Princess Birthday Party

Our birthday celebration for Lola was a hit and everyone got into the dressing up! Lola had such a good time and seemed to be so happy. I love seeing kids so happy.  It's a good reminder to me to just enjoy all the little things.  Happy Birthday Princess Lola!  Thanks to all the family for coming and celebrating with us!  Lola and I do love our birthdays and we are trying to teach Clay the wonderfulness of birthday celebrating.  He has got to get with the program! ;) 

I am looking forward to taking Aubrey and Lola out tomorrow on a special day of fun and looking forward to a little Laura time... but we are going to a place that may be more of a work out for us moms than the kids.  LOL  Mom is watching Ollie for me and its the first time I have left him (except with Kebby for 20 minutes).  I am looking forward to one on one time with Lola but feels weird to leave him, because I have been exclusively breastfeeding and not even pumping to use a bottle for Clay, so I had to pump so Nonna could feed him.  Feels weird.  Haven't been away from him that long since I have the goods he wants.  But I am glad mom is getting that time with him.

Here are some pics from the party:

The homemade cake! I can't bring myself to spend money on a cake, even if it is much prettier than my homemade one.  But this one was so yummy! And didn't turn out as ghetto as I thought.  Clay wanted to take over icing it and I told him no!  But he gave me the idea to ice the entire side.  Like it.

The table setting... minus the cookies mom made.  They were so cute.  Picture down a ways.  I love throwing on some themed fabric as a table cloth because I can wash it and reuse it in the sewing room.  May make Lola pajama pants out of this princess fabric.

Made these pretzels and love the sprinkles on them.  Need to make these for holidays.  People like these.   

Love the Silhouette for quick banners like this!  Takes no time and never gets old to craft!

I like taking pictures like this so one day when Lola and I look back at pictures we can critique the house.  Love seeing the background of mom's pictures! Haha- 

Nonna and Lola!

Paw-Paw and Lola- Sadly Maw-Maw was sick!  We missed her very much.  Lola already told me tonight that Maw-Maw will be at her next party and won't be sick.  

Papa and Lola! Papa is always so cheerful!

Aunt Kebby and Lola! (They have the same exact eyebrows!)

Gram and Popper and Lola!  Notice Gram's braid? :)

Gran and Oliver!  Gran got lots of Ollie time.

Ba and Lola!

Aladdin and Lola!  Oops I mean Uncle Nick! 

Momma and Princess Lola!  See Clay in the background? I forgot to get him and Lola in a picture together :(

I need to teach her how to enjoy each gift.  She would just open so fast and throw things to the side... crazy girl.  Funny what she really liked and what she overlooked.  In the end, I know she will love it all!  It was perfect for her, everything.  She needs some time to relax and enjoy each gift- which is what she has done all afternoon so I am able to post!  Can't wait to re-organize her room!  Love that she loves Barbies now!  Yay! 

Scooter from Gram and Popper! 

Real golf clubs!  Her size and pink.  Love.  Need the pics from mom of Ba trying to teach her.

Princess dolls.  

She loved these.  Clay knew she would- he bought them one day in an outing to Target.  They were $40 on sale.  He thought it was a great buy, but I didn't think so.  He actually bought them for her for Christmas and I held them back to give at her birthday.  At Christmas time she was just starting to show an interest in princess stuff and by her birthday it was in full force- so great idea for Clay to get them and great idea to wait till birthday!

Her other love, bride and grooms.  Thanks Nonna.

And and another love- sugar cookies.  Didn't Nonna do a great job as always?  

Her pool from Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw- can't wait to fill this up and lay out let Lola play in it.

Blowing out her candles! I think I could cry.  How could my baby be 3???

Outside play time!

She was crazy on this thing.

Kebby and Nick got Lola a bike- but Kebby got bike envy.  Isn't my sis gorgeous though?

Skates from Gran and Papa- this will take some practice.

Ollie and me!

Keb and Ollie.

Nonna and Ollie playing in the pool!

Great party and hoping Nonna e-mails me some of her good pictures so I can add them to the blog! 

Hint, hint ;)

Here they are! Thanks mom!

Love this bottom picture!

So cute!!

LOVE YOU LOLA AND YOU ARE SO BLESSED WITH SO MUCH LOVE FROM EVERYONE!

Happy 3rd Birthday Lola! Plus pictures and shout outs.

Today is Lola's third birthday and I can't believe it.  Honestly- I have tried not to think about it because it's just too hard to believe that she has been with us for three years now.  She acts every bit of three and I am glad she is getting smarter and bigger- but when the number actually changes- it makes me a "little bit sad" as Lola would say.  I just want my baby to stay a baby.  As fast as the first 3 years have flown by, it makes me realize that before I know it I will be old and she will be having her own kids.  Please- let me freeze time or slow it down at least! 

We are celebrating her birthday Sunday and I am just doing a small family get together this year with Oliver being so little and just been chaotic lately.  Lola is very excited and somehow started this whole dress-up themed birthday party.  So a lot of us are dressing up as princesses and princes. Can't wait to post pictures on this.  Not that how much I love Lola can be measured, but to give you and her one day an idea- I went to Goodwill and found a "princess" dress with Oliver at 3 weeks old and even went in the dressing room to try it on!  Yuck.  I am not too good for GW by any means, but I have a thing about germs and dirty places and to use their fitting room and put that dress on unwashed just gave me the heebie geebies.  Who knows how to spell that.  I couldn't get it to zip all the way but thought surely in a few more days I will have lost a few more pounds since I am being a champ about breastfeeding.  I spent $8 on the dress and $3 more to get it dry cleaned taking a gamble it would fit.  Thankfully today it zipped up!  Can't wait for Lola to see everyone dressed up! She will LOVE it! 

I'll post the birthday party pictures next week! I think they may be pretty entertaining!

Lola has been the sweetest big sister ever.  But even more so, she has just been the sweetest child ever.  She is such caretaker.  So funny because at school when they go on the playground, they go with the class below them to (her class last year) so Heidi was telling me that when the babies fall down, need help, get stuck- Lola is the first to run to them and help them.  Makes my heart melt and doesn't surprise me at all.  She loves babies.  Wonder where she gets that from? Hmm? :)  

Lola is so good about thinking of others feelings and needs to.  I love that about her.  She doesn't like anyone to be sad.  I have had to work with her on saying it's okay Oliver cries, that it doesn't necessarily mean he is sad or mad- he is just trying to talk to us and he doesn't know how yet.  So tonight I was in the back doing something and Clay was holding Oliver and he was crying and Clay yelled at me to come get him.  I heard Lola say "Daddy.  It's OKAY!  He can cry." Glad she no longer worries so much when he cries.  Although when he does, she still goes and finds his paci and tries to make him happy and when she can't she comes and tells me he's hungry.  Cracks me up.  

Lola and I were crafting the other day in my sewing room and she would leave and come back throughout the entire craft time and I had the video monitor on Ollie since I had him in his bed and glanced over and couldn't see him all of a sudden- all I saw was fur.  I yelled at Lola "Did you go in Ollie's room?" "Yea mom.  I gave him a teddy bear to sleep with.  He's happy."  Pretty cute. 

We ran a lot of errands today.  The kind all moms probably hate with kids because they are quick errands all around town that mean you are unloading and loading kids for a few hours.  It's a pain since I have to carry that heavy car seat and make sure bouncy Lola stays super close to me. BUT Lola was wonderful today and Ollie slept the entire time which made it easier to be patient and extra loving to the birthday girl.  We had a birthday lunch date to Arby's.  I had to convince her why we didn't want CFA.  That was of course her first pick, but as always- it was so packed.  And as always, Arby's was not.  Haha. 

Everywhere we went Lola was talking to everyone.  She has really started coming out of the shy phase.  For safety reasons, I like her being a little shy, but it's nice that it is leveling out now.  We talk a lot about strangers! And she ask lots of questions too! 

A quick Ollie story- I met Lauren and Laura for lunch with the girls and brought Ollie to tag along.  He was in a small stroller his car seat snaps into.  We were all talking and the girls were playing in the play ground when Lauren looked at me and said "Oh my gosh.  Where's Ollie?"  I kind of laughed because what did she mean and I know so many people there- so it didn't make much sense.  BUT then I look around and realize "Holy Shit!  Ollie is missing!" I was probably 3-5 seconds away from yelling "Oh my god, my baby is missing!" Which would have been funny and embarrassing for my dad.  But thankfully spotted my stinking old dad laughing as he was hunched down behind the stroller in a corner.  He totally snatched my baby and I didn't even know!  Oh gosh.  I can't believe I didn't notice he strolled off with Ollie.  Poor kid. It was actually a good lesson to know how fast someone can steal your child and I didn't even realize! Oh my. LOL. He has it coming though.  Beware dad! 

I am proud I am getting this blog post up about Lola's birthday today because I haven't blogged near as much as I would like to be.  It also has been my birthday, Kebby's birthday (joint family celebration) and Gram's birthday.  And my dad's is tomorrow.  Shout out to April birthdays!  It's a busy month for sure. Clay's cousins have April birthdays too.  Thankfully Oliver was born in March and not at his expected due date of 4-5-12.

 Clay loves Ollie, but men just don't get very giddy over newborns.

Oh wait, I take that back.  Meet Uncle Ben! :)

Family picture!!  I love our family of 4. 

One of my favs.

Here I am with my SON!  LOL- so weird.  He's a boy!  Seriously, I still am not use to it.

This girl sure does take care of me.  What would I do without her?

Happy Birthday sis!  Still can't believe Lola told you what we got her.  Stink pot.

My bros card he got me.  Look closely.  

Lola actually beat me to blowing out my own candle.  LOLA!

Lola and I love white cupcakes.

Miss the days Lola would sit still long enough to get a bunch of momma pictures.

Lola loves getting a bath at night then rushing to hold Ollie.  She knows that's when I let her hug and hug all over him because she is clean.  She does all day, but not like night time.  Not sure Ollie was happy about hug time this night.

No after picture yet. :(

We made cupcakes for Lola's class this week to celebrate her birthday and of course we had to test them out before bed time! 

Ollie is his manly grasshopper jammies.  So cute.

Lola is her cute shirt.  I tried, but she wouldn't put down the bride and groom.  She is obsessed with brides and grooms and loves the little people set.  Did I write on my blog that I played our wedding video so she could say me and her daddy getting married?  She LOVED it and cried all the way through it.  She wouldn't let me fast forward at all and wanted to watch it again.  Isn't that sweet.  She loved the kissing part, which is funny because she can't stand for us to be affectionate in front of her.  She told me "Baby Oliver and I wanted to be at your wedding."  Sorry kiddo.  You came later.  But we love you!  Happy sweet birthday my child.