Josh's Barnyard Bash Birthday Party

For Josh's birthday party we did a farm theme. I found some really cute napkins online (Barnyard Bash) and decided to make it our theme. I looked online for cake ideas and found an adorable one that I replicated. I'm really proud of it! We were joined by Gigi & Grandpa Randy, Grandma Joyce & Grandpa Jack, and the Spradleys. We had planned to be outside for most of the party, but the weather didn't cooperate. We still ended up grilling lunch and were very thankful for our wonderful covered porch!

Mommy and Josh with his cake

My latest creation

The party set-up

We got Josh his own blue chair (now we have matching ones) - now we just have to work on teaching him to SIT in it, not stand or jump!

Opening presents

The shoes sure are tasty (and they're awfully cute too!)

Kangaroo from Auntie Randi (she brought it back from her recent trip to Australia!)

Josh chilling out opening his presents

Josh's new lawnmower (yep, we have 2 of these now too)

Mommy, Daddy, and Josh

Josh with his cake (by this time he was getting pretty tired and was basically "done")

(Not much of a picture - I'm glad we celebrated with cake on his actual birthday, much better response! With other kids at the party he wasn't the center of attention and didn't feel much need to impress)

Josh's 1st Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!

Today Josh turned 1 (can you believe it??). It just doesn't seem possible, but it's true. It's been a wonderful year and he is such a wonderful addition to our family. He has such a sweet and peaceful disposition and is so much fun to watch. He's definitely got an adventurous side and is much less cautious than Drew was or is. He adores his big brother and it is so fun getting to watch them grow together. He is on the verge of walking and can stand by himself for several seconds at a time (when he wants to). He can climb up steps and loves to play outside. (He crawled all over the back yard this past week without a care in the world. No grass phobia here, in fact, he thinks it tastes pretty good!). He is a great eater and will try just about anything we put in front of him. He still wolfs down baby cereal and baby food, but has also tried bananas, pears, peaches, pizza crust, crackers, cheese, and most recently - Chick Fil A nuggets. He says "Mama" and "Dada" and is starting to say "Br-Br", which I think means brother. It seems like he learns something new each day and I am so privileged to be able to stay home and witness each new milestone.

Even though I am feeling a bit under the weather, we still tried to make today special and celebrate as a family. (It was important to Drew that we have balloons and cake for Josh's birthday - not just for his party, but for his actual birthday.)

Happy Birthday!!

Birthday pancakes
Watching the cupcakes in the oven (no, the door doesn't get hot)

Present time

New sand toys - including a cement truck!

A very happy 1 year old!!

This looks delicious...

Yummm...

Happy boy with a messy face

Time to get cleaned up

Beautiful Bluebonnets

One of the traditions of Texas families is the obligatory picture of your children in a field of bluebonnets. Luckily for us, one of the area parks has a huge grassy area that they've seeded with bluebonnets. It's really pretty and a much better option for pictures than the side of the freeway! The boys weren't in the best of moods, and I wasn't feeling my best either, but we did our best. We took a picnic lunch and played at the playground too, so it turned out to be a fun morning.

When I told Drew we were going to go take some pictures with some flowers he wanted to bring his camera too. Here he is "taking pictures" as we got close to the field.

They really are pretty, aren't they? Bluebonnets - state flower of Texas
Drew pulling Josh in the wagon

The best solo Josh shot (he wasn't too sure about the whole concept)

Drew's best shot

Me and my boys (yep, I'm tickling them to try to get them to cooperate)

(Do you think it was a little windy?)

Easter

Easter was a busy day for us. We started the morning at home before church with Easter baskets/buckets with lots of new goodies. Drew was really excited about the whole thing and Josh was a little less enthusiastic, but I think he still liked it. (This was actually Josh's 2nd Easter - last year Easter was the weekend AFTER he was born.)

Drew by the baskets

Daddy helping Josh open eggs
Oooo, Cheerios!!

Blue duckie

Drew's new car

Josh surveying his loot

Drew's new book about Cement Trucks (so appropriate!)At church we had an egg hunt, but because of the less than ideal weather it was moved inside. I don't have any pictures, but just imagine a hallway full of plastic Easter eggs and way too many kids. Chaos ensued and we ended up with 2 full buckets of eggs.

After church we headed to Vicki's house for a family dinner and egg hunt. The boys had fun and did exceptionally well, especially considering they both missed naps! Drew really enjoyed hunting for the eggs and Josh was just content to play with the ones that we gave him. (Thanks Gigi for the matching outfits!)

Drew finding eggs

Josh just hanging out with his eggs

Drew showing off his eggs

What's inside?

Precious

We hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Making Birds Nests

We needed to make a dessert to take to a family get-together for Easter and I found this cute recipe and thought it would be fun, a chance for the boys to help, and would probably taste pretty good too. It only takes a few ingredients and was really easy to do (and reportedly tasted pretty good too!).

The first step is to crush Frosted Mini Wheats cereal. Drew wasn't strong enough to crush them with his hands and couldn't make a rolling pin work either, so I thought for a minute and then (like every good mom of little boys) naturally thought of using his toy hammer! He LOVED pounding it out and it was quite effective - we may have found our new go-to technique!

Josh wanted in on the action too (don't judge for the Santa pajamas - it was time to do laundry and they still fit!)
Adding the bag of chocolate chips to the peanut butter

Josh "helping" stir up the melted mixture (this picture was taken right before he almost pulled the whole bowl over onto himself - luckily I caught it before any damage could be done)

Drew decorating the nests with mini candy eggs (he had the best time with this step and wanted to sort the eggs by color - some of the nests ended up with way too many eggs, which required creative editing after he was finished)

Finished product

Exciting Eggs

We tried out a new method for decorating Easter eggs this year. Gramps and Aunt Becca sent us a cool "Spin an Egg" thing and Drew loved it! The eggs turned out really pretty and there was very little mess!

Drew posing by the eggs before we got to work

Just press and spin

The finished products (the picture really doesn't do them justice - they were really pretty)

Thanks Gramps and Aunt Becca for such a fun activity; we wish you could have been here to help - maybe next year...