Andrew's 4th Birthday Party...

YIKES! It's hard to believe but my baby boy isn't such a baby anymore! :(

On Feb. 19th (his original due date!), we had his 4th birthday party at the "Jumping Place". It was a wild time filled with good friends & family! We had 24+ kids in all and it was the perfect place to hold the party as I believe all the kids wore themselves out! :)

Below are a few pics I took of Alyssa before leaving for her very first birthday party event...(she is just over 3 months here...)

Below are the pics I got of Andrew. I hardly saw him once we got to the location. Which was great for him and indicated we picked the right place for him and his friends....but it was another reminder of his budding independence!

You can tell in this pic that he was definitely working up a sweat!

Our friends Tim & Hunter Mitchell..

Face plant!

Hanging with his friend, Matthew C.

Matthew M...I love this guy...and his affinity for plastic yellow signs directing traffic... he's such a funny boy! Love him!

Sweet Hunter... even the younger kids played hard at this place!

My sister-in-law, Chelle, made these yummy treats!

Sister enjoying the view while being held by her Daddy!

Andrew, Ethan & Caden cooling down with some juice boxes

The birthday boy getting ready to blow out candles for his 4th birthday... (Alana is trying to get her parents water bottle!)

Happy Birthday, my Monkey! :)

Amazed at the cupcakes? Not sure what he's doing here! :)

Too much partying wears this princess out!

It's DELISH!

Opening presents at home...

Playing with his new Batmobile and Bumblebee Transformer toys...

PHEW! What a day it was! I love this sweet boy! He's growing up WAYYYYY to quickly for me! :( Even though he keeps promising me, he won't grow up TOO fast.

Valentine's Day Fun

Valentine's year came with flowers and candies from my sweet hubbie and precious kids. We all had a romantic dinner that evening (that's right...now that we have kiddos...it's a 4 way meal during special dates such as Valentine's!) :)

Our dear friend, Dianne (aka: Nanann) sent Andrew a package for Valentine's. I have come to the conclusion that Valentine's is one of her favorite "holidays" :)

In her package were some sticky hearts shaped like the candy hearts with messages. Andrew decided we would have some fun with them!

(Can you see Alyssa's " ' tude" already??) :)

Here is where Andrew took over the camera. He is quickly becoming a mini-photographer. Here is some of his work...

(Had to make a silly face just as my "photographer" instructed!)

(Random still shot of a DVD cover...that's right...he's been watching the Grinch in February!)

(Pic of his favorite girls!)

(Pic of his new "Hero Factory Dude" from Aunt Brenda)

(Self Portrait 1)

(Self Portrait 2)

I left out his "self portaits" that he thought would be the funniest... that would be the self portraits he took of his pajama pants. Mainly his hiney. He got so tickled about it but I thought I'd save the general public those shots of blurry monkeys!

Morning Time & Karate Moves

Every morning, our sweet Andrew gets in bed with us. He has done this since the beginning of his life. He gets in bed with us during the wee morning hours and falls back asleep (usually). Then it's time for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse & warm milk. (Yes! Warm milk! We think it's disgusting but he won't drink cold milk and it's been his routine, so there it is...)

Now, we have sweet sister in our bed too. She wakes up anywhere between 2 a.m. and 6:30 for a feeding (or multiple feedings). I admit, I am too lazy to put her back in bed for the rest of the night. SO - this means that after she wakes, I barely sleep after the feeding because she is in bed with us. But oh well. It's a good thing that we have a king size bed to fit us all in!

Below are a few pics from a random morning. The first one, Alyssa is showing her talent at sticking out her bottom lip. (Note: She still doesn't have QUITE the skill that Andrew had... but it's pretty good!) :)

Hanging out with her brother...Now, she is happier!

Both kids were doing some Karate or Kung Fu or Yoga...not sure what they were doing here...

3 Month Pics

Here are a few pics of our 3 Month Old sweetheart...


Of course, our big brother needs to be in a few pics... :)




Here's the princess in her princess-style swing....which she doesn't enjoy much because a certain Daddy prefers to hold her...haha! :)

Holding His Sister....

Andrew LOVES Alyssa...and she loves him! They are so sweet to watch together. The other morning, Andrew wanted to hold her. So here are a few pics of them together in the media room (aka "Uncle Jeff's room"). I particularly like Andrew's hair... :)

My silly boy!

Sweetness....

Valentine's Pics 2-12-2011

I have to play "dress up" with Alyssa from time to time.

Having a little boy is GREAT. It's so easy to get them dressed and there is little involved (cargo pants and collared shirt!). A little girl on the other hand, needs a bow or accessory and has way cuter clothes!

Yesterday, I had to take a few pics of our sweet princess! (Andrew helped coordinate the headband!)...



And what would a "photo shoot" of Alyssa be without big brother wanting a few of himself? :)




Andrew decided he wanted to be photographer...


A few minutes after I put the camera away, our sweet girl was fast asleep. I had to put her pink puppy dog with her. Such a precious love!