Oma's Pumpkin Patch

This year we took a little family trip to Oma's Pumpkin Patch. While the "Pumpkin Patch" was actually a dairy farm (smelly), in the 90's (sweaty), and basically infested with bees (yucky), Landon didn't seem to mind and was the upbeat happy boy we love, while Parker enjoyed the view from the Ergo.

We went to Oma's with Landon's wife, Annabelle. Okay, they aren't really married, but these best friends often act like an old married couple - it's pretty cute:

We milked (fake) cows:

and raced rubber duckies (Look at that face! Pure joy!):

 
We checked out some goats:

and tractors:

Landon loved spending time in the hay maze with dad:

And, of course, we tried our hardest to get a cute pic of our boys:

Just the four of us (at stinky, hot Oma's):

It's Been a Good Week!

I take that back, it's been a GREAT week! Starting from last Tuesday here's all that's happened in our lives.

1) As previously mentioned, the amazing Ewan arrived last Tuesday.

2) That same day, we learned we are in fact, moving to Naples, Italy for 3 months! Yes, sirree, the Butler clan (#2 in belly) will be lucky enough to spend 3 months in beautiful Italy. And check out THIS place, where it looks like we'll be staying (upon approval of friends already in Naples). Pretty nice, huh?!

3) We got to celebrate this little one's first birthday.

Kaylee loved her lunch with family and walking down the pier with her birthday balloons.

And she especially loved her birthday dessert:

Which Landon didn't mind, either:


4) We also got to check out #2:

And what did we learn?!!

IT'S A BOY!!!

Yep, Landon gets a little bro and we couldn't be happier. Secretly, I must have wanted another boy because I started crying when I saw the ultrasound. It's just gonna be me and the Butler Boys, I guess :)

See, a great week! More to come on Italy... seeing as how we leave in a month!

Introducing... Baby Ewan!

Yep, the newest member of the family has arrived! Baby Ewan was born Tuesday, January 10th at 10:43am. Baby and mommy are doing well and all of the Saenz clan are already in love with the little guy.

I didn't get too many pictures, but remember my sister's friend Jen who takes great pictures?! Well, lucky for us she was Mr. Ewan's personal paparazzi that day. Without further ado, introducing Sir Ewan Cameron Henderson of Huntington ;)




Don't you just love these pictures? And, yes, Shannon is as happy as she looks in the pictures, too. She and Dougie are lucky to have such a perfect little guy, and he is certainly lucky to have such wonderful parents. We love you, Ewan!

ShaSha's Baby Shower

On October 22nd we celebrated my sister Shannon with a baby shower in her honor. ShaSha and Dougie are less than two months away from welcoming little baby, Ewan, into the world, and I couldn't be more excited! When thinking about putting together a shower for Sha, everyone knew one thing: it needed to be perfect. Not because Sha expects it, she just DESERVES it. I had never been a big part of organizing a shower, but I'm pretty proud of how everything turned out (luckily I was working with some seasoned vets).

The theme was taken from Ewan's bedding (HERE) and was used throughout the shower. My talented friend, Lauren, has a great invitation company called PaperCut Invites and made these beautiful invites (personal info omitted):

Even the envelopes had cute little owls on them!

As for the decorations, we didn't want a fully, owl themed shower, so we just kept to little owl touches. Remember we were using the bedding for ideas... but here's how it all came out:

Lisa's new house was a perfect spot to hold 35 chatty ladies:

The tablescapes:
Dessert table (that's right, a whole table full of delicious desserts, including ShaSha's favorite Peanut Butter Balls):
How cute are these cake pops Lisa ordered?!
Shannon's BF Jen was the mastermind behind the flowers. I loves the branches:
Favors:
Other little touches... this cute burlap banner ordered off Etsy:

And remember how I said I've been a little craftier these days? Well, for the shower I created a little scrapbook for all the ladies to write funny stories, advice, or notes for ShaSha. The idea had come when I was talking to a fellow Strides mom about one of her favorite things she had at her shower. Her notes came on index cards, so I thought I'd jazz it up a bit a create a scrapbook where people could write on an already decorated page. This is how it came out:


And, of course, the video I made that I posted earlier.

So how was the Mama-To-Be? Glowing.

We were all happy to see tears in her eyes as she saw how we had decorated the shower in her bedding theme.

One of the games was to decorate a onesie or bib. It was pretty funny to see what the ladies came up with. Sha got to pick the winner:

Some examples. I happen to like my mom's. Although not the artsiest, it reads "My Grandma's hot. She takes pills for that." hehe.
All around it was a great day. I was happy with how it all turned out and Shannon was grateful for all we did. A couple more pics before you go.

Lauren and Shannon, the pregos. My bestie and seester prego together and due within a couple of weeks of each other?!!!! What am I going to do with myself?!
Me, Mama, Sha, Lisa, and Sofia (cupcake in hand):
And I can't post a blog without a picture of this guy. I think we can all see where he may have got those pretty blue/grey eyes :)
I can't wait to plan more showers in the future!.... I really must be getting old!

***Some of these pictures (the good ones) were taken by Jen, Sha's very talented friend. Her photo blog is found at Jen CYK.

The Story of Dougie and Shannon

Click HERE for a little peek at the video I made for ShaSha's baby shower this past weekend.

Don't worry there will be a whole other post on the shower :)

The Butler Brigade

After thinking about it awhile, researching seats, and two trips to REI we finally got Landon a bike seat and his very own helmet. Now we wonder, what took us so long?! Landon absolutely loved it! And what we thought would be our test-drive turned into a nice little 6 mile, sunset ride.

Landon looked so cute in his little helmet so I had to document. Of course, in true Landon fashion, he wasn't exactly cooperating with the picture-taking, but I came out with a few good ones, I think.

All set, and ready to go, the Butler Brigade hit the streets!

Destination: Bay

What could have been a really cute family pic... oh well!

Couldn't pass up the opportunity to put in a pic of these hazel eyes. I just love them (and him)!

New helmet= awesome helmet hair!

Our first ride as a family was a success! Again, we just had to wonder, what took us so long? Too fun! Can't wait for more Butler Brigade adventures... I'm thinking a ride to breakfast on the beach :)

Happy Birthday, Lynette!

Sending birthday love to this lady on this fine May 9th! We hope you have a great day today and are counting the days to our visit later this month. I know someone can't wait to have more "conversations" with his Grandma:


Happy birthday, Lynette!!

Carol Ann Turns 60!

That's right, my Mama (aka the best lady ever) turned the big 6-0 this weekend. While we were ready to put on a big shebang, she chose to just have her 4 best friends (one being her sister) and 3 daughters. We had such a great time focusing on a woman who rarely wants any attention on herself. ShaSha was the perfect hostess, as always, and I definitely think the celebration was a success.

We all remember how Shannon likes funny/different cakes, right? Well take a look at this beauty :)

Of course, it wouldn't have been any fun for my mama without having her grand-kids with her.
Sofia and the lady of the hour:

Mr. Landon and Mama:

I didn't get any pictures of Kaylee and my mom, but she was quite sleepy, as is to be expected :)

One surprise we worked on for my mom was to compile a book of pictures from her WHOLE 60 years. I'm pretty certain she loved it. I went ahead and contributed a funny little poem. As usual, it started with a little humor and then ended with a sappy note (I'm clearly the most emotional of my family, I think).

I think it was a tender moment when my mom, aunt, and her friends saw old pictures of my grandparents, Paul and Vera.

Personally, I loved the rockin' style throughout the book ;) My mom REALLY liked blue eyeshadow back in the day. hehehehe

We had such a great time. I loved celebrating a woman so worthy of celebration. What can I say, my Mama is the best woman I know... Happy Birthday, Mama! Love youuuuu!

For fun I thought I'd add some pictures of Sofia and Landon. These two are so fascinated with one another. They just can't get enough :)