Deacon's First Birthday

Well, it sure is busy when you have Deacon's birthday two days after Bentley's! Since Deacon is just 1 and didn't even realize it was his birthday, we didn't go all out with a big party. But, we made sure we still celebrated! We invited all family, but most were away or couldn't make it so we had both sets of grandparents and Tamara and Lee's kids (they were in Jamaica!). It actually made it quite the perfect amount of people! We had a Sunday dinner with everyone which turned out to be so delicious. On that note, Jeff bought a "Traeger" a few months back and we are both in love with it! It's a fancy BBQ, which is really more of a smoker, or a big oven! It burns wood pellets, which can be different flavours, and it makes the food taste SO good. Anyways, Jeff made a delicious cut of beef, and along with some yummy sides it was a perfect dinner. Deacon opened his presents and then we sang to him and let him smash his cake. I had high hopes that he would actually dig in and devour the cake but, just like Bentley, he was terrified and wanted nothing to do with the cake! Ah well, at least I avoided the sugar high he would've had! It was a great evening spent with family and we all really enjoyed a relaxing evening. 
I still can't believe he is already 1 year old! That year seriously flew by! He is the cutest thing in the whole world. Seriously. He melts my heart every day and I couldn't have asked for a better child! He smiles and interacts with anybody, and has no fear going to strangers. He's got the best expressions, and I get tons of comments when I'm out, just about how cute he is. He loves to eat almost anything you give him. He also loves to find the nearest toilet to splash in, climb stairs, and wrestle his sister. He loves music and reading books. He's got 6 little teeth and finally crawls normally now. I just love my little snuggle bug so much!!

Bentley's 3rd Birthday Party

For Bentley's birthday this year we went pretty all out! Originally, it was going to be small, but once Bentley told me she wanted to do the "Frozen" theme, my ideas exploded! 
So, Bentley got to invite 5 friends over and they ate pizza and cake, played games, and got all glammed up! I had Dakota and Ryley come over and help paint all the girls nails, put on Frozen tattoos, lipgloss, and put on an Elsa or Anna dress. They also got crowns, necklaces, bracelets, and hair clips. I managed to find 5 foot baths for them to soak in first off, which made for an adorable picture!! The girls had fun getting all glammed up, and then we took some pictures in photo booth I had made. The activities included melting Anna's frozen hand to get the prizes inside, hot potato (with an Olaf stuffy inside all the wrapping), making Olaf out of marshmallows, throwing snowballs, and musical snowflakes (like musical chairs). There was lots of yummy food too, and the kids had a blast! When I asked Bentley what her favorite part was she said opening presents. She sure got spoiled!!

Bentley is such a sweet girl. She has the best giggle I've ever heard and can always find something to laugh at! She especially loves giggling with her friends and cousins, such a little social being with her peers. She is a great big sister and loves Deacon so much. She is so good at keeping him happy and knowing what he needs. She isn't the best sleeper as she's a little night owl and gets lots of energy in the evening. She loves singing, dancing and reading books. She loves her grandparents - especially Papa's hottub and Grandma Nielson's rice pudding. She is growing up too quickly and is turning into such a beautiful little girl.

2017 - A New Year!

A new year has begun, which means it's time to start blogging again! I am committed to keeping this up frequently now!
Well, life as a mom of 2 is pretty good! I don't find a lot of time for myself, but I really enjoy making my kids and husband happy. I am so lucky to be able to stay at home and watch Bentley and Deacon grow and learn and not have to worry about going to work. Sometimes I may take that for granted, but I really do love the life I live!
Bentley has become a busy little thing. Right now she is taking swimming lessons, dance, loves going to "music makers" (a singing class at the church), sometimes playgym (gymnastics, but we're not in a class), and I have created a joy school type thing which we call "Friday Fun Day."
She loves all of these things, but I think dance may be one of her favorites and I almost die every time I see her with all the other little ballerinas. Seriously, one of the cutest things ever! Except, I don't get to watch the class. There's only one show class where we get to go in for the whole time to see what they've learned, and boy am I excited for that!

Friday Fun Day has become a big hit, and I'm pretty happy that I actually followed through with something I envisioned in my head and it turned out really good! This playgroup/joy school is always at my house, in the basement, but a different person is in charge of doing the activities and snacks each week. So I started it off and then assigned each person a week. It's been so much fun! There are always such great crafts and activities and the kids have a blast with it. There are 12 people a part of it, but not everyone shows up each week. We've taken billions of pictures, but I will just post of few.

Swimming lessons are going well too. We have Deacon and Bentley in the same class actually! So Jeff and I go together with them every Thursday evening. It's really fun to do it together! Bentley has always been pretty scared of swimming, and she has already made some progress and will float on her back in a life jacket. She is getting a more positive attitude about the water. Deacon loves splashing in the water and we're hoping he won't have a problem with swimming. He's pretty chill about it right now!