Trevor's Birthday!

Trevor's real birthday day was finally here!!  He was so excited!!  He woke up smiling and that smile lasted all day long!  We really are blessed with one happy 4 year old!

After a breakfast of blueberry waffles with whip cream he went to school.  Mommy went there before his usual lunch bunch so that she could see how they celebrated his special day.  He was surprised to see Mommy and Ashley and later thanked us for coming.  He's a sweet boy too!

For the first part of his celebration he sat in the special chair and his classmates and teachers sung happy birthday while going around the circle.

 Then because Trevor turned four he got to pick four 'candles' to celebrate with.  He right away chose Connor and Tristan then got a little shy and quiet.  His next two choices were pretty much who was in line of sight...Cruz and Eliana.

 After they danced and sung a special song for him, Trevor 'blew out' each candle one by one and they went and sat down in the circle.

 One more special song!

 And then he got to have the birthday monkey sing!

 Then it was time to pass out his treats to his friends!  They aren't allowed to open them right away but boy did they do a good job peeking!  One little boy exclaimed happily 'I have a car in mine!'  Yep...Trevor wanted to give out a Hot Wheels car again this year!  Plus a fruit snack...two of his favorite things!

 While leaving school Trevor asked Mommy to take his birthday picture on a big bale of hay.  Sure buddy!

 We then met Grandma Pauline, Papa John, Jeff, Dawn and girls at Peter Piper Pizza for Trevor's birthday lunch! 

Trevor was in all his glory eating pizza (especially dessert pizza) and playing games...er, getting tickets!  Big boy even knows to look for how many tokens to put in the machine so that he doesn't waste any!

 He loved riding the merry go round, even if he did say it was for babies....

 ....unlike his sister who couldn't get off the ride fast enough!

 Grandma Pauline saved her :)

 Before we left we snapped a quick pic of the 5 Hillins' cousins.  So cute!

After naps, everyone came over to our house for a recreation of Trevor's birthday party with friends.  The girls were so excited to open their favor bags and find pink capes and masks!

 It's almost like they knew what to wear to compliment their capes and masks! 

 And just like at Trevor's first party, the girls decorated their cape emblems and had them pinned on.

 Our superheros (minus Ashley)!

After that they had a team effort to lift 1000lbs!

Play the kryptonite toss...

 and the M&M drop game.  Leah was pretty darn good at this....maybe from watching everyone else's technique before her. ;)

 We enjoyed a dinner of lasagna, bread and salad.  The kids liked having their own special table. 

Trevor opened his gifts.  From Mommy and Daddy he got a space ship just like Adam and Cole have!  He got a small moon walker toy from Ashley and got a Mikey Mouse sweatshirt and Superman jammies from all of us.  We are going to Disneyland in a few weeks so the sweatshirt will come in handy.  'All' he wanted for his birthday was to go back to Mickey's house...done!

 He really got into unwrapping gifts.  He's a bit like his Mommy, unwrapping pretty slow and making sure each piece of wrapping paper was fully removed from the packaging.  He was so excited to get the Jake and the Neverland Pirates ship from Jeff, Dawn and girls!

 Ashley also loved one of her birthday gifts from them...we call it the princess mobile because our princess loved being pushed around in it!

 Non-stop smiles from our one year old!

Last but not least for the night was cake time!  We froze the bottom layer of Trevor's birthday party cake and it survived pretty well.

 And was just as yummy as the first time we had it!

 Trevor plays a little coy when being sung to...it really is cute!

 Happy birthday to you....

 ...make a wish!

 Good job!  We hope all of your wishes come true Trevor Kelly!

  And before the fun day and night ended, we got a quick family pic with our one year old daughter and now four year old son.  Can't wait to see what the year ahead holds!

La Casa Thanksgiving Feast!

On Friday, Trevor's preschool celebrated their annual Thanksgiving feast! Last year Mommy didn't get to go because Ashley was just born but this year both Ashley and Mommy went!  Trevor was so excited to see us walk through the doors!

After a great 'kid talk' in the sanctuary by one of the Pastors, we went to the gym to watch the kids have their feast!  As usual Trevor wasn't shy to clean his plate.  Ashley was doing everything she could do to join the big kids at the table.  Just wait 2 years baby girl and you'll be there!

Our friend Sharon snapped a quick pic of the three of us!

  And we snapped a quick pic of his whole class and their teachers before calling it a day!  

We continue to be super impressed with Trevor's school and so thankful for having our neighbor Angie tell us about it last year!  And even more thankful that they had a rare opening just for Trevor!  Our Lord God is good :)

On the way home Mommy asked Trevor what he was thankful for and without hesitation this was his list "chicken, food, candy, balloons, parties, trampolines, and Christmas trees."  He then asked Mommy what she was thankful for and she said "family"...he paused, thought about it and then said "that's a good one Mommy!" 

Such easy fun!

 We really are blessed with two kids that LOVE each other...and can't get enough of each other!!  It makes Mommy's job pretty easy every day :)

The newest thing they love to do is have Ashley ride on her little car and Trevor pushes her around.  There (luckily) haven't been any accidents yet on the tile but we'll still knock on wood!

Ashley's thing she loves to do is talk on the phone.  She has full conversations with the person on the other line.  Even waves goodbye when she hangs up :)

#Selfie

Sara has finally found a hair person here that rivals her people in Minnesota.  It only took a year and a half but Sara couldn't be happier!!!!  And she comes to your house and the price is right and the color is pretty good!  Goodbye Etch Salon :)  A special thanks to Grandma Pauline for coming over to watch the kids while Sara gets beautified!  We appreciate you and your help!

Ashley's One Year Appt!

Ashley had her one year appointment yesterday and passed with flying colors!  To celebrate the occasion we (Sara and Trevor) painted her toe nails pink!  Well, kinda...it was more for her one year pics that were taken the week prior.  We had to use a different photographer since our usual one was still recovering from foot surgery but once we get a sneek peak of the pics, we will post them here.  Trevor had his 4 year pics at the same time and we had quite a few pics of them taken together along with a cake smash session for Ashley!  Fun!

But back to her doctor appointment....here are her stats:

Weight: 18lbs, 7.5 oz (9th percentile)
Height: 29.5 inches (62nd percentile)

Head Circumference: 46.5cm (86th percentile)

Our pediatrician couldn't believe the things she was doing.  She was communicating like no other.  Answering the doctor by pointing, nodding her head and throwing the biggest fit ever when mean Mommy took away her Cheerios so the doctor could look in her mouth!  Dr. Engle said that she passed all of her 15 month milestones already so she probably won't be doing much but focusing on walking the next three months until her next well visit.  Such a smart girl - see it's all that room for her big brain in her big head :)

The biggest hurrah that came out of the appointment was that Ashley tried whole milk yogurt while at the doctor in case she had an anaphylaxtic reaction.  Fortunately, she didn't and she also didn't get any of her usual symptoms after eating dairy, like a bad rash!  She is all congested with a snotty nose (which she often got after Mommy consumed dairy) but she had that for a few days prior to her appointment so hopefully that is just a cold.  

So the doctor said to stick with whole milk yogurt for the next week or two to watch for any reaction.  Then switch to hard cheeses for a week or two.  If still clear, we can try whole milk the week of December 16!  If all is still well when trying whole milk, Mommy can start adding dairy back in her routine then and we can wean Ashley from breastfeeding!  Cross your fingers that all goes well!  It would be great to not have to have all of the worry that comes along with allergies!  Will keep you all updated as we continue to have her try dairy!  But yay so far!!!

Oh and our brave little girl was such a champ with her three shots.  Whimpered for less than 5 seconds and that was it.  Trevor continues to ask for shots since Ashley got some so let's hope that mindset continues when he gets four of them at his four year well visit next week. :) 

Christmas is Here!

Yes, we realize Thanksgiving isn't even here yet but retailers are celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier...so so are we!

America's largest Christmas tree is apparently located in Anthem, AZ so we made the trek to the outlets (twist our arm to do some shopping too!)  to see the annual lighting of the Christmas tree!

It was quite the big deal and kinda fun to see!    Trevor waited patiently on Daddy's shoulders...

 And pretty soon Santa arrived to light the tree!

 Trevor was so excited to see Santa!  He wondered where the reindeer were!

 And in just seconds, the tree was lit!

 On a side note, we happen to be at the outlets when they were putting up the tree.  We never got our question answered as to why the bottom 1/3 of the branches were cut off and then glued(?) back on, but it was interesting to see the process.

On another note, after Santa left Trevor was looking in the sky trying to find his sleigh departing.  Mommy suggested that it was the bright light in the sky she was pointing to and Trevor said sadly 'No Mommy, that's just a star!!" :)

Well seeing this tree lit, sure got us in the Christmas spirit because the next day we put up all of our Christmas stuff.  Well, that was partly because Jeff, Dawn and girls are coming for a week and if we waited to do it until they left, it just didn't seem the decorations would be up that long before it was time to take them down!  So Merry (early) Christmas everyone!

Nana Jeanne and Papa Steve Visit!

Nana Jeanne and Papa Steve came for a week to spend time together and celebrate the kids birthdays!  We were so glad they could come, we love having them here!  Although they were probably ready to go home after all the craziness getting ready for two birthday parties but we tried to balance it out with some fun too!

On Tuesday night when they arrived, Trevor mustered all the strength he had to come downstairs and greet them.  Forever will be etched in Sara's heart the words Trevor said to Nana..."I want to cuddle with you (pointing straight at her)."  So precious!

Of course now (writing this a week or two later) we won't remember everything we did and since we really are trying to live life rather than capture every moment there are things that will elude us from their trip but here are a few of the memories that we captured during our time together!  

On Wednesday night we bundled up and took them to see bull riding!  Trevor was so excited to break out his old Minnesota hat.  Amazing that it still fit!

We enjoyed yummy food prior to the bull riding starting.  Every time we got there is a story to tell!  This time we saw one bull literally stop bucking after a few seconds.  Stood there, looked around for a few seconds then start bucking again.  It was hilarious!  Lazy bull!

And like going to the Simple Farm on Thursday for a little outing.  We learned that the Simple Farm really is pretty simple but it's kinda fun to see such a place so close to the city!  

And how Trevor went to a makeup soccer session over at Aviano and boy was the vibe different than our community lessons!  Different coach and kids who must practice every minute of every day!  It was intense and Trevor wasn't sure what to think at first.  But then he got into it and did pretty darn good and had lots of fun!

How Nana put shoes on Ashley and our little princess wasn't sure what to think!  By the end of the day she got good at taking them off and chewing on them!

How on Friday night Papa Steve thought Trevor was playing a trick on him and putting a toy snake on the patio.  Turns out it was a rattle snake just chilling a few feet from our patio door!  Thank goodness Papa didn't pick it up like he was going to!!!  YUCK!  Brian might have been shaking a bit when it came time to killing it, but he got the job done.  Our pest control guy came the next day and took a look around and said we should put screens over the holes in a few decorative cement blocks coming from our front yard so that we shouldn't see another one.  Done!  Again, yuck!!!

Having our daughter show off her finger toes skills she inherited from her Dada!

Playing school with Nana Jeanne!

Uncovering a water issue in the kids' bathroom and having Daddy use up his planned vacation day doing work with Papa Steve on it instead of having fun family day :(  Well at least Mommy, Nana and kids had fun wasting time at the outlets doing some returns, looking for shoes for Ashley and taking lots of photos with all of the Christmas stuff now up!

 Trevor is such a ham!  He kept asking Mommy to take his picture different ways...

We guess when he's on, he's on!

Cheese!

Since the guys weren't done when we were done at the outlets we went to the mall for the kids to play and for us to get some dinner.  Trevor was so good he earned enough quarters to ride in the space shuttle:

(He's fascinated with space stuff right now)

And the helicopter!  Lucky boy!

On Nana's last night at our house we gave Ashley a bottle so that Nana could put her to bed.  Ashley had no problem spotting it and reaching for it!!

On Nana and Papa's last day, Ashley and Nana got in lots of cuddles.  Although we would be re-missed not to mention how much Ashley loved being with Papa Steve.  He definitely is up to the B-team now!!  Their first morning here when Sara was up getting ready she came down to find Ashley in Papa Steve's arms, not Nana's! 

Trevor and Nana got in a lot of play time!  You can't see it, but there was lots of giggling going on as Trevor crawled over and over Nana Jeanne!

 And one last soccer practice to watch.  It was the same coach as the week prior and Trevor perked right up doing all of the drills!  It's really fun to watch him with the other kids.  He has fun and that is all that matters!  He does kick the ball pretty good too, just like his Dada did growing up!

Dropping them off at the airport wasn't too sad this time because they'll be back before we know it!  Yay!
Looking forward to a fun winter together!  Thanks again for all of your help Nana and Papa Steve!  We couldn't have done everything we did without you!  XOXO

Ashley's 12 Month Onesie Pic!

 We took Ashley's last monthly onesie pics and it was a bit bittersweet.  It solidified the fact that we now have a one year old not a ___ month old!  So happy that she is getting bigger but kinda sad that we don't have a baby anymore!  Good thing we have friends still that are having kids so that we can get our baby fix! ;)

 Ashley has our onesie photo routine down pat.  She sits all pretty, claps and smiles when she sees the big camera come out! 

If you only saw her eyes in a picture you could tell she is smiling!  Her eyes glimmer and light up any room.  She has smiling eyes, we once heard!

She seeks big brother's approval a lot.  Cautious about new things until she sees him do it and then she copies and goes on about her business.  Our two kids really are best friends and we hope it stays that way forever!

Ashley's laugh is contagious and you can't help but giggle when she does!  Our friends and family think she is just one happy baby 24/7 which is mainly true but boy can she throw a fit when she isn't getting her way.  It seems as though she's hitting this phase earlier than Trevor did but we'll have to pull out his baby book and double check.

She's been off of baby food for quite a while now and is having fun exploring all types of foods.  She's definitely our daughter as she prefers any protein and all carbs! 

Her hair usually lays down nicely (unlike her brother's crazy hair) unless, that is, it is windy out.  Like it was when we took these pics!

A planned photo bomb by big brother!  She has skipped using signs and has gone straight to talking.  Ask her if she wants something additional she says 'More' (which sounds more like 'Mo') and she will nod her head yes or no when asked questions which is great.  She says 'Up' when wants to be picked up, which is often.  Oh wait, she does one sign and that is all done.  She's really good at that!  The other day Mommy asked her to go get her lovey named Pink Cow and she surprised Mommy by crawling across the room, getting Pink Cow and bringing it to Mommy!  Such a smart girl!

Her feet are always moving...she's crawling on all four still with an occasional army crawl but is getting more daring on her feet when standing...letting go of one piece of furniture to get to another piece.  Makes us nervous given most of our house is tile but she's doing good!

And this little girl has us wrapped around her little finger!  It's the cutest thing when she wants out of her crib she calls "Mama, Mama, Mama" and if Mommy doesn't get there fast enough she flows right into "Dada, Dada, Dada!"  It really is precious.  Our hearts are full!