It's a Happy Birthday Party / Family Chili Bowl

Can you believe she's almost 3!? Libby's birthday is Wednesday but we were able to begin her week-long celebration this weekend. Her family began arriving at our home on Thursday evening, with others coming Friday and then more came today. We spent Friday busy busy in preparation; we baked, we cleaned, we shopped, we wrapped and we decorated. We also managed to surprise the birthday girl, who was very excited to see her the pink and purple themed party zone when she woke up this morning. We were so thankful to be able to celebrate her and her life with Grandma Shelley (we missed you Granddad), Aunt Brett, Tylor, Uncle Mason, Tara, Bocephas, Grandpa Larry, Grandma Anna, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Jon, Aunt Em, Great Uncle Doug, Great Aunt Sandy and Cousin Kelsey.

We also took this opportunity to host the second annual family Chili Bowl. Only six chilies were submitted this year, due to illness, pulled wisdom teeth, and family who have moved out of the state (we missed you too Aunt Wendy). The entries were delicious and Uncle Mason and Tara took the trophy home. Grandpa Larry and Doug, Sandy, and Kelsey were runners up.

Once we had sampled and scored our chilies, it was finally time to open birthday gifts. Libby scored. Word had spread that she requested purple and pink. When asked what she wanted for her birthday she told Aunt Brett she'd like purple flowers. Aunt Brett asked about toys and she agreed, she'd also like pink and purple toys. Her wishes were granted. She received three bouquets of purple flowers and pink and purple gifts of all varieties. She really did enjoy getting all her gifts, and was genuinely thankful, which was very sweet.

Xander was a popular man this weekend as well, as he is growing and changing in many ways but continues to be incredibly sweet and adorable. All too soon we'll be gathering to celebrate his birthday, oh time flies.

So, below are pictures that were hastily chosen for posting, and I'm not planning on captioning most of them, but I'll scroll through and probably add some captions to clarify the picture. We wanted Granddad in particular to be able to catch a glimpse of her fun day, we hope you are healthy and able to visit soon! Anyway, the pictures are not in any order but do reflect in various ways the fun that we had celebrating the blessing that is Libby. We can't believe we're about to begin our third year with this wonderful little lady.

Oh, and though I should add several of her little commentaries, these come immediately to mind.

Grandma and Libby: watching for Aunt Brett and Tylor to arrive.... they're running late.
Libby: Is Tylor a good driver?
Grandma: We hope he's a good driver?
Libby: Well, they better not be dilly-dallying and they better hurry up and get here!

Libby: Out of bed but rescued by Aunt Brett, and luckily not mama or daddy. Could you bring me Baby Sue?
Brett: goes and brings Baby Sue to Libby.
Libby: You did a very good job bringing Baby Sue to me, thank you. But you forgot to bring me her lovie.
Brett:explains to Libby that she is trying to help Libby and doesn't want Libby to get into trouble by mama and daddy for being out of bed, but she needs to get into bed, etc.
Libby: Baby Sue really sleeps better with her lovie...

have we mentioned that she now LOVES dora? one reason she attributes to loving dora..."well, she kinda looks like me."

She has a birthday girl t-shirt and decided this morning that she didn't want anyone to see it until she surprised them with it when it was time for birthday cake. Here, she makes the big reveal. (this was similar to her revealing that she was going to be a big sister, which she did last year at this time by showing her family her big sister t-shirt. however, mama and daddy did not suggest the t-shirt surprise this morning, this was all Libby's doing.)

once partying was wrapped up, the party moved to the wii. even libby got in on the action.

it was BEAUTIFUL outside today, praise to the Lord it was the nicest day of the year. Libby received some outside toys for her birthday and we were able to go out and play croquet. here, she runs for mama out of excitement.

oh cake pictures. i like these because she was so excited about the cake. it was really the single most important part of the day in her mind. as soon as she finished opening gifts she asked, "now can we go have cake?" she was very specific in requesting her cake. i asked if she'd like a strawberry cake, which i thought would be pink and pleasing to her, but she made it clear that she'd like a chocolate cake with pink and purple. and so, that is what she got. tara and i were up until the weeee hours of the morning making it beautiful for her, and it was delicious too.

tara stands on the podium to receive the trophy for her and mason, grandpa larry, doug, sandy, and kelsey sport their silver and bronze.

what a beautiful little man.

libby poses under her decorations.

playing shy. or being shy.

No Promises

Daddy just came out of Libby's bedroom. She's supposed to be sleeping but has been calling out for him, trying to think of things to tell/ask him so she can keep herself awake. He told her, "Don't call out again unless you're hurt." Her response? "I won't..... well, I will try not to."

On a Roll

Yesterday was a busy day for we three in the house, and I decided that a nap was imperative. For all 3 of us. Well, in the 20 minutes leading up to our naps Libby was on a roll. She was truly hilarious. I only wish you could hear her voice and intonation. Come visit so you can!


Just to set the scene I should explain that I have been painting Libby and Xander's bathroom. So, to protect the toilet, the tank was covered by a garbage bag.
M&L: eating lunch
L: gets up to go potty
M: eating lunch
L: shouting from the bathroom What in the world?!
M: thinking: did she just say what in the world? she surely didn't. maybe was that someone outside?
L: What in the world?!
M: thinking: yep, I think that was her...
L: comes back into the kitchen. What in the world mom? How am I supposed to flush that toilet in there?!

a few minutes later...
The two of us were laying in her bed reading a book. Mama skipped the title page of the book.
L: Wait a minute mama. Let me see what you skipped.
M: I didn't skip any of the story. I just skipped the title page, it says, "........".
L: Are you kidding me? You have GOT to be kidding me. That's what it says? This must be a joke. Is this a joke?
M: trying to hold laughter in
L: picking up on mama's giggles This must be a joke. Are you joking? Is this a joke, etc.

And though this is sad and somewhat pathetic, I can't remember the 3rd funny conversation. There was another! But here are 2 for now and if it comes to me I'll add it later. Have a great weekend! Family, I hope you're getting your chilies perfected. The competition is stiff!

Chit Chat

I keep thinking of Libby talk... things that she says that I find humorous. Perhaps it's just that I'm her mom and it's not very funny to others, but it's my blog so i can chuckle and type as i choose, right? Here's something she said this afternoon and as I think of others I'll tag them on.

M: Today you don't have to take a nap but you need to have rest time in your room. You can play in there or read books but you have to stay in there quietly until 3:15. That's when the big hand is on the 3.
L: Woah. That's going to be a long time. I had thought maybe when the big hand was on the 10. But on the 3 is going to be a long time.

we do this from time to time so she's familiar with the clock and how to know when she's allowed to come out of her room, but i didn't know she understood fully that the hands move clockwise, or that she'd know that the big hand would get to the 10 before the 3. It was 2:20 at the time. anyway, it just struck me as funny. when i said "the 3" her eyes widened and she knew, it was going to be a while.

Finally!

Thank you to family and friends for your patience and gentle reminders - here are your long awaited updates. In general, we're all doing well. The kids battled colds and won. Xander had his 4 month well child exam and passed. He is such a string bean. He's in the 17th percentile for his weight (13 pounds 3 ounces) and the 85th percentile for his length (26 inches long). But he's strong, pushing up and looking around, rolling both ways and making his way around a room. He's such an easy smiler and does a very sweet sing-songy sound when he's ready to go to bed. He's a fantastic sleeper (13+ hours straight through the night!) and has been complimented many times on having a "cute" or "sweet" cry. It's true. That's Xander at 4 months in a nutshell.

Libby's still the spitfire in our household. She is full of energy, loves to dance, and has a vivid imagination. She keeps 10 baby alligators in her room, and they frequently chomp on our toes or make their way up to the kitchen table or otherwise participate in our daily routine. She has also recently fallen in love with Dora. Her first request of the day is to go watch Dora. Though we don't like her planted in front of the TV, we do like hearing her new spanish vocabulary! And of course she loves hanging out with her friend Hudson, and really, she loves hanging out with the rest of Hudson's family just the same. What else... hmmm... well, she's been enjoying her babysitters lately. Mama and Daddy have been out and about without the kids frequently in the past couple of months and Libby always has a great time with her Aunt Sarah, or Haley, Leah, and Janie. As an added bonus, several of her evenings with a sitter have been with Hudson and Maren as well. She has said some of the funniest and sweetest things lately and I keep meaning to post them but then forget. I do remember some of the following:

L: I love you daddy. I'm going to keep your forever (hugging him tight to not let him escape to go to work.) You're my best daddy.

L: Mama, you're a good mama and I do love you. But, sometimes you're kind of mean to me when you turn the water on too hot for me.

D: Libby, do you know that I think your kisses are like gold? They're more valuable to me than money.
L: I'll take money.

D: (explaining something)
L: I gotcha daddy.

M: (explaining something)
L: I gotcha mama.

M: (the first time Libby napped without her binkie --- yes, she's officially binkie free now) Libby! You just did such a good job napping without your binkie! You are SUCH a big girl!
L: You know what mama? I actually feel like a big girl! I actually do!

D: (holding Xander)
X: climbing around on daddy
L: Xander is really wiggly! He is kinda like a worm!
D: He is kind of like a worm! But, he's not pink and he's not slimy.
L: No, he's not. But, he is really skinny.

Clearly, They're Genius.

Lunch out today, and two of my lovebugs shared a milkshake. How cute. Then, I suddenly noticed a handsome man in the background and asked that the two of them stick out their tongues "like this." "Uh, I'm not real crazy about doing this." was the response I got from daddy. "Come on, just do it." Libby was more cooperative. So, they stuck out their tongues not knowing the purpose, I snapped a photo and laughed and laughed and handed the camera over and we now have a new timeless photo that will simply have to be framed.

Cutie Petuties

Hudson Turned Two

On the 8th, Libby's friend Hudson turned two and had a party to celebrate. The theme was dump trucks, one of H's favorite things, and the kids all thoroughly enjoyed eating dirt and worms out of the back of their yellow trucks. Some dirt even managed to get onto their faces,
ew yuck.

Libby's turn to take a picture. She's getting better at capturing her subjects.
She has such an artistic eye doesn't she?

Mama's turn again. Clippity-clop, clippity-clop.

It took some major convincing, but we managed to get the two of them to "pose"
for a picture together before they could return to playing.

Happy Birthday Friend! Welcome to the world of TWO!

I'm All Thumbs

It starts out as a fun time with his toys, and ends as an opportunity to suck his thumb. Xander has begun to prefer the thumb to the binkie, though he starts most naps and nighttime sleeps wit his binkie (mama's way of suggesting to him that it's sleepy time) and then either pulls it out to suck his thumb, or leaves it in but brings his thumb up to the binkie and lets his fingers touch his face (see third picture) as though he's tricking himself into thinking he's sucking his thumb. The loud slurpy sounds that sometimes accompany the thumb sucking are particularly endearing as daddy and mama lay in bed and listen to them make their way across the hall to our room.

Hi Monkey, I'm gonna swat ya.

Of course, my thumb does look rather tasty...

Lucky Monkey, you're off the hook.

Our Beautiful (and so silly) Kids

Sometimes, a mama just doesn't feel like loading the dishwasher or picking up toys. (I'm envisioning your nods.) Sometimes, a mama just wants to get out the camera and snap pics of her cute and fun and silly and sweet blessings.

Libby got out of the mood for posing with her sweet smile
so we decided she could make her silly faces. See said faces below.

fishy face

have you all seen this one in person?
this one is truly hilarious. Libby has a great party trick.
She can breathe in air and hold her nostrils in.
(does that description make sense? hopefully with the visual aid,
you'll know what I'm talking about)

Wii love it.

Mama and Daddy and N&B spent plenty of our New Year's Eve evening playing the Wii, and some of the next morning. Libby really wanted to give it a try, so we let her take up bowling. She did pretty well! See below she has released the blue bowling ball and the next picture shows that she got a spare! I have some video footage that I need to edit (shorten, because it just goes on for too long!) and then post for you so you can enjoy her bowling form. She had lots of fun. (Who doesn't?)

Happy New Year!

The best part was: it was a sleepover! In an attempt to stay up late and not have to wake any kids to drive home, N&B agreed to spend the night with us. So, we got to wake up together and eat pancakes and play with play-doh and Wii, and take more pictures in matching jammies. Maybe next year the parents can get matching jammies too. But I'm doubting it.

I just love the sequence of the pics of the kiddos on the sofa. I know to you they probably seem a bit repetitive, but I just think they're such a fun journey through the minute they sat together in order for us to photograph them.

Time for some play-doh action!