Carissa's Bridal Shower

Alyssa and I had a bridal shower for Carissa while she is in Kansas. It was nice to include some of Carissa's friends in the "showering" of our love for her! (I realize I didn't have any pictures of the others there, oops.)

We had yummy food of course, dressed up Carissa in a beautifully custom made wedding dress, opened presents, and provided Carissa with a random assortment of answers/advice regarding married life.

SISTERS

with 

Mom too!

Maybe Carissa will have to come up with something a bit more substantial for the wedding...

this one is a close second choice though!

Tim is one lucky man....

I mean it, he is!

we be plannin'

The beautiful bride-to-be...my sister...the future Mrs. Gredler :)

My dear sister Carissa is getting married in oh....a couple months.. Oct 15 to be exact. And lucky for us she came "home" this summer for a good chunk of August. So, we got to help get some things checked off her to-do list on her wedding plans. 

Wedding attire (bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dress, mama of the bride dress)....involved shopping, searching for burnt orange, trying on many dresses, still searching for burnt orange, online shopping, and more shopping. Oh, and going out to eat was in there a few times too! We are working with an adaptable bride..so we found some winners :)

The girls..Mom, Carissa, Alyssa, and I went to get pedicures one day. This didn't maybe involve much planning for the wedding..but it sure was fun. I think Carissa needs to come home more often, this kind of treatment is something I could get used to!

We also got to help with her invitations. They were her designed (by Alyssa), printed, and addressed..

it was fun :)

Not too much longer...and she will be a married woman!

Birthday with the Sweigarts

Birthday party #2

Another birthday party..oh boy! The Sweigart family all came over for supper and birthday festivities :)

Christian in all his little boy glory....DUMP TRUCKS!

The party goers....an exciting bunch, huh!

Dump truck cake....

destroying the "wheels"...

It was a beautiful evening, so we took the party outside. The "bigger boys" played bocce ball and the kids played in the dirt. Doesn't take much to entertain when it involves being outside!

Monkey boy was having fun hanging on the hammock chair with grandma..and then dropping!

 The evening was complete with an almost full moon...

Uncle Mitch and the firetrucks

Christian loves his Uncle Mitch...

and he loves trucks, including the fire kind!

Oh boy he HAD to get in EVERY. SINGLE. TRUCK.

and he 

LOVED every second at the fire station (even if it felt as hot as a fire in there!)

Thanks Uncle Mitch!

Mom and Dad 35 Years

We didn't really have a great big celebration for mom and dad's anniversary...

but nevertheless, it is a significant milestone as they have been married 35 years!!

I'm sure glad to have them both as role models..love you both :)

Happy Anniversary!

Birthday party with the Fredins

Christian is going to get three birthday "parties". 

This was the first one...the one on his actual birthday!

I had asked him a couple weeks ago what kind of cake he wanted...a bus, a truck, or Nemo. 

"Neeeemmmooo" And then he talked about "Nemo cake" for another 15 minutes. So I decided that I'd better make one :) It may not look exactly like him...but close enough for Christian's standards. 

We had our good friends the Fredins over for supper. We miss them (they were are neighbors in Wichita)!

Blowing out the "happy candles"...probably a close tie with opening presents on Christian's favorite thing about his birthday!

Liam and Nora helped Christian celebrate! They gave him a train and a digger!! Oh boy.

THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOY!!!

GOLDEN birthday

CHRISTIAN MITCHELL HERSHBERGER

Two years ago...

One year ago...

TODAY... our two year old!

My love for this little guy is undescribable. He may not be a baby anymore...but he will always be my baby boy. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with another year of health and protection for Christian. I never take parenting for granted and everyday is a blessing. It sure doesn't get much better than being a mama to such a special little boy!

Happy Birthday Christian...you are such a fun loving, energetic, little boy..and you give your parents more joy than you will ever know!

The things you are doing at 2....

I can't count the number of words you can say...your vocabulary consists of most everything you hear.

You go to bed with your "bank-it and pass" around 9 and wake up around 9. You like to read a few books before you go to bed, rock for just a minute and then ask to "lay down".

You have a deep passion for trains, tractors, buses, dump trucks, colors (crayons) ESPECIALLY the color "green" even if its not really green, reading books, and making "tunnels" with your legos or building blocks. You REALLY like to "hook" things up, doesn't matter what it is.There are more things you enjoy QUITE a bit, but those are a few of your favorites.

You really like to put on your shoes, again especially your GREEN ones. You will say "green shoes. Luke. okay." (Your friend Luke Brokaw sent you them!)

You are usually quite agreeable..and say "OK" to follow up most everything. (Not too worry, you do know how to say "no" when you don't want something.)

Your favorite foods are...cheese quesadillas, cottage cheese, applesauce, macaroni and cheese, pizza, chicken, and "cheer-chul" (cereal).

You really enjoy talking on the phone, and anytime you see a laptop..you think your Aunt Carissa is in there (we skype with her sometimes..and you love that!).

You are NOT potty trained yet. You sometimes will sit on your potty so you can read your bathroom books..so its a start, we'll see.

You wear mostly size 12-18 month tops, 12 month shorts, and 18-24 overalls. You wear size 6 1/2 shoes..but they are getting a little snug, so you'll be getting new shoes soon. You're not too heavy, I think you are around 25 lbs. (Your 2 yr appt isn't until the end of the month, so we'll see) You are going to be pretty tall I think..thin and tall so far :)

You give hugs and kisses so good. I love it when I say "mama has to go to work" and you know to come give me a kiss! You can be such a little lovebug sometimes :)

You REALLY like candles! "Happy candles" as you call them...so good thing its your birthday. We started out the day blowing out candles..I'm sure there will be a few more to blow out before the end of the month is over and the parties are through!