What a week it was! The time span from Tommy's birthday (March 13) to Ethan's birthday (June 22) is incredibly busy for our family. Between Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, the boys birthdays, and numerous family birthdays on both sides, we hardly have a weekend free! So, this week was pretty much the Grand Finale of our "celebration season" until Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around. We had a very fun-filled week to cap everything off in style!
I'll start this post with Ethan's 2 year birthday pictures, taken at Portrait Innovations. He did a fantastic job, and how lucky were we that there was a stadium backdrop?! Oh yeah, for those of you who are wondering why his team name is "Honey Badgers". It's kind of a nickname that Davey's brother, Nathan, came up with at Tommy's birthday party. Ethan is SOOOOO laid back (particularly in comparison to big brother!), that he suggested we call him 'Honey Badger', since he so clearly "don't care"!!
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| Put me in coach--I'm ready to play! |
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| The family favorite--we just love Ethan's personality shining through in this one :) |
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| To catch, or not to catch--that is the question |
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| That bat is as big as he is right now, but I hope to see him swinging it with ease someday! |
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| My sweet little Honey Badger <3 |
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| E. Catchings, #2 |
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| Is this pose fine for my SI cover?! |
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| You guys are cracking me up! |
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| Hmmmm....this is supposed to cover my glorious face?!! |
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| Surely you jest! |
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| Who doesn't take a baseball photo in a bucket?? |
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| Let's play 2! |
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| Money shot! |
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| Givin' you some sweet action shots! |
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| This one is for my boys! |
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| Check out my dimples ladies! |
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| Honey Badger don't care! |
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| Yessssss, score!! |
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| Headshot |
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| Time for my homerun trot! |
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| Tommy reliving Grandaddy's glory days at NC State! |
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| The Catchings' boys 2012! |
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| It was a good day at the ball park :) |
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| Another family favorite-- :) |
Aren't those the cutest pictures you've ever seen?! I warn you now, this entire post will be FULL of cute pictures--it was a very photogenic week! On Tuesday, I decided to take the boys to the park for a little outside time since they hadn't gone to the "slides and swings" for a while. Unbelievably we were the only people there (well, perhaps the fact that it was 97 degrees outside had something to do with that?!). The boys had a great time--the slides were a little too hot for Ethan, but Tommy didn't seem bothered by it!
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| "Here comes Tommy!!" |
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| Ethan was happy to climb up, but going down was another story! |
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| Tommy patiently waiting for his turn...... |
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| "Here Ethan...let me just give you some brotherly assistance..." |
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| FINALLY!! |
So, the slide didn't last for too long, but the swings were a huge success!
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| "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" |
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| Ethan is calculating his risks! |
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| I love this one with the boys talking to each other while they swing <3 |
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| My adorable boys |
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| Tommy loved swinging higher and higher! |
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| Ethan is getting so tall--look at how long is leg is (btw, don't be blinded by the whiteness!) |
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| Love the look of pure joy as he comes swinging through |
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| He's a handsome boy--what can I say?! |
On Wednesday, the boys spent the evening with Grandma so I could start getting ready for Ethan's birthday party in peace! Then, on Thursday, I was so excited when my Mom called to say that my Grandma (known as Granny to the boys) had to come to town early! Friday was Ethan's actual birthday, so we decided to treat the boys to a morning trip to Monkey Joe's, and we were thrilled that Granny could come along with us!
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| Granny sitting at Monkey Joe's with us :) |
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| Happy 2nd birthday Ethan! |
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| My 2 favorite guys having some fun! |
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| Ethan loved jumping on the circles! |
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| me and Granny <3 <3 <3 |
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| Granny helping Ethan to a special birthday treat--Pringles! |
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| Granny has always loved how Ethan picks his food up so carefully :) |
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| Daddy is our hero!! Thanks for jumping around with the boys--they think you're the best (and, they're right!)! |
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| "Okay Mommy, one more time!" |
The boys had a great time, and were definitely worn out before their afternoon naps! We went over to my parent's house on Friday night for some fun family time that wouldn't mess up our house since the party was on Saturday. So, FINALLY the big party day had arrived. As usual, I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off all morning trying to get the last minute items prepared! Somehow, everything always seems to get done just in the nick of time! The boys were SOOOOOOO excited when they came home from Grandma's house and saw all of the decorations up! So, without further ado, here are pictures from Ethan's baseball party!
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| The "Concession Stand" |
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| The aerial view of Ethan's baseball field birthday cake! It took 4 cakes to make this! |
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| The Starting Lineup comprised of Tommy, Ethan, and all their friends :) |
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The Carter girls have the outfield covered, the Mullins siblings make up the double-play combo,
and Tommy and Ethan provide the Battery! |
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| The "Scoreboard" over the baseball field |
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| Snacks as far as the eye/camera can see! |
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| Each All-Star received a water-paint baseball print, a yoo-hoo, some baseball crackers, goldfish, a gold medal, and a baseball bucket filled with a paint brush, crayons, and baseball stickers to get the party started! |
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| The "Souvenir Shop"--The All-Stars were able to take one of each item home with them from Catchings Stadium! |
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Souvenirs included: baseball bubbles, baseball wrist bands, "Toddler All-Stars" helmets, soft baseballs,
and of course a package of 2012 baseball cards! |
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| Take me out to the ball game.... |
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| "Welcome to Catchings Stadium...Home of the BIG RED!" |
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| BATTER UP!! The kids loved playing t-ball outside :) |
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| BBQ sliders and mini hot dogs |
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| BBQ slider food picks :) |
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| All 48 hot dogs were gone at the end of the party! |
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| The burger sliders were said to taste like "White Castle" burgers, but I've never had one! |
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| Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks..... |
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| and some cake pops.... |
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| and, some Big League Chew, Baby Ruths, Mounds, Now & Laters, and Pixie Stix.... |
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| What's more All-American than baseball and Apple Pie?! And, I'm partial to Cherry Pie, so we had a few of those too! |
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| POPCORN! |
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| CRACKER JACKS! |
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| PEANUTS!! |
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| My MVP--E. Catchings! |
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| We might have had some left-overs... |
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| Ethan's pictures were too cute not to matte and display... |
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| Welcome to "Ethan Catchings Day" at Catchings Stadium! |
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| The Honey Badger is on the move! |
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| Tommy sporting his replica jersey of Grandaddy's jersey at NC State! |
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| There's my birthday boy in his cute uniform! |
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| Daddy and I sported our Josh Hamilton jerseys :) |
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| Seth is keeping hope alive that one day he'll be a real Texas Ranger! |
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| Caleb looks so adorable in his helmet <3 |
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| My cute Honey Badger eating his favorite snack! |
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| Granny, NoNo, and LoLo enjoying a good time at the ballpark :) |
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| Caleb is focused and ready for game time! |
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| Reagan wanted to open her baseball cards right away, while Cameron absolutely loved her new fashion statements! |
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| Granny and NoNo taking advantage of the ample concessions! |
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| Davey and his Granny :) |
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| Aunt Sarah and Uncle Nate are having a ball...he he he :) |
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| Aunt Becky Becky is the first to arrive at the Stadium! |
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Papa and Dad were talking baseball for a long time...
Josh Hamilton, Carlos Rodon, and talent vs. coaching were the interview topics! |
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| Daddy giving Tommy a little extra attention on Ethy's big day! |
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| The adorable Mullins family :) |
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| Grandaddy hoisting up his favorite Big Red! |
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| Honey Badger don't care!! |
Hey, I told you there were a lot of pictures!! Okay, so at this point, I kind of want to tell you my take on birthday parties (well, MY kids birthday parties anyway!). Some people will look at this post, or the photos on facebook and think, "OMG, this is way over-the-top/ridiculous/waste of time, money, etc.". My response is, "Yes it's over-the-top...Yes, it's a lot of time and money....I know they won't remember it on their own, but that's why we have pictures!". But, you'll get a big fat "NO" from me on the "waste" comment. Here's the thing--you can't do it over. You only get one chance. We only have one life here on this Earth, and none of us know how long we'll be here. My family has dealt with several losses of loved ones, and sadly most of them happened quickly, were unexpected, and happened to people who hadn't 'lived a full, long life'. My Dad had 2 brothers who died the day they were born, his Mother died when he was 16, and his Dad was supposed to die when he was 25 from a horrific farming accident (thankfully he pulled through and did live a long life). My cousin, Katie, nearly died when she was 2 from a rare disease called HUS. She was in the PICU for 6 months I think. At that time, I think there had only been 3 other cases in the state, and all 3 of them had died. Five years ago, Davey's youngest cousin, Drew, died 4 hours before his 9th birthday. Within the past year, my best friend's brother AND Davey's best friend's brother died at 27 and 36 (I believe). There are no guarantees in this life. All of these experiences have played vital roles in how Davey and I view things. We are thankful for every second, every day, and every year we have with each other and our boys. We don't live in fear of death, but we do respect the time that God has given us. In the end, we strive to never be the parents who say, "I wish I'd have spent more time with my family" and/or "I wish we would've taken more time to celebrate what we had." To me, another year with our kids, graciously given to us by God, is worthy of a full-blown celebration of thanks!! It's a labor of love and gratitude, and I'm so very thankful that I have the opportunity to do it <3
