Hattie's First Birthday Party

Did I forget to post pictures of Hattie's first birthday bash?  Yes, I did.  Shameful.
We had a high-flying, Hot Air Ballon, time celebrating the her year.
Beautiful celebration for THE most beautiful and sweet girl I know.

Liam's Third Baseball Party

About six months ago, I asked you what type of party you wanted for your birthday.  And you very quickly responded: "Baseball Party."  This coming from a kid who had never watched baseball and maybe had played three times EVER before.  I thought that you would ditch "baseball" for one of your current obsessions {basketball, monster trucks, bugs, swimming, Tinkerbell--no, I am not kidding with the last one}, but you stayed consistent with the Baseball theme. 

What do you do for a three year old's baseball party?

We sent real baseball invites.

We had everyone autograph the game ball to remember who came to celebrate with you.

 You choose your team captains, and team lineups.

And then, we PLAYED BALL!

Happy Third, Liam!

Happy Birthday, Liam.  Three Years Old!

On your birthday, you had quite a few things you wanted to check off your list {Mommy put the nap on there}:

And we did them all!

You started off your morning with a surprise {see photo below}.  The intent was for you to bust through like a superhero; however, you were more than a little disoriented, and just asked me to take them off so you could go down for breakfast:)

Your first item on your "Birthday Bucket List" was a pancake breakfast.  After you gobbled that down, we went on a Mommy-Liam date.  We had a really great time spending oodles of coins at the arcade at Sunsplash (you won a TON of tickets on this ball game), to testing out the drums and guitars at Guitar Center, and then lunch with Dad.  All throughout our date, I kept thinking how grown up you were acting.  It was like you were a boy, not a toddler....and you had grown up overnight.

We ended our day on the lake with the Kratz fam bam.  You were a stud on the board and the tube {see picture below}. You are going to make me soooooooo nervous with your "no fear" attitude someday soon.

Thank you for giving your daddy and I the most fun, joyful, sweet yet crazy years of our lives!

*party pictures to be posted separately

Golden Birthday in Napa

Here's the situation: My little sister Nicole celebrates her golden birthday this year--25 on the 25th of July.  My momma likes to plan a girls-getaway for our 25th birthdays.  A girls-getaway on July 25th might be kinda tough with a little boy relying on me for survival and nourishment.

Here's the solution: Early girls-getaway to Napa!  We celebrated over a month early, but I am so glad that we were able to make it happen.  What is better than a weekend of beautiful women, beautiful places, amazing food, relaxing by the pool and massages at the spa?  

Happy early birthday Nicole!

the four pics above: Rutherford Hill Winery

the three pics above: Opus One Winery

above: Auberge du Solei