lunar eclipse, fall soccer, playground fun

 Not an amazing photo, but I had fun trying to capture the lunar eclipse.

 Cedar had a great season, playing fall soccer. Finley started the season too, but had to take an extended break after breaking his arm roller skating. :\

 Elsa spent a lot of time reading books, playing with Play Mobils or convincing her parents to take her to the playground during soccer games. ;)

Great season, Cedar!

celebrating elsa with the hechts

 Today, we celebrated Elsa's birthday with my family after church. We ate lunch (lasagna, salad & bread) before letting Elsa open the gifts. She got some awesome new toys, nice clothes & even some hand-sewn stuffed animals from her cousins Sadie & Griffin! Memaw sewed a dress for Elsa too. Such special gifts & she loves them already! :) Her family sure knows her well.

After gifts, we let her blow out the two candles on her My Little Pony/Dino ice cream cake (all things that she loves). :) Memaw made a happy cookie arrangement too! :) She really had a great celebration.

elsa turned two

 We could hardly wait for Elsa to wake up, on the morning of her birthday. She took her time & woke up at 10:00 am! She's really been taking advantage of the summer schedule. ;) We all went in & sang "happy birthday" to her, which she loved! Then let her open her presents before all going out for donuts. It was her first time going to the actual donut store & she's been talking about it ever since! She quickly decided on the one with rainbow sprinkles & called it a "baby donut". She gently licked it before devouring it in a crumby mess. :P We pretty much stuck around the house for the rest of the day, as some of our family members have been dealing with tummy issues. I'm sure the donuts didn't help, but we had to do something in honor of our sweet littlest turning two years old! 

She's such a blessing to our family. She's bright & caring, silly & serious. She loves her brothers & is independent too. She surprises us every day (potty trained herself, climbs out of her crib, opens her door, climbs to the top bunk bed) with her strength, love, & cleverness. We can't thank God enough for bringing her sweetness to our family. Happy 2nd birthday, Elsa Roedel. 

early birthday with the henrys

 Outi was going to be out of town for Elsa's birthday, so we celebrated early with dinner, dessert & gifts at Mummi & Pappa's house.

 A stuffed My Little Pony from Nana Lee. She must get this surprised expression from her dad. I've seen that face more times that I can count. ;)

She's really become interested in puzzles lately & does pretty well figuring them out. I just love watching her learn & grow!

elsa turns one

 Elsa's first birthday was just days after we returned from our California/Nevada road trip.  We decided on a low-key, backyard, dessert & appetizer celebration with our families & friends.  Thank goodness for nice, August temperatures in the evenings & a backyard that didn't get too scorched over the summer.  :]

My gift to Elsa was a new, twin sized quilt for her to grow into, after I (tragically) misplaced the baby quilt I made for her.  I decided to go bigger, better & to get over it.  I can't make it magically reappear, but I can move on & pour my sadness into a quilt that will last her a lot longer than her tiny baby quilt.  (Still hard not to feel so, so sad when I see that tiny quilt in photos.)  :`(

Sweet Alma

 I kind of went with a handmade theme when choosing how to decorate the backyard & gathered homemade quilts from around our home & from my mom to lay down on the grass.

 A scrap fabric banner from quilt remnants & scrapbook paper fans along the fence.

 White cake & carrot cake cupcakes. Bruschetta, veggies & dip.

 Two new scrap fabric mobiles to join the paint chip circle mobile that already hangs in Elsa's nursery.

 Another scrap fabric garland from Elsa's nursery.

 Easy drinks in mason jars with fun paper straws.

 The Augustines

Carolyn with Hattie, Katrina with Elsa, & Jacque with Edison

Two of my favorite friends were pregnant at the same time as me & we all had babies in August (hence the nickname for these three babies - eek! 1 year olds!).

 The balloon tent was fun, but mostly resulted in the constant startling sound of popping balloons.  :]

 Sadie & Edison

 First taste of sweets.  :)

 Cool trick, Elsa!

 Kenton & me with our birthday girl.

 She is truly such a joy.

 Elsa loves her homemade bunny from Carolyn.

 She stayed interested in the present opening for the entire time.  I was surprised by how much fun she was having!  :)

Happy first birthday, Elsa Roedel. We dreamed of having you in our family for so long, but never truly grasped how wonderful it would be to have a third child. We thank God for the blessing you are & do not take it for granted that he trusts us to raise you up. You bring much joy & delight to all around you! We can't wait to see what the next year will bring...but don't grow up too fast! You're still my baby.  :) We love you, oh, so much!