We've Moved!

We arrived at 1:00 in the morning and went straight to bed! Thanks for having them set up for us Jakob. The next morning was all business. First, groceries.  This is the liquid diet of a man. We needed something with a little more substance. 

 Next, move boxes to the basement. Both our dinning and living room were stuffed like so. Of course all of the boxes we needed were shoved somewhere in the back. Murphy's law. :)

 Then came getting gear to organize and maximize the small amount of space that we have. This place is 850 sq ft. It's tiny. Cozy, but tiny. We have to make the most of what we have!

 Then came time to move the empty boxes up to the attic. Everyone wanted to go up there. I wish it was finished. It would be the perfect little nook.

 Then it was time to play!!! We were so focused on working that the little people were dying for some fun! Good thing Gramma is awesome!

 

 Poor Gramma. I think the only thing she got to see while she was here was the Wal-Mart. It was all work a little play while I was here. After I left the plan was for them to have some fun but the kids had other plans and caught the flu. Puking and Pooping for days. I was to relieved that Mom was here to help Jakob! Thank you soooooo much Mom! I promise we'll make it up to you on your next visit!!! 

Our friends Monkey and Dallas got Duke this awesome airplane for his birthday. It took a little bit of work but we got it to fly with us across the country. Duke loves it! Thanks guys! 

 This is my new favorite face. He sniffs and pushes his lips out and it is HI-LAUROUS! Seriously, it cracks me up every time!!

Daddy was a hard worker putting things together and packing boxes up and down the stairs. Thanks Handsome. I'm off the SLC! Big unveil of our new home is to come!!

For Pa

 Gramma and I had one job to do for Pa while we were there and that was take some pictures of Ethnie. Pa really likes this picture of Gramma from when she was little. Our job was to duplicate it with Ethnie. 

 Here is E. I really think that they look very simliar. I tell you there isn't very much of me in this girl. Alright she's got my eyes but that is it. This girl is all Tobler/ Palmer (Gramma's maiden name.) I love how these turned out! 

 And how do you get a two year old to sit so still you wonder? You hold a jelly bean out in front of her and tell her to sit still and that these pictures are for Pa, she'd do anything for Pa. ;) Hope you like them Pa. We sure do love you!

Happy Birthday Daddy

 Jakob was alone for most of his birthday. He spent the vast majority of it emptying the moving box since it arrive three days late. We landed at around 1:00 a.m. the following morning so we celebrated a few days later with yellow cake.

 Ethnie really enjoyed the "ipped team!" I think she had three helpings of it and just left the cake. :)

Happy birthday Handsome. I can't believe you're 27! As it is a Tobler tradition I will write down 5 things I love about you since we forgot to on your birthday.

1. I love that you are a dedicated provider. You are always striving to be the best and provide for our family. It takes sacrifices that you are always willing to make to go forward in your career. It means the world to me that you work so hard to that I can be home with our children.
2. I love that you are creative. You can draw, paint, and make little men. You are so talented and I love that you share those talents with us.
3. I love your sense of humor. You can always make me laugh. You can make others people laugh. It's one of my favorite features. 
4. I love that you can fix the computer when I break it. I am pretty techy, I get it from my Dad, but there are times when I bugger things up so bad the computer end up looking like a microwave. I love that you just shake your head and fix it for me. You are wonderful. 
5. Last but not least I love that you are an incredible father. You come home with a smile on your face as the kids run and crawl into your arms. You play, clean, bathe, change bums, and love them and I couldn't have asked for anyone better.  We love you to the moon and back.

Happy birthday Jakob. We love you!!!

Getting Ready to Go

Once Duke's party was over we only had 4 more days to have fun, pack and finish projects. Some fun things we did consisted of eating milk and cookies with Pa.

 It was a nightly ritual and for some reason Pa's cookies disappeared faster than E's cookies. :)

 We sorted and color coordinated plates with Gramma. 

 We sang songs and danced while Pa played for us. Duke really wanted to help.

 Sister likes to help out!

 Gramma had a lot of little helpers. 

 I got to try on my Grad dress once again. I was a little more immodest back in the day. After working as a princess for so long it felt a little wrong to let my dress go. It was fun to put on again. 

 Mom Tobler is planning on selling it for me. :)

 Okay Mama, I'm ready to help you pack! 

 We had such a wonderful time at Mom and Dad Tobler's. Words cannot do my gratitude for their love, support and hospitality justice. They saved me so much stress, frustration and pain by letting us move in with them. We had so much fun and are so grateful that we had this opportunity to bond and spend our final weeks together. I couldn't help but cry as we left Dad Tobler at the airport. I really don't think E understood that we were leaving her Pa and it's probably for the best. While Mom did get to come with us I am not looking forward to the day that I have to say good bye to my best friend. This is a hard move. Chin up! Time to put on our brave face and GO EXPLORE NASHVILLE!!

Till We Meet

This was my last ladies night. It was so bitter sweet getting together with my girls and just talking. I can tell these ladies anything and yet the feeling of this-was-it hung over my head. I cannot explain how much these ladies have influenced me over the past two years. They have been my rock and support with words of encouragement, understanding, and love. We would laugh until we cried. We just got each other and were there for each other no matter what. Often no words were needed, we just knew, and several times, Missy would just show up at my house just because. I will miss these girls dearly! Till we meet friends. Love ya!

Shopping with Gramma

I love shopping and so does Peanut. Any time we would get dressed she would jump up and say "Me tum opping too!!!" (Me come shopping too!) It's sad that that is the only reason to get dressed dureing the day. Anyways shopping with Gramma was a hoot!

One of our not so top of the list projects was to find new pieces and create outfits for Mom Tobler's wardrobe. It was fun going through her closet and putting things together. We still needed a few items so we headed over to our favorite "boutique." I always seem to find the most incredible shoes that are always in Mom's size and she flat out says no. I felt like one of the wicked step sisters as I tried to squeeze my foot into these beauties that Mom's foot fit into just perfectly. Holy Halloween! I will one day have Halloween shoes!!!

E's favorite activity is shoe shopping too. She was really into stealing the shoes the Mom had on. 

Then she would clomp around in these heels and dance to the music streaming from the intercom. It was hilarious!!

She would also insist that her shoes sit on the shelf just so. My daughter cracks me up.

Mom Tobler found a few pieces and dang, she looked good!! It's tricky shopping with two children but we got it done! Thanks for the fun times Mom! 

Look How They've Grown

 I Spy with my little eye... something that is small. 

 Scratch that.. two things that are small!

 Well they aren't so small any more! Four years ago Sig and Walter join the Tobler family. We kept Sig for awhile until he was obviously too big for the tote we had him in and then we moved him over to Mom Toblers where he has a whole back yard to enjoy.

 This is baby Sig when we first got him barely two inches long!

 While Sig is approximately 6" long Walter is an amazing 9"!! She's not as fussy when it comes to meal time.

 It has been so fun having turtles!

Duke's First Birthday - Dump Truck Style

Ready for a picture overload?! Like I said before we were going for simple for Duke's party. Being in Mom Tobler's house was both a blessing and a curse. A curse because you are in someone else home, which makes is little bit difficult to clear out rooms or walls to set up decorations. And a blessing because because we were in Mom's home it made me keep it simple... or simpler since I wasn't able to clear out rooms. So we started with balloons. A tip for balloons: Blow them up and then tape them to the roof. They look exactly like helium without having to pay $1 a balloon. 

We'll start at the door. I love the electrical chord wreath. Super simple! Caution! Hard hat area!

Let me tell you this party was all in the details and most of those details happened to be amazingly simple street signs and caution tape. We got the tape at Harbor Freight and I printed out all of my signs on yellow and orange cardstock with just black ink to safe on a bunch of color. 

The entry way table. 

 I had the kids write their names on a card and put it on their hats. 

 

 The favors. Oh, and a bag of candy of course. 

 

Yes, the balloons on the sides are helium but all the rest inside are not! I love the effect they have!

The cake table.

The cake. For more on the cake click here.

Since the cake would have looked a little lonely I made a dump truck balloon to sit next to it. It turned out so cute!

The Mantle. It needed some balloons but I ran out :( .

I think my favorite decoration was this guy right here! We had Daddy on Skype so that he could be a part of the birthday! He was hilarious. The men carried him from room to room. He actually became part of the IT department and was ready to Google anything during the debates that took place. Our friends can't get together without some sort of debate. :)

I made the kids tools boxes and printed out some tools for them to color and cut out at home. 

The food!!! We did a hotdog bar and it was great!! I love that Mom can make food look so beautiful! This is not a talent that I have and I'm so glad that she does!

Hands down the paint cans full of ketchup and mustard were my favorite!!

 

We used fresh paint brushes from the dollar store no fear.  People were a bit concerned :). They were so cute!!

This was my brother's toy when they were little. I stole it while I was in Canada! It was perfect! I love the little hard hat people.

 

I really like making a banner from 1- 12 months. Since Duke hasn't had his 12 month pictures taken yet I just put "Under Construction" on that spot. I didn't have my cricut which had me stressed at first but then I went and bought some stickers and put them on instead. SO much simpler!!!! 

The back door! A little caution tape goes a long way!

Okay, it's time to party before little man destroys everything :)

But, not before a photo shoot in his little onesie. I wanted him to wear jeans but it was too hot for that. He looked soooo cute!

 Let the party begin!!

 I {love} that Dad dressed up!! This makes my heart happy!

Uncle Duke talking to the foreman.

Dad was the grill master! Thanks Dad!!

Stu had a little photo shoot of his own!

This guy cracks me up!

Since I was running around like crazy Cortney was sweet enough to hold Duke for the majority of the time! 

They were good friends! :)

Uncle Duke was part of the inspiration for the theme of this party. He works in the construction industry.

I was so glad that Uncle David made it!

For a large majority of the evening Jakob was playing random videos. When I say random I mean random. Just a few that I remember were a snake attacking a balloon, a dog flying through the air, and a sexy picture of a Chippendale's dancer. Jakob cracks me up and even though he wasn't technically "there" he was still the center of the party. :)

 

Duke and his cake. I love that smile!

Mmmm that's yummy!

That's it! It was such an amazing party! I was so glad that so many people were able to make it so we could say goodbye. I bawled when Duke and David left. It hit me that we were actually leaving. All of these people are my family. We have had such amazing times together and I will miss everyone dearly. I cannot explain how much it meant to me that everyone would come to celebrate little Duke turning one. ONE! Where did the time go?! Happy birthday little man! We will celebrate some more as your birthday gets closer!