Two Very Special Reasons to Celebrate

Deep in the midst of the holidays falls both of our sweet boys' birthdays. But, despite the craziness that is the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, our California friends and family, plus some our favorite New Mexican's, came to help us celebrate two very special birthday milestones.
And what a celebration it was.
Food and cupcakes and presents galore

Those eyes... they melt my heart! 

Special friends and cousins who we are so glad to have become close with.

And some very special grandparents who I'm sure were just as excited to cherish in these moments with our sweet boys as we were. 

Not to mention we had a special appearance from Jay's cousin, Jeff Griggs, the celebrity, who killed it on NCIS, Los Angeles the following night :0). 

It was THE best. 

But you know what else was the best?.. Disneyland. Which was the second stop on the birthday train of fun for our little guys. 

We decided, instead of more gifts, since they got more than enough stuff at their party and Christmas was just a week and a half away, that we would take them to THE happiest place on earth and give them a whole day of fun that hopefully (at least for Vincent) they will cherish as one great birthday memory. 

The castle all decked out for Christmas. An entrancing ride on It's a Small World. Dumbo. Tea Cups and the Mickey Mouse Christmas parade. It was amazing. Vincent was most definitely overwhelmed with excitement the entire time. But the highlight, you ask? It was this. 

Sylas was Terrified. I've never felt him hold on so tightly before. Those giant ears must have really put him over the edge. But that smile never left Vincent's face. It was like a boy meeting his very best friend and my heart practically exploded from watching him. That in itself made the whole day. Which was good, because oh how quickly we learned that Disneyland on a Saturday before Christmas is INSANE. And even that is an understatement. Luckily we hit all of the highlights that a three year old should experience his first time around. And luckily (times two), we live close enough that heading back again soon may not be too much of a stretch for his Disney loving parents ;0). Next time though, I think California Adventure may be on the agenda.

Overall, we couldn't feel more blessed than to have been able to celebrate our boys in such a way. So thank you to everyone that helped make this years celebrations so incredibly special. And thank you, Mickey, for blowing the top off our three year olds' big day. Can't wait for next year! … (or is that this year?.. Maybe I should catch up on these blogs more often - doy!) 

T-H-R-E-E

Three?...What?! 

Vincent, you are three!

Three and so much much more.
You're three and smart! Extremely smart. You surprise me every day with the things you pick up on your own and the things you already know - you amaze me, constantly. Colors, shapes, animals, you know them all. Numbers and the alphabet are what's on the learning agenda next. And recently you have started singing along to the alphabet song (thanks to Elmo) and those 26 letters couldn't sound any sweeter coming out of your mouth.

You're three and funny! Hilarious actually. The things that come out of your mouth, I swear, you sure do say the darndeset things. Your silliness brings upon some serious laughing daily. The timing, the context, the things you say - you are THE silliest. And it's the best.

You're three and STRONG. Strong willed, strong minded, strong in every sense of the word. It's what keeps your Dad and I adjusting our parenting methods every single day. It's what defines those "terrible two's three's" moments. It's what makes me proud of who you're becoming, when you don't back down for something that's actually important. It's what I love and battle with you over constantly, but i'll take it. You're sharing your feelings through these strong and frustrating and empowering moments that show me you're comfortable expressing yourself to us. And though sometimes we may not know just how to handle them, they're moments we would never trade. They're just bringing us one step closer to figuring you out ;0). 

So, you're three. You're so so smart, hilarious and strong. You're caring and compassionate. You snuggle and say "I love you" and melt our hearts with your random yet incredibly sweet tendencies. You're independent. You know what you like and don't like (i.e. milk - that still hasn't changed). And you're curious and eager to try and do new things (on your own terms, of course). You evolve into a bigger, older, wiser version of yourself every single day. You can play by yourself or with other kids. You can do so without your parents and that's huge. Your dad and I are beginning to think about pre-school and kindergarten and we can't believe that that is not far off these days. Every day is a blessing with you in our lives and every day I feel a little more proud of who you're becoming. Your dad and I are so in love with you and love that you're ours. Something that most definitely will never change. 

We love you, bud! xoxo!!

Sylas is One

365 days have literally gone by in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure how that happens and I'll probably never get used to how quickly life seems to pass us by, all i know is, quick or not, life is so much sweeter with you in it.

As a big 'ol one year old, you're still just as calm, cool and collected as ever. Your demeanor is one I try to channel on the daily - letting things just roll right off, never getting upset over the small things. Finding excitement in all things new, meeting new people with an open heart and never letting anything that does seem to upset you, do so for long. 

Holding you is one of my most favorite happy places ever. And sometimes, if i'm lucky, you snuggle your sweet little head down on me and my heart just bursts into a million pieces. I cherish those moments because they never last as long as I'd like. There's just too much to see and explore to spend more than a few seconds snuggling with your mom!… though I totally would love it if you did :0).

Your smile is contagious and your eagerness to explore things keeps us all busy right along with you. There's a house full of toys and a brother who loves to play, but silly you would rather get into things you shouldn't… like the toilet paper in the bathroom, all of the canned goods and popcorn and pretzels in the pantry, oh! and the DVD's are SO much fun to make a catastrophic mess out of ;0). Time with you is always spent keeping you busy. Showing you new things and you picking up them like it's nothing. Singing to you, reading to you, dancing with you. You truly know how to bring the fun all hours of the day. 

You're still an excellent sleeper. Putting you down for naps and for bed time couldn't get easier. You sleep through the stalling that your older brother does for a whole hour at bed time and you never complain. The only down part, you still think waking up twice during the night is a good idea :0(. Hoping that will change soon but as we transition into less day time naps i'm assuming that will..? We'll have to see! 

You have eight teeth and two more slowly making their appearance on the bottom so these days, you are putting those teeth to the test and literally eat everything in sight. Nothing is off limits as to what you'll eat and as long as there's food out, you want to be eating it. From any and all types of veggies (especially tomatoes), to chicken, pizza, quesadillas, and peanut butter and honey sandwiches, you say "give me all of it" and "keep it coming!". I truly fear the day you and your brother eat us out of house and home. And unfortunately I think it's coming sooner than I think! Better get a second job.. ;0)

With all of that said.. I still can't believe a whole year has already come and gone, my sweet little Sylas and so many milestones have come with it. Watching you grow and learn and accomplish all of them brings me more joy than I can even explain. You're on the verge of walking and after that, you'll officially no longer be my little tiny baby. You'll have gained an even bigger sense of independence that I know you've been so eager to have and you will have almost leveled the playing field between you and your brother. You'll be able to run and play and explore in a whole new way and even if it means you need us a little less with each milestone, your Dad and I enjoy being a part of it all each and every day. You bring so much love and light to this world. You are one of the most special people I've been blessed to know and I'm even more blessed to be able to call you mine. I have cherished every single day of your first year and I am just as eager and excited to be a part of many more days in your future. I love you to the moon and back, sweet boy. Happy 1st Birthday!!! 

XOXO  

Fifty and Fabulous

This past weekend a very special person in my life celebrated a milestone birthday that deserved much much more of a celebration than dinner and cake. So, I threw her a party! Thanks to Pinterest and some very helpful family members who provided some of the food, my Mom got her birthday party on with all of those who are near and dear. And I couldn't have been more excited to celebrate such a beautiful person. Here are a few pictures of the occasion...
A grill, hauled all the way from Santa Fe, that my uncle Paul used to cook some amazing BBQ.

The food table with all things personalized

And some yummy summer drinks with coordinating party cups and straws

The desserts were definitely calling my name all evening

Especially these puppies

Birthday decor in her favorite colors

And the sweetest pictures of my Mom as a little girl along with a sign that reminded everyone that gas wasn't always as expensive... ;0). 

Best of all though, was the time spent with family that we don't see often enough though we live in the same state. 

And being there to sing happy birthday, watch her blow out her five candles and above all, share in her special day. 

Mom, you are beautiful and kind and absolutely love our family. You're fifty and fabulous and are 100% someone I look up to. I hope one day when I'm fifty, many many years from now ;0), I am half the person you are, half the mom you are and half as respected and wise. 

You're my Mom and best friend. You have taught me what it is to be strong and fun and responsible for my children. You have filled my life with amazing memories and can't wait to make even more over the next 50. You are so so special and deserved every second of your celebration. Thank you for allowing me to celebrate you. It was the best ever! 

LOVE YOU!

Seven Months Big

These past few weeks have been speeding by and here we are already, celebrating you at SEVEN months old!! One of my favorite places to be I might add.. though I like to celebrate you everyday :0).

The theme for this month, without a doubt, is squirmy baby. So squirmy that it's exhausting to hold you these days because you're SO anxious to be big. You try to push away or climb up anyone who's got you in their arms and it's tough to wrangle you up. Most of the time it's easiest to let you play on the floor and when it's safe to do so, you are THIS (picture my fingers less than an inch apart) close to crawling. You can push your tush way up in the air and you can use your arms to prop yourself way up but you haven't quite learned how to do both simultaneously. You get aggravated that you can't do it but you're very determined. You're only days away I'm sure and I seriously can't believe you're almost mobile. 

When you're not on the floor almost crawling or when you're not trying to wrangle free from whoever's got you, Mom and Dad have started putting you in your walker. And for the first five minutes or so you actually love it! Vincent loves it too. He think it's hilarious that he can scoot you around. As long as he's not going too fast you think it's hilarious too. And I love taking pictures of it. 

I also love taking pictures of your teeth. They're so dang adorable and a new one seems to pop up each month. Like the third one that's really blurry to the left of your bottom teeth that just came to the surface a week ago. They never seem to bother you so that's a bonus and somehow we got totally lucky because you're not slobbery either. It's the little things in life that we are grateful for and that is one of them, so thank you ;0). 

And with all those teeth we've started experimenting with regular food. Cheerios are fun to share with your brother (As long as someone is supervising. Your brother is very quick!). But pancakes really seem be the fave so far. We could barely contain you from just grabbing the whole thing and going at it. I guess maybe we should have? Lucky for you pancakes are a regular in our house so you'll have plenty more chances to try them out. Oh, and you're also officially a sippy cup drinker now! It took a few weeks to get the hang of drinking more than just one sip but you definitely have it down now. 

Another big change this month is documented by this picture. Sitting like a big boy in the grocery cart! A few times recently, when it's been just you and me, you finally got the pleasure of sitting front row at the grocery store. You were the center of attention on many an aisle and we also finally got to use the cart to hold our groceries. I never knew I would take that for granted but when you have two kiddos that take up the cart, you really learn how to improvise where the groceries go. 

A downside to month seven is your sleep schedule. Day time naps are fine. Perfect in fact, because I just put you in your crib and you go right to sleep (swaddled of course - that I can't seem to break you of, but if you're cool with it I am too). Night time is not so smooth sailing anymore though. You go to sleep fine but you suddenly want to nurse during the night. Sometimes up to three times! I'm not sure how to fix it so for now we are back to long sleepy nights. I just keep reminding myself it won't be forever, and that seems to help ;0). 

Every day you seem to learn new things and get just a little bit more independent. You're happy and smiley and content 98% of the time and I am reminded every morning, when you wake me up bright and early, how blessed I am to call you mine. Those big 'ol eyes of yours sure know how to melt my heart. I love the moments that I have you all to myself and hope as you grow you and I always have this strong and beautiful bond we've formed. I will never stop working on it as long as I live. You are my baby and I absolutely love you to the moon and back. 

Happy seven months, baby boy! XOXO