Happy Birthday Campbell!

Pardon me while I go on my little walk down memory lane and shed a tear or two. This little guy is turning 4 tomorrow and I'm in disbelief that this....

has turned into this...

or this sweet little sleeping thing...

turned into this rambunctious little boy who is 100% ALL BOY!

 

I remember him being such a sweet cuddly baby. 

 

Anytime, we'd walk in his room when he was a baby after a nap, he'd flap his arms like he was going to take flight he was so excited.

And then they started happening...

1st birthday

2nd birthday

3rd birthday

And in between those years, he had adorable curls.

and lots of memories of laughter

with his big brother

and even some moments where they didn't get along so well.

And he's the sweetest big brother to his "baby" Landry.

If you haven't picked up on it yet, Campbell is our animated one. He's stubborn, sometimes downright defiant, hilarious, LOUD but super super sweet boy. He fits right in with us.

I'm so wildly in love with this little boy and I'm so so grateful God has blessed us with him.

Kindergarten Graduation

I made it. My baby graduated kindergarten and I didn't cry like a blubbering idiot. There were moments where it was mighty close.

Here is the first day and last day of Kindergarten.

Is it just me or does he look like he is going to be in middle school next year?

It's crazy how I felt like Nolan would never start kindergarten, but maybe that's because I was paying for daycare for 6 full years. He's an old kindergartner with a September birthday. But I know what's going to happen now. Next, is 2nd grade, then middle school and then I'll be wondering how in the world he's graduating high school.

 He's been through a lot in his kindergarten year with mom down the hall and finding out every little misstep before he even had a chance to tell me, baby sister being born two weeks after school started, and Aunt Tonya passing away in the Spring. I'd say that he's done exceptionally well with so many big changes.

He's our little book worm. I wish I could take credit. He's this amazing little boy who's learned by osmosis. I remember at the age of 2 him playing with flashcards and putting them in order from A to Z and then backwards from Z to A. His mind absolutely amazes me. I'm so insanely proud of him and so grateful that he has a love for learning.

As a teacher I've learned really quickly that you can teach ANY kid as long as they're willing to learn.

I've loved having him at school. Yes, even those days that I almost strangled him because he embarrassed me. I just have to remind myself that he is such a sweet kid with a very kind heart and he needs to make mistakes to learn from it. Sometimes his mistakes just happen to embarrass me, but I'm sure I embarrass him more.

Kindergarten has been full of a lot of wonderful memories. His teacher, Ms. Japhet, is seriously made of the special stuff in heaven. She has insane amounts of patience and I'm so thankful that we were blessed to have her as Nolan's teacher and she has helped him grow so much this year.

I had the opportunity to go on Nolan's fall field trip while on maternity leave and Justin went on his zoo field trip in the Spring. Notice their cute shirts. Yep, another Daddy creation. Each class had a different color.

And many friendships were formed.

But most of all, this high energy boy is growing up and when I told him that I was a little sad that he was growing up so fast he told me that he wouldn't eat so much. How sweet is that offer? Although, the poor thing can barely make it an hour before telling me he's hungry!

I'm so so proud of you, Nolan, for the sweet boy you are and the one you're becoming. Keep on being your happy self because when you're happy, mama's happy.

Ladies and Gentlemen!!!

Hi, my name is Andrea and I'm a Pinterest addict. When the site went down for three days, I seriously thought I was going through withdrawals.

You know you're an addict when you see things and think, "I bet I could find that on Pinterest."

I recently had one of those moments. I went to the coolest wedding. EVER. It was unlike any other wedding. It was a vintage carnival theme and I felt like we were in a magazine wedding even while we were there in the midst of it.

Diana is so beautiful. This is her natural hair color and she looks this stylish at church every week. She is just so striking.

Everywhere you look there was something jaw dropping and you couldn't stop staring. From the photo booth to the kissing booth, they thought of it all.

There were jugglers, stilt walkers, balloon dresses and hula hoop dancing...ya know, normal stuff you see at a wedding.

Diana's sisters sang, "Sisters" and it was choreographed and all. It was a huge hit and I loved how much you could see how much these girls love each other and the bond that they have. Made me miss my sis incredibly.

It was the first time my children have gone to a wedding and they must think that all weddings are this cool. They will be bored to tears at the next one we go to after this one. Sorry, it was a tough act for follow for sure. My husband and the boys dressed the part and fit right in.

 

My kids were so awe stuck by the whole thing, but then again, so was I. 

 

When you're invited to a wedding that's circus themed, I know my family will fit right in. 

Meet Trent, our amazing babysitter at church who is always roping and wrangling my boys. He looks like he belongs with us, huh?

The first dance and father/daughter dance get me at every wedding. Every time, it never fails and this was no exception.

And I even caught Justin holding on a little tighter to his Landry Kate during the father/daughter dance.

We staged the goodbye so we could actually see them before it got dark. We stuck with the bubbles instead of the sparklers since fire doesn't mix with my children.

It was one of those weddings that I will remember forever and not just for the decorations but because of all the love that surrounded them on this beautiful day.

Doesn't this wedding just scream Pinterest. Beautiful wedding, Diana, just beautiful! It was so perfectly...you!

Tooth Fairy

Milestone time the McD house. Shortly after Landry found her two bottom teeth, Nolan lost his.

All these milestones keep being thrown at me left and right with my children and I can't keep track fast enough in their baby books! I can't believe that Nolan was brave enough to have his daddy pull his tooth out. I was that kid who had their tooth dangling so loose that I could have sneezed it out.

We had to ask for the going rate for the tooth fairy from friends since we're new to this. We settled on $5 for the first tooth....all in change. That way they really feel like they hit the jackpot. 

 

For the record, I'm pretty much a ninja when it comes to this tooth fairy business.

 

 I think once Nolan knew that he could make money off this gig, he started wiggling his other loose tooth with just a little bit more urging. 

And what do you know, exactly a week later Nolan lost his other bottom tooth. This time, it was $1. We called all the grandparents to tell them the exciting news. 

Thankfully, we've slowed down on losing teeth.

This milestone was a tough one for me. It's like a slap in the face that he's a big boy now. I'm seeing how quickly he's growing up and it makes me just want to sit and cry! Maybe that's why I'm a mamarazzi and take some many pictures so I can remember every single second of his precious childhood.