I can’t believe Joseph is TWO years old!  We celebrated him with a tractor birthday party at our house because this little boy is crazy about excavators, dump trucks, “dull dozers” and diggers.  Oh and he has known all their names since he was 20 months and he WILL correct you.  I laugh because I carry 5 small construction vehicles in my purse at all times, like I used to carry pacifiers, because they will distract him out of a tantrum or quietly entertain him for a bit.  We sent each of his little friends home with one as a party favor:)

Joseph’s birthday gift from us was a sandbox in the back yard because he would play in the flowerbeds with his trucks and tractors all day long if we would let him.  “Give that boy a sandbox,” one of my great aunts told me. Haha! It has been a big hit with Joe Joe and it was a fun party attraction too.

I would ask Joseph what kind of birthday party he wanted and he would tell me, “A tractor one, a yayow tractor one.” There are so many awesome construction party ideas out there that planning was simple.  I always love when one of their ideas happens to be a section at Hobby Lobby!  How do they know? Ha!

Whenever we asked Joseph what he wanted for his birthday he would always respond with, “Cake,” and giggle at the thought.  I told him my idea of dirt cake, to go with the theme, and he was so excited to eat dirt!  One of his little friends, who is very tidy and clean, would NOT even try it.  He took one look and said, “Nope, that’s too dirty.” Joseph didn’t seem to mind and I think he kind of liked be the center of attention during “Happy Birthday.”

It is so fun to celebrate another year with Joseph and reflect on the little boy he has become; energetic, sweet, joyful, considerate, respectful. I’ll write more about him at this age in another post because I just want to remember it all!

Happy Birthday Joseph!

Paw Patrol is the favorite show in our household these days, so Madeleine and Joseph dressed up as Skye and Marshall this year, and Joe and I tagged along as Ryder and Katie. It was always funny when I told people what we were dressing up as and they had never heard of Paw Patrol #parentprobs. Paw Patrol is on a roll!!!

We had fun with family and neighbors trick or treating and got enough candy to last us till Easter!  Madeleine told us “her bucket was tired of carrying all the candy,” and “skeletons are not scary they are just cool.” :)

Hope you all had a happy Halloween!!

Madeleine turned three in August and we celebrated with a cheerleader birthday party.  Madeleine fell in love with cheer last football season when we took her to her first high school game.  We were very prepared with snacks and activities to keep her busy throughout the game, but to our surprise, she sat on Joe’s lap the entire time taking it all in.  From the band to the breakthrough, to the kick line and kick off, she was in awe.  She talked about it all the way home and into the following weeks so I pulled out my old cheer megaphone, some pom poms and Joe’s cousins’ tiny SV uniforms they wore when he played, and Madeleine spent a lot of time playing “cheer,” throughout the year. I joke that she is head cheerleader because she is very bossy particular about formations and cheers we call.

We had fun prepping for the birthday party by painting “Go Fight Win” signs and making pom poms in a variety of school colors.  We decided to serve tailgate food like hotdogs and chips and for dessert we made a football cake.  All of Madeleine’s friends got to decorate a megaphone with school spirit stickers and then fill them up with candy from the backyard piñata.

The best part of Madeleine’s party was early in the morning when the bounce house arrived.  M and her cousins were still in their pj’s watching from the back porch as the bounce house inflated and Madeleine started yelling, “Mama mama! I want to go put my Baylor cheer uniform on and get my REAL pom poms and go do cheerleader jumps in there!!!!”  And she did.

Three Cheers for Madeleine’s Birthday! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

In March we celebrated the upcoming arrival of my niece, Reese Cecilia, with a glamorous camping, “glamping,” themed baby shower.  The mama to be is gluten intolerant, so we all got creative and made delicious gluten free breakfast foods complete with cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and breakfast casseroles.  We had a headband bar set up for each guest to make a sweet bow for miss Reese.  Dave and Tarah will bring their new baby home to Montana where they have spent their first year of marriage. We cannot wait for her arrival in May! Prayers for a happy and healthy delivery!

I know I am really behind on posting these pictures, Easter was 4 week ago?  But I’m just getting around to looking at them anyway and we are still snacking on Easter candy, so it’s appropriate.  Last year, we had a brand new Joe Joe, a double ear infection toddler, and missed out on all the fun, so this year was amazing.  Madeleine adored the chicks and understood egg hunts, Joe and I won second place in the egg toss, Joseph wore a sweater vest, and everyone behaved in mass. It was wonderful.  Here are some of my favorite moments…

Time flies and Joseph turned one before we blinked!  We celebrated the end of his first year with an airplane birthday party complete with diy paper airplanes to fly through hoops out in the back yard.  Madeleine picked out a blue birthday cake for Joseph and he LOVED it, head to toe! It was a beautiful day outside so we moved most of the festivities outdoors and all around it was a great day celebrating our little guy with family and friends.  Happy Birthday Joseph!

Joseph you are one whole year!  Happy Birthday!  You have been such a sweet little man and have grown so much we just can’t believe it!

You are talking more and more and this month you say cheese (for pictures), birdie, choo choo, plane, truck, three (when going down the slide), uh oh (when you drop your water cup), cookie, and I’m sure there will be new words today.  You are really getting good at trying to say things that we ask you.  We have started quizzing you on animal sounds and your favorite is “quack,” but you say “moo” and “tweet.”  You also know where your eyes are and you wipe your mouth when we tell you to.  You are so smart!

You love to be outside and you are such a brave little explorer.  You will crawl into the tiniest places and pic up anything just out of curiosity.  You went up the playground steps and down the slide by yourself this month.  It is the cutest thing when you kick your legs over the side and go down on your belly feet first and oh how proud you are when you reach the bottom!  Usually when we go outside, you crawl straight to the swing, your favorite.  Even at Grandma and Papa’s house you will crawl all the way to the side of the house and sit under the swing until we get there.

This month you are getting pretty tough and you don’t let Madeleine take anything away from you without a swat and a little bark.  It’s funny to see you hang with her and you always want to impress her.  When she laughs, you laugh.  When she cries, you cry. It’s adorable.

Your favorite toys are your cars, carts, and balls that you push around everywhere.  You love water and splashing in the water table and puddles.  You have also enjoyed drawing on the chalk board lately and organizing the chalk by taking it out of the cup and then putting it back in.

We celebrated your second Easter this month and you loved the cows in Panna Maria, lolli pops, and bubbles.  You were pretty good at crawling around picking up eggs and putting them in your basket.  Church is getting a little more difficult with you because you don’t want to be held but don’t have room to crawl in the pews.

You are getting very close to walking but you get so frustrated when we let go of your hands that you usually throw your head back and fall.  You will get up on your knees and reach for our hands so we can balance you anywhere you want to go. It’s just a matter of time.

We took you for your one year check up and you weighed 20 lb 2 oz and were 29.5 inches long (30% for both).  Your hair is blonde, eyes are blue, and you have 6 teeth! You are wearing 12-18 month clothes (with some growing room), size 3 diapers, and size 3 shoes.  We love you Joe Joe!