What a weekend...

Cade's 4th birthday party theme was to be Wizard of Oz. I had some scenery left over from Halloween last year that my coworkers and I had painted. They are pretty neat and Cade & Cash both really like the Wizard of Oz and will sit through the entire movie in awe. We played it almost twice all the way thru one time on my way to my brothers. So it only seemed appropriate to have this be our theme. Cade would be the Tinman and Cash the Scarecrow. The other kids attending the party were going to dress up as characters as well. However, Cash got sick the night before the party and then it wasn't long before Cade did too. Cade never got as bad as Cash, but with a 101 temp I had to call off the party. So we attempted to have somewhat of a celebration with close family that were already there and that had traveled so far to celebrate with Cade. Not to mention, we had a perfectly good cake! It was devestating, but not as devestating as it would have been to get the other children sick and/or their parents. So here are the pics we did manage to catch of our little tinman and his cousins for his 4th birthday!

He was as happy as could be for a kid who just had their party cancelled! lol.

My friend Brooke painted his little hat with the "4" on it. Super cute idea...thanks Brooke!

My little munchkin nephew

My sister-in-law made this/put this outfit together the morning of the party! If you think he's cute here, you should have seen him in person!!!

The Tinman and the forest

Cousins

Photo Shoot

I wanted to share some photos that a friend took of the boys late this summer. I keep forgetting that I have yet to post them (its been crazy and my netbook has been out of commission). I am just as proud of these pic stoday as I was the first day I saw them :) They are so playful and true to life. They were taken by Katie Parrish and you can view her work at http://www.katieparrishphotography.com/. She is phenomenal and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome...especially considering the weather. It was probably one of THE hottest days of the summer (or at least it felt :)). Thanks again Katie for forever capturing the messiness, the preciousness, and the bond of my two little boys!

Apple Fest Recap

As always, it was a busy week for our household. At the festival almost every night, friends and family in town, golf tourney, parades, and the list goes on! I somehow only managed to capture pics of the day of the main parade, but the boys truly had a great time all week! The theme was Once Upon an Appletime and my hubby's company float was a 50's theme called Once Upon an Apple Night since the Apple Fest started in the 50's. Cool, huh?! It was really neat float and they did a great job on it. It even won 1st place in their category!

Me and my "greasers" :) The boys had a good time on the float. I got a pic of everyone on it, but didn't want to post it on here without everyone's approval... so here's bits and pieces of it.
watching the rest of the parade with gramma and GG

Cash watching the parade with his other GG

Lovin' Uncle Matt's new ride

my sweet nephew

Getting ready for the parade!

Apple Festival!!!

Tonight marks the start of APPLE FESTIVAL, which to me, is the best time of year next to Christmas! Here are a few pics I snapped of the boys this morning before they headed out the door.

Cash checking out Captain Applesauce on Cade's shirt.

Stay tuned for more pics...Daddy and his boys are going to be part of a float!!!

Meet Lauren

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I celebrated my last birthday in my twenties :( It wasn't anything too crazy, just an evening with the fam and then a night in STL with one of my besties, Amy and her man.

a funny family photo

at Bar Italia in STL....yum!!!

It was so nice out, the 4 of us walked down the street from our hotel and came across this restaurant/bar and sat outside. The atmosphere was great! LOVE that area of St. Louis.

She's Here!

Little Lauren made her debut around 8:45 this morning (not sure of exact time at the moment). She was delivered by c-section and weighed 9 lbs 5 oz. Mom and baby are both doing well. And dad exceeded my expectations and watched the whole thing! Go Ryan! I wanted to get some pics up tonight but i am unfortunately not feeling real well & am about to head for bed. They looked like very proud parents tonight and made an adorable little family. What a beautiful day it was for Lauren's birthday!!! Congrats to the new mom & dad! Love you all!

No News Yet...

Haven't heard a thing yet...it's killing me! But she was supposed to start surgery at 7:30 so hopefully we will hear something soon!!!! Keep you posted!

Update on Melissa

So I think its safe to say that baby Lauren should be in this world by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow!!!! Melissa is going in early in the morning to have a c-section and is a nervous wreck. Well, maybe not a wreck, but just that nervous, uneasy feeling that we all get that first time going into this. Trying to expect the unexpected. So I feel for her. And she has already given us specific instructions as to where we do or don't need to be, etc, etc., which is quite funny because, as her mother pointed out, Melissa was the first or 2nd person to pamper me & photograph my child barely out of the womb ;) It is true Melissa style to worry about everyone else and them getting the proper amount of time, etc. with the baby and not to disrupt our day b/c of this little occurence ;). I respect her wishes entirely and look forward to the first time I get to finally meet the little Miss Lauren. It will be hard staying focused at work tomorrow knowing what will be happening! Stay tuned for news & pics!!! I'm tearing up just thinking about that 1st photograph of her little face brought into this world. Love you dearly Mis, and good luck tomorrow. I know you will do great!