Happy Birthday Sweet Kaitlyn!

What a weekend! We celebrated KK's first birthday with a big backyard barbeque on Saturday night. We had 34 adults and 14 kids in all! The party started around 6 pm and we had lots of food. I ordered BBQ to go with the theme and everything was red and white gingham to match. We had the party closer to nighttime so that hopefully it wouldn't be as hot. We were very lucky in that it didn't rain at all! Thank goodness, because it rained hard all Sunday afternoon! It was still very HOT, but the kids were able to play outside (and keep the inside of the house relatively clean) and everyone else got to hang on the porch or outside in the backyard. The kids had a blast playing on the porch with all of the toys and on the backyard playground, as well as, Mady's trampoline. Jacob's mom made KK's smash cake with a butterfly and gummy worms around it. I don't think she ever got to the cake part of it and instead ate a lot of frosting! She was covered in red icing! Everyone had a great time at the party and I am so glad it is over with! It is so exhausting planning a party, but I am so happy with the way it turned out! I definitely think next year I'll be renting a place to have it indoors, even though it didn't rain, it was still the middle of July in Florida!

Mommy and the birthday girl!

So excited that everyone is here to celebrate her birthday!

What is this silly hat my mom is making me wear?

Getting ready to make a huge mess!

Shoveling it in by the fistful!

Trying to get a group shot in the birthday hats!

Trying to decide if she's had enough!

So proud of herself and the mess she's made!

The favors were mini smore kits tied with gingham ribbon. Thanks to Diane and Alicia for helping me put them together.All the gifts!
Do you think she got enough? Thanks everyone!

Kaitlyn had another birthday party today at Mimi's house with all of her daycare friends. I got there just as Kaitlyn started eating her cake. She got so many wonderful gifts and has a lot of new toys to play with and new clothes to wear. Her gift from Mommy and Daddy was a new car seat, and Mady got her a sea horse that lights up and plays songs!

The birthday girl at Mimi's house.

Eating cake and ice cream with my buddy Adam.

All the kids at Mimi's house.

Monday night the 5 of us (grandma, too) went to Steak-N-Shake for dinner and then came home for a mini-cake celebration. KK was worn out and just poked her finger in the cake before crying. She must be partied out! Don't worry, we relit the candle so that Mady could sing again and blow the candle out, again. Then she proceeded to eat the icing off the top. Good thing we're all sick of cake by this point!

One last cake at home with grandma and the family.

Goodnight from a sleepy ONE year old!

Her parties we unbelievably exciting and fun and I'm so sad that my bitty baby is already one years old. Time flies for sure! We're looking forward to her walking very soon (so far she's taken 6 steps) and we are officially done with formula (bottles are next)! Next week she has her 12 month check-up and I will update everyone on what she's been up to!

Cruzin to the Bahamas

We just returned this morning from a wonderful 3 night cruise to the Bahamas! It was Jacob, myself, and Mady; as well as Mimi (Mady and KK's babysitter) and Papi and their three children, and The Pearsons and their daughter Emily Joy. You're probably wondering how we all ended up on the same cruise to the Bahamas. Well, Mimi and Papi booked this cruise a few months ago for their family, then The Pearsons booked it a couple months later for their family. When Jacob and I went on this cruise at the end of June we talked to the Loyalty Ambassador and got a pretty good deal so we booked it, too. That's how we all ended up on it together! Traveling with friends is definitely the way to go!

Mady looking out the window in our room! She thought the room was so neat!

Once we arrived on Friday we met up with everyone at the pool. Mady loved playing in the pool even though it was salt water, she didn't even notice. There were also two large hot tubs that she loved going in. We hung out on the pool deck for awhile until it was time to leave for the Muster Drill.

Eating pizza with Troy by the pool!

Wearing her life jacket for the Muster Drill.

After the Muster Drill we met back up on the pool deck for the sailing away party! More swimming and drinking and hanging by the pool!

Emily and Mady had a blast playing in the pool!

Jumping in the shallow end.

We had the late seating for dinner and it was great. We've never done late seating before and it was nice to not have to rush at 6 to go eat. We had dinner each night at 8:30 and Mady did great.

Mommy and Mady before dinner the first night.

Posing in a window!

On Saturday we woke up and headed to the pool while we waited to arrive in Nassau. Around 1 pm we made it into Nassau and went to the Straw Market and of course, Senor Frogs! While we were in Nassau, the city was celebrating a festival called Junkanoo. Basically they had some culture-type stuff out, as well as, Bahama Mamas! Mady didn't make it long in Nassau, so Jacob left and went back to the ship so she could take a nap. I hung out with the group and we made our way into Senor Frogs. Somehow Renee and I ended up chaperoning Mimi's daughter while the rest of the group headed back to the ship. It was the usually touristy party scene with underage drinkers drinking those margarita yards. We stayed for about an hour or two and then the three of us made our way back to the ship!

Drinking a (virgin) Mango Tango by the pool.

Our husbands, the studs. Drinking manly mango tangos!

Trying on funny hats in Nassau.

Having fun at Senor Frogs! Cyndel and the Chaperones!


That night Emily and Mady went to the kid's club while we ate dinner in the dining room. It was so nice to be able to eat dinner in peace and know that Mady was off having fun in the kid's club. Today was also Renee's birthday, so we celebrated at dinner. After dinner we just hung around and then picked the girls up at 11.

The Cougar's birthday! Just kidding, she's way too young!

Sunday we woke up and were in Coco Cay, the private island. Mady ended up sleeping in until 10:30 this morning, so we didn't get to the beach until 11:30. We had a great time of floating in the ocean and Mady and Emily played in the sand. We also drank some Coco Locos while we were there!

Playing in the sand at Coco Cay!

Riding on the cars in the kid's play area.

That night we took the girls to the theater to see a production of music through the decades. Mady and Emily loved the show and danced in the aisle. We tried to take the girls to the kid's club while we were at dinner, but once Mady started crying, Emily was right behind her and we knew it was a no-go. We took the girls to dinner and celebrated Stephen's upcoming 40th birthday (wow, a lot of Pearson birthdays on this trip!). Jacob and Stephen took the girls back to their rooms after dinner so that Renee and I could go out!

Mimi and Papi at dinner. Mady couldn't believe Mimi was on the boat!

Celebrating Stephen's 40th birthday Sunday night.

Funny hat the waiter made for Mady.

The Falk family on Mady's first cruise!

Mady and her pirate bandanna for pirate night!

This morning we woke up bright and early and were off the ship by 8. Jacob went to work and I spent the day with the girls recovering. I am so exhausted and need a vacation from the vacation! It was jammed packed for those 3 days and Mady had so much fun. We can't wait to take her on the Disney cruise at Halloween. We really hope someone will want to join us because cruising with friends was definitely the way to go! It was so relaxed and everyone did what they wanted. We would meet up at the pool or on the beach, and then every night at dinner. We look forward to doing this again soon!

Sleepy Girl

Kaitlyn took her morning nap a little earlier than usual this morning. I was cleaning the kitchen, when I noticed that it was quieter than normal. I found Mady laying on the couch watching cartoons (not unusual) and KK on the floor sleeping. I guess Mady was taking care of her because she told me she covered her with a blanket. KK has been so sick this week and is on 3 different meds. I took her to the doctor on Monday morning and they prescribed an antibiotic for an ear infection, plus pulmicort for a respiratory thing, and then she's still on xopenex for times when she coughs nonstop. She's had a fever since Monday, too, so that hasn't been fun either. The good news is she's still sleeping through the night, but I'm ready for her to feel better. We're leaving her with Jacob's mom for the weekend and I really don't want her sick while she's there. Plus, her birthday party is coming up and I want her well!

School Daze

Everyday Kaitlyn takes a nap between 9:30-10:30 and that is usually when Mady gets to do something fun that only big girls get to do (paint, play with the Barbies and their million accessories, go on the trampoline, etc...) however, now that Mady's three I thought it would be a great time to start her on some preschool workbooks that I picked up at the school supply store. I bought her two books: letters and shapes/colors. Today we worked on big A little a, and the sizes big/small, short/tall. Mady loved working in the workbooks and did a great job at pointing out the big or small objects and the short or tall objects. Last week I finally had Mady spelling her name out loud M-A-D-Y. She can also tell you that her name starts with the letter M, and that Mommy and Mimi both start with the letter M. My goal is for her to recognize all 26 letters in the alphabet. So far she seems really eager to learn and has already told me that when she goes to school with me (next year) she is going to get a new lunchbox! She cracks me up!

Coloring objects that start with the letter A.

Putting pictures in order according to size.

I circled all the big pictures!

Coloring my pictures!

Busy Week!

Since I'm home most days of the week by myself with both girls, it's a challenge finding cheap, fun things to do with them. On Mondays they both go to Mimi's so I can get things done (like lunching with my friends!) and on Fridays KK goes to Mimi's so Mady and I can do big girl things together.

Tuesday I had plans to take Mady to the kid's day out program, but it got cancelled so I had to come up with Plan B. I looked at the Mr. Richard site and saw that he was playing at Barnes & Nobles at Waterford at 10:00, yippee! I had both girls dressed and out of the house by 9 am! I wanted to leave early so that I could go to the Super Target over there. After a quick visit to Target we were settled on the floor at B&N by 9:30. You have to get there super early if you want a good spot! I'm glad we got there early, because within 10 minutes there was no room left. As we were waiting for Mr. Richard to sing I took out my camera to take a picture of the girls, plus Mady was wearing her Mr. Richard shirt that she got for her birthday! Of course, as I go to take a picture the light comes on and I didn't have a memory card! UGH! One of these days I'm going to stash one in my baby bag for moments like this! Mr. Richard sang and Mady had a blast dancing and KK sat on my lap pretty well. I had a blanket spread out so she had her own little area. After Mr. Richard we went to Carter's to try and find KK an outfit for her birthday (no luck) and then Party City to get an idea of decorations for her party. After a quick trip to Chic-Fil-A we were home. It was quite a day and I was SO PROUD of myself for getting both girls up and out of the house by 9 am!

This is an older photo from Mady's 3rd birthday when Mr. Richard came!

Tuesday night was also fun because I arranged for our babysitter, Michelle, to come over at 8 so Jacob and I could go see The Hangover! I'm so glad I did because that movie was hilarious! KK was already asleep when Michelle came over, so Mady and Michelle watched Mady's latest obsession, Lady and the Tramp!

On Wednesday I took the girls to the Splash Zone to play in the water. The splash zone does not open until 11 am, so I didn't have to be out of the house quite as early. We were the first ones at the pool and had the whole splash zone to ourselves for about 15 minutes. Mady enjoyed going down the slides and KK splashed in the water. I made sure I had my camera with me this day. We stayed for about an hour and headed home for lunch. I'm glad we went early because the storms came in around 1:30.

KK loves the water!

Mady loved having the splash zone all to herself!

On Thursday I wanted to take the girls to the zoo, but it was raining! We settled for going to story time at the library at 11 and then I took the girls to the mall to play at the playground and eat lunch in the food court. It was hard feeding both of them in the food court, but I managed and then they went wild in the playground. I was afraid all the other moms would have the same idea as me and take the kids to the indoor playground, but it wasn't too crazy. After playing we headed home for naps!

Thursday night was a wild and crazy night. Jacob picked Mady's friend Sarah up on his way home from work for a play date with Mady. The girls had lots of fun playing outside in the sprinkler and on the backyard toys. After a while, Mady's other friend Emily Joy and her mom came over for dinner and to play. The girls had a blast and there weren't too many arguments. I forgot to take pictures of the three girls playing, I was busy maintaining order (okay, so I was sitting on the couch drinking wine and talking to Emily Joy's mom) so I didn't get any pictures!

Friday Jacob took KK to Mimi's and Mady and I had the day to ourselves! After cleaning up what looked like a tornado that went through the family room, living room, and Mady's bedroom, we headed to the zoo. Mady only wanted to go to the splashground and ride the train. So, that's exactly what we did. We also bought a Sno Cone as soon as we got there (Did you know those things are $2? Seriously, I thought it would be like 50 cents, it's just ice and artificial flavoring, but whatever!). Mady played in the splashground and then we had lunch at the zoo. After lunch we rode on the train and headed out! Did we see any animals? Nope. Did I ask Mady if she was sure she didn't want to go see even the snakes (her favorite)? Yep. Oh well, that's why we have annual passes so we can come and go. After the zoo we headed to the mall again since I didn't really get to shop when I was there yesterday with Mady and KK. We found a bathing suit for Jacob, looked all over at every Dept. store for a dress for KK's party (no luck) and went back to the indoor playground. Afterwards it was way past time to get home!

First stop: Sno Cone!

Since the daycare camp hadn't reached the splashground yet, Mady actually got to play!

I had a great time with the girls this week. I think I would go crazy if I sat at home with them all day. Plus, it's always a challenge to not spend too much money seeing as how I'm home on summer break. It would be really easy to just go shopping every day, but I like to find fun (and cheap) things for the girls to do. This week coming up the girls are going to Mimi's on Monday so I can go to a work meeting and then get a pedicure; on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I'll have to find something for us to do. I'm sure one of those days will be the Splash Zone and maybe I'll take them to the zoo so we can see some animals this time. Friday I'll be packing KK up in the morning and taking her to Grandma and Pop Pop's house for the weekend and then Mady and I will go home and wait for Jacob to come home early from work so we can go on our cruise! We can't wait and we are so excited that we get to take Mady with us!

Lunch at Steak-N-Shake on Saturday! So funny!

4th of July

Today we celebrated the 4th of July with Jacob's family. After the girls' naps we headed over to his parents house for a BBQ. We ate tons of good food, Jacob took the girls swimming, and they played and played with their cousins. Almost the whole family was there and it was nice catching up with everyone and celebrating Pop Pop's birthday (it was yesterday). My mom came with us and she always has a great time seeing everyone. We ate so much good food and the desserts were to die for! I think I counted 7 desserts, including homemade ice cream that my sister inlaw made. The girls wore their matching red, white, and blue dresses that I got at Children's Place back in February on Clearance! They also wore their red, white, and blue bathing suits. We did not stay for any of the fireworks because Mady is freaked out by them! I had to ask Jacob's brothers to stop shooting off the bottle rockets for a second so I could take a picture outside. Mady refused to go outside because she knew what they were doing. We headed home around 7:30 and now both girls are in bed. Of course, KK woke up when she heard the City of Oviedo's fireworks!

Happy 4th of July!

Wearing their matching dresses!

Swimming with daddy.

Kaitlyn actually does like the water, although it doesn't look like it!

Mady trying all the desserts!

Practicing for her first birthday!