Louis is Two!

I think every parent says this but I can't believe Louis turned two last month!  We had a backyard party for him and due to a large party I did in September, I only had about a week to plan.

I decided on a dinosaur theme.  I made cupcake toppers, dino cake pops and used one of his dinosaur birthday presents as a cake topper.

I also made sugar cookies for people to take away in paper lunch bags.  I used more of the dinosaur toys to put the foot prints in the cookies and sprinkled the tops with cinnamon and sugar.

I printed my banners out with general font and found two cute dinosaur silhouettes.  I used twine for all of my banners and labels.  

It was a cold day so we had a fire and a chili bar.  We had fixings to make chili nachos, fries, baked potatoes, etc.  It was pretty easy and allowed for a variety of foods.

One of the activities was a dino dig.  The kids used paint brushes to dig out dino skeletons and each took one home in their party bags.  Louis is still playing with this.  It's a good way to use his water table year-round.

I did a photo booth again but it wasn't as cute as last year.  I didn't have time to make custom dino masks so I just ordered some online.  I used a few of my monster mouths from last year too.  I send each family their pic with the Thank You cards.

It was fun to invite his little friends this year.  We scaled back on out-of-town family so they wouldn't feel obligated to make the trip.  Plus when the parties get too big I think the focus isn't on the birthday boy.

He got a lot of great gifts after blowing out his candle.  I was happy with his present opening manners.

 
Slugger is one of his new bedtime pals.

He relaxed for a while after the guests left.

We played with his balloons later that night so we could keep enjoying the fire.

My mom made this dino hoodie.  I found easy DIY patterns online.

He wasn't sure what to think when a balloon got away.

 It was a great day.  I kept myself busy but once I was rocking him for his nap I started sobbing.  When this happens he looks at me like, "what the heck is wrong with you?"  I just love him and feel so lucky to have a sweet and healthy little guy.  I guess every birthday will be bittersweet for me.  I thought I was a cry baby before I had a kid but it just gets worse.  Poor Joe.

Review of Summer's End

Here is an update on what we have been up to since I took my blogging break.  

Joe finished the window seat for Louis' toys.  My rule is all toys have to fit in the seat (a lot of toys will fit) with the exception of his tent and outdoor toys.  I'd rather Louis have a few toys that he actually plays with instead of so many he forgets about half of them.  

We took Louis to two Royal's games.  He was hooked after the first one.  He loves Slugger, watches most of the game and one of his favorite bedtime songs is now, "Take Me Out to The Ball Game". 

Bridget and Louis 

He is equally obsessed with the Wildcats.  Daily he does Willy's KSU cheer and also requests the KSU fight song at bedtime.  He has learned the words to both of his new favorite songs.   

He has also learned to sing ABC's and point out almost all of the letters in the alphabet.  I worked with him on this but can't take all the credit.  Apparently the PBS show Super Why is a more enjoyable way for him to learn his letters.  

I found out that the weather and my lack of green thumb made gardening difficult but I got a few things to grow.  Next year I will try a smaller variety of plants. 

We took a train ride. 

Ate our way through 20 countries at the Ethnic Festival and Louis got stamps for his passport.

Went to a Mr. Stinky Feet concert at the library.

We did some babysitting for friends which is always fun for Louis.  

Baby Landon

Aiden

And sadly we put our other dog, Solomon, to sleep.  He was doing pretty good with Louis and I was able to have him out most of the time with close supervision.  One night we were all in the family room and Louis ran by Solomon and the dog snapped.  It was terrifying.  I know Solomon was just giving Louis a warning because Louis' injuries were not severe.  But there was still blood and tears.  You can imagine what a nip from a Great Dane's mouth looks like.  It was really sad and we miss the dogs but a huge weight was lifted and we are happy that Louis is safe.  That's all that really matters.  

A few more pics of Louis being silly.

Bad Hair Day

I'm back!  Yes, I was on a little hiatus for a while but I had a good reason...

I got pregnant.  And SICK.  And TIRED.  And it happened a month prior to my scheduled "trying for #2" date.  I kept telling myself to be thankful.  Some people have a hard time getting pregnant, etc. so stop being a brat.  Yes, now I am thankful and glad to be past the 15 week mark when I finally started feeling good.  But for a while it was rough.  Poor Louis.  He had a lot of TV time while I napped on the couch.  At least it was PBS, right? 

I'll update on what we have been up to with Louis since I last posted around the 4th.  But for now I'm going to post about our trip to San Diego. 

My best friend, Melissa, got married in July and I was honored to be a bridesmaid.  

I had been looking forward to this wedding for months!!  One last trip without Louis where Joe and I could party with great friends in beautiful San Diego before we tried to expand our family.  Well, as I mentioned before I found out I was pregnant ahead of schedule so I was 6 weeks pregnant for the trip.  SAD.  No wine, no champagne toasts, no spray tan, a sober speech at the rehearsal dinner.  Poor me.

  

The first night we had dinner with our friends Kim & Bill after meeting the happy couple for drinks at a rooftop restaurant.  We went for a drink after dinner so I could watch them really enjoy those martinis.

I was excited that Joe booked a B&B in Little Italy for the first night.  

But our view from the wedding hotel was even better!

The rehearsal dinner was at a cute Italian place in Little Italy.  The food was great but I really wanted the wine.  Especially because I gave a little speech about Melissa.  And also because as everyone else had more and more wine I seemed to become more and more sober.

Fellow Bridesmaids & best friends.

Maid of Honor and beautiful bride.

Me with the husband.

Well, since I wasn't going to be drinking at the wedding, my saving grace was that we were getting our hair and make-up done.  This had been a success for me at Kim's wedding the year before so I was ready to look super hot.  I was a little disappointed that doctor's orders kept me from getting a spray tan but I was confident hair & make-up would make me look amazing.

I should mention my ONE request for hair was to make it look like I had a TON of it.  The bride's request was all of our hair to be down with curls.  No problem, right?

WRONG.  

There were two hair stylists.  They didn't have any trouble with anyone elses hair but after a coffee break they came back with a plan for my hair.  And here it is...

Is that a weave?  Nope.  It's my hair sprayed to the max with snake curls.  Does it look like I have a TON of hair?  I'll let you be the judge.  And this picture was taken after the professional ones with us girls at the harbor.  

I broke the news to Melissa the next day that I probably ruined those pics.  Luckily, she was in wedding day bliss and looked gorgeous so she hadn't noticed how terrible I looked.  

In case you didn't get a good enough look here is a close up.  This will be the only time I post a horrible pic of myself so enjoy!

The other bridesmaids and I brushed it out a little in secret so it looked better by the ceremony.  

It really was a great wedding.  The dance floor was packed the whole time and I got to see an amazing person marry her best friend.  

Some of my favorite people at the reception!

Brunch the next morning.

My favorite ladies!

Married couple celebrating pool side after brunch.

One last shot on our balcony before we made the trip home.

Love ya, Melissa!  Thanks for a great time and the honor of being a part of your day!