Naomi's First Birthday

As has become our custom, we headed out on a mini-vacation for Naomi's first birthday.

We had some time to kill before we headed to the airport, so Tristan read Naomi one of her books. 

Though it wasn't an early flight by any means, it wiped the kids out. 

At our hotel having some cake for a snack before dinner. 

The kids chose a cake that had bits of fruit mixed in with the icing.  It was different, but pretty good. 

Dinner!  A variety of grilled meats served on a fire hot rock. 

After dinner we went for a walk on the hotel grounds.  It was drizzling a bit, but a nice evening. 

After bath time it was present time! 

Since we already celebrated her birthday last Saturday, we only took a few little gifts with us, but she loved the ball and musical panda she opened on her birthday.

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet Little Princess!

Naomi - Month 12

This precious baby turned one this month!  Where, oh where did the time go??

This is what happens when Daddy puts sunscreen in your hair.

I love this sweet little face!  Her smile is absolutely contagious.

She's cheering for her sister who is playing baseball. 

David heard Naomi stirring after her nap one day and when he went to check on her, this is what he found.  This little boy is so enamored with his baby sister! He would do absolutely anything for her.

This is her "Oh no!" pose.

It really cracks me up when she hears it on the TV or just in everyday conversation, and she does it.  Really makes you wonder just how much babies really do understand and pay attention.

"Praise the Lord!"

She started doing this regularly after she "heard" a sermon about how we should praise the Lord and worship Him.

Naomi is also becoming a big help in the kitchen, and loves to help me unload the silverware from the dishwasher.  I've got to be careful leaving the dishwasher door open when she's around, because she'll unload the dirty silverware too!

I'll post pictures of our adventures to Jeju-do later, but we had a little island getaway for Naomi's first birthday.  It has become a tradition to take a trip for our children's first birthdays - Grace's was in The Bahamas, Tristan's was in Nebraska, followed by Minnesota, and Naomi's was the "tropical" Korean island of Jeju. 

Happy Birthday, Naomi Mae! 

 She is such a delight, and we are so thankful that God blessed us with her!

Naomi's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Naomi's first birthday at the same time we celebrated Tristan's. He was so sweet and said that he would like to share his party with her, which worked out well because we would've invited most of the same families to her party too.

Her "smash" cake.

The birthday girl.

Getting the hang of opening her gifts.

Time for cake!

Hmmm... What is this?

She finally decided it was okay to touch since we kept holding it within her reach.

Getting tired of picking at it with her fingers, she decided to just dive in!

I must explain the grocery cart...

I forgot to bring down something for her to sit in, and knowing the mess that would be made, I really didn't want to have her in her stroller.  We have shopping carts around so we can haul our bags up from the garage, so I stuck her in one.

Oh yeah!  This is good stuff!

And the day wouldn't be complete without birthday spankings.

It's hard to believe that our baby girl is one.  This last year has just flown by - even moreso than it seemed to with Grace and Tristan.

Tristan's 6th Birthday

While the boys were away at camp having fun and horsing around, us girls were busy preparing for my baby boy's birthday party. He requested a Lego Star Wars birthday party and an R2D2 cake, and that's what he got.  I was going to take some inspiration from Pinterest and my friend Kim and be really creative with the food and give it crazy Star Wars related names, but when it came down to it, I didn't get it done.  Oh well, he got his cake and his party with his friends and that is all he really cared about, and he was happy.  I love having kids that are so easy to please!

I had ideas for this cake and stewed on it until the last minute, but once I got into it, it had to be just right.  My mom was making fun of me because I was measuring things on the figure Tristan gave me and making them to scale on the cake. 

Nothing like having cake for breakfast! 

Bouncy house fun!

We are heading into monsoon season around here, so we were thankful for the beautiful day. 

My birthday boy. 

He got many cool gifts, all Star Wars and Lego related it seems, but I had to include this picture.

David and I got a bow for him (before knowing he was going to be shooting one at camp and loving it), and the look on his face when he pulled that tissue paper off was absolutely priceless. 

Comparing war stories, I'm sure. 

Wearing the Armor of God his Grandma Dawn got for him.

He still fits the meaning of his name (war-like), but as long as he is God's mighty warrior, I'm okay with that!

Happy Birthday, Tristan!

We love you!

Cub Scout Campout

The last few days my boys were at Cub Scout camp. It was Tristan's first campout and he was really excited, and I think he was pretty happy about having his daddy all to himself for a few days.

All packed up and ready to go. 

Listening intently to instructions for the target shooting with the high-powered pellet rifle. 

He did really well, and even shot the middle out of a couple of his targets. 

Making a rain stick.

Posting the colors for the morning flag ceremony. 

Round two.  Love the look of concentration on that boy's face. 

Showing off his mastery.

On to archery.

Not too shabby for a first try. 

A performance around the campfire.

Back at home with new patches, and trinkets, many belt loops earned, and some great stories to tell.

They had a great time, and Tristan is loving being in Cub Scouts!