Memorial Weekend - 2011

For Memorial Weekend we had plans to head over to Jerry and Lisa’s for a BBQ.  The day started out as not your typical Memorial Weekend weather with it being rainy and windy that morning, but lucky for us when it was time to go to the BBQ the weather cleared and the sun started shining.  Jerry and Lisa have a super cute front patio area which was decked out with food and drinks for everyone.  Jerry BBQ some delicious hamburgers and brats with bacon for that added plus.  He probably BBQ'd enough hamburgers and brats to feed a small country and the hamburgers were probably around the size of a newborns head, they were so big.  I still don't know how Jake went back for a brat after seeing the size of just his hamburger.

It's always great when we all hang out because Skylar gets to hang out with her best bud Harrison.  The two of them are just so cute together, it breaks my heart that Harrison will be moving away in a few months and we won't get to see them grow up together. If one attempted to crawl up the stairs the other had to follow, if one rolled all over Bailey's bed the other had to roll all over it.  Watching the two of them running around the house together was just priceless.  Skylar really enjoyed playing with all of Harrison's toys/books (of course, since they weren't hers), but her favorite was Harrison's sippee cup that she decided to take over as her own and drank if not all, most of his milk. 

I must give myself some kudos for the dessert I brought to the BBQ.  I tried to stick with the Holiday theme.  Too bad I don't think Harrison was a fan of my fruit pizza, as he seemed to only enjoy the chocolate cake Jerry was feeding him.  It was so funny to watch him eat it.  He would get the shakes in between each bite.

With the weather throwing things off a bit in the morning the day ended up turning out just perfect. Jerry and Lisa were awesome hosts and we thank them for there wonderful hospitality.  We had great company, great conversation and tasty food, can't ask for much more for a Memorial Day BBQ with good friends. 

The next day we decided to hit the pool, which was something that Jake had been talking about all weekend.  The weather was so warm and perfect pool weather that we couldn't pass it up.  Since Skylar wasn't a fan of the pool the first time I took her we were interested to see how she would reacted this time and talk about a 180.  We couldn't keep her out of the water, she just loved it.  When we would take her out and put her on the edge she would just reach her arms out wanting to get back in.  The pool day was a perfect ending to our Memorial weekend and gave us a glimpse into what summer is going to be like. 

Meeting Mackenzie

Now a days it's so rare when all of our friends can get together.  Everyone is in different cities and have so many things going on that its hard for us all to hang out.  When we found out that The Finkel's were going to be in Orange County for the weekend it was the perfect opporunity to finally meet the beautiful Mackenzie Finkel and get the crew together.  The Finkel's were staying at a cute hotel in Laguna Beach right on the water and lucky for us they were able to get us a room for the night.  Of course the first thing we had to do once we arrived was meet Mackenzie and hold her.  For some reason I was extremely nervous to hold a baby that size again, it was so hard for me to remember Skylar ever being that small and once Mackenzie got a little fussy I had to hand her back to her Mommy because it freaked me out.  Wanting a cute picture of Skylar and Mackenzie meeting for the first time didn't quite happen as Jenn and I hoped.  Mackenzie look adorable, but Skylar decided she wanted nothing to do with it.

The hotel had a perfect little lawn area with tables and lounge chairs that looked out on to the stunning pacific ocean so while waiting for everyone else to join us we caught up with Jenn and Fink and heard about what life is like now with Mackenzie. It's crazy because last time we saw Jenn and Fink they weren't parents and now seeing them as parents is so incredible. They are such naturals and have such a wonderful bond as a family.  Mackenzie is a doll and such a good baby.  She barely fussed and just let everyone admire and hold her the whole time we were with her.

Once Darc, Blake, Dianne, Jake and The TenBroeck's arrived the girls had some girl time while the boys headed down to the beach.   Dianne and Heather got to meet and hold Mackenzie for the first time.  We decided to order dinner in and just enjoy each others company and conversation for the evening.  Skylar's highlight were the lounge chairs that she keep crawling in and out of.   

By 8:00 pm I had to call it a night and take Skylar to bed while the rest of the girls continued to chat and the boys challenged each other to a ping pong tournament.  From what I heard about the ping pong tournament it got pretty intense with Jake E. and Finkel taking top honors (sorry Blake and Jake R.). 

The next morning before we had to say our "goodbye's" we were lucky to get some cute photos of Skylar and Mackenzie.  It even looked as if Mackenzie was trying to wrap her arm around Skylar's arm. 

When we were in college seeing each other every day I never pictured a time when we would all be living in different cities going months without seeing each other, but now that is our reality, so when we do all get together I make sure to cherish it.  The most beautiful thing about our group of friends is that as we continue to grow separately as families we never grow apart as friends. 

Skylar's 1st Birthday Party

After months of planning the big day had finally arrived, it was Skylar's 1st Birthday Party and Jake and I were really excited to celebrate with all of our friends and family.  Since Skylar's nickname to most is Bugs, we decided on a lady bug theme party.  My mom and I had been putting together little items for the party here and there for months now and were really eager to see it all come together.

We definitely had a handful of things to do before the party but luckily we had a ton of help from Paul and Suzie who came into town earlier in the week and my parents who arrived early that morning.  Paul took the lead in cleaning up the backyard, Suzie and my Mom worked on all the craft projects and decorating we needed that day, my Dad made all the last few trips to the store for anything we may have forgot, Jake was in charge of putting together most of the food, I decided to take on the challenge of baking some of the desserts, and the Birthday Girl just played until it was her nap time before the party started.  With everyones help we got the house put together, the food dished, and the desserts set up.

 

Well rested Skylar was ready for her party to begin.  She wore her little lady bug dress that I found and was greeted by so many people at once that I think she was pretty overwhelmed the first hour or so because she only wanted to be with mom or dad.  Once she warmed up, she was mingling all over the place making it known she was the birthday girl.  

After everyone enjoyed their pull porked sandwiches and yummy side dishes, it was cake time and I was hoping we wouldn't have a repeat of what happened with Skylar's cake on her actual birthday.  The cake was such a highlight of the party.  It was so cute and I really wanted Skylar to enjoy it.  We had everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her and once again, Skylar didn't want her cake and refused to even take a bite.  Jake said we should of made the cake out of Ritz crackers and she would of been in heaven.  The cake wasn't a hit for Skylar but the rest of the desserts everyone seemed to enjoy, which was a big relief for me because I didn't want to be left with 40 cupcakes, 20 cake pops, and 30 lady bug cookies.

After pressure from everyone at the at party we opened up about half of Skylar's gifts.  We have some of the greatest and most generous friends and family because Skylar had a ton of presents.  Uncle Matthew and Aunt Erin ended up giving Skylar her two favorite gifts because she decided to put a show on in the backyard playing with her new wagon and push car.  She even started crying when I took her out of her push car because she was having so much fun. 

After 5 hours of straight partying the Birthday Girl went down for a nap and we were able to say our "thank you's" and "good-byes" to most of the guest, while a few friends stayed to visit longer and help knock out some cleaning.  Once Skylar woke up from her nap the grandparents, Uncle Matthew and Aunt Erin hung around to watch Skylar open up her remaining presents.  Which turned out to Mom opening Skylar's gift and Skylar playing with all the wrapping paper with Dad.

You only plan your first baby's first birthday party once and after all the hard work and stress of putting the party together Jake and I were thrilled with how it turned out.   That morning I was a pretty big stress case and said I would never do a party like that again and we would all be at Chuck E. Cheese next year but after seeing how it turned out and how much fun Skylar had I would do all the over again in a second.  I must give "Thanks" to my Mom who helped me out with everything and when I say "everything" I mean "everything", my Dad for getting all the pulled pork, Paul and Suzie for doing anything and everything we asked them to do those few days they were there, Erin for taking all the amazing photos, Jake for just putting up with me during the whole planning process, and of course my BIGGEST THANKS to my Little Bug for just turning 1!

Skylar's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Skylar!  After singing "Happy Birthday" to her about a dozen times we gave her a little piece of cake to celebrate her 1st Birthday.  I was picturing her smashing her cake with her hands and getting it all over her face, but instead she poked at it twice, started to cry and didn't get cheer up until we gave her a couple of Ritz crackers.  What kid doesn't like cake?!?!