Party Time!

This year was Nicholas' first big boy party where the kids stayed without parents.  I wasn't necessarily planning on that... I was more used to being friends with the kids moms and the parties are a chance for all of us adults to chat too! Oh well.  The kids had a lot of fun and I felt a bit more relaxed, but the kids did still need help with getting their food, cleaning up, and moving between activities. I think 4yr olds are probably still a bit too young to be left.

Anyways, we had a great time at Nicholas' fish party.  The invitations read: "You are o-FISH-ally invited..." and Nicholas was really into the theme.  For food we had sandwiches in star shapes (so much more appealing than regular shapes), fish in water (Swedish fish in blue jello), of course goldfish crackers, fish eggs (grapes), and a few other things.

Nicholas was so happy to have his three school buddies, Kellan and Cade (twins), and Jack, in addition to his church friend Savannah, and other friend Andrew (who came later).  Ryker had a great time too, especially finishing off everyone's leftovers.

 They played a fun Go Fish game, went fishing for treasure in a shipwreck, and even watched some of our favorite parts of Finding Nemo.

  Nicholas loved his special Nemo cake and was so happy to be with his friends.

Happy Birthday Keke!

Four years ago today Jared and I became parents.  We were so worried our baby would be born on Christmas, that my mom would not be able to attend his birth (she was living in Holland at the time), and that Jared would not get much time off from his new job.  We were so blessed to have everything work out alright: my mom arrived on time, Jared's job was very accommodating and he was born 6 days before Christmas. 
We had struggled to choose a name for months and ended up naming him Nicholas after the incredible Saint who performed so much charity for others.

The last four years have been an adventure for us, learning all about this little guy and watching him grow.  He is stubborn and strong-willed, funny, and friendly and becoming very empathetic.  He is a great big brother full of patience, and always wants a hug when I raise my voice. We love our little boy!

The Baby Grows Up

I can't believe how quickly my "baby" has grown. It blows me away to think that when Nicholas turned 2 that Ryker was 4 months old. I can't imagine having a 4 month old right now!

The little guy had his birthday about a month ago while we were on the road in Arizona. We celebrated with the customary birthday donut, followed by swimming and a pizza movie party that evening. It was a perfect day, and perfect for him.

Ryker is sweet, cuddly, and Mommy's boy. He has the cutest smile with a dimple on the left cheek. He is happy and loving, but can turn on the attitude if he's decided to. His tantrums are loud and dramatic, naturally making us laugh every time.

Rykie loves to play with stuffed animals, cars, trains, and balls. He loves his blankies, and his doggie, and requires all 4 of them to sleep. He loves Finding Nemo, Winnie the Pooh, and anything his brother is interested in. I love how he is easy going and also affectionate. He loves to swim. He is also potty trained!!

Physically he is a lot more tan than his big brother, and a bit heavier. His hair has turned a pretty sunbleached dirty blonde, and it is wavy like mine. His eyes still aren't a specific color- sometimes green, brown, dark blue, or a mix of all three. He has the longest, thickest eyelashes ever, and I get comments about them often. He has a sweet face, I can't help but kiss him.

We love our "Rykie Roo"!

Mimi's Visit

Our month of fun continued with a visit from my mom, known to the boys as Mimi.

She was nice enough to share her half-century birthday with us, and carried on the "birthday donut" tradition.


I had planned a surprise lunch with my nearby great-aunt, her granddaughter and baby, plus a drop-in visit from my aunt (Mom's sister) from Vegas. My aunt ended up rolling her car as she was leaving and, understandably, couldn't make it. We were sad to miss her, but mostly just grateful she was ok!

The two little ones were very engaged in their iPhones, begging the question, what did parents do at restaurants before now?!


We were also happy to oblige a trip to Disneyland. I think she was concerned the kids would be sick of it by now, but that is definitely not the case! We had another good time and were happy to share all our favorites.
Her trip was not complete without a trip to the Griddle Cafe for breakfast. We ate until we could eat no longer, then sent her off back home.

(Don't mind the ugly facade- its amazing)

We had so much fun with Mimi and were sad to see her go. Even still Ryker wants to call her multiple times a day on the phone just to chat.

Baby's Birthday

Today is our sweet little boy's birthday.

He has been a joy to our family, bringing happiness and lots of love. Anyone who knows him will attest that he is a sweetheart with an easy, warm smile.

My pregnancy with him was a bit more difficult, and the labor was short but very painful. I figured it meant he would be an easy baby, which definitely was true.

(day before he was born)

newborn- 9lbs 1 oz

with big brother, almost 3 months

9 months

11 mo. in Carlsbad

Happy 1st birthday to our sweet "Rykie Roo"!

Terribly Excited for the Two's!

almost 1 month

1st birthday

2nd birthday

Our little Nicholas is not so little anymore... He is 2 years old!

We were told the time would pass by quickly, but I had no idea it would be this fast. Its amazing to think how much he has grown and learned in his first two years, and we couldn't love our demanding, bossy, busy little guy any more! I love how he nicknamed himself, bites his nails, and begs me for trips to Target. He is friendly to new people, and loves to go to nursery at church. He keeps us laughing with all of his huge personality and funny (unintentional) phrases;

."Oh no, Kiki!",

."Touchdown!"

."Kiki's turn"

."busy, busy, busy!"

.putting himself in timeout

.talking to his toys and introducing himself

."buy it!" (when he sees something he likes at the store)

."give!" (when I wont give him a toy, he talks to me like I'm a dog)

."No, no like it!"

."call me!"

.the entire song of Jingle Bells

{In church last week in AZ the primary children got up to sing a few Christmas songs. He was very excited because just the week before in LA our primary kids had sung his favorite song, Jingle Bells. Well, the kids here sang two songs (Away in a Manger, Stars Were Gleaming), then went to sit down. Nicholas got very upset and yelled with full vigor, "JINGLE BELLS! SING JINGLE BELLS!!"}

He loves grapes, Thomas the Train, reading "Where the Wild Things Are" before bedtime, wearing his Nike shoes, and calling people on the phone. He remembers all his friends' names, and talks about them often. He is good at sharing, but likes to sit on his brother's belly and say "Ride 'em, cowboy!"

We love our boy, and we can't imagine how boring our lives would be without him!!

Yesterday was our big boy's 2nd birthday party!

We had so much fun decorating, cooking, and getting the apartment ready for all of his friends. Kiki loved helping me make the snickerdoodles and rolling them in the sugar. He also took it upon himself to taste all the food to make sure it wasn't poisonous. Poor kid had to watch all the treats being made and wait for a few days to eat it!

The spread (minus the cake)... and zoomed below

The craft table was insane!

We decorated Christmas trees, played a snowman game, and sang jingle bells (his favorite song). The best moment for me was watching his sweet face light up singing the song, surrounded by all of his favorite friends. It was so cute I contemplated crying. The cake turned out so yummy (dark chocolate and peppermint ice cream cake), and the event went without a hitch. We pulled out his present from us (a ball pit) and let the kids run amok inside unsupervised.

As far as two-year-old parties go, I think this one rocked!!