To my little Sydney on her birthday

My sweet Sydney,

When I found out I was pregnant with you, I told your daddy and sister right away. We were so excited and couldn't wait to share the news with our family and friends!

I was a little sick the first trimester and I had braxton hicks the ENTIRE pregnancy. You were VERY active in my belly. My doctor told me you were going to be an active child...and she was right!!

Turns out, you couldn't wait until your 9/28 due date and my water broke on Friday the 13th!

 

You were such a sweet baby and you loved cuddling on daddy

You had reflux for the first 7 months of your life so you ALWAYS had a bib on.

You've always been curious about the world around you.

Your sister loves dressing you up. Before you could move, she would pose you with friends.

You are almost always smiling or laughing.

You started walking around ten months old and you climb on EVERYTHING.  You are too small to climb out of your crib, but boy do you try your best to get out! You laugh when I tell you "no" or "get down." I think I will spend the rest of my life trying to keep up with you. But, it's ok. I'm ready for the ride!

You have no hair (well, a tiny bit) and no teeth. Your favorite word is "yeah," and you use that to answer just about any question. You can say dada and mama and uh-oh, too. 

I am so happy to celebrate your first birthday. Your daddy, big sister and I love you very very much!

Love, mommy

Birthdays, Kidville and the orchard!

Whew! Where did that weekend go? Goodness, we crammed it in. 

I forgot these pictures from Labor Day. We went to a cook-out at a neighbor's and had fun swimming!

On Saturday, we celebrated nana, grandpa and Uncle Cory's birthdays. What a great afternoon swimming and celebrating people we love! Saturday morning, Chris had to run out for a last minute gift  and he took our best little shopper with him.

No, not her. But I cracked up when I saw that Maddie wanted her to have a picture by herself.

Her!

She loves Cabela's!

Sydney had her first shoulder ride and loved it! She laughed and laughed.

On Saturday night we went to church and it was Kidville night! Once a month, we have bounces, popcorn, snow cones, cotton candy, etc after service. Madeline immediately got in line for the obstacle course.

The lady saw her and asked if she had anyone going with her to help her. Madeline looked at her funny and was like, "Um no, I'm going by myself." And then ran through it!

She loved her first snow cone!

On Sunday, it was apple orchard time!

Madeline and Hudson love the tractor ride!

 Will baby Sloane be born on Sydney's birth? I think she might!

 

The kids picked for awhile and then stopped for a snack. They loved the apples.  

Riding back, we had the whole tractor to ourself! 

Then, lunch at Pizza King. Always a favorite. Big dilemma for Maddie choosing what to spend her quarters on.

Sydney got her first birthday present this weekend- a new kitchen! Daddy got to put it together. I was in charge of finding the pieces for each step and making chocolate chip cookies (in our real kitchen, not this one.)

The next naked chef: Sydney Hughes! (Well, hopefully not.)

Next up: Sydney turns one on Saturday! 

I get no privacy...and my house is a mess!

Yesterday I was slinking off to the bathroom (yes, I said slinking...as in moving slowly hoping no one would notice) when Madeline came swooping in like a ninja. She shut the door behind her and announced, "There mommy! Now you can have some privacy." She sat down, staring and smiling at me, waiting for me to do my business. I could only laugh. 

As I mentioned earlier in the week, this was a crazy week for Chris. He was at work late every night, never knowing when he'd be home. He told me not to worry about him for dinner, but I was concerned he would eat a chicken strip basket every night so I tried to make meals that would work for us eating at different times. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE CROCK POT. 

Anyways, these two meals are super delicious so I thought I would share the recipes. We had beef with broccoli and Chik Fil A copycat chicken tortilla soup. YUM.

Anyways, since Chris was knee deep in spreadsheets, the littles and I had a fun week.

Water table and pool time!

Tia came to play 

Sydney OPENED this and then climbed inside. I think she thinks she is her sister's age and I have to remind her she is clearly not! She is trying to escape her crib but unfortunately she's too short, so hopefully we have awhile for that!

We had a great week except for one thing. Sydney got BIT at school by her friend on Thursday. I picked her up and noticed there was a biting policy on the table for parents to review. Sure enough, the biting has started. (Which I think is super early...it was around 18 months with Maddie. Kids these days...they do everything faster than the generation before them!) Poor Sydney and another little boy got bit by the same girl. 

I guess she thought Sydney's thigh looked extra yummy. (Which it does, but no need to bite it!!)

As for the other part of my blog title, since Chris was gone and I was left to fend for myself with the girls, my house is in need of some serious loving. PSA: NO ONE MAKE ANY SURPRISE VISITS THIS WEEKEND. I need to spend a little time with my house. On that note, I gotta go!

Looking forward to celebrating some birthdays this weekend!

A long Labor Day Weekend!

I love long weekends. I guess technically I have a 3 day weekend every weekend, but I especially love the ones where Chris has one too.  

I kicked off the weekend Thursday with breakfast with my co-workers. We primarily all work at home so we get together once a month for a breakfast or lunch meeting. We catch up on projects and personal lives and it's really great to stay connected. 

Not sure why I'm hiding behind Tiffany; they told us to "squeeze in."

We got a ton of stuff done at the house (think LOTS of landscaping), played with our little monkeys and even squeezed in an adults-only dinner!

This area was a big mess of poison ivy and weeds. Chris cleared it out and then got to planting. 

Maddie got taken to get frozen yogurt by my parents who let her get way more toppings that I would: gummy bears, sprinkle bears, peanut butter cups and several more I cannot remember. That's what grandparents are for though, right?

While Maddie was getting yogurt, Sydney and I went shopping. 

She gave her gummy smile to everyone that passed.

 My mommy and sister may enjoy this shopping gig, but I'm not sure I have the stamina.  I lasted three stores but got a little antsy after that. I just wanna move! 

We played outside, and Sydney wore the prince crown for awhile. She won't wear hair bows, but the princess crown she kept. Go figure.

We had a yummy supper at Red Robin with nana and grandpa. Sydney carried this balloon around for the rest of the night. 

Maddie's new thing is wearing her hair in "two ponies and two braids."

Breakfast with Hudson!

We attempted the zoo on Monday but it was 'Labor Union Picnic' day and the place was MOBBED. We ended up at Chik Fil A since it then started raining.

  

We did some bike riding (and helmet trading).

And now it's Tuesday. This is Chris's busy week at work. It's the same week every year. Well, he's always busy. So let's call it his CRAZY-BUSY week. (Remember when Sydney was born? He'd gotten to work at 5 that morning? Same week. In fact, his team made him promise I wasn't pregnant this time.) Anyways, he'll be at work late a lot this week, giving me some extra time with these two.

MELT.MY.HEART.