More September Birthdays

September is a busy month for birthdays around our house.  By the end of the month I was feeling a few pounds heavier from all the cake we've consumed around here!  My birthday came first, then Dominic's, then Jarod's, then Dominic's birthday party.  With all the celebrating we did, Andrew got pretty good at saying "happy birthday".  Although, I'm not sure how he felt about it.  The morning of Jarod's birthday I made a big deal about singing happy birthday to dad and halfway through, Andrew got a really sad look on his face and started to cry.  The same thing happened at dinner before Jarod blew out his candles.  Then again at Dominic's birthday party when everyone was singing he broke into tears again.  Not sure if he is sad because he wants to sing along but can't or if he's sad that it's not his birthday and we're not singing to him. 

 

We are now a minivan family.  I guess you could say it was our birthday present to ourselves.  We decided with the new baby coming my Chevy Equinox just didn't have enough space for three big bulky car seats.  Jarod did a lot of homework and in a matter of days we became proud owners of this Honda Odyssey Touring.  I love it!  It is so spacious and very technologically advanced.  I still don't know what half the buttons do so we are going back to the dealership for a refresher course!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Dominic!

Dominic, on the morning of your first birthday Andrew, Dad and I greeted you with a "happy birthday" serenade. Oh, your cute little scrunched up morning face is something I look forward to everyday.  Since dad had to work late on your special day we had a breakfast celebration.  The first course consisted of another round of "happy birthday", a birthday crown, and your favorite food...a banana. 

 

 

We had the second course after dad worked out and we got you ready for the day.  We sang yet another round of "happy birthday", wore party hats, and devoured homemade cinnamon rolls. 

You have such a sweet tooth.  I knew you would dig right in and eat the whole thing. 

 

You have been a very happy baby throughout your first year of life.  You are such a joy to be around.  I have noticed you growing and changing a lot lately.  No longer do you sit quietly by yourself and play with your toys.  You now want to join in the fun with Andrew and love to chase him around.  You have an opinion about everything and you let us know it!  You are curious about your environment...which means you get into everything that you are not supposed to.  And every time I tell you "no", you look at me with your sweet innocent face which makes me so thankful that I get to be you momma.

 

 

Happy Birthday to my Dominic.  You have blest our lives in countless ways.

Boys

I can see the boys becoming good friends.  They really enjoy playing together.  Dominic loves to follow Andrew around and Andrew thinks it's funny that Dominic is chasing him.  Dominic has really been on the move lately.  He's not walking yet but he crawls incredibly fast.  It's amazing!  He is also starting to get into things he shouldn't, as all boys do.  His favorite activity at the moment is playing in the trash can. 

 

Andrew is such a good helper.  He seems to really look out for Dominic and wants to help him do things.  It's so funny to watch him help Dominic walk; and Dominic seems to like it too.  They can be so goofy together.  The other night while we were watching the Husker game they kept chasing each other on the couch and giggling so loud.  I don't know where they came up with that energy!

 

This is how I found them the other day when I walked in the living room.  The were sitting together watching a movie and Andrew kept handing Dominic toys to play with.  These moments make me smile. 

 

Labor Day 2012

 

This was our 7th year having a Labor Day party at our house.  We look forward to it every year when both of our families get together to watch the first Husker game of the season, eat lots of good food, and play games.

 

This year was so hot that we didn't spend much time playing games outdoors.  Instead we went to the new water park that just opened up with it's big slides, wave pool, and diving boards. It was fun watching the kids splash around.  I think Andrew enjoyed the wave pool the most! 

 

After we were all worn out from swimming, we feasted on pork loin and brats from Jarod's smoker.  Everyone always brings a side dish so we end up with tons of delicious food, and best of all..an assortment of sinfully good desserts. 

 

Each year gets more challenging figuring out where everyone will sleep as each year our families continue to grow.  This year we had three new babies; Dominic, Corbyn, and Pete which brought the total up to 9 little ones running (or crawling) around!  I love having a house full of kids!  It makes everything so much more fun!   

Undies

Andrew, you are growing up so fast.  You have reached a new milestone and have changed right before my eyes.  I doubted you.  I didn't think you could do it.  You proved me wrong.  You have been showing interest in using the toilet for a while now, so one day I thought, "OK, let's try this."  I bought you some under ware and prepared myself for a long drawn out battle with you. 

 

It took 2 days.  You caught on right away and amazed me!  After one week you didn't even need the M&Ms and popsicles we were using as a reward.  And if that wasn't enough, we stopped putting diapers on you for naps and nights right away too.  It's like you are an old pro at this.  Sure there have been some accidents that I've had to clean up, but nothing like I imagined.  Is it suppose to be this easy?  Or are you just spoiling me for the next ones?

 

 

I love seeing you run around with your little bare bottom and the way you say the word "undies" is priceless.  We got you Thomas the Train of course so you call them your "choo choo undies".  To celebrate, Dad got you some more Thomas tracks which you thought was pretty neat. 

 

Thank you for making this one so easy on me.  I will remember this for the times that you test me in the future!  I love you, my big undies-wearing boy!