Greyson Turns 1

Somehow before my eyes, Greyson turned 1.  It is just not something I can quantify with words and do justice.  Maybe because he's our third…I let go of the worries you often feel with parenting the first time around…maybe it is because I didn't venture back to work after having him…or maybe it is because of his sweet little personality and amazing demeanor.  But this first year with him was a blast from beginning to end.  It was busy and crazy as I learned to navigate the waters of 3 kiddos…but he is just flat out a fun baby.  He is very happy.  He goes with the flow.  He loves to eat and play and boy does he communicate well.  God definitely knew what he was doing when he gave us our 3 babies.  And I'm blessed everyday to call them mine.  And to have the chance to enjoy the last year of snuggles, smiles and love with Mr. Greyson Oliver.

We kicked off the morning with a donut breakfast at our favorite little shop…me, Grey and Coop have taken to making this a weekly venture when everyone is well.  Such fun memories I know I'll always cherish!

Chocolate donut for the birthday boy!!

His birthday was on a week day which meant school days for brothers and the usual busyness that goes along with it…but we were in the middle of kitchen renovation so we headed to dinner at our local Mexican place.  

After dinner we headed to DQ for an ice cream treat…a favorite in our house!!  Here is a video of us singing him a Happy Birthday song with candles and ice cream…a little non-traditional…but I have to say one of my favorite birthday candle blow-outs!

On his birthday weekend we invited our loved ones over for a party!  I decided for his party I wanted to make it small, thoughtful and surround him with the people who love him most!  That's exactly what we did!  A little Bubble Guppie balloon action (a new favorite of his), some delicious cupcakes and family family family!

Here he is opening presents:

A little brotherly help

And a little living room dance party to cap it all off never hurts!

A big thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate this little guys big day!!  We are such a blessed family!!!

First things first...

January 2015 Cell Phone Photos

This kid loves all things food.  Rarely do I hand him something he doesn't eat.  This occasion happen to be oranges.  Mandarin oranges are now a fave addition to his PB&J's at lunchtime!

 Love this face!

He loves things that light up and make noise.  Also musical things…like this 3rd generation ant on stilts bell shaker from our B. drum from Target.

 Walking legs

Killing some wintertime blues with a fun Christmas present.  These are the create to destroy dinosaurs from Crayola.  They love them!

 We had a family photo shoot for Greyson's bday.  We did it in the Ameristar…it was pure genius by our photographer Sherry…and the boys thought the fountains were amazing!

After pics we hit a place called Max and Erma's for lunch.  It was so kid friendly and delicious for the whole family!  Can't beat fun atmosphere, food that caters to adult and kid palettes and ice cream all around at the end!

 We don't always have the same idea of the rules…but he's a momma's boy at heart.

 This kid is getting so big and so awesome at listening and behaving through meals and everything else.  Can't believe he's going to be six soon!!

 A sneak peak from our family pics. Pics by Metropolitan Picture Company.

 I grabbed up a Groupon for bathtub refinishing.  It's beautiful!

 Prepping for a certain someones first birthday…and who needs the party store?  We've got one in our storage! It pays to be an unused party supply hoarder…and maybe a little of an over buyer too…ha!

 Bedtime stories!

Window stacking.

Enjoying coffee in a mug I absolutely adore!

 We celebrated Christmas with the Cincoski's…fun was had by all!!  By the truckload!!! I love all the faces.  Pure hilarity!

 What happens when you live with a 3 year old named Cooper.

 All smiles.

 Playing a little Pop the Pig with the O man.  And little latte never hurts ones competitive edge either.

 Math problems.  There are 60.  They are not hard.  There is just a lot.  Yes…we're still only in Kindergarten.  Am I the only one who is wondering why???

 A sick Mr. Greyson.

 Feeling a bit better!!

 Feeling a lot better.  

This made me crack.up.laughing.

 Dinner at Red Robin.

 Isabel turns four…sniff sniff!! Tinkerbell style…with party hats and everything.  It was too cute!

 A game where we knock cars out of the circle with other cars and collect more cars.  I live with boys!!

 My hubby came back from a work trip with this.  This guy makes all the cutting boards for the Food Network.  I have a major crush on it!

 One day recently I decided to have Cooper be my helper for the day.  We did laundry, a little cleaning and made some cupcakes.  He loved helping and actually asked me a few days later if we could do "waundry and make cupcakes."  It was pretty adorable.

 Milk bubbles...

 Ok and wine bubbles too.

 I recently did some dabbling with 3D mascara.  I love the results!

 A little mantle love for Happy Heart Day

 Ever had a sticker just not come off??

 Um…sometimes my kitchen looks like this till I find time to do what needs done!  5 people in one house make a lot of dishes!  

 Grey has been going to the Chiropractor for chronic ear infections.  We had a good run but I'm not sure it was what he needed.  Even still it was worth a shot!  And he enjoyed visiting Dr. Ryan.

 Something to remember...

 He thinks he's an acrobat…maybe he is!

2014 - The Year of My Blogging Hiatus

It wasn't on purpose…and I'm still trying to let myself off the hook for the guilt I feel over letting it slip. But 2014 was the first time in 5 years of blogging that I just simply couldn't keep up with it.  I probably could have…maybe if I watched less Netflix after the kids went to sleep (so tired!)…or woke up before the kids in the morning to make time for it.  But for a number of different reasons all combined…this blog went neglected.  I still love to write.  I miss this habit.  But so much has changed since I quit work...and it took awhile for it to all settle out if you will. In all honesty it is still settling out. And I know I am going to kick myself for the lost year on our blog.  I have a plan in place to try and work through some of the unblogged material…but inevitable some things will just be memories in our mind…without a freshly remembered/penned story and picture from the blog to remember it by.  That being said…I am starting fresh. Because it is a new year.  And that is what you do when the year is new right?? You take all the clutter left over from the year before and organize it, donate it or throw it out completely and simply move ahead. It is 2015…a new year.  A new start to several things in the way I'm living my life…and that includes my blogging habits.  I will be going month by month from the months I missed last year and recovering photos (we still took lots!) and include stories. But I'll be doing it a little at a time. While I work fervently to stay on top of the here and now! Everyday around these parts is an adventure and I don't want to miss another moment! So I'm starting from right now.

What is going on today??  Well this is my allotted get crap done time.  Daily I am getting up before the rest of my house and doing a myriad of things including email, drafting blog post ideas and looking over the calendar and getting set for the day.  Also, quite frankly enjoying some peace in the house.  Because boy do these guys keep me busy!!!

Annnnnd...I'm already running out of my allotted time slot so before I officially run myself late (another reason for the early rising) I'm going to hit save and post!  Wish me luck on this new journey.  I really want to work to get this habit back on track for me and my family!  Stay tuned for good things coming!