Wow! I am so, so late on this. So late, in fact, that we just had Emma's first birthday party this past weekend. I felt that I should post about N's party first, though, SINCE IT WAS TWO MONTHS AGO!

I love to throw a party. I love the planning, the preparing and the fun that goes along with it. It is something that consumes me. Nathan loves the zoo, we were in the middle of a move back to Houston, so I figured we would have his 3rd birthday at the zoo! We did a whole zoo/safari theme and it was a blast! We weren't allowed to decorate the walls, which was a bummer, but oh well.

Here are some pictures from his party. First up is his cake--loved it and it was soooo yummy! We have a tradition now where the same lady, Misty, makes all the cakes for the kids' birthdays and other special parties.

We also did a candy buffet. His party started at 10 in the morning, so we didn't serve lunch. Instead, we had the candy buffet, the cake, and a fruit tray.

For the favors, I filled little take out boxes with different goodies for the kids--there was zoo bubble gum, a blower thingy, chapstick for the girls, a little zoo animal parachute, and animal cookies.

We had a few babies at the party, too. SO, I filled zoo sippy cups full of Crunchies. Emma is in love with them!

I had a little photo op for the kids, but it didn't get much use. They mainly stayed by the candy buffet. ;)


We also had carousel tickets for the kids. I think N rode the carousel half a dozen times. He loved it.


The pavilion was at the Children's section of the zoo, so after the party, we spent some time there. They have a playground, a petting zoo, and a little show.


The show was actually pretty funny. We walked in on the end and the guy was taking kid volunteers from the audience. Well, I guess N just figured that kids could walk up there. So, next thing I know, my baby is walking up on stage. I am saying, "Nathan, Nathan! Come back here." But my shy little boy just kept walking. They guy was a good sport about it once he found out it was N's birthday and kept him upon stage. N had to stick his hand in a box and guess what was in it. He guessed right--a turtle!

I found this site that gives you five new questions a week to ask your little one. I thought it was pretty cool and am going to start doing this with N. Anyway, number 4 breaks my heart because he started school last week and I actually thought he liked it. :(

1. What is soap made out of?
What? Bubbles. Bubbles mommy, bubbles!

2. Why does batman wear a cape if he can't fly?
He can fly!

3. What is the hardest thing in the world to do?
Clean up.

4. What is something that you wish you didn't have to do?
Go to school. I really just want to stay at home.

5. If you had a blog, what would you name it?
A blog? Like what's a blog?

It has been so nice here lately! We have been trying to spend as much time as possible outside or doing things, but unfortunately that has gotten all four of us sick. It is no fun being sick while everyone else in the family is sick. All you want to do is curl up in a ball and sleep, but that is the last thing you can do with sick kiddos. To top it off, since E is still nursing, I can't take anything. This shall pass.

Here are some pictures pre getting sick. Nathan is such a little ham. Here he is riding on Emma's little ride on toy. He loves it. I think that each one of them just loves what the other one is playing. It is so much fun to see them interact, but they are really starting to get into that brother/sister fighting mode. Ay! I didn't know that would happen so fast.

Not only is little E walking everywhere, but she is dancing too! She is such a hoot. She presses the little button on her Kai Lan riding toy, throws her arms up in the air, squats those little legs down, bounces and then claps. It seriously cracks me up everytime! Here are a few of the "Emma Dance".


Our house is coming along nicely. We had a little snafu that caused us to put a hold on building. After a week, it is now fixed. We decided to flip the floorplan of the house so that the backporch is over looking the yard. Our backyard is a little odd shaped because it is a cul de sac lot. The way they had it, the back porch was facing the closest corner of the yard. We didn't like that at all. We want to put a pool in there one day and want to be able to see the entire yard from the porch and living room. Anyway, it is fixed now. They have the form layed out and will be doing the pipes and putting down the sand this week. It is so much fun to drive by and see it everyday.