Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

I have never been a huge Birthday person...until I had children. Now I see the significance and importance of celebrating. It is that one day each year that you get to shower that special someone with so much love and remind them of what an amazing little person they are. Also a time to reflect all that has changed and been accomplished within the past year.

We had a Mickey Mouse themed Birthday Party at my parents house. We were so lucky with the weather and had a beautiful day to hang outside. Most importantly...Roman had a fun time bouncing away and hanging out with his friends.


Loving the cake. He ate 2 pieces and probably wanted a 3rd.


Roman getting some help from Tyler to blow out the candles. I'm pretty sure he wished for being able to eat the entire cake.


Betty made these adorable PB&J sandwiches


The favors


The Bounce House was a hit. Roman could have jumped all day.


Hunter Rae...love this girl!


Madelynn looking so pretty in her party dress


Ayla loved the bounce house


Great Grandma Marylyn and Paisley Marylyn


Paige loves Minnie Mouse


Uncle Tom and Aunt Barbara came to celebrate.


Roman and Tyler having fun together


Grady bouncing away


Even Paisley liked the jump house


Kira, always so happy


Roman and the men


Roman roaming around the party


Sean and Paisley are about a month apart. They both have taste for high-end formula. These 2 are made for each other.


Roman sneaking a kiss from Paige. Don't let her brother see you.


Caitlin


Isabella and Ava


Grady and Grant on the firetruck


Scott insisted we could not leave the party without opening at least 1 present. He helped open it and then asked if they could borrow it. Ha ha love 5 year olds!


Thank you to my parents and Betty & Bob for all their help. It was the perfect celebration and best of all...Roman had a blast.

Happy 2nd Birthday Roman

My Baby Boy turned 2 this weekend. Will I forever think of him as my baby? I really can't believe Roman is now 2. I took a lot of time this past week reflecting on the last 2 years and it helped me remember how grateful I am for this boy in our lives.


Roman,

We are so proud of the little boy you have become. This past year has been such an adventure filled with so much happiness and fun. You have been a character from Day 1 and continue to keep us laughing with your funny and sweet personality. You have a heart of gold and have a very special soul that radiates pure joy. Every day you put a smile on people's faces that meet you. You are social, sweet, funny, mischievous, active, free spirit and always full of energy. While you are outgoing, you also have moments of being a little hesitant to change and thrive on your daily routine.

You love being outdoors and are happiest when digging in dirt or sand. You could spend an hour filling up pails of dirt and water. Your favorite toys include the mega blocks, your kitchen, anything electronic, cars, books and anything with a button. Every night we snuggle in bed and read a dozen books. Your favorite books are "Dog's Don't Brush Their Teeth", "Night Night Little Pookie", "Dinos To Go" and all other Sandra Boynton Books. You have started to memorize the books and sometimes finish the sentences. You are just beginning to watch TV and your favorite is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You love music and have the funniest dances (mainly a mixture of a stomping shimmies and jumping).

You are starting to talk "More, More, More". "More" is one of your favorites. You like to repeat everyone's names and even have come up with some cute nicknames. Every day we are amazed with how fast you are picking up on new words. We know that you will likely be one of those kids that never stop talking. Right now we still have a hard time figuring out what you are saying, but each day it is something new. We are so proud of all the progress you are making. You like singing, "Happy Birthday", counting and A,B,C's.

My biggest worry this past year was how you would react to your Baby Sista (as you call her), but it has been the biggest blessing. You LOVE her so much and nothing makes me happier. You face lights up when you see her each morning and you always want to give her lots of kisses "MUAH" as you say. I love watching the 2 of you interact and I know it is going to continue to get more amazing.

Roman...we love you so much! As being a 2 year old can also bring some challenges (stubborn, tantrums and biting), we just can't get enough of you. As I said earlier, we are so proud of the little boy you have become. We know how much is going to change this next year and all we can ask for in life is that you continue to be happy. We look forward to this next year. You were the miracle we were waiting for and I thank God every day for sending you into our lives. We are so blessed!

Our SoCal Trip

We just got back from our trip to Southern California. It was a perfect family trip. We got time at the beach, fun with family, warm weather, a trip to Disneyland and a quick visit with Ryan, Lauren and Melissa. What more could we ask for in a vacation?

The 1st stop on our vacation was Ventura Harbor. My Aunt and Uncle recently built a boat that is docked in Oxnard, so we began our trip with a sailing adventure on their new Catamaran. My Mom and I stayed behind with the kids, while everyone else went sailing for the day.


A Big Thank You to my Uncle Zoran and Aunt Erika for bringing everyone sailing. It was a true highlight of the trip. Next time...I plan on going along.


Cheers to the Channel Islands.


Bob and Jay.


While everyone sailed, we found one of the best parks I have ever been too. How cool are these swings? They overlook the ocean. So peaceful and relaxing.


The best part of the park was that you walked a few hundred feet and were at the beach. Roman loved playing in the sand and filling up buckets of water and sand.


Sadly, my sister and her family couldn't make it at the last minute since Scott came down with the flu, but my parents brought Tyler along for the trip. Roman had so much fun with his cousin all week. We were so happy that Tyler could have a special trip with the rest of us.


These 2 would be happy digging in sand all day long. They make quite a pair.


That night we went to dinner at The Greek at the Harbor. It was such a festive place to go and highly recommended. Entertainment included belly dancing, chair dancing and Greek dances.

The next morning we headed to California Adventure.






Even Paisley was excited to be at the "Happiest Place on Earth"


The 1st Ride was bumper cars. Roman ended up being 1 inch too short, but Tyler loved it.


California Adventure was a perfect spot to start our Disney Adventure.


A true highlight was meeting all the characters. Roman is obsessed with Clubhouse Mickey and it was like he was meeting celebrities. He didn't want to leave once our turn was over. He wanted to keep going back for "More Mick!"


The Carousel is always a favorite.


Paisley's 1st Ride.


Roman and Papa.


Tyler couldn't have been happier with his cotton candy.


We went to World Of Color that night.


What a show!


Jay got Roman and Tyler special laser light swords. Tyler was so excited to get his.
(One of the things I love most about Jay...he is a wonderful, loving and fun Uncle)


The next 2 days we headed to Disneyland.


Paisley was a trooper with waiting in lines and patiently sitting her carseat throughout our trip.


Mickey's Toon Town is adorable.


Tyler's favorite ride...Autopia.


Jason really wanted to bring Roman and Tyler on this mini rollercoaster in Toon Town. I wasn't sure how they would do, but they LOVED it. We went back twice.


WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!


So fun for these 2 to have each other.


Teacups






Goofy


Happy Girl...Loved riding the carousel


Happiest moments were spent running around the park


My favorite...Pluto!


Donald


The train is such a nice way to travel thru Disney. Tyler loved the Dinosaurs.


These 2 make quite the team.


We really had an amazing time at Disneyland. I hope to go back each year. It is one of my favorite places and is so magical with kids.

Now on to lessons learned...

2 Challenges when bringing a 2 year old to Disneyland...

1. Entertaining them while waiting in lines. We planned our trip to visit Disneyland on off-days in hopes for shorter lines. Luckily most lines weren't longer than 15 minutes, but a few were pretty long waits. For the most part, Roman did good but there were some challenging moments.


2. "MORE RIDES!"
Roman did not like when the ride would end. He loved every ride and enjoyed them while he was on them. But the moment the ride would slow down, he would look at us and say "More Rides!" while gripping onto the ride with all his strength. We then would proceed to peel his hands off the ride and carry him off the ride while kicking, screaming and going limp. We thought this might end after a few rides, but it lasted on and off the entire trip. Very entertaining for everyone (but exhausting for the parents.)

THANK YOU...
To my parents and Betty & Bob. We had an amazing trip and it was so special to go with everyone. Thank you for also letting Jay and I a little time alone at Disneyland so we could experience a few rides without kids. Can't wait to go back.

5 Months

5 Months equals pure Happiness! YEAH!!! Life is so much easier when you have a happy baby. The combo of my non-dairy, non-egg diet plus EleCare formula plus 5 months all goes into Paisley being much more comfortable and content. We are so thankful that she seems to be feeling so much better.



This last month has been so much fun to see her personality really shine and seeing her begin to interact more with her surroundings. She is starting to play with some toys and some of her favorites include her maraca, pink poodle, frog and rings. She is starting to grab for everything and I almost lost my plate the other night when I wasn't paying attention.


Paisley loves to be out and about, which makes things easier since Roman is the same way. She is happy traveling and sleeping in her carseat and loves being outdoors in the fresh air. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I am looking forward to more time in our backyard and going on walks.


Nothing makes her happier or smile more than her Big Bro. I love seeing the 2 of them interact. It is love at its purest form.


Paisley also had her 1st trip to the ocean and went on her 1st vacation. She did so good at Disneyland and was a complete joy the entire trip.

She is now sleeping through the night and taking all naps in her room. She likes to be put in bed with a lovie under each arm, a blanket around her, music playing and her bink. We are so thankful to have been blessed with 2 good nighttime sleepers. Her naps are getting a little longer and her schedule is now totally predictable. I have even mastered getting both of them to sleep around the same time in the afternoon.

We love you so much Paisley. Your smile reminds us to smile. You bring us so much joy. Thank you for blessing our lives with your beautiful smiling face each day.