Birthday Party Photos

As promised, here are some photos from Whitaker's Birthday Party. Since our house is caving in on us and isn't equipped to handle a whole bunch of adults with kids in tow we decided to have the party at Madrona Beach Park. We couldn't have asked for better weather, better friends, and a better birthday boy to spend the day with. We thank everyone for coming out and celebrating this special day with us.

What is a birthday without balloons? And of course, Mae got two as well. 

The Birthday Boy

The food. 

And of course, I had to make cookies. 

Pete and Noah. I think this photo looks like a paparazzi photo.  Pete trying to shield his baby from the camera.

Kate and Nora

Erin and Hadley

The Spencer Boys [Will and Owen] and a bit of Quinn

Ready for the party. 

Mae telling everyone she is "wearing her party dress." 

Sibling love. 

Sarah and Emmett

Will

Mae chose the largest cookie. I think this was the first of five cookies she ate. 

Proud parents. 

Proud Mom with her birthday boy.  

Obligatory singing of Happy Birthday. 

First bite of cake but since he had two cookies before this I think that the taste of sugar was lost on him.  

Sarah and John

Cupcake eating. 

And we capped off the party by hitting the beach. 

Happy 1st Birthday Whitaker

One year ago today, I was so blessed to become a mom again to a very happy, squishable, curious, stubborn, loving baby boy. Happy Birthday Whitaker!

(More photos of the day and a recap tomorrow. Tonight, we relax and reflect on the year we all had together). 

Curious Mae

This is Mae. Mae is always curious. (You can tell we read a bunch of Curious George in this house).

Everyday is an adventure in curiosity for Mae. Most times it ends up in a lot of cleanup for me. I should know better by now that if I don't hear her or see her she is "getting into" something. However, I always feel that I have child proofed our house ENOUGH that she can't get into anything too badly. This has bit me in the butt too many times and I know I should have learned my lesson by now. As my mom says repeatedly "that girl can't be trusted."

Well last night was case in point why she can't be trusted. Pearson was out of town but Grandma C. swung by to keep us company while returning from Vancouver. Grandma C and I were sitting down for an adult dinner of pho. We heard pitter patter upstairs but that has become pretty routine since Mae has moved to her big girl bed. She will run back and forth from our bedroom to hers. I think she normally looks out the window or plays with her dollhouse, which is housed in our room. Well after about 5 times of hearing doors slam (the girl does NOT know how to be stealth) and running foot steps, I went upstairs to check out aka yell at her to go to bed.

You might wonder what did I find? I peer into her room and see all five of Grandma C's makeup/medicine/toiletry bags opened and all of the contents spread out on the floor of and on Mae's  bed. One thing to note, all of this stuff was stored in a back pack that was zipped up. Also quite of few things were opened but did not seem to be used yet, meaning lipsticks opened but thank goodness not applied. Here is the conversation between Mae and I.

Me: What are you doing?
Mae: I was getting the things out of her bag.
Me: Grandma is going to be mad.
Mae looking very worried: Let's put it all back.

I had better sense to throw all this stuff back and called in Grandma C to try to reassemble the mess, which she did after about 10 minutes and a good chuckle. Mae, of course, looked proud of her accomplishment and I couldn't be that upset because I got to give it to the girl she is pretty resourceful when she needs to be. 

Every Thursday for a Year (Week 47, 48, 48, 50, & 51)

I am definitely WAY behind in my "Every Thursday" posts. Here are the photos from the last month. 

I can't believe we have only more post before Whitaker turns ONE. 

Week 47

 Week 48

 Week 49

 Week 50 

 Week 51

Lessons Learned

Tonight/last night (it is 5 am), I learned the lessons that:

• All parents love their kids to pieces regardless of how much money they have or a home to tuck them into bed a night.
• A few hours of volunteer service can help another person's life but more importantly it can help to make yours better (already knew this one but thought it was good to have a refresher).
• Spending the night with a stranger with a like mind is good for your soul. (And yes, the other volunteer was a girl named Sarah).
• Because of no fault of their own, children who are disadvantaged really are at a disadvantage.

(More on these lessons later, I am currently pulling an almost nighter at the homeless shelter and don't know if I will have the correct words to accurately say what I want to say).

Busy

I have been busy, busy, busy. Doing what you might ask? Along with readjusting to life after vacation, spending time with Grandma C who has been visiting (awesome!), volunteering for Mayfair, enjoying Mother's Day, coordinating volunteers for a homeless shelter that opened in my neighborhood, planning Whitaker's 1st Birthday Party, trying to keep up with friends, and enjoying the lovely weather Seattle has given us for the last week. It has been a busy last week but I have been enjoying it. Will try to post pictures in the next couple of days about the last couple of weeks. 

Family Photo

This is what happens when you try to take a family photo with 8 adults and five kids under the age of 5 during a welcome reception for a wedding.  Is one of these worthy of framing?