Giddy Up!

Little Details

Cake and cupcakes are from Olde Town Bakery in town. To say Caleb loved his cake is an understatement. As you can see he took a piece of the badge when I wasn't looking. Sneaky Cowboy!

Cookies were made by Uncle Jason. They are always a hit!

These are the party favors that were given out with straw Cowboy hats.

Maurer Party of Five - Cowboy Style

Another one under our belt...

Leftovers are bagged up, tables and chairs are back in their storage spot, decorations need to find a home in the hall closet and new toys are sprawled out all around the house.... yes, we survived another Maurer Party of Five birthday party. After an unexpected afternoon of clouds and drizzle, the weather pulled through and we were able to celebrate Caleb's 3rd birthday in the backyard with friends and family. The highlight for the kids was definitely the horses that rode down the road to our house to give the kids a ride around the backyard. As the evening progressed, kids played, the adults enjoyed conversation and adult beverages, and we all enjoyed dinner, cake and watching one happy 3 year old tear through his gifts. Pictures will definitley follow in my next post.
Though a birthday party is about our children and celebrating another year of their life, for Wes & I, it is also about having friends and family who mean and do so much for us all together. It can be quite a group and we love everyone of them. Once the first car drives up, my worries about napkin colors, balloon placement, and party favors disappear. The small details no longer matter. It's about enjoying the life we live with the ones we love. For that, we are incredibly blessed.

Yee haw, we're having a round up

Birthday snack

Caleb had to celebrate his birthday with all his school friends! Sunday we made blue and green cupcakes and the class was able to enjoy them Monday morning and sing a special Happy Birthday to the birthday boy.

Wake up, it's your birthday

Caleb didn't have too much get up and and go his birthday. His brother and sister were excited to wake him and give his special presents from them: Bullseye & Jesse from Toy Story 3. Now Woody has his closest friends with him!





"Why are you waking me?"

Happy 3rd Birthday Caleb Wesley!!

We Love You!

A letter to Caleb

Caleb-

I remember it like it was yesterday, your dad and Popo were outside watching Avery & Austin play and thanks to modern technology and a "hunch", I found out I was expecting another baby. I was in shock.... without going into detail, you were a major SURPRISE!!! I wanted nothing more than for your Popo to leave so that I could share the news with your dad. He was a bit shocked himself when I told him, but from the very beginning he was very excited. He never seemed to question how we would handle having 3 kids under the age of 2. I on the other hand was scared to death! Your brother and sister were 9 months old at the time and they were more than a handful and we were going to be adding one more.

You were a great baby. There was no staying home and sleeping all day for you those first few weeks. We were in the process of building a house and you and I made many trips to Lowes, Home Depot, and Fisher Tile. Knowing that you were on a schedule sometimes helped me make quick decisions that otherwise may have taken me hours. You got to sleep in our room your first few months which I wasn't use to, but you were a pretty good sleeper... thank goodness.

Here we are 3 years later and I can't imagine life without you. You have added a lot of character to our world! You are full of life and keep us laughing. Your random outbreaks and nonstop talking can make the worst day brighter. It is often times hard to set you apart from your brother and sister as you try to keep up with them day in and day out, and I might add that you do a pretty good job of it.

Happy 3rd Birthday Caleb. I love you!

Nothing to wear

For the second time this week, I found Avery crying in her room. She wasn't in pain, her feelings weren't hurt, she wasn't mad at her brothers.... nope, tears were being shed because the poor girl couldn't find anything to wear! I may have indicated before that we live with a mini diva. Though she isn't over the top with her clothes selections, she is very particular and goes through phases where only certain clothes will do. I have a hard time feeling sorry for her when her closet is replinished way more frequently than my own, but I try to be sympathetic and help her through her mini crisis. She is four! We are soooo in trouble!

Ocean Treasure of the Week - Austin

This week Austin is Ocean Treasure of the week at school. Part of that honor involves filling out an "all about me" poster. Included in that poster were pics of him and his family. Other items were wants to be when he grows up - a hunter. His favorite place to be - the deer blind. If he could wish for anything - a toy jet. This little guy is definintly showing lots of the same interests of his daddy.

The things we do for our children

So, it is Valentines evening and though Wes and I aren't huge romantics, most Vday's we at least plan a "special" dinner - a night out, pick up something so we don't have to cook, or steak and shrimp on the grill. Well, this year is a bit different. Tonight was chicken nuggets for the kids and a salad for me. Wes was on his own. He's having a very special Valentines evening in his truck... in the kids school parking lot.... all alone - well, actually with many other determined parents who signed in and are staying onsite to ensure their kids get in the classes they want them in next year at dayschool. It is an insane process... there are a limited number of spots in many of the classes and the only way to guarantee you get a spot is to get there early and stay up all night!
We have been torn with what Avery & Austin will do next year. Our babies are ready for Kindergarten!! So hard to believe, but it's true and after much thought and prayer we have decided to keep them at St. Paul's at least one more year. Our next decision was full day or half day of Kindergarten. We figure that since our kids have to be there all day since we both work, we should go for full day. There's only 15 spots available for the full day class and that is why Wes had to go up to school at 7:00pm this evening and take spots 13 & 14. To keep those spots he is supposed to stay there onsite all night until official registration time - 7:00am tomorrow morning. At that time they start going down the list of those that have signed in and for some reason that just seems to be what works for St. Paul's. CRAZY - yes, but it's we'll do it for our kids and some piece of mind.
Caleb's situation isn't quite as tight, there are still 15 open spots, but we want to make sure he is in a 3 day class instead of 2-day. Thanks to a great dad and husband, that is taken care of!

Love, love, love

Strikes, Spares & Gutters

Friday night we had a few things to take care of in College Station and since we are on the heels of Valentines Day, we made it a family date night. After some quick shopping, we met up with Kelcie and Rockie her new home away from home and then we headed for Grand Station for a little bowling. We got bumpers for the kids lane and though the ball never got over 5 mph, they did a pretty darn good job. For some reason they were really amazed by the ball return.







How cute are these shoes?!?!







Cowboy bowler! The bowling shoes didn't last long on his feet though.

Avery watching to see how many pins she knocked down.

The score says it all!!

Splish, Splash we were taking a bath

Snow Day!!!

So it wasn't the 2-4 inches that was predicted, but we did get a little snow accumulation on the ground overnight. A, A, & C insisted we bundle up and get outside to enjoy the white fluffy stuff first thing. We didn't last too long outside. We are definitely a warm weather family!