The Rest of January!

We had lots of Kinder basketball!

Every Saturday morning (usually at 8 AM) our big sister and our Daddy are on the court (and to be real, Mommy is working hard to keep Brandt and Felicity off of the court!)! We LOVED the Saturday morning of Brandt's birthday party because we had all three sets of grandparents AND Uncle D and Aunt J at the gym with us! (And the game was at 10--YAY!)

Go Jaguars!

Avaree noticed her cheering section, and she spent a lot of time looking at us, rather than paying attention to the game! ha! :)

One part of her section!

We were SO excited to see Uncle Scott, too!!!!

Uncle D and G-Pops holding the floor area! They were cracking up at the game! :)

They also participated in the half time entertainment and game!

Way to run, G-Pops and Uncle D!

Hi, Ave! :)

Arms up! Defense!

Hi, Papa!!!

Little sis!

Little Sis, Blair, and Brandt (trying to get more snacks out of Mommy's bag)! 

The following Monday night, Daddy was gone to staff retreat, and Mom Mom and Pop Pop stayed with us for a couple of days, so I got to take Avaree to the Mayor's Read-a-Thon kick off at school! She was beyond excited!

She wanted me to take her picture with all of her friends!

There were several friends and several poses! Look at that happy face!

Our social bug loves people!

It's hard to tell, but this is Mayor William's reading a book and lots of Kindergarteners around him! At one point, Avaree read a line of the book! 

Meanwhile, back at home the next morning, Brandt was enjoying some Christmas presents that Mom Mom and Pop Pop brought back with them.

…and cuddling with his mama!

He and Felicity have the longest eyelashes! I love it!

Felicity randomly wanted me to take a picture of her pony!

Brandt took his favorite book to Pop Pop!

Sister and I worked on her activity book! 

Goofy!

It's still hard to believe that this big girl was our NICU baby. I'm still so thankful for her life.

We had some absolutely beautiful January days, and the kids and I really enjoyed our backyard! 

Avaree and Felicity love to swing together on the alligator swing!

Brandt thought he wanted to join in on the fun, but he was a little nervous once he got on!

Big sister is so great with him!

Sunshine!!!

…and blue skies!!! The weather has seriously been just so perfect lately!

All three of our babies swinging together!

Finally, on the Friday after Brandt's birthday, we got his new car seat! Thanks to grandparents, aunts and uncles, we were able to get him a big boy seat that he LOVES! We also were able to get it for 50% off thanks to Aunt Jamie and a kind lady at Babies R Us that let us use a 30% off and a 20% off coupon! YAY!!!!!!

Brandt can be comfy facing backwards up to 40 lbs! 

…and that wraps up January! :) 

Brandt's 1st Birthday Party!!!

The Saturday after Brandt's birthday, we had his party at our house! This was my third first birthday, and I finally learned small and simple! :) 

We had a baby blue, gold and white party for our little prince!!!

(So thankful that I had a mantle to decorate with!!! Thanks, Brandon!)

Avaree had a basketball game that morning (more on that in the next post), and Brandt had been taking just one nap mid-day, so we scheduled the party for 3pm, but we ended up moving it up to 2 pm when he took an early nap and woke up ready to party! :) 

The party table! A friend from our connection group made Brandt's crown cake, and I made gluten free cupcakes and his smash cake! That smash cake pan is the same one used for Timber's 1st birthday, Felicity's 1st birthday, and Brandt's 1st birthday! It's been well loved and is special!! We also had grapes and goldfish (Brandt's faves) and hummus, carrots, and gluten free crackers! 

When Brandt woke up from nap, he was so excited to see his presents!

He loved his birthday photo book! And, of course, there was a basketball game on the television!

Sweet buddy with his crown!!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear is his VERY favorite book. We probably read it 20-30 times per day before we hide it! :) Sometimes, Felicity hides it! haha! 

Sweet baby boy in his birthday shirt and crown! 

Look at that sweet face!

I just love our mantle--especially when it has birthday decor on it!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile, our party guests were having fun! G-Pops had Brandt bouncing on a balloon, and he was belly laughing!

The birthday boy with Mom Mom and Pop Pop!

The birthday boy and Papa and Niecey (and a football)!!

Birthday fun!

Gigi and G-Pops with the birthday boy!!!

Uncle D and Aunt J with Brandt!! 

(Brie was being held and Blair was playing!!!)

This big sister was showing off! 

She was learning to hut hut!! ;)

Pop and the birthday boy!!!

Mommy and Daddy with our birthday boy!

Avaree wanted a picture with her "Bubbie!" 

Gigi, Uncle B, and Blair had some cuddle time on the couch!

  Meanwhile, Brandt read his book…again! :)

Our sweetest big sisters!

We love these sweet girls! They were loving the balloons!

Avaree, Felicity, and Blair! 

 Brandt really enjoyed opening his presents! He loved his truck!

…and opening his tool chest!

…of course he did have a few helpers!

He loves his beautiful rocking horse!

…and Daniel Tiger!

Smash Cake time!

Ooooh, this looks interesting!

Daddy tried to get him to put his whole face in it! hahah!

There we go!

He finally started to figure it out! :)

The beautiful cake was made by our friend, Kelley Ford! She even added two pink princess cupcakes on either side for our girls! Wasn't that just the sweetest thing? Everyone said it was the best cake they had ever tasted!!

Of course, these weren't very pretty, and were gluten free, but they tasted good to me! ;)

Brother eventually decided that the fork helped him get more cake in his mouth! ;)

My favorite shots from the day!!!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO OUR PRECIOUS BABY BOY!!!!!! We hope you loved your little party! You continue to make us smile every single day! May you always know how much you are loved by God and loved by your family. We pray that you will grow to be a man of integrity and a "messenger of the sword" as your name means!  WE LOVE YOU, Brandt Ryder!