The Very Hungry Caterpillar Party

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Bella and Jacksons birthdays with our family and friends!  It worked out perfect to have a joint party this year!

Bella loves the book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and so do I =)  so we decided to throw a party based on that book!  

Here are the little invitations that we sent out to our family and friends...

I am in love with seersucker...I sewed them coordinating outfits...

Welcome to our party!!

I  made a long caterpillar with pictures of the two of them together for every month of the past year...

I found two tiny miniature books so we had all our guests sign the books so we can always remember who came to the party!  

Our menu followed along with the story...

The cupcakes were delicious and Jackson loved his own special cake!

Our guests had fun painting their own caterpillar with their finger prints...

Yummy...yummy!!!

She-She, Pappa and Mimi all came to celebrate!!  She-She took, these adorable pictures!!

This is Jackon's best little buddy from church...when ever Jackson comes in to class, Makae says, "Jackson!  Jackson!"

We had face painting too!

Lots of pretty butterflies on the girlies cheeks!

And of course we read the story to all our party guests!

Our favorite part...the butterfly!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!!

And Happy Birthday Bella!!!

Yummy cake!

We gave all our guests "Caterpillar Food" as they left our party...

Such a sweet, fun day of celebrating with my babies!!

12 months = 1 year!!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!  He is really ONE!!!  How can it be!?!  This past months he has truly changed soo much!!  He is crawling...fast...and I mean as quick as lightening!!  He pulls up on everything and walks along the furniture!  He has stood a few times alone...so I expect this little guy will be walking in no time at all!!  He consistently says "mamma" & "dadda" and "hi!"  He waves to everyone and says "HI!"  He gives kisses and hugs on demand now!!  He is getting good at holding his own against his big sis!  A little grunt and tug.....he's getting stronger!  He loves being outside...walks and playing in the grass are his favorite!  He's not a huge fan of the swing...he likes it for a few minutes but then he's ready to get out and be on the move!  We have to keep our eyes on this quick moving little guy!  He's quiet and observant...and will be into something having the time of his life in no time at all!! He loves to sneak up the stairs!!  SO up go the baby gates!!  He loves to splash in the toilets...SO we have to close the doors and lids! ;)  He likes to squeeze between tight places...and usually gets stuck...poor guy!  He's much more interested in food the past month...his new favorite is Lasagna!  Loves it!!  He is in love with his big sister...truly mesmerized by her!  He is still a huge fan of breastfeeding......so we shall continue!  He usually nurses about 4 times a day...so I will let him nurse until he decides he is all done...with Bella it was around 14 months.  He is a little sugar muffin...sweet as can be!  We love you sweet blessing!!!  This year has been an adventure for sure with lots of changes...and we are soooo very thankful that you were with us through it all!  Life is so much sweeter with Jackson in our family! =)

Schedule:

Same as 11 months..no changes yet!

Stats:

Head 18 inches  50%

Weight 21lbs  40%

Height  30 inches  50%

Happy Birthday Isabella!

 I can not even believe my little princess is three!!  I heard a friend say this week...the days sometimes go by slow but the years sure go by too, too fast!  Bella has now transitioned out of her toddler years and into a beautiful little preschool little girl!  She is full of energy and personality!  Her bubbly, friendly spirit is contagious...you just can't see her precious smile and not smile with her!  She has quite personality all of her own...although I must say I see a lot of a "little Whitney" in her!  Such a crazy...yet beautiful thing to look in the eyes of your daughter and see so much of yourself...although she definitely has her daddy's eyes! :)  She is a confident girl who knows what she wants and is full of perseverance and determination.  Yet, she is balanced with a tender, sensitive, caring sweet spirit who loves to be a mommy to her little brother along with all her baby dolls and stuffed animals!  She is sensitive towards spiritual things...at any given moment in the day you may turn around to find her singing a worship song at the top of her lungs with her eyes closed and her hands in the air!  She might just be a little charismatic!  ;) She has become such a little prayer warrior!  She prays before each of our meals as a family...so sweet the little words that come out of her mouth and the people she prays for.
She will remember things I may forget to pray for...she definitely has a smart little mind!  Speaking of mind, she LOVES learning..."school" and our "projects"! Our special time together is during Jackson's morning nap.  We have about 1.5 hours to paint, color, practice our letters & numbers, work on our handwriting...sorting...puzzles...lacing...tracing and so on!  She loves it!  And of course, me being a teacher, I can hardly contain myself!  We have so much fun together!  She has mastered recognizing all of her letters, can count to 20 and recognizes most of her numbers 1-10.  She knows all her colors and shapes and she can even write her name.  We have recently been really working on lacing, tracing and writing our letters.  We are also beginning to work on our sounds!  She is a little sponge and soaks it all up!  She loves to read too...which makes her dates with daddy on Fridays one of her favorite days!  They go to story time at the library that is just 2 miles away, check out new books and then they go to lunch together!  It's become one of her very favorite highlights of her week!  She continues to love her big girl room and it's the first thing she wants to show her new friends or family when they come to visit!  Slowing down her little mind and getting to sleep can sometimes be challenging for her...so we try to play really hard during the day so we are tired when it's time to rest! :)  We keep her little pink sleeping bag next to our bed...and sure enough about twice a week we wake up in the morning to find a little princess sleeping next to us.  We always start out in our own beds, but of course, if she wakes up and misses us...she is welcome to come snuggle up in her sleeping bag!  She continues to be such a great eater too!  She rarely finds something that she doesn't like!  She loves to help cook and prepare meals...and she is an excellent helper around the house!  Wow!  Yes, she is!  She likes to scrub any and everything!  And she loves to dust!  She also pulls out her vacuum and is eager to vacuum alongside me!  Her favorite outdoor activities are swinging, running, climbing, jumping, riding her tricycle, swimming, playing by the creek in her special spot with daddy, and drawing with chalk!  This precious angel continues to bless me each day!  Our prayer is that we can continue to raise her in the way Christ would have us to...guiding her and training her to follow Christ in all she does.  We pray that she will continue seek to please Him in all she does and that her heart will be a reflection of His heart.  We pray that the Lord will grant us wisdom as we discipline her and instill truths into her little heart and mind.
Words can't express what a pure delight she is to our family!  We love you sweet Bella!!  Happy third birthday!!

This girl is a true little princess!!  I mean who, other than a princess, wears a crown and carries a princess wand to the park for a picnic!??

She sure loves her sweet brother...I'm beginning to believe that he will always have two mommies. :)

Stats:

Height:  39 inches    90%

Weight: 37lbs.          90%

Her pediatrician confirmed what her dr said last year at her 2 year appointment about her growth!  They are both predicting that she will be between 5'8" and 5'10"!!  We shall see!!

Schedule:

7                      Wake/Breakfast

9                      Help mommy with chores

                        School time with mommy

12                    Lunch

1:00 - 3:30ish  Nap

5:30                 Dinner

8:00                 Bed time

*Other than these routine parts of our day, our days are filled with play-dates, park dates, story time, crafts, walks, swimming, gym time, zoo time, Bible study...and lots more fun!!!

Boo sayings...

Over the past year, I have kept my phone handy and recorded cute little sayings that I wanted to always remember from Bella!  She started jabbering really young...but by the time she turned 2 she was talking in full sentences!  So, I thought it would be fun to note special words/phrases/stories she told us!
I thought it would be best to list them and then put a brief description so we can always remember...



"mica" - music

"brother can't walk...his toes are too little" - when Jackson was just a newborn

"daddy  has a big booty, i have a yittle booty and brotter has a big boy booty"..."yittle" is little

"yet me tell you a queshion" - the way she would start off her stories to us

"yucy" - her beloved doll named Lucy

"I don't can do it!" - when she didn't think she could do something

"I see you yesterday...I wanna go to church yesterday" - yesterday can mean tomorrow, today or yesterday

"I see Pastor and yee-oh but they be busy" - told me one Sunday at breakfast that she wanted to see Pastor and Leo

"I have my tears on" - when she got scared and called her daddy crying

"I never don that before" - what she would say when trying something new

"Dr. Dean's house" - what she called her pediatrician's office

"daddy, mommy, yook at me and yisten" - when she wanted our attention

"I not see mamma" - when she couldn't find something

"mommy I wanna take my shirt off like pappa takes his shirt off when he runs" - wants to run like him

"where you are" - when she talks on the phone to someone she loves

"brother is a yittle guy" - reminding herself why we have to be gentle

"I wanna play with buddy" - telling me she wants to play with brother

"daddy, why you wearing moms shirt?" - when daddy wears v-nect t's or striped sweaters

"we park in a sparkin pot" - we park in a parking spot

"daddy, I like your nest...I don't have one" - daddy's upper lip with whiskers

"when I'm a really big girl" - she has lots of plans for when she's a big girl =)