Birthday Parties!!

We've been busy these last couple of weekends with birthday parties! We first drove to Houston to celebrate Nolan's FIRST birthday!! It was the longest Madeleine's ever been in the car, and she luckily slept the entire time on both drives. We drove in on Friday afternoon, ate dinner, and crashed at the hotel. We stayed at a Homewood Suites, and J and I agreed that the next time we need to stay in a hotel, we will insist on this one. It has a full kitchen and living area in one part and a large bedroom and bathroom in the next part. But here's the kicker. There's a DOOR in between. So we could put children to sleep and watch tv! Or read on the couch with the light on, instead of on the bathroom floor with a book light! It was glorious! We woke up leisurely on Saturday (or as leisurely as one can expect with a 3-year old and 7 week old), then headed to the carnival! Claire and Nathan were so happy to see each other, and I was so happy to see my friends! All the kids had a great time playing the games Kellie had worked so hard to make. Claire's favorites were the bean bag toss (that girl has an arm), the water balloon toss, and the duck pond. C didn't get that you were just supposed to reach in with your hand to get a duck--she insisted on bobbing for them. After the party was over, all 4 families had dinner at a burger place with an arcade. I think the dads had more fun playing than the kids, but Claire, Nathan, and Brady really showed their stuff on the Dance Dance Revolution. We were so sad to have to say goodbye, and drove back home on Sunday.

The whole gang together again!! (Thanks for letting me steal this from your blog, Kelley!)

Time for cake

Bobbing
Success!
Waterballoons
There were even rides!
The little couple
They love to sit by the fireplace together.

And Madeleine slept through the whole thing."Dancing"

This past Saturday, Claire and I ventured out to another birthday party for a friend in her class. This was a princess party, and it was so cute to see all the little girls in their dresses. The parents even hired a make up and hair lady to come out to finish everyone's princess look. (C of course wanted nothing to do with it.) Honey stayed home with Madeleine for this party, and it was nice to give C a bit of one-on-one attention.