Bowlin' with Nolan

It's taken me five long years, but I've finally had an epiphany. It's suddenly been revealed to me why people pay to have their parties done at places where everything is taken care of. There was no stress of making sure that our house was clean, lawn mowed, flowers planted (like we could actually keep them alive or something). And it was wonderful not waking up at the crack of dawn to make hot dogs and food.

And clean up. Need I say more?

Yes, of course it was more money but worth. every. penny. We're cheap, I mean really cheap when it comes to birthday parties. We've either had them at our house, at the park, or at our church. For the first time ever, we had it indoors and it was a good thing we did because we woke up to pouring rain.

Invitations went out. And yes, my husband has mad graphic artist skills. Don't hate.

 

You know you married a keeper when not only did he make this rockin' invite, but he meticulously iced bowling ball and pin cookies for me. That's love right there, folks. 

None of this would have been possible without my mother-in-law making dozens of cookies for me while I was at work. Love her.

Never mind the half eaten bowling ball. I had to make sure it wasn't poisonous. You know me, self-sacrificing and always looking out for the kids. 

Cookies…check

Cake in hand…check

Next? Get your bowling shoes on, it's time for bowlin'!

Nolan's only bowling experience has been with our Wii game. For a five year old, he pretty much shows us up every time we play.

He bowled  a 56, not too bad for a ball he could hardly lift. And I think the love for skee ball just might be in our blood.



Bowling actually kept everyone's attention, a full hour. It was hard for everyone to wait their turn but can you blame them?

Once we were finished bowling, we headed to the party room.

I don't believe you've met my amazing cake. Let me introduce you. My cake lady hinted that she might not do birthday party cakes anymore. Can you see when I'm a little bummed?



And no the cake lady didn't mess up on the bowling ball. That would be "Exhibit A" evidence that my two year old also was looking out for party guests to make sure the cake wasn't poisonous. Where ever would he get such a crazy idea?

It's a pillow! It's a pet! It's a PILLOW PET! This thing has hardly left his side since the party.

And Nolan's friend, Ben…seriously, could his face be any more priceless? Gotta love when kids have a good excited and this kid has it down!

I'm sure my niece, Madison, won't appreciate this next photo but it's a cute one of Campbell so she'll have to suffer.

This was by far the easiest party we've ever done. They even served all our guests and I actually got to talk with people at the party and enjoy him opening his gifts. What a novel idea. Again, worth every penny.

And this boy is a professional candle blower.



Is it just me or does it look like he's mocking the fact that he's growing and getting older so fast? I think he thinks this is funny.

Our new normal

Adjusting. That seems to be the best word to describe the last 6 weeks of our lives. You'd think with it being our third that we wouldn't even blink an eye when it comes to sleep deprivation but I think even when it's your 5th or 6th (not that we'll EVER know), it still stings.

But seriously how can you hold it against her?  Especially when you get this greatness and cuteness all wrapped up in one tiny little girl.

Houston, we have smiles and we are loving them. You should see how obnoxious we can be and how high we can both talk to get one of these toothless grins flashed back at us. 

 

 Hi, I'm Andrea and I'm addicted to dressing my baby girl up like she's a doll. Yes, it is an addiction. Yes, I need help. Yes, I will go bankrupt. 

 
 I'm in disbelief how much my boys love this little girl. I know, I know things will change will she starts grabbing their toys but for now, I'm enjoying every single non-fighting loving snuggle moment.

 Campbell calls her "Landry girl" and runs to give her a pacifier (or "piece of fire" as he calls it) or pat her on the head when she's crying. He will not let her fuss.

And everyday day when I pick up Nolan, he asks how Landry's day was. Actually he asks how "Princess Poopy Pants" was. I'm sure she'll love that one when she grows up. 

 Their curiosity of her just melts my heart. Nolan in particular is fascinated with how he looked as a baby. So you know what that means...scrapbooks! For years I've been wondering why I'm doing this to myself trying to keep up with their books. I keep thinking, I just spent three hours on this spread and no one even looks at it and boys could care less about scrapbooks. Some days it's so much fun to scrapbook and other days it seems like torture and I'm just slapping pictures down not even caring, but seeing Nolan study each page intently makes me realize all those hours were worth every second. He even studies Campbell's scrapbooks...

 

I'm glad that Nolan looks at his because Campbell will take a two second peek and then take a break for a good game of bowling. The interest from Campbell hasn't quite gotten there yet...maybe one day.

 

One thing that's coming easy and requires no adjustment is the snuggling. The only adjustment required is the time lost to other things because of all the cuddles and staring. So my laundry is piling up, my scrapbooks are a year behind, and the dust looks like snow falling in my house but I can say that we're soaking it up, baby. 

 

 I look back at Nolan's years when all I had was my little point and shoot camera and I wish I would have taken more pictures. Although the kid has thousand more photos than me, it still doesn't seem like enough to remember how little he was and how fast it goes. So let's just say, that I'm making up for it now. 

 

 In the midst of all the adjustment, we're trying to find time for the normal things we used to do. I almost laugh when I say normal because I can't remember the last time we played outside because it's been so blistering hot this summer. You know it's bad when your oldest says, "I think our playground's feelings are hurt because we never play on it anymore." 

Let's just say that our playground has felt the love lately.

And I'm determined to teach this boy to ride his bike without training wheels. One way or another, it's going to happen. 

 

While I'm at it, I better get Campbell's feet to reach the pedals on this tricycle because my back is going to go out if I keep this up...

 
Some days our new normal seems like a piece of cake and I hardly notice the difference. Other days, I think I need three of myself to get it all done. It's a constant ebb and flow trying to figure out our new life. While there are hair-pulling days, the heart-wearming days far outweigh them.