he was starting to feel sick.  How?  No smiles!

One week later, we celebrated Jack's 8th Birthday and Dom's 13th Birthday!








The fun continued for the big kids, who stayed for a sleepover!



We got a bit of a break from birthdays after that, but our weekends were still really busy! Then, February arrived. 

Another niece's birthday was on the 6th,  then we celebrated our friends' daughter Noel's birthday on the 7th.  It was a fun swimming party, but no cameras were allowed in the pool area. The only pictures I have are from after swimming.  All the kids had so much fun!







This past weekend was full of Valentine's Day fun, and next weekend Lexie has her birthday party on Saturday and turns 8 on Sunday! 

There are 2 more birthdays this month, and let me just say that every month of the year is filled with birthdays and parties!   There's never a dull moment around here!

Be My Valentine

Once upon a time, Valentine's Day meant romantic date nights. That time period feels like decades ago.  Life sure has changed!

Once upon a time, I only had one valentine. I still have that valentine, plus FOUR more, and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world!




This Valentine's Day was bit crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing!

We started our day with a Valentine's Day doughnut brunch after Dylan and Lily returned from a sleepover.  Each kid had a new plate, a new cup, some candy, and a present hidden on their chair. 




I got the sweetest valentines from Dylan and Lexie, and some chocolates and roses from Grant.  Those chocolates are my absolute favorite!



I cleaned up, then snuggled and played with my littlest love for a bit.




 

Liam got sleepy, so I put him down for a nap.  Soon after, an unexpected snowstorm came through the area.  It was a complete whiteout and dumped 3 inches of snow on the ground in less than a half hour!  I've never seen anything like it! We had to go outside, and it felt like we were in a snowglobe!





The roads looked really bad, but we decided to attempt our date night anyway! By the time my dad showed up, three of our kids were sleeping, and Dylan was getting ready to go to a nearby friend's house. Grant and I got to the restaurant early, so we ordered and ate in record time!  We headed over to Costco to get my new phone (only to find out we had to return the next day!), then went to Lowe's to pick up something for our bathroom.

We ended up leaving Lowe's with a new vanity, and gutted our entire bathroom when we returned home.  Talk about an interesting, unexpected way to celebrate Valentine's Day!



The new vanity, new mirror, and new lighting is installed, and I'm hoping to do all the painting this week. We may not have floors for a while (really, the flooring is ripped up, too), but I love the way it looks! It's going to take us a few weeks to finish the rest, but we got a great start!

Valentine's Day is not what it used to be, but I had a great day with my loves!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!  I always breathe a sigh of relief when we reach the end of the week.  Having two kids in school and trying to keep track of schedules for 6 people can be exhausting! We're looking forward to a fun Valentine's Day weekend!

Here's what I'm loving this week:

{ONE}

I registered Lily for Pre-K last Friday morning.  I REALLY wanted the morning class, because I wanted Lily to have the same teachers Dylan and Lexie had, plus she still naps, but that class was full.  She's in the afternoon class, but I heard the teachers are just as wonderful.  That being said, she's first on the waiting list for the morning class, so I'm really hoping she gets in!  She is going to rock Pre-K, but I'm going to miss her so much!



{TWO}

We got our tax return last week, so I did a bit of shopping.  Nothing extravagant.  We just needed a new bedding set.  I always try to think of what Grant would like when I pick something out.  Even though what I bought wasn't my first choice, I knew it was one we would both like!



Our next step is building a headboard. We have a headboard, but we want something new. We're looking at something like this, but there are so many to choose from:


 (found here)

{THREE}

I have a thing for cute coffee cups and I'm slightly obsessed with this adorable travel mug (Target).  Come on... it has a sweater!!! And obsessed with that sweet baby, but that's a given.



{FOUR}

On Saturday night, Dylan had a sleepover at my friend, Amber's, house.  Early the next morning, Amber took them to an ice fishing demo and took them out to eat at The Golden Corral.  Dylan had never gone ice fishing before, and it was his first time eating at that restaurant, so he had the best time.  I'm so thankful for a wonderful friend who included him in her family outing, and so thankful she documented the event!



 



{FIVE}

My first baby girl is turning 8 in nine days.  I can't believe it!  My beautiful girl is growing up so quickly!



{SIX}

I love my mornings with just these two.  Like I mentioned before, I'm really going to miss Lily when she goes to school.  I'm not ready!!! (Yes, she is wearing a bathing suit in February.)



{SEVEN}

This handsome little dude showed off a new bow tie from Lolly Lu Designs today.  We love this one!



{EIGHT}

Dylan has been very tweenish this week.  I'm not quite certain I'm going to survive this stage.  It's definitely the most difficult one so far!  Dylan has always been the most loving, kind, polite, well-behaved kid. He was so easy to parent.  It makes this new attitude of his so much harder to deal with. That being said, his teachers rave about him, so I can't get too mad.  I was a parent volunteer at his class party today.  It was so much fun to spend time with Dylan and his friends.  It's his last class party ever, and I'm having such a hard time wrapping my mind around that concept!  Slow down, time!

 

{NINE}

Although there isn't a picture to go with this one, Grant got a really nice raise, and that's just plain awesome!

{TEN}  

I'll leave you with the clever solution I came up with this morning.  AKA I couldn't handle Liam dumping out his yogurt anymore. Those suction bowls were no match against my incredible hulk, so I had to turn elsewhere. Guess what?  IT WORKED.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day and a wonderful weekend!


I'm linking up with Andrea, Narci, and Erika for Friday Favorites!

Liam at 17 Months

Liam Dayne
17 months
17 1/2 lbs
29 inches



Milestones:  He took one step away from me/furniture a few times over the past month!  His balance while standing alone, without holding on, is improving every day.  He is SO close to walking independently!



Tooth Count: 7! 4 molars, 2 bottom middle teeth, and 1 top middle tooth. 



Eating: 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks. All drinks are in straw cups. Still nurses morning and night.



Favorite Foods:  Bananas, Cereal Bars, French Toast, Yogurt, Yogurt Melts, Spaghetti, Macaroni and Cheese, Oranges, Peaches, and Pineapple.  He LOVES fruit!



Sleeping:  Liam sleeps 12-14 hours through the night, and takes 1 long nap every afternoon.  He usually falls asleep in the car, too.



Words/Signs:  Mama, Dada, Papa, Hi (Ha), Bye (Ba), Up (Uh), Down (Da), and he signs Eat, More, and Go.  He mimics a lot of sounds and words during speech therapy, and we just have to get him saying them more so he can incorporate them into every day speech.




Likes:  Taking baths, eating, snuggling, playing, speech therapy sessions, cruising, playing at the library, and playing with his family and friends.



Dislikes: He hates getting his face, nose, and hands wiped! He doesn't like feeling cold and he wants his messy diapers changed immediately! (Or biting his tongue, as shown in the picture below!)



Favorite Toys: Bristle Blocks, Fisher Price Peek a Blocks Train, Leapfrog Cook and Play Potsy, Play Kitchen, Fisher Price shape sorter, and our ottomans and kid-sized chairs to walk behind!



Nicknames: Miam, Little Dude, and SuperLiam!



Health: Over the past month, he had an occasional stuffy/runny nose and he spiked 2 fevers.  No lingering symptoms.  I had a bad cold for a week, so I'm sure he was trying to fight that off.



Early Intervention: He receives Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech Therapy in our home. He receives each therapy for one hour/once a week.  He's currently working on bettering his self-feeding skills with a spoon and fork, lots of repetition with words and sounds, and learning how to walk on his own!



Wearing:  Mostly 6-9 month clothing, but he still fits into several 0-3 month onesies and several 3-6 month pajamas and 2-piece outfits.  Size 3 diapers and size 2 shoes. 



Personality:  Liam is still a cuddly love bug who is full of joy!



Bow Tie from Lolly Lu Designs/3 piece suit from Target