A note to Henley on her 2nd Birthday - written by Justin

Henley turning 2 has certainly snuck up on me. Brittani reminded me yesterday that we have added to the blog in a year which is strange since so much has been going on. We have moved into a new house…Hudsen, is in all kinds of activities that include Pre-School, gymnastics and dance class. and soccer begins next week, so I am definitely looking forward to that!!

Little Miss Henley continues to grow up right before our eyes doing things daily that surprise us all. Those who have had a chance to get to know Henley knows how sweet she is. She is the first one to share a toy and the first one to greet you with a smile…she is also the first one to take a chip from your plate when you’re not looking. A skill she has mastered.

If I were to speak to Henley directly at the age of 18 I would remind her that between the time she was born until now…age 2…that you are the most beautiful little girl any dad could ask for. You love to give a hug as much as you do to receive one. You have something that I cannot yet put my finger on that seems to draw people to you. Every time that I take you somewhere, someone is constantly telling me how cute you are, and it’s amazing how quickly someone looks at you and simply smiles.

I love the fact that you show so much emotion. When you are upset or mad, you show it. When you get hurt, you show it but quickly get over it. When you are happy, your smile is from ear to ear and when you want something…you want it right then!! I share some of the same traits which allows me to connect with you, which in turn gives me a sense of pride I cannot explain in words, but maybe in only the way I react to you when we are together.

You are a wonderful little sister! You follow Hudsen around quite a bit as you allow her to make all the decisions, but you always seem to go with the flow. It is such a tremendous joy for your mom and I to listen to you two laugh in the playroom and funny to watch you both wrestle before you guys jump in the bath, which I now know the rules. During bath time…the more bubbles, the better!!

Hudsen loves you so much although she has certainly used some crafty moves to try and stay one step ahead. She put all the toys on the taller ledge in the play room so that you can never reach any of the good ones. I would get mad, but it’s a pretty savvy move!!

Happy Birthday to you Henley! I love you more than you will ever know. One day when you read this as an older girl, know that I will love you more than I even do now, which is crazy to think. You make everyday a blessing from the time you wake up with a big smile on your face to the time you go down at night asking for one more hug and a kiss. I love you dearly!

Henley is TWO!

OH MY GOSH!

Henley will be 2 tomorrow!

The last time I wrote in our family blog was right after her FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Feeling like a horrible mom, and the worst memory keeper ever - I just laid Henley down to sleep and immediately felt the need to share some thoughts about our little cutie before she turns two tomorrow!

I think it sounds ridiculous to even say out loud that tomorrow I will officially have a 2 and 4 year old! I feel like I should be really grown up or something....but I don't feel like I am :)


Henley, you are the sweetest little girl, and you are such a good friend to Hudsen. Yes, you two can fight over EVERYTHING, but you also play wonderfully together and you have learned so much from your big sister...especially since Hudsen likes to constantly correct your pronunciation of every word possible, or remind you where toys belong, and how to put them away exactly and in an organized fashion. But Hudsen will also brag about you too. When she hears you say a new word, she will call to me and 'Mommy, Henley just said ____' - so cute, and she loves helping you learn about everything.

Some of your favorite things right now...any sporty toys, anything that makes music, CUPCAKES, and snacks in general...(we have ZERO pictures of you without a snack cup...literally, you may have a snack cup in hand in your wedding photos some day) :), story time, running (everywhere...you do not have a stroll, you can only stand still, or run....really really short strides though, so I am always anticipating the trip and fall, which happens ALOT, in-fact...twice tonight at Sports Authority actually.

You have the loudest cry, but you get over things super fast. If you take a bad fall, I know you're okay within 1 second, because even through the tears, and the screaming, all I have to say is 'Are you okay?', and in the sweetest voice, you stop, and say 'Yes Mommy' and the cry stops immediately. You never wine, unless we are either A.) in the kitchen and not eating, or B.) at Hudsen's dance class...that's a long 60minutes for you sweetie, in a small space, and your snack cup is usually empty within the first 10min :)

Some of your not so favorite things....loud noises, trucks, buses, the vacuum, when I sing in the car, bugs, and 95% of Halloween Decor :)

So I am definitely not Mother of the Year this year, as I thought I would try and break you of your fear of Halloween by throwing a Halloween Birthday Party last weekend! You did let me wear a Witch Hat headband, but I knew anything more than that would have been unacceptable to you. And thankfully, none of your besties came dressed in anything scarier than a Sheriff, or a Strawberry :) You had a wonderful party and were spoiled by so many friends. Tomorrow we will have a family celebration, and the spoiling will continue! :)

On your second birthday, I truly just wanted to tell you how wonderful of a daughter you are, and how special you are to our family.  Your dad and I talk about you constantly, and at the end of the day, when all the toys are put away, baths have been given, and both you girls are tucked in...there is not an evening that goes by that your dad and I don't mention to each other about something funny you did or said that day, or something new that you learned.  You are an amazing daughter, and I am the luckiest mother in the world.  Thank you for being such a sweetheart.
Love you!

Happy Birthday Henley!

Happy Birthday Henley Pierce Backsmeyer!

Dear Henley,1 year ago today, at 9:30am you came into our lives weighing 6lbs 12oz, and 19.5inches long. You were perfect! And we became the luckiest parents all over again.

You have been an angel since day 1. You are the happiest baby and seriously, I can’t believe you have made this 2 kid thing so easy on me.Your year has been filled with milestone after milestone…and you amaze us every day.

You are Miss Social – your pediatrician says you are an extremely social baby and interact incredibly for your age J You are the most adorable ‘waver’ and ‘pointer’ and smile and clap on command. You have a laugh that sounds like a recording of a baby laughing…it's so funny…sometimes when I get you laughing in a shopping cart somewhere (most likely at Target or Schnucks)…you laugh so hard and so funny, that people literally come over from other aisles to hear what that noise is. It sounds like the perfect laugh that you wouldn’t actually hear in person.

You are a delight to take to the Doctors Office. I have been lucky with both of you girls…you love going there whether it’s for a checkup or for an ear infection. When you get your shots and vaccinations, you hold your breath, and your face gets red for a second and we think we are going to hear the worst cry ever….and literally you barely make a peep. Your eyes water so we still know it hurts, but you make a sad face and then you’re over it. The nurses are always impressed. Speaking of doctor visits…your stats at your checkups have ranged a little bit…you usually end up between the 50%-65% for weight, and so far, you have been in the 20-30% for height - (this stat always shocks us, as your parents are giraffes) :) And the doctor usually makes a comment about how that stat is never 100% accurate. You do have tiny feet though, so maybe you will be our little shorty:)

Regardless, we are so blessed to have another healthy baby girl! We will see where you stand at your year check up on Thursday!

You are an aggressive eater – and you aren’t scared to try new foods. You take meal time pretty seriously…I think you get this from your Daddy :)


Your favorite words are Dadda, ByeBye,YEA!, and what I think is a WOW!, Mamma is finally coming out too, but sadly only when you cry :) - that's okay though! You have many other sounds coming out so I can't wait to hear what your next words will be!


You are almost walking - getting so close, you may even be saving those first few steps for your birthday today - but you are a risk taker and seem to be fearless when trying to get to things out of of your reach. Your crawl is impressive, and you fall constantly and are rarely bothered by the hard tumbles you take on the wood floors. You were quick to learn to roll over both ways, and always loved tummy time. Then you did the military crawl for MONTHS, and dragged your cute chubby legs behind you - it was so funny and it looked like it was so hard, but you must be really strong :) Then around 8months, you got the hang of the knees, and you have been crawling all over the place ever since.

You have always been a great sleeper. 10-11hours a night, and then a 3 hour nap during the day. Although, in recent weeks, you have been doing some sort of stand up comic routine around the 3am -4am hour. I blame our current living situation, as your crib is in the same bedroom as ours – so you stand up and laugh and throw your pacifier out, knowing that one of us will get out of bed to give it back. That’s not going to go over so well in the new house though babe…so you’re nights doing that in front of an audience are limited :)

If there is one thing that I am most proud about, it is your admiration for you sister. Hudsen walks into the room and your face lights up like she is Santa Claus. Hudsen hasn’t always given you a lot of ‘house’…and was definitely a little protective of her things and her attention with Daddy and I, but over the last 3-4months, the two of you have become best friends, and nothing makes me happier than when I leave the room and then peek back in and see Hudsen talking to you and teaching you how play with different toys. There is a lot of ‘No Henley, you have to put the block here,’ and then…‘Mommy, come see, she did it!!!’ Hudsen is so proud when she teaches you something new. Obviously, I am getting a kick out of the small things right now, and deep down I do realize the cat fights are probably right around the corner...but I am going to pretend that is not the case for now, as I am still trying to wrap my head around how in one year

we went from this:

To this:

I am a such a lucky lucky mom!

Happy 1st Birthday Henley!

Your dad and I are so proud of you and what you have accomplished in one year….can’t wait to see what year #2 brings!

Love You!

Our Little Pumpkin's 1st Birthday Party!

Party planning for Henley's Big Day started out rough. As I knew we would still be shacking up at Carmie and Popi's House....I needed to find a great spot for the cutie to have the time of her life! I was skeptical of choosing an outdoor venue, because October weather could be really cold, but decided to roll the dice. Come to find out, park pavilion rentals are cut-throat in October, and it was nearly impossible to find a good location...we ended up booking Chesterfield Central Park, which I love!....But had to do it almost 2wks before her actual birthday. Okay, so most people know that I am kind of a birthday freak...all things need to be just right...and I absolutely HATE when they end....so booking it so far in advance was kinda heartbreaking, because I knew that this meant the party would be over sooner....yea, doesn't make much sense...but basically I LOVE looking forward to things....and as events grow near, I have a tendency to get sad...before the day even comes, because I know its almost over. Okay, enough about my mental problems.

As the big day grew near, nap times were consumed with arts and crafts and fun ways to decorate at the party.
With her birthday falling right before Halloween, we decided to have a pumpkin themed party last Sunday morning. We had coffee and donuts, a haystack, and fun pumpkin buckets for party favors. And Courtney Winet designed some super cute invitations to accomodate the theme! :)

Yummy Dunkin Donuts and StL Bread Co Coffee :)

I loved painting the pumpkins that I put on the haystack -the pink/white/orange stripes turned out super fun, and I will definitely be painting more next year.









And thanks to Erin at Lizzie Jean Cookies, we bought some adorable LIGHT UP pumpkin buckets for the kids party favors...and stuffed with a fun box of s'mores - to go :) – and it was fun to add a mylar balloon use these as centerpieces for the tables -although it was a tad windy at times so hard to get a good pic:)







But probably my favorite thing about the party was the 12month poster of pictures. Trust me, I know NOBODY else cares about this....and I knew that when I was making it, but it was just something I wanted to do and be able to save for Henley. It was amazing to go through and look at our little 'pumpkin' and see how much she has grown and changed. I am sad that she will be turning ONE in just a couple of days, and I guess that means she is a....gasp! Toddler?! I can't barely handle that - but I guess I don't have a choice. Why do those first 12months have to go by so fast?!?!

















Okay, back to the party details :) ....

I think the highlight for Miss Henley was when she got to sit on her 'Throne' while we sang 'Happy Birthday' to her and presented her with her very first donut! :)
Here is a video of this memorable moment :)


http://youtu.be/27FYaHyVfgs

It looked like everyone had a great time with the pinata too. Everyone took a turn, and then another turn, and then another turn...

but apparently everyone could use a good hitting lesson at Balls N Strikes (or GameDay Ethan) :) - as it took an adult to bust it open so the kiddos could grab some goodies. We were so lucky to have Mr. Casey Sullivan in attendance - as he aggressively stepped up to the plate to help these little ones out....







Grabbing some treats and toys...

Hudsen cleaning up the remainders from the pinata....as she, and apparently myself and Kim, cannot stand a mess! :) - (we also must really love stripes!) :) haha!

The day was going wonderfully, but unfortunately Hudsen was a tad under the weather. She had been sick all week, but we thought had perked up the day before so didn't hesitate bringing her to the party...as she couldn't possibly miss her little sister turning one. But she wasn't feeling well and Justin and I spent a lot of time during the party taking care of her. She is all better now - so hopefully she will join in whatever festivities we plan on Henley's real birthday :)

My favorite picture of this wonderful day is right here - all the kids (minus Hudsen who was off to the side not doing to good)

A lot of boys here...we were lucky little Emily arrived just in time to be in the picture- as Justin mentioned...if not, it would be confusing as to whether this is a 1st birthday party or a Bachelorette party! :)


Some other fun pics from the morning:

Now that the party is over - I am absolutely THRILLED that we did it early! Mostly because the weather was literally PERFECT, but also because now, I get to look forward to her actual birthday next week! And also...having the party early, allowed me to thoroughly enjoy every minute rather than turn into an emotional wreck and accepting the fact that my little baby is turning ONE. I still have another week to enjoy her at 11 and 3/4 months old :)


Okay, so the party was wonderful! Henley honestly had the best day, and really enjoyed all of the attention. She was so lucky to have so many friends and family there to celebrate this special day - she is a lucky lucky lady!

Will this be the only post about Henley turning ONE, let's be honest...probably not :)

*Look at that face! If possible she loves her birthday just as much as I do!*

Celebrating Hudsen's 3rd Birthday!

Written by: Justin

Hudsen’s 3rd Birthday kind of came and went, although we had so much fun! While Henley’s first is just right around the corner, we didn’t feel it necessary to throw 2 big Birthdays so close to one another. Instead we opted to celebrate with just family at Sugar Creek park in the lovely city of Des Peres.
This of course did not deter my wife from giving the pavilion a girlish and PINK makeover. Even while it was only family, Brittani of course had to make sure there were plenty of balloons and party decor. It looked great as it was certainly deserved for our BIG 3 year old!
It didn't take long after some pizza for the present opening to begin as we were dealing with some unforeseen rain/misting and the sinking sun. Good thing we started early because as we expected, Hudsen was showered with gifts. Everything from her new pink Nike jacket from Mimi and Pops to American Girl accessories for her doll, Holly, from Carmie and Popie. This would have been enough, but it wasn’t a party until the Berenstain Bears books started to arrive…and when they did, it was as if they were being dumped by a dump truck. She must have got 25 new books. I’m sure you all know by now that Hudsen loves to read...a true charter member of the Oprah book club, if you know what I’m talking about!! As she was opening the presents and the books kept coming in…you could literally see her thinking of how she was going to read all these books the very same night. Instead, the savvy parents we are…decided to give her about 5 of the 25, which she happens to be still working on studing closely and carefully. Susan even gave Hudsen some of her Berenstain Bear books she had saved since she was little. Brittani and I thought that was so neat! They are in mint condition, and were made so much nicer back then! Hudsen is treating those extra carefully (so far) :)
We ended the evening singing happy birthday presenting her with….you guessed it! A Berenstain Bears cake. Due to her egg allergy, the cake was made with apple sauce rather than egg, which I now suddenly prefer…it was outstanding!!

Hudsen is truly a wonderful daughter! She is at this age that I cannot help but to hang on every word she says. I know that when she speaks she speaks with a purpose, and when she tells me she loves me, it often overwhelms me with happiness. I am now realizing what so many parents have told me so many times, that kids grow up way too fast, and now that Hudsen has turned 3...I am now realizing that. It has been just enough time to have that time to reflect and really see how far she has come.

Happy 3rd Birthday Hudsen!
_________________________________________________________________


Note from the editor: This post was published very late - and I, Brittani Backsmeyer, take full blame, as I have had camera issues/and have been slacking on getting pics/videos uploaded....I am now back at the blog full time - and have personally added the pics below :)

Birthday Girl arriving to her Soiree!

Mommy and the Birthday Girl!

One of my Fav's...Daddy and Henley

Popi and Blake enjoying the pizza!

Pops and a very sleepy Henley

Present Time! - Looks like a book....

Wait for it...............












Yes! Berenstain Bear books - and she wastes no time strategically organizing them


in a way that just makes good sense :)



















































Blake, Susan and Henley


Checking out her new American Girl stuff!

Only 3 year old I know that stops present time to read one of her books :)

Blowing out the candles on her cake!

Video of everyone singing Happy Birthday Hudsen:

http://youtu.be/uINdhmHxK6c

Hudsen is turning THREE!

Dear Hudsen,

As we get ready to celebrate your third birthday this Friday, I find myself so incredibly excited for you! Even though I am tearing up as I write this, I really am not as afraid of you growing up as I thought I would be (although I did find the need to write this note to you day early, as who knows what kind of mental state I will be in tomorrow on your actual birthday) :) You are such an amazing little lady, and every day you amaze me with the things you learn, say and do. You are such little performer and perfectionist and your Dad and I couldn't be more proud.

As you gear up to turn 3 this week, I wanted to document some of your favorite things to do and say...and sing :)

- In the morning you wake up so sweet and you love for me to put Henley into your big girl bed...just for a minute...you say you want to snuggle her, but it doesn't take long for your little sis to go after your hair and then you want her OUT!

- You still enjoy yogurt for breakfast, and you especially LOVE when I buy 'french manilla'...you also get very animated and excited if I have some chex cereal as a side dish in the morning...you call these 'square chexies'

- At the gym in the mornings you favorite thing to do is play on the jungle gym with the big kids, and I often come to pick you up after a work out and find you working on you hula hoop skills.

- You LOVE the Berenstain Bears!

- You have a very specific way of organizing your books to read in bed. We used to let you have as many as you wanted as you are a night owl, and wake up in the middle of the night and read. Now we allow you to have 3 books...and it takes a good 20minutes for you to decide which 3 books you want each night. But it is 100% guarantee, that you always want at least 1 book that is not in your room, and then your dad or I have to go hunt it down from somewhere else in the house.

- You love to play T-Ball, Soccer and to ride your bike

- You often take a swing and hit the ball and say 'Hey, that's not too bad!' - its pretty funny

- You really enjoyed the pool season this summer (as did your Mom) :)

- Your favorite snack is STILL pretzels!

- Your are still allergic to eggs and peanuts - and your a picky little eater...healthy, but limited variety of things that you really like

-I have been strict too...no juice, or fun drinks for you :) except for birthday parties. When you see a kid with a juice box or CapriSun out in public, you always, say 'oh look, its their birthday" Haha!

- We have been at my parents house for 2 months as we are still looking for a home, but you don't think we live here...if we are at the park and I say, okay, time to go home....you say 'No, its time to go back to Carmies'

- If you have been good and I let you watch one of your 'shows' - you go get the little red chair, and put it in the exact same spot every time, and you sit still for the whole 30minutes. Your favorite shows over the last few months have been Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and Neverland Pirates, Berenstain Bears, and Little Einsteins....your Dad and I are relieved that we may be completely done with Barney and Yo Gabba!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- You say everything! You love to show us your huge vocabulary!

- You sing all day...especially in the car. You will sing every song you know in about 20 minutes. It's quite entertaining, and we love the variety. You go from the ABC's to Tomorrow from Annie.

- You love to play Doctor, and you like to hide and have us call for you and say 'Oh, Dr. Hudsen, I'm ready for my checkup' - and then you come out with your Dr. kit, and perform a checkup.

- You are still my little napper...you take a 3hr nap every afternoon...and you don't fight going down. You also go to bed at 730p...and we normally don't hear from you until 7a. Although, recently you have been really working us at night as we get you down. You often want us to each ready you a story...separately, and then all together, then you want to snuggle, then you want to play hide and seek, then you want another story, etc....this charade typically ends by 8p, but it can be an exhausting 30minutes.

Wow - there is alot going on in your little 3 year old life right now and so many things I could add to this list! I hope you are at the age where you will remember all the fun we are having...but if not, you can always refer to the blog to jog your memory :)

We hope this next year brings on a whole new batch of wonderful memories for you! Your Dad and I want you to know that 3 years ago you came into this world as this little tiny bundle of joy...and now you are growing up and showing your little sister the ropes. She is one lucky lady to have YOU as her role model for life.

Happy Early Birthday Hudsen!

Love,

Mommy

BACK to school for one little BACKsmeyer ....and with a new BACKpack :)

We are so excited for Hudsen to start at her new PreSchool today!

We met with her sweet teacher last week, and then this past Monday had so much fun at the Back To School Party. We left Henley with Carmie so it was really nice to just get some one on one time with the big gal.

Hudsen surprised us by tackling the big slide!

So many steps!

However, the 2nd time she went up, she did not come down. It was quite the spectacle...she wasn't too scared but just wanted to bounce and jump around at the top...it would have been super cute if she wasn't holding up the line of 20kids screaming for their turn.

Just hanging out...

So I am at the bottom of the slide bribing Hudsen with everything that I can find in my purse and begging her to please come down....10minutes later she finally she comes down! She decided to take the stairs though...which took longer than most kids cared to wait - and her skinny little legs were shaking the whole time....but when she got to the bottom everyone cheered, and she thought she had done such a great job. It was pretty funny.


Then she enjoyed a snow cone and posed for a few pictures with us.

Yesterday, Hudsen got some last minute summer reading done out on the deck...she's cramming as she knows tomorrow is her 1st day of School!

Yay!!!! Today is the big day! Hudsen was so happy and insisted on eating her breakfast while wearing her new backpack :)



















A quick pic of the new Nike backpack that is sure to hold and protect all of her 2year old masterpieces.














Outside strutting her stuff...and holding her gift for her new teacher

Practicing her Pledge of Allegiance...

Proud Dad

Happy Mom

The Girls :)

After the ridiculously early photo shoot, we were off to school! I wasn't worried about the drop off, since she had been to the school a couple of times over the last week, and was familiar with the classroom...and I certainly wasn't worried about myself getting emotional - as she went to preschool last year...but WHOOPS! I was such a mess when I got her settled into the class. So embarrassing! Hudsen hugged her teacher and gave her the gift when she saw her, and then came back and gave me a hug, and I just lost it - and it was the kind of cry that sneaks up on you, and suddenly you go from being fine and carrying on a conversation to instantly not being able to breathe or talk, so when her teacher saw me basically hysterical mid-drop off, she told me not to worry, and that all parents cry....just hope that's true! :)

So Henley and I left the big girl and the two of us were ready for a fun filled morning! First we went to the gym...then, to Starbucks...hmmmm.....and then it was only 9:45.....so needed to kill some more time before pick up at 11:30.

So we headed to the bookstore, and stocked up on some new reading material!

Henley was really enjoying the 1 on 1 time, as instead of holding her hostage in the stroller while I would normally have to chase after Hudsen...she was out and about, checking out the baby books.

We also picked out a new book for Hudsen to surprise her after school. She is kind of obsessed with the Berenstain Bear Collection right now, so choosing one we don't already have should be a big hit.

Pick up at school went great! Her teacher said she was very sweet and already has a new friend, Layla, who she played with on a sea-saw.

Hudsen loved her new book and enjoyed her Starbucks ice water in the car on the way home.














Happy First Day of School Hudsen! Your Dad and I are so proud and we know this is going to be a GREAT year for you!