A couple gifts...

Tate got a TON of amazing gifts. To prevent him from being completely overwhelmed, we'll probably gradually take them out of the boxes...maybe a couple a day over the next week or so. He wanted his Handy Manny Laptop out of the box stat. He has been perched in front of it all day. There's a good chance that he witnesses Mommy and Daddy perched in front of their laptop so much that he wants to be like us. He still loves his laptop he got this spring, but I have a feeling he may be using his Manny one more often now! He spent every other free moment punching his new Spiderman Bop Bag with his huge boxing gloves. He genuinely LOVES each and every one of his gifts he got! Thank you to everyone...you all did way too much!

Just Cute

Sunday

Sean, Brigg, Lani, Ayla, Tate and I stayed in Colo last night. We were all exhausted by the time our heads had hit the pillows. Sean's parents bought cinnamon rolls for breakfast that were delicious and then we hung out and packed everything up into the van before we headed back to Des Moines. We had a low key afternoon and then headed to the park to get out of the house for a bit before we met up with Cassie so she could pick up the kids around 5:00.

Everything went perfectly this weekend! This kids were all terrific and Tate had a blast! I don't know what could have made it go more smoothly. I HUGE thank you to Pat and Linda for EVERYTHING they did to help us this weekend. Honestly, we wish there was so much more we could do to thank them. They are amazing and we are so blessed to have them and Tate is so blessed to have them as his Nana and Papa. They let us trash their garage, helped entertain a large group and helped clean up until late amongst many other things. Honestly, I could go on and on about there generosity. Thank you is not enough!

Ayla was also very helpful...she helped blow up his bop bag. She really took this job seriously...

And I turned around to look at the kids on the way home and saw Tate and Ayla holding hands.
Seriously...about the cutest thing I've seen!

Everything about her is so cute...be prepared for lots of Ayla pictures!

Tate and Lani watched a movie in our bed after lunch...they were tired!

Sean may have been a bit large for this slide...

I loved cuddling up to this little angel all weekend!!!

Brigg and Lani, as usual, were terrific. We had so much fun keeping these 3 all weekend!
Wish we could do it more often.

He actually WANTED me to take these!!!

He said, "Mommy, cheese me!"
You don't have to ask me twice!
You get to see both of these pictures because it's just so hard to get pictures of him smiling these days!

Picking up where they left off...

There has always been an undeniable bond between Tate and his birth father, Brandon. It's something that is so special to witness. He is comfortable around Brandon and when he shies away from nearly anyone he doesn't see on a regular basis, he gravitates to Brandon. He knows that Brandon is special to him.

Tate has not seen Brandon since December and so I didn't know if due to the long time since he'd seen Brandon if that bond wouldn't maybe be as apparent. I was wrong! He immediately started spending his time with Brandon. He played with Brandon, he sat by him while eating and fed Brandon some of his food, he rode on his shoulders and when it was time for Brandon to go, he gave him a hug and kiss and then decided he wanted one more before he left and pulled his face over for another kiss. I just can't express how special their bond is and how unbelievable blessed Tate (and Sean and I!) is to have Brandon in his life! We love you Brandon!!!

Look at them! They look so much alike!!!

Brandon flying Tate around like a Super Hero...

It's not easy to say goodbye...

"Hey, I want another kiss!"

The Cake

I have made 3 cakes with fondant in the last year. I think my first one was the best. Then, my second was more simple, so it turned out okay. This most recent one was Tate's 3rd Birthday cake this weekend. It's actually kind of embarrassing. It's supposed to be a burning building with Spiderman climbing on it. I did a layer cake and did blue and red layers like the Spiderman colors. The building ended up being almost the same height as Spiderman and looks kind of like a spaceship. Oh well, Tate seemed to be impressed with it so that's all that matters.

Friday night...a success!!!

We have 4 kids this weekend. We are keeping Brigg, Lani and Ayla this weekend. In addition to that, I am trying to do way too much for Tater's birthday party. Really, I need to learn how to NOT do a fancy cake and just buy a HyVee cake. However, we managed to have a fun filled evening, all the kids were tucked into bed without a peep by 9:30 (Ayla and Tate earlier) and I decided I would decorate Tate's cake tonight instead of tomorrow morning. Iam SO happy I decided to do that...it will make tomorrow morning a lot less stressful. Lani and I made the frosting and fondant, after the kids went to bed I dyed the fondant and put it on the cake. I hope it holds up until the party tomorrow. I do have some little details to add to the cake tomorrow, but it will be so much less stressful than having to do everything tomorrow. I was right though, I bit off a little bit more than I could chew this year. I took on a cake that was probably a bit too difficult for my lack of experience and skill. It looks kind of funny, but it will do. Hopefully it at least tastes good!

Anyway, the kiddos were angels...seriously, they are such great kids! We are so happy that we have them this weekend and know it is going to be so much fun!

Tate has a small room...

I've always known that, but tonight I know it even more! His room is ALL BED right now. Not kidding...there is almost no floor to speak of. Brigg and Lani are sleeping on an air mattress in his room. His full sized bed practically takes up his whole room as it is...add an air mattress to that and well, there's no floor. Ha. All the kids are sound asleep. I am going to be soon I hope! :)

Baking Tate's Cakes = Fiasco

I baked the cakes for Tate's birthday party last night and then froze them. I don't have time to elaborate on what a fiasco it was...just trust me. I mean, I can't even count how many cakes I've baked in my life, but you would have never known that last night! In the end, they got done how I wanted them to be done...not after another trip to the store for more ingredients after throwing away the batter from my first attempt. Plus, I didn't even start making them until around 9pm AND I stayed up and waited for them to be cooled before I put them away to freeze them. All I have to say is that I was up late yet another night and I am tired yet another day at work. I will say that Sean was of great help to me during the cake baking deboccle last night. I would have given up and bought a cake at HyVee and been done with it if it weren't for him. He has been super helpful and amazing this week. I literally have a list on the fridge that says "HONEY DO" and has a section for every day this week with a list of things I need him to do each day. He hasn't complained once and has always had every item on the list completed by the time I've arrived home from work.

I am expecting another late night tonight. When I get off work, we are heading up to Colo to drop some items off for the birthday party and also to drop Sean's car off to be fixed (some wiring issue we think). Once we get home after dropping things off and eating supper in Colo, I still need to check 3 items off of my list. Sean's list for today is looooong, so he will be busy! I am looking forward to having a fun weekend with family and friends and hope that Tate's party goes off without a hitch. I must say, I am a bit concerned about how his cake will turn out...I may have been a little brave when I made the decision to make the cake I decided to make. Ugh. I will post pictures once the party is over.

I always do this...

I think I just bite off more than I can chew! I have such a full week in preparation for Tate's 3rd birthday party on Saturday. I create all of these fun plans and ideas in my head for my 3 year old's birthday party and he probably doesn't even care and won't remember it. It's 12:15 and I should have been in bed 2 hours ago. Yet, I just found time to blog. Why can't I just keep things simple? I just can't do it! I know who I got this from...THANKS MOM! :)

Apple Picking 2009

It was a beautiful setting.
A great weekend.
Amazing people that we love so much.
Great fun.
Great food.
A flourishing crop of apples!
Priceless memories.

fun in the orchard

Here are several pictures from the orchard. We always have a lot of fun running around the orchard and picking/eating TONS of apples. This year didn't fail to deliver! Lots of apples were eaten all day long and they were DELICIOUS! In the evening, we got to watch the Hawkeyes whoop up on Penn State which was such a rush! Oh there's nothing like screaming and yelling as the Hawkeyes beat a team that no one expected them to beat! It was an amazing day and weekend all around!

Fabulous Accomodations...

I can't say enough about the fabulous home we stayed in for our Apple Picking Trip 2009! It had all the bells and whistles...a kayak, 4 wheelers, a Go-Kart, snow mobiles (good thing that weather didn't permit the use of them!), a huge firepit, hot tub, hammock, TONS of beds, acres and acres of beautiful land with a stream and check out the gorgeous views! You can't tell in this picture, but the house is an A-frame with all windows in the front and a wrap around porch. Simply beautiful!

With the fun crowd we have each year, we could stay anywhere really and be happy, but there was something about this place! We hope to go back to this home each year! It was perfect!

She's just such a good subject!!!

So here are some pictures of Ayla...because seriously, I can't help it!!!

a funny series of pictures.

Do I have anything in my teeth?

Yup...looks like there's a little something riiiiight there.

I'll get it out if you clean mine out.

All clean!