Young Party of Four

Well, we made it. (Almost... Steven will actually be home later today.) This past week was the first time since Will's birth that Steven had to work out of town for a few days without being home at all. He left Monday afternoon and doesn't return until today, Friday afternoon. He went out of town a couple of times prior to Will being born, but this was a new experience, for sure. Being alone 24 hours a day for a few days in a row with 2 small children is not easy. I've learned that Steven being gone from sun up to sun down and consequently not seeing the kids (due to bedtime and needing to leave early) for a few days at a time is far different from this experience. Steven didn't come home at all during this time period and I realized that not having him home for even a few minutes to see me and help me out a bit around the house is much more difficult. We missed him for sure. However, if I were to say that this week was terrible, I would be lying. The kids did reall

Dear Mackenzie, Today you turn 3 years old. You are officially no longer a "toddler" but rather a "preschooler". Just in time too as you will be starting preschool next school year. You will be doing 2 days a week but I think it is going to be a huge adjustment for all of us and there might be quite a few tears on that first day (likely mostly from Daddy). We had your 3 year old check-up today and you are getting so big! I can't believe you are the same 7 lb, 5 oz baby girl we brought home from the hospital 3 years ago. Dr. C said you are the picture of health! You are officially 31 pounds (55th percentile) and 38 inches (75th percentile)... Ignore the numbers on your board. That was made for your birthday party last weekend and was my attempt at getting your height and weight alone so I was off (as usual). Dr. C said you are growing perfectly. You actually have sat on the exact same growth curve for about 2 years now so it is looking like you will (hopef

Today we celebrated THREE with Kenzie! We had her official 3rd birthday party. She doesn't actually turn 3 until Thursday, but her birthday today with friends and family was a definite success. The most adorable Doc there is I admit, I'm a bit crazy. I start planning birthday parties months in advance. I have been planning Will's first for months already and his isn't for another 2 1/2 months. Anyway, Kenzie and I talked about it a few months ago and she elected to choose a Doc McStuffins themed birthday party this year. I will post another day about the decorations that I created for this party, but for now... a photo dump in honor of our little Doc turning 3. Our spread was pretty yummy, if I do say so myself. Everything from "Stuffy's Dragon Tails" (fruit kabobs) to "Squeakers Fishy Friends" (goldfish) and "An Apple a Day Keeps the Doc Away" (applesauce packets and cups). Will spent most of his tim

In true July fashion, we decided to take some time this weekend to celebrate Steven's birthday. A few weeks ago we thought that we would spend the Saturday after Steven's birthday at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral. Jetty Park has quickly become one of our new favorites. One of these days I want to go there in the late afternoon so we can see the cruise ships leaving port. Steven's parents were going to be able to make the trip down to spend the day with us, as well. Unfortunately, my parents are a bit too far away to make the drive to the coast. We woke up bright and early this morning, got the kids ready, and headed out towards the beach. We were smart and loaded the car the night before. Trust me, with two kids... any pre-work you can do is beneficial. The drive was nice and easy and we pulled into the park right around 8:45. It was still fairly early for most of the beach goers so we had our choice of parking and were able to pick up some prime beach real estate. St