Weekend Recap: Dates & Father's Day Celebrations

I'm due to post about Josh's 18(!!!!) months but I have yet to take the pictures, so a weekend recap post it is.  We had such a busy but awesome weekend.  Andy and I actually went on TWO dates this weekend--that's unheard of!  I first have to start by saying that the boys have such a good life!  They do fun things everyday and even though I would love to be able to be with them more during the week, I am blessed to know that they are in good hands.  My mom watched them for 24+ hours, starting at 8:00AM on Friday morning.  They went to story time at the library, out to lunch with ice-cream, and then swimming after dinner.  In between all of these activities, they also had plenty of time to play and take a nap or two as well.  Like I said, they have it good!

Perhaps the best part is that they both slept through the night for Nana and Papa John!  (Even if Josh ended up sharing a bed with my mom…)   Look at those sleeping angels!

Meanwhile, Andy and I were out enjoying our night out!  We went to the residents' graduation and then went to our favorite little wine bar.  If only I could have enjoyed a glass of wine…  I did get to enjoy cheese and my favorite truffle popcorn, so I was a happy camper. :)  We were tired but wanted to make the most of our free night.  It was soooooo nice to be out!  And outside at that!

I had big plans to sleep in the next morning, but unfortunately I was up before 5:00 and couldn't fall asleep again until almost 7:00, and then I woke up again at 8:00.  I'll still take it!  These guys were up around 6:30, which is pretty darn good!  Joshy has the best bed head in the morning!

We picked them up early because we had plans to volunteer on Saturday morning.  We joined the cutest service organization for kids and they have monthly projects that we try to participate in when we can!  This month's was a little different and we learned about people in wheelchairs and made a craft to decorate the spinal cord unit at a local hospital.  This was right up my alley given what I do on a daily basis.  :)  They read a "Little Critter" book about people in wheelchairs and then listened to a presentation by Bryon Reisch, a man who sustained a spinal cord injury due to a slip and slide accident while in college.  (I believe he even went to Marquette!)  He is in a wheelchair now and encouraged the kids to ask questions.  Ben had such great questions that he didn't want to ask Bryon, but he stumped me a few times on our drive home!  It makes my heart to happy that Ben is so accepting of people who are different, "because we are all different but we are still the same, momma." 

The only orange one.  Of course he picked orange!

Look at that name writing-- all by himself!

The boys squeezed in some naps before it was time for Hannah and Emily's birthday party!  I should add that it was HOT this weekend, so you better believe the boys were excited that they got to bring their bathing suits to the party.  This slide/pool thing was pretty fun, even if the water was approximately 2 degrees above freezing.

The water was a little too cold for Josh.  Nice try Uncle Joe!  I was happy to stay inside in the A/C with Joshers!

We were actually able to get a picture of the 4 of them without Joshy screaming!  He wasn't happy and didn't last long on Hannah's lap, but it's better than usual!

It was bedtime by the time we got home, which was good because we had LOTS of Father's Day plans on Sunday.  Ben woke up bright and early and came down to our bed, as he often does.  He always comes on my side of the bed and Andy often doesn't even hear him.  I reminded Ben that it was Father's Day and he had to remember to say "Happy Father's Day" when daddy woke up.  Well, he couldn't wait that long and got a huge smile on his face and said, "I'm just going to tell him right now!" I'm sure Andy wouldn't have minded if we let him sleep a little longer, but he also loved being woken up by a big hug and happy wishes!  He was so excited to give Andy his gift that he had made at school and hidden for the last month.  Our first destination of the day was going down to the lake to visit my dad.  Look at that spread!  Auntie Anna went all out!  I'm getting hungry just looking at this picture again….

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of our next celebration with Andy's parents.  This is probably because I was SWEATING the whole time.  We went to the beer garden and there seemed to be no breeze and it was like 90 something degrees outside.  The boys were hot but happy to play nonetheless!    After the beer garden, it was time for Andy's Father's Day massage.  The boys and I cooled off for awhile while Andy enjoyed some R&R.  I would never last somewhere that is HOT year round!  (At least not when I'm pregnant!)

Last, but not least, Ben and Josh went to Auntie Anna's apartment and Andy and I went out to dinner.  Auntie sure spoiled these boys!  Ben was beyond thrilled to get these shin guards from Auntie.  Joshy too, even if they went above his little knees. :)

Proof of Ben's love for his ORANGE shin guards (he also got a new orate golf glove from Auntie):  

It was still like a million degrees at this point, but that didn't stop them from going to the park to play!

Andy and I had a delicious, indoor/air-conditioned meal that included lots of chips and salsa.  It was nice just to chat and not have to worry about getting 2 kiddos to eat!  Love this guy and I'm so thankful for all he does for our family.  The boys could not have asked for a better daddy!

That pretty much wraps up our weekend!  We are going on a little road trip this weekend and I'm both excited and terrified to see how the boys, especially Josh, last in the car for 5-6 hours!

Joshy's 1st Birthday Party!

We had so so so so much fun celebrating Josh's 1st birthday!  I wanted to make sure we kept his birthday celebrations separate from Christmas celebrations, so we had it this past Sunday.  We might always try and keep it the first weekend in December.  It's a crazy time of year, but it's also the most wonderful time of the year!  I really cannot believe he's almost ONE!  It makes me sad to think that he's no longer going to technically be a baby anymore!  I'll save my sentimental post for his actual birthday, but it's hard not to get a little emotional.  This was hands down, the fastest year ever!  I just love this little guy to pieces.

After a few pinterest searches, I came across a few lumberjack parties and I fell in love with the idea.  For some reason, I had it in my head that I wanted to do a brunch.  I knew Andy would be sold on both the lumberjack theme and the breakfast/brunch idea!  There's so much fun buffalo check plaid stuff out there right now, that it was hard not to get too carried away.  As always, I wish I would have taken a few more pictures during the party, but I did take some!  There were over 50 people there, so we had the party at my mom's house because there's much more room.   Andy had school this past weekend, so thankfully my mom was super helpful!  Ben was also a huge help!  Wish I could say the same for the birthday boy.  ;)  He ripped of his socks and started putting his mouth on the cart approximately 20 seconds after I got him in the cart.  Stinker!

I was so happy with how everything turned out!  As always, Andy was a master in the kitchen.  He made pancakes, waffles, bacon, Canadian bacon, cinnamon rolls, biscuits, and corn bread, and I'm sure I'm forgetting things!  I was more or less in charge of the desserts.  We had a s'more maker (which didn't get used!), pancake cookies complete with Starburst butter slabs, donut holes that I was going to turn in to acorns, and of course the fabulous cakes!  Our cake lady did such an amazing job!  They were exactly what I was envisioning!

The birthday boy definitely loved the spread!  He had his first bites of (Canadian) bacon and he was loving it!

I'm bumming that I don't have pictures with Joshy and all (or at least a few more) of his loving guests.  I know he won't remember this party, but I hope he knows that he is loved so very much by so many people!  What's not to love about this sweet face?

I wasn't sure how he would do with the big, loud crowd, especially when he was the center of attention, but he did so well!  He was a little ham!

He didn't devour the cake, but he did like it!

He actually didn't like it until Ben started feeding him.  It was pretty much the sweetest thing ever.

I did manage to get a picture with some of my girlfriends from high school!  It was so sweet that they came!

And the youngest party goer award goes to my friend Maggie's sweet baby girl Daphne!  It was love at first sight for both Daphne and Josh!

I was really excited about the photo booth that I made, but unfortunately it did't get used as much as I was hoping!  I know people took their own photos, and we did manage to get a few fun ones!

Overall, the party was a huge success!  Only 9 more days as an 11 month old.  My heart!!