Oh, the Places He'll Go!

This past Saturday, my friend Lindsay and I had the privilege of throwing a baby shower for our dear friend Mandy! We had so much fun planning a Dr. Seuss themed shower for our principal friend...it seemed like the perfect idea for a fellow literacy lover!! The colors were adorable and the cute ideas endless!

We had a great turn out of family and friends and we sure hope Mandy and baby boy felt incredibly loved and supported! We hosted it at Mandy's house because she has the perfect space for a larger party and it ended up being a great idea because then she didn't have to load up and haul all of her amazing gifts home...they were already there!

the invite

Mandy with her hostesses

Of course we had to take a belly shot! From largest to smallest- I'm due December 16th, Mandy is due Deember 19th, and Lindsay is due March 4th! She finds out what she's having this Thursday!

When we were planning the shower I searched online for ideas and LOVED looking at blogs that had tons of photos of all the little details from the parties they've hosted. It really helped us come up with some creative touches for our own shower! Here are a bunch of pics from the day...

I found this online, printed it, and framed it for Mandy and the baby's nursery! LOVE what it says!

Didn't these banners turn out adorable?

Oh Joy! It's a boy!

Swedish Fish

We put Dr. Seuss books all around to add to the decor!

I saw this great idea on another blog too...hanging air filled balloons upside down from the lighting fixture over the food table! Thought it turned out super cute!

The plates matched our theme perfectly!

The yummy food! We did brunch foods which were super simple and easy to prepare! Thanks to everyone who helped out by making a dish to share!

And we had cupcakes for dessert!

red velvet with cream cheese frosting

After eating, it was time for gifts and games...

Mandy got SO many cute outfits and necessities for their little one.

We played "The Price is Right" and even found Dr. Seuss pencils and markers, for game playing, in the Dollar Section at Target!

Guests totaling up their prices! The winner was the closest to the total price without going over! And only 1 person did not go over...automatic winner! Ha!

the prizes

Then we played this Match Game...a baby shower favorite! The categories were: Things in a Diaper Bag, Baby Boy Names that start with B, Baby Foods, and Things you need for Baby Bath Time!

These 2 ladies are both incredible Grandmas and did great at this game! They made a lot of matches! You can tell they spend a lot of time with babies!

And finally, on the way out guests got to take home these little fishy treats as a thank you for blessing us with their presence!

yummy iced sugar cookies

And there you have it...it was so much fun to spoil Mandy for the day! And we can not wait to meet her little boy in just 2 short months!

Wedding Weekend

Last weekend we had the privilege of celebrating the marriage of our friend D.J. Van Eps and his beautiful bride, Mariah! Mark was an usher for the wedding and also sang in the ceremony. So that meant we had to attend the rehearsal and dinner on Friday evening and the wedding on Saturday....SCORE for us...2 date nights back to back! Oma & Opa watched the boys on Friday night and we hired a babysitter for Saturday! The boys had so much fun both nights and we knew they were in such good hands, so we were free to relax and PARTY!!!!

The rehearsal dinner was downtown at The Old Spaghetti Factory! All of our husbands were in the wedding and Lindsay, Mandy, and I are all pregnant! So we enjoyed a few Shirley Temples together over the weekend! Oh, how a glass of wine would have been so nice, but hey, it's just another couple of months right?!

The day of the wedding it SNOWED!!! It was so cold and dreary, but despite the weather outside, the wedding was absolutely beautiful! D.J. and Mariah have a whirlwind love story and our entire group of friends is just so thrilled that he has met the love of his life! It was a blast celebrating with them!

(And P.S.- Mark sounded awesome singing at the wedding- He sang "Glorious Day" by Casting Crowns and played the guitar! I love hearing him sing and the boys had so much fun watching and listening to him practice for weeks. Heath is his biggest fan and will just sit and watch him sing and clap and clap for him when he's done! And the other day I heard Nolan singing the song to himself while relaxing in the bathtub! LOVE hearing him sing praises to God!)

Since our boys were busy with their wedding duties, our date for the evening was our friend Phil who was in town from Austin, Texas for the wedding. His girlfriend couldn't make it so it worked out perfectly! He supplied us with Kiddie Cocktails and great conversation!

When the wedding party arrived at the reception they hopped off the Party Bus in rare form! Needless to say they had a great time celebrating...and Mark sure kept the party going!

He and Kim shared some cake together!

And he danced up a storm! By the way, this is the ONLY photo I took with D.J. and Mariah in it! What was I thinking? I hardly took any pictures and I didn't even take one of the bride and groom! They both had a rockin' good time on the dance floor! And we even got to bust out D.J.'s signature move with him once or twice!

This photo starts Mark's turn with the camera...Dancin' the night away! (Yes, that's Mark's mom in the background...she was quite the Dancing Queen too!)

"Every day I'm Shufflin'" (Also a favorite song of Nolan's...what can I say, he's got eclectic tastes!)

Dr. Leensvaart...he's got the moves like Jagger, he's got the moves like Jagger, he's got the mooooooooves like Jagger!

As you can tell it was so fun to have some kid free nights with our friends! Ernie and Kim took some great pictures of the weekend too: check them out on their blog- HERE!

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. D.J. Van Eps!

We pray that God blesses you richly with love, health, and happiness over the years!

Bear Down!

Are you ready for some football?

A Monday night party!

The boys and I are gearing up for the Bears-Lions game tonight! As everyone knows...I'm not the BIGGEST sports fan, but I will always cheer for my Chi-town teams! And I LOVE seeing my boys sport their Chicago gear! Although, they are playing the Lions, and having lived in Michigan for 4 years, I also pull for their teams to win. And the Lions are undefeated this year, so we'll see how it goes tonight for the Bears!

This isn't the best photo, but I love how Nolan put his arm around Heath! Heath kept trying to push it down! Ha! He does not like to be held back!

Nolan was in such a silly mood when I was taking these! He was posing so nicely and saying the funniest things, like, "piglets!!!!" and laughing hysterically! He thinks he is quite funny sometimes!

After an unexpectedly snowy Saturday, since then we've had perfect Autumn weather...finally!

We are enjoying Nolan's first day of Fall Break- sleeping in, an Ear Check for Heath (which by the way, his tubes look great!), the gym, and a little play time outside! We are looking forward to the next 2 weeks of no preschool and to some relaxation and doing some fun Fall activities together on my days off!

A quick get-away!

This past weekend we escaped up to our favorite little spot in the foothills: Bo-Zo Farms! We drove up Friday after work with our good pals, the Leensvaarts. We love that this family cabin is just a quick 45 minutes away but when you're there you feel like you're a million miles from the city!

We ordered some Beau Jo's pizza for dinner and enjoyed stuffing our faces and sharing lots of laughs amidst the retro decor!

After dinner we built a campfire...

The boys thought it was pretty cool to snuggle up by the flames!

Heath was mesmerized by the fire! He cuddled up with Mandy and even ended up falling asleep on my lap! It was so warm and cozy!

Mark roasted us some marshmallows!

And we made Smores! Nolan actually liked just the marshmallows the best! Heath was only interested in the chocolate...typical! Myself- I ate 2 whole Smores! Yum! One for me and one for baby, right?!

Nolan showing off his chipmunk cheeks {FULL} of marshmallows!

This is a blurry shot, but Nolan enjoyed snuggling up with his Daddy by the fire, and laughing with the adults! But at one point he said, "Daddy, I'm tired, I think it's time for bed!" He was so excited to spend the night at the cabin for the first time that he even suggested it was bedtime! It was 10 o'clock at this point, so I'm sure he was really exhausted!

The boys slept in the same room, right next door to us. A good test for what's coming next month when we switch Heath into Nolan's room and they share the bunk bed! They both slept great! They woke up about a half an hour earlier than usual, but they woke up laughing and playing together! It was the best sound to wake up to! When I went in to get them up, Nolan was laying in bed belly laughing and Heath was jumping up and down in the Pack 'n Play. I opened the door and Nolan jumped up and said, "Good morning Mommy!" So sweet!

We got up slowly, played some games and trucks, and then ventured outside into the crisp morning air to do a little exploring!

We cooked up a {BIG} delicious breakfast!

And enjoyed eating our pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit out in the fresh mountain air!

Heath LOVED climbing all over and showing off his Mountain Man skills! He also LOVED playing with Moose and Murphy, the Leensvaart's dogs! He LOVES their licks and kisses and patting them!

My handsome guy, with just a {little} dirt on his face!

Lots of Sandbox time!

Silly boy!

And we took our usual "Circle" hike in the afternoon! Nolan loves leading the way!

Running through the meadow!

Looking for the "perfect rock" with Auntie Mandy!

Tired out by the end of the hike...both boys ended up on shoulders! I guess going during nap time wasn't the smartest idea on my part, but they still had a BLAST!

When we got back to the cabin we were {ALL} tuckered out: 2 pregnant women, 2 little boys, 2 pups, and even the 2 big boys! We ate some yummy sandwiches and snacks for lunch and watched a little college football before it was time to head back home!

We drove back in the early evening because Mark had a Bachelor Party to go to. We unpacked and then it was an early bedtime for all...including me! (Well, except for Mark, he was busy winning us some money in Blackhawk and didn't stroll into bed until 2 a.m.! But at least he came home a WINNER, and had fun celebrating D.J. as well!)

We are so incredibly blessed to have this little piece of heaven to escape to! And it was wonderful spending some family time together! We really want to be intentional about slowing down and just being together while we can over these next two months before things really get crazy with the birth of our 3rd boy! It will be here before we know it!

School Photos

Nolan got his school pictures back this week!

And I was very relieved and happy to see this smiling face looking back at me...

Nolan said the photographer said "BANANAS" and that this was really funny and made him smile and laugh! He also told me he got tickled by feathers too! Whatever they did, it worked, and I'm glad he posed nicely! They didn't take the pictures until after recess and snack time, so his hair is a little poofy, but at least his mouth is clean! I ordered this shot and his Class Photo. (On a side note: I DID NOT choose this school themed background! I checked the box for a grey background. But I actually think they turned out kind of funny and sweet like this! Perfect for 3 year old Preschool!)

And here's his class picture. He's got a half smile/half looking at the camera thing going on, but I still love it! How in the world to get 11, 3 and 4 year olds looking and smiling at the same time seems impossible to me! When we got home from school on Monday, Nolan sat down with me and pointed to each child and told me their names! He said, "This is my friend Sam, and this is my friend Quinn." And he did that for each kid! I love that he is having so much fun at school and making so many new friends!

Just for fun I'll include these 2 pics that I did not order! (Shh!) They start 'em young with Senior Portraits! Ha!

Goodbye Summer!

Today is the first day of Fall! And we are ready for all that it brings: mums, pumpkins, playing in the leaves, hoodies & jeans, football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and so much more!

But to say goodbye to summer and to check off one more new experience for Nolan, Mark had a great idea the other night...

get a treat from the ICE CREAM TRUCK!

We heard it's music coming down the street and the boys literally RAN out the door to wave it down outside our house! (Yes, I was THAT mom snapping a picture from the front porch as they made their decision on what to buy!)

And the choice was...

This Spiderman popsicle with gumball eyes! (And let me tell you, have prices gone up since I was little! $3.25 for this bad boy!)

But, it was well worth it!

Nolan LOVED it and scarfed it down in no time!

We let him watch a show and eat his ice cream as a before bed treat!

Lick your lips good!

The ice cream man told us that this was probably his last night out for the season, so we were so glad that we caught him just in time! And that we chose to do this at the END of summer...I don't know if our wallets could have handled the $3 plus dollar goodie each night we heard the happy tunes strolling through our neighborhood! Ha!