Caleb's 2nd Birthday Party

Today we had Caleb's 2nd birthday party. I considered a few different themes for it, but he has been so into trains lately that we just had to go with Thomas. Not everyone in the family was able to make it, but we had a very fun time!Caleb's favorite dinner foods are pizza, macaroni & cheese, and grilled cheese. We opted for pizza for his party food.
Caleb is now fully capable of opening presents and took great delight in doing so.We saved the big surprise for last - Bada,Poppy, Aunt Jen, and Uncle Dave gave Caleb a train table. It was quite the hit of the party!

After giving the kids ample play time with all of the new presents, we dug into the Thomas cake.
Oh, sweet Caleb... you bring us so much joy and laughter. We are so grateful to God that you are in our family. We love you.

Birthday party prep

Last night I baked several dozen cutout cookies for Caleb's upcoming birthday party. This morning the kids actually cooperated while I decorated them. As always, Lillian and Caleb each got to "help" a little too.
I also crafted Caleb's Thomas the train cake. It was not too stressful and a lot of fun!I'll post the final picture tomorrow, but here is a sneak peak of Thomas hiding out in my refrigerator!

Messy eaters

A cute yet brief moment

The kids were looking absolutely adorable holding Lillian's twin baby dolls, Oliver and Olivia. That is, until Caleb threw Oliver to the ground after the picture was taken.

More fun at the mall

My oh my, how our kids love to play!

Blueberry picking

Today we made our first trip blueberry picking for the summer - I'm pretty sure it won't be our last!

Happy Birthday Caleb!!

Since Dan and I had to be gone all afternoon and evening yesterday for the Faster Pastor event, we devoted today to celebrating his birthday. He slept in later than usual this morning, so we snuck into his room to see him wake up.We brought him out into the living room and gave him his first present - a Toy Story tricycle!
He immediately sat down and gave it a try.
After playing with the tricycle for a little while we brought Caleb out into the garage for his second birthday surprise.Later on we went to Red Robin for lunch. Caleb and Lillian thoroughly enjoyed their macaroni & cheese and their balloons.We went home and had birthday ice cream - one of Caleb's favorites!
After naps we spent the evening at the mall. We started with free pizza and the kids first trip on the carousel. They LOVED it!We let the kids play on the other toys for a bit and then made our way to Barnes & Noble for Caleb's free birthday cookie and playtime with the Thomas train table.Finally, we stopped at the treehouse for a while so the kids could run around and play.
We had such a fun evening and we decided that the mall is a 2-year old's wonderland! Happy Birthday, Caleb James, we love you so much!

Faster Pastor

A few months ago Dan was asked to head up a band for an event called The Faster Pastor Challenge. Pastors from 60 area churches raced cars at the Berlin Raceway. Dan and I and the rest of the band played music before and in between each of the races. It was fun performing in a different type of venue and being able to watch the races from the center of the track. Our pastor even raced!Yes, there were a few crashes over the course of the night.
The only bummer about the event is that it took place on Caleb's birthday! We decided since we would have to be gone for the entire afternoon and evening that we would wait and celebrate his birthday on Friday instead. Happy 2nd Birthday Caleb! We can't wait to celebrate tomorrow!

Swing set

For a while Dan and I have been talking about getting a swing set for the kids. We've debated about getting a wooden vs. plastic swing set and new vs. used. A good deal popped up on Craigslist over the weekend and we ended up purchasing a used plastic set. It won't be big enough for the kids forever, but hopefully we can use it for a few years and then pass it on to someone else. The kids have already been having a lot of fun on it!

A new play area

Today Dan and I had some errands to run at a mall that we don't often go to. The kids were more than happy to explore a new play area!

Swim time at Grandma & Papa's house

As mentioned earlier, my parents are currently away from home. We went over to their house anyway and took the kids swimming in their pool. It has been quite hot lately, so it was the perfect weather for swimming!Afterward the kids had fun playing in the driveway too.

Lillian & Caleb's first sleepover

Last night Dan provided the music for a wedding of some friends from church. My parents had been planning to watch the kids for us, but my grandpa's wife's health has been failing and they ended up making a last minute trip out of state to spend time with them. We checked with our babysitters but they were not available. Friends of ours had recently offered to let the kids come over for a sleepover sometime, so we took them up on their offer. Their kids are very close in age to ours and all four of them had a super fun time! They didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but I suppose that's part of the rule of a sleepover, right? We picked up the kids this morning and went out to breakfast to celebrate their latest accomplishment. Thank you Jenna and Scott!!