Hayden's 3rd Birthday!!

Our little man is 3!  I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around that... seems like just yesterday he was born.  And I should be clear that when I say little man, I literally mean little man.  He had his 3 year check-up yesterday and only weighs 28 pounds (12th-15th percentile) and is 36.5 inches tall... can't forget that 1/2 inch which puts him in the 20th percentile for height.  Truly our little man.  But don't be fooled by his stature, he packs a big personality in that little body!

Here's a blast from the past if you care to indulge, his first birthday was a mustache party, second birthday was a "po-po" party, and when given the chance to choose what he wanted for his birthday this year, he chose to have a dinosaur pajama party!  No idea where he comes up with these things?

Here's a peek at the invite. (Our address covered for obvious reasons.)

Purchased from Etsy here and then printed at Costco in a 5x7 size.  The invite included at the bottom that everyone was requested to come party in their pajamas.  I was very excited to see when folks arrived that many actually participated!

Since we were going for a pajama party, we decided to do 10am brunch.  Brunch seemed to be a hit last year, so why not?  And who doesn't love breakfast!?  The menu went as follows....

French toast sticks with syrup

Hashbrown casserole

Fresh veggies with ranch and some chopped cantaloupe

(Dinosaur party supplies are from Birthday Direct.)

Paula Deen's breakfast casserole

And of course cake!  Hayden requested a dinosaur strawberry cake, so I made my favorite vanilla pound cake recipe, some strawberry buttercream filling to go between the layers along with some fresh sliced strawberries, and then regular buttercream on the top.  Daniel did the lovely stegosaurs on top!

 Hayden thoroughly enjoyed being sung to....

... and then in typical 3 year old fashion, he refused to blow out his candles.  Stubborn little man.  So a dinosaur came in, saved the day and blew them out. 

Hayden's birthday shirt as usual came from one of our favorite shops Ooe & Auti on Etsy.  We order from there for both boys each year and have always, always, always been impressed and happy!  (Just note their sizes run small and order accordingly!) If they don't have what you are looking for, shoot them a message, they have created many new things for me!

^^ That chocolate milk mustache says it all... definitely a good party!  (Sitting on his "big boy car seat" before he opened it.)

Our boys are spoiled and loved beyond belief!  We are so blessed to be loved and cared for by such good family and friends.  If you've seen other party posts, you'll know that I usually send everyone home with a treat... well, it wasn't until AFTER the guests left this afternoon that I realized I completely bombed that one.  ((sigh))  Such is life when you are pregnant with a 3rd child I guess?  So my apologies to all of our guests!  I owe you a sweet treat and will make up for it in a couple months when Leeland's 5th birthday comes around.

Dear Hayden,

Happy 3rd birthday buddy!

You are such a smart, fun, energetic

and hilarious little boy.  We are so blessed

to be able to love on you and watch

you grow.  

We love you SO much!!

-Daddy, Mommy, and Leeland

"Vanessa"

We have super exciting news to share ya'll!  After 3 years of being a ONE car family, driving what I often refer to as "the tiny car" or also known as "Carvey" because I like naming my transportation (a Honda Civic), we now have a minivan!

People are always shocked to discover that Daniel and I have shared 1 car for so long... and many pity us for it, but let me be clear that while there have been just a few occasions where it was less than ideal, it has worked wonderfully for us to share and has been the best for our family.  Not to mention, our communication skills as husband and wife have been greatly sharpened by sharing.  AND because we have to coordinate our schedules, we have ended up with more family time because of it.  So please DO NOT pity us-- we are beyond blessed!  I can't put into words how thankful we are, even for the one tiny car that has been faithful to us for many years.

So when we first started this one car thing, we didn't realize that it was going to go this long, but it's been a wonderful blessing and an excellent opportunity for us to focus on other things like buying our first house and paying off some looming debt/credit cards thanks to guidance from Uncle Dave.

But alas, with baby number 3 cooking in the oven and expected to arrive in August, the time has come for a larger family car.  Those who have been around on the blog or known me for a while know that I have been dying for a minivan since I was pregnant with baby number ONE!  I installed that very first car seat in "the tiny car" when I was about 7 months pregnant, (because I swore he'd be early... yea right)  and since that very first car seat we haven't had room to breathe or stretch our legs, or much space to drive since.

So here she is friends.... meet "Vanessa"!  Carvey's new friend.  (2 cars... that is gonna take some getting used to!)   She's got junk in the trunk and space for 5 of us Kroh's and I'm completely smitten with her!

2009 Honda Odyssey

I'm completely overwhelmed by how good God is to us!  He is the provider of ALL things!  We had many who were praying for our van search, and many telling me they were praying for us and I had no idea and this is a HUGE answer to prayers!  Our wish list was big and our budget was incredibly small, and my God has taken care of us again!  All praise be to Him! Can I get an amen!?