Ace's 2nd Birthday

   

    Wow, I can't believe that this post is a month late! Time has flown and we've been so busy moving and getting adjusted to our many changes in life. This year was Ace's birthday year….which means his year to have a big party. We're trying to limit big parties to every other year for each boy so that we aren't overdoing it and they don't get used to big ones all the time.

I had some one on one time with the birthday boy shopping for his party. 

     As I was trying to think of a theme I couldn't settle on anything for sure. Ace is really not into anything particular and mostly does what Cooper does. But there is one thing that Ace really likes and has an opinion about and that is Winnie the Pooh. It is the only movie that he will sit down and watch, and he really likes Tigger. So we decided to go that route.

Mom found a huge Tigger and Pooh randomly in Graham the day of the party.

They were sitting in a chair outside a 'junk' shop, too perfect not to pass up. 

    The next decision was what to get him for his birthday. We don't want to be extravagant, but also don't want to fill our house with a bunch of little stuff, so we were at a standstill. Cooper got a ride on tractor a couple years ago and now that Ace is old enough to use it, it's been a bit of an issue. And with the new place with lots of land to ride around on we thought he might benefit from something like that. We knew better than to go the tractor route again because we didn't want to have to buy something else for Tucker, so we decided to go with a Gator. If you don't know, those are pretty expensive. We knew we couldn't do it on our own so we enlisted help from the grandparents. Even then though it seemed extravagant. After researching and calling around and being on the verge of backing out, we located one in Wichita Falls for over $100 cheaper than any others. Hoping that it wasn't too good to be true, Dalton and I loaded up and went to get it. I sent Dalton in while I stayed in the truck with Tucker (it was pouring down rain), waiting to see what the verdict was.
      After waiting a bit Dalton came out with the Gator. I asked him if the price was true and he said yes, but only by God's graciousness. You see, he went back there and found it, marked cheaper and took it to the front. When she rang it up it showed the more expensive price….uh oh. Dalton said that 3 managers and a couple of associates later they gave it to him for the cheaper price, even though it had only been put in the wrong spot. Dalton was shocked and so was I, and we were reminded of how faithful God is in our life, even to help us out in these non-spiritual things. So beaming, we sped out of the parking lot before they changed their minds, with a steal of a deal on the back of the truck.

Mom and Dad made all the cute signs out of an old picket fence, 

made the theme really work!

 

Nana and Tucker watching from the warm house.

      The party planning came along great. I used Pinterest, of course, and some ideas of my own to create a 100 acre woods in Mere Mere and Popsey's back yard. We could not have had a party if they wouldn't have provided the spot, and what a great party spot it was!! The day dawned and we were ready. The guys worked on the new house all day and we set up party stuff. Then guests started to arrive and the fun began. It was a bit cool, but if you stayed moving it wasn't too bad.

Most of the kiddos at the party

      We also had a big bonus…a bounce house, thanks to Mere Mere and Popsey and their winning bid at a charity auction. It was a hit and after seeing how well it babysat the kids throughout the party I think it may be a wise investment in a couple of parties to come! We had a table full of Pooh Bear themed foods, hot dogs and an adorable cake with Pooh and Tigger on it.

The birthday boy is trying out the bounce house before guests arrive.  

     Ace had a great time, smiling at all the guests, spending lots of time in the bounce house and eating yummy food. When it came time for gifts he wasn't that interested. Although I couldn't blame him because he had a throng of older kids there 'helping' him open presents. Since then he's enjoyed playing with his gifts though.

 

     Finally all but a couple of the guests left and it was getting dark so we brought out the Gator. They were excited! Cooper of course wanted to drive and Ace obliged. He is so great about knowing his limitations. He's content to sit in the passenger seat and ride around with the expert driver, as long as he's holding onto the safety handle. Their friends Wyatt and Ella were still around so Wyatt got to ride along and drive it too.

His first time behind the wheel

     Before we left, Dalton, Cooper, Ace and I romped around in the bounce house for a while. We wanted to get our use out of it, and honestly it was really really fun! I think I'd be a lot skinnier if I had one of those to exercise in every day. We were all exhausted by the end of the evening!

One big happy family

Little did we know that Tucker was having his own photo shoot outside while we bounced.

     The next day, Ace's actual birthday, we let our 2 year old go home with GG and Papa (along with Cooper) so we could spend the week packing and moving. I hated to let him leave but knew he'd have a great time. Little did I know just how great of a time……he went to Chucky Cheese on his way home, the Waco Zoo that week and even got to "see a monster truck crush cars" before he came home. I was a little offended when I kept asking them if they were ready to see me and they'd say "I miss you but I don't want to come home." Luckily I was so busy here that I didn't have time to dwell.

Chucky Cheese! They had lots of fun, but Ace didn't like moving rides.

The boys were scared of the mouse. 

Cooper said "If I would have given him a high 5 he would have eaten me." 

The Raminator!! They liked him better still than moving I think.

Two little zoo animals. Ace came home roaring like a tiger. 

Happy Birthday Ace-miester!! We love you. : )

Ace:
likes to wrestle and play rough, likes the dog a lot, enjoys riding horses with Daddy, will drink milk 24-7 if you let him and has started rubbing his ear lobe as he drinks when he's tired, follows Cooper around and does whatever he does, counts and sings and likes to yell "NO" : / wants to carry eggs to the house but always seems to crack one, still comes to sleep with us most nights and kicks all the covers off of everyone, has the cutest curls in his hair, has a smile that makes you melt and sparkling eyes that are very friendly, enjoys strawberries, grapes, spaghetti, french fries, and casseroles, won't watch much TV but will read books all day long, likes singing song with motions (Zaccheus is his favorite), says prayers with us at the table and adds his own at the end, is bad about stealing toys and sometimes hitting with them, gets wound up and mad and will only calm down when you put him by himself and let him decide when he's ready to be happy, likes baths, showers and brushing his teeth, didn't have any cavities on his first trip to the dentist, talks a lot and uses lots of words, is attracted to water of any sort and will soak himself any way he can, is my sweet sweet, most challenging boy.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

Camping and Cows

    Wow, it's been a while. So much has been happening in our lives, including moving! I'll post about that later because it will take a few posts to cover it all, but I want to try and catch up on posts from before the move, including finishing this one about camping at GG and Papa's and one about Ace's birthday. Here goes!

    The boys and I went to visit GG and Papa some time ago. We did that a lot this winter. Something about being stuck inside at home while Daddy works all day and some evenings just isn't very appealing, so going to my parents provides some entertainment, help and a nice cozy fire to enjoy.

Practicing their hammering skills

     On our most recent trip we stayed inside a lot due to some really cold weather, but when if finally did warm up enough we fed cows with Papa and went camping in the yard. Correction, Papa and Cooper went camping in the yard, the rest of us just enjoyed the campfire, smores and fireside tales before heading inside.

Ready to ride! (Don't worry, I rode between them on the tailgate.)

The herd was on our heels the entire time,

 bawling and shaking their heads.

The thrill of the cows following us

Cooper's a pro, he's done this many times with Papa.

Ace looks back to make sure Papa's taking us in the right direction.

 As the cows followed, we poured out the cubes slowly and watched them file in for supper.

     It was nice to get outside and do some outside things. I've been lazy and/or stuck inside with an infant lately and haven't gotten enough fresh air. It's amazing the difference in makes in attitude and energy levels. After we fed the cows the guys gathered some firewood for the camp fire and then we headed up for supper before setting up camp. 

Cooper's contribution, a big old piece of pine wood. 

    Finally the sun went down and it was camping time! We didn't use a traditional tent. Dad wanted to go the tarp route. I was pretty skeptical at first, thinking how could a tarp be a good tent? But once it was set up it was pretty cool. 

    Then it was time to light the fire; the boys had been waiting all evening for this! We built the fire in a fire pit and watched the flames grow. Then Papa let the boys break sticks and put them into the fire. Well, they were supposed to break the sticks but Ace kept trying to put the whole thing in, comical moment.

No, Papa John isn't doing a rain dance around the fire…he's actually breaking a piece of wood.

Once we got the flames to a manageable level it was time to roast the marshmallows. 

Cooper, Mr. Independent, wanted to do all the roasting by himself of course. 

This made Papa pretty nervous, but turns out he was a pretty good roaster - as long as he wasn't swinging the sharp end toward anyone. Ace on the other hand liked to stick his marshmallow it the ashes and then the fire and then the ashes again. It took about 3 before he got an edible one.  

Success! Tucker even showed up for the fun. He did pretty good hanging out by the fire and finally went to sleep so GG and I could have a smore.  

Ace preferred to deconstruct his smore on Papa John's cot.

Snuggling down in the tent. Below you see Cooper's pine made it to the fire. 

It was our last piece of wood for the night.  

 Trucks are sure fun to play with in the tent. 

Another shot of the high flames and happy campers. We finished the evening with stories by the fire. We made up the story as we went and took turns telling a portion, until Cooper highjacked the story and wouldn't let anyone else join in. It showcased Pinkfoot (a camping character from Bubble Guppies), talking skunks, a raccoon, two boys and somehow always led back to the characters finding machinery working in the woods. 

The boys also helped work on a toy 4--wheeler and 

Cooper and Tucker (aka mini-Cooper) enjoyed a little TV time together. 

"Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28-29