It's a party

We celebrated our baby girl's birthday as a family on Friday. It was simple and sweet.

Miss M wasn't sure what to think of her first cake. She sort of had the same reaction her brother did for his first birthday.



Just poked around it a little bit and called that good.

I decided last minute to make her a party hat, since I have a room filled with various fabric scraps. Wish she had had the same desire to wear it as I had for her. I think I begged her a few times to keep it on for a photo....not going to happen this year.

Even though cake wasn't really her thing, opening presents was! And big brother was sure to help.

She loved her soft baby doll. I have to admit though, N is the one taking and feeding it and changing the diaper for the moment. I told hubby it was okay.

Tutu cute!

On Saturday we had a get together with some friends at the park to celebrate M's big day.



A shot of a few of our guests while the others were chasing the crazy kids around in the sand. We served bbq pulled chicken and pork sandwiches. Yum.

These cupcakes were a nightmare. I had visions of cute cupcakes with cherries and pinstriped pink flags adorning them. I put the icing on the refrigerated cupcakes, and the icing literally melted before my eyes. Once I arrived at the park I just had to give in to the gooey mess they made and be thankful we were among friends who didn't care. If you know what happened please tell me as this is the first time I've ever had icing melt on me like this. Someone mentioned it being because of the butter in the icing....but who knows?

Remember how I mentioned M is a lively little girl? Here she is while we sing happy birthday to her...with the melted cupcake.

All of the guests left with a handmade candy kabob. Seriously easy to make. And seriously cute.

Wrapped up and tied with a bow.

The end of the party and time to go home. Happy 1st Birthday sweet girl.

While having the party was a great way to celebrate M's first birthday, we also wanted to have a get-together because of this...

Yep. Our home is on the market and we are moving to Oklahoma. Looking forward to this next chapter of our lives but so, so sad to say good-bye to some dear friends. I really dislike good-byes.

Happy 1st Birthday!

This year has flown by. When you have your first child, it goes fast in retrospect, but boy does the second child's first year seem to fly by even faster!

We have been so blessed to be parents to our sweet baby girl. I remember the first few months after she was born thinking she seemed very easy and laid back. Boy, was I going to be in for a surprise! This little girl is spunky and full of life. She is into EVERYTHING and has a sneaky little grin she flashes at you when she's getting into something she knows is off-limits.

1 month old.

2 months old.

3 months old.

4 months old.

5 months old.

6 months old.

7 months old.

8 months old.

9 months old.

10 months old.

11 months old.

1 year old! Happy Birthday to our precious baby girl. We pray that the Lord continues to use your vivacious spirit to serve Him in amazing ways! May God give us guidance to help you use the spiritual gifts and talents He's given you. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for you. Love, Mommy and Daddy.

Crazy, growing kids

The kids are growing so fast it's hard to keep up with them sometimes...let alone keep my blog up-to-date! I think I need a secretary.

::Miss M is quickly approaching the Big One!

::She is a funny girl. She loves to laugh and has learned to clap and wave hi.

::Her current vocabulary includes Mama (yes, she said this one first!), Dada, bye-bye, ta da! and peek-a-boo.

::She can go from happy to sad in a matter of minutes, and vice versa.

::She has more hair than her brother. Thank goodness.

::N's wooden blocks, legos, trains and cars are some of his top toys of choice right now. When it's Fall and still 100 degrees outside, what else is there to do?

::He is Mr. Bossy for the moment. He is great at letting you know the rules and if you're not abiding by them, but following the rules himself is another story.

::He teaches his little sister all of the crazy faces she makes. And to pound on the table during breakfast so all of her Cheerios fly up in the air.

::Just yesterday we were eating lunch when Mr. N took his sandwich, broke it in half and said, "I break it. Eat and remember me." Guess he remembers reading about the last supper. He continuously cracks me up.

::We headed out to Superstition Farms again this year with some dear friends. You can never see too many cows. And why did I put him in a white shirt when we were going to a farm???

::I'm such a worry-wart of a parent. Every time he goes to feed the animals I get nervous about them biting his fingers. I think it's because I remember a story I was told about my grandpa feeding a horse with a carrot and nearly got his finger bit off. Or did I make that story up mom?

::On the hay ride we were able to take a tour around the farm and see a newborn calf that was just an hour old. Glad it didn't happen on the tour as I'm sure N might have been scarred for life.

::Yes, he is allergic to dairy. But what is a girl to do when they give fresh ice cream at the farm? I figured a couple of little bites wouldn't hurt...

Another one

Two posts in one day....don't get used to it. But I wanted to get caught up to "real time."

We headed to the Children's Museum of Phoenix this weekend. It was a blast and N is the perfect age to go.

When we first walked in we were hit with a huge climbing cage. Guess who was the lucky one to get to go in??? Little man had so much fun climbing up.

I admit it wasn't that bad, until I realized there was no exit at the top, and you had to climb all of the way down.

Here are my cutie-pies at the museum. She is so content as long as you take her wherever you are.

Doing our shopping at the grocery store. Next time I'm going to send him with my list.

The noodles were great to run through. But some advice, if you're an adult man chasing your older kids through the noodles, please keep in mind there are other young children passing through who will not appreciate the scary noises you're making.

Grab a bike and take it through the wash.

What a great day at the museum. I highly recommend visiting if you're in the area. Three stories of fun!

I discovered this fun Cheerio's Play Book for N. Who doesn't want the excuse to play with your food?

He is seriously in love with letters these days. I am really enjoying his enthusiasm for learning without much prompting on my part.

While I first attempted to get him to put the letters in alphabetical order, N did not agree with this plan. I've learned with his personality that if I know he already knows the letters, it's best to give him the creative space to do what he wants. Afterall, I don't believe in actually doing "school" at this age. It's more about letting him just have fun and learn along the way. So, this is what he came up with.

Sticker books are one of our new favorite things to do. A favorite for N because what little kid doesn't love stickers? And a favorite for me, because what parent doesn't like some quiet for a little while?

I seriously love her. How can you not? This is M at my feet all day long. And she'll bounce there until you pick her up.

I really don't care much about food. I'm not saying I won't eat it, but I don't get super excited if you tell me we're having a steak (ahem, like my husband). BUT, I do want to make eating a fun experience for my children. Enter Muffin Tin Mondays. I came across the idea a little bit ago so here goes my first Monday of it.

Left to Right: Gold Fish, Peaches, Soy Milk (poor kid. We think he is allergic to milk)
Train ham/rice cheese sandwich, Alphabet tomato soup, Another train sandwich
*We're using a large baby food jar as N's cup. It has been the best way for him to learn how to drink out of a real cup with minimal spillage. So glad I read this idea somewhere. You could probably use a small jam jar as well.

I think we'll probably make Monday our library day as well. It worked well to pick up our reserved books and come back for our Muffin Tin lunch.

Currently on the shelf is:
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Jesse Bear, What Will Your Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom
Peek-A-Boo by Ahlberg
Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie DePaola
Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik