Wonderful Spring Saturday with Daddy!

We finally got a weekend with Daddy and beautiful weather. It was the perfect combination. Lately it feels like Daddy is gone every weekend, so we were thrilled to get him all to ourselves.

We started out the day by letting me sleep in and it was oh so wonderful. Then Daddy made us a late breakfast. Then we decided to go for a bike ride to the new city park. Bailey and Tuck rode in the bike trailer

Tanner rode his bike like a big boy. 

It was probably a half mile to the park, but Tanner still had lots of energy when we got there.

We love our new park. It's really awesome. 

Tucker really loves trying to eat the mulch. It's his favorite. And Bailey only has eyes for the swings. 

Tanner loves the teeter-totter. 

On our way home we stopped by sonic and ate lunch then we walked the rest of the way home. 

After we got home the kids took naps and then we busted out Tucker's birthday present- a water/splash table. 

It was a hit with all three kids. We added some rubber duckies and Tucker was a happy boy. 

Then we enjoyed some watermelon- doesn't this picture just look like Summer???

We are SO ready for Summer?

We followed watermelon by grilling burgers and eating out on the patio. It was such a gorgeous night and I didn't want the day to end. I just love relaxing fun-filled days with my little family.

Happy First Birthday Tucker!

I cannot believe my little baby boy is one year old. This last year has flown by way too fast. 

Tucker has been the happiest, easiest baby ever and we feel so blessed to have him in our family. 

Here is a little bit about our Tucker-Duck.

He is an excellent sleeper. He takes two 2-hour naps each day and then sleeps about 11 hours each night. He loves sleeping in his bed. When I lay him down, he snuggles his lion and a his blanket and goes to sleep. It's pretty cute. 

He loves to play in his sister's room. He especially loves playing with her kitchen. He opens the cupboards and fridge and puts plates and food inside and then opens them again and takes everything out. He will do that over and over again. 

He isn't walking yet, but he can crawl super fast and whenever he does his little booty shakes so much. It's stinkin' adorable.  He will crawl all over the house looking for me and gets so excited when he finds his mommy. 

He can say, "Mama" "Dada" "Nana" (which  is what he calls his Nanny), "baba" and he waves "hi" and "bye". 

Tucker loves bath time. When he hears the water turn on in the bathroom he immediately hustles in there and tries to crawl into the tub. He splashes and plays and NEVER wants to get out. But when it comes time to get out of the tub, you just have to stick a rubber duck in each of his hands and he is totally happy.
He loves his brother and sister. No one can make Tucker laugh like his older brother. Tanner knows just what to do to make Tucker laugh. It's so adorable. But Tucker also loves playing with Bailey. Well not really playing with her, but playing near her.
Tucker gets so excited when his Daddy comes home. At that time of night Tucker is usually in his high chair while I make dinner, but when he sees his Dad he flips out. He starts saying "Dada" over and over and wiggling all around trying to get his attention. Chris loves it
But my favorite thing Tucker does right now happens when I get him out of his crib. He reaches for me and when I pick him up he says "mama" and lays his head on my shoulder. I love it so much.
He's such a big sweetheart.

We are so grateful for the year we've had and how much laughter and fun Tucker has brought into our home. Happy Birthday to our sweet Tucker. 

Come one, Come All to Tucker's Circus Birthday

I can hardly believe its been almost a year since our sweet little Tucker entered our world. We celebrated his first birthday tonight with friends and family and it was so much fun!

We had a circus party for Tucker and I love the way it came together. 

I seriously love this boy and all his smiles. He is the happiest baby so I wanted to pick a theme that described his fun/happy personality. A carnival/circus party seemed like a great fit so I started putting it together and Tucker was a fan of the final outcome. Of course, Tucker isn't hard to please but I still think he had a great time. 

Here are some decoration/food pics. 

My amazing husband helped me build the frame for the canopy. He's pretty awesome like that. 

Then I made the canopy and everything else fell into place. 

I really love this theme! I love the way the party came together

For dinner we served all our favorite circus foods, hot dogs, circus peanuts, cotton candy and popcorn. 

The circus peanuts were a favorite with the kids. 

I bought 40 hot dogs and only two were left at the end of the night. We had a great turnout and the hot dogs were thoroughly enjoyed. Plus I got to reuse the hot dog warmer I had bought a couple years ago. The popcorn popper was a new purchase and I love it. It looked so cute on the table and it worked great. 

I think the biggest hit of the night were the cotton candy push pops. 

For Tucker's smash cake, I made him a small two layer cake. I love the way it turned out and Tucker loved it too. 

View of the top of the cake

For everyone else  I made cupcakes. These were served in one of my favorite party decorations- the Ferris wheel cupcake stands. 

Close-up of the cupcakes, topped with animal crackers

We had a separate table for drinks. I really love this signage. We served water, lemonade and sodas. 

 I love getting to reuse the things I've bought for previous parties. These glass bottles have been around for almost 3 years now and I use them all the time. Such a good purchase. 

The beverage tub is a new purchase but I see lots and lots chances to use it in the future. 

On to the table settings. I wrapped the extra plastic ware with napkins and tickets. Honestly I put tickets on anything I  could, I love the look they give things. 

Here are the table settings- jar of peanuts, container of popcorn, balloons and tickets scattered around. 

the place settings were pretty simple, but I love the tickets holding the fork and spoon in place. 

Big picture of the tables. I love having the neighborhood clubhouse to host the parties. It takes away the stress of navigating the weather and trying to locate table and chairs to accommodate large crowds. Pretty much- it saves me. 

We had this sign at the front as people walked in. Tanner especially loved this sign. 

This was the treat/favor table. 

This is where the kids came to cash in their tickets for prizes and to get their favor at the end of the night. 

Oh I also had a jar of clown noses for people to wear. 

Again, my husband gets the "most amazing husband of the year" award for putting on a clown nose for a family picture. 

After we ate, we played some games. There was a ring toss game and a duck game. These were so fun. The kids loved getting to win tickets and exchange those tickets for prizes. 

We also had a face painting station where the kids could pick out a design they wanted. 

Oh and this photo prop was so fun. Don't you just love their little faces on those ridiculous bodies. 

I think this guy enjoyed his party and all the attention he got from everyone. Here he is waving at me. Man, this kid melts me!!!

These kids enjoyed their brother's party too. Bailey had been patiently waiting all week to eat cotton candy so she was thrilled when I finally let her have some.

And Tanner rocked the mustache prop. 

After eating and playing games, Tucker got to dig into his cake. 

He wasn't too sure at first and touched it with his fingers first. 

But then he went for the open mouth approach. He just kept sucking on the frosting.  It was so funny. 

Eventually he dug into his cake with both hands and very much enjoyed it!

I love this picture

There is my happy boy all covered in cake. He even tried shoving some in his seat for later. He was grinning at everyone and loving the attention. Gah- I love him!

After we got Tucker cleaned up, we opened presents. Tucker was spoiled rotten and we are very grateful to everyone who came to help us celebrate the birth of this angel baby.  This little boy felt the love!

After presents we gave out the favors and started cleaning up. The party was a success and I think everyone had a great time. I seriously can't believe my baby is turning one in a few more days. It's so crazy! We sure love our little Tucker!