Valentine's Day 2013

Last week, we had two parties in two days! First was Charlotte's class party. She wore her pretty little Valentine dress that Mama got for her, and she loved being dressed all in pink! I was going to put on her white tights and silver shoes, but Charlotte brought down these pink tights and pink shoes from her room all by herself. When I showed her that I already had her tights and shoes ready, she said "No Mommy, me wear all pink. Day (they) match my dress." It was like she couldn't believe I was going to put white tights on her when she had pink to choose from. It was so cute, so all pink it won out. You could tell she felt pretty. 

At her party, all of the kids painted heart Valentine boxes. Charlotte LOVED showing me how she paints. In my mind I was thinking, "Are we really giving 2 year olds paint and paint brushes when they are wearing their Valentine outfits???" But I figured (PRAYED) it was washable paint, and just let her have fun. Yay for me! They also had snacks and read a book. It was a very low key, quiet party. When all of the parents were about to leave, I realized that I had forgotten Charlotte's nap mat. The last thing I wanted to do was drive home and then all the way back to bring it to her! Luckily Miss Shelley said that she had an extra one. When I picked Charlotte up that afternoon, she was so excited about using Miss Shelley's special nap mat. This is what she said, "Mommy, I seep on Miss Shelley's map map! It was pink. Me also had a purple pillow and pink bankie (blankey). Me loved pink and purple!" So Miss Shelley's nap mat, or map map as Charlotte calls it, was very exciting!

The next day was Nathan's party. Where Charlotte's party only last about 15 minutes and are very calm and quiet, Nathan's party was 45 minutes and WILD! Charlotte was very excited to go to Nathan's party, and Nathan LOVED showing her off to everyone. He is always so sweet to her when she is in his classroom. You can tell he loves being the big brother and acting all grown up in front of his friends when it comes to her. As soon as we walked in, he showed Charlotte where the babies were for her to play with. Then he showed her the reading corner and told her she could play with her babies there while Nay Nay sits with his friends and Mommy takes pictures. But if she needs anything, we'll be right over there. I just stood by and listened to him explaining everything to her and thought, "Good thinking Nathan!"

Nathan sat next to Sawyer and Taylor and had so much fun goofing around with them! They made monster Valentine decorations, ate cookies and popcorn, and played Valentine bingo. Then they each took turns passing out their Valentine goodies to each other. 

While Nathan was busy with all of his activities, Charlotte did just what he said...she played with the babies and read books!

And that night, Nathan and Daddy planned a special surprise for Charlotte and I. Wayne came home early and picked Nathan up to take him somewhere secretive. When they got home, they told us to go to my room and not come out until they were ready. Charlotte and I fixed our hair, put on lip gloss, and watched Dora while we waited on them. Nathan came in and got us and told us to follow him with our eyes closed. When he told us to open them, we were so happy! The lights were dimmed, and candles were lit on the kitchen island. There was a magazine, card, and chocolate for me, and Charlotte had a stuffed animal and candy for her. There were also beautiful yellow flowers in a vase (water pitcher) on the kitchen table. Nathan was so proud of everything! He and Wayne told us to sit down at the table, and they served us dinner that they had made especially for us! I also got a glass of wine, and Charlotte got chocolate milk. The two of them made us ravioli, salad, and french bread. It was the sweetest thing ever! Nathan kept looking at me and saying, "Mommy, are you happy? Do you like it?" It made me want to cry to see how proud he was of his special surprise. And I loved how Wayne included him in everything. The two of them really did make us girls feel special!!!!

Thank you Daddy and Nathan for making your sweethearts feel so loved! I love my family so much!!!

Pearce's First Birthday

Last weekend was my sweet nephew's first birthday. It is so crazy that this little baby is already one! Carrie and Chris had a family party for Pearce. We were there along with Mama and Papa, Lora (Gigi), Aunt Jen and Robert. Alexandra had a play to get ready for so she stayed in Houston with a friend. Carrie did such a good job with all of the birthday decorations! Everything was so cute! The theme was "Trains" and everything went together so perfectly, from the cute little train cake, to the birthday banners, door wreath, and high chair tray cover. Nathan and I packed up some of his wooden trains and tracks to help Carrie decorate the dining room table. 

The grandparents got there first and had their time with baby Pearce. We got there later in the evening, and Nathan and Charlotte couldn't wait to get their hands on Pearce next. Nathan and Robert had fun playing on the IPad and with each other. And since Robert's birthday was only a few days away, we also had a little party for him. 

On Saturday, the guys stayed at home, and the rest of us went out to lunch and to pick up the rest of the party supplies. Then we hung out in the backyard where the kids played and raced. They went on a wagon ride, and we just basically relaxed, visited, and took lots and lots of pictures! 

Party time! Pearce was so cute opening all of his presents! He had two little helpers: Nathan and Charlotte. And those two little helpers also loved PLAYING with Pearce's new presents :)

Charlotte had such an exciting day (with no nap) that she just couldn't stay awake long enough to see Pearce eat his cake. I felt bad for her because I know she would have loved to see Pearce dive into his cake and make a big mess! We loved watching it, and he was not shy about getting messy. It was so cute!

We had so much fun celebrating with Pearce! He is the sweetest baby and is loved by all of us. Happy Birthday!