I Already Miss You Sooooo Much

Dearest Grandma,

I already miss you so much.

I'm so lucky you have been a part of my life for so many years...yet it doesn't seem like it was long enough.

I will always remember the love and kindness you had for me. Thanks for being such a wonderful Grandma.

Spring & Summer Recap

What do you get when a lot of pictures are being taken, yet NO BLOGGING has been done in months???


You get a SPRING & SUMMER RECAP post.

Joshua fly's in from Colorado to help celebrate Jame's 40th Birthday and to meet his newest nephew Oliver.

Who's Special Today????? That's right. You are big guy.

Oliver takes a day trip to the Academy of the Sciences in San Francisco with Aunt Bobby.

Great Grandma invites the family over for a BBQ at her place!

Kyle Bower Visits Woodland, and meets his cousin Oliver!

Oliver liked having Kyle around.

We all went out to the County Fair.

Kyle made us dinner. He earned the title "BBQ Master Kyle."

We did brunch with Matt & Bobby at "Fox & Goose."

There was lot of fun to be had when the Grandparents got to town!

What Sounds Better to You....

Nice, Warm, Buttery Pre-cut Waffles served on a plate...




Or cold, dirty waffles from the TRASH CAN?




The other morning I made Oliver Ego waffles for breakfast, and all he did was throw them on the floor and beg to be removed from his high chair. Finally, I gave in. I swept up the waffle from the floor, put it in the trash, and then got Oliver out of his chair and cleaned him up.



Later that day, I'm at work and I get my usual call from Jon & Oliver, and Jon mentions that he caught Oliver eating waffles...and apparently he was getting these tasty morsels from the garbage can.

Now we are constantly finding him trying to lift up the garbage can lids
to ALL garbage cans in the entire house!

After I freaked out, I figured there were many other ways I could think about this disgusting event...

First of all, Jon, the usually very strict Daddy, is finally loosening up and letting little Oliver do more "exploring" of his world which will help him developmentally.

Second, OBVIOUSLY, this dumpster diving is less of an eating disorder, and more of a sign of INTELLIGENCE, because Oliver clearly SAW me put those waffles in the trash, and therefore when he was hungry he remembered where he could get a quick snack! What a Smart Kid!

OB1 turns 1!!!

Happy Birthday OLIVER!

It's hard to believe it has already been an entire year since Oliver was born! A celebration is in order. Nothing too fancy, just family & cake. A low-key day to reflect on this past year.


The Prep...

Cakes were made the night before the party. Decorating took place that morning. Decorating with icing is sooooooooooo easy. So easy, I decided to make each cupcake top different.

The final table placement. Perfect!!

They don't even look like they were cleaning out the gutters only moments earlier.

It only took 3 hours and 5 stores to find a 3 tier dessert thingy! Who knew they were so rare!

Why pay a dollar for endless paper streamers, when you can pay 20$ and spend 5 hours (over the course of 3 days) making your own out of fabric!

Jon just whipped this "OB1" flag together, no problem.

The Hosts...

The Proud Parents of a Perfect 1-year-old.

The Party...

The Cousins...

Oliver was happy to see his Cousins. Kira, Kyle, Grant, Lennon and Larry were missed!

The Guests...

Aunt Bobby came all the way from the big city to celebrate with Oliver!

Others came all the way from Modesto & Concord.

And Some all the way from Alaska!

The Game...

Bocce Ball Game!

The Food...

The Salad Tri-fecta was provided by Grandma Carol! As we have learned from birthdays-past, there is never too much salad!

Jon Barbecued Brauts and Hot Dogs, and we had chips & dips.


The Cake...

Candle blowing concept not quite grasped at this age.

The Owl on top of the cake really attracted Oliver's attention.

Poor Owl.

Nothing a hose can't fix.

The cake before.

The cake after.


After cake, Oliver had to make a wardrobe change.

The Presents...

Oliver's Loot.


We may have to get a stable.


Oliver pushes Yoda in his new wagon.


Oliver loved his custom OB1 Shirt from Aunt Tracey, Uncle James, & the cousins.


Thanks Aunt Amy & Uncle Kevin for the book & clothes, and the sweet kicks!

Yoda doll from Jacob & Jesse was a hit!

Oliver loved his new Bath Toys, but not as much as his Great Grandma's lap!

The Truth...


The truth is,

1. It is much harder to put on a party than I thought. When you want a day to be special, somehow the little details become so important, and those details do take time or sometimes more money then you want a pay.

2. Black food coloring for eyes on a cake seems like a good idea till your son sticks his hands in it and smears BLACK GOO all over his face and clothes.

3. Sewing over 50 flags to a piece of yarn is surprisingly exhausting.

4. Jon's mega flag was much harder than he thought, so he had to bring on two additional staff just to finish it and get it mounted in the ground.

5. Cleaning the house gutters more than once a year can keep water from dripping on the middle of your patio furniture.

6. My Mother-in-law should really start a "Cupcake College" because she is such an expert on making yummy cute deserts! Thanks for all the tips. Also, thanks for standing by with a HOT DRY KNIFE to correct my frosting errors!

7. My Mother really should teach a "Salad Seminar" because she can prepare 3 of the worlds biggest party salad's (literally) ONE HANDED! Thanks Mom, Oliver has been enjoying the delicious leftovers!

8. Oliver actually liked eating potato chips more than his own birthday cake.

9. Having time to:

clean
sew
do yard-work,
shop
cook
and BAKE,

all in one day, is NOT possible when you have a one-year-old. If we are lucky, we can get to ONE of these activities a day...working as a team!

10. So even though this party was small, and low-key...it still took days of preparation as well as the help of two AWESOME house guests and many others to get it all done! Everything was very special!

Thanks Everybody for chipping in! Oliver had a GREAT 1st Birthday!