A Magical Birthday Party For Lyla

If you know our Lyla, she sprinkles a little magic wherever she goes! There is something about her that is so electric, fun, silly, contagious, and joyful that a magical birthday party seemed like the perfect fit. I saw that "She is magic that one" banner, knew it would be perfect for her room, and used it as my inspiration for her whole party. We kept it really small last minute due to traveling family and trying to be as safe as possible with Covid exposure right before baby's arrival so it was just my mom and our sweet little neighbor girls that came. 

The thing that was so fun to watch was how special Lyla felt the whole day ... like when I put this "Birthday Girl" banner on her. <3

We surprised her with a bounce house rental and she was in total heaven and LOVED it!! So many adorable giggles happened in there ...

The giant slide was the favorite part!

Her only request was a rainbow cake like her first birthday. So sweet! Who doesn't love a funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting?!

She both acted shy and soaked in the attention when we sang "Happy Birthday" to her!

I was so happy with how the cake turned out with my little experience in baking them myself. Typically I order cakes for my kids' parties. But really, you can't go wrong with a boxed cake mix ... it was more the leveling, coloring, and frosting part that intimidated me. How fun is the inside though?!

The cake was a BIG hit ...

Opening presents ... she has played with a baking playdo set that she got from her friends all weekend!

We saved most of her presents for this week so she could open them on her actual birthday but something that has been such a fun tradition for me as her mom is gifting her one of my dolls from my childhood each birthday. This year I gave her "Scott". I always loved him because he looks and feels like a real baby so I was hoping it would be special for her right before she has a new sibling come along. The hilarious part for Nic and I was that she kept calling him a baby girl despite the fact that he is in blue ... she is still very much convinced that her sibling is going to be a sister just like this baby girl doll. haha

I made them all magic wands ...

Liam thought they were cool for a minute but then pulled out his true Harry Potter wand. ;)

My mom got her this adorable coat for winter and a pretend princess laptop that she has carted everywhere so she can "do her work just like dad!" ;) So cute!

Also wearing her favorite twirl dress to celebrate!

We loved spoiling this beautiful girl and can't wait to continue the celebration on Wednesday when our baby turns FOUR! 

Saying Goodbye to our friends

 Shortly after we moved to Meridian, we met the Cardon family and they quickly became our best friends! It's not often that you meet a whole family where the kids get along and the husband and wife both enjoy the other couple's company too. Lauren and I would get together once a week for a playdate with our non-school aged kids during the week and twice a week in the summer. We'd have playdates at each other's houses, visit every park in the city, go to the river, play at the library, etc. We've gone to the zoo, the birds of prey center, and Sandy Point as families on the weekends. We created annual traditions of Halloween and Christmas parties, as well as a double date to the pumpkin patch/corn maze every fall. Our kids have grown together and so have we. 

As many people are experiencing, including Nic, the work environment changed during Covid and some businesses closed their doors and made the transition to working from home a permanent one. This is what happened with Spencer's job which opened the opportunity for them to live anywhere they wanted. Their dream has been to have land and fruit trees so they bought a home in Shelly and we helped them move on Friday. Not before one last Saturday spent together at Sandy Point the weekend before though ...

Our two Liam's together! 

They chased the geese with squirt guns all morning! haha

And even found some tadpoles in the shallow water ...

Liam was determined to unearth this root until he realized it was connected to a whole bunch more and went a lot deeper than that tiny shovel would allow him to dig to very quickly ...

No falling off the turtle today which is cause for that big grin on her face! She doesn't like getting wet unless it is on her own terms. haha Boy will she have an experience at her first swimming lessons this next week!

Lauren and Griff on a kayak ride together ... our kids are begging us to get one of these!

All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth!

Lyla did fall off the kayak while riding with Ephriam ... she didn't understand that she needed to keep her body weight in the center and kept leaning to the right. She was NOT happy!

Super dad to the rescue! He pulled her around while she laid on the back of the kayak like this instead ...

Like a big kid on that tube with a paddle! haha

Nic also made this cute fish with a moat around it for the kids!

Man I'll miss this girl! It's friendships like these ones that are the worth every bit of the extra effort when you live long distance. Time to make new traditions together. <3

Our Christmas Card & Letter 2020

I didn't send a Christmas letter with our card this year but if I did this is what it would have said. 

Merry Christmas!! We hope during this crazy year that this note finds you healthy and well. Like many of you, 2020 definitely looked different for our family but it taught us to cherish the one thing that is most important in the world, time together. Liam's last year of preschool was cut short in March and I became a full time teacher to two at home through the end of May. Our classroom was filled with walks and bike rides around the neighborhood having the hardest time not going to the parks while they were closed, doing Cosmic Kids Yoga in the living room, learning letters, numbers, colors, and shapes at the kitchen table with endless art supplies, experiencing virtual Disneyland rides on YouTube, building towers with magnet blocks, and so much more. The crazy thing is, I had prayed for just a little more quality time spent with Liam before sending him off to Kindergarten ... I didn't know what that would look like or what I was actually praying for in the moment ... but I learned it was this. It was getting to teach him his last few months of preschool and having him home every day with me. It was an answered prayer in the hardest but best way. 

In the summer we took our annual trip to Pocatello and Bear Lake. It is always one of the highlights of our year! Both of our kids have asked many times since when we get to go back. Other than that, summer was quiet. No swimming lessons, Roaring Springs passes, Children's Museum, etc. Instead, we spent many days with our blow up swimming pool splashing in our own backyard! We also transformed our yard this summer into a space we all love! We added a cozy sectional out there, a fire table for s'mores, a swing, beautiful flowers, trees, and shrubs we planted with our own two hands. We had a cement pad poured on the side of our home with our hand prints etched in it. 

In the fall, Lyla started her first year of preschool. She LOVES it and wishes she could go more than 2 days a week. She got her first haircut (bye bye baby mullet and hello baby bangs!), learned how to ride her hand-me-down balance bike like a champion, and was completely potty trained night and day by the end of the year!! Proud of that girl of ours!

Liam's school year started 100% online until slowly he went back every other day, to eventually the elementary schools opening full time. He is thriving in Kindergarten ... reading above grade level and making all kinds of new friends! His dream of riding the bus came true, too! He learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels this summer and is the such a good example to those around him at school. We are so grateful for him!

Nic has spent the better part of a year working from a home office! It has not come without its challenges but we love getting to see him more often and spend every lunch together! He has helped the hospital in so many ways through Covid and is officially the first member of our family to be vaccinated! He is always our rock emotionally and physically and he is helped complete more projects around our home this year than he probably cared to. haha We adore him!

Then there's me. Sometimes I struggle to see the difference I make around here until I get sick or something and see many of the plates I keep spinning in the air fall. Then I realize one of my truly greatest strengths is juggling ... schedules, schools, laundry, meals, emotions ... haha! It's a real art! ;) Jokes aside, I our kid's schooling and our home were my labors of love this year. I transformed our kids bedrooms into places that make them both smile and gave me a creative outlet that I really love to express. I finally found answers to the source of the headaches and pain I'd been experiencing for over 2 years and feel relieved to say that I now have coping mechanisms in place to keep it really well managed. It has been a huge blessing!!! 

So you see, 2020 really was filled with a lot of blessings. No matter how many things were canceled or closed, times when we couldn't see family and friends, masks we had to wear, or bottles of hand sanitizer we went through to try and stay healthy. I hope you can see the blessings from your year too. They are there and I know it is thanks to a Savior who is watching over all of us, especially during hard times. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We love you!

Nic, Meagan, Liam, and Lyla

baking Christmas cookies

The messiest tradition of all but one that just can't possibly be skipped, baking sugar cookies!

I made the dough ahead of time and Liam and Lyla took over the rest. ;) I was so impressed how well they both did with rolling the dough and cutting out the shapes this year. I only helped getting it smooth and transferring the shapes to the cookie pan. I still remember buying this set of Christmas cookie cutters at Fredmeyer the year Liam was born and it makes me smile how many years now they have been used and loved for this tradition.

Then it was business as usual whenever it comes to decorating a cookie .... frost a bit, eat a bite of candy, lick your fingers, decorate the cookie with every color of frosting and a jar of sprinkles and then eat the whole thing. haha

My frosting was really runny this year but we went with it. The drippier the better, right?! Kidding.

Look at that adorable crease of concentration and pursed lips! Man, I love her! I tease about how many sprinkles and frosting they used per cookie but they really were so meticulous with their creativity on each cookie. 

Especially this guy ... my creative one.

Sampling their efforts ...

How cute are these?! Sugar cookies aren't Santa's favorite when he comes to visit our house so we made a different kind of cookie for him as it got closer to Christmas and the kids got to eat their creations throughout the holiday season. They weren't mad one bit about it. ;)