A Weekend of Celebrations....

Wow, what a busy weekend we had.  It may take me all week to recover!  I have a feeling that this post is going to be extra long—there’s your warning!

We began our busy weekend Friday night by going to Austin’s musical/play at school.  Craig’s mom and dad reluctantly (ha) agreed to watch Addison while we went to the play.  The musical was called South Pacific and they did an excellent job.  They have put in LOTS of hours practicing and it paid off because they did a really good job.  I wasn’t able to take pictures because flash photography was prohibited.  It was a very long musical though—it started at 7:30 and wasn’t over until 10:45!  By the time we picked up Addison and got home and in bed, it was midnight!

 

Addison was up bright and early Saturday morning (6:40 AM)—so much for sleeping in a little bit!  We had to be at Portrait Innovations at 12:30 for her 1-year pictures so off we all went and of course, she did really well and we got several great pictures—including a family photo!  

I didn't buy this photo but it's hilarious because she wanted this rubber ducky in the picture!

LOVE THIS FACE!

She makes this face ALL THE TIME!

Since we were in Hamburg, we had to make a trip to Steak n’ Shake and Addison got her own kids meal with a hot dog and French fries and loved it!  She is such a good eater as you can tell!  She also shared some our milkshake too which is one of her favorite treats.

After a few other errands, we went to a Derby party at some friends’ house and had a really good time.  Craig’s horse, Animal Kingdom, even won so that was an added bonus!  Addison loved playing with Carson and Beckett and Katie Belle and Connor.  She always loves being around other kids. 

Our last stop before going home on Saturday was my mom and dad’s house to visit my dad’s parents who came in town and was staying the night at their house.  It was so great to see them.  They had watched the Derby and were having Peach Cobbler for dessert.  YUM!  They enjoyed seeing Addi walk around the house as this was a new trick that she had learned since the last time they had seen her! 

We finally made it home Saturday night at around 9 PM to give Addi a bath and get ready for bed.  We had another busy day ahead of us on Sunday! 

Sunday was Mother’s Day and also Baby Dedication Day at our church.  We were excited that a lot of our family had come to watch as we made the commitment as parents to raise Addison to know and love the Lord.  It was really cool because there were 28 babies who were dedicated on Mother’s Day—it just doesn’t get any better than that!  The sermon was centered around Mothers and it was wonderful.  It was so great to have my parents there, my brother Brad, my sister Lyndi and brother-in-law Randy, Katie Belle, Connor, my grandparents from Louisville (Pogue’s and Smith’s), Craig’s parents, and Craig’s sister Dee and nephew Nick.  Thank you to all of you for coming—it was a very special day for me. 

After church we went to Applebees for lunch and then rushed home because Addison’s party was later that day.  I had to make 2 chicken casseroles to take while Craig went and picked up 20 helium balloons for the party.  Addi LOVES balloons and can even say “bawoon.”  It is adorable.  She’s so stinkin’ smart!

Lunch at Applebee's

We got all set-up and decorated for the party which we had at Lyndi’s house.  What a beautiful day it was too!  I couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather.  The kids were able to play outside which I was so thankful for. 

We changed Addison into her new birthday dress which was a pillowcase dress that I had ordered for her online.  I had her name embroidered on it too—it turned out cute!

We started out by letting Addi open her presents.  She’s still too young to get into it so I had Katie Belle and Kylee help with that!  She got lots of great stuff—not that she really NEEDED anything at all but …..

Birthday Card from Katie Belle--LOVE IT!

Her 1st set of wheels!

After presents, we had dinner ready so we ate.  We had salad, lasagna or chicken casserole, corn, and garlic bread.  Lyndi had also made some appetizers—spinach dip, pickle dip, and bean dip and that we snacked on before dinner. 

Next was piñata time so the kids lined up to pull the strings out of the piñatas in hopes of getting the string that would release the candy.  Kylee got the lucky string and candy poured all over the floor—m&ms, candy bars, blow pops, etc…  All the kids filled up their goody bags!  

Finally it was time to cut the cake and have cake and ice cream.  Austin had stayed up until 2 AM Sunday morning making special cupcakes for Addison’s party.  They turned out beautifully.  He used fondant and they really look like I had spent big money on them at a fancy bake shop.  He really wanted to make them for her and he did a great job.  Unfortunately she was not that interested in eating them.  We were hoping that she would really tear into it and devour it but that just didn’t happen.  Oh well—maybe next year.  They were very good though and the kids (and adults) loved them!  I had ordered her cake from Sam’s and had given them a party napkin so that they could make the cake resemble the napkin.  I wasn’t pleased AT ALL with the way it turned out (it looked like a 5-year old decorated it) but it tasted good so I guess that is what is most important.  At least we had pretty cupcakes.

Austin decorated these--WOW!!!

Addison wasn’t interested in the cupcake but wanted a sucker instead and she had it ALL over her.  It was so bad that she had to go straight from the high chair to the bath tub! 

Look at that tired, sweet face!

After the bath she was getting really cranky because she was tired so I rocked her to sleep and she took a nap (at around 7 PM) in Connor’s room while we cleaned up from the party and got Lyndi’s house back in order!  When we left around 8, it didn’t even look like we’d had a big party there thankfully!  I was hoping to leave it the way we found it. 

Thank you for letting us use your beautiful home for Addi’s party—it was the perfect size and Addi had a great party.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make her 1^st birthday so much fun!  We love you all!

It was a great day and weekend and I had wonderful Mother’s Day with my 2 beautiful kids!  They are the most precious things on Earth and I am the luckiest Mom in the world.  Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there and a special HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to MY mom who I am so very thankful for.  I have had the best childhood and the best family and I am so thankful to my mom for giving me such a wonderful life and for always being the kind of mother that I hope to be!