Pirate Putt Putt

Beach Days

A chilly day at the beach is still a day at the beach!

Hilton Head

We took some time off in March to join our family at the beach house in Hilton Head! It was just what we needed to recharge and unwind. Even though it was pretty chilly, the boys wasted no time playing on the beach. We visited the Salty Dog, played in the ocean, and had an amazing sunset dinner picnic.

Happenings

Nicholas Turns Five

We joined the Bignons for a hibachi dinner when Nicholas turned five and then attended a super awesome Mario birthday party! The weather was perfect for a park party and all our buddies came!

Marching through Spring

LIPs

After the big celebration for Carter, it was my turn for a party! A group of friends took me to Lips- a drag queen dinner show and we had a great night! We ended up at an Asian Karaoke bar which was completely random, but ended the night singing and laughing and having a blast!

Happy Birthday Carter!

Carter woke up on Saturday morning and was “officially” five! We managed to pull it off and Linc didn’t miss his baby boy hitting this important milestone. We decided to do it up BIG this year since it was probably the last year we would celebrate with the Baby Brigade. We rented the entire trampoline park and invited every single friend we knew. It was an incredible turnout and everyone from babies to grand parents had a blast! There was plenty of room for all our baby friends, preschool buddies, and family to come and celebrate and the party could not have gone any better.

“Birthday” Eve

Lincoln was scheduled to arrive home late Friday night and so we spent the day hanging out with friends and preparing for Carter’s “birthday.” Even though I knew he was already five, Carter believed his birthday was Saturday so it made decorating his door and surprising him the next morning even more special.

Nolan, Campbell, Harrison, and Kinley ready to celebrate C’s big day!

Muffins for Mom

On our actual birthday, we tried to pretend it wasn’t haha Linc was out of town and he didn’t want to miss his biggest boy turning five so I managed to convince Carter it was just a normal day. I told his teachers and friends to keep up the charade and we would have Carter’s birthday on the Saturday when his daddy came home. We figured this is the last year it would work since he isn’t really aware of the actual date so we attended Muffins for Moms and acted as if nothing else was happening. I’m not really sure why our school does their special Mom’s day in March and not May, but it was still fun to go into class and feel celebrated. Carter made some incredibly adorable crafts and we got to have a yummy brunch together.

Carter Turns Five

In all honesty, I was more sad about that fact that my mom wasn’t here to see Carter turning five than the fact that he was actually turning five. I wished she could see him growing and changing and celebrate with us how far we’ve come. It was a tough day but we managed to make C feel very special.

Pre Birthday Festivities

Lincoln was in California the week of my (and Carter’s) birthday so we tried to fill the days with lots of visits with friends to stay busy. We went out to dinner, had ice cream with our buddies, played, and even managed to have a fancy meal at the club where Nolan and Carter stayed in the kid dining room the entire time! What a pleasant meal that was! We are thankful for family and friends to help distract us and the week without Linc flew by.

Swimming School

We had signed Carter up to play soccer but when I realized how expensive all these activities were we made the decision to just focus on swimming lessons. C is incredibly timid in the water and still doesn’t even like getting his head wet in the bath tub. I really wanted him to be able to keep up with his buddies in the pool this summer so we strapped on some goggles and started twice weekly swim lessons. He cried the first few weeks…it was very stressful to hear him calling for me and not being able to go out and help but eventually he settled down and started learning. He even jumped into the pool all by himself which was a huge improvement over last year. There is still a looooong way to go before he is actually swimming but I know he can do it!

Sweetheart Dance

Our neighborhood held a Valentine’s Sweetheart Dance {a few weeks late} and it was

such a blast to get dressed up and spend an evening dancing with my little family!

Loved getting to dance and swing with my biggest bubs! The smile on his face was priceless!