Jeremy's 3rd Birthday. . . 3 Random Acts of Kindness

We are not big on birthdays. B and I really don't celebrate ours. I mean we say, "Oh happy birthday, babe." but that's the extent of it. We want our kids to have great birthday memories, time with their friends and family, but we struggle with the idea of making a day all about THEM.

That being said we want to celebrate with our kids and are excited they have made it through another year! But have always struggled with trying to celebrate them, yet teach them a heart of selflessness. UNTIL I saw Random Acts of Kindness on a blog! Genius! So from this year forward we will teach our children to do RAOK.

This year Jeremy did 3 RAOK since he turned 3. We talked about them the day before and made a plan! It was so fun driving around town and watching the joy on his face as he made people smile!

1. We put $1 bills in book at the library
2. We took balloons to a nursing home
3. We made cupcake for his friends and met them at the park for lunch.

 1. $1 bills in Library books. We taped a note that said:

   Hi,

I’m Jeremy! Today is my 3^rd Birthday.

I am showing 3 acts of kindness!

Thank you for being a special part

of my day!

God Bless. 

1st book he choose.

Last 2 books!

 2. He gave balloons to people at a nursing home. They even sang him Happy Birthday! It was so sweet!

We had regular size balloons picked out.
Then he aw the tiny ones and really wanted them!
They were perfect! 

This sweet lady kissed the balloon while J handed him to her!

3. Then we were off to the park! We meet friends there! Jeremy was excited to give them the cupcakes he made and decorated!

From left to right: Capri, Caleb, Jeremy,
Dillon, Evan, Drew, Olivia.

Handing a cupcake off to his BFF, Drew.

I also did a few special things for J throughout the day!

His floor was filled with balloons when he woke up!

When he woke up from his nap he got to tear through this like a superhero!

We met the O'Rafferty's at Chick Fil A!
I made a cake while he was napping.

A little bag of goodies from Daddy and Mommy.

It was such a fun day! He still talks about it! I secretly hope that while we are at the library one day he finds a book with one of his dollars in it! Love this boy so much!

Baptized!

And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1Peter 3:21

I believe your faith grows at different rates, at different points of your life. There's something to be said about the saying, "Faith like a Child." Yet, when you reach the point as an adult where you really grasp the concept of God's infinite grace and the challenge to LOVE people as the gospel tells us over and over again, it's time to celebrate! And what better way to celebrate then an outward profession of your faith?

The very definition of Baptism!!

Bobby and I were both baptized when we were younger. But we have seen some major spiritual growth in both of us in the past year. We decided that now that we have a clear understanding of the example Jesus led, we needed to follow suit.

Easter!

At the top of Mt. Rubidoux

A friend asked me to blog about the Easter tradition we do in our family. We want to make sure Jesus is celebrated, recognized, and spoken of all the while making it a fun holiday for our kids!

I made a flip book that we have been reading all month! I love it! It puts the Easter story simply and at their level. I laminated it so I will be able to reuse each year.



The celebration started on Good Friday. We walked up Mt. Rubidoux. And took Communion at the top!

Reading scripture and taking Communion

Cousins just 14 days apart! 

Made it to the top!

Sweet girl, having fun climbing!

Reading scripture and taking communion.

Cousins hanging out!

The view on the way down!

This kids has little baskets from Mommy and Daddy when they woke up:

We went to church:

Awesome worship at Sandals Church!

GiGi came to spend the morning with us!

Mommy and the kiddos.
Daddy was working.

We had an Egg Hunt:

He was so excited about the eggs
we had to convince him to keep looking for more! 

LuLu got a few too!
Jeremy brought some to her!
So sweet!

Already breaking into the candy!

I filled the eggs with a few little candies and
quarters for their piggy bank!

Then we took a nap and headed to the station to see Daddy:

It was my intention to make "Resurrection Rolls" for breakfast. But I never got to it. Maybe next year!

I'm sure as the years go on we will add more traditions.

This is at the top of Mt. Rubidoux

Capri Update: 11 months

Weight/Health

Our little princess has remained at 21 pounds for quite a few months. She still rocks the chunky thighs! Everybody, I mean everybody that sees her comments on them!  I love it! 

Confession time. . . . I haven't taken her to the doctor for her well baby check up since 8 months! Yikes! I need to make an appointment this week! 

Sleep

I don't have a sleep one this month!
Cute Jammies will work!

Capri has been changing it up lately: She wakes up at 6:00am for milk, back to sleep until 7:30am, nap from 9:30-10:30a,, nap from 1:00-3:330pm and bedtime is 8:00pm. She is waking up 2-3 times a night for milk. I've thought about breaking her of it but I love the time with her so much! And I let Jeremy cry it out to make him sleep through the night and he STILL doesn't sleep through the night. . . so what's the point?? We'll see. I have been quite tired lately!

Clothes

We love all the little summer dresses! I have to watch the length because they get in the way of crawling! Most of the clothes we have out are 12 months. I have a few 18 month shirts our for the length. And still some 9 month dresses. 

Social

This month was quite busy for us! I hosted a bridal shower for a dear friend. I also worked a day at the preschool! The kids got a Daddy day! We have been to the park many times lately! We walked up Mt. Rubidoux on Good Friday and took Communion. (See this Easter post) We had a fun visit from The Dizzles! Bobby served in the Marines and was on a deployment with Ben! We have been celebrating 1 year old birthdays all over the place! Next month is Capri's turn! 

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

These kids continue to melt my heart! They love to play together. Capri is so excited to wake J up from his nap every day! She giggles with excitement when we walk into him room! He can make her laugh like no one else! Jeremy has been wrestling with her lately! A few times he has been slightly too rough.  We has to have him tone it down a bit. They both love playing in the back yard. Capri has been enjoying the sand table and water!

Diet

Tearing up the avocado.

Capri has been eating just about everything we eat! I limit her dairy. She still loves her breastmilk! About every 4 hours. Although, when I am gone she doesn't care for bm in a bottle or cup. She drink about 5 oz a day when I am away. And then wants t nurse like crazy when I get home. From what I can tell when I pump, she has about 5oz each time she nurses, about 5 times a day. I would say her favorite foods are avocado and banana. 

Milestones 

Let's see this month. . . Capri is verbally saying, "Hi," "Mama," and "Dada" when we ask her where we are. She has mastered the crab crawl. She attempts to walk, moving one foot but not the other. Daddy loves to have her fake laugh! She gives us a kiss when we ask! She started Musical Munchkins. love to sing and clap! She has also mastered the fish lip!

Bubbles at Musical Munchkins! 

Personality!

There are so many things Capri does that remind us of Jeremy and quite a few things that are her own little traits! She lives to be the center of attention, she has a loud and proud squawk, always happy unless she wants milk, loves keys, she remains a non snuggler unless she has her blanket, indubitably, shows her excitement through her feet and mouth smile! 

Mommy Fail:

We were driving down the freeway I hear a very excited squeel from the baby girl! Jeremy says, "Mommy she is trying to get her cup." I know her cup in beside her seat. . . I look back in a panic. . .

She wasn't buckled in! 

By the grace of God I merged 3 lanes to the next exit, while my hand was behind me holding her in place, and driving a manual transmission! We got off safely, I took the picture, and buckled her in!

And last but not least. . . 

Capri would like to share her excitement about her new baby cousin, Levi or Rowen TBA in approximately 9 weeks!! You can follow her on her new blog. . . I'll get the link for you as soon as she gets it set up!

This was a long winded update! Thanks for reading! See you next month for the ONE YEAR UPDATE! I can't believe it!

Country Tea Bridal Shower*

That's a mouthful! I almost added "Kitchen Themed Country Tea". . . That would have been WAY too much! But that's just what it was! Kirsty loves to cook, she LOVES tea and they are moving to Kentucky! The theme was all unique to the bride and groom! All the details made it a relaxing and memorable day for her!

The invitation asked guests to wear their sundresses and boots!

Sweet Tea: Tea of the Republic Hibiscus, The bride's favorite brand. It was delicious as Iced Sweet tea!

I collected Starbucks Frappachino jars for a few months.
We used Goo Gone to take the sticky label off and ran them through the dishwasher.
The straws were from Amazon. The bride's glass had the fushia bow. :)

 On the Menu: Chicken and Egg Salad Sandwiches, Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing, Spinach Artichoke dip with Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, Pineapple, Banana Muffins, Scones (made by the bride!), Cake Pops!

The Tablescape:

We sat on bales of straw with tablecloths over them.
Blue bottles with twine tied.
We put flowers in tea canisters. 

The Decorations:

Top Left: The sign read: "Every good and perfect gift comes from above."
Top Middle: Wood crates with flower arrangements
Top Left: Lingerie Clothes Line.
Bottom Left: Patio Posts wrapped in burlap. Cans with babies breath.
Bottom Middle: Bathroom decor, Napkins to dry hands with their monogram.

We had bales of straw in the front yard.
Love story sign with important dates from their dating.
We saved a space for the bride to park in the driveway!

"Goodbye Cotton, Hello Lace"

Activities:

 I'm not a big fan of games at bridal showers. I like the kind of party where you can relax and hang out! We had a few things for the guests to do at their leisure.

Sweet Tea Hand Soaks!

One basin was filled with sweet tea to soak your hands in.

On the green platter behind was Satin Hands scrub.

The other basin was filled with Water to rinse.

Satin Hands Lotion and nail polish.

The ladies loved it!

 Lingerie Clothesline. Panties says, "Goodbye Cotton, Hello Lace"
Each piece of lingerie that was opened was given a title by the guests.
The Bride chose her favorite and gave a prize to the guest that brought it
Sweet Tea Hand Soak
Scrap book station
The Groom's aunt writing on her spoon. Beautiful shot.
Wooden spoons to write advice. encouragement, and Bible verses

Centerpieces were tea tins with Babies breath.
"Chairs" were hay bales
Add some burlap and candles... Makes a perfect scene! 

Front yard as guests arrive.
First impressions are important!

This was one of my favorite showers to throw!! All the little intricate details were so fun!

Check out Grey & Yellow Bridal Shower
Rubber Ducky Baby Shower