Celebrations...Part I

August was a month FULL of celebrations!  Birthday parties and baby showers consumed pretty much all of our weekends.  As busy as it was, I am so thankful to have so many things to celebrate and so many people to celebrate with.

Today we celebrated the Labor Day holiday and because it rained all day long I was able to catch up on some things at home.  I finally had time to get pictures off my memory card, so this blog post may be a little long from all of the pictures!

First, I want to post a few pictures of my sweet niece Cora's birthday party.  It was dead in the heat of the summer, so her mommy put lots of thought into making the party as cool for the kids as possible.  Swimming pools, water tables, ice cold lemonade, and ice cream sure helped with the extreme heat.

I bought this shirt for Cora several months ago when we were at the beach.  I was so happy to see her wearing it.  I love buying girl clothes and have a feeling I will enjoy buying Grace's 2nd baby girl, Elinor, clothes just as much!  

Grace is so creative and made the banner herself.  I loved the way that she set up the ice cream bar for the kids.  Cooper loved the fact that there were bowls of candy out in the open for him to sneak his hands into everytime someone wasn't looking.

Justin and Grace live near the RR tracks, so the little ones always get so excited to sit and watch the train pass by.  

Here we are...the two preggos surviving the hottest summer together that we can recall ever having.  I love that our babies will be so close in age.  And of course we are having them in the months right AFTER we had our first ones, which will just add to the birthday party overload this time of year!

The cake tasted as good as it looks in the picture.

Cora was so entertaining to watch.  She had a bit of a time getting on her bathingsuit and I was tempted to sing "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" while Nan and Grace tried to get her dressed.

As you can see, it just kept getting better!  It is funny that as an aunt, I find her fits completely entertaining and hysterical.  But as a mom, I bet Grace feels like I feel when Cooper acts that way.  Grrrr.....

I loved watching her run and play with her friends and get messier and messier by the minute.  Dumping water over your head with your clothes on is something only a 2 year old can get away with at her birthday party!  

When it came time to blow out the candles on her cake, Cora cried again.  And I smiled, AGAIN.

Cooper and his daddy hung out on the porch and enjoyed some cake, ice cream, cold drinks, and shade. 

   

This is the same porch that I remember sitting on with Martha in the summertime and admiring her beautiful backyard garden.  It holds many special memories for me.  I caught myself thinking often during the party about how happy it would make Martha if she could see all of the celebrations still being held in the home that was once hers.  I don't think there is much that would have made her happier.  Family was one of the most important things in her life, and she would just be so proud to see how beautiful Justin and Grace have made her home, AND to see the beautiful memories being made there.  I know it thrills my heart each time I go visit them to see what they have done with the home.  

Then, the next weekend we celebrated Sam's first birthday.  Sam is Addi's little brother, and Addi and Cooper are the best of friends.  So, apparently I did not get any pictures of Sam, but instead, took pictures of Cooper and Addi playing with all of the riding toys!  

The party was early on a Saturday on a day that we had a brief bit of cooler weather (in the 80's as opposed to the 90's).  The breeze was fabulous and the kids really had a great time with all of the riding toys.

The hit of the party was this John Deere gator though.  The kids drove it, and the mommies and aunts chased them.  

Once Cooper got his hands on the wheel, he was hooked.  He drove Addi all over the place.  They were so cute riding together.

Here are the two cutie pies riding together.  We joked that day about how today Cooper was driving her through the yard at the party, but before we know it, he may be driving her to their prom.  Who knows!?!

Jayme stayed up half the night before making some yummy cake pops.  Judging by the smiles on the kids faces, I would say her time was well spent.  They loved them!

The mommies got together for a quick picture.  We never do this and it took a few tries since we were almost crashed into by a car or two while standing and smiling.

And, thankfully, I was able to secure some pictures of the happy birthday boy from his mommy.  Shame on me for not taking any of him!  How could I have missed snapping pics of this sweet face!!??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CORA AND SAM!  

WE LOVE YOU BOTH!