Monday, April 30, 2012

....Monday quick stop.....

.....just a speedy pit stop to breeze by; mostly for my family's sake.....there is bustle in the house......a little bit of extra laughter and giggles......imaginary play, hide and seek, and the anticipation for months that has finally turned into realty.....

....cousin Chase is here for the week.....and the uniqueness about his trip is that his Daddy is working in Queens for the next several days, so Chase gets to experience NYC with his cousins all by himself.....what two and a half year old wouldn't be fired up at the idea?......

....my nephew is no exception.....


.....so when he arrived yesterday, we didn't waste any time......NYC is in full spring bloom and we were anxious to show him some of our most favorite local places......



.....the girls, especially, were excited about introducing him to some of our favorite parks and sights.....and they were specifically thrilled that he wanted to learn how to ride their scooter, so he could fit in with their main mode of preschooler transportation....



.....life is short.....

....each day is a gift from the Lord and this blog helps remind me to savor every minute we are given.....our family is being reminded of that in many ways this spring.....

.....and because life does not happen behind a computer, I am signing off to make memories with my babies and my nephew.....




.....and of course we are taking time to stop and savor.....

....good things to come, so stay tuned.....



Monday, April 23, 2012

....the sailor and his mates....

.....I surprised myself with how over zealous I became when it was time to celebrate Brody's first birthday....there were so many occasions while cutting twine, pasting photos to card stock, or stuffing goldfish into goodie bags that Stefan and I laughed.......isn't the third child supposed to have a little family celebration for their first go around turning one?.....we went big for Brody, just as we did for the girls' first anniversary of the day they joined our family......there is just no other way to celebrate the first year other than BIG, no matter how you define what big is.....for some, big is the small gathering with the fancy homemade cake, for others it is the backyard full of family and bbq or renting a place that does big for you......

.....for us, it was throwing a shin dig in our playroom with all of our dear neighbors who have become great friends......the friends who have all had babies together and know that the first year with a new baby is a long year that passes by very quickly....

....it is such an emotional first year, as there are ups and downs and highs and lows..... and moments, for me at least; when I felt like, I've got this whole three kid thing down and other times when I cried....hard....because I simply could not get my act together enough to make it to the grocery store as an accomplishment for the day......I had days when I exuded over confidence because we were on a good streak of it all coming together and within hours, I had fleeting instances of sheer panic or disgust in how I handled my short fuse with my girls......there was also a lot of sleep deprivation this past first year....definitely, not enough sleep this last year.....

......but all of those little instances, fueled with emotion, were tiny blips on my screen.....in the entire series of my life, they would not of even make up a chapter of their own......in the big picture, they are all overshadowed by the fact that God blessed us with the most loveable, blue eyed boy who changed all of us for the better.....

.....so when our family began reminiscing about how fast Brody's first year passed by, we all decided that a big party was the way to go.....the girls bounced up and down with excitement, Stefan shrugged his shoulders and with his half grin said, go for it, babe; and that was the beginning of how our family defined BIG for this special occasion......

......Stefan was very hands on with this party, which not only made it more entertaining for me to have him as my sidekick; but also aided in preparing for a bash that entertained 19 little people.......this was also my first boy party and I happily deliberated between dump trucks, pirates or sailboats for months...... it truly became a family affair, with each of us finding a way to contribute for the preparation.......Elsie was inclined to assert her helpfulness by tying life savers to twine, whereas Callie enjoyed separating silverware so she could then group the knives, forks and spoons to be rolled in red napkins......each person had their job they liked to do and we took breaks throughout the week to pull action items off my to do list......this was certainly going to be our last party to host in our NYC playroom, so we wanted to make it a festive occasion with all of our favorite people who share our street as their beloved home.......

.....and for the record, pinterest is also a dangerous place for women like me......that site was full of the best ideas I absolutely had to duplicate, which kept adding to the list of things to buy and projects to complete.......so it would be an understatement to say that our whole family went a tad bit overboard for our little man's first birthday.....


....no pun intended....


















.....and there was a sentimental touch that resonated with all of us because the inspirtation for this party came from Brody's vintage outfit that was saved by my mother in law after thirty something years......Once I remembered I had this beauty in the next season stash, the deliberation on party theme was over.....we were cruising towards nautical flags, sand buckets and anchors to embrace the fact that father and son wore the same thing at 12 months old.....





....and it was engaging for all of us to see the resemblance between the two....





.....it made for quite the conversation piece and I am so grateful our Mimi saved some of the best of what Stefan wore when he was a baby.....we are very lucky for a sentimental Mimi like her......

....and once the party started, our little man was ready to rally with his friends.....or I should say, his sister's friends......but needless to say, Callie and Elsie were both ready to help host his little sailor smash.......



.....and so was Paul who rocked the house down with our little people.....












.....which carved out some time for the adults to gather, eat, laugh, drink and be merry.....Little people singing and dancing and big people, with a beverage in hand, enjoying watching the festivities......

....I can't think of a better way to spend a late Sunday afternoon......



.....and a menu of hotdogs, dips, berries and cheeses served as a good early evening snack......but nothing could have prepared us for the amount of watermelon that was consumed......








.....these little boats were a bigger hit than the cupcakes......



.....although now that he knows what sugar, butter and cream whipped together tastes like, he was happy to exchange his watermelon for a creamy, vanilla treat.....

.....especially with such an attentive audience.....











.....and I think he was full from all of the watermelon, because he didn't destroy his cake like he did on his real birthday four days earlier.....


....or maybe he just likes to inhale cake in the privacy of his own home.....



....but it was a good evening had by all....there were many times when I stopped to take it all in so I could remember it....I wanted to sear it all in my memory bank.....the way my girls giggled the whole time.....the smiles, the conversation, the overall joyful feeling in the room.......the collection of people who were kind enough to come and share the love we have for Brody......my baby boy who is further away from being a baby than he is from turning into a budding toddler......




......it all goes by so fast.....every moment is a fleeting portion of time that passes more quickly than we anticipate.....and this evening was no different.......

.....his ship had sailed.....

....our little sailor was ready for lights out.....


....we loved celebrating his first year.....everything about the first 12 months that made it such an emotional time.....we all adjusted, we all fine tuned, we all learned to love deeper and to be more generous with one another.....our family grew and it forced the walls of our home to stretch and adjust as we moved things around on the inside.....

....and the end result is a beautiful, cozy place that fits 5 of us perfectly.....



.....until the next good reason to celebrate.....

.....and we'll do it big for that occasion too.....




Special thanks to Maria at Palm Beach Polkadots for help with the decorations and to Cassie and Sara for taking such memorable photos!. Thank you all!