jack's REAL birthday...

was about a week after his birthday paw-ty. even though he didn't have a clue that it was his real birthday, we took the day to celebrate him. we started off the day with donuts...

yummmmmm, hot krispy kreme! jack loved watching the donuts being made.

then mark came home and we celebrated with a long and fun lunch at chuck e. cheese... (gotta love 2 year old birthdays)

during jack's nap olivia and i made rainbow cupcakes. we wanted to have one more birthday surprise for him when he woke up. (they turned out really neat, so sad i didn't get a pic.) he loved them!!

it was a great day. our little family had tons of fun celebrating jack.

being the mom, i found myself spending some time reflecting on the last 2 years. i thought about how i spent many days in bed and in the hospital waiting to meet my sweet baby jack. he was worth every moment!! i instantly fell in love with him. i thought about how i almost can't remember life without him in it. he is the perfect addition to our family. he brings smiles, laughter, and tons of energy to our home. i thought about the future, and the man i desire for him to become. i pray that he will love the lord with all his heart and do great things to bring God glory. i also thought about how i am grateful for today and the little moments that we shared doing ordinary things- playing chase around the house, having a little conversation over breakfast, hearing about all the toy story and cars characters, or snuggling after his afternoon nap. what a gift i have been given to be jack's mom. happy birthday jack-jack!! I LOVE YOU!!!

another one bites the dust...

another school year that is!! it was another GREAT year filled with sweet teachers, new friends, and great memories. end of the year moments i don't want to forget...

olivia walking down the aisle right before her "end of the year music performance"...

she was so proud to see her family there to support her AND i think she likes being on the stage. ;)

a few of my favorite moments during the performance...

ms. cavanaugh and ms. ghoreshi, the best 3 year old preschool teachers in town...

they are wonderful- so encouraging, loving, creative, and patient. (sorry that o's eyes are closed, but i had to include their picture.)

ms. tammy and ms. melissa are some of jack's most favorite people in the whole wide world...

ms. tammy
ms. melissa (a.k.a. "missa")

his precious teachers loved him so much and brought smile after smile to his face all year. what a gift these ladies have for making little ones feel so special and loved!!

it was a FABULOUS year!! yay for summer fun, but i know we will all be ready for school to start again soon!!

the puppy paw-ty...

this is the year for combined birthday parties at the bowlin house and i am loving every minute of it! :0) for jack's 2nd birthday we decided to celebrate with one of his best little friends mckenzie. since mari (kenzie's mom) and i are great friends, jack and kenzie are great friends, they basically have the exact same birthday, they have several of the same friends, and they both take little gym together we decided it was the PERFECT choice to have the party together and have it at the little gym. so here is the celebration in a nutshell...

the best place ever to have a birthday party....

seriously the staff is amazing and the kids loved every minute of the party!

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tables and decorations set...

yes, we made every guest eat out of dog bowls!! it was a dog party, how could we not! :)

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a birthday boy and girl, decked out in coordinating puppy t-shirts...

thanks moonbeam!! ;)

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cupcakes...

what party is complete without cupcakes!

mommies at their birthday babies who are all precious friends...

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***controlled chaos- kids running around, giant parachute, bubbles, music, climbing, jingle bells, and even some crazy man-powered rides! followed by everyone singing happy birthday and jack and kenzie blowing out their candles.***
(my camera decided to act up and i didn't get anymore pictures of the party. :()

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some family time, pizza and opening gifts back at nana and gramps house...

jack loved all his gifts. he had a very toy story themed birthday. he loves toy story!! here he is with "slink" the slinky hot dog dog- one of his many favs from the movie.

=(equals)

one happy little birthday boy who felt so loved and so special on this very exhausting and fun day!!! :)

i think this picture represents jack's day perfectly- a little bit tired, sporting his dog bone tee, with his woody hat on, and his baseball glove and ball in hand.

balleria mice...

olivia has been taking ballet every tuesday morning (aka tutu tuesdays) since the beginning of this school year. she has been taking with her bestie and cousin, kingsley. the girls have been practicing and looking forward to the recital. the big day finally arrived and they were soooo excited to perform!! the theme of the recital was dr. suess and olivia's class danced during the ABC portion of the show. they were "M, m, many mumbling mice." and they are the cutest little ballerina mice EVER!!!

the entire day was so much fun. we began early on saturday morning with dress rehearsal.
we did hair at our house and then went to kingsley's house to put on the REAL make-up. the make-up was for sure a highlight of the experience. :)

then the girls took the stage at the magestic theater in downtown dallas for their rehearsal.

olivia and liza wiggling their mousy fingers and scrunchy up their noses!

they had a great rehearsal on the BIG stage and even posed for a few pictures afterward.

kk and o. such sweet friends!

then later that night they once again danced their hearts out and put on a great show for everyone. the WHOLE family came to cheer on olivia and kingsley. olivia LOVED all the attention and the flowers.

mommy, olivia, and daddy

gramps, olivia, chrissie, and nana (the blanchettes)

pop, olivia, and b (the bowlins)

it was a super special day. we were so proud of olivia. she did an outstanding job of getting into character, acting like a mouse, and performing her dance. it was darling! after the show the entire family went to dinner to celebrate our ballerina mice. it was a great ending to a fun day!