Before We Were Four

Before Natalie's birth, I wanted to get some last photos of our little family of three.  These photos were taken earlier in the day on Natalie's birthday.  I will always cherish them and remember the last moments as a party of three.

I think this one's a framer!

Natalie Sutton

We welcomed our daughter, Natalie, into the world.  She arrived weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 20 inches.  Petite beauty.

I love the little bows they put on the newborn girls' hats.

That's a nice set of lungs!

We are all in love.  Henry loves to see baby "Nanie" and to comment on what she's doing (eating, sleeping--he says "shh" when she's asleep and it's adorable--, "hiding"--a word he uses often if she's sleeping in a different room from the one he's in).

Natalie's birth story to follow.  It was much, much less eventful than Henry's, which is nice, but makes for a less interesting story.  We are so thankful for our baby girl.

Henry at Two

Before Lima Bean arrives and he has to share the spotlight, I wanted to do a post focusing on our firstborn. I have been trying to take lots of photos of Henry lately, so this is a way to share lots of them.

Pretending to "sleep" on the couch, complete with snoring sound effects.

Swinging between the couch and the table.

Joining Rowan for a view out the window.  Hard to discourage Henry's climbing when Rowan is allowed to pass the day away up there.

Recycling truck!!

Henry's cheese smile.

No worries, Mr. Shaggy got a haircut recently and now looks much more presentable.

Yes, we are true suburbanites now.  House, two (just about) kids, and now a minivan.  We love having two cars, though, and we also love the space the minivan affords us.

Hanging out in the back of the minivan before watching the fireworks on July 4th.

Love the little Toms!

The EMS at the fireworks show were allowing kids to go inside the ambulances.  Pretty much Henry's dream.  We went twice and he cried for more after the second trip through.

Look at the pure joy!

All four of us!

Goofing around with Daddy right before the fireworks began.  Henry liked the fireworks, although he was more enthralled, it seemed, by the airplane that flew by during the show.  Typical.

Post-haircut!

Love.

Choo choo...Henry turned two!

Henry's second birthday party was tailored to his vehicular obsession...Planes, Trains, and Automobiles themed!

The photo above shows a poster my mom made for the party.  I like that she also made a nod to Henry's other obsession, butterflies.

The party was a success!  I tried to scale back from last year's shindig in both time and money savings.  I did not have the energy, at 37 weeks pregnant, to throw an extravagant birthday bash, and I also didn't want to spend too much on something that would last a couple of hours.  But, everything still came together nicely and everyone, including the birthday boy, seemed to have a good time.  That's what counts!

Most of the spread.

I wanted the food to fit in with the theme.  My mom made cute tags for each item.

I took this prior to the addition of cream cheese in the bowl.  These were a huge hit, and so simple!

Henry's cake was simple.  I splurged on fondant toppers for the cupcakes on Etsy (which I didn't even take a photo of, darn!), but Henry kept talking about his birthday cake, so I knew he needed a small cake and candles to blow out.

Henry with my coworker's little girl.  So cute!  They are only seven weeks or so apart, and their little siblings are due two days apart!

All of the trucks were out in full force.

Little mop top!  Wearing an appropriately-themed outfit.

Post-candle blowing and birthday song.  We sang to Henry once and then he said, "Again!" so of course there was an encore.

Playing with his favorite gift, a recycling truck from Mark's grandparents.

We had a great time celebrating our newly-minted two year old!