Jane's 2nd Birthday Party

So this post is a couple months late but I really didn't want to skip this one. I may have to take an intentional break from blogging after this but we'll see. This summer has just been so chaotic between the birthday, vacations, holidays, potty training failure, family room renovation progress and Kevin's work travel. I'm also due to renew my CLS license which is going to take some time. Anyway, this post feels important so here we go.

On June 15th Jane turned 2 years old!

We celebrated her birthday the following weekend in Topeka and we had an ice cream themed party.

I was sucked into the pinterest trap and spent waaay too much time on decorations.

I enjoy crafts and these types of projects so it was fun but I probably need to cut back in the future.

I HAD to use these ice cream dishes that were my Grandma's though. And I already had the 2's from Anna's second birthday that only required a little paint. See...this is what happens.

Then there were these cupcakes that seemed super easy. They weren't hard but it took A LOT more time than anticipated. Next time I'm going back to regular cupcakes even though I was happy with how they turned out.

One of my favorite things to make was this piñata.

To keep the kiddos busy we had coloring,

pom pom ice cream scoops,

an ice cream craft,

and of course balloons!

  Jane was excited about opening gifts but had a hard time when she wasn't allowed to sit and read her new book (the first gift she opened). 

Asking a 2 year old to wait is a tough things but she rallied and got through it.

Anna was actually a great helper and kept encouraging Jane to open the next gift. A 3 year old has had way more practice with these sorts of things ;)

Eventually we made our way outside for one last gift from Grandma Patti and Grandpa Kevin.

A bouncy house! The kids loved it and we are so appreciative. 

After cake and ice cream it was finally time for the piñata. All the kids took a turn and it was nothing short of hilarious. 

All the kids were so timid with the bat and there was basically no way that a bunch of little kids were going to even put a dent in this thing. I have it all on video but it is way too long to load so you'll have to take my word for it.

We called in a heavy hitter though and got the job done. Thanks Seth!

We attempted a photo of all the little kids but it didn't go that well. Jane was very upset that I wanted to take a picture. Poor little lady was worn out!

Before everyone even left Jane fell asleep on Grandma Patti. While Jane napped Anna played outside with Daddy and Jane's new kite. She was very excited about it and it was so cute watching her find such joy in it although I think Kevin and his Dad may have had even more fun with it. 

It was a great day and we are thankful to everyone who made it and helped us celebrate her big day. 

Jane's 2 year appointment was the following week and went great. She weighed 27 pounds (55%), was 33.6 inches tall (52%), and her head circumference was still at 100%. I'm not sure if I've mentioned before how much she is talking. She is incredibly verbal and we've had so many people comment on it. It definitely helps having a big sister because Jane likes to repeat pretty much everything that Anna says. We're so lucky to have this little girl in our lives and I still can't believe my baby is two already.

Hailie's Promotion and More May Fun

Hailie had her 8th grade promotion and luckily it was on a day that we had no commitments so the girls and I were able to make the trip to Topeka for it. Jane immediately found someone to read a book to her before things got started. 

I can hardly believe that Hailie is going to be in High School next year. It makes me feel a little old. I can still remember holding her as a baby and it doesn't seem like that many years could have gone by already. 

After the promotion Anna was all about Hailie.

Cousin Love!

Love this picture!

We couldn't get the littles to look at the camera but I still like this picture with the first child I ever fell in love with. Love you Hailie!

3 out of 4 of my favorite girls!

Mom and Dad were able to pick up Seth a little early from school that day (it was early release and the last day of school) so we went out to lunch to celebrate.

The girls other Grandma and Grandpa brought Adell into town so that they could take her and Anna to a dance recital (Kevin's cousin's daughter- they live in Olathe too). Jane was a little bummed to not be going (definitely not old enough to make it through an entire recital) but she was happy to be in matching dresses with the big girls. 

There was quite a bit of rain one week so we had to go in search of puddles. The next cul-de-sac over has a nice big one.

Jump!

I love how happy stomping in some water can make a child.

Frogs, Strawberry Picking and Soccer

May was a fun month. The nicer weather meant more time outdoors. In princess crowns and rain boots of course!

Kisses!

Our neighbors down at the end of the cul-de-sac have a basketball goal set up and they keep a ball out so every now and then Kevin takes the girls down to shoot hoops.

Kevin found a toad when he was mowing and the girls were pretty excited. 

I'd been wanting to take the girls berry picking and we finally made it out to Gieringers Orchard in Edgerton for one of the last weekends for strawberries. 

We'd checked out a book about berries at the library and Anna desperately wanted to go pick some. 

Found a BIG one!

So many strawberries!

Jane ate quite a few while we were out there. 

Delicious.

It was a fun morning and I hope we are able to make it back out there for blueberries and blackberries later in the season.

Anna had her last soccer game and Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle James, and Aunt Michelle all came to cheer her on.

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Anna's team was the Blue Cobras. We passed out toy snakes to all the kiddos afterward and it was a pretty big hit. Even though watching Anna play soccer was somewhat painful at times I do think she learned a few things (she can run and dribble but will not do it during practice or a game!) Coach Max was great though and kept working toward keeping her engaged in the practice.

After the game we went to Le Peep to celebrate Aunt Michelle's birthday. Jane wore her sunglasses the entire time (basically the entire weekend haha)

Jand and Grandpa giving 'the look'

Silly Uncle James!

We usually let the girls run around outside for a bit before we make them sit in the car again. Makes them happy!

Mother's Day Weekend

This first picture isn't actually from Mother's Day weekend but the weekend before. It's the only picture we took the day we spent celebrating Kevin's birthday so I just decided to throw it in with this post. Kevin requested we play laser tag so that's what we did. We had an awesome time and it made Kevin very very happy. We also were able to grab dinner and a movie. A rare treat!

Mother's Day weekend was a very jam packed weekend. Anna had soccer Saturday morning and we left not long after that for Topeka for my cousin's baby shower. Kelly is due in June with a little girl. Can't wait to meet her!

After the shower was over we spent the evening celebrating Mother's Day with Kevin's side of the family. Jane roped Uncle Scott into reading book after book. When he grew tired she moved on to the next willing person. 

Anna and Adell played so well together that evening. 

Matching dresses!

We ran into a little drama that night when we had to take Jane to the Emergency Room. She was rough housing with Grandpa when there was a pop. Jane was very upset and wouldn't use her left arm. They got us in very fast (it may have helped that Jane was very upset and not exactly quiet about it). It ended up being nursemaids elbow, a dislocation of the elbow joint, and they were able to pop it back into place. Once she realized it didn't hurt anymore she quickly became her happy charming self again. We were just glad it was nothing serious!

Sitting with Grandpa after getting back from the hospital.

When we got back to the house Anna was watching a movie with Uncle Scotty. A cute picture even if I couldn't get one without Scott making faces. 

Kevin with him Momma.

I had to drive back to Olathe after all this drama to run a 5k with my friend Amanda in the morning. Amanda asked me a while back if I wanted to do a race with her and I agreed. Over the last year my exercise has been fairly non existent so I was excited to have motivation to get active again. This was Amanda's first 5k and my first in about 4 years. I finished in 26:20 which was 11th in my age group and 60th overall (out of 2,635). Not bad considering my level of training!

Post race picture

After the race I cleaned up and then headed back to Topeka. The girls made me an amazing card with their handprints that I LOVE even though it got ripped while attempting to take a picture. This was the best photo of the bunch. 

From here we went out to Auburn to celebrate Mother's Day with the Copp side of the family. Jane fell asleep in the car right as we were getting there and didn't stay asleep coming inside. She was a Grandma's girl and snuggled up for the longest time. 

At this gathering we were celebrating several birthday's including Kevin's.

Anna was pretty happy about the chocolate ice cream.

Janell, Grandmom, Me, and Anna

Cheryl doesn't come to many events so I don't get many pictures with her. 

Sisters!

Back at my parent's house Jane was all about Grandpa!

Another rare photo with Seth. He broke away from his devices for a while and I managed to grab a picture. He's even smiling!

It was a fun and busy weekend. Happy to be living so close to our families.