Happy 3rd Birthday Brayden!

It's hard to believe but our "baby" turned 3 on June 23rd. I can remember with such clarity my pregnancy with Brayden and all of the unknowns. I remember all of the fears and all of the blessings along the way as we were unsure about just what his health situation would be. I also vividly remember 2 months of bedrest with a 15-month-old at home to care for! (Well, at least a 15-month-old I wanted to care for! I was pretty useless without my helpers who took shifts to care for Nolan since I was told I couldn't lift anything near his weight!) And I remember going to the hospital that morning ready to be induced as I was now overdue! How does THAT happen after 2 months of trying to keep the little booger inside?!

I remember the relief and awe upon his arrival. Seeing he was "ok" and hearing his cry comforted me in a way no words could while I was pregnant. Still we didn't know what to expect for him and the days in the hospital were tense, but thankfully without incident. Soon we were home with our new little love. We couldn't have asked for these 3 years to have gone more smoothly or to have been filled with any more joy and love. I can't express the gratitude I have for the health and well being of my son, and my entire family for that matter. We don't always understand why we face the challenges that we do or why even we receive the blessings that we do, but I trust that God is in control and I am thankful for His hand in all of our lives.

Watching Brayden grow and change these 3 years has been incredible and there is so much we love about him - from his energy, to his smile, his big hugs to his little kisses, from his tool fascination to his candy addiction. Which brings me to his birthday party...

As I planned this party I kept finding myself saying "I can't believe I'm encouraging such an unhealthy habit!" But then I'd remind myself that it was just 1 day, and so I kept planning Brayden's candy themed party! Complete with a life size Candyland game for Brayden and his buddies outside and his own little candy shop for his guests to fill up their goody bags, our little sweet tooth was in candy heaven! I have since been reminding him that candy is a "once in awhile food", but it was worth it! Enjoy the photos and Happy Birthday Brayden!

Happy Birthday to Beau!

May 8, 2008 marked a milestone for us. We had a birthday party for a teddy bear! The boys decided that we needed to have a birthday party for Bray's favorite pal, Beau (not pronounced Bo, but actually rhymes with stew). And here I never even knew it was his birthday. We had a lot of fun with their idea. We baked Beau a cake (and since he can't eat it there was a lot for us!) and the boys even brought him presents (some of their own favorites stuffed into left over gift bags!). We played pin the nose on the teddy and when Grandpa Volz heard about what we were doing he even called and sang Beau a "Happy Birthday" message on our answering machine. The boys thought that was the greatest thing! So all this craziness in hopes not to stifle their creativity! So Happy Birthday to you Beau! (In case you are wondering, I don't have any idea how old he is!)

Loving the outdoors

We are so glad each day the sun shines and we can get outdoors! The boys really love being outside playing, helping Daddy, or just exploring. We also enjoy our good fishing trips and cook outs at Grandma and Grandpa Ballard's cabin and I wanted to share some photos of one of those fun times from earlier this spring.

Here is Denny fishing peacefully with his boys -- 3 fishermen, yet Nolan is the only one who caught a fish on this outing...

...But you can sure see that Brayden enjoyed trying! And by the way...we LOVE our smores, don't we Nolan!

A New View

Nolan's trip to preschool "child check' this spring revealed a few things... 1st he's ready and excited for preschool... and 2nd he needed to see an eye doctor! A quick optometry appointment later we would find out that the little dude indeed needed glasses. We had fun trying on some options and picking out glasses and remarkably Nolan's favorite pairs and mine were the same! I really lucked out because I wanted him to be able to pick some he liked, but I also didn't want him running around looking like a little dork!

He has been doing really well with them for a 4-year-old. He leaves them on almost all the time and after nearly 2 months we had no needs for repairs...That is until last weekend! Nolan was playing in the yard at Grandma and Grandpa Volz's house when he fell flat on his face. He hid his glasses from everyone and insisted he come home for his glasses case. He pulled in our driveway with Grandpa and I ran out his glasses case. He tried to sneak them inside with out me seeing and told me I couldn't look until tomorrow. I guess he was hoping they'd repair themselves overnight, because I could clearly see that a lens was missing! I asked him gently if he knew where the lens was and he just started streaming with tears. Poor little guy thought he was in big trouble! Anyway, we found the lens and got them repaired the next day.

Ironically, as I write this Nolan is not wearing his glasses! I can't find them! He had them on in the van yesterday and fell asleep back there. The next thing I knew they were no longer on his face and I can't seem to find them in the van. So needless to say I'll be searching in all the cracks and crevices! I guess maybe I should have considered taking advantage of that discount we were offered on a 2nd pair! We'll call that a learning lesson!

Thought I'd share some pics of the little guy in his specs. They're pretty cute, but you can see how they provide a little trouble for him in the van...and a few laughs for us!