Happy Birthdays!!!

The birthday Parties are finally over...phew!  It is tougher then I thought it would be to have two kids born in the same month and have two parties for each one.  If I was smarter I would have just one big party, but the fact is that I wanted to honor each child individually.  Those two kids are growing so fast.  They just had their well checkups today.  Xander is getting tall.  He weighed 40lbs (80%) and was 41in (65%).  Wesley gained nearly 10 pounds during his second year.  He weighed 29lbs (63%) and was 34.5in (53%).  These two are brothers and they do fight, but the good news is that they do seem to be buddies as well.  They love seeing each other when they first get up in the morning.  They share toys at least 50% of the time.  I have seen Xander try to read a book to Wesley or do something to help take care of his little brother.  I really hope they continue to be close and be the best friends that I know some brothers can be.  Taking care of those two kids is fun, and crazy and stressful.  Just being a mom and putting the needs of two little ones above my own is a sacrifice, but I don't regret it.  Despite all the challenges of motherhood, I know that it really is a huge blessing in life to have this experience.

We had Xander's 4th birthday party at Cherry Hill on 7/6, one week before his real birthday.  He really wanted an Angry Birds party.  I did my best to follow the theme.  I have a very talented sister-in-law, Kristen who makes specialty cakes.  She made cakes for both parties.  I could never pull off the kind of things that she does.  We ate food, played a few games and just watched Xander have fun with all the kids who stopped by.  I'm sure that his next parties after this will be more friend centered rather then family.

 Cake made by http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Sweet-Fancy-Cakes-by-Kristen/228682690496797

 Aftermath, it was so delicious!

We celebrated Wesley's 2nd birthday this last Saturday, 7/21.  We had the party at Boondocks, a family fun center.  Since Wesley is still kind of a baby to me and I don't know what he likes, I picked his party theme.  We did kind of an Elmo/Sesame Street party.  Kristen came through again and made the cutest cake.  Xander loved helping him open all his presents, especially since I think he knew that he would get to play with them anyway.  Whatever Wesley gets, Xander will play with and visa versa.  We are so grateful to all the friends and family who made it to the parties.  It was special that Jerry's dad, Grandpa Stephenson, was able to stop by while visiting from Texas. 

 I think one reason I justify doing two parties is because I hardly throw any other events during the year.  My kids are one of the most important parts of my life so why not celebrate them?  I can't be too horrible of a mom if they have made it this long.  I just remember when Xander was born.  I had no experience with kids.  I didn't know how to a change a diaper.  They handed him to me and I was terrified to hold this tiny 6 pound newborn baby.  I was thinking in my head, "Wow, you seriously trust me with this little creature?"  It's amazing to look back and remember that.  Sometimes I'm still blown away when I look at my life.  I think about how I have been in a wonderful relationship to Jeremiah for over 9 years now.  We met 10 years ago next month!  I have two healthy kids.  It's amazing how much can happen and how fast it all flies by.