Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!! Barrett, Kyle and Annabelle have the best daddy. They are three really lucky kiddos.

You Are My Sunshine Birthday Party

We had Annabelle's birthday party on Saturday and I think it was a success.  I had fun and I'm pretty sure Annabelle and our guests did too!  My favorite part of the party was having a photo booth.  I have really enjoyed looking at all the pics of our friends and family being silly.  When scrolling thru the pics, I found about 25 that Barrett had taken of himself.  I should have known because he's been asking me all week what the fake mustaches are for. 
The guests also wrote Annabelle nice notes which I will put into an album with the silly pics for her to read when she gets older and needs a little sunshine on a rainy day.  We had a slidehow with sunshine music playing during the party, sunshine cookies (Thanks, Mom!) and...wait for it...fake flowers! Oh yes, nuthin' but the best for my little girl! 

As usual, I forgot to put out something I had prepared for the party.  It's becoming a tradition...I cannot tell you how many times I have done this!  Cody and my mom even checked the fridge knowing I would forget, but they didn't see the tortilla roll-ups and the pigs in blankets!  Oh well, Uncle Casey got a good stockpile of snacks to take home and we had pigs in blankets for breakfast.  The guests took home a flower pen and a jar of homemade sunshine, a.k.a Lemon Pie!

Here's a few of the pics from the photo booth:

The cousins together for a picture! Having cousins your age is the best! Love this!  You can tell they had fun by the sweaty hair.

Happy Birthday Annabelle

Dear Annabelle,

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!  You are 2 years old today.  These past two years have been filled with so much sunshine, laughter and joy that you have brought into our lives.  You have touched the heart of everyone you have encountered just by being you…by being your happy, loving, active, funny, strong, sweet and cuddly self.  Yesterday we got caught in the rain without an umbrella and had to make a run for it to the car.  You laughed the whole way, just enjoying the rain on your face.  I looked up and noticed that every single person we passed on the way to the car was looking at you with a huge smile on their face.  You bring your own sunshine everywhere you go and that is an incredibly wonderful quality.  You are truly amazing. 

You have the adoration of your whole family (even your brothers), friends, the ladies in the church nursery, and even people we don’t know.  When I picked you up from the church nursery recently, they were taking a video of you because they think you are so cute and funny.  Daddy and I are so proud of you and we sometimes can’t believe how lucky we are to have been blessed to be your parents.  We shower you with kisses which you pass on to us and everyone else…your grandparents, your dolls, your brothers, the dog, your friends, doctors, the door-to-door salesman even got a kiss blown from you.  One day, as we were getting out the car, you said goodbye and blew a kiss to the people talking on the radio!  You should see how Barrett and Kyle light up when you give them a kiss, or when you say a new word, or when you do anything for the first time.  Today, you put on Kyle's shoes which he thought was hysterical, and then you started saying, "Ewww yuck!" with them on and he cracked up.  Then he said, "Mommy, Annabelle is so funny and I just love her so much!"  They are so enamored, proud, and protective of you.  Barrett is always helping me make sure you're safe, and he helps me while shopping by playing with you.  Kyle has made you a birthday present consisting of items he has made himself, including a paper bracelet, a bead necklace, and a ball made of wadded-up foil.  It may not sound like much but it comes from the heart and he is so excited to give it to you.  

You love animals and you especially love dogs.  LOVE them.  We were at the park recently and I had to run to catch you running after a dog you spotted being walked.  We had to put a lock on the laundry room door where we keep all the dog treats because you were giving Aggie so many.  When she’s asleep, you like to lay baby blankets on her, put hats on her, and give her hugs.  When you shower Aggie with your affections (which is many times a day), she seems to barely tolerate it, but when you are crying she is usually howling so loud that I can barely hear you.

This year for your birthday, we are having a “You Are My Sunshine” themed party. It is so fitting because you brighten our days and warm our hearts every single day.  I feel so lucky to be your mommy and I love you more than words can express. 

Love,

Mommy

A little bit about you right now:

When you get excited you run around in circles and jump up and down

You can jump with two feet off the ground and you can do pull ups (I can’t even do one)

You love water: the bath, the pool, the rain, the puddles, the dog bowl

You have started saying “Daddy’s home” and it is the sweetest sound.

You love dolls and blankets and play with them almost exclusively

Your favorite foods change daily but a few are cheese, Pirate Booty, spaghetti, and yogurt

You love Old MacDonald Had a Farm and all farm animals

You make THE BEST donkey noise I have ever heard

When I take your picture, you run to me a give me a hug/kiss after every picture

You love to say "oh no!"

You love Mickey and Minnie Mouse and you dance to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song…hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog…

Here's a picture of you first thing in the morning on your birthday and then a few minutes later. 

In the first pic you are stretching and looking a little like Uncle Casey.  In the second pic, you are just being your cute, funny self.

Annabelle was here

The other day I walked into the room and saw a long trail of toilet paper coming out of the bathroom and turning the corner. I followed it like breadcrumbs and it lead me to the dog who was lying down blanketed in the Quilted Northern. Annabelle was right there with more TP gently laying it on our defeated dog, patting her head and saying, "nigh, nigh." I wish I had a picture of that but the dog got up and shook off the meticulously placed toilet paper before I could get back with my camera. But since then, I have caught a few other snaps of her nurturing nature. You may notice a pattern.
In this last picture, Kyle was feeling a little sick and he laid down on the sofa in my office.  While he was waiting for me to finish on the computer, he fell asleep.  Annabelle came in saw him sleeping and ran to the living room, and then returned with a blanket and Minnie.  She put Minnie beside him and pushed the blanket up as far as she could reach.  She turned to me and put her finger over her lips and softly said, "shhh", then patted sleeping Kyle gently.

a little story

My mom, a.k.a. Gigi, was watching the kids one night for date night. The boys were really into their movie, but it was bedtime. She gave them a 2 minute warning and Barrett protested. Gigi heard him say he really wanted to watch the Padres. She was very confused because she knows that the Rangers are this family's team. Barrett said, "No, the Padres part of this movie." She said he could have 5 more minutes so he could see that part, but she still was very confused. They were watching Star Wars and she didn't think that had anything to do with baseball. A couple minutes later, Barrett said, "See, Gigi, the Padres!" She looked up and saw a kid flying around in a little thing and STILL it did not register with her what Barrett was saying. As she was telling me about it she still did not get it, thinking it was POD RAYS. Later, she was retelling the story and mentioned the flying pods racing around and that's when it finally clicked...POD RACE.