A little Anthro Inspiration

Oh Anthropologie

I heart you.

If I had a loaded gift card to Anthropology

I would treat myself to some of these pretties.

stitched sweater

racer jacket

ruffle top

paisley pencil

rainbow earrings

Wesley's first birthday party details

Between having family visit,

Aaron leaving for his trip

and potty training

I totally forgot to post the details from Wesley's first birthday party!

We had a casual surfer/beach themed party at park near our house for our baby boy's first.

Just food family, friends and fun.

We had a great time celebrating our little man!

Here are some of the details...

For the party favors I got a sand bucket and shovel for each child.

I personalized them with their name so they could know whose is whose.

For some birthday decorations

I made a pendant banner with all of my favorite boy fabrics

and hung it from the EZ up canopy we brought.

They were really simple to make.

I ironed interfacing onto the back of each fabric to make them a little sturdier, cut the pendants out with pinking shears, and then hot glued them all to a long piece of ribbon.

Super cute. Super easy.

I also made a few surfboard decorations out of felt and ribbon

to spice up the canopy.

They also helped tie the whole surfer theme together.

What's a party without food?

We ended up having way more than we needed.

We kept it simple with pizza, snacks, veggie platters, salad,

chips and dip

(served in more sand buckets)

the best homemade lemonade ever, water and ice tea.

And of course funfetti cupcakes.

Because a party is not a party without funfetti cupcakes.

The little birthday boy!

The park ended up being a great party location.

The kids loved to play on the playground, there was plenty of room for the kids to run around,

and the clean up was quick and easy.

I still can't believe my baby is one.

He's my little mama's boy.

Wesley and his daddy.

My two favorite guys.

Wesley is such a little monkey boy.

He climbs up the whole slide by himself.

I think Wesley likes funfetti cupcakes as much as me.

He polished off his cupcake like a pro.

The kids loved their buckets and shovels and where able to break them in with the sand at the park.

Wesley loves wearing glasses and sunglasses.

Here he is sporting his grandpa's glasses.

Silly boy.

(Doesn't he look a little like Aidan from John and Kate plus 8 in them?)

We had a great time celebrating our big boy's first birthday!

Potty champ

Thanks for all of the potty training support!

After our last two (failed) attempts

I was pretty much dreading the whole potty training experience.

But to my surprise Mackenzie has been the

Potty Pro!

She has been doing so great!

She's only had one accident since we started.

I think there is something to be said about waiting a little later to potty train.

It just seemed like once she did it for the first time, she got it.

Well she is also crazy smart.

I'm sure that had something to do with it :)

Anyways, I would have posted some pics from our potty adventures but the hubs took the camera on his trip.

But since a post is not a post without a picture,

I leave you with the Princesses that are on Mackenzie's favorite big girl undies

which are possibly the sole reason she wanted to be potty trained

(to wear the underwear).

That and the promise of lots of M&Ms.

Hope your having a great week!

Gone. Parents house. Potty training.

My husband has left me

for 9 days

to go here

{Australia and New Zealand}

for this super cool church planting conference.

So while the hubby is gone I did what any normal person would do

I packed up the kids and the dog,

and 9 days worth of stuff,

and went to my parents house.

The days alone with the kids I can totally handle.

It's the weird noises you only hear when you are home alone at night that freak me out.

I know I'm kind of a baby.

While Aaron is gone I'm also hoping to tackle a bunch of projects.

At the top of the list is getting Mackenzie potty trained.

I've stocked up on lots of potty training treats

and am ready to go.

The thought of having one less kid in diapers makes me giddy.

Hopefully it's an easy transition.

Wish us luck!

The Best Lemonade Ever

When life hands you lemons

{or you pick them from a tree

or buy them from the store}

make lemonade.

This lemonade to be exact.

It truly is the best lemonade ever

and the perfect summer treat.

Once you've tasted how good fresh squeezed lemonade is

you will never be able to go back to fake stuff.

I promise.

*The only small change I make to the recipe

is I only use 1 1/2 cups sugar instead of 1 3/4 cups.

Enjoy!

Radical by David Platt

Just finished this book.

Wow.

It's powerful, thought provoking, eye opening and heart changing.

Definitely a must read for anyone in the church.

Four kiddos

Last week I got a taste of being a Mommy of 4.

We watched our friends 2 kids while they were out of town.

It was a fun. crazy. adventure.

Here are some things I learned about having 4 kids

all under the age of 5.

It's pretty much impossible to get a good picture of all 4 kids together.

4 kids produce lots of laughing

(and crying).

Recruit the older ones to help whenever you can.

There is such a thing as controlled chaos.

Stick to a schedule but be flexible.

When all else fails...

whip out a snack.

Be armed with a ridiculous amount of crafts and coloring.

And dress up clothes.

Expect there to be one (or 3) kids in your lap at all times.

There is never a dull moment

and rarely a quiet house.

Go to bed really early

or drink lots of caffeine.

You will need lots of energy.

Plant a garden

and buy a cow

and chickens.

4 kids go through food like you wouldn't believe.

And be prepared for lots of fun, hugs, funny stories and excitement.