VERA turned 3. (2023)

 

Each year we rotate birthday parties and birthday experiences. This year, we are giving all of the kids experiences instead of a party as we did last year. Vera loves flamingos and giraffes so Ty thought that the zoo would be a perfect day for her.  And IT was!! She got to feed flamingos AND giraffes so it was a perfect day in her eyes. We did have a small gathering also just because she was requesting balloons and cupcakes with a candle. Ha ha. So we invited our friends here in SA over for some snacks and play. Her gift this year was a playground. Since it wouldn't be set up on time (we slacked on ordering the install), they sent a puzzle that she put together and once completed, it showed her what she would be getting in just a few days! 

She was VERY excited. At three, all of the small things are so big in her eyes. I love her at this age. She is by far my most advanced babe. Spoke sentences at 1, potty trained in record time, spells, counts, knows some spanish, witty, sense of humor is on point, ready to learn every day! 

She is complete opposite of Scarlett at this age. Scarlett was all about animals and not very "girly". Vera is all about babies, everything girly, dress-up and princesses. The girl LOVES shoes and shopping as much as I do! She will be my shopping buddy for sure! She loves to put on "her make-up" with me the am and work-out with me whenever she sees me in my workout room. She started preschool this week and has been LOVING it. Not one tear shed, only excitement! She is so much fun right now and I am enjoying all of the toddler stages of Vera Solveig <3

Maxwell 's 7th Reptile Birthday Party

 

We had the best time celebrating our fun boy turning 7!! It was all about the reptiles this year. I always have fun planning parties. We like to change it up. Some years we do parties and some years we do travel/experiences. Maxwell had been asking for a friend party so we decided to throw him something special. As you can see by the photos... they all had an amazing time. Thankful for all the friends who came by and helped us celebrate!!

Vera is 2!!!!

 

Two came fast for this little girl. January 29th!! She was all about Frozen this year so we stayed true to that. We just had some neighbors and a couple friends over. Rented a bounce house and a cake... those kids were happier than ever!! Doesn't take much to please these kiddos. They stayed out jumping and sliding on that bounce house for hours!! Vera only got a couple presents for her birthday this year. One was a tricycle that she is obsessed with. I'm trying this new thing with the 3rd kid....lol, giving them less things and more experiences. Ha ha, you live and you learn. We had a great time celebrating our sweet last baby. 

Man, I cannot tell you how hard it is to watch her grow so quickly. I am not sure why it wasn't so hard with the others. Maybe I had an instinct/intuition that there would be more kids? But with Vera, I know she's it. And that makes my heart ache. It's so bittersweet isn't it? I have always been really sentimental over watching my kids grow. But it hits different when it's the "last time". I suppose that is why Vera breastfed the longest. Why I don't push potty training too hard. Why I am ok if she wants to snuggle or read books extra long. Because those days flew. And as my baby disappears and my toddler emerges, I just can't help but mourn those baby days. I'm also very excited to spend some time traveling with my kids. Now that she is a bit older, we can do more. Silver linings. 

Anyhow, miss Vera Solveig had a wonderful and simple 2nd birthday. 

Chapter 37: Spent back in New York.

This year...I forgot how old I was. I 100% thought I was turning 36 this year. And when I did the math and realized that I was actually turning 37...I felt like I lost a year of my life. LOL. I guess this is the first sign I'm getting old. Ha ha. 

As I creep towards the big 4-0, it's not the age title that scares me. It's FOMO. I feel like there is so much I want to do...see...feel. I have so much that I want to try! I try to take heart that we make the best of memories each year no matter what we do. For instance, this year we went back to NY for a couple weeks and it was no exception. Which explains the photo overload here. 

I would have split this up in a couple posts but this is actually only 1/2 of the photos and memories made. We visited with friends. I attended my last Real Estate Team Retreat. We ate on the lake. We saw family and friends. I could have easily stayed here a month. We crammed in as much fun as possible. The real reason for out trip back, was Ty's dad, Kevin's Celebration of Life Party. But that is a whole other post coming up with even more photos. 

We decided to keep Ty's family lake house so we can go back during the summers.I will let the photos speak for themselves, but I will say, it was a very fun trip and we can't wait to go back there again this summer.