Mason's Birthday Party

So I meant to blog little details about Mason's birthday before today, but time got away from me. So I'll start from the beginning. I really wanted to throw a monkey party, until I realized my little guy isn't into monkey's- he is into trucks. And seeing how it's his day, not mine, I changed my plans and went for the construction route. Here is his invitation. I got it on etsy and LOVED it!
I embroidered his shirt and I loved how it turned out. I found the truck online and then added the two into the dirt. I have made both of his birthday shirts and I want to continue this tradition.

I wanted something simple for favors- after all Mason and his friends are only two so I found these dump truck crayons on etsy and again fell in love with them. They were super cute and everyone walked away with crayons and a balloon.

Here is a truck up close. The lady I got them from was awesome and even wrapped them and added the thank you tag.

I thought and thought and thought about what to do as a cake for this party. I really wanted to make his cake, but again, with two kiddos my time is limited, so you can imagine my excitement when I found this idea on line. I just baked a cake, frosted it, and smeared crumbled oreo's on top and placed it inside one of Mason's trucks. Then I found cone candles at a local party store. Again, I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Here is Mason checking out his shirt. Sweet boy wouldn't look at the camera so I'm hoping some friends got better pics of him.

Reagan was awesome while I was setting up for the party. Here she is smiling at me, while I was setting up the tables.

Here is part of the party area. We decided to have the party at our house so that if need be Reagan could have her room and all her equipment (swing, pappizon, etc) We have a huge backyard so we set up tables, Mason's slides, swing, water table, basketball goal, and truck ramps. We ended up having 19 adults, 11 toddlers, and 2 infants at the party. I can't believe 30 people fit very comfortably in our backyard.

I took a ton of pictures of the kids playing and eating but I loved this one with a few of his friends. It looks like a double date.

After everyone left, we opened presents. Here is Mason after the destruction. We are very blessed to have our Seattle family to celebrate with!

Happy Birthday, Mason

I can't believe 2 years ago, I gave birth to our sweet little boy. This is Mason just a few hours old. We have grown so much as parents, as a couple and as individuals. I remember taking this picture and thinking how old he looked- lookingback he was still my baby!

NOW this is a boy! This past year has been incredible. We have grown by two more feet as a family and I love watching Mason and Reagan develop a relationship.

Thanks Mase for making us parents. It's the best gift you could ever give us. I hope you know how much we love you and how much you mean to us! can't wait to party on Saturday.

May all your wishes come true.

Beat the Heat

This summer has been HOT! We had hot weather in Tennessee and came back to extremely hot weather in Seattle- (add no A/C and you'll understand why we have been living in our pool) Here are some of my favorite pics of Mason and Reagan beating the heat!

Mason LOVES his pool.

Reagan couldn't take the heat!

He is letting Reagan smell his flower :)

Reagan's Baptism

Shortly after Steve and I got married a dear friend shared an idea with me. She was going to save her wedding dress so part of it could be used as a baptismal gown for her children. I remember thinking what a cool idea. Although I loved my wedding dress I knew that in 20 some years, it wouldn't be in style and I didn't want to force my dress on our daughter (if we had a daughter) so I decided to sell so someone else could have a happy memory in it. But, I kept the Shaw it came with. My friends' idea had stuck with me and I wanted a piece of my special day to pass on. I didn't think the material would look good on a boy so for Mason's baptism, my sister's mother in law made his outfit but I held out hope that we would have a girl and I could use the Shaw to make her gown. Fast foward five years later, our sweet baby girl is born and I am ready to put that Shaw to use. Again, my sister's mother in law made the gown, but when I sent her the Shaw I never dreamed of what the gown would look like- I hoped she could incorporate a little of the fabric into the dress- I never dreamed that the entire gown could be made from the Shaw. The first time I saw it, I was in awe. It came out beautifully and I couldn't have asked for a better or more special keepsake to pass on to Reagan. I hope she can one day pass it on to her children as well and tell them the story behind her special dress.

The four of us with the priest after Reagan's baptism.

Reagan and the dress. It was heavy and hot but she was a trooper and never complained.
I love this one up close of her.

In case you wanted to see where it all came from. Here it is five years earlier.

Another special point- both Reagan and Mason were baptized at the church where Steve and I got married. It also happens to be the same church that both of our parents were married and Steve was baptized. Traveling to TN for the baptism was a little rocky- I think traveling with a 2 month old anywhere is rocky, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. That church holds many special memories for us and I hope it continues to hold memories for our kids.

A month with Dad

As many of you know, Steve's employer offers 4 weeks paternity leave to new dads. You can take it anytime within the first year of your child's life but you have to take it all at once. We decided to wait until the grandma's left to take advantage of this awesome benefit.

June 7th- Steve became a stay at home dad and July 7th it ended. We had an amazing time together. It was great having an extra set of hands around the house, plus we got to take Mason and Reagan to some pretty cool places that are typically overcrowded on the weekends. On June 21st the night of my BIG 3-0 we hopped on the red eye bound for Tennessee. We spent the last 17 days there and returned early (1 am) on Thursday. I will blog more about our trip to TN but I wanted to share the highlights of what I like to refer to as a "month with dad"

Mason got his first haircut! He did really awesome. Although he doesn't have much hair what he had was long and needed to be cut. I was glad both mom and dad could be there (and little sis of course)

After the haircut, Mason and Steve went on a train ride. You get a free train ticket with each haircut.

We went to Northwest Trek- somewhat like a zoo but with only animals native to the Northwest- Of course, Reagan slept through the entire thing.

Mason and dad waiting to go on the tram.

Gasworks Park. Since moving to Seattle- Gasworks Parks has been on my to visit list but we never seem to make the time. But that changed during the month of dad- we packed a picnic lunch and headed over. It was a lot of fun and great family time. I know this isn't the best picture of Steve or Mason but Reagan was awake and looking at the camera. When you are a month old- you get to call the shots!

Steve and Mason exploring Gasworks and watching seaplanes.

We did a lot around the house too. It seemed like every time we marked something off the to do list- we added another item. Our bathroom now has a new light fixture and a fresh coat of paint on the wall. Our deck (which has been up since October) finally has all the screws in it. We weedeated the lawn, and put together our new edger. We had a great time in TN and with dad but I think everyone was ready to get back home and to our normal schedule. Mason really enjoyed having Steve home. I don't think the boy said mom the entire month everything was dad, but today, I got a mom. Life is back to normal.