Happy 1st Birthday Chance!

It's important to note that for the past 6 months the only thing that would stop Chance from crying would be either Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" or the birthday song. And since the birthday song is a heckofa lot easier to sing we have sang the birthday song for Chance pretty much every day since February.....and today we actually meant it.

First of all, oh my god I've got a son (it still shocks me). And secondly, my son is ONE! It was a preciously perfect day for our little guy.

But before I get to that let's review shall we?

A year ago this little guy joined our family.

Hmmm, for some reason I can't seem to find his 7 month pictures? Maybe on some other SD card that is probably hidden somewhere in the dollhouse. I'll substitute a picture from that month:

and drumroll please.....

Oh my sweet, sweet sweet boy. Man I love this little dude. 

Although, he is going to KILL me for the birthday hat below. I'm already kicking myself over it. 

Check it, he looks like a birthday elf!

After removing the hat and pelting it across the room, 

we decided to let him take out his frustration on something edible. 

His first cake.

In hindsight, chocolate would have been a better wow factor for pictures. 

I'm not actually sure he ate any of it. Mostly spreading it EVERYWHERE he could.

We ended the day singing him to sleep after the sugar high wore off. 

Happy Happy Birthday little buddy!

Chance at 11 months

Okay. Wow. I've actually found some time to sit down and write while there's still daylight out. That's a shocker. We've had quite the busy house in the past week or so. For starters Chance had his first birthday. Yay! And we also had him baptized as well. It's been a jam packed week. I have plenty of pictures to bore you with but before I get to that, I must, must, must post his 11 month pictures. I can't break the cycle now with only one month left.

So here goes.....

Banana Cinnasicles

Hey there friends! So how's everybody enjoying their summer?  We just recently went to an art fair in the city and I bought the girls a chocolate covered frozen banana and it brought back so many memories of making these as a child. I tweaked it a bit because I was too lazy to melt chocolate and frankly I wanted to save some calories as well. But, in the end they were a HUGE HIT!

All you need is a banana and a popsicle stick. First, I cut the bananas in half for each stick. Secondly, for added flavor we sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar all over it and popped it in the freezer. 

Delicious!!!

Got any other great summer treat ideas? Please share!

My Country, Tis of Thee

We had such a great 4th of July weekend this year.  Well, did I expect anything less? My college roommate Tanya and friend Melody came to visit and the whole weekend was picture perfect. See?

Mia scored with a super cool birthday gift from Aunt Tanya, a Dora the Explorer snow cone maker. Which they LOVED! Thanks! 

And about ten minutes after the kids were asleep we found ourselves laughing and reminiscing of days gone by. We threw calorie counting to the wind and truly lived from meal to meal, thanks to Eugene. I would have taken more pictures but I was too busy EATING to pick up the camera. Although, I did manage to snap this pic of Eugene's seafood paella. 

Seriously, this is the kind of food he just "whips" up. If you ever plan to visit--make sure it's when Eugene is in town cuz all I can "whip" up is a PB&J! For realz.

We did manage to sneak out for an adult lunch where we gorged on Japanese beer and sushi rolls. 

Scoring some major points with my kids, Tanya and Melody donned their aprons and they all baked a birthday cake for the United States of America. 

And yes, they sang happy birthday. Not with this particular cake but at the red, white and blue waffles we had the next morning. Like I said, we ate a lot!

But the best part? The best part was when we got to watch Jerry McGuire. This was our movie. We knew every word in every scene and like no time had passed, we recited it yet again.

I looooove black people. Show me the money!!!

It's on instant Netflix, so go watch it now. It's just as good today as it was in 96'. 

We also hit up our local 4th of July fest. Where the kids HAD to ride a train that went about 2 mph. They also HAD to jump in the bouncy and they most definitely HAD to ride the ponies. 

It was great to be together again. 

After a shared smoothie,

and an akward photo op with Max the clown,

they had their face painted.

Or in Bella's case her arm. It's a personal space thing.

Not only was it great spending some much needed adult time together but Tanya and Melody, you treated our kids as if they were a part of your family.  And for that, we're so grateful. 

It only took about 3 minutes of sizing Melody up on my care taker compatibility chart to know that she's a rockstar with kids. I mean look at this. Kid magnet!

Thanks girls for making it such a great weekend and of course

Happy Birthday to You. S.A.!