Eve's First Birthday

I can't believe that my baby is 1! I probably say that all the time, but time is just flying by so quickly! I think time really does speed up :) Let me rewind a little bit to our flight on the 20th.

We had to fly out of BWI (Baltimore) which is my least favorite just because it is so far away. But, the tickets were significantly cheaper, so we did it. We could not find a non-stop flight, so we got a flight that had a stop but we did not have to change planes. I thought it was going to be easy. Well, it was not.

We had a bit of delay leaving Baltimore, then when we stopped, it seemed like we were stopped forever. The kids would not fall asleep - Eve had slept on the way to Baltimore, but Reed was just being stubborn.

On our second leg of the trip - the much longer portion - the fasten seat belt sign was on almost the entire flight! Yeah, that is great when you have 2 wrestless kids who need to wiggle and move. I guess we kind of disobeyed rules because Reed and I both used the bathroom when the fasten seat belt sign was on, but really, it was an emergency. You do not tell a boy being potty-trained that he has to hold it when he requests the potty (and hasn't gone for 3 hours or so). The made an announcement right after I went in to the bathroom, but I really didn't care at that point.

After what seemed an eternity, we landed! Yahoo, home free, right? No, we had to sit on the tarmack for another 40 minutes waiting for our specific gate to open up. Thankfully, Reed had fallen asleep near the end of the flight and slept through that bit. But, we did arrive in Las Vegas - hungry, grumpy, tired, but we arrived.

Well, we did lots of playing from the 20th until Eve's birthday. Reed loved playing with his Walker cousins and absolutely loved Grandma's singing Santa Claus (in an up-and-coming video - next post)! The boys - Reed, Vance, and Carter - played together really well! They just laughed and ran around like crazy kids.

So, now onto Eve's actual birthday. All the Walker cousins (Natalie, Kylie, Mackenzi, Vance, and Carter) came and even the Rowberry cousins that lived in town (Mary, Evyn, and Isla). We all ate some lunch and then came the dessert - cake decorating!

I made mini cakes for the kids (and adults) and they got to frost them, put other bits of candies on them, and then eat them. I seriously love this! It takes less time, the little kids enjoy it, they don't eat a huge piece of cake, and it is less preparation than making the cake with all the frosting and decorations! I may be doing this for many more birthdays :)  Here is how it went:



Who wants this type of cake (there were a few shapes to choose from)? Hands shot into the air!

 

Putting on frosting and finding some other good stuff to put on it.

Decorating really is serious business.

Reed really loved it!

Some kids just kept putting on candy :)

Vance - so proud of his Christmas tree

Finishing touches - now I can eat it.

Carter enjoyed his cake!

Eve is not quite sure what to think of Aunt Krystal's camera.

Do you want some cake?

No? Ok, I will take it back ...

and eat it!

Mmmmmm! Delicious!!

After cake was done, the bouncy house was next on the list! All the kids (except Eve) really enjoyed it! Eve got a bit overwhelmed with all the jumping kids. I also think the noise was a bit much. She did end up going in for a few minutes at a time with Tyson or myself. If Tyson was standing, she was ok. I tried to get her to bounce - that was a mistake. Ah well :)

The best toy ever!

Reed may have inherited his father's jumping skills.

Eve was happiest when holding a ball.

Eve showing me the ball.

Let's bounce!

Guess not. Time to get out.

 Next was presents! It started with the kids in a circle, kind of far away. Progressively, everyone got closer and closer, until they were right on top of Eve and me! Reed was by far the most excited out of everyone! He loved watching (and trying to help) Eve open her presents. He would get really excited and scream, "What is it??!! What is it??!!" with his hands up in sort of a 'W' shape. It was absolutely hilarious! She ended up getting clothes, books, boots, a singing dog, a drum, bracelets, and a necklace.

Eve loves ripping the paper :)

Hmm, that camera again!

A drum!

Beads from Natalie :)

A singing dog!

Clothes (of course)

 After the present opening came the playtime! And what playtime is complete without a dog pile on Uncle Jared (to wake him up)?

Loving the beads!

Dog pile!!!!

Could she be any happier?! :)

Playing with mom

Such a big girl!

The drum was an absolute hit with everyone!

Here - have an egg shaker!

The Busiest Weekend - Part Sunday

Well, Sunday was just a busy, if not busier, than Saturday. So, while I got a little breather on Saturday night, I spent it preparing for my Relief Society lesson on Sunday (I was asked to sub just for that Sunday).

First off, church started at 8:30 a.m. It is always hard to be on time when church starts at 8:30, but I had to be early. So, yeah, it was a little bit of a process, but it ended up all working out. The sacrament program went well (at least I think it did). I sang in most of the choir numbers and played the Glockenspiel in the other three. I got a lot of compliments on the Glockenspiel - I've decided it's my new favorite instrument. It's easy to play and sounds awesome! :)

I taught the lesson in Relief Society because the old teacher had been called to Primary and not been released from Relief Society teacher. Oops! I ended up teaching on the Sabbath Day. I was a little nervouse because there are so many differing opinions on what it means to honor the Sabbath Day. We stuck to what the manual specifically said about it and ended up having a great discussion! Phew!

After church I came home and started the dinner. My sister, parents, brother and sister-in-law were coming for dinner. Plus, we were having a double birthday celebration for my sister, Kristy, and Eve! Their birthdays are December 22nd and 23rd - so I thought it fitting.

All too soon, it was time for dinner! Everyone got here, we had a great meal and just enjoyed hanging out! Eve experienced her first taste of homemade chocolate cake (no dairy, no soy) and liked it. I wouldn't say that she loved it, but she had a good time. :)

It was great to see Kristy. I had not seen her since August 2009 - too long! She is doing well and almost done with her Bachelor's degree. I wish we would have gotten more time with her, but ah well. Maybe soon!

After dinner, we opened some of our Christmas presents that we were not taking with us - they were just too big! Reed was so excited!!! He loves opening presents! Eve loved ripping the paper! She still loves ripping paper. I think it is a little kid thing. Ripping is just so cool. Reed got a tricycle and Eve got a jogging stroller. They were both ecstatic about the gifts! Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Walker :)

Reed also got to open a mini-train set from Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry - he loved it! The train goes on the track and spins and turns around. He could have watched it all night :) Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry.

Eve got to open lots of birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry! She got a dress, a pants outfit, and some hair accessories! She loved it - I think mostly just being able to pull more paper, but she looks fabulous in her little outfits :)

It was only after all of this, and after everyone had left for the evening, that we started packing for our trip to Las Vegas, NV that was happening the next morning! Luckily, our flight was not until 1 p.m.! Wow, what a busy, but enjoyable day!

"Happy Birthday to you...."

She even blew out all 24 candles!



Eve is not quite sure what to make of the whole thing.

She did enjoy the chocolate :)


I love the gold bow - our little birthday girl!

Reed is so excited for his present!

What is it guys?

A box with a picture of a bike! (It took him a minute to realize that there actually was a bike inside)

Eve just loves ripping paper!

Oh, a box!

Must rip all the paper :)

Yeah!

Best stroller ever!

Reed is so excited for the trike/bike!

The Busiest Weekend Ever - Part Saturday

Yes, the weekend before going to Las Vegas was perhaps one of the busiest of my life. Everything just seemed to culminate in 2 short days. Crazy! So, let's start with Saturday, December 18th.

The morning of the 18th proved to be very cold and the ground was snowy and icy. I guess you could say this is 'ideal' weather for running a 10k (hope you sense the sarcasm there). But, I did it anyway.

My mom and I had signed up for a race at Hains Point. She was doing the 5k and I was doing the 10k. The course had a slight change at the last minute - instead of the 5k doing one circle and 10k doing 2, they had to do an up and back course. That meant that the 5k went up and back and the 10k was up and back two times. Ugh, not ideal, but whatever, nothing could be done to change it. But, the fact that it was icy on the ground made it even worse that I had to turn around 3 times during my run! Ah well!

I saw my mom during the race briefly. We ran past each other twice and gave thumbs up and clapped. Always good to have someone motivating you and vice versa. :) I almost slipped turning around, but I did stay on my feet. Phew! Crisis averted. I was sure that my time would be slower than my previous 10k, but to my pleasant surprise I ran it about 30 seconds faster! I finished in 52:14 minutes! I was very pleased expecially since I had to slow down to turn around and the running conditions were not the best. My mom was happy that she completed the race! So, a great start to the chilly morning!

Post race....starting to get cold :)

We drove home and I had to hurry and shower and leave for the choir practice. Originally, I was going to skip the practice since I knew the songs and go to a cookie exchange (since I had never been to one before), but that all changed when I got asked to play the glockenspiel! My friend who was supposed to play had to end up having surgery (she is ok!), so I got asked to play. Thus, I had to show up to the Saturday morning rehearsal to play with the choir and practice at least a few times before the performance!

The glockenspiel is kind of like a xylophone, but I think it sounds prettier. The first time through was rough because I was figuring out where the notes were. On a glockenspiel (at least the one I played) there are no flats written on the notes, just sharps. So, your mind has to think a little backwards when flats are involved.

It all worked out and the practice was good. 2 things checked off the list by noon!

After going home to have lunch, I immediately had to start getting ready for my piano recital. My friend, Mina, hosted it at her house (thank you again, Mina!). She lives a good 20 minutes away and I had to be early since I was the teacher, so it got a bit tricky. Not to mention, Tyson was at the church building helping with tithing settlement. So, I had to get the kids ready and loaded, get myself ready, bring the presents for my students, plus cookies I had made, and be there before 3:30 p.m.!

Thankfully, it all worked out. The program started a little late because people were caught in traffic (holiday traffic is horrible!), but it turned out great! I was so proud of my students! I guess I should have prepared something to play, but I just did not have the time to actually learn something new. Next time I will just have to play something I am already familiar with.

My students all did great! Even some of the shyer ones did a great job at introducing themselves and bowing when they finished. It was a great moment for me as a teacher!

My students and me

Luckily, that was the end of Saturday for me. We were able to go home, eat dinner, and prepare for Sunday, which ended up being more busy for me!

Let it Snow! plus week 10

I tried really hard to get all caught up on my blog before going on Christmas vacation, but did not. Here are some posts from a while ago! Enjoy :)

On Reed's 10th week of preschool he learned about Christmas! They ended up having S'mores as treats and then making little S'mores Christmas tree ornaments. So cute :)

The ornament

The next day, December 16th, it snowed!! I wondered if Reed would remember what it was since it has almost been a year since he has actually seen snow. Well, he remembers. That morning he looked out our back window and shouted, "Snow!!" He was so excited the whole morning because it was snowing!

After lunch we got all bundled up and headed out into the snow. Reed loved it! He loved crunching the snow with his feet, brushing off the bushes, and making little snowballs. He even found a stick (in true boy fashion) and used it to draw in the snow and wipe off more bushes! I think snowballs may be innate because without me saying a thing Reed made little snowballs and threw them at the trees! Such fun :)

Reed was severely disappointed when he had to go inside, but I promised we would go outside again that same day. So, when Tyson came home from work, we had a family outing in the snow. :) Reed still loved every minute! He especially loved when daddy threw snowballs as high as he could and hit the apartment building as it came down. Eve didn't know what to think. She just stood there, expressionless. Maybe next year she will a little more feeling toward snow. All-in-all a great day!


The first steps outside...

Reed standing by the car.

He found a stick, of course!

Wiping off the bushes with his stick!

Proudly showing off the snow on his gloves :)

Eve wondering what this stuff is...

'Ok, I guess I will look up for the picture.'

Throwing snowballs at mommy!