Birthday Celebration Part 1

My baby boy is going to be 2!!  While I was pregnant, my OB called him my little butterball since he was due so close to Thanksgiving.  This year, his birthday IS Thanksgiving!  I am so greatful for all of the joy this little guy has brought to my life.

We wanted Colin to have a special time with some of his friends so we had a small get together for some of his favorite little people the weekend before his birthday

Before Chaos arrived!

 Gavin and I were going with a casual cars theme, but at the store, Colin insisted on Thomas, so we did a last minute switch.  He was so excited to see his cake!!

Grandma bought him a fun Thomas train tent and him and his friends had so much fun!

We bought pizza and the kids sat and ate it pretty much on their own; like big kids.  Sniffle.

My favorite part was watching the kids interact and play.  But a close second was being reminded how many people love and care about my precious son.

 

Colin has apparently been practicing for blowing out his candle because as soon as he saw it, he started trying!!

We didn't really intend for him to open his presents during his party because ownership is a difficult concept for toddlers and we thought the kids would get bored.  But Colin had plans of his own.  He got lots of help!

Overall, the kids were amazingly behaved and we had so much fun.  It was pretty much exactly what we were hoping for: a low stress party focused on making sure the kids had a great time.

The other Colin's First Birthday!

Last week we were so honored to be a part of Colin B's first birthday celebrations!

Happy 1st birthday Colin!

It has been so awesome watching the Colin's grow this year.  I can't believe this Colin is already a year!

Colin's new ride!

Proud Parents

New friend!

Colin had a fantastic time smashing his cake.  He did a really remarkable job!

It is so much fun having another baby around who is so close to Colin's age and I have truly enjoyed my new friendship with Colin's family

Sharing!

Concerts in the Park

We've always loved going to the concerts in the park, but with the arrival of Colin, it has become one of our favorite summer activities!  

Because of travel/school/life we only made it to half of the events, but we had so much fun!

The most recent two concerts daddy was home and we all got to go together!

Hanging out in the grass

:)

mommy tries to teach Colin some 80z dance moves

making new friends

The Colins plotting together to get into the cookies

Jax

Fun with friends

We had such a great time, especially at the most recent concert when Jax and Colin joined us.  I feel so lucky that we live in such a beautiful place with weather to make these type of events perfect!  We can't wait until next year, although I bet those boys will be much more difficult to corral!

Ladera for Little Guys

When we moved to Ladera, we were often asked how many children we had.  Our answer at the time would be meet with a slightly confused look.... Lots of children live in Ladera.

And now I understand why.  While we fell in love with the open spaces, nearby trails, and varied home arcitecture, there's an entirely different set of benefits for wee ones here that we are just learning about!

Parks, water parks, slides, swings, grassy slopes for rolling and playing... no wonder so many families love it here!

First trip to the Plunge Park

Checking out the fountains with Daddy

Kids pool with mommy

Playing with friends at the water park

Swinging at the Pocket Park

Enjoying the grass and view at our neighborhood park

Last night I enjoyed my first Ladera Summer Concert with Colin.  We've always enjoyed heading out to the park on Friday evenings in the summer to visit with friends and enjoy the nice weather, but it's a whole new experience with babies!

It was so awesome to throw down blankets and visit with friends to the back drop of music and community.  It's not perfect, of course, but I love this neighborhood and I am so glad we have the opportunity to grow our family here!

Playdates

I don't think it's a play date at this stage so much as a mom date.  At best, the babies stare at each other and at worse they tag team cry.  Even with the crying, it's awesome to be in the company of someone who completely understands how you are feeling because they are right there with you.

I have been doing my best to meet like-minding parents.  Although I'm not entirely sure what my 'parenting mind' is yet, it's fairly easy to weed out people I have nothing in common with.

Jax lives in Ladera and is only 5 weeks older than Colin.  We met Jax's parents (I'm pretty sure eventually we all lose our names for a while, might as well be today on this blog!) in a community group for people without kids.  Although we see Jax most, I still haven't manage to capture them in a picture together.

Kai's parents know us from the WSOP Math House.  Kai is 3 months older than Colin.  At this stage, that gap seems huge, but as time moves on I'm sure it will seem like less and less.

Colin almost outweighs his older friend already!

We also met another Colin at our hospital support group.  His mom seemed to have more in common with me than the other mom's, and as I get to know her, we have even more in common that I thought!  This Colin is about a week older than our Colin.

All the action is stage right, apparently.

I am so grateful for the friendships we've made already and so glad Colin will have other little boys his own age to grow up with!