Matix is Three: Birthday Party Edition

Of course we had to throw a little party to celebrate Matix's third year of life. 

And when I say a "little" party....I actually mean a big huge birthday bash. 

Go big or go home...right?

We sent out about 35 invitiations....don't judge me....Matix has a lot of friends :)

(We have his nursery friends, his cousins (all 13 of them), my friends' kids, my married friends with no kids that love him, my single friends who love him....there's just an abundance of people who love this kid, I tell ya. It's kind of ridiculous)

It was a dinosaur themed party, obviously. And it was so much fun!

We had it in our new garage, and it was perfect. 

The kids could run, jump, play, and we even set up the bounce house.

The first activity I had planned was a "Dinosaur Dig" 

I had bought a dinosaur fossil dig set at Toys 'R Us ahead of time, and Me and Matix dug the fossils out a couple of days before the party. I also got him a little sandbox and sand as a birthday present. He loved it and did not want to come inside after I gave it to him  This kid loves to play in the sand :)

The kids went on a little adventure and had to find the fossils and dinosaur eggs that were buried in the sand. After we got them all out, I helped them put together a real dinosaur. They thought it was soooooo cool... and everyone wanted a turn holding it. 

 

Next we did a "Dinosaur Dance" to the Ice Age 3 movie theme song..."Walk the Dinosaur" (Its a really cute and fun dance song....Matix's favorite.) I successfully made all the kids dinosaur tails. Yes, I made them all. 12 to be exact. And they turned out sooo cute and super fun. I found the tutorial here. 

Even the adults had fun with them...

Then it was time for snacks and cake. 

We had Dilophosaurus Drink, Dinosaur Nuggets, Chebsaurus Chips, Dynamosaurus Dip....etc....

 Until it was time for cake...

For weeks I have been asking Matix what he wanted for his birthday. He would always reply that he wanted a cake. Actually he wanted three cakes. A dinosaur cake. A train cake. And a bus cake. Now, if he were spoiled, he I would have made him all three, but since he is not....I settled for one dinosaur cake! haha (Doug helped...we did pretty good for our first time)

Then we opened presents...

Thanks for coming guys. We had a blast.

And Happy Birthday Matix!!

We love you so much. 

t.h.r.e.e.

Happy Birthday to my little stinker butt.

My cute little baby boy is not a baby boy anymore.

He is t.h.r.e.e. years old. 

I can't even believe it. But at the same time, I can hardly even remember life without him.
He is my everything.

Here's some things about him...

Matix says:

(M=Matix A=Ashley) 

 

-M: "I'm sick, mom"

  A: "I'm sorry"

  M: "You didn't make me sick"

- (Justin Bieber came on the radio)

  M:"Mom can we listen to a kids song?"

  A: "This is a kids song"

  M: "No it's not, it's for girls"

- A: "Can I have another hug?"

  M: "Of course, I love hugging you"

- A: "Thanks for being my most favoritest"

  M: "What?"

  A: "What?"

  M: "I said what first!!"

-M: "I want the music loud"

  A:  "No"

  M: " Oh, mama knows best, and we can't make it loud?"

  A: "Exactly"

(referencing the Tangled song, "Mama Knows Best")

-M: "Ellen Badangerous is my favorite show!!"

      fast forward...Selena Gomez is the guest that day

  M: "Oh mom, she's so beautiful. She looks just like you

  A: "Oh really? How?"

  M: "Well, you have brown hair, and she has brown hair. You both are beautiful"

- A: "Can I snuggle you like a baby?"

  M: "But I'm not a baby"

  A:  "You're my baby"

  M: "But I peed in the toilet!!"

- M: "Mom, I'm sick. My tummy hurts. I think I need a birthday party to make it feel better!"

Matix Does:

 

-He is obsessed with all things dinosaurs. He prefers the scary kind that "roar."

-He is obsessed with watching Netflix on my computer. I've created a monster.

-He no longer wears diapers, but he's still not "potty trained." He's really good at holding it until I make him go potty. We rarely have accidents. But I wish he would tell me when it's time. Same with #2, except we have more of those accidents. He hates going #2. But he is improving.

-He is really proud of his dinosaur underwear.

-He is starting preschool in the fall! We are so excited.

-He and my dad butt heads a lot more nowadays. Matix always claims that "he is teasing him."

-Grandpa likes to tease him that they have the same birthday. This does not make Matix very happy. I'm sure that one day he will love sharing a birthday with his papa. :)

-I've noticed that he always talks in full sentences. He hardly ever doesn't. Like when I ask if he wants something, he responds, "No, I'm fine" instead of with a simple "No."

-He loves rock music. And he likes it loud and rocks out.

-He is going on a road trip to Texas next week, to visit his aunt and cousin, for two weeks. (With his Grandma Downer) I am dreading him being gone for so long. But he is excited. I hope the car ride goes well for them. 

I hope he has the happiest day on his birthday!

(I don't get to see him, because his father forgot that it was my year, and made plans. I'm so nice....)

recently:

Oh, man do I do a lot of fun things with my boy. 

Some may think that I spoil him, which I guess I do.

But in my defense, being a mom of one, and living with my parents, and only having him 4 days a week, makes it a little easier, a lot more manageable, and a ton of fun. :)

I have 3 days a week to get things done, go on dates, and have "me" time. 

Then the weekends, I try to do stuff for the little guy. 

It makes our time together that much better. 

Here's some of the things we've done lately:

-Horseback riding at Uncle Glen's house (again)

The weather is perfect right now. (most days) so it's the perfect time to take the horses for a spin. We went with my sister Stephanie, and invited the Buhl's along too. It was so much fun. Goldie (the light horse) is pretty old, and super mellow, so Matix can ride him all by himself. He was loving it until all of a sudden we see Goldie take off pretty fast into her corral, with Matix holding on for dear life, screaming for help. I got him off comforted him, and then made him face his fear and get back on, with me this time. He did and had a smile back on his face in a few minutes. I asked him why Goldie started going so fast and he replied, 

"I just told her to giddy-up and kicked her like this." 

I about died laughing.

Another plus about uncle Glen's house, in addition to the horses and chickens, is getting to see grandma and grandpa Marx. They are getting old, so it's always fun to spend a little bit of time with them. :)

 

-Sesame Street Live

My  friend let me know about a deal where you could get tickets to Sesame Street Live at The Cox Pavilion for free! (we had to pay for the service charge only) So for me and Matix to go it was only $9. Score. I can't think of a funner way to spend my Saturday morning :) Matix was so excited. We don't watch Sesame Street much, actually I don't think I've ever turned it on for him....but he sure knew all the characters. He must watch it at his dad's house. Surprisingly our seats were right next to an old friend of mine from my high school days, Eric and his son Cohen. What are the odds?!? Matix was mesmerized by the characters, and especially loved when they would come up the aisles and greet us. Since it was a special mommy/matix date, I spoiled him with popcorn and cotton candy, which brought a smile to his face as well. 

-Lunch with the Besties

(Stephanie and Cana)

Matix requested rice and chicken and shrimp....So where did we go!!?!? 

That's right China Town....where else? haha. He loved it!

-Gone to the Dentist

That's right, my child is old enough to go the dentist. It was kind of more of a mock appointment to get him used to the idea, and he did really good. I'm so proud of him. Dr. Reynolds counted all of his teeth, and he has all the ones he's supposed to have...10 on top and 10 on bottom, and they looked very healthy. That's what I like to hear :) Plus he got to pick out a new toothbrush and toothpaste and floss.

Another One Down....

That's right, another one of my best friends is off the market. Well, she has technically been of the market for quite some time...with a boyfriend, mission, new boyfriend...but now it's official, with a ring and all! While she was on break from her mission, being sick and stuff, she met, dated, and fell in love with her bishop's son! What are the odds?!? They had never met before because she was in the singles ward, then he went on a mission, then she went on a mission, and then he was up at school. It wasn't until Christmas break that their paths crossed and the rest is history! So what I'm trying to say here is....if you want to get married...go on a mission...get sick...and everything will work out. On second thought... Bad idea. Especially the getting sick part. Don't do that....

Anyways, it all went down on Tuesday night. Austin invited me to "help" out with the proposal, since she's my best friend and all, but instead I did what any good friend would do...and snapped a million pictures of it all. Stupid boys...they never consider the important things...like pictures! In my mind, if you don't have pictures...then it never happened. Okay maybe I don't really think that...but pictures are worth a thousand words...and keep the memories alive. Good thing I came along. You're welcome.  And it also was a good thing that I wasn't on "fireworks duty" like he planned, because...well...ya...just not a good idea. 

Ashley and Austin are getting married on August 6th! Yay! I can't wait. She finally found her mister perfect. And for the record, I will still be calling her Tres...because Hunt just isn't as cool. No offense, Austin. :)

mother's day.

I can't even begin to tell you how much being a mother to this sweet little boy means to me. I love him more than I ever thought possible. I wasn't exactly ready for motherhood...at all. In fact, it turned my world upside down. But looking back, I wouldn't change it for the world. Matix is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Maybe I'm not doing everything perfect, and I know I make a lot of mistakes, but I do what works for us, right now. And Matix is a cute, healthy, and sweet little boy....so I must be doing an okay job. I can admit that I am a little bit of a selfish person, but not when it comes to Matix. I will get out of bed because he's thirsty, wake up in the middle of the night when he has a bad dream, share a bowl of my most favorite ice cream, and will spend my money on a cute new outfit for him, instead of on myself....but I don't even notice. He's my little buddy, and I would do anything just to make sure he has whatever he needs. I feel like we are more like pals than anything else. I really hope it stays that way. I hope he stays my best little friend as he continues to grow up. I tell him that the Taylor Swift song "Never Grow Up" is my Matix song. He loves to listen to it and during the chorus he says...."...But mom, I wanna grow up"...every time, without fail. He just melts my little heart.   I know that things will change, especially when I start having more kids and life gets a little more stressful..but for now, he's just my best friend...who sometimes drives me absolutely crazy....but in all the right ways.

 For Mother's Day, Matix woke up bright and early to snuggle me in my bed at 6 a.m....but before falling back to sleep he gave me a big hug and tells me that I'm the best mom in the whole world. What a perfect way to start such a perfect day. He told me happy mother's day all day long, and made me a cute little "giftcard" (as he called it) in nursery. My dad, brother, Doug, and Matix made an amazing meal for us girls, along with a couple of single ladies in my parents ward. Steak, potatoes, lobster tails, salad, and cherry cake was on the menu....YUMMY. Then it was naptime and the rest of the family came over to hang out for the rest of the evening. What a perfect little day. 

 I also am grateful for my mom and all she does for my little family. She's the best. 

the power of the loubs.

Sometimes {okay, often times} I find myself at ridiculously {awesome} dress up parties.

{CEO's and Office Ho's.....(Mormon party) duh}

Dancing the night away with all my friends.

And sometimes I get to wear my friend's thirteen hundred dollar shoes.

Yes, i just said $1300. for shoes. 

Louboutin's to be exact. 

And yes, she actually let me wear them. 

And not just for a minute. Or an hour. But for the night. The entire night.
And I danced my little heart out in them.
Verrrrrry carefully.

I have really nice friends, I know.

 

 

I kind of wished that they were actually my own. 

And that I could take them home with me. 

And then I remembered that if I ever paid that much for shoes....I'd just shoot myself in the head.
{No offense} 

Unless I were rich. Then I'd have lots of Louboutins. Like the Kardashians. haha.

{sigh}....Maybe one day. 

If not...I will be happy just remembering the day that I looked like I was the richest person at a party....

Because obviously I was.....

Thanks for making all my dreams come true Leaaassssha.
:)