LadyBear Has A Real Name...

 

As we prayed about who LadyBear will be, we heard two main points: "Peacemaker," and "Joy" or "Joy to the Nations."  As we searched for names that meant these qualities, we finally settled on one:

Olivia Joy

She may go by "Liv" to start with, and on this blog, she'll still be known as LadyBear.  We are excited to meet her and see who she becomes!

LittleBear is Three!

As you all know, LittleBear turned three last Sunday.  A sweet friend from my BSF group who also happens to be an excellent photographer agreed to take some pictures for us commemorating LittleBear's third year.  Not only was it a fun experience, but she got some amazing pictures.  Choosing our favorites definitely took a while!

Thank you, Heather Sullivan, for capturing my little boy so well and for sharing your talents with us.  We couldn't be more thrilled!  If you would like prints of any of these photographs (or any of the others she took), please email me and I'll make sure you get the proper ordering information.

LittleBear seems to be growing more and more every day.  He had some hearing troubles this year, which were fixed recently with ear tube surgery and boy, did that help.  He chatters away now and seems to have a ton more energy.  He loves fire trucks, baseball, butterflies, numbers and has an awesome sense of humor.  He loves to help and claps for anyone who does something good.  He truly is a joy and a ton of fun.

Little Buddy, you are so precious and I am so, so grateful to the Lord every day that He gave us the chance to be your parents.  I can't and don't want to imagine life without you and thank God for you every day.  You have such a sweet, tender spirit and are the best helper to your Mommy. Thank you for making my world a better place and me a better person.  I love you, I love you, I love you and I can't wait to see what is in store for you this year. 

Happy Third Birthday, LittleBear!!

Guess who's three years old!  You got it... LittleBear!  Wow, time really does fly!  Yesterday was party day and we celebrated with family and a few friends by having a fire truck/station/firefighter themed party.  We figured this would be a safe bet considering LittleBear's fascination with all things fire-fighting lately and boy, did it go over well.  We may not have caught him smiling in every picture, but rest assured that he was beyond excited and loved it (as a side note, feel free to click on the individual pictures below to see them larger).

We started out the party with a trip to LittleBear's beloved Fire Station #8, which was a surprise to him.  We drive by it multiple times every day and there's not a day that goes by when he doesn't tell me what he sees there.  This time he actually got to spend time there, explore the truck, meet the firefighters and see the inside of the station...it was amazing.  Incidentally, I think the adults enjoyed it just as much as the kids did (I know I did) :)  The firefighters were so nice and I think they had a good time too.


We asked everyone to bring a thank you note or drawing for the firefighters and so LittleBear got to work on his with Grandma's help:


Then we started decorating and getting ready for the party.


After that it was time to head to the fire station for our tour!  When we first got there, the firefighters generously let the kids explore the truck:


Then they explained what each of their jobs were and showed us all the different parts of the truck and what they were for, including their equipment and gear:


They even rolled out the hose and turned on the water while the kids were holding it!!


After that it was time to go through the inside of the station. The kids got fire hats, coloring books, pencil toppers and stickers from the firefighters and then got to see where they eat, work out, check email, cook and sleep:

They even got a call while we were checking out their sleeping quarters that said, "This is for fire station #8...Happy Birthday, LittleBear!"  He loved it...the look on his face was priceless when he realized what it said.

We then gave the firefighters our thank you notes, plus some homemade snacks and thanked them profusely.  We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful group of guys down the street protecting us at all times!! I wish there was some way to adequately thank them for everything they do, but I know there is not, so I tried my best.

When the tour was over, we came back to the house for lunch and cupcakes, then for some playtime with family.  It was a busy day, but could not have been more perfect.


Thank you, thank you, thank you to each of you who helped make LittleBear's birthday special by driving/flying a long distance to be here, tweeting/facebooking a birthday wish, sending a card, coming to the party, giving a gift, etc.  We feel so blessed and loved and LittleBear could not have had a better birthday thanks to all of y'all!!

Kicking Off LittleBear's Birthday Weekend!

As we prepare for LittleBear's three year birthday this weekend (wow, that went by fast!), we kicked off the festivities with a trip to the toy store.  Thanks to Geoffrey's Birthday Club, LittleBear got a $3 gift card, a helium foil balloon and a crown to wear around the store.  He had so much fun looking at all the different toys and ultimately selected a cardboard fire station playset that was on sale in the store!

A great time was had by all and I'm certain the playset will be very well loved :)