Daddy and Viv's 5th bday party!

Here are pictures from the second party we went to on Saturday.  My MIL hosted a dual party for my hubby and our niece.  Hubby worked on the grill while the kids played.  This was Ricky's first pinata experience.  His cousins showed him how to swing the bat and he had a fun time.  It was sweet to watch.  After that was dinner, pin the tail on the donkey, and cake.  It was a long day, but Rickybear had a fun time.  Carter didn't know what was going on, but I swear he was there, too.

Swinging outside while daddy grills

Swinging at the pinata

Love the excited smile

Lights!

Candy!

Cake! (See, Carter was there!)

Fire!



He needed to relax after the long day...



Sam's 2nd birthday party!

Saturday was a birthday party day.  The first party we went to was for my cousin and his son.  (By the way, I don't really know how that works... does that make both of them my cousins?)...  Anyway, I wasn't able to stay but an hour, which was really very disappointing for me.  I was happy to spend time with family that I only get to see once or twice a year... my cousins, my aunt (and uncle, via skype!), and my sister.  Everyone was able to meet Carter for the first time and to see how much Rickybear had grown. 

When we first got there, Ricky pretty much hung out with the adults.  Literally five minutes before we left was when he warmed up and started playing with the other kids.  Can you imagine the crying that ensued?  It was sad.  He did get some presents from family, though, which included a stuffed monkey (I love hearing him say "monkey"... it's adorable) and a super soft stuffed bear.  My family also gave me a mini baby shower, which was totally unexpected.  I had a really nice time while I was there and I wish I could have stayed longer, but hopefully we can have more play dates and meet ups soon.

So here are the pics that I took from that party.  I missed the pinata and the cake and presents, but here is what I have.  Sorry if they are a little blurry.

We had just arrived.  Playing with a shiny balloon!

My aunt playing with Sam, the birthday boy.

My aunt with Sam and my mom with Ricky



My sister feeding baby Carter





Ricky opening his presents





Finally playing on a learning pad with another little boy.



A birthday party

After his haircut on Saturday, Ricky attended a birthday party for his friend, Natalie, who turned 4.  Her mommy was the Maid of Honor at my wedding and her daughter was the first infant that I ever held.  Talk about scary!  Some of the girls from work went to visit her while she labored at the hospital and then I came back after work to see the baby and was forced to hold her.  I just knew I would break her!  But, 4 years later she is still alive and well.  =)

Ricky really loved the ball pit once he figured out how to get into it.  Black mesh can be deceptive, you know.  He was trying to throw the balls back into the pit, but I guess he didn't realize that the mesh would stop them from going in, because they kept bouncing back at him and he just kept trying again.

They also had a jumpy thingy, which I had wanted to Ricky's next birthday party.  Once the other kiddos were out of it, I let him go at it.  He loved it.  I will def get one for his birthday party.  He would even throw himself down on purpose and just lay there and giggle.

He did really good being around so many people that he didn't know.  I was worried, but he showed no anxiety whatsoever, even though he is used to only spending time with us and his grandparents.

We also picked up Natalie's old toddler bed while we were there.  Talk about depressing- a haircut and a toddler bed on the same day!  Where is my little baby?!?!

I am overwhelmed every day by how awesome it is to be a mom.  Yes, it can be exhausting and less than perfect, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  Look at this face... how could I??

Pics from last Saturday's bday party

The weekend summary, a few days late

We had such a full weekend last weekend.  It’s also been a busy week, as evident by the lack of updates on the blog.

Hubby and I both worked Saturday morning (in fact, he worked from 6 am to 5 pm!) and then the little man and I went to a birthday party.  It was our cousin’s first birthday party.  His theme was a Thomas the Train.  There were a few other kids there as well- 2 four year olds, a 7 month old, and of course the one year old (all boys!).  They had set a playpen up in the living room to contain the babies and all the kids seemed to have a good time.  I remember thinking that Rickybear was interacting just fine with the other babies so I still feel really good about not having him in daycare.  As long as he has plenty of interactions and sharing times with other babies, he isn’t lacking much social interaction.  He did try to munch on his cousin’s arm, though.  Maybe I can blame that on teething??

Rickybear had his first experience with BALLOONS at that party.  We had such a kick out of watching him try to play with them.  They had balloons on strings all throughout the living room and kitchen areas.  Such a great idea!  We wouldn’t be able to do that at our house because our kitchen has a peak and I would never be able to get those things down if they went in the peak!

On Sunday we had another birthday party for Ricky’s only girl cousin.  She turned 4 and had a princess theme.  She was so excited about everything.  She was absolutely adorable.  It’s safe to say that he got lots of attention from her and from his aunt and uncle.  He was a lot fussier at this party, but he did get to play with more balloons.  We had to take a time out and go swing outside for a bit and that seemed to calm him down.  Then he watched the Superbowl with his daddy.

Monday was his daddy’s birthday!  We went out to dinner with his parents.  It has become apparent to us that at this age it’s no longer easy for us to just bring the baby to dinner with us.  At eight months old, he is not content to just chill out in his car seat.  He wants to get up and go!  So we either need to get a sitter or do takeout!  We went out to eat twice over the weekend for birthday dinners and it was not peaceful at all. 

On a final note- is it normal for babies to stop sleeping through the night again at eight months???  I don’t think he is teething.  We put him down for bed and he can sleep for an hour or two by himself before he gets restless and starts crying out.  Sometimes he calms down if we bring him in the bed with us, but this past week his just kicked his daddy in the ribs and slapped mommy in the face and still cried.  I have been cranky all week since he has kept me up.  (And I want to have another one??  Am I crazy???)  Last night I stuffed him with bananas and mum mums and a bottle of the nighttime formula.  He was so stuffed!  I also turned on the humidifier and the Vicks vaporizer (he had a stuffy nose) and he slept all night!  It makes such a difference when I can get a good night’s sleep!!  He did whine a bit, but not to the extent that I had to go pick him up.  He was curled up in the corner closest to the vaporizer and he was pretty peaceful.  Let’s hope tonight goes just as well…

I can’t wait for the weekend again!