The Nursery Project Begins...

The last couple weeks I started feeling really overwhelmed with the fact that we didn't have a room to put the new baby in.  His nursery was still Case's playroom/piano room.  I couldn't take it.  Wayne calls it nesting... I think it is a little early for that.  I call it being smart with the little time before this baby comes, which will go SUPER fast with Christmas right around the corner.  Not only did I need a space for this baby but I needed to get it decorated and ready.

When I was pregnant with Case his room was already the nursery because it had been painted and ready for Joshua and Caleb so I never felt the same urgency.  He had a space before he was even concieved.

We got a lot done during this long weekend and I know Wayne spent it doing exactly what he wanted... HA!  He was a trooper though and never complained (much).  The transition from playroom to blank slate is now done.  The only thing left in his room is the wine cellar (it's really just a cooler but I think that might be similar to the difference between Target and /Tar-shay/... somehow "cellar" sounds way better!).  Wayne, after much conversation and coaxing agreed to get rid of the wine cellar so that we can keep this baby... it was a tough decision for him:-)  We've put it (the wine cellar... not the baby) on Craigslist and we're just waiting for a buyer.

Here's a look at the room pre-transition

And here is an embarrassing and unorganized look at the room during the transition phase... notice the empty place where the piano once sat.  

I'd share with you a picture of what the office/craft area have become but there's no longer room for me to stand and hold a camera at the same time because it is now the office/craft area/piano room/playroom area.  Who knew you could do SO much with a 11 x 8.5 room... well turns out you can't, at least not if you still want to be able to breathe.  I'm sure we're breaking all kinds of decorator rules, not to mention the heart attack our Realtor will have if we ever happen to hear from her again.  I'm exaggerating... but not as much as I'd like to be.  The loft really didn't turn out quite as bad as I thought it would and I'm just really grateful to have the bedroom emptied for... I'm just gonna say it... Ty.  I reserve the right to change his name down the road but Ty is the winning name right now and I need to call him something so there it is.

Now we decorate.  I have to say that I don't hate saying goodbye to the last white room in our house!  I LOVE the thought of decorating an empty white room but I'd never do it for someone else because Wayne and I are usually the only ones that like it.  I guess that's ok since we're the ones living in it!  My house has a lot of striped rooms, both horizontal and vertical and I wanted to do something different.  I found several rooms that I liked on the internet.  Here are some of my favorites...

This was my favorite but Wayne almost fell over when I suggested it.  I tried to explain that it is just a little tape... he wasn't havin' it!  

I decided to steal the checkerboard wall (below) and run with it.  We aren't capable of choosing neutral colors (our Realtor loves us) so I had to come up with a different color scheme, although I do like this one.    I love navy blue and green together so I looked for nursery themes that followed.  

 Here were some other similar examples.  

And here is the nursery set that helped me decide on the colors

We're only using bits and pieces of it in Ty's room

Next came the math portion.  It seems like an easy enough task to plan this out on paper but making sure the squares are exactly the right size for your wall isn't as easy as it sounds.  Here is what I drew up to work from...

Wayne reluctantly agreed to do the taping last night so this is where I will leave you until we get motivated with the roller and paintbrush, which isn't going to be tonight because I'm exhausted...

Stroller Blanket

My friend Sarah or Liam's Mom, as she's probably referred to most of the time.  Isn't that what happens once you have kids?  You're identity goes out the window and you're now so and so's mom.  Anyway, she has been so great to help me get my sewing machine out and working.  Thanks to her I no longer live in fear of threading my machine, now winding the bobbin is another story but I'll get there.

I've mentioned her many times before because she is SO crafty and talented.  She has an amazing Etsy shop, Aspire to Be.  She makes the cutest baby gifts, perfect for a baby shower!  The best part is that her prices are VERY reasonable!  She always seems to be creating new things.  Her latest is a stroller blanket (also works in a car seat).  She's giving one away on her blog, Growing on Gettysburg,  for free.  It looks SO cute and VERY functional!  Head on over to enter to win one for your little one!

23 Weeks

This is my weekly pregnancy update. For details on the story behind these updates you can visit my first one here.

Really starting to panic about Baby J's room, which is still Case's playroom.  Wayne has a long weekend because of Thanksgiving, which is a HUGE treat for Case and me.  We love having Daddy at home!  I think we're going to use this time to start working on transitioning the playroom to the nursery.  UGHHH!  The thought overwhelms me!!!  In order to transition you have to move things from one place and they're going to need a new home, of which we are out of!  We have WAY too much stuff and not enough space!!!  Wayne's probably going to "get called into the office" before the weekend is over!

Pregnancy Play-by-play

How Far Along: 23 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a Papaya.  I guess we stay with Papaya for a few weeks now.  

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 7 I can't even think about this right now.  I'm sure it'll get better after Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Maternity Clothes: Maternity jeans and T-shirt, "The Suit" or sweatpants and some maternity shirts pretty much take care of my wardrobe these days.  You all will be happy to know that my mom, out of pity or being tired of my wardrobe, not sure which, has bought me a new coat and some more shirts and workout pants.  LOVE HER!!!

Gender: BOY!!! So our top name choice right now is Ty.  Not Tyler... just Ty.  I think Wayne is still searching for other names though so we'll see if that sticks or not.  Thoughts?  Suggestions?

Movement: Baby J (can't call him Ty until I know for sure) has been moving a lot today and they've been good strong movements!  I LOVE being pregnant!!!!

Sleep:  Between work and Case teething, just TRY to stop me from sleeping!  

Cravings: Hmmm... I've eaten fish sticks several times this week but I think that stems more from feeling guilty for not getting enough protein than from cravings.  I've also had my share of chocolate and caffeine free Pepsi (although I'd prefer Coke).

Symptoms: Not much this week that is coming to mind right now.  I would say now until the end is my favorite part of pregnancy!!!

Best moment this week:  Doctor appointment on Friday.  I always love seeing my OB and hearing that everything is going great!  Heartbeat was about 159 bpm.  LOVE THAT SOUND!

Oreo Turkey's

I told you the Oreo Turkey's might be worthy of their own post and here we are.   This is what they were supposed to look like...

Here's mine (with Mom's help... I know she'd hate it if I didn't give her credit :)...

Sadly I think this was the best one out of the bunch or gaggle or whatever a bunch of turkey's is called?

Here's a side by side view because I'm sure it is hard to tell whose is whose (struggling with the grammar lesson on who's and whose... good thing I'm not teaching anymore)...

In our defense, if you follow their directions it doesn't even call for yellow icing so somebody explain to me how they made that out of white icing, chocolate icing and red food coloring.  I mean really?  At least give us a complete ingredient list.  I'm just sure they would have looked just like the picture if we had been given complete information.

I got the idea for these from one of my old teacher friends, who had posted the link on her Facebook wall.  Then she posted pictures of her attempt.  At first I thought, oh that's so cute she let her kids help her.  Well I can honestly say now that I hope she DIDN'T let her kids help and that those were just her attempt because the work of these two adults looks just like them!

Just for laughs here's one more look at our "no kids were involved" turkey's.  I think the one on the bottom left was hit.  TURKEY DOWN!!!

The good news is that ours will taste just like theirs!!!

Jello Disaster

I know I should be using this time to write my 23 week post but the strawberry Jello disaster is all I can think about right now.  I'm in charge of desserts for tomorrow (Thanksgiving for those of you that don't live here).  I'm making apple cream pie, strawberry pretzel dessert, pumpkin pie, chocolate cake, and if I get really motivated, little turkeys made from Oreos and candy corn (I'm sure this will be its own disaster worthy of its own post).  All of this would be fine except Case is teething and let me just say that the world is clearly supposed to stop for him!  He has been SO fussy... this might be an understatement.  If I try to accomplish anything that doesn't involve him then he stands and tugs at my pant-leg or shirt, whatever he can get a hold of, and either all out cries or whines like you wouldn't believe.  I'm not trying to complain about this because I know his gums are really hurting, I'm just trying to explain how much more complicated baking can be with a 24 pound, whining growth connected to your leg.  

I managed to get the chocolate cake baked before his nap, 24 pound growth and all.  That was all I accomplished.  Once naptime hit I kicked it into high gear.  I got the apple pie baked and the strawberry dessert started.  The pretzel crust was done and I got the whipped cream/cream cheese layer mixed and on the crust.  This dessert also calls for strawberry Jello.  You have to let it set up some in the bowl before pouring it on top of the other two layers.  I was getting pretty cocky by this point... very impressed with all that I had accomplished.  I had the Jello in the fridge and was just putting the 13x9 pan in, which housed the other two layers of this dessert.  Everyone stop here and think about your own fridge for a second.  Do you automatically have room for a 13x9 pan or would things have to be rearranged?  Please just tell me they would need to be rearranged to make me feel better!  I shifted a few things around and thought I had room so I set the pan down, which pushed the Jello to the back, only it didn't stop there.  Instead it tipped so red jello was pouring down the back of my fridge.  Now if you want to recreate this just for fun, make sure when the Jello tips that it is on the same side as the hose for the water in the door because the only way to make this authentic is to make sure that the coiled and zip-tied hose is covered in the Jello as well.  

I immediately wanted to blame my husband for this mess because it was clearly his fault (yes I know he is at work).  He is under some delusion that the Crystal Light Pitcher Fairy comes in the middle of the night to refill empty pitchers pitchers because when he pours the last glass the pitcher still goes back in the fridge.  Now I have seen this empty pitcher in the back of the fridge about a 100 times but chose to do nothing about it, which means I can no longer blame him.  Instead I just have to suck it up and figure out how to clean this mess up.  My kitchen was already a mess from all the cooking so taking shelves out and drawers (yes more than one because this couldn't have happened on the bottom shelf) is quite the challenge.  I did eventually get everything cleaned up, well that's not entirely true.  That water hose is never going to be the same but everything else is back to normal... actually cleaner than normal.  God knew that I couldn't take much more because Case took an extra long nap waking up just as I finished the clean up process.  

How am I writing this you  ask?  Well my weird kid, just on the other side of this wall, didn't want to get out of his crib.  He wanted to stay in it and play after his nap.  So he is walking back and forth in his crib, playing with his stuffed animals, and switching between his 7 pacifiers... I think I might even hear him jumping up and down or something.  At this point if he is happy, then I am happy.   

Oh what a day and it isn't even 2:00 yet!

The Gift of Case's Laughter

Case has the best personality!  I love how he gets so worked up when Daddy chase's him or he finds something funny.  He can't contain his laughter.  It quickly turns into a squeal.  The sound of his laughter reminds me everyday of how truly blessed Wayne and I are that God chose us to be Case's parents.  We clearly aren't worthy of this amazing gift but I pray that God will give us the wisdom to be the best parents we can be and to continue to enjoy each and every moment with Case.

Here's a glimpse at the fun laughter of our little guy while Daddy is playing with him in the bathtub...

In looking back at the videos I've captured of him, I found quite a few of him laughing.  It might be time for me to put together a montage of all of them... I'll just put that on my to-do list.  Look for it to be posted sometime before his 16th birthday I hope!

Case's 12 Month Pictures

Case had his 12 month pictures taken by Sarah with Bliss Photography.  It was so much fun because Sarah and I used to work together in a before and after school program but I hadn't seen her in years.  It was fun to catch up and see how well she was doing.  We LOVE the pictures.

You can see the rest of them here.

Thankful Thursday

Whitney, from The Glamorous Life of a Housewife blog gave me a great reminder this morning.  Be thankful.  I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon, because that's what I do, and make today a "Thankful Thursday" post.

1. My Savior and His sacrifice!
2. My husband and the way he loves me.
3. Case and the absolute joy he has brought into our life.
4. Joshua and Caleb - for all that they taught me.
5. Pregnancy and the kicks from Baby J that I'm feeling more and more.
6. My husband's job, which (by God's Grace) continues to provide all that our family needs and allows me to stay at home with Case.
7. My job that gives me the flexibility to stay home but still make some extra money.
8. My house... yes I know I complain about it a lot and really want to move but I am grateful for it.  I have a roof over my head and my family is warm.
9. My parents - For all of the sacrifices they've made for me and for my family.
10. Friends that keep me entertained and laughing.

This list could go on and on because my life is absolutely full of blessings.  I praise God for each and every one of them and all glory belongs to Him!

22 Weeks

This is my weekly pregnancy update. For details on the story behind these updates you can visit my first one here.

It's been a busy week.  That should explain my tardiness in getting this post done.  I've been out in the working world some over the last two weeks.  It is amazing how my Facebook and blogging time suffers by such an inconvenience (three tries to spell this word... it was so bad I had to keep tweaking the spelling just to get spell check to "suggest" the right word).     Don't get me wrong I don't sit and do this stuff all day when I'm home with Case but I do manage to sneak a few minutes in here and there when Case is napping or entertaining himself.  

Speaking of entertaining himself... not much of that happening this week either.  I think my little two teeth one year old is FINALLY going to get some teeth on top... that is if they ever stop bugging him and poke through.  He has been extra fussy but that has it's perks.  I've gotten some extra snuggle time.  Sometimes he just wants to sit on my lap and he's happy.  Everything has a bright side!  

Pregnancy Play-by-play

How Far Along: 22 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a Papaya, which struck me funny because I learned from my insurance company that you aren't supposed to eat papaya when you're pregnant.  I had never heard this but a nurse from Anthem calls me once a month to check in and give me the chance to ask questions and she told me.  I was surprised by this because I was pretty sure I had read every single do and don't during pregnancy that the internet had to offer when I was pregnant with Case.  

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 5.5 - UGHHH!  That's all I can say.  I know I've earned each and every pound but it is getting harder and harder to slow it down!  I really want to take full advantage of this increased metabolism but apparently it just makes me hungrier :-(  Keeping my eye on baby being healthy and I'll deal with me once baby is safely in my arms and out of my belly.  

Maternity Clothes: Maternity jeans and T-shirt, "The Suit" or sweatpants and some maternity shirts pretty much take care of my wardrobe these days.  

Gender: BOY!!! We're officially playing the name game so feel free to share your suggestions.  I thought we had it pretty well narrowed down but Wayne informed me that we in fact do NOT have it narrowed down so a little help would be great!

Movement: Definitely feeling more this week!  :-)

Sleep:  Between work and Case teething, just TRY to stop me from sleeping!  

Cravings: I pretty much just want chocolate, cheese pizza, and fountain Cokes.  

Symptoms: Not much this week that is coming to mind right now.  I would say now until the end is my favorite part of pregnancy!!!

Best Moment this week:  Feeling the baby move on a more regular basis!

A quick comparison from where I started to where I am :-)

Christmas Cards

I love Facebook!  One of my favorite things about it is that you can get real answers to questions from real people that you know quickly.  A couple weeks ago I posted looking for the best site to order photo prints from.  I got several responses and one that came up over and over again was Shutterfly.  I've never used Shutterfly before but I am looking for a new photo site "home".  The main reason I needed this info is because I really need to get some of Case's pictures printed so that if anything every happened to our backup drive or our backup's backup (yes we are VERY careful) I wouldn't be completely devastated.  The other thing I would really like to get are some of his photos turned into wall art like these.  I LOVE them!  

The next order of business is Christmas cards.  Now we aren't a consistent Christmas card family but I've always wanted to be!  Now that we have a kid people might actually be interested in pictures and possibly, if I get SUPER motivated, a newsletter.  What's more newsworthy than Case's first year and another baby on the way???  

Shutterfly has some great Christmas cards that you can have personalized with your photos like these and if you don't find what you're looking for there you surely will here.   

Here are my favorites...

I love the colors on this one!

 I like that this one has a picture that could be cut out and put in a frame.

  

I love that this one focuses on blessings and miracles because isn't that what Christmas is truly about?

  I like the non-traditional colors in this one!

These next two are a great alternative to the newsletter.  Maybe this would be a good start for me this year. 

Now I just need to make a decision!  Stay tuned for what I end up picking... I'm sure you are all on the edge of your seat!

First Haircut

On November 10, 2010 Case finally got his hair taken care of.  We went to Cookie Cutters.  How did it go, you ask?  Well let's just say Case didn't make his next appointment on the way out!  You'll be happy to know that none of the tears came from Mommy at this haircut though (I probably should have gotten my own balloon at the end... or perhaps something stronger).  The lady that cut his hair had him pretty much totally done in a very short amount of time, maybe 5 minutes.  She was like "Edwina Scissorhands" or something.

*Despite the screaming and tears, I can assure you that no babies were harmed in the making of this video!

52 Pictures In A Year

I wanted this post to be titled "365 Pictures In A Year" but I only made it to about day 9 before I fell apart and switched to weekly pictures.  I'm such a slacker!  I'm sure it will be easier to keep up with the next one...LOL!  So here is a weekly glimpse at our little man over the past 52 weeks...

Bed Head

So Case's hair has really been growing out in the back especially.  Now when I say growing out I don't mean filling in, I just mean getting longer.  He's starting to look like he's got Daddy's miniature mullet from high school.  I really don't want to become one of those parents who missed the haircut window on their kids.  You know the ones... they're in denial that their kid needs a haircut because it is just another step towards them growing up.  Well I am totally in denial and definitely want the growing up to slow down but after I found a half off coupon to Cookie Cutters in my inbox I realized it might be time.

The deal is for Daddy and Baby to get their haircut for only $14.  You can't beat that and since I usually cut Wayne's hair it will give me a break too.  Everybody wins!  I don't know what kind of a haircut an adult gets at Cookie Cutters but what better person to find out on than Wayne?  I wonder if they ask the adults NOT to sit still there so that they can give you a good cut.

As if the coupon and mini-mullet weren't incentive enough to make the appointment, I decided to document Case's extreme bed head in the morning now.  Anyone whose hair looks like this in the morning might need to come to terms with the need for a haircut.

You can't really see the "bed head" in this one but he had just woken up and looked so cute so I had to share because... yes, I am one of those parents!

 How's this for "bed head"?

 And this?

Yes, I know... it is time to pick up the phone and make the call... I'm on it!

21 Weeks!!!

This is my weekly pregnancy update. For details on the story behind these updates you can visit my first one here.

We made it to our safety zone.  Again, I am well aware that no pregnancy is truly safe until you are holding a healthy baby in your arms instead of your belly, and then a whole new set of worries sets in but this is our milestone.  Wayne and I are SO very appreciative of all the prayers and sweet comments helping us get to this point.  

Now is when I feel like I can really start thinking about things like where I will put this baby once it is no longer living inside of me.  At this point it will be in an infant carrier still attached to my stomach or sleeping in the middle of Case's playroom if I don't start making some arrangements.  

It looks like it might be time to pack up my craft area, which I hate to do but you and I both know I'm not going to have time for crafts anyways (as if I have had time to do much for the last year as it is).  I should probably treat my craft zone like you're supposed to treat clothes in your closet.  If you haven't worn/used it for a year you need to get rid of it... yep that should pretty much take care of 95% of my craft supply.  

Pregnancy Play-by-play

Please tell me you can see this shirt getting tighter and my belly getting bigger in a "pregnant" kind of way... if you see it as anything else you are welcome to keep your comment to yourself :-)   I think I need to start taking these pictures from my head looking down at my belly because I totally look pregnant from that angle but then I see these pictures and all I can do is wonder how much different I look to the rest of the world.  The next time you see me go ahead and get very close to me and look down... I promise I look pregnant then (I'm TOTALLY kidding... if you really did that I would think you were invading my personal space and I probably wouldn't talk to you anymore:-)  

Do you all think I'm weird for WANTING to look pregnant when you hear so many women complaining about looking pregnant?    I guess I just feel like it is such a huge blessing that I want to show the world what God is doing inside of me right now.  The thought that He picked me to carry this baby... that He CHOSE me.. totally overwhelms me with honor and joy!  

How Far Along: 21 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a banana (for some reason last week's cantaloupe reference sounded bigger to me but I guess we're talking length not overall weight).

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +4 pounds - This is what I was afraid of.  I am no longer sick and so here I am... able to eat... all the time!  I'm hoping some of this was water and will go back down some but that probably means I need to pretend I'm not having these sweet cravings for cookies and Coke.  

Maternity Clothes: Maternity jeans and T-shirt, "The Suit" or sweatpants and some maternity shirts pretty much take care of my wardrobe these days.  I walked into Motherhood Maternity with my mom over the weekend and after taking one look at their "plus-size" section and the pricetags associated with it we quickly walked out.  I'm not sure what I'll do as I get farther into this pregnancy... I'm gonna have to get REAL creative!

Gender: BOY!!! We're officially playing the name game so feel free to share your suggestions.

Movement: I'm feeling more and more movement but not as much as I'd like... who knew this whole pregnancy thing wouldn't work on my timetable!  :-)

Sleep: I think I've finally recovered from Case's birthday party because I'm not quite as tired as I was... any day now I'm sure that 2nd trimester "burst of energy" they talk about will kick in... in the meantime I'll wait... and sleep.  I've been going into the office some this week and therefore having to get up quite a bit earlier because apparently pajamas and no shower in the workplace are a no-no so by the end of those days I'm usually ready for bed but it isn't too bad.  

Cravings: I pretty much just want chocolate, cheese pizza, and fountain Cokes.  I just don't know where that weight gain is coming from!  Baffling isn't it?

Symptoms: Good news... Megan and Sarah have been keeping me moving this week and my back is A LOT better than it was and the even better news is that it never went totally out.  Thank you God for protecting me from that pain and for blessing me with these healthy and active friends!!!!!

Best Moment this week:  Hmmm... I don't know.  This hasn't been an especially eventful week but God blesses me with so many wonderful moments everyday it is hard to choose one.  I can tell you that every morning when I walk into Case's room and he gives me that huge smile is the best moment and every evening when Wayne gets home safely from work and gives Case and I a kiss that is the best moment.  There's just SO many blessings in my life every single day I don't feel like I can pick just one this week.  What a terrible problem to have, huh?  :-)

Hevea Pacifier Review

I am excited to have the opportunity to review the Hevea Pacifier.  I LOVE trying new products so when I saw this opportunity I jumped on it.  So here is my first ever product review...

Likes:

• The material is made of natural rubber and is consequently BPA free.
• The "old school" design and color of it.
• The "crown" or "tulip" (not sure what it is supposed to be) cut in the corners of the pacifier.
• The handle prevents some of the bouncing when dropped.

Dislikes:

• It is supposed to be thrown away after maximum of two months use.
• The cut or mold seems a little bit sloppy.
• The cost will be around $9.95 per pacifier once they are available (mid November).  

Overall Review:

I like the look of the pacifier however I must admit that I am a bit entertained by those that are available in a variety of colors.  My son is a year old now and has always used a Soothie so at no fault of this pacifier he was totally uninterested in putting it in his mouth; however he did find great pleasure it throwing it.  I like the handle because when this pacifier is dropped (see previous sentence) it doesn't bounce a mile away like the Soothie, which has no handle, does.  I think the handle prevents some of the bouncing action.  

When reading the fine print (when I say "fine" I mean "VERY fine") some concerns were raised with allergies and lifespan of the pacifier.  When purchasing this pacifier you will have to be conscience of any rubber allergies your child may have and when a baby is new you most likely wouldn't have that information so I assume there could be the potential for making the first few weeks more difficult than they already are.  The cost of this pacifier is over and above what I would typically pay.  At nearly $10 per pacifier and with the requirement of throwing it away after 2 months of use, you might as well get on a monthly payment plan for these little things.  I always need to have WAY more than 1 on hand at any given time so you could potentially be talking about paying $10 per month for pacifiers.  Now to be fair, I've never read the fine print on the Soothie so it may very well say that it too should be thrown away after a given amount of time, at which case I'm not a very good mom at this point because my son is currently curled up in his bed with about 7 Soothies most of which we have had for at least 6 months.  

I guess at the end of the day this is probably not a product that I would purchase and for the price I don't think it is one that I would want my baby getting too attached to.  If money is no concern then I think this pacifier is a great alternative to the usual silicone ones and it is cute as well!

For more information on this pacifier and other Hevea products you can find them on the web at http://www.heveababyusa.com/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/heveausa

Case and Birthday Gifts

Case got so many wonderful gifts for his birthday... so many in fact I deemed them necessary to have a post of their own!  I was shocked at the number of people that wanted to be a part of his first celebration.  We actually ran out of room.  There were so many more people I wanted to invite.  Not only were there so many people there to help us celebrate but they showered Case with extremely generous gifts.  I know I've said it before but I'm going to say it again... I was totally overwhelmed by the love shown to our family at Case's birthday party!

This is Case (Elmo in Raggedy Anne's arms) seeing his gifts for the first time

Case was pretty distracted by Rody (from Uncle Ben and Aunt CoCo) while I "helped" him open his gifts

 

This is Case seeing everything for the first time at home... he was partial to the balloon because everything else was still in bags and boxes... he had no idea there was a gold mine sitting in front of him.

 Put the phone down... I didn't rob a toy store!  So many great gifts!!!

Case was SO excited!!!

It is hard for me to accept how grown up he actually is but it always sets in when I see him playing with cars just like all little boys do!

This is for Grandpa... yes he can make a basket (yes, I know the hoop is shorter than he is:-)

I'm a little embarrassed of these next shots.  This is a look at my house post birthday party and we didn't even have it here.  This is after we got everything home and put together.  I was about to start hyperventilating!

 It was seriously a mess after the Toy Tornado went through!