Deker Turns 3

Yesterday (Sunday) was Deker's 3rd birthday.  He has been looking forward to this day since we celebrated Keagan and Bauer's Birthday.  Deker LOVES tractors and LOVES the color yellow.  Whenever he was asked what he wants for his birthday his answer was always a tractor.  If I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, he would say he wants to go to Marshall's work and see the tractors, which we did less than a month ago.  When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted he would say a yellow cake. 
For breakfast, I made him a "3" pancake.  Then I decided to try to get a little more creative and make a track hoe one as well.  Here is how they turned out. 

 Deker really liked it. 

For his birthday, Andrew and I got him a bike.  He loves it, but hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. 

Dan & Angela gave Deker this really fun gift it is a butterfly net (just like Keagan has) a canteen, whistle and compass.  He had them clipped to his pajamas all morning (you can see the compass next to his plate and all of it on him in the picture above.)  Then he wanted them all back on after church. 

We made a yellow cake and decorated it with chocolate frosting and crushed up oreos to look like dirt.  Then I put three new little tractors and a dump truck on top.  Very easy, but he loved it. 

After he blew out the candles, I asked him if he wanted to eat his cake from his dump truck.  As you can see, it was much easier to lift up the dump truck and take bites rather than using a spoon.

Deker you are such a great little boy.  You love to sing songs, dig in the dirt and play with your brothers.  You (and Keagan) are teaching me more about tractors, cranes, trucks, etc., the I ever thought I wanted to know, but that is just fine.  We love you!

Backyard Water Fun

We finally got some really warm weather this week. Wednesday was a particullary warm day. After naps, Andrew and I decided to get out some of our water toys and set them up. We had such a fun afternoon & evening. We even decided to scrap our dinner plans and grill hamburgers and hot dogs so that we could continue to enjoy our evening.

 

Weekend with the Haleys

I am a week late on posting this, but my motto is better late than never.  Last weekend (over Father's Day) my sister, Marie her husband and 5 kids came and stayed with us for a couple of days on their vacation.  We were so very excited to have them come stay with us.

They arrived Friday night and we went down to the Meridian Dairy Days parade.  We had a great time which was made even better by the chocolate milk, string cheese, t-shirts & lots of candy we received.

Friday morning, we headed over to Wahooz to do the go carts and bumper boats.  Deker and Bauer are not tall enough so I volunteered to stay out with them.  Braelynn didn't want to go on the go-carts so she stayed out with us as well.  While the rest of them were waiting in line, we ventured around for a few minutes and then I got out the camera and had fun taking a few pictures.  I love how good Braelynn is at posing. 

 Joe & Samantha

 Veronica

 Keagan and his cousin Tyler

 Marie & Brenna

Next up was the bumper boats.  I stayed out with Bauer & Deker while the rest went.  Thank you to Tyler for taking Keagan on the bumper boats and go carts with him. 

 Keagan and Tyler. 

They all ended up fairly wet but with lots of smiles.  After that the older kids did Laser Tag.  We were going to go to a park and play afterwards but it started sprinkling/raining so we headed back home afterward. 

On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day.  Here is the shirt I spruced up using my Silhouette to cut out Freezer paper and using fabric paint. 

Here is the apron I spruced up using my Silhouette.  The story behind this is that Keagan and Deker think that I can't use the grill.  It is Daddy's grill and only he can use it.  It sure is fun to tease them about it though.

For dinner we made very yummy grilled pizzas.  We let each of the kids make their on individual pizzas. 

Then we had Smore's for dinner. 

We had such a great time visiting with the Haley's and we are so happy that they stayed with us. 

A little of this...A Little of That

Are you ready for Randomness?
A few months ago, Andrew and I decided it was time to move the car seats around for each boy.  I was feeling bad that Deker and now Bauer gets mostly hand-me-downs.  I know that they don't care, but I wanted to do something to make myself feel better about it, so I decided to recover the car seats.  Keagan, of course, got a new car seat so I didn't do anything to his. 

Here is the car seat Keagan had.  We got some material that has yellow on it because as Deker will tell you Yellow is his favorite color.  One evening, Andrew and I picked it apart at all the seams.  Then another day we cut out new pieces and sewed it all together with the original cover & padding. 

Here is the after.  Deker LOVES it and has been so proud to sit in it. 

After doing the car seat above and realizing that it wasn't that bad, I decided I could take on this one that might be a little more challenging.  This is the car seat that both Keagan and Deker used which would soon become Bauer's. 

Here is the after.  I really LOVE how it turned out.  When we were at Joanne's picking out the fabric, this polka-dot caught my attention and I was hooked.  This one seemed to come together just as fast as the other one even though it was a little more complicated because of things we learned from doing the first one.  It makes me happy everytime I put him in it.

Sunday morning after we got all the boys dressed and ready for church, I just couldn't resist taking a picture of them before we headed out the door.  I know I might be a little biased, but I think I have three very handsome boys. 

Yesterday (Monday) morning while I was cooking breakfast I looked over to see Keagan kicked back on the computer chair, holding a cup of water.  I couldn't resist taking a picture.  He looked kind of mad or something in the picture, but he wasn't he was just relaxing. 

I left the Sunday paper unattended and Bauer noticed and proceeded to scatter.  It was a good thing I had already taken the coupons out.

Now I wish I had an individual picture of Deker.  I will have to try to get him caught in the action of all his craziness soon.

Bauer and his Giraffe

My sister, Vera, sent Bauer a giraffe stuffed animal when he was born (she does it for all her neices and nephews).  It has been in Bauer's crib ever since he got it.  Recently, he started playing with it when he goes down for a nap and at night.  He is always quite and still goes to sleep.  The only reason we know he does this is because when we check on him, it is in a different spot. 

This morning, Bauer was taking his morning nap and this is what I saw when I went in to wake him up to go to church.

I had seen him like this one night last week, but I didn't take a picture because I didn't want to wake him up, so when I saw him like this today, I quickly got the camera to capture the precious moment. 

The Zoo

Angela called us up on Saturday morning and said that they were meeting up with Lucas' paternal birth grandma at the zoo to see the Butterfly exhibit.  I took my boys early to spend some more time at the zoo, we then met up with them, had our picnic lunch and proceeded to the butterfly exhibit.  Here are some of the pictures of our adventures.

Of course, the trusty jeep cannot ever be forgotten.  My boys will make sure of that. 

Soon after we got to the zoo, Keagan and Deker each choose a stick and carried it around for most of the morning. 

I think this is where the sticks got put down and forgotten. 

The giraffe slide.  Always a favorite. 

The butterfly exhibit was amazing.  There were lots of different kinds and colors.  Definitely worth seeing.  They have had it for the past few years, but I never knew about it.  I think I am going to make it an annual thing to see. 

We all had butterfly's land on us, but I only was able to get a picture of one on Keagan.

Thank you, Angela, for inviting us to go with you and opening our eyes to the wonders of the Butterfly exhibit!

Party Time!

Our really good friends, Dan & Angela, have been wanting to have children for a long time. After about three years of trying to adopt, they finally got the news they have been hoping to hear (on Keagan & Bauer's birthday) that there was a 2 month old baby boy for them to pick up the following day. This wonderful news and the adorable baby has brought so much joy to them, their family and all their friends. To celebrate this occasion, our friend Elizabeth and I threw them a shower. Because they have been through so much together trying to have a baby and adopt, we decided a great way to celebrate is by having a couples/family open house.

The happy family.

Keagan and Deker watching over Baby Lucas.  They already love him and talk about him a lot.

The cupcake display for the party.

The food...We made Slow Cooker Chicken Nachos which were a huge hit.  We also had a few people bring salads and fruit.

Mommy Angela and Baby Lucas!

 The personalized blanket I made for them.  

 Deker playing with Angela's grandma's walker.  There was a few different times when I saw Deker over there talking with her or playing with her walker.  He seemed very taken with Grandma. 

There was an empty box which looked like something Bauer would have fun in and he sure did. 

It was such a fun night celebrating with friends such a happy occasion!  Lucas, you are such a special boy and I am excited to see the wonderful young man that I am sure you will grow to be.  

. 

Fishing

On Monday, Memorial Day, we decided to forget about all the things we need to do and go fishing and have a cookout.  Here are some pictures of our outing. 

Deker sitting in the tall grass playing with a little box waiting for his fishing pole to be ready.

 Bauer keeping himself occupied. 

The pole is finally ready.

Keagan happily fishing.

My fisherman!

The first and only fish that was caught, on my pole!

As soon as I caught this fish, Deker kept saying "My turn to catch a fish!" If only it was that easy.