Seeing All Sides

Brantley Turns 4!

Happy 4th birthday to this big dude, my firstborn, and the one who made me a mama. The past four years have been nothing short of incredible and I have enjoyed {almost} every minute of watching you grow into the inquisitive, athletic, smart, and sweet little man (big kid, as you say) you are today! You are a people pleaser and you can be the sweetest big brother there is (you can also be a turd of a brother but that's for another day). You constantly make us laugh, surprise us with the things you say ("Oh sh*t," for example), and put a smile on our faces every single day of our lives.

Since he begged us to open presents for nearly 24 hours, we let him do it first thing this morning.

Don't Spill the Beans was one of Daddy's favorite childhood games and he insisted we get it for Brantley!

I finally splurged and got him the Royals jersey I've wanted to get him for nearly four years now. I mean, it's way easier buying expensive things when you know they'll be handed down two more times! We also upgraded his toddler baseball caps to kid versions!!!! How do I already have a child with a big kid-sized head?!

Presents were immediately followed with a breakfast of donuts! I mean, never mind we just had them on the 4th, everyone deserves donuts on their birthday, right!? #PregnantMommyDidntArgue ;)

And, of course, since it's a Wednesday/daycare day, I sent birthday treats to daycare. Cookies & cream ice cream cone cupcakes. I can assure you they are as delicious as they sound. Recipe here (except I added water to the cake mix, per the box recipe, to make 24 total cupcakes).

Since Gramma and Papa were in town over the weekend, Brantley got to celebrate for a couple of days this year...and got to open presents early, which is the only part that mattered to him. Kidding, of course (kind of), he adores his Gramma and Papa and loved that they came to visit for the weekend. Too bad it was cool, rainy, and gloomy all weekend. :(

And like with Holden's birthday earlier this year, I decided to forego a birthday party and I last-minute picked up an $8 cake + candle from Walmart. It's so much less stressful and clearly, this 4-year old didn't care one bit! There will be plenty of time for parties over the next 14 years!

And I can't even begin to pick favorites, but here are a few of the thousands of photos from Brantley's first four years of life. Happy birthday, buddy! Thank you for being YOU, Brantley Carter, and I hope this next year is your best year yet!

P.S. - I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of our 4th!

Our Butterflies

When I was younger, we would drive into the country and search the ditches for caterpillars. We'd poke holes in the lid of a mason jar and watch our caterpillars morph into beautiful monarch butterflies. I remember vividly...the caterpillars were black and gold (Iowa Hawkeye colors), while the Monarchs were black and orange (my high school's colors) - it was perfect, I thought! I don't know that we did this every summer, but I definitely remember doing it on more than one occasion and there was something very magical about it.

Well, now it's 2016 and you no longer need to search the ditches for caterpillars. You can order them straight from the Internet and have them delivered directly to your front door! I mentioned back in April that I ordered a butterfly garden. I had visions of my kids reliving the same childhood experiences I remember, although no homemade mason jar is needed. :)

Our caterpillars arrived in mid-June and just over a week ago, we headed to the lake across the street to release six butterflies into the wild. The entire process took about two weeks from start to finish. Of course, the first butterfly emerged while the boys were napping, but the rest of them followed suit over the next 24 hours. I wish I would have taken pictures of the entire process, but the beginning stages were pretty boring and there wasn't much to photograph. I hope to do this again next summer and think it would make for a fun summertime tradition.

30 Days of Summer Photo Challenge // The Last 15

I had so much fun with Megan's 30 Days of Summer Photo Challenge. I loved pushing myself to take photos to fit each theme--some I would have taken regardless, but others I would never have attempted. I love that I got the extra practice with my DSLR and I'm proud of all of the photos I captured. Of course, I'm sure my kids are thrilled the challenge is over, but don't be fooled; I have no plans to put down my camera any time soon! ;)

Like with my photos from the first half, most of these (but not all!) were taken on my DSLR using my 50/1.8 lens, transferred via my wireless SD card, and edited using only the Color Story app on my phone. The boys went to Grandma's on day 16, so my photos were a little boring for awhile. :) :)

day 16 // evening

day 17 // shadow

day 18 // summer uniform

day 19 // baseball

day 20 // dance

day 21 // sprinkler

day 22 // travel

day 23 // smile

day 24 // someone I love

day 25 // adventure

day 26 // swim

day 27 // summer tradition

day 28 // making me happy

day 29 // reflection

day 30 | grateful

Star Spangled Kids 2016

First of all, did anyone besides Brittany catch my typo in last week's Star Spangled Kids announcement post? I accidentally titled it Star Spankled Kids instead! It has since been corrected (thanks, Brittany!), but you're welcome for that extra little laugh this morning.

Now for the photos. Let's just say, this little session did not go well. I couldn't find our hand held flags, the boys wouldn't leave their straws in their water bottles, and despite the bribery, neither one would cooperate for even ten seconds for a photo. Neighbors probably thought I was some crazy lunatic of a mom pleading with my kids to take one decent photo. Or maybe I am. Anyway, I'm not sure where this photo even came from because I'm pretty sure these were not my boys that day! Must be some Independence Day miracle on 96th street.

As for our weekend plans, my parents will be in town to celebrate Brantley's 4th birthday. They are leaving on Sunday night, but we have plans with neighbors to attend a 4th of July parade on Monday morning, spend the day at the pool, and then do a shrimp boil and fireworks that night. I can't wait for all the festiveness!!

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing everyone in their red, white, and blue! Link up below (between now and July 7) and don't forget to tag your photos on Instagram using the hashtag #StarSpangledKids!

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend, friends!!