A Princess Party!

 The Birthday Princess!

Audrey's party was yesterday. And, oh, what fun! As requested, we had a princess party. Cinderella to be exact. So, a castle for a cake, a sparkling tiara and a "pretty dress". Add lots of people that love her the most and it was the perfect day.

 The dessert table.

Yes, I made this! And I'm actually even a little impressed with myself. Being the amateur that I am anyway. Thank goodness for Pinterest and so many ideas. It was SO fun! The towers are rice krispies (dyed pink of course), sugar cones glued on with chocolate. Door made with graham crackers, outlined with chocolate, and I even did windows on the backside! :-) Next time, I should use a plastic cake plate though with that most amazing buttercream icing. (Much thanks to my friend Jess for that recipe..yum!) The figurines are compliments of the birthday girl. She added them on the second she saw her cake. And to scale! Those were part of her gift from us, which she is crazy about. They came in a book with a big playmat. So cute.

Happy Birthday Audrey!

3!!!!

Who can believe it?
Our little Audrey has turned 3! Yet another incredibly fast year behind us. And what a little lady we have on our hands. She's got spunk for sure. She's witty. She has a memory like an elephant. And, man is she getting smart. She's becoming quite the negotiator and does best when we have a plan in place. "What's next Mommy?" She is a girl that knows what she wants and is not afraid to show it. Her hair gets a little less "wild" every week, but luckily she doesn't. She's cuddly, especially when it comes to watching one of her many movies so she can get cozy on the couch. And she is the queen of stalling when it comes to bedtime, but I think we've worked out a routine. Potty, teeth, a story and a song. Audrey's song. The one I've been singing her since we were sleeping nightly on the couch a short three years ago. I used to change the verses, but now she sings with me. It's hard to believe when I stop to think about it. I am still madly in love.

You just can't help but love her. More every day.

Happy Birthday Audrey! We love you more than you know.

Making Birthday cake!

~ Heather

Emma's Shutterfly Photo Book

So...it took me a little while. (just under 5 months) but I got the book done. And, I love it!! And I love Shutterfly!  There were so many new things compared to when I made Audrey's book (soon after birth, so early 2010) It was really easy to use and so fun to play with. I could probably make a million of them. One of the best things though, is there is almost ALWAYS a sale!! I check the site out regularly. This is where we do all of our prints, cards, gifts, everything. Love love love Shutterfly!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.


PS  Also love love love that I could automatically share this with you all. :) Compliments of Shutterfly.

Happy Halloween!

~ Heather

VACATION!!

It's been 4 years since J & I took our last vacation. On our Honeymoon. And it was fabulous. We were long overdue....so, we headed to the Outer Banks with my family the first week of September. And it was fabulous too. Fabulous in a family-friendly, incredibly relaxing (minus the 12 hour drive) way.
There were 10 adults and 4 kids (under age 4), lots of space (and bathrooms), a pool and the beach just steps from our back door. Delicious food and drinks, good books to read and I couldn't have dreamed of better company. :)

ahh...cousins!

Our girls weren't huge into the ocean, it was loud and the waves were strong. But, they did enjoy the sand and the sun. And we had a pool to satisfy the need to get wet. I've pretty much forgotten the mild trauma of driving home with 2 kids..a long 14 hours. It was well worth the week away. Here are a few moments from our week....

yes...that is me & J on kickboards ridin the waves

collecting shells

beach bum

sightseeing to the pier

the view

googles :)

chillin in the pool

to the aquarium

life's a beach

Look what Audrey did today!

~ Heather

As promised...

A CAKE SMASHING!!

 by the official birthday...she's got it down. ONE!!

The Cake!

This was so fun. And I have Pinterest and this site to thank for it. :-) I do not ever have much success when in the kitchen, so if I can do it, it must be easy!! haha. I think every cake I ever make again may have to come with a surprise from now on. Here's how I did it...

I made a boxed white cake mix as directed. Divided the mix into four (less or more would be ok) bowls. Add food coloring. I used Wilton Jar food coloring. It's a gel-type and I thought it did an awesome job making vibrant colors! Add spoonfuls to your cake pan(s) of choice. Bake as directed.

See...easy! And so fun! I made Emma a mini "smash" cake and cupcakes too!

You can make one for any event. This week...Red, White & Blue? Red & Green for Christmas? hmmm...the possibilities are endless.


....the "mini smash" cake did get smashed. face first...no fingers. pictures are coming. i promise...

Happy Birthday Sweet Emma!

Who can even believe it's been a whole year already??!!
Happy First Birthday to the sweetest, most lovable baby I could imagine. Emma, you are an angel. I thank God for you every day. You are so calm, so thoughtful, so, so sweet and I am madly in love with you. You are becoming quite the explorer and are choosy with who you share your smiles and giggles sometimes, but it's so worth it. You've been called "wise" and "soulful" by people that hardly know you and they are spot on. You are so cuddly and loving with Mommy, Daddy and especially Audrey. You light up when you just hear your big sister's little voice and glow when she's talking to you. We can hardly wait to hear what you'll have to say once you start making words. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy every babble, every growl, every sound you make. Your little personality is really starting to blossom and we are loving every glimpse we get. And while it's been the fastest year or our lives, it has only been a year, but we can't even imagine life before you.
I hope you remember always how loved you are by everyone that knows you. This is the song I sing to you every night when I am putting you down to sleep...
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. I hope you know dear how much I love you. I won't let that sun go away.
Oh how I love you, oh yes I love you. I love you more with every day. I can't imagine life without you. You make my days."
Good night sweet angel. God bless you. And Happy Birthday.

....pictures from the fabulous birthday weekend coming soon....

Homemade Ice Cream!

Making strawberry soda ice cream! Yum!
We've been on a kick. Finally got our ice cream maker back out. We got it as a wedding gift and used it once maybe twice since. But, this week...we've made 4 batches!!  Wow! And it's so easy too.
We are an ice cream house. There's no stopping it now. Emma didn't even have to wait for her first bday to have her first ice cream. :-/ Lucky girl.

Let's go Krogering

My grocery shopping companions. :-)
This is the only mode of bringing two kids grocery shopping without one running through the aisles touching everything and helping herself to all the good stuff on the lower shelves. I try to avoid this whenever possible but it does work. Although, Emma prefers to ride up with me, Audrey likes to drive...she's getting pretty good at it too. Even buckles her own seat belt. :)

Audreys newest nightly ritual. Good night everyone! xo

Boat ride #2 :-)

Summer is officially here. The girls first boat ride of the summer :-)

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Guess where we will be all summer...

A baby island! She won't quite venture into the grass :)

Look who is on the move and disappearing in seconds. Exploring and finding every pair of shoes in our house. It's different being in a house with a crawler. Whole new experience for all of us.

Happy Mom's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful Moms out there!

I hope you enjoyed your day and/or your Mom as much as I did. Jason let me sleep in. Yay!!! And on we went from there. Ice cream, planting flowers and Daddy cooking dinner. Perfect day. Wonderful weekend. One Happy Mommy! Even through all of the craziness, I feel so fulfilled. This is what I get to do! Raise and love these two beautiful girls. I am so blessed.

ever try getting them all to look and be still at the same time?? Especially with ice cream?? haha

Big Girl Bed

Look who is in a big girl bed!! Finally! And she was SOOO excited about it!

We knew it was coming, but man, it was nice that she was so happy in her crib until very recently. I found out a few weeks ago, that she has been napping at the sitter's in a full size bed every day for the last 6 months. But, still, she seemed perfectly happy in her crib, so why change, right?? And then....this kid decided she was NOT getting into her bed and slept on her floor...yes, on her floor for two nights until I was able to convert her happy little crib. And, of course, she is happier and now even more independent, as if that were possible. :) So far, so good though. (4 nights down)

We are also well on our way to potty-trained!! Audrey pretty much decided to potty train herself. We talked about it a lot, and then, one day, she just decided to do it. Could we be this lucky??? Still working on #2s though. ;-)

Congrats to Melissa & Casey!!

What a beautiful day! What a beautiful family! Last weekend, my sister said I do, and was stunning doing it. It was such a wonderfully busy, perfect weekend. I had so much fun and can't believe it's all over.
Check out these beauties...

Guess who had the most fun......

dancing, donut holes, and a giant piece of chocolate cake later