Catch Up

Well somehow July turned into a totally insane month! So much happened, so many pictures were taken and I feel like I got completely behind! So here is my attempt to play catch up, one kid at a time. We will just go in birth order, since that's what you do, right? :)

Grammy and Makenna had the chance to go on a fun little date together. Grammy surprised Makenna by taking her to the circus! I have to say I was a bit jealous....I would love to see the circus! They had a ton of fun together and I was really happy for them to have the chance to have some special time with each other. One on one time is not always the easiest to come by. Grammy has pics from the circus that I still need to get from her, but aren't they cute together?

While we were up visiting Sarah for the day Bicky got home from work right as we were getting ready to go and offered to take the kiddos on a quick quad ride. Kellen decided to wait until next time to try it out, but Kenna got up there instantly. She had so much fun and was raving about how she got a turn to help drive it. She is always asking when we can go up there and she can go on a "really long ride this time!" Kenna loves her Uncle Bicky!

So about a month after tooth number one had to be pulled we had another tooth incident. I know what you are thinking - "What wild thing was Makenna doing this time that knocked her tooth out?" But believe it or not, she wasn't even being wild when she damaged tooth #2. She actually hardly hurts herself doing daring things. It's always the ordinary kid stuff that damages her, go figure. Anyway, we were just finishing up in the pool and as she was lowering herself into the water from grabbing a toy off the pool side she smacked her mouth/tooth right on the pool edge. Sure enough it was bleeding like crazy and was loose as can be. I knew instantly that it was a goner. And sure enough a few days later the dentist took it out. On the bright side she looks Very cute with her 2 front teeth gone, she now has 2 gold coins from the tooth fairy, she will have a Great Kindergarten picture this year and she will have a fun song to sing for the next couple of Christmases!

Kenna with Ashley's little boy, Baby Evan. She was in love and in awe. She keeps wanting to know when we get to have another baby. I keep reminding her that we still have a baby. I'm not ready to call Conner a toddler yet!

Sissy takes such good care of her baby brother. She really adores him and he totally matches her wild energy. These two little blondes are going to be total partners in crime! I see it now!

Makenna, London and Gwyn. No reason why a swing for 2 can't have enough room for a 3rd. Trust Makenna to find a way to make it work!

I love my crazy Goon!

Papa Time

Since Papa moved up to Utah a few years ago we have not gotten to see him nearly as much. The kids miss him. He is so incredibly young at heart and knows just how to get down on the ground with the kids and play with them in just they way they enjoy. While I was in post-surgery recovery we decided it would be a great time to have Papa come down for a visit so that we could see him, he could spend time the kids and provide them some entertainment while I was getting used to getting around again. It was great to have him hear, to have him spend time with the kids and get the chance to be together. We had a lot of fun times and some great memories. We love you Papa!

Any time I think of a harmonica this is the image that comes to mind....Papa. He always had his harmonica out playing songs while I was a kid. And now my kids love to sit by him and listen to him play as well. It's a very sweet thing to see.

Kellen giving it a shot....still hard to say if he has the natural talent or not :)

Papa and the Con! It was nice for them to get to spend time together and get to know each other more, since the last time they were together Conner was just a newborn.

The kids tried to help Papa fly his kite. Unfortunately the wind was just not the best, but they had fun seeing him try anyway.

If you look closely you will see that Kellen is in between Papa and Makenna somewhere.

A child at heart :)

Papa was able to be here for Conner's birthday party as well. It was nice to have him here to get to celebrate this fun time with us as well. We love you Papa!

More Than Just Cake

Cake may be the highlight of a one year old's party, but it's not the whole thing. Here's the rest of the party.

Could there be a more handsome birthday boy?

Daddy can never resist the jumpers! The kid in him comes running out and before you know it he is bouncing off the walls. Truth be told, this is one of the real reasons I get the jumpers for the kids parties, it's fun for the kids and adults :)

Of course we had some pinata action. Conner enjoyed holding the stick, but the concept meant nothing to him.

However, the concept of candy coming out it is one he totally grasped and very much appreciated! It's good to be 1!

While Conner through cake all over the patio, the older kids and adults got to decorate their own cupcakes with their choice of frosting and candies to go on top.

The next day Conner and Brooke had a combined birthday party for family, seeing as their birthdays are only 1 day apart. Plus, they are about the same size, so it looks natural having them celebrate together!

I think I was deprived of pinatas at my parties when I was a kid, so it always feels like a must to have a pinata. My kids very much appreciated 2 days of filling up bags with candy! Makenna showed no mercy on the pinata. She very much wants to be the one to bust open the pinata one of these days.

Brookie took some good swings, but in her soft Brooke sort of way

Kellen got in there too. Now the he knows there is candy to be had once that pinata gets beat enough, he is happy to let the poor pinata have it! Nothing gets in the way of that boy and some candy, nothing!

The birthday boy and girl! Apparently Brooke was not too amused with sharing her party?! Either that or she is annoyed that Conner is already as big as her! But they sure are cute together...definitely can tell they are cousins!

We thought it would be cute for both of them to have cakes together. We all saw how Conner attacked his cake. Brooke took the more mature, gentle approach to hers!

If you look closely at the picture above you will start to laugh, I guarantee it! Makenna and Kellen kept stealing fingers full of frosting. So I said to Sarah, "Wouldn't it be funny if I smashed Kenna's face in the cake?" She totally nodded and agreed! So I encouraged her to get close and when the iron was hot I struck and pushed her face right in!

Well, Makenna did not share the same humor that Sarah and I saw in it! Poor girl! I think she was mostly embarrassed. I explained to her that I was just trying to be funny, not mean. That I thought she would laugh about it. I also promised her she gets to smash my face in a cake on her birthday, to see the humor in it. I swear someday she will laugh at this! I'm still laughing!

Kellen was very disappointed that his mother would do such a thing to his sister and made sure to make the statement that that was not nice. He's just lucky it was his sister, not him! :)

All About The Cake

It's why you come to a first birthday party, right? To watch the baby graduate from infant to toddler through the ritual "smashing of the cake." I don't know why we have to stop this ritual after the first birthday...wouldn't it be great to see a 50 year old sit down in front of a personalized cake and go to town stuffing their face with cake by the fist full?

Anyway, for all those who missed this milestone in babyhood, here you go.

Knowing Conner and his "Go Get 'Em" personality, I sort of expected him to Dive right into his cake, both hands shoveling food in as fast as he could handle it. But to my surprise he took his time in the beginning.

I have often times thought Kellen just might grow up to be a Chef. Watching Conner eat his cake made me wonder if he will grow up to be a food critic. He took the job very seriously in the beginning, happily eating the cake and trying bite after bite, but doing so in a very contemplative manner. He did not think the task at hand was any laughing matter. But it must have satisfied the critic because he kept right on eating.

Kellen happily stood by his side, grabbing a finger full of icing when he could.

Apparently Conner did not appreciate this and smeared a big handful of icing across his face. My poor, sweet Kellen was very sad and offended by this. But once Mama cleaned him off he felt better and was right back to stealing frosting.

Kellen wasn't the only one sneaking a taste or two.

Conner was happy to share. Once the critique was done it was all fun and games for him!

In the end the cake eating became much more playing than eating. He was literally grabbing fists of cake and throwing them around him. Good way to tell he was done! Certainly the happiest full belly I have ever seen

Daddy at 1 year old

Conner at 1 year old

Mommy at 1 year old. I don't think he is an exact replica of either one of us, but there is definitely some stronger Daddy influence here than Mommy, at least in my opinion. Good thing I think his Daddy is Handsome as can be!!!