William Turns ONE!

We celebrated William's first birthday this weekend. We had a small family dinner (I am a little partied out after Chase's circus party so I decided to go low key). It was elephant themed. William had a great time, thankfully he fell asleep on the way and got a good 45 minute nap before the party so he was in a great mood. He loves balloons and balls, so he was in heaven with the party balloon and the ball pit I set-up. I think Olivia enjoyed the smash cake more than William ;) he didn't quite know what to do with it after his hand got all goopy with icing.

William is my little peanut, now at one only weighing 20 lbs. even. He has 6 teeth. He is walking, not fully confident in his ability but can go from object to object and can go across the room as long as there is something to grab at the end. He loves copying Chase, he follows him all day trying to play with the same things, forget those baby toys Mom. Olivia likes to "babysit" for me when I am showering or cooking by sitting and playing with him on the floor. She is always giving him hugs and he just lights up when he sees her. He can say Dada, Mama, and ball. But mostly just uh, uh and points for everything he wants, and the list is long. He tries to get everything.

He is such a wonderful little guy! We love him so much! I still cannot get over how fast that first year goes by. It seems like yesterday I holding a tiny baby and now he is so big!

Preschool Graduation

Chase has officially graduated from preschool- where has the time gone? The school had an adorable ceremony where they got their "diploma" from the principal and sang a few songs. The last song, which was the exciting graduation kind of song was Saddle Up Your Horses. Chase just stood there- no singing or hand movements. Afterwards I asked him what happened and he told me he didn't sing because he didn't like that song. He thought the whole riding your horses thing was embarrassing ;)

Newlyweds

Our trip to Puerto Rico included attending a very special wedding. Randy and Jeannie decided to get married in PR. Jeannie looked absolutely gorgeous- Olivia was a beautiful flower girl and Chase was the ring bearer. They were so excited to be part of the big event. Chase made a point of telling everyone he carried the rings when we got home. The wedding was on the roof top of a very nice hotel on the beach. They had a sweet little ceremony and then a delicious dinner. It was beautiful.

Beach Babies

We just got back from a family vacation to Puerto Rico. It was great to get away. We stayed at the Ritz, which had a big pool that was perfect for the kids and then we could just walk out onto the beach when we needed a change of scenery. The weather was ideal for being outside all day, although no matter how much sunscreen I used the kids were a touch pink every night. The meals at the hotel were delicious, but much slower than what we are used to- try keeping a baby and two preschoolers entertained for an hour and a half waiting for food- not fun. One lunch took so long Olivia fell asleep in my arms at the table waiting so I transferred her to the stroller where she then slept an hour before our food came :( William was tough to handle, he wanted to get down and crawl everywhere, which is not reasonable when out in a resort. And he doesn't like swimming. He loved the beach, digging and building, he even tried a mouth full of sand, only once though. Our last night in PR Chase woke up crying that his ear hurt, poor buddy got swimmers ear. Overall, it was a great trip. We really enjoyed just playing outside with the kids all day at a beautiful resort in a beautiful country.

Bird Watching

We have a small bird feeder and see many cardinals and blue jays- fun!

Mother's Day Tea

My sweet big boy, Chase, invited me to a very special tea. He loved having all of my attention. He held my hand and even got me some more tea and sandwiches ;) In the last picture I am holding one of his shoes that his teacher painted gold and he made flowers to go inside.

Our Cousin Lillian

I am way behind in my blogging- sorry. I don't have much personal time these days. Anyway, I am going to backtrack...in April my brother, Ryan came down for a visit with his wife and daughter. We hadn't seen Lilli in a year, since she was a baby, so we were so excited. It was a great visit. The kids really love Lillian.

In the beginning Lilli was overwhelmed, rightfully so since I have three very busy kids who were all very interested in her. But by the end she was jumping right in there. It was great to get to spend time with her! Meghan, my sister-in law, is pregnant with there second daughter- we can't wait to meet her!