Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Happy 1st Birthday Ashten: The "end" of the Birthday Month


Happy Birthday Ashten: The end of the Birthday Month
-----
Ashten turned 1 on September 30th....but before then we had to finish out the Birthday Bonanza month!!! Since Preston decided they needed to have a Thomas the Train Party...where else could we have their party, but at the Train station...and it was a hit with the boys and their friends!
What a cool looking cake--many of the mom's asked if I had made this....geez, I don't think they really know me as much as I thought! But I did make the cute "train ticket" invites that asked everyone to Make tracks to the party, and the gift bags...obviously indicating my creative skills are not that high yet!
We attempted a group shot in front of the train....obviously with kids between the ages of 1 and 3....it was difficult...but a fairly good attempt if I might say so!
and off on the ride we went!
Preston and Ashten were even asked by the Engineer if they would like to sit in the Engineer's chair and check it out....of course they were a little excited!
Ashten was still a little hesitant on the decision of if he did or did not like cake...
but Preston was sure insistent the answer should be YES!

They of course were spoiled with lots of presents...and plenty of hands to help open them!


We also had a playgroup party at our house for all of their playgroup friends...complete with the bounce house set up! The boys had a great time sharing their toys and bouncing with their friends!

The kids spread in the yard enjoying yet another cake...not made by mommy!

and opening more presents...they were so spoiled and LOVE everything...not too much these kids don't like...I love this age so much! Of course after these two GREAT parties...Preston came down with croup...and we spent a night in the hospital for it...Thankfully it was not H1N1 as original thought by the Doctor...and Ashten and Mommy only got a small cold from the whole ordeal...We are all doing great now!
------

And of course we had a little cake honoring Ashten and just Ashten on his actual birthday...I cannot believe it has been a year already--it has flown by...Faster than I think with Preston. Ashten has already mastered: Crawling, Walking, Standing without assistance, eating people food, drinking solo from a sippy cup, whole milk, feeding self, napping twice a day, gabbing and mimicking everything like dada, and uh oh, and no...but no Mama yet! He signs more, please, all done, and waves hello and good-bye. He has very blue eyes, lots of curly blonde hair and eight teeth! He weighs 19 lbs 7 oz (10%), 30 inches tall (55%) and his head is of course in the 95%!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The Start of a "Birthday" Month
------
Labor Day Weekend we started off the Birthday Celebrations for Preston and Ashten! They are celebrating the BIG "3" and "1". On Thursday, we had a little at home party for just the four of us...with homemade cupcakes, hats and of course horns!
Ashten also got his big present from Nina and Papa early--A wagon!!! He absolutely loves going for rides in it and needless to say so does his big brother Preston! We have been out almost daily!
They also love the new train table and train set they got from Mommy and Daddy this year....We thought it only appropriate since the theme this year was "Thomas the Train" and we are absolutely fascinated by trains these days....boy we should have gotten this gift for them sooner...they stay lost in the basement for hours playing with it!
Then we headed up to Iowa for a Family birthday celebration with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and close friends! We had a great time celebrating the birthday's, ate lots of yummy food and cake and of course LOVED visiting with family and friends we do not get to see that often. It is great knowing our kids are so loved! We had a fantastic time and the boys loved every minute of their celebration!
Nothing like a little family photo opportunity...since we were all dressed up and all!
Mommy also got to see her sister and brother--which is not too often that all three of us are in the same place anymore....good times!!
The boys devouring their cake...or well Preston devouring his...
Ashten on the other hand seems to have an aversion to cake....He was much more interested in throwing it on the ground than eating it!
Preston got to hang out with his buddy Jace who happened to be the one to introduce Preston to his love affair with Thomas....I wish these two lived a little closer...they are so cute when they get together! Preston also got to hang out with a few of his cousins...unfortunately we do not have the pictures to prove it..but they had a good time!
and Mommy cannot pass up the opportunity to "make famous" good family friends-Debi and Aljean!!!
We had a great time in Iowa and even made time to play a little golf (and win some mula!) and got out with a few of our friends...It's so nice to have grandparents near to allow us to do that sort of thing..It was fun getting out! Thanks again to everyone who made the weekend so great!