Busy Weekend

Sydney had a fun filled past weekend! We went to Addison's 3rd birthday party!! If you will remember, Addison is her best buddy - and Addison's Mom and I are best buddies also:) So cute when we got to the party and the girls saw each other - they run up to each other and hugged. We then went to their house after the party and the girls played until almost 9:30pm! Well, you all know what happens when I put Sweetie to bed late...she wakes up even earlier!! So, we went to bed late and were up before 6am!! Daddy had to work so after my run, Sydney and I went to church. Now that Sweetie is 3, she was moved to the 3 year old's room and she now has Sunday School!! They had a lesson plan that included a video and a coloring project. When I walked in to pick her up, she was the only child that didn't want to go!! To top that off, she has bruises all over her legs from getting in and out of our hot tub so I was totally embarrassed!! I am sure it looked questionable!! Oh well, kids will be kids:) We then went back to Addison's house for a pool party!! The girls played hard and by 5:30pm, Sydney was completely done! We packed up and headed for home - had ice cream, showered and she was in bed by 7pm!!

We stayed home most of Monday and Sydney watched videos - she was still so tired out from the weekend. She didn't resist at all for nap time or bedtime. In fact, at 7:45pm, she asked me if it was bedtime yet!!! Before going to bed, I helped her get her new babies ready for bed and we put them in the knew baby pak n play and tucked them in. Sydney then sang to her babies, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" like Mommy does. It was so cute!! Then off to bed.

We are getting very excited about our Minnesota trip. Sydney talks about it all of the time! She is thrilled to go see her Nana and Paps and to go on the airplane. I am also very excited because she is at the perfect age for the trip!! I can't wait for her to see and play with all of her cousins and to see her Grandmother. I really don't miss living in Minnesota but I do really miss not being around our family and spending quality time with them. Despite the stressful childhood I had growing up in Mankato, I still do have some wonderful memories of places and people who have left a positive imprint in my life and I wish I could share more of those places with Sydney. Someday:)

Birthday Party Pictures!!

The Birthday Weekend has come to a close!! What a great time it was! Nana surprised us all and flew into Arizona on Wed. We were very surprised and so excited to have her with us for Sweetie's birthday! Thursday, we had Sydney's "photo shoot" and she even shared her camera time with her big brother JoJo!! She was so funny to watch - and loved the camera!! Below are just a few of the pictures...

Friday was Sydney's actual birthday! Mommy had a surprise birthday donut for Sweetie with sprinkles for breakfast! A very special treat at the Wade residents!!

I think she enjoyed it!!

Birthday card from Great Uncle Paul!! She loves Tinkerbell!!

Then Nana took us out to eat for Birthday dinner at Mimi's Cafe. Sydney loved it - the food was great!! She was so proud to be sitting in between her Nana and JoJo!

They brought out a piece of Chocolate Mousse for Sydney and we sang Happy Birthday! Before she blew out her candle, she made a wish and said it out loud, "I wish for everyone to be friends!!" This made me very emotional!! She (we) loved the birthday dessert!!

Mmmmmm!

Then back home and off to bed for her big party the next day!!

She woke up to a room full of beach balls!!

She was a little confused!!

Mommy wrote a special note for her sweetie out front of the house!!

The party is going to start soon!!

The birthday cake, Mmmmmm!!

Right before people begin to arrive!

My Sweetie!!

Everyone waiting for the show to begin!! The kids all went swimming for about 45 minutes and then everyone came inside to watch the surprise show!! We had Deb's Dragon's and Other Misunderstood Creatures" come and present a hands on show of snakes, dragons, lizards, tarantula, scorpion, and more!! Sydney handled every single one of them without any fear. Wish I could say the something about my self!!

Tarantula on Uncle Michaels head.

Tarantula on my hand!!

Seriously, Sydney was braver than me!!

JoJo handling a dragon.

A huge snake!!

Opening gifts!!

After gifts we had a pinata and then the kids went swimming some more! The party was a huge success!! Everyone enjoyed themselves!! How in the world are we going to top this one next year!! Thank you all for an amazing day and for making Sweetie so happy!! We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweetie!!

Dear Sweetie,

Three years ago today, Daddy and I were blessed with a beautiful miracle...YOU! You have brought so much joy into our lives. You have completed our family. I remember all of the days I spent day dreaming of what my life would be like with my little girl. So much anticipation! I have been so blessed because the joy you bring into my life has exceeded any dream I could have ever of imagined. You are so precious, so amazing! I have done many things in my life that I am proud of but none of that compares to how proud I am of being YOUR Mommy!!

I love you so much and I feel so honored to be your Mommy!

Thank you God for blessing us with our little girl.

Thank you Mom for watching over us and for teaching me how to be a caring, nurturing Mommy to my little girl.

And, thank you Sweetie for just being YOU!!

I love you so much,
Mommy xoxo

A Great Day...

Sweetie's birthday party is coming soon and I couldn't be more excited!! We started out with a pool party theme but something came up and now we will be adding another element to the party. Can't say right now though because it's a surprise - only Greg and I know!! I will definitely be posting pictures!! Everything is coming together nicely though. This is a special party because it's her first one here in Arizona!! As you know, previous birthdays have been in Minnesota. We will still be having a little get together in Minnesota to celebrate with family but most of my energy has gone into the party in Arizona. We are expecting around 10 kids and 14 adults!!

We had a great play date this morning with our MOMs group. We had a tour at PETCO where the kids got to touch many animals and reptiles - yay!! Followed by lots of sanitizer! We then walked across the parking lot to Barns & Nobles and the kids participated in Story Time while the Mommies sipped on yummy caffeine drinks!! As we left, Sydney said, "Mommy, that was a great day!"

I love days like this!!

Happy 45th Birthday Daddy!!

Today is Greg's birthday!! Jordan, Sydney, Daddy & I all had a nice dinner and cake Sunday evening for Greg's birthday because I work today until late. Our camera is broken so I don't even have any pictures to share with you. Sydney loved singing "Happy Birthday" to her Daddy and was even more excited to help him blow out his candles. She was a little, well A LOT disappointed when she tasted the cake!! Sydney LOVES cake but this one!! It was German Chocolate - one of Greg's favorites because he loves coconut. We now know that Sydney doesn't!! She made the funniest faces as she took the first bite - poor thing almost started crying!! Fortunately, we had another birthday party earlier in the day for a neighbor boy and she had cake then.

Sweetie is very excited for her first Arizona Birthday Party!! She talks about it everyday! We mailed out our invitations a couple of days ago. They were made out of mini beach balls:) Because her Birthday is in Aug., we are having a pool party with lots of beach balls!! What kid doesn't love to play with beach balls!! I hope it's not too hot out!!!

Keeping the Faith

I think I may have finally found a church that's close by that we can join. Becoming an active member in a church has been something I have really wanted for our family since I was pregnant. It's been a very difficult process. I have been struggling with my faith for some time now. I was brought up in a Catholic church and even went to Catholic school (which I loved) until my parents were divorced. At that time, the Catholic Church was very strict about divorce and my Catholic school days were over. I had to switch to a public school in the 5th grade. It was so hard for me on so many levels. I think that's when my faith started to fade. I continued to stay in CCD and was Confirmed (although that was even a battle because I was constantly questioning the Catholic beliefs). After my confirmation, I quit going to church.

My Mother continued with the Catholic church until she died. When I found out she had cancer, I grew VERY angry with God. And when she died, well lets just say I had a few words with God and have been holding a grudge since. The last year, something has changed in me. I have began exploring Christianity with a different mindset. I have focused more on MY relationship with God and not on religion. God and I have come a long way in the past year and now I am ready to start going to church on Sundays again. But, not just any church. It needs to feel right to me. I don't want to go somewhere where I feel "preached at" or judged - I have spent enough years feeling guilty. It needs to be a place where we, as a family feel welcomed and appreciated and accepted as we are and not by who someone things we should be. I want a place where music is exciting and positive. I want a place where children are loved for who they are in a positive environment. I think we may have finally found our place. We went to this church last weekend but I wasn't sold. I didn't like the band that was playing and we had Sydney with us and she was very active. I also didn't like the fact that it didn't physically look like a church and people were taking notes on a service outline provided by the minister during the service. But I thought about it all week and took another look at my expectations. I decided to go again today. Greg had to work so I went with Sydney. I placed her in the 3 year old childcare (which she loved) and I went to the service myself. A new band was playing which I enjoyed much more. And a lady came and sat down right next to me and introduced herself. She is also a stay at home mom and had her two daughters in the church childcare. This was her first time there. She turned out to be really nice and we introduced our daughters and they were so sweet. Also, I realized that I kind of liked it that people were taking notes during the service - in fact, I took some myself. I realized that taking notes will help me (just as it is with everyone else around me) really think about what the minister was saying and remember how to apply it throughout the week in my everyday life. As far as the church not looking like a church - well, I just need to get over that. Appearance is not everything!!

So, I feel pleased today and hopefully we will find our place in this new community. I know my Mother is pleased - looking down at me. Her faith is what kept her so strong during some very difficult times in our lives. I want Sydney to have this faith.

So God, look out, here I come - we have a lot to talk about...