.THEY SAY ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY.

On Ivy's birthday we only did things that Ivy likes to do.  

Which is pretty easy.  She likes to NOT be in her carseat and she likes to sleep.  

So we stayed home ALL DAY and snuggled and slept. 

She also likes Mac and Cheese, so thats what we had for dinner.

And we had cupcakes after.  

 She loves her cupcakes. 

Right before bed, we had her open up her presents from us and her grandparents.  She was in heaven with all the new girly toys.

We had her birthday party on Saturday.... Its kind of funny, we have never been in Omaha for anyones birthdays.  Wade's birthday is right after Christmas, so we are usually visiting family, and mine and Porter's are in July during Dental School's summer break.  

Since we are moving in May, this was the ONLY birthday that we will celebrate with all of our Omaha friends.  So we went all out.  

We had a Luau, because I literally cant think of a better way to make it through the slums of January than to dress in florals and grass skirts!

We (ahem Wade) blew up 100 balloons that just filled up the entire room.  The kids LOVED running through them, throwing them around, and popping them.  Ivy thought it was the coolest thing.

 I made her a little "grass" skirt out of tool, and she wore a flower headband.  The cutest little hula girl.

 Ivy was hesitant to eat the cake in front of everyone, but don't you worry, Port would help her out.

 And then she LOVED it. 

Probably my favorite part of her party was this sign.  We had all of our friends and family predict different things about Ivy.  We put them in a pretty pink bottle... And hopefully (if we are patience enough) it will be opened on her 18th birthday.  I didn't read any that our Omaha friend wrote (because we had a little booth set up for them to fill out their papers and stuff them right into the bottle) but I had my family send me a text with what they wanted for her.  

And that made me (the anti-crying-queen) weep.  

This girl has so many people rooting for her.  They see her light and want her to shine.  

I look at Ivy and I want her to take every good part of me and Wade and be better than what we are.  She has so much potential.  I cannot wait to see the woman that she grows into.  Because she will be amazing.  

Happy Birthday Ivy-girl. 

The hypothetical birth of Ivy

Ivy's birthday is tomorrow.  So I feel it appropriate to share this group text that happened just a couple hours before her birth.  

And that my friends, is how Ivy came into the world.  

JK.

She came like 6 hours after this conversation happened.

But I am 95% sure that my body didn't want to have Ivy on a tarp in my neighbors living room…. So it went into labor before this play date.  

I am so lucky to have the kindest, funniest, most loyal friends.    

.October.

I have been looking forward to October for MONTHS.  We knew that Wade was going to be interviewing a lot this month, and if it was within driving distance (and a place I wanted to go to) I was going with him! So here is a little about our travels... and other things that happened.

This map is in our living room.  Every time we visit a state we get to scratch off the grey and see the watercolor underneath.  So this map is pre-October.

Omaha to Mesa

Selfie-stick family pic while driving through Colorado

Mexican Food in New Mexico... Because you have to have Mexican food in New Mexico.

Porter was about to dive into that water... so was I.

Pure joy right here.  

I think this is Porter's Dream.  Having a tv where he is going to sleep.  Thanks Mesa for making that happen!

Mesa to Salt Lake

My parents volunteered to watch our kids over night so Wade and I could have a little one-on-one time.  My kids loved it and so did we. Swig was first on the agenda!

Followed by Ikea and Tucanos.  

Turns out that Utah has an heated cave geyser thing that you can snorkel around in.  It was SO fun and relaxing.  

Wandering around Park City, enjoying the nightlife.  

Obviously the kids enjoyed time with Dee-Dee and Pops, their aunties, uncles and cousins.  

Omaha to Louisville

Well I didn't want to make the 12 hours drive to Louisville (we visited there 18 months ago) so the kids and I stayed home.  We had fun without Wade, but missed him a bunch.  

Omaha to Oklahoma City

makin' out at the hotel.  

We went to Pumpkinville while in Oklahoma City.  Their botanical garden was filled with pumpkins, gourds and festive activities. 

Just writing a letter in the post office.

Edgar Allen Poe, yo. 

Porter was sad about it too. 

Porter played in this turtle soup for about an hour.  It was so entertaining. 

"gourds, mom.  gourds." 

Snuggling my girl at the botanical gardens. 

What I posted. 

Reality.  

Omaha to St. Louis.  

St. Louis is probably one of my favorite places to visit.  It has tons of free-family things to do.  This is the amazing children's museum they have. The kids and I were there for 5 hours and we didn't even make it to all of the exhibits.  

Porter obsessing over the "shish." (fish)

"Hello, Mr. President?"

St. Louis to Chicago.  

This is the hotel we stayed in. Two sets up bunk beds squashed in a corner.  The kids LOVED it.  I also thought it was amazing. 

Magnificent Mile.

Raiding the Disney store.  

Hamming it up with my girl.

Omaha for Halloween.  

After all that traveling we drove home from Chicago on October 30, just in time for Halloween.  We Carved pumpkins...

Road the train at the zoo...

And at stuffed pumpkin. (don't knock it til you try it.  It is delicious.  heres the recipe.) 

Post-October Map (whew!)