Jacob's Birthday Weekend

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What a whirlwind of a weekend we had!  Goodness, I feel like we need a weekend to recover from our weekend.  We were going going going nonstop and it was all to celebrate someone special who turned SIX yesterday!

Friday was the last swimming lesson for the kids, and they both did great.  Well, except for when Olivia started getting too cocky, fell off of the rock (that is used for the diving board), bumped her head on the way down, and went straight to the bottom of the deep end.  Sheesh.  Three parents jumped up to get ready to fish her out, and I normally would have majorly panicked, but I figured since we were at a swimming instructor’s house that she was in good hands.  Sure enough, the swimming instructor said, “Let her try to get herself up and to the side.”  A split second later, Olivia had floated to the top, and started inching her way to the side.  She did, however, struggle to pull herself up and she looked like she was in drowning mode all gasping for air and splashing around, so another one of the parents and me pulled her up.  I thought for sure that she was going to be super upset and not want to go back into the water, but she ended up jumping right in again and finishing her lessons. 

Never a dull moment when that girl’s around.  At least she learned a good lesson.

The kiddos ended the lesson by picking up money off of the pool floor again, and then they were both rewarded with ice cream again.

When lessons were over, I loaded the kids and my extremely sweaty self in the car and we headed home to get ready for dinner with my father-in-law later that evening.  The kiddos watched a little bit of TV while I finally got myself cooled off, and then when B came home from work we headed to Red Robin to meet my FIL and the rest of B’s family for the first of many birthday celebrations for Jacob.

We got caught in a major downpour on the way to the restaurant… thank goodness it held off so we could finish our swimming lessons!

After dinner, we headed back to my FIL’s house for cake and presents.  My SIL and niece also have birthdays around this time, and since they live a couple of hours away, we went ahead and celebrated the two of them as well as Jacob this weekend.  The two of them had requested a cookie cake and Jacob had requested a key lime pie (LOL), so we had two desserts full of candles for the three of them to blow out!

We wrapped up Friday with two more episodes of Bloodline, and then B and I called it a night.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to get the day started because we had a TON going on.  First up was a pancake breakfast at Chili’s for my nephew who plays little league baseball.  They won state and they are heading to regionals next weekend, so they were trying to earn money for their trip.  Our local Chili’s let the baseball team take over the restaurant and we got to pay to have pancakes and bacon and the proceeds went to the team.  The kids acted as the servers and they did such a great job!  It was the cutest thing ever!

After our breakfast, we shot over to Walmart to pick up a few things and the kids proceeded to ask to buy a billion things… seriously, why do they have to put Anna and Elsa on every dang thing?!  Band-Aids, shampoo, vitamins… sheesh!  While we were standing in the checkout line I glanced over at the little fridge and I saw this:

I just had to buy it because that’s the name of my little nephew in Texas.  Goodness, how I miss him!!

The next stop was the bakery to pick up Jacob’s cake and then we swung by our house to drop everything off.  After that it was time to meet my FIL, both of my SILs, and our nieces and nephews at the entertainment venue that we love so much for some games and bowling for Jacob’s birthday. 

We played loads of games to start… I was able to win two of the huge bouncy balls from the claw machine and Olivia won the second highest number of tickets on another one of the games… it was 500 tickets which is HUGE considering most games only pay out around 10-25. 

After everyone was gamed out we all played a round of bowling and that was a ton of fun.  Jacob had just recently bowled for the first time at a birthday party so he was really excited.  This was Olivia’s first time bowling and it was pretty hilarious because she couldn’t even hold the ball.  All of the little ball ramps for the little kids were taken, so I helped her by sitting each ball by the lane and then she pushed it down.  By the time we were almost done she had decided to try to throw each ball herself, and boy, was that a hoot to watch.  Jacob’s little bowling stance was even funnier because he would chunk the ball and then throw his hands up in the air the whole time he was backing up.  It was so cute.

Each of the kids was able to pick prizes on the way out with the tickets that they had won.  Olivia chose a skunk Beanie Boo and Jacob chose a little gun that shoots balls.  We headed to Jason’s Deli next per the birthday boy’s request, and then it was time to head home for very quick, short naps before church and for me to work on laundry and Jacob’s birthday chalkboard.

Olivia only squeezed in about a 30-45 minute nap so she woke up in a pretty foul mood, but fortunately she was good to go after her bath and snack, and then we headed to 5:30 mass like we always do.

Before leaving, I snapped a few pics of Jacob with his chalkboard!  You can see more in my post from yesterday.  And please excuse the chalk dust on his shirt and the half untucked shirt… that’s what happens when you’re in a hurry!

Both kids were very well-behaved (never mind that Olivia talked the entire time… at least she was whispering!) and then it was time to go to dinner.  We met my parents and uncle and his GF at our favorite local pizza place, and then it was time to head home for yet another late bedtime.  The kids were WHOOPED so they both fell asleep right away, and then B and I YOLOed and stayed up ‘til after midnight watching two more episodes of Bloodline. 

Sunday was Jacob’s actual birthday, and he kicked off the morning by coming in our bedroom and hopping into bed with us (something he never does anymore) and he laid with us for a good 30 minutes before we finally all got up just before eight.  B left to pick up donuts, and then we spent the morning opening gifts and playing with new toys.

The first thing Jacob wanted to open was this new marble maze toy that B had picked up for him.  You guys, this is the coolest thing ever!  You can build the pieces all sorts of different ways and then watch the marbles go through them.  It’s kind of like a big Mouse Trap game, but way better.  You can find the exact one that we purchased here.  It would be the perfect gift for Christmas!  (And yes, I’m already thinking about Christmas gifts!)

Before heading to my MIL’s for lunch, I wanted to snap a few pictures of J for his birthday, but he was not happy that I had dragged him away from his new toys, so this was the best I could get:

And yes, he got a lecture about his sour attitude, because even on your birthday it’s not okay to be rude to people when you don't get your way.

Since he wasn’t interested in the photo shoot, I knew a little lady who would be, so I rounded her up and handed B the camera!  My littlest little eats it up.  And y’all, seriously… look at her with her little fringe purse.  I literally can’t.  If she’s not a tiny little me then I don’t know who is!  I swear, she reminds me so much of myself when I was her age!

The birthday celebrations continued at my MIL’s, and once again we celebrated all three July and August birthdays.  We had more cookie cake and opened presents once again and Jacob got lots of great stuff!

Sunday dinner at my parents’ house was slightly different yesterday evening because my grandmother wasn’t able to join us.  She is okay, but she had an episode with her blood pressure yesterday and had to be admitted to the hospital.  If you could say a little prayer for her that would be much appreciated.

We were still able to celebrate our Boo one last time and we finally got to dig into his Star Wars cake that we got for him.  All he wanted was a Boba Fett cake, so his wish was granted!

Another birthday is in the books!  And we will be spending the rest of the week detoxing from all of the junk we ate!  EEK!

*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending, My Glittery Heart for Hello Monday,  More Pieces of Me for Hello Monday Linkup, and HoHo Runs for Weekly Wrap.

Happy 6th Birthday to Our Jacob Brian

My Dearest Boy,

Kindergarten is over and summer is almost through, which can only mean one thing… your birthday is here once again and you are SIX!  You can no longer count your age on one of your tiny hands and that makes me so incredibly sad.

Spending this past year with you and watching you learn and grow has been nothing short of amazing and we are so proud of your many accomplishments. 

You went through kindergarten like a BOSS, making new friends, learning new things, and making excellent grades.  You flourished this past school year once again and you didn’t seem to need much help from us in the learning department.  You had already learned to read books in their entirety back in Pre-K 4, and you managed to hone your reading skills even more this past year.  I swear, you must be reading on a third or fourth grade reading level. 

You are becoming more and more independent by the day, and we are loving every second since you were dependent upon us for so long. 

You are still a bit on the particular side, but you are learning to embrace change and go with the flow a little more.  You no longer need to have your plate, napkin, and silverware lined up just right before the prayer at dinner, and you have long let go of some of your other little idiosyncrasies.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves...  you are your mother’s son so let’s face it: you will probably never like for your food to touch on your plate, and I promise to never judge you for that.  Haha.  We are just thankful that you no longer break down every single time something unexpected happens or when something doesn’t go your way.

You still adore music and you are constantly requesting songs on the way home from school.  Your current favorites are the Moana soundtrack, the Trolls soundtrack, and anything by Blake Shelton.

You are still making me wonder if you might have a photographic memory as you seem to remember every single little thing about every single little thing.  Whether it’s something major or it’s some tiny insignificant detail, you remember it.  It’s crazy. 

You still love for us to sit with you and pat you for a few minutes after you get in the bed, but you don’t necessarily need it like you used to, and that’s just one more reminder to me that you’re growing up.  These last few weeks, you have been asking me if I want to get under your covers with you while I sit with you, and I love it so much.  I happily oblige, and snuggling with you nose to nose has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the whole day.  You typically drift off to sleep within a few short minutes, and you stay in your own bed all night now… gone are the days of you creeping into our bed or into your sleeping bag in our room at 4 AM. 

You are still itty bitty, and I still love it because that just means that I can continue to hold you and pick you up for just a bit longer, which reminds me… you still give the best hugs.  Every night before bed I pick you up and you give me the biggest monkey hug… we like to call it that because you wrap your arms and legs around me.

You are afraid of nothing and I mean nothing.  Loud noises don’t bother you, dark rooms don’t bother you, bad storms don’t bother you (even ones that knock the power out), “scary” parts in movies don’t bother you, and crazy rides at amusement parks?  You adore them.  

You are our very own personal superhero!  You are funny, you love us so hard, and we are so glad that you are ours. 

Happy SIXTH birthday, baby boy!  You are and will always be our favorite little boy in the whole world.

Love,

Mommy

Birthday Letter - Age 4

Birthday Letter - Age 5

Five on Friday - Favorites

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We made it through these last couple of crazy weeks and we are so ready to celebrate our sweet boy this weekend! 

But first, some favorites for the week…

O N E – Swimming Lessons

These are still high on the list because a) the kids are both doing so well, and b) BECAUSE THEY ARE FINALLY OVER AFTER TODAY!  Man, it has been chaotic these last couple of weeks!  The swimming instructor’s house is not remotely close to either of our offices or either of the kids’ schools (we’re talking a 30 minute drive from my office to her house!) so we have been doing major shuffling of the work schedules and school schedules these last two weeks.  One thing that I have loved is the fact that on days where I stay with the kids, we get home about an hour earlier than we normally do, so we actually have time to just hang out for a bit before it’s time for me to start cooking.  Having some downtime, my friends, is priceless.  Downtime?  What is downtime?  Haha.

The fifth day (last Friday) seemed to be a charm for Olivia because that was the day that she finally stopped crying and just started doing what she was supposed to be doing.  Jacob finally started using his arms really well this week and he is looking like a total pro!  Before, he was just doggie paddling and barely using his arms but the swimming instructor teaches the kids to have “big arms” AKA stretching your arms out really far in front of you to make the most use of them.  Both kids are loving it and I think that they will be a little sad when it’s over today.

T W O – Towel Responses

Wednesday I discussed our need for new towels and apparently the majority of you are in the same boat.  The problem is, there were so many different recommendations that I’m having a hard time deciding which ones to get.  I was hoping that there would be an overwhelming majority for one specific store/brand, but instead I got tons of different responses.  A couple of different people mentioned these at Pottery Barn and a couple mentioned these at Kohl’s and then there were many other brands mentioned as well.

I think I’m going to order the ones from the Nordstrom sale regardless since they have free shipping and free returns, and then I’m going to go check out the ones at Kohl’s as well.  I’ll let you guys know what we end up keeping.

T H R E E – Blogging Wins

The blogging wins for this week are two-fold.  First of all, I mentioned yesterday that I was accepted into the rewardStyle family!  You can see more on that in yesterday's post.

The second blogging win for the week is that a rep for Larabar saw my post a couple of weeks ago about my new love for their product, and she reached out to me to see if she could send some goodies as a thank you for spreading the word.  How nice was that?  I received my care package this week and I was so excited to see some of my favorites as well as a few I haven’t tried.  She sent one of the Banana Bread bars which I haven’t been able to find anywhere and I have a feeling that one may end up being my favorite.  Well, that or the season pumpkin bar that I assume will be coming out soon for fall!  EEK!

F O U R – Bloodline

You.  Guys.  I know I’ve already mentioned this a couple of times before, but good lordy we are loving Bloodline.  It is so good that this week, for the first time ever, we skipped an episode of The Bachelorette so we could watch Bloodline instead.  I mean it is just fantastic.  And Coach Taylor is in it so you really just can’t go wrong with that, right?!  Almost every single episode ends in a cliffhanger so it’s nearly impossible to not watch the next one right then and there.  I have a feeling tonight is going to be all Bloodline all night.  Ha! 

F I V E – Snuggling With My Boo

Jacob has always liked for one of us to stay in his room for a few minutes after he gets in the bed, so B and I take turns doing this every evening.  Usually we pat or scratch his back or just sit with him for a few minutes… some nights he falls asleep before we leave and some nights he doesn’t.  Well, just this last week he has started sweetly asking me, “Mommy, would you like to get under my blanket with me?”  It pretty much melts my heart and there’s no way that I’m going to turn down that offer.  He has a double bed so there is plenty of room for both of us, so on my nights all this week I have been getting under his blankets and laying nose to nose with him for a few minutes.  I’m loving every single second of it and I’ve been staying in there a little longer than usual just because it’s so special.  I know that this won’t last forever, so I’m not going to take a single second of it for granted.

Well, we just have to make it through the work day today and then we will be celebrating our boy all weekend long!  It’s going to be three days full of family and fun!  Happy weekend!

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday.