Christmas in July

I don't know how this happened, but we have these three great kids that were all born in July. We honestly did not intend for them all to have birthdays that are all within three weeks of each other....it just happened. It sure makes for a wild and crazy summer. We joke every year that we are just going to set up the Christmas tree and decorate it with birthday streamers and throw all of their presents under it. For the last three years we have just combined all of the July birthdays into one big birthday bash. I decided that this year I kinda owed them all a separate birthday party with their friends. Don't know what I was thinking. That was brutal. They all had a great time though.

Logen had the first birthday party in July. His was a pirate themed party. His friends from church came over for a swim party and cake and snacks. His cake was so cute!

Logen turned 8, so that added a whole other reason to celebrate this month as well. In our faith we consider eight years old the age of accountability and allow them to be baptized if they choose. I have another post coming about Logen's great baptismal ceremony.

The next birthday we celebrated was Hayden's. She turned 10! Can you believe that 3 of my 6 kids are in double digit ages? Me either. Hayden had a swim  party with her friends too. She has a good group of friends.

We made these really cute cupcakes for Hayden's party. The bakery just didn't have anything tht matched our beach party theme, so we came up with these. The girls just loved them!

Hayden has such a great smile! She had a really good time with her friends.

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Princess Reagan turned 4 this year. I can't believe she is 4 already. She had a great day. She kept saying, "I'm so "esscited" I'm FOUR". She is really looking forward to growing up. She wants to be big like her big sister Lauren.

Lots of presents to open.

Steven managed to get us some circus tickets at work. We took all of the kids to the circus for Reagan's birthday. She has always wanted to see a real live clown. She had a terrific time. The circus was way better than I remember it was when I was a kid. It is always fun to see things through the eyes of your kids.

We got to the circus early to see the animals and the pre-show. These two clowns were pulling silks out of a bag and then pulled out a great big pair of granny panties. The clown on the right acted really shocked and threw them into the crowd. They landed on Logen's head. He was mortified! He now hates clowns. I think he is scarred for life!


The whole month was a lot of fun, but it was a lot of work for sure. They will probably have a big combined birthday party again next year unless I lose my mind next year. I think that we made a lot of memories though. :o)

Free Snuggles

One of my most favorite memories from each of my babies is the opportunity I had to share my nights with them. In the beginning Steven did not want to have our babies in bed with us. I remember those first few nights when we brought Lauren home from the hospital. It felt so wrong to me to lay her down even in the cradle that was so close it was touching our bed. I needed to be touching her in order for me to relax enough to sleep. It was obvious by her frequent waking yet sleeping once she was held that she needed me too. Babies spend 9 long months cuddled inside us. It is only obvious that they were designed to be kept close even at night. It didn't take long before Steven could see it too, and she was sleeping half the night snuggled up on his chest.

I love this part of parenting. I love having my babies drift off to sleep in my arms. I love being so close to them that I hear them giggle in their sleep and wonder what they are dreaming about. I love that I get to cuddle them without them fighting back. It is my time to recharge and reconnect with a busy toddler that doesn't want to slow down during the day. I love that my babies are content and secure knowing that someone who loves them is close by.

This time passes quickly. Each of my babies has moved on and out of our bed. They have outgrown the need to be kept close. They are secure and sleep well at night. I love having Hudson with us now. He is extra cuddly. I know I will eventually miss the time when I have a sweet smelling downy little noggin to kiss goodnight to.

My sweet doll Hudson...just a few days old.

How can you have a bad day when you wake up to that smile?

Hudson is staking out his territory.

Even his big sister knows that babies sleep best when they are snuggled.

Time Marches On

How on earth does a whole year fly by so fast? I am a bit disappointed in myself that I have not kept up with my blog. My memory is completely shot, and I LOVE to go back and read my old posts and relive the time that has gone by with my kids.

I won't try to catch up on an entire year's worth of posts at one time. It will suffice to say that things are wonderful. I. love. my. family. I love these little people and the bigger people that they are turning into. Reagan absolutely cherishes her little brother. Seeing her interact with him and love him just makes my heart smile. I am constantly reminded that loves multiplies.....it doesn't divide.


A few pictures to hold you over.






Updates to follow soon....