Hungry Caterpillar Birthday!

The following Saturday, we had a small celebration for Halif's first birthday in his Hungry Caterpillar theme. I bought plates, cups, invitations about 2 years ago when I saw them on clearance and knew we would be doing his nursery in HC. It was great because I just pulled everything out from the nursery to use for some decoration! Friday night Halif started running his first fever since being home. That morning he had slight fever but his cough got so bad that when I fed him for his nap an 1.5 hr before people arrived, he threw up all over me! Neil and girls were gone so I was in a little tizzy trying to get him cleaned up, down for a nap, chicken salad made, vacuum the carpet, bathroom cleaned, etc. My mom thought the party was at 10 a.m. so when she came at 10:20 thinking she was late, she was actually early and saved me! We were so grateful God brought her early so she could help me get things ready while Halif finally fell asleep in the ergo on me. It's a morning I won't forget =) It all came together and thankfully it was just some family and Kate with Everett. Super low key but super special for our little big guy!

 Here he is pre-throw up in his cute caterpillar shirt (thanks Kristen Zimmer if you read this!) - had to be completely changed post throw up =)

Fun decor

I love making these month by month banners for the kid's first birthdays. We didn't have month 1 or 2 for Halif but we're blessed we got to start at 3 months! What fun it is to see how much he changed every month!

Special punch in special cups for VERY special girls!

Had chicken salad, turkey roll ups, yummy salad, cheese and fruit with holes in them

 (Hungry Caterpillar ate through them!)

Showing off his walking skills - he's a fast one!

Uncle Mike with Claire & Eden

Uncle Mike, Aunt Heather & Baby brother

Pierce had a great time playing outside!

Swinging!

Eating lunch outside - Grandma, Mike, Heather & Jan with the kiddos

 

 Halif LOVED his birthday song - he danced along, smiled and clapped but wanted nothing to do with his cupcake =) Not sure if it was because he wasn't feeling well or just not interested. It was the first time he asked me to get him out of his high chair before he ate anything.

 

He fed Daddy and then was done!

Opening gifts

Everett and Halif hanging out

Grandma

New shoes from Grandma

Mimi and Poppa came too!

So glad Jan was in from out of state visiting Mike & Heather so she could celebrate with us!

Halif went for his nap and we all just hung out and visited more. It was a wonderful day of family! We don't have everyone over often so it was really a nice time to just have quality time together. A sweet happy birthday to our baby boy - our miracle and gift from God!

Happy 1st Birthday Buddy Boy

SO hard to believe this little one turned 1 on March 13th just shy of 6 months being home! It's been a front row seat to seeing God grow, heal and bond this little guy right into our family. We can't imagine life without him and are SO thankful that we were brought together. We had such a fun day doing a lot of his favorite things to celebrate his special day!

One of my favorite pictures of this sweet, smiley boy - my amazing son!

Took a bubble bath with his sisters

Ate lunch at Rome's - restaurant we ate at the night we got our referral, we were eating their when we got our travel call, we ate there when he got his helmet off... seemed appropriate to celebrate there!

Went to the park to climb, slide & swing!

Grandpa brought Halif his cars gift so they could spend some time together before his business trip

 It was a day of great blessing and one that we will cherish! The next day I took Halif to his first year appointment. He wanted to wear his shoes even without his clothes on - this boy LOVES shoes! It's hilarious!  Halif has amazingly climbed up the charts with his growth as he wasn't even on the charts 6 months ago. God has brought him from a teeny, tiny, frail, sick 3 month old to a strong, healthy,

 alert and active 1 yr old. To God be the GLORY!!

Weight - 19 lbs. 14 oz. (26%)

Height - 28 inches (9%)

Spring is here

I LOVE Spring Break and spring is here!! We spent a lot of time outside enjoying our spring days before it turns into summer heat. I really loved looking back at our pictures from the week as we all enjoyed each other more by slowing down, not running around like crazy and just taking it a day at a time.

 We love the park and Claire is learning how to ride without training wheels. We don't live on a street that is conducive to riding so we only get out when we go to my parents or to the park. She picked it up fast and stayed up by herself for about 8 seconds!! It was a joy to see her listen to Neil's coaching and trust him to help steady her with his hand on her seat. I remember my big brother teaching me how to ride my bike and how special of a memory it was to anticipate going out and the feeling of accomplishment when I finally got it! Eden is more than excited for Claire to learn so she can get Claire's bike as she will graduates to her bigger bike she got for her birthday =)

My sweet curly-Q

This guy loves the park too!!

Tickling, rolling down the hill, laughing...this is what sister memories are made of

Friday we had a special trip down to ride the train by the zoo. It was a beautiful day and we really stretched it out by then feeding the ducks, walking through the Japanese Tea Garden, getting a snow cone and making a trip to St. P.J.'s to drop off all the donations from Claire's party. My camera battery died so we didn't capture it all but sometimes it's nice to just put the camera down, enjoy the moment as it happens and tuck it away as a memory.

Halif's first time on a train...he wasn't too sure about it...

But he warmed up and had a great time towards the end =)

My sweet girl at St. P.J.'s - she was so sad (to tears) that she didn't get to see the kids so we are planning a trip to volunteer down there together. She is so excited to do this again next year!

I get really spoiled during Spring Break with Neil home all week! I love being married to a teacher so we can spend our holidays together. What a blessing it is to have a husband and father who is always lovingly present, active and engaging during his time with us!