Lil Begger!

Isaac gets SO EXCITED for food! His whole body tenses up, he shakes from head to toe and he makes the cutest "BAAAAAA" noise. This is an Isaac classic, for sure! Here he is begging for a banana...

Birthday CELEBRATION!!!

We couldn't pass up the opportunity for a little party to CELEBRATE Isaac's first birthday with family!

Our firstborn 'leader' got everyone lined up for pre-birthday party races! It's amazing to me how many adults will follow a two-year-old's instructions! ; )

Isaac lovin' on his Auntie B Digging in to birthday cake... Round TWO!

I love this one! Wyatt made a clown face with the red frosting and Isaac thought he was pretty funny! Wyatt's face was stained the rest of the day. He looked like he had a terrible burn on his face.

Finishing (almost) every last bite!

After a much needed bath, it was time for presents. Guess who opened most of them?

Isaac loved the paper and boxes, of course!

Here's Isaac groovin' to his birthday song card!

Mimi and Isaac

Papa and Grandma with Ikey Bear

Is this a sweet picture, or what?

Ike got a lot of love today!

The birthday boy was finally partied out. Grandma Great gave him a bottle before he went down for a nap...

It was a great day!

Ike in Action at Chuck-E-Cheese!

Birthday Boy... Isaac is ONE!

The BIRTHDAY BOY!!!!! I can't believe my baby is ONE!

We started off the day with some powdered donuts... a new fav or Ike!

Then we dropped Wy guy off at school! Ikey bear and Mommy got some sweet one-on-one time together! We ran some errands, played, had lunch together and even got a few new things in the mail...Isaac loved the bubble wrap! After we picked Wyatt up from school, we met Daddy for our first Chuck-E-Cheez adventure...

Oh my! Our birthday boy had so much FUN!!! He got to ride in Bob's digger...

and on Clifford's back!

Daddy and Wyatt even got a little target practice in too!

I sure do LOVE my lil fellas!

And once we got home, we had to finish the night by letting Isaac dig in to some birthday cake!

Our birthday boy had a little help eating his birthday cake!

He LOVED every bite!

Look at this sad face! My little buddy got his feelings hurt when we finally took the cake away! Cleanup wasn't nearly as much fun...

It was a VERY FUN DAY celebrating ONE YEAR with our sweet man!

Isaac, Just one year ago we welcomed you into our family and now I can't imagine life without you! You are just the sweetest lil guy! I love you to pieces! You are so content and flexible... You just go with the flow and have a true zest for life. You keep me laughing and on my toes like no other! DESTRUCTION should be your middle name. You love to tear things apart and pull things out of cabinets and destroy whatever you can like it's your main job! We've got this house child-proofed to the hilt... but somehow you always seem to discover something new to create a mess! You are such a charmer and love everyone. You are pretty independent most of the day and love to roam freely around the house, but you definitely let us know when you want some snuggle or play time. Wyatt and I call you 'Georgie' because you are so very curious. You LOVE your bottle before bed...it's going to be a very sad day when we finally have to take it away. You still suck your thumb when you're sleepy... Hopefully I'm not still documenting this about you on your fifth birthday update! ; ) It will always be one of my favorite memories about you, along with your little sheep "baaaaaa" noise when you beg for food! And my grocery bill... has defintiley gone UP since you started eating solids. You eat like a grown up! I have no idea where you store all of the food you eat, but you can certainly pack some food away! You never fight bedtime. I love this about you! You are a go-getter, full of energy, and can certainly hold your own with your big brother. I pray that you will remain content and flexible, that you will always hold your own, and love the life you've been given. You have so many amazing qualities that will serve you and others very well in life! I can't wait to see what BIG things the Lord has in store for you! I love you Isaac Owen. You will always have a very special place in my heart as my middle man. I LOVE YOU, Ikey bear! Forever and For Always, Mommy

Look Who's Almost Walking!

Isaac is becoming pretty secure on his feet these days! He is standing on his own and pushing around on everything--from his lion walker, to the stepstool, to any toy that will support him! It's so fun to watch him in his new independence. He loves an audience and just beams when you praise him. I don't think it will be long now before he's taking steps on his own!

First Day of SCHOOL for Wyatt...

Today was Wyatt's very first day of school! He was so excited about the idea of this new experience! The moment he got out of bed he wanted to put on his backpack and kept asking if it was time to go yet! I was a bit nervous that once we pulled up to the circle drive for drop off that my little man was going to change his mind and decide he didn't want to stay for the day. As we waited for Wyatt's turn to be escorted from our car into his classroom he kept asking, "Is it my turn yet? Are they coming for me this time?" Much to my suprise, he wasn't the least bit hesitant when it really was his turn. When his teacher came out to greet us, Wyatt jumped out of the car, put on his backpack, grabbed Ms. Leah's hand and said, "Bye, Mom... Have fun at the grocery store!" I stopped him for a kiss and then watched my little man walk away. I hopped back into the car and pulled away with tears of JOY streaming down my cheaks! My Wy guy is really growing up on me! I can't say that I really enjoy the 'letting go' process, but that's what mommyhood is all about...letting go one moment at a time from the day they are born until the day they leave home for college. I'm so glad that Wyatt is maturing and becoming independent of me. He's becoming confident in himself and secure enough to make good decisions and obey others without my prompting! I have to say that in the back of my mind I was expecting a phone call somewhere around lunchtime saying that Wyatt was missing me and wanted to come home. But when I showed up to get him at 2:30 he was all smiles and said, "I had fun!"

7 Years with my Best Friend!

Today we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary! Seems like just yesterday that we were walking down the aisle to say 'I DO!' on that 70 degree day in Kansas City (a little bit different from the frigid temps we're experiencing here in Iowa!). But 7 years and 3 boys later, we are feeling increasing thankful for the life we're living out together!

We made the trip to Iowa this weekend to celebrate Joe's Grandma Surber's 90th Birthday! It was so fun to watch her being honored by family and friends. I think she was on cloud 9 for the day and totally soaking up the experience of a fantastic party! So our weekend certainly wasn't a romantic getaway : ) but it was a very memorable 7th for us! We're so glad we were able to celebrate with Grandma Surber!

Joe's parents were gracious to keep the boys last night while we snuck out to watch a movie. Joe is still trying to redeem himself for taking me to see True Grit for our anniversary. Somehow I managed to stay awake trying to find a silver lining in the midst of the gloomy wild west storyline... well, it ended pretty much the same way it began with more doom and gloom. Defintiley not worth the price of a movie ticket from this critic's point of view, but it was fun sitting next to my man for 2 solid hours without any little voices chattering in the background! ; )