Simon turns two!

>> June 18, 2017

It was such a fun week celebrating our littlest one. I kept it simple and easy, which was perfect. To keep with the sports themed birthday I created a football cake, complete with a turf field underneath! I love how it turned out and it tasted delicious! Vanilla cake with green vanilla buttercream and then a topped chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. I had so much extra cake batter (and homemade buttercream!) I ended up making a small smash cake for Simon in the shape of another football along with another plain cake with crushed oreos. Thank goodness we have friends who like cake that I could gift 3/4 of the leftover cake to!

 The morning started bright and early, as usual, with presents waiting for Simon at the table. We always let the kids open up gifts when they wake up because, lets be honest, you try telling a small child to just wait a while on their birthday.
 He's still learning how to hold up only 2 fingers! So for now...he thinks he's 5.
 Cutest kids on the planet.
 Pretty excited about his new monkey lunchbox from Grandpa and Grandma Longhurst.
 And his big gift from us? A new soccer goal (for the whole family to enjoy!)
 We sing Happy Birthday as many times as we can on birthdays so it started with a pancake breakfast complete with extra whip cream and two little candles.
 Then it was off to the beach! We met up with 2 other friends to play in the sand and have a picnic lunch.

 Love these little ones!
 We were having such a fun time until Simon decided to jump off a log and accidentally slipped and fell onto another log. It wasn't a big tumble but created a huge, instant goose egg on his sweet little forehead. It looked awful! Luckily he seemed to recover quickly and was begging to climb up onto the log again 4 minutes later so I felt comfortable sticking it out and playing on the beach a little longer.


 That night we headed out to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Simon didn't touch his dinner but the other kids loved theirs! I'm thinking he just wanted to save his appetite for his special cake at home.
 The birthday boy with his cakes! Yum!!


 He dug right in and devoured the chocolate frosting!
 This weekend we opted out of a party and decided to have a family day at Remlinger Farms. We've never been and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. But first....more gifts! Grandma and Grandpa Vance spent the day with us and Simon loved his new monkey backpack to match his monkey lunchbox. He also got some new sports clothes and his own set of golf clubs...which he won't put down!

 Then we were off to the farm! This was the perfect place to let the kids run around, ride on kid rides as many times as they wanted and see some farm animals. Carter and Lucy went nuts over the rollercoaster and rode it at least a dozen times (about 10 of those in a row!). We went on a train ride, saw ducks, goats, chicks and bunnies and the big kids even rode a pony! Such a fun family day.


















 Happy 2nd Birthday Simon! We loved celebrating you!!

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fast and slow.

>> June 11, 2017

The last 2 months have been so incredibly busy we sometimes forget what day it is or where we need to be every night. Because, we literally have had to be somewhere every single night. I've mastered quick, simply dinners and the kids have been so flexible with changes in bedtime routines and late night sports practices. But, this week it all wrapped up and our schedules are quickly slowing down...thank goodness!
On top of a busy sports season this spring we've continued to check big house projects off our list. The latest project? New windows!! I'm so happy with how they look. It was a very expensive project but well worth the money and so needed. The original aluminum windows just weren't cutting it anymore.

 Matt worked from home all week so he could be around to assist the installers, when needed. This meant I not only needed to be away from the house so he could work quietly, but window installers had equipment everywhere and it was definitely not kid friendly! So, I had to get creative. Day 1 of installation? Donuts!  Because...why not?!?
 We then headed over to one of our favorite local bookstores for awhile. Simon apparently loved the puppy books
 And since we hadn't read enough that day we went to the library too...although this time Simon had enough and really needed a nap. Yep, right in the middle of the library on a random chair - poor guy. He would have slept a lot longer but I had to wake him to go check out our big pile of books.
We survived the week and are now enjoying new, beautiful windows. (and a new rug for my late Mother's Day present!)

 We had a special morning last week to slow down and celebrate Carter's half birthday. I love to celebrate these days because as a kid, half birthdays are super important. And he has a December birthday which is often a bit crazy. And, well, I think it's fun! Homemade strawberry waffles for breakfast and a new book as a little gift - Happy 7.5 years Carter!



 Carter has been a reading machine lately. He literally reads at least 1-2 chapter books every.single.day. We can't get enough books for him! I absolutely love watching him devour a book and really get into a complete series. He's at such a fun age and will read anywhere he can. At the soccer field. With his brother and even just laying on the floor. He's amazing!


 Simon's birthday is around the corner and he is SO 2! Oh goodness....love this kid despite him driving me crazy at least 16 hours a day.
 Another reason our schedule is slowing down? Lucy wrapped up preschool this week! It's incredible to think back on how much she's grown over the past 2 years. She started preschool excited but very shy, nervous and a bit timid. And now? Oh goodness, she is so social, outgoing, a leader and such a good friend. She has grown so much and I can't wait to see how much she loves kindergarten. I still can't believe my baby girl will be going to school next year.

 Her amazing teachers! Best news though - Simon gets to start next year, one day a week...woohoo!


 Both kids had their final spring sports games this week too. I'm so proud of Carter and his flag football team, the Thunderhawks. They never won a game but that never slowed them down. They hustled, ran hard, worked well together and learned so much. Carter really loved football and can't wait to play again next year.
 Lucy's team, the Elephant Goalies, had their final game too! They won all but 1 game (not that we were keeping score!) and had so much fun. Matt coached both Carter and Lucy's teams (hello busy!) but really loved it and has already told their teammates he'd be willing to do it again next year! Lucy's team was full of so many great kids. I'm really going to miss this routine and seeing all of our friends.



 So, our busy season is wrapping up and now I'm planning for fun summer activities. Only 2 weeks left for Carter and then he'll finally be done with school. Can't wait for summer break!


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two years.

>> June 10, 2017

I'm a little in shock that I'm already writing a post about Simon turning two. Where did the year go? How is my sweet baby boy already a wild, curious, fun-loving toddler? As we get ready to celebrate his birthday this week I've been thinking back about how much he's grown and changed this past year. We've discovered so much about his personality and reaffirmed he was the perfect baby to complete our family. 
We laugh more when he's around. The house is louder, I'm more tired, my heart is bigger, the kids play longer and we all love more because of Simon. He is goofy, brave, smart, curious, cuddly, mischievous, sports-loving, sweet and loud. He is now a full-fledged toddler and with it brings new milestones, talking, climbing, tantrums, bigger hugs and new interests. He is our wild card at times, never fully knowing how well he'll eat, or how long he'll sit still or when he'll really nap. I guess that's just part of a 3rd child personality though. 
But more than anything, he's the perfect little Simon he could ever be. And I'm so incredibly lucky to be his mama. 

1 week old.
1 year old!
 And some memories from this past year....

Simon loves the simple things in life. Basic food (definitely our pickiest eater), basic toys (really none at all other than books) and basic activities. Give him a ball and he'll be entertained for hours. Let him swing, climb, walk and get dirty and he's happy. He isn't interested in cartoons or many characters....unless he's seen his big brother or sister play with them. He thinks all sticks are wands (thank you Carter and your love for Harry Potter) and is happy to swing a Barbie around with Lucy. But more than anything Simon loves sports. Any sport that involves a ball he will try to play, watch and learn. He loves, loves, loves to watch old Seahawks highlights. He understands when they get tackled and when a team scores a touchdown. He'll cuddle right up to watch a good tennis match or baseball game and looks at sports books throughout the day. He ignored the mall play area the other day just so he could wander through the Mariners team store that happened to be right next door. He can't wait to be just a little older to play on his own soccer or football team - watching Lucy and Carter the past 8 weeks has been torture when he can't be out on the field with them.
So, to celebrate Simon this week we are giving him an all sports birthday. Football cake, sports themed gifts and any sports gear he can wear - because he's our favorite little athlete!

 Favorite foods - avocado toast, yogurt and cheerios!
Favorite words - dog, ball, mom, dad and shoes
Naps - any random time of the day
Favorite friends - Natalie








 Happy (almost!) 2nd birthday Simon. We love you more than you'll ever know and couldn't be more proud of the little boy you are becoming.



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