'Tis the Season for...BIRTHDAYS!

In our home, April should be dubbed the birthday month.  It starts on April 7th with Samantha's Birthday (which she shares with her Great Great Aunt Bobbie and Great Aunt Carol), and continues on April 8th with my mom's birthday and April 10th with Easton's birthday.  (I know there are others with April birthdays that I haven't mentioned -- happy birthday to you, too!)

On Saturday, we welcomed most of our family into our home to celebrate Easton's 1st birthday and Samantha's 7th birthday, and the next day we welcomed Samantha's friends .... let me catch you up...

Samantha...Lucky #7

Samantha had a few of her friends over for a beach party!  Thye made flip flops (using fabric and fleece), had hula hoop and limbo contests, enjoyed smoothies and beach cupcakes, and had SO MUCH fun!  Samantha, we have learned, is quite the hula-hooper!  She can go for a good 10 minutes (at least!) and she can even hula hoop with TWO hoops!  What a girl!

And here's a picture of Samantha at the family party the day before...dream big, sweetie!  You are AMAZING and beautiful and we're so proud of you!

Easton's 1st birthday...

First birthdays are so much fun!  And I for one cannot believe how fast this year has gone!  Just one year ago, Easton looked like this...

And now...

What a happy, delightful, curious, sweet boy Easton is becoming!  Few will be surprised that one of his favorite things to do is drive his brothers' tractors around making tractor noises.  (Funny how they know how to make that sound!)  He also loves to be outside (surprise surprise!) and play with Samantha's soccer ball!  He is easily entertained, and absolutely adores his big brothers and big sister!  They were lots of help when opened his presents this weekend...

(In true older sibiling fashion, they pretty much opened his presents for him, and then let him play!)

And what first birthday would be complete without a cake to smash?

I'm going to call this picture... "Chronicles of a Baby's First Cake Tasting"...

He looked like a smurf at the end, but he LOVED it!

We hope you're all having a wonderful spring and enjoying the beautiful weather!  We also hope you enjoy watching with us as our kids grow up.  When we have crazy days (and with four young kids, these are pretty frequent), I remind myself that someday I will miss this.

God has blessed us with four amazing beautiful healthy children, and we take the job of raising them very seriously.  But we have lots of support, encouragement, help and prayers from all of you, and we thank you for that.  Your prayers and your presence continue to shape our children!

Tune in tomorrow for a peek back at our Easter festivities!

All our love!

Happy Birthday, Hunter!

My baby is 2! And to top all of that off, he no longer sleeps in a crib! And he's asking to go on the big boy potty! Can someone PLEASE slow this train down? This child entered our life two years ago on July 13 on the first day of a major heat wave. To say we were surprised to find he would be joining our family would be an understatement -- his big brother (a very strong-willed and loud baby) was only 8 months old when I found I was pregnant for the 3rd time. I confess to spending a fair amount of time crying in the bathroom before I shared the surprise with my husband.

But God knew what He was doing, in His Infinite Wisdom. 8 months after the shock of my life, we welcomed into the world the most delightful, content, happily laid back child I have ever seen. My 2nd son was exactly what God knew I needed. He should have been called the Hudson Whisperer (think Horse Whisperer), because as a baby, his mere presence calmed his 17 month-old brother who rarely sat still and never did so quietly or without a fight. His smile and sweet personality soften the angriest of moods. Even now, in the midst of the terrible two's (and yes, we are going through them), he manages to be sweet and agreeable. He is still my cuddle-bug. He might be getting louder, and he's learning how to fight back (necessary for survival in our house!), and who's now driving tractors like his big brother and playing the piano next to his big sister. But at the end of the day, he's still the one who wakes up smiling and singing and patiently waiting for us to greet him for the day.

I have no idea where the last two years have gone. But I do know that I have cherished every single minute I've had with our surprise blessing. God sent Hunter to us exactly when we needed him, to remind us how to smile and laugh and love life no matter what. He brings out the best in us and his brother and sister. And I can't wait to see the tender, caring, funny man he will grow to be. But in the meantime, I think I'll just savor ever minute with my baby...my little boy.

And in true household fashion, he deserved a special cake. He asked over and over for tractor cake, so we came up with this excavator. Super simple, inspired by Family Fun Magazine, and loved by the guy that mattered -- Hunter! Anytime someone would mention his birthday or how old he is now, he'd respond with "I had a John Deere Tractor Cake"....okay, so it doesn't really say John Deere anywhere, but our boys live and breath John Deere, so if he thinks this looks like John Deere, well, I will take that as a compliment! Enjoy! (Sorry for the poor picture quality, and for the poor frosting on the cake....I'm not a professional...just doin' it for my kiddos!)