Cousins for his birthday!!!

Trey got to spend time with all of his cousins on his birthday weekend! Like I mentioned before, Rylee was here all weekend, and they had so much fun toghether. Cousin Evan was a part of Trey's party- and even though Evan doesn't live too far away, his attendance was so special, because Evan is a brand new BIG BROTHER, and we all know how tough it is for a new mommy to get out of the house, even for a few hours! We love Evan, Becky, and Aunt Deb very much, and we really appreciated them being there! And on Sunday (Trey's official Birth Day), Allie came over to celebrate and have dinner with us! Trey was extremely loved by all of his family all weekend long!

Trey's 2nd Birthday Party!!!

I swore, vowed, promised, and insisted that I would NEVER do another birthday party, but (of course) as Trey's 2nd birthday approached, I changed my mind. I just couldn't do that- and if I was completely honest with myself, I enjoy planning a party- I just didn't want to do it at the house.

This year, we had a house full of visitors to help us celebrate! Uncle Brian and Aunt Kristyn were here, along with our other Uncle Brian, Aunt Melissa, and Cousin Rylee. Trey and Rylee are the two cutest kids you have ever seen, and they play so well together. I'm pretty sure that giving Trey a live-in playmate for 2 days was more than enough gift for him! They completely wore each other out, but they had a blast!

Trey's birthday was at Gymboree, and it was the perfect 2 year old location. Trey's been a "Gymboree-er" since he was 6 months old, so it seemed fitting that we do at least one birthday party there! The kids got to run around, play games, do parachute time, sing songs and just be wild. What did I have to do? Bring the cake (which I had delivered), bring juice boxes (which I forgot and then remembered at the last second), and gift bags. Piece of cake, right? Well... there is a reason why I didn't want to have the party at the house!

My family (the Keenan's) are notorious for falling apart seconds before we are to leave the house, go to school, head to church, arrive at a party... you name it, we are late for it! It seems like anything that could go wrong, does go wrong. Well, as we were getting ready to leave the house to head to Trey's Gymboree party, things slowly started going down hill. We go upstairs to quickly change, and just as I finish getting Carrington ready, Doug puts her in her Jumperoo, and she chooses that moment to go to the bathroom. No big deal, except that it is a major blast out, and Doug immediately picks her up and lays her on the bed. By the grace of God, her clothes are clean (the onesie underneath didn't make it and we had to trash it), but in Doug's haste, he proceeded to get poop ALL OVER THE BED!!!! Yes, you read that right... I'm pissed, Doug's frantic, and now Trey is crying. We get cleaned up (I made a decision to deal with the bedding later), and head downstairs.

This is when I remember that I didn't get any juice boxes, water, or soda for the party. Seriously? I have one job, and I can't even remember that? Doug assures me that we have plenty of time to pick some up- yeah right. Carrington is now screaming her head off- this is completely unlike her, and it is unraveling everyone's nerves. Doug's rocking her in the carseat, Trey is crying, and I'm close to tears. Uncle Brian tries to calm Trey by giving him a chocolate orea. What happens next you ask? Chocolate oreo is everywhere- all over Trey, his new birthday shirt, and precariously close to his jeans. I take a deep breath, take away the cookie, get a washcloth and glance at the clock. Yep, we're late. We all head outside- now we have to juggle car seats, seating arrangements, 2 cars,... Time is ticking by, and my mood is getting worse and worse. FINALLY we all get settled into our respective cars and head out- again, by the grace of God, Carrington finally relaxes. I want you to keep in mind that through all of this Carrington is SCREECHING at the top of her lungs- you would seriously think she was dying. And she is never, ever like this, so every last one of us is unraveled. When we finally make it to Gymboree, Doug heads over to Fresh Market for drinks, only to discover he has no wallet. Luckily we came with our posse, and someone pays for the beverages.

This is why I am forever grateful that I wasn't expecting 12 little children at my house, and instead we were going somewhere else, with someone else providing the entertainment, and I could relax and enjoy the hour and a half of fun. This is Trey's big day, and I don't want to remember it as the party from hell! :)

Trey had a fantastic time, the cake was perfect- and delicious- the gift bags came out adorable, and I was thrilled with everything (if you can take away the 30 minutes prior to party time). We were especially lucky that Aunt Kristyn took pictures throughout the entire party and made a point to get each and every guest. I am so thankful that she was there to capture all the details! I think Trey's favorite part of the party was seeing his friend Davis. Trey loves Davis and goes to school with him, so although Trey knew and recognized all the guests, Davis is his "constant". Davis and Trey have gone to school together for the last 18 months, so they see each other at least 3 times a week, maybe more. If it's possible to have a best friend when you are 2, then Davis is definitely Trey's BFF.

Happy Birthday Party to my Big Boy!!!!

My Little Smiler!

Carrington is such a smiler! Every time I go to take her picture, she immediately knows that I'm going to want to see that gummy grin, and she goes to town! She is a complete roller now- which means she can get herself across a room in no time at all. Every time she gets to rolling, she will pop her little head up to see if anyone is watching her. This chick is too funny!!!!

St. Patrick's Day!

I love this holiday- not because there is any real celebrating to be done- but because I can dress my kids up like the little cutie pies that they are, and I love it! This particular morning, Doug and I didn't wake up until 7am, which is unbelievably late for us, considering the fact that Doug is out the door by 5:30am every work morning. When he woke up and saw the time, we both kicked into overdrive FAST! I got myself ready in record time, and before the kids were up, but we were still running late. I knew that we needed to get in the car and get driving, but Trey and Carrington were both being so sweet, that I stopped my chaos, took a few deep breaths, and decided to relax and enjoy the moment with them. I grabbed my camera and started taking their pictures, and I'm so glad that I did. Spending an extra 15 minutes being happy with my kids was far more important than rushing everyone and panicking over a small delayed start to the day!

Trey Cracks Me Up!

This was too funny, so I had to write about it :).

The other night, Trey pulled out all of Doug's boxers from the drawer and put them all on his head. He is in a stage where he likes to "dress" himself- in whatever is available! I have caught him several times trying to put on Carrington's pants, or his own shirts- pretty much anything he can get his hands on! He's so funny!

Carrington's 4 Month Doctor's Visit!!!

Carrington had her 4 Month Doctor's appointment on March 1st, and it went great! I will admit that she doesn't handle shots quite as well as Trey did. She was all smiles up until the point that needle stabbed her little leg, and then all bets were off! She screamed like crazy for a solid 2 minutes (Trey only ever cried for a few seconds and then got over it). Carrington is apparently a little more of a drama queen.

Her stats are:
13 pounds, 1 ounce- with a diaper ON, so she is probably just a hair under 13 ounces (39th percentile)
Height- 24" long (42nd percentile)
Head Circumferance 41 (53rd percentile)

And Trey at his 4 month checkup was:
15 pounds, 11 ounces (in the 75th percentile)
26 1/2" long (in the 95th percentile)
Head Circumferance 42 (in the 50th percentile)

Trey was so big compared to her! I'm still amazed! The doctor said we could start solid foods anytime now, but we're going to wait. I'm just not ready for all of that yet! :)

Playing in the Yard!

Last weekend, it was gorgeous, AGAIN, so we spent a lot of time outside! We spend so much time on our swingset, and if anyone has contemplated making a purchase like that- I would recommend it to anyone! It is wonderful, and well worth the money! I've said it before, but swinging puts my kids to sleep, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of my sleeping babies on the playground.

We also spent part of the day on Saturday at Brooke's 3rd birthday party! Trey wasn't in a social mood, so he spent most of his time on Doug's lap, or at Doug's side (this is no surprise, but it does make me wonder how he will be at his own party in a few weeks). Trey's goody cup had a pair of sunglasses in it, and Trey loved them! That night, he very seriously went and put on his sunglasses, grabbed his suitcase, looked directly at me and said "Bye-Bye, I wuv wu" and walked away. Um.... what is that about???

Other fun parts of the week included playdating with Ella and Sawyer, and meeting Daddy for some picnic lunch dates at parks near his office. I love the weather being nicer- eating outside and letting Trey play is such a great way to meet for lunch.

The Biltmore and a Beautiful Weekend! 2/19/11

2 weeks ago, we had a wonderful visit from Big Daddy, NaniJay, Grammy and Papa! To celebrate, we decided to leave the boys at home, and just the girls spent the day in the mountains and visited Biltmore Estate. I had never been, and I'm so glad we went, because I loved it! They have SO much to do there- besides just touring the house, they have fishing, hiking, picnic areas, a small petting farm, horseback riding, a winery, restaurants,... the list goes on and on, and it was awesome. I am already looking forward to going back as a family and spending the day. While at the Biltmore, Carrington had a "first" :). It was her first time sitting in the stroller, without being in her infant carseat. I know, not much of a first, but I'm her Mommy, so I'm allowed to document these things!

That weekend, Carrington had another "first"- it was her first time swinging on the playground! For Christmas, Doug and I got her a special pink swing for the playset, and I couldn't wait for the weather to get nice enough for her to go in it- and for her to get big enough to safely swing in it! I'm not sure she's really big enough, but I went ahead and let her swing anyways. I think playground swings should be called "Magic Swings" because they ALWAYS put my kids to sleep!

To wrap up our weekend of "firsts", that Monday night, we decided to move Carrington over to her own crib in her bedroom (2/21/11). She was just shy of being 4 months old, and I knew she had been ready for a while, but we wanted to wait until we didn't have any company- just in case she totally freaked out and had several bad nights. :) Turns out, I had nothing to worry about- the transition was perfect! She woke up once for about 30 seconds and immediately went back to sleep and slept a sound 12 hours. And even better than that, she's been doing it every night since! Again, I knew she was ready, and the only thing keeping her from truly sleeping for 12 hour stretches was being in the room with Doug and I- we were such a distraction for her! Isn't it supposed to be the other way around??? Aren't babies supposed to keep the Mommys and Daddys awake? Just another example of how my little baby isn't such a "baby" at all.