Between lots birthdays, holidays, teacher appreciation weeks, and the end of the school year, May is usually one of our busiest months. Even though I wish Jacob could have celebrated his birthday with his friends, this May has turned out to be one of my favorites! I did miss all our usual fun gatherings and activities, but I also really enjoyed just being home with the people I love the most.
Jacob's 7th Birthday
I can't believe Jacob is SEVEN!!! This boy loves his birthday and looks forward to it all year. He's constantly thinking of and making plans for his party, so it was a little sad that he didn't get to have one with his friends this year. We've promised him that when its safe to do so, we'll have a party for him but until then he made the best of planning his special day with us!
Luckily Jacob knows what he wants and made a very specific schedule for us to follow. He said he wanted to begin his day by sitting on the porch, watching the sun rise, listening to the birds chirp, and breathing in fresh morning air while he drank his coffee like an old man. (A few weeks ago he told him me he couldn't wait until he was an old man and do just that every morning! It was an easy dream to fulfill!) So that's exactly what we did! It was actually a very cold (32 degrees) morning, so hot chocolate was perfect!
After "coffee hour" Jacob set the table before taking a shower and getting dressed in his birthday finest. He said he wanted to be very clean on his first day of being seven! Then we enjoyed breakfast together. He chose butter waffles, sausage, and scrambled eggs.
Next we headed outside to ride bikes and play. A few of his best buddies surprised him by dropping by to bring a birthday yard sign and present for him. He hasn't seen any friends since March, so it was quite exciting!
For lunch we had a nice picnic in the front yard. Jacob's requests were blue Doritos, PBJ, strawberries, guacamole, and cheese dip. Even though the morning started off cold, it was beautiful by lunchtime and perfect picnic weather!
Later that afternoon we dressed up (at Jacob's request) and went to Culvers to pick up dinner. Dinner was followed by chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream and presents!
Everyone was pretty tired by the time bedtime rolled around! It was a wonderful day filled with his favorite things and many messages and phone calls from his favorite people. He told us it was the best birthday he'd ever had!
We also had some other fun outdoor visits during the next week from Grandma and Grandaddy and Ceci and her family!
Mother's Day
Since Jacob's birthday fell on Mother's Day this year, we focused on Jacob's birthday with some Mother's Day celebrations sprinkled in throughout the day and week. Lydia organized a Mother's Day Tea Party with delicious bathroom sink water and her tea set.
We also had another picnic the following weekend and picked up some fresh seafood and produce from Johnson's Farm to make a yummy dinner. I picked out some flowers from Raymonds and love seeing them from our kitchen window. I was also treated to breakfast in bed! I couldn't have asked for a better celebration!
Garden
We've also been really busy planting our garden this month. We had a late last frost date this year, but were finally able to get our veggies and flowers in the ground during one of Daddy's weeks off from work. We've planted Cherokee Purples, Better Boys, Red and Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Jalapenos, Green Beans, Zuchinni, and of course zinnias and sunflowers. We've had alot of rain, but thankfully the garden seems to have liked it!
Daddy's Birthday
Daddy turned 37 on the 26th and we had so much fun celebrating him! He didn't have quite as a specific schedule as Jacob, but he still seemed pretty happy with our ideas. He had Memorial Day off, so we decided to have his birthday breakfast on Monday. He chose biscuits and gravy and fruit. Scott also finally hung some picture frames above our bed. I've been asking him to do this project for about 5 years now and am very excited he finally got it done!
The next day we picked up lunch from Joey's Bagels and had a rainy parking lot car picnic with him at his office. We brought party hats and decorated the back of the van for the special occasion.
That evening I made Korean Beef Tacos, one of his favorites, and we enjoyed carrot cake for dessert. While we felt like we thought of almost everything, we did forget candles! Lydia didn't mind sharing her 4 candle with him though! We are so grateful for Daddy and loved giving him a special, fun birthday!
Other May Happenings...
Even though the state has started to gradually re-open, our family has decided to continue to quarantine at home for the foreseeable future. Covid cases continue to rise and at this point there isn't a proven effective treatment or vaccine. With two young children and a baby on the way we aren't willing to take unnecessary risks. So for now, we're continuing to enjoy time at home together.
We kind of have a cat! Meet "Butterscotch!" We think she lives nearby, because she's very friendly and doesn't seem hungry. She visits us most days and the kids love watching her roll around and climb on the playset. Per Daddy's strict orders, we don't feed or pet her, but she still loves us!
We ventured out the house for Jacob's 7 year well-check. It was the first time he'd been in a public place since the last day of school on March 13th! Dr. Mustoe said he's growing perfectly and that he passed his vision and hearing screenings wonderfully! He weighs 51 pounds and measures 4.75 inches. He also did a really good job wearing his mask and not touching his face. We're so grateful for our healthy boy!
Even though the last day of school was originally scheduled for June 5th, we wrapped up "Learn from Home" before Memorial Day Weekend. Jacob's class had a PJ Google Meet Party where the kids got one last chance to see each other and share a special story from their time at home.
Lydia's school had a drive-thru parade to say goodbye to her teachers and to get her work, extra clothes, and a special surprise from her teachers. She has missed them so much and was so happy to talk to them!
We also made a special stop at Caden's house to celebrate his 6th birthday from a distance. The kids made a sign and took him a present. They loved getting to see each other again and can't wait until they can play together again!
I love this sweet sign Jacob made for the baby! Both kids are getting more and more excited with each day and week that passes. Even though I'm still having a little bit of nausea, it has gotten much better overall. I'm so thankful!!! I'm feeling the baby very regularly and everyone else in the family loves getting to see and feel her move, too! She reminds me of how active Jacob was when I was pregnant with him. We haven't chosen a name (and will keep it a secret until she's born once we do) but the kids have been coming up with lots of suggestions. We've been going through old baby clothes and gear to figure out what we still need to get. Thankfully with the 3rd baby we have most of what we need.
25 or 26 Weeks!
We went to a little Graduation Celebration for Ava at Highland Farms. We are so proud of all her high school accomplishments and excited as she starts college at Chapel Hill in the fall. Even though we all kept our distance, it was still a fun time together. Jacob made Ava a special sign and Aunt Laura made cupcakes for everyone. Its crazy to think Ava is a high school graduate. I still often think of her as being my kids' ages!
