Graham Turns 2!!

Graham had his second birthday!! Can you believe he's 2 already? Anyone who knows me knows we do birthdays BIG around here. Not like spending tons of money on some giant party, but big in the sense of things that make the birthday person know they are special and loved just for being themselves. This year, we put a book, tattoos, a hat, and balloon at their spot, so when they came out for breakfast, they knew their special day had begun. We also put all four of their gifts from us up on the mantel (along with any cards that had come) so they got to see the reminder all day long. (We give the boys four gifts each birthday--something to wear, something to read, something they want, something they need.) I also tried to sneak a picture of them upon first waking.

The new thing we did this year was write a letter to them, to be kept with all of their cards in their Card Box (which is kept in the top of their closet). It's a sweet little note from us, documenting their tastes, preferences, dislikes, friends, activities, etc. I just want a little glimpse/reminder of what they were each like at the different stages. I know I've already forgotten so much from when Austin was 2, that I can't imagine how much I'll have forgotten come three kids times 18+ years! In truth, I wrote the letters and then had Seth edit/add to them. I bawled my eyes out the entire writing process. From the second sentence of Austin's all the way through Graham's, I was a mess of tears. Blaming some of that on pregnancy hormones. Some. ;-)

Happy Birthday to our strong-willed, opinionated, fearless son. Enjoy reliving Graham's big day!

For dinner, the birthday person chooses the menu and gets to use the special white plate. When asked what he wanted for dinner, Graham chose pancakes, so Seth made him a Mickey one and I suggested adding some blue food coloring. After we eat dinner, it's time for cake! I simply made Graham's red velvet cake this year and bought a "2" candle for the top. Nothing fancy, but still very fun/enjoyed. He totally understood that it was his special day and knew exactly what to do with the candle, when Seth took the lit cake to him.

Here's a video of Graham blowing out his candle:  http://youtu.be/9t908q5RXTI

Sweet smiley Birthday Boy! 

(Note to self: eating red velvet makes it look like your mouth is bleeding.)

And then when everyone's done with cake, we move to the family room to open cards and presents. Grandmas Houston and LaPean sent a card with cash in it. Nonnie & Gramps sent a card too, even though they'd be coming over a few days later. I love the thoughtfulness of that! AND of the people who called and otherwise reached out to my sons. It means so much to me!

Something You Need included a waterbottle and teeth supplies!

Something You Want included a light for the bathtub.
Graham LOVES baths.

Here are a few pictures of the effect of the light. 

It slowly goes through several colors, and it's very bright!!

I love the mess after unwrapping!
Seth needs to learn to let it just sit messy.
He threw a box away that had gifts still in it!

Nonnie & Gramps' Cupcake Night

Nonnie does a better/fancier job of wrapping than I do! lol

Buzz and Woody!!

"McQueen! McQueen! McQueen!"
I love Grandpa jammies and Graham loves McQueen.

"bristle blocks"

And then it was time to play with noisemakers and blow out candles on the cupcakes. They brought ice cream too, which was also a big hit!

I love messy rooms from unwrapping and love messy faces from eating.

Fall Fun 2: The State Fair of Texas, 2014

The State Fair of Texas has become a Spofford Family thing. We try to attend all together, all (currently) 11 of us. That doesn't always happen because there's been a few years where I've been too pregnant to want to go. And this year was the biggest group and craziest time. All Austin wanted to do the whole time was ride some rides! He mentioned it about every 10 minutes as we spent hours doing everything else that everyone else wanted to do. He kept reminding us, but was great about being patient about it. No freaking out which I was very thankful for!

Nonnie & Gramps give some tickets to each grandkid which they can spend however they want--food, rides, or games. We found out late into the night that they aren't actually good for games (the ticket lady was wrong!), but Austin got to ride three rides, Graham rode one, both boys played The Duck Game and lots of yummy fair food was consumed. Lots of walking and I think we were there a lot longer than we expected (and missed the parade AND laser show!), but it was fun. I'm not sure we'll all keep going together because that's a large group to try to keep together and a lot of different plans/desires for how the time is spent. Which, given that we can't possibly get there until 4ish, makes the time very tight. Seth got free tickets from work, though, so that was really nice for our family. More money for food!

First stop: Fletcher's corn dogs!

Then there's the requisite Big Tex picture.
Go Dickies!! ;-)

He talks which the boys found creepy/crazy.

Nonnie bought each kid some Rock Candy. Great photos result!!

Both of my sons are hams! As is their Daddy. (eyeroll)

We stopped at the barn to watch ostriches race. Graham got antsy and then gave Seth a black eye! Accidentally, from bucking while being held, but that cut short our race watching.

Then we stopped at this farm re-creation thing. We got in 2 minutes before they closed!

Cotton Candy Sky!

I know this is supposed to be of my sons, but look at that hot husband!

Thumbs Up!

After Seth rode the first one with him, Austin rode two more alone.

Here's a short video of Austin riding the motorcycle ride: http://youtu.be/lAvpFDklP1M

(The zzz, zzz, zzz, zzz noise you hear is him pushing a button on the ride that was a noise effect.)

I think we covered all the vehicle types!

He, of course, chose the one most like McQueen!

Ferris Wheel at night.

The Duck Game had these giant ducks which only served as teasers! 

Each kid picked one of those up first.

Ninja Austin!

Fall Fun 1: The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch

This year we went to the Flower Mound Pumpkin patch. it was cold and muddy as we had recently gotten lots of rain. I thought those two things along with the fact that it was still pretty early in the month would mean smaller crowds. No such luck. One thing I learned from this trip is that it's nearly impossible to get small people to actually look at the camera when there are hundreds of people milling around you. This made getting good pictures Very Difficult.

For Eric

my men

ridin' stuff that goes nowhere

Face Painting!

Austin chose the ghost.

We chose Graham's mustache.

Seems like a fun thing to do, even though we've never been here before.

I don't think he actually know anything about Angry Birds, but his cousins talk about them a lot, so they must be cool.

Going on a hayride!

See? Cannot focus on the camera.

It's hard to see, but in the background are The Cut-outs our boys would have loved, but they weren't in a location to actually get to. We just saw them from the ride.

Then they went for a "train ride." The seats were wet, so everyone had wet butts after this!

ha!

I. Just. Wanted. One. Picture. Of. Them. With. Pumpkins. This is the best I got. Happy Fall Y'all!

Momma & Daddy Vacation, 2014

Seth and I took a long weekend away from the boys which is something we try to do every year. We went to Fredericksburg, TX again and had a great time. Many thanks to Kim for watching the boys for us. I only took two pictures the whole time! Enjoy. lol