Dace's 3rd Birthday

I should have thought the date through a bit more because we missed a lot of people being away with this being the long weekend.  But we still had a great turnout and Dace had a lot of fun.  He LOVED the cake and was so excited with all his gifts, especially all the Thomas stuff he got.  I cannot believe he is 3 and that I have been a  mother for 3 years.  Wow.  That was a blur. 

I can't take credit for the design.  I found a picture on line.  I love how it turned out and it was a lot of fun building it. 

Did I mention that it was a total success with the bday boy?  He has been talking about having a Thomas cake for 3 months- ever since Zade's birthday.  I'm relieved that I fulfilled all his hopes and dreams. 

Happiest boy on the planet.  Especially when he allowed to eat cheesie puffs. 

Reading stories with Marilyn. 

Dace got great gifts and lots of Thomas things. 

Playing with the new motorized Thomas track. 

Growing up way too fast.  He looks too old in this picture.  Sigh....



Sweetpea with all his sweetie friends. 

Buckets and Birdies and Baby Bumps, Oh My!

I felt like the creator of Sesame Street doing this entry-  "Today's post is brought to you by the letter B"

okay so i promise NOT to blog every time we go to the beach this summer.  But we have been 3 times this week and these Boys are just so cute.  I wanted to send out a couple more moments that were captured.

Zade loves having his Bucket and in hand.  He loves picking it up and heading to the waves.  

Butt crack!

Dace on the Boardwalk.  

Dace chasing a Birdie.  He loves doing this:

Baby Bump.  Finally starting to show @ 15.5 weeks.  

And just the Boys hanging out in a water hole.  One of their favorite hobbies while at the Beach.  

The Art of Mastering How to Pedal

Dace would gladly bike back and forth all day long if I let him.  It was about a week after we moved in that he could fully reach the pedals properly and learned how to make them work and he loves the speed he is starting to pick up.  Don't worry- a bike helmet will be presented on birthday day.  I love watching him fly free out there.  After so long of just living on a balcony, I feel like we have been able to give him wings.  He is one happy little boy when he's out bikin'.

ZAAAAAAADEK!!!!!!

Splash Pool

Dace's birthday week has begun and presents have started to arrive.  Saturday, Auntie Brittany's was greeting us at the door when we returned from a dolphin tour with the cousins.  The boys love that they have a splash pool for the back yard.  We set it up today for its initial debut and it was a hit!  Thanks again Britt for the awesome gift!

We Live Here?!?!?!

Somedays, my gratitude just spills over.  This morning was one of those days.  I need more of them in my life, as I am sure we all do.

 We spent a few hours this morning at the beach with Emily and Jude.  It was such perfect weather.  Warm sun, cooler breeze, perfect water temperature.  The 3 boys play so well together now, you would think they were triplets.  Zade was cautious of the water at first.  But then he went on his own to stick his little toesies in.  Once he learned how great that felt and how cool it was to stomp around and splash, it was game over.  By the time we left, he was running in up to his waist.  Don't worry, I was very close behind.  I am glad that he has learned to love the water because it took Dace over 2 years.

I am so grateful for this amazing island we get to call home, the wonderful memories we have here and continue to make and for the awesome friends that we get to spend another summer with.  Bring on the summer.  We're ready!

Baby Pirates of the Low Country

The boys got to dress up and be in a photo shoot for a local magazine.  It was a lot of fun!  It's a pirate ship cruise for kids that lets them use water canons to shoot at Stinky Pete after they kick him overboard.  It's a great tour and the boys had a blast.  Dace was all pumped at first (he even asked to get into his costume!  Milestone!!!) but when it came time to take the photos, he was playing shy.  So who knows if he'll even end up in the article.  But it was a great evening on the ocean and the boys looked super cute.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love making costumes???   Oh right... I think I might have. 

The boy has great sea legs and was dancing all over the deck.  He was so excited to be there!

Remembering Better Times

My poor sweet Zay-zay is cutting molars today.  He woke up from his nap so toasty hot I had to take his temperature.  Sure enough, running a fever and the drool will not stop.  He briefly let me rub his gums and I can feel a couple bumps on the bottom working their way up.  He is whiny, drooly and completely out of sorts.  He's stumbling around like an old man who can't remember how to walk.  I feel so sorry for him.  He didn't want to eat any dinner.  He sucked on a couple spaghetti noodles but didn't want any utensils going into his mouth.  He finally ate some yogurt, only by sucking it off my finger like a little newborn pup.  

Here's hoping this passes quickly.  At least he loved his first taste of chocolate cake on mother's day.  good times.  

Brotherly Adoration

I am so grateful for how much Dace adores his little brother. 

This was April, 2010

And here we are yesterday, May 2011.  No prompting from me at all- he just is always showing so much love for Zade.  May they always be the best of friends....

Mothers Day

Do you remember the last time I blogged about food?.... Me neither.  Which means it has been too long.  So that is what I will focus on for our Mothers Day festivities- what we ate.

Dace got me up at 830 to tell me that breakfast was ready.  Bacon, waffles and grapefruit juice.  yum!  Then off to church.  A quick snapshot before leaving.  My hair looked a lot better than it does in this photo.  I have no idea what was happening here.  ugh

Then after a great day at church and Zade taking a 4 hour nap (which is something he never does, especially on Sunday) we ate the following for dinner:

A nice light garden salad. 

Corned Beef Brisket.  Have you ever had this?  If not, run, don't walk, run to the store and get one today to cook in a slow cooker.  It is all sorts of shut your mouth, slap you gramma kind of good. 

BAKED corn on the cob, drenched in sweet cream butter, sprinkled with kosher sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. 

A nice faux red to compliment the meal. 

All polished off with the delicious chocolate cake.  Oh we were in heaven.  It was so good!  It was Zade's first taste of chocolate cake so I made a little video...which i will post separately.

Sneak Peek- the Boys Suite

The house is starting to come together but I have this thing about not posting pictures until a room is completely done- and decorated.  I'll make a little exception today just to give you something.  The boys are loving how much space they have- in their room and having a yard and safe neighborhood to play in.

Here is what their room looked like BEFORE:

And AFTER:  I'm not doing too much in here for decor until we move Zade into his twin bed, which will be in October.  Then I can get matching bedding and do a common theme throughout the room. 

And then their bathroom/guest bath- BEFORE:

And AFTER:
Dallin put in new tile but we still have to:
-paint the cupboards white
-frame the mirror with black trim
-accent with black and white framed photos
-black and white boxes for sink area and on toilet for Zade's wipes.

I based the concept on a photo from pottery barn.  it's going to look so good once it all comes together.