Happy 1st Birthday Jakob!

So, it's a little late, but Jakob turned 1 on March 3.  I can't believe this little guy is 1 already!!

Dave and I were at a youth leaders conference on Jakob's actual birthday so we couldn't have his party that weekend but we were able to go Red Robin for his free kids meal and ice cream sundae that night.  It was so fun to get to celebrate with him on his special day. 

Ready for my ice cream!

 Yum!!

 Kaleb feeding Jakob his sundae.  Such a good brother!

Best Friends

Kaleb having a fit because his balloon wasn't red.   

The big 1-year-old playing with his balloon on the way home.

Jakob got a pirate ship water table from us for his birthday and the boys couldn't wait to play with it!  It was really fun to set it up in the kitchen and let them go to town - although, I think their favorite part was getting daddy all wet :)

 Loving it even before there's water in it!

 Not sure what this face is about but it's pretty cute :)

 "This is really cool, but I wish you would have put WARM water in it!!"

*yeah, that would have been a good idea. . .whoops!

Last Sunday we had Jakob's birthday party.  It was really small but the weather was beautiful so we had a great time being able to be outside. I made some of his favorite food, we opened gifts, had dessert and enjoyed the sunshine right up until bed time. 

 Jakob's 1st Year

 

 Jakob in his birthday hat right after his nap.

Getting ready to open gifts.
"Why am I sitting in this chair with nothing to eat?!?"

"Not what I what was expecting, but ok"

Opening Gifts

 

Noah's Ark Cake

 

Notice his face?

The one disappointment - he wanted nothing to do with his smash cake!

 The favors - Since it was a Noah's Ark theme, I went to the candy store and got a whole bunch of gummy animals and put two of each animal in each bag.  On the back, I wrote "God told Noah to bring two of every kind of animal onto the Ark".

 Thanks for coming to my party!!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I LOVE Valentine's Day!  After Christmas, it's definitely my favorite holiday and I had a really great time doing special things with my boys over the past few days.  At our play group last week, we made Valentine's Day cards and I knew we just had  to make some more when we got home so we could give them to the grandparents.  

Aren't they so cute!  I love Jakob's little feet :)

Then we started working on this cute card for Dave.  The hearts are made with all of our thumbprints. It took some time to get the boys just right but I thought it came out cute.  

Yesterday, I got my construction paper and scissors out and made my own valentines for my boys.  It's not much but each of the little hearts has something I love about them on it.  Sometimes it's good for kids (and husbands!) to see those things in writing instead of just saying the words.  

When the boys came into the kitchen this morning, this is what they walked in to:

We didn't get them much but they lit up when they saw that Valentine's Day included gifts!  And Kaleb really lit up when he saw that his also came with "n n m's".  He also got to have pink milk for the first time.  Woo hoo!

Dave picked out their gifts this year.  Kaleb got a sling shot (yay?!?) and Jakob got a shape sorter.

I got to help with Kaleb's school Valentine's Day party this morning.  It was really cool to see him in that environment, interacting with friends I didn't introduce him to.  He's so big!  

I found these on Pinterest and, with a few variations, we made them to give to all his friends.  I used this picture and attached a bouncy ball to the bottom. 

We did these for his teachers.

For dinner tonight we are having heart shaped meatloaf and after nap today, Kaleb and I are going to make a heart cake to have for dessert.  Yum!

And here's what I'm working on today. . .and every day!

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Never Too Young for Crafts

My 11 month old Jakob is starting to really enjoy painting.  What's not to love, really?  It's messy and squishy and you can make fun colors.  I've painted with him once before.  It was fun but the mess (and the messy child) was annoying to clean up.
 

 

Round 1 - super dooper messy

So I had an idea...why not paint in the bathtub?  It was perfect!  He could paint in his diaper and then when we were done, we'd just wash all the mess, including what was covering him, right down the drain.  I taped some paper down in a couple different places so he could just wander around the tub and paint when he felt like it.  It was a fun experiment and I'm excited about the finished products!

At first I just put one piece of paper on the floor of the tub and one on the side wall.  

Then I put one on the edge of the tub.  Jakob is pulling up on everything these days so that surface was getting painted regardless.  

He ended up using his foot to paint the one on the floor.  He thought it was funny that he was slipping all around. 

By the time we were about done, he was even painting the floor mat!

And now, here's about 20 super cute pictures of Jakob in the bath.  Who doesn't love a splashing baby?!

 

  

What's wrong with this picture?

In our kitchen, I have this dry erase board that I use for menu planning.  The other day, it looked like this:

It's hard to tell, but all of those coupons are covering up this:

Isaiah 9:6 A Child will be born to us.  God will give a Son to us.  

That is Kaleb's memory verse for Sunday School.  I felt very convicted that I had allowed the commercialism of the holiday to literally cover up the true meaning of Christmas.  I immediately took down the coupons and made a vow to Selah - pause and reflect. 

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Halloween Candy Pop Tarts

There are some ingredients that I always have in the house, you know, for emergencies, and store bought pie crust is one of them.  There are so many things you can do with it!  Tonight we decided to make homemade Pop Tarts.  Yum!  We did three different kinds but the Snickers were definitely the winner. 

First, cut up your Snickers, or whatever candy you're using. 

Look how pathetic that little Snickers on the right looks.
Almost not even worth it.

Next put your fillings on the pie crust.  We used a quarter crust for each one.  

 Snickers

 Chocolate Chips and Coconut

 And the healthier option, strawberry jelly.

Then fold them in half, seal the edges, and poke with a toothpick just like you would a pie.  

 Kaleb making the steam holes.

Bake them according to the instructions on the package...

...and build a tower of chocolate chips while you're waiting.  Kaleb was very proud of his!

Eat and enjoy!  

Happy (Day After) Halloween!

I seriously never thought I would say this, but I LOVE HALLOWEEN!  When I was little, I didn't really care for it but seeing my boys all dressed up and having a great time made me see this "holiday" in a whole new light.  

This year was Kaleb's first time trick-or-treating and he was so cute!  I think we could have left after the first house and he would have been more than thrilled with his one Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  

When we went to a few more houses and his pumpkin bucket got a little fuller, he came running back to us saying "I like doing this".  Of course you do kid!
 

Jakob was just along for the ride but I couldn't resist dressing him in this cute monster costume. 

We had such a fun time with all our friends and I can't wait to do it again next year!!