Life is to short not to LIVE it!

In the weeks since Malachi's 2nd birthday (Oh My Gosh, I still can't believe I'm saying that!) we have been very busy.  Particularly the weekend of May 29th!!!  (5 points to whomever knows the significance of THAT date!) 

Thursday night, May 27, Daddy was outside working on our VERY beat up yard.  The woman we bought our house from never, EVER mowed until she got citations from the City because her (our) yard was SO overgrown with weeds.  Last year was spent on our hands and knees for DAYS straight digging up weeds that just wouldn't go away!!! 

THIS was just one of the many weeds that were taking over our lawn.  Yes, those are the weeds you see growing along highways and in the drier areas of the state.  It's called a Russian Thistle and those things have thorns on them like you would NOT believe. 

Okay - Back to my Story - We finally seemed to have gotten rid of many of those weeds and this year Thomas sprayed some sort of SUPER killer on our yard.  Our grass was shocked for a couple weeks, but now it's coming back thick and green and in the next month I expect all the little yellow patches to be gone!!!  So, Daddy was working on our yard and Malachi looked out the window and said, "Ouside, Daddy?"  I took one look at him and said, let's do it!  Yes, he was in his underwear.  He had just finished eating Spaghetti and was a mess.  These are even training underwear because they're the first ones I grabbed after I cleaned him up from dinner!!  So, we threw on his shoes, grabbed his favorite ball and headed outside with Daddy!!!  I would NEVER have believed what a wonderful few minutes we would have had or the adorable pictures I would have captured if you would have told me!!!   

TRY to tell me this doesn't look like one of the happiest kids you've ever seen!

So, we started playing.  Daddy has a game where he throws that $1 walmart ball (We used them in Junior high as a "war ball..." but, I guess that's a whole 'nuther story huh?) against the house and it catapults right back at Malachi.  (Don't worry...it's NEVER going fast enough to do any damage if it hits him...which it has...and he laughs down to his TOES!)  Not a bad reaction time is it?  hehehe  Ya think he's anticipating it a little bit?

The ball isn't actually about to hit him...It's actually about 3 feet to his right...He still THOUGHT it was coming though!

Then, Daddy rolls the ball on TOP of the house and it bounces down and around...Here's Malachi trying to CATCH the ball!

Hi mom!

I am IN LOVE with these action shots!!!  He was laughing SO hard and having SO much fun and I just COULDN'T stop clicking away!

The fun briefly stopped while a VERY loud motorcyle drove by and Malachi ran to Daddy for protection.  I think this might be one of my favorite pictures of the two of them!  SO sweet to see him running to Daddy for protection and Daddy providing that protection just like a good Daddy should!!!  It's okay son!

After the "ball" game wore out, he decided to play chase around Daddy's City truck and I popped out from behind the porch at the right time to scare him...He screamed like a little girl and took off running again!!!

Of all the picture sequences I've taken, I think this might be close to my favorite so far!  I will NEVER forget the giggles we ALL had that night and how much fun it was to see our baby boy running around in his undies and Nikes playing in the front yard!!  Sometimes you just have to throw reason out the window and LIVE a little bit!

My Birthday Boys

My Boys' Birthday weekend was, in a word, hectic!  Daddy was very sick the night before his birthday with what we THOUGHT was food poisoning.  We figured out it WASN'T food poisoning when Mommy woke up very early the morning OF Daddy's birthday with the same symptoms.  NO FUN!  The virus seemed to go as quickly as it came, so even though neither of us were feeling 100%, we still went out to eat at Daddy's favorite Italian restaurant, Napoli's!  It was supposed to be a surprise party, but Daddy has learned to read Mommy too well over the last 12 years, so the surprise was ruined.  We still had a great time, though with our wonderful friends!! After dinner we went to see Robin Hood...it was actually a pretty decent movie...and I'm not even a fan of Russell Crowe!  Daddy had already gotten a few small gifts from Mommy and he got his cards and his gift from Malachi (a bubble mower) that morning.  We have talked about having a bubble mower for our children for as long as we could remember and now, Malachi is old enough to get out and help Daddy in the yard.  I can't wait to get some good pictures of the first time they "mow" the yard together!!!  Thanks to our wonderful friends for a good night out and thanks to Lolli and Pop for watching Malachi!

(L to R - Steve & Donna, Melissa & Kurt, Daddy & Mommy!)

Saturday morning was, well, eventful.  We spent most of the day at Lolli's house cleaning and finishing the final touches for the party.  Then it was time for the party!!!

Here's the birthday boy, still unsure about everything and surveying the situation!  And, a REALLY great shot of his shirt.  Isn't it precious?

Once everyone got there, he started to warm up, as long as he had his BAlloon, that is!  CHEESE!!!

Trying to sample his cupcakes early...I don't blame you buddy, they were AWESOME weren't they?

Here's Melissa taking pictures for us with her really cool camera!  Maybe one of these days we'll have some blow money to spend on a nifty item like that.  Not yet, right Melissa?  We've got to keep up that gazelle intensity!!!

Yes, this one is a LOT like the one in my new header...but it shows mine and Malachi's matching dimples!  I think it's the ONLY feature he inherited from me.  He is SO his father!  (Thank the Lord!!  Malachi, you've got a wonderful Daddy who loves you very much!)

Once all the kiddos started to filter in, it was time for some cheap and easy entertainment.  Enter, Lolli with Bubbles!

I just LOVE this action shot!!!!  So many kiddos having SO much fun!

And, here's Malachi signing "More" because Lolli had gone inside...she was hyperventilating from blowing all those bubbles!!!  hahaha

And, since Lolli couldn't "hear" his sign language inside,  he thought he'd just holler for her!

Finally it was time to open presents...with as much patience as a 2 year old has for opening multiple presents!

After presents, all the kiddos sat down to eat on the tarp in Lolli's living room.  I'm telling you, this might have been our best idea!  All the kids sat on a big tablecloth and when they were done, we picked it up and tossed it!  So easy and it protected her carpet!!!

Dear Malachi,

I can't believe you are already two years old.  Every single day it seems you are doing something new!  You're learning SO FAST!!  You've been fully potty trained for about a month now and are doing so well with that!  You LOVE your Thomas and Elmo underwear and haven't had an accident in a VERY long time!!!  Your vocabulary is increasing every day and you're starting to speak in sentences more and more often!!  Your first sentence was "Bye Bye Choo Choo Train" while waving out Lolli's office window to the choo choo!  Every morning Daddy puts you in your carseat and you say "Kiss?  Kiss?" until he finishes buckling you in.  Then, you get your kiss, you give him a hug and he closes the door.  As we're backing out, you always say "Bye Bye Daddy" and blow him a kiss...and then you and I call the bus and the choo choo until we see one of them.  (Usually it's the school bus...so if there's no train, you just say, "Bye Bye Choo Choo or, Choo Choo Bye Bye" and we head into daycare!)  At night we've taught you how to sit by your bed and put your hands together while we pray.  Then, it's your turn to say "Thank You Jesus!" followed by a VERY excited "aMEN" - emphasis on the "MEN"!  You love to eat Chos (Cheerios) and Pink (Cap'n Crunch - don't ask me where that came from...) for snacks, as well as Puffcorn and Goldfish.  You're in size 6.5 shoes, 24 month/2T shirts and you're between 18-24 month pants.  You're wearing a LOT of track suits right now (when it's too cool for pants...which won't last much longer) because your legs are so long, but you're so skinny!  We have to roll most of your shorts at least once in order for them to fit snug under your little belly!  Your 2 year checkup was last Friday and you weigh 29 pounds (62%) and are 37" tall (88%)!!  You still love music and love to dance and your favorite shows are Thomas the Train, Curious George, Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!  You know many of your shapes by sight and can pick out AND NAME a triangle, rectangle, diamond, circle, oval (your favorite), star, heart and square!  You know all of your main colors including black, brown and pink and we got a compliment on you a few weeks ago after church because the nursery workers were so impressed with you!  You talk ALL the time...hmm, wonder where you got that!  Although you're testing the waters with us, it's not often and you're a pretty fast learner that Mommy and Daddy aren't playing around.  Malachi, you are an absolute joy and my favorite time with you is rocking you at night still.  You LOVE your Daddy and would prefer him to do EVERYTHING if it were possible!  I only get to rock you SOME nights - Daddy gets preference!  You are SUCH a loved little boy and have NO lack of people to spoil you!  I could not be more thankful for you and can't believe it's been 2 whole years!!  I love you my sweet handsome!

Mommy

2010 Birthday Extravaganza! - Decoration Pictures!

To start with - I have to compliment 1 business and one incredibly talented cousin!!  The Cake Company in Canyon created this REALLY cute and SPOT ON cookie cake for Malachi based off of his invitation!  GREAT JOB Mandi and Crew!!!  If you're in Canyon and you need a custom cake, these are the girls to call!!  Secondly, my enormously talented cousin, Angela Sanchez, runs Sophie's Sassy Stitches and hand-sewed Malachi's t-shirt based on an internet picture of the theme!  Thank you Angela - just like last year, his shirt was perfect!! 

Here was Malachi's cake BEFORE the traditional finger-smearing took place...

 

...by THIS little guy and his Lolli!!

And HERE'S the after effects of said tradition! 

Here is the cupcake stand Thomas and I put together out of cake boards and foam cylinders with decorative ribbon!!  I'm REALLY quite proud of it!

CUTE Napkins from The Celebration Shoppe - Who, incidentally, ALSO furnished the train cupcake picks, napkin rings, "Thanks" stickers, plates and other coordinating items.  They also customized their train invitations to match our theme!!!  SO FUN!!!  These girls have an easy to use website and TONS of cute ideas!!!  (Disclaimer - MOST of what you see here was COMPLETELY ripped off from the internet!!  I am so NOT that creative!)

We got these cute conductor visors off of Oriental Trading and got the Train Whistles (handed out as favors as kids LEFT) at rtdtrading.com! 

The Drink Table

There is a story behind this train!!  Our dear friend, Nancy Camp (the wonderful woman my mom bought her daycare from) had this hanging at the daycare FOREVER.  I was honored to use it at Malachi's party!

VERY fun cupcake picks!  We just cut them out, used foam squares and attached them to brightly colored scrapbook paper before putting a toothpick in them!  These turned out SO cute.    Also, the cupcake wrappers were printed, cut out and double stick taped around the cupcakes.  (Note - My Aunt, Gradena, made all of the cupcakes for us and COMPLETELY saved our lives!  They were chocolate and white wedding cake!!  THANKS Gradena!  She said it's easier to ice them AFTER you've put on the cupcake wrappers!)

These are some FUN and EASY Tissue Paper Pom-Poms! 

I was VERY happy with the way his birthday banner turned out!  However, I couldn't get a good picture of it with my cheap camera!  Oh well...you get the idea!!

Thank you to everyone who helped decorate and just gave general input!  I could not have done it without all of you!!!  And, thank you to Lolli and Pop for letting us take over your house last weekend!  Love you guys VERY VERY MUCH!!!

Resurrection Sunday - Part 2

So, after we had a HUGE lunch of ham, brisket, potatoes, mac and cheese, rolls, salad, TONS of desserts and YUMMY ice tea - it was time for the Easter Egg Hunt.  Malachi was too young last year, so this year was particularly fun for us for the first time.  I'm still not convinced that he understood it all and by the time we got around to hunting, it was WAY past his naptime.  So, he hunted a little and then went out for the count.  We still had a wonderful time, though!!!

Here is Malachi's Easter Bucket.  I got the idea online, but decided the buckets I saw were WAY too expensive to buy.  I could TOTALLY make that!!  And, it turns out, I was right!!!  I had tons of fun with Aunt Danielle and Aunt Kelly making these buckets with our kids.  I'm thinking we started a new tradition!! 

Here's all the kids' buckets lined up outside and ready to go!!  Robert's was dinosaur, Kadi Jo's was, of course, Princess, Karter had Pirates and Malachi had Monkeys!!!  I'm telling you, these were SO easy to make and SO MUCH FUN!!!  And, they're personalized. Malachi is now using his as a crayon/coloring book holder!!  However, I STILL don't think he likes to touch the handle with all the ribbons on it...He would NOT carry it while hunting for his eggs!!

All the kiddos getting ready. 

Our baby boy's first time hunting (well, okay, picking up) Easter Eggs!!  I remember last year how LITTLE he was.  Just crawling!!!  Man, how time flies!  I'm so glad we're enjoying every little moment with him.  I know I'll blink and he'll be graduating!

Mali - LOOK!

Got it Dad!

He was SO proud of his eggs!!  This is approximately 1.2 seconds before he smashed them together and egg went EVERYWHERE!!!

After naptime it was time for the traditional chocolate bunny! 

Don't even THINK about taking it away from me this year!

How incredibly blessed we are to have such a beautiful little boy!  He is SO happy.  (Most of the time, anyway!)  And, did you notice?  UNDIES!!  I am happy to report that we are completely potty trained except for naptime/nighttime.  He's been waking up dry the last couple weeks in the morning (with a few exceptions) and as far as I know, he's waking up dry at naptime.  So, we'll be transitioning to underwear at naptime and then slowly get to nighttime.  We'll be DONE by the time he's 2!!!!!  I'm SO proud of him! 

In just 1 short month he'll turn 2 and I've already spent 2 whole Saturdays on party prep!  Thanks to Lolli for helping me shop this past weekend and thanks to Lolli AND Brittany (my baby brother has a girlfriend...tear)for helping me put together his banner.  Here's a sneak peek of the party theme...

Finally, here's my baby boy eating his second chocolate bunny...another tradition!!  He had JUST woken up from nap, so he was still a little whiny!!