Happy Birthday Oliver #3

HaaapppPPPYYY BIRTHDAY TTOOO OLIVER!!! (pretend I wrote this on his actually birthday 1/26)

     This year we had more friends to celebrate with which made it a lot of fun and we did a little bit more decorating as well. We put up some purple streamers with some different colored balloons and made an Oliver shrine. It was a lot of fun especially when we got to watch his face light up in the morning. He was somewhat in awe, I think, because it took a few minutes before he finally said, "The balloons are beauutifull!" I love him! Those weeks of bed rest were worth it. Yes I will hang it over his head for the rest of his life! I'm such a great mother, HA!
      Oliver got some great new toys which Mommy loves because it keeps him occupied very well! Thank you again to the grandparents and friends that contributed to giving me, the mommy, some alone time. 
      Oliver we LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! And we are so glad you are part of our family!

Just a couple of his toys that he got for his birthday. We forgot to pull out the camera because we were having so much fun.

New Years with the Mahanas!

After a fun filled Christmas we had the privilege to host the wonderful Mahanas in our home. When they got here we got to eat some Philly cheese steaks from Pats and Genos. We thought we would decide which is better for ourselves. Both were really good but the general census was Pats. It was GOOODD! Who knew processed cheese could be so good?! Anyway they were only going to stay for the night then visit the Big Apple early next morning. I had a dentist appointment in the morning, so when I arrived they were all gone. Now Weston and I don't normally have a lot of people visit us from out of state so it was really sad that our house went from FULL to EMPTY in less than twenty-four hours. Weston had to go in to the lab for a few hours but he came home early. We thought well hey why not lets go NYC too. We stalked them to NYC and had a lot of fun seeing the lights and the skyscrapers. While we were there there were a few places that we a must-see, one being the ground zero and Chinatown.  It was amazing to be walking around New York with its boisterousness but, walking into the memorial and feeling everyone's respect for the heroes and those that had lost their lives was beautiful and quiet in comparison. It was sooo crowded.
        Overall New York was a blast. I was a little overwhelmed but the good company made it worthwhile.   Glad that the hotel was in NJ where we can park the car and just take the bus to NY. Definitely worth avoiding the hassle of finding parking.  The fun part of taking the bus was the drop off at  NJ. The bus stop was seriously at a median on ramp exit where we then had to walk through the underpass of the highway. It was insane! I should have taken a picture of it. We all got off the bus a little confused and had a good laugh afterwards. Hahaha! Thanks Stephen for figuring it all out. We came home on the night of the 31st to avoid the craziness of New Years Eve which was quite nice.
        When we arrived home it was late, however, we still stayed up with the kids to watch our local New Years celebration. Fireworks just aren't the same on television but it sure was an adventurous weekend!

SO awesome for letting us tag along! Thanks again!

Me being overwhelmed! HA!

The clan headed over to Chinatown