Birthday Party Prep

Asher and Soren really wanted a birthday party to celebrate turning 8 and I thought it was a great idea. I decided to throw it at Chinquapin park so that I didn't have to bother with it at my house. The weather was perfect and we had the party after school on a Friday. I planned several outdoorsy games like throw the football through the hula hoop, mini golf, pin the brain on the monster, a balloon pop game and then we had lots of pizza and cake. My mom made the cakes--a skull cake and a zombie cake. All the kids got a goodie bag full of gummy body parts and other various things. IT was really fun and I was so grateful to have my mom and there to help! Asher and Soren had fun and that was best of all.

Birthday Sign with Sloane

This photo demonstrates Sloane's pose when Jamie holds her--she turns to me and puts an arm to his neck. Oh girl.

I had been using the same birthday sign for the boys since their first birthday and I felt like they needed an upgrade. I researched a mid century looking font and used that as my inspiration for their new sign. I was really happy with it. I also made a bunting out of photos of them from birth to now in anticipation of their baptism.

First Day of Second Grade

Asher and Soren started school a few days before their birthday and baptism. They were excited about the start of the school year and their new teachers. Asher had Ms. Carter and Soren had Mrs. Holland, who was out on maternity leave so he had a substitute, Mrs. N.

Bear Crawling Sloane

When Sloane didn't want her knees to touch the ground she whipped out the bear crawl. So stinking cute. I was curious when Sloane would start walking since she had three predecessors. Asher walked at 14 months, Soren at 11 and Maeve at 11. Will she follow one of these or have her own schedule? I'm hoping for a late start since crawling babies seem like actual babies compared to turbo early walkers.

Covered Bridges of Frederick County

Random photos by Maeve!

When my parents came out for Asher and Soren's baptism we went on a day trip to Frederick County to see the countryside and check out a few of the covered bridges in the area. The day was beautiful and so was the scenery. My parents are so great on adventures--they love to go anywhere and are always so gracious and grateful. Plus, they are so great with the kids. We had a fun time.

Georgetown Outing

I had been wanting to check out Oak Hill Cemetery for years and one Friday afternoon in the summer I took the kids for a Georgetown outing. I was looking forward to visiting the cemetery and Dumbarton Oaks but for some reason the Dumbarton was closed that day. We took our time exploring the cemetery, which was absolutely beautiful. I was startled by the size of it--the grounds covered a sweeping hillside and were so conspicuously tucked away. The kids loved all the headstones, naturally and we had a great time looking for the oldest headstones, many of which dated to the 18th century!

This is one of my favorite corners of DC--parking is always easy and it's so beautiful.

Maeve Selfies

Could this cheeky gal be any cuter? She gets her hand on a phone or a camera and she goes straight to her own face. I don't blamer her. She's the cutest.

Sloane's FIRST Birthday Party!

Sloane and her groupies!

Lady babes!

WE are so obsessed with Sloane. But also--this family! They are all so wonderful and seeing us together in celebration of Sloane, who completes our family, brings me great joy.

Clearly, everyone's favorite.

Showing Sloane how to blow out her candle!

I truly kept her away from all sugary foods until this moment.

She was properly celebrated!

My friend Brit took the most glorious photos of Sloane!

A peek of Liberty bloomers!

I love this detail!

Little lover.

 

I invited all of our friends to Sloane's party. I knew it would be more kids and people than our house could handle but that's what the deck is for, right? I also had some fun activities for the kids to do--see post below. The various ways that the kids and adults decorated baby Sloane's photos were amazing. My favorite were zombie Sloane, wizard Sloane and clown Sloane.

Oh this baby! She has been such a gift to our family. I'm so happy we had her. I'm reminded of this daily as her siblings smother her with love and adoration. She brings them so much happiness and I'm so grateful for the dynamic that she brings. I was worried that  having a fourth would be as difficult as having a third but I have been surprised at the ease with which she has joined us. It's a lot of work tending to four kids but it's also rewarding to see how they interact and grow together. I think we did a great job celebrating this sweet gal and I'm so happy she's mine! 

Happy Birthday darling Sloane!