Scooooop! Dump!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ollie!!
Oliver loves construction trucks or "scoop dumps" as he calls them, so we decided to throw him a birthday bash with that theme in mind. Here are all the fun party details and pics from his celebration:

Here's a funny story about his invitation:

Hudson had been telling Ollie that Ollie was getting a dump truck cake for his "happy day", and that Hudson was getting a Buzz Lightyear cake "with wings". I don't know where he got this idea (especially since "character themed" birthday parties are so not my thang) but regardless, Oliver was devastated over the idea. Every time Hudda would mention it, Ollie would burst into tears over it!

I told Ollie we were doing a construction party since he loves scoop dumps so much, but he wasn't convinced until he saw his invitation.

He took one look, sniffed a couple of times, and then said in a breathy voice:"I like it."

As my cousin Hillary would say about him, "He's such a diva!"

Glad you approved, Olfinn!

I called up a family friend who owns Utah Barricade to see if they'd let me borrow some barricades for the party, and they were more than willing. They let me come down there and take my pick of anything I wanted, and then let me take brand new ones so they weren't all dirty and covered with tar. Thanks, Cheryl!!

We made an obstacle course in the backyard out of more barricades, tires and paint cans for the kids to run around. A couple of the manly men had more fun than the kids I think!

In this picture, I am paying credit to my sweet hubby, our friend Chad, and Papa for sanding down and re-staining our deck so it wasn't such a hideodorous shade of maroon. It was something I wanted to have done from the minute we moved in, and this gave my cute, procrastinating hubby the perfect excuse to have to do it. Thanks everyone...you're the best!!!

Here are all the party guests hard at work. When they got to the party, they each got their own construction hat, mini Home Depot apron, and bucket and shovel to dig in the "gravel pit" and dirt with. Don't they all look soooooo cute? Thanks, Papa for working so hard to make the gravel pit a success...I still owe you treats!!

All three of these girls (Ang, Boo and Jeanne) are preggers and due within a few weeks of each other. I'm so excited for all of them!

The manly men (minus Grammy) enjoying some male-bonding time together

Ollie stopped digging for a minute to flash us a "Blue Steel" pose.

Here's his "cake". It's actually a toy dump truck filled with brownie chunks. Ollie loves chocolate anything!

We had a "build" your own brownie sundae bar with lots and lots of delish toppings. Thanks, Mimi for making the hot fudge and caramel sauces for me.... I always over-plan and under-budget my time. Thanks for rescuing me!!

YUM!

The birthday boy being coy

Blowing out his hysterical construction cone candles with an even more hysterical face!

Ollie doesn't mess around when it's time to eat

After opening all of his fun presents, Steve and I gave him his present which was a sand and water table. It was an absolute hit! The kids have played with it every day since, and I have to say it was one of our best purchases so far. If you're looking for something to keep your kids busy with this summer... this is perfect!!

Here are some fun pics of Ollie's party guests:

Sloanie (cousin)

Beckieboodle (cousin)

Benson (friend)

Ava (friend) what a hoot!

Hud-man, of course

All of Oliver's guests took home a coloring book and crayons for their favor. Thanks for coming, everyone! We had "loads" of fun with you!

We missed all of you who weren't able to make it this year...especially Ollie's cousins Lily and Gretel.

Happy Birthday, Olfie! We love you and think you are the absolute best thing ever!

Yippeeeeee!!!

Yesterday morning I had something super exciting

happen at my house!

What, you might wonder?

I got something I've been wanting for a long time.

20 months to be exact.

Ever since we moved into our (not-so-new-anymore) house.

Steve finally agreed that it was time.

I couldn't agree more.

Drum roll, please....

C A B L E!!!!

It's Comcastic!!!

We finally agreed it was high time. Especially since my favorite show of all time is about to start on Thursday. I. Can't. Wait!!!!!!

Does anyone love this show as much as I do?

Our 15 Seconds of Fame

Last week Hudda, Ollie and I all had the opportunity to be on TV!! My mom works at a fabulous women and children's clothing boutique called Four and Twenty Sailors. Shellie (the owner) asked us to model some spring oufits for the TV show Studio 5.

I was worried about how the boys would do, but they actually were better than I thought. I thought Oliver would act shy and clingy (he didn't) and that Hudson would try to run away from me (he didn't!). Of course they weren't the perfect jewels I was hoping for, but hey what could I expect? We had so much fun...Thanks Shellie, for asking us!

Check us out here:

And if you want to shop somewhere really special and unique, check out Four and Twenty:

2645 E. Parleys Way

Sick Boy

Hudda is always such a sick little boy. He catches anything and everything all the time. We have always figured it was because he had RSV when he was 7 weeks old, but we finally decided to take him to an E.N.T. specialist the other day...Here's what we found out:

His tonsils are so huge they are almost touching his uvula, so he needs those taken out as well as his adenoids. He has fluid in his right ear that is causing temporary partial hearing loss.

I was concerned about some bruising underneath his eye that I thought might be related to some sinus problems, but it turns out it is from exhaustion. Because of his adenoids being so swollen, he is a mouth breather. This causes him to sleep restlessly and wake frequently throughout the night. The doctor thinks he has sleep apnea from his adenoids, and once he gets them out, everything should improve.

And hopefully by everything, the doctor literally means everything. Hudda has always been a huge gagger and refuses to eat most foods...all he wants to do is drink all the time. Hopefully after all of this his throat won't hurt anymore and he'll be more likely to eat better. Your sense of smell also makes up for 80-90% of eating. So since he doesn't breathe through his nose, things have almost no flavor to him. No wonder all he wants to do is eat sugary things...hopefully, right? Also, his speech has been quite behind and we have been concerned. We have thought about taking him to a speech therapist, but considering the fact that the fluid in his ear is causing partial hearing loss, that explains a lot! And finally, his sleeping habits. After this he should be sleeping through the night which means he might not be as tired during the day, and therefore might forgo his napping for 3 hours a day. I have to admit, I'm a little sad about that part...I love nap time! Apparently that's not normal for a kid his age. We've always assumed he napped so much because he's such a busy little boy, but it turns out he's just not getting the rest he needs at night.

Which brings me to one thought: If any of you know Hudson, you know what an active, passionate little boy he is. If he is only at 50% as far as sleep and nutrition go, what's he going to be like when he is all better and feeling great?

Are any of you nervous for me?

p.s. we've got his surgery scheduled for May 27th. Wish us luck!