My little girl is 2!

In some ways it's hard to believe that my little baby is now a 2-year-old. But, her constant babble (especially during mass) and clear opinions and emerging speech and ability to climb absolutely everything doesn't allow that feeling to last for long.

Since her birthday is so close to Christmas, we kept her birthday very low key.

We had a cupcake celebration with my parents at home and then we drove to Eric's parent's house for New Year's weekend and had another small celebration there with her triplet cousins (see the photo at the top of the post).

She loved her gifts, a stroller and bottles for her baby doll and some pots and pans for our play kitchen as well as blue checked apron.

I don't know if my kids will always agree, but that New Year's weekend was the perfect way to celebrate a birthday. We spent time with family, the weather was gorgeous and the kids spent almost all day outside, and we had absolutely nothing on our agenda other than to just be and enjoy each other. Now, that's the life!

Roll over the next photo with your mouse to experience some of the joy of that weekend.

What could possibly be better than that?

Catching up #3: Birthday Party

Elizabeth's 6th birthday party was last weekend (less than 48 hours after returning from vacation, not the best planning on my part). We kept it simple; a backyard party with sprinklers, kiddie pool, bubbles, water balloons and take out pizza.

All the activities and set up had to be simple, though, because her birthday cake was not.

Elizabeth and I combed through Bakerella's website and she picked Hello Kitty cake pops for her party. They are completely precious but also very tedious and time consuming to make. My attempt is not nearly as neat as Bakerella's, but my six-year-old approved and that's all that matters.

Cake pops in progress.

The finished product.

Aren't they too cute?!

In the end it really was worth all the work. Elizabeth had a fantastic day and so did all her little friends and the smiles on her face were priceless!

Elizabeth and her best friend.

Happy birthday, Sweetie!

Birthday Boy!

Yesterday my littlest boy turned three! And, despite the fact that as of 8 am yesterday morning his mother had absolutely nothing prepared for his birthday (as in no presents, no cake, no decorations, nothing!!), she was able to overcome her tremendous case of "Bad Mommy" guilt and Gustin had a wonderful day.


The cake got baked and decorated.


And, Red Robin did the cooking for supper. (Mommy had to admit defeat and throw the homemade supper plans out the window.)


It really is ridiculous how much it costs for three kids meals of macaroni and cheese at a restaurant. I could have bought a couple of cases of the boxed stuff! But, pasta with cheese sauce sure does make a brand new three year old happy!

The presents (that Daddy sneaked out of work to buy) were a big hit. A miniature Rubik's cube and a Lightning McQueen bicycle.


I love you, Gustin. I really don't know how in the world you got so big so fast. You make me smile every single day and I can't imagine life with out you!


Happy Birthday Little Mister!

Funny memory from my birthday dinner last night

Jonathan: You know those waiters? Well, actually, I think we're the ones who do all the waiting.



P.S. I'm now 32 and I had a fantastic birthday even though I was slightly under the weather. I love my family! They are so good to me!

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth

My little girl is now four years old. At sometime she stopped being a toddler and is now a full fledged little girl and somehow I didn't notice. Now I have a long-legged, articulate, smart little girl who is rapidly losing all signs of babyhood. She loves pretending to be a princess, wearing dresses and playing Star Wars and cars with her brother.


And, she's even stopped sucking her thumb. On her own. For anyone who knows Elizabeth, you know how amazing that is. She sucked her thumb for hours everyday and for half the night. She would suck either thumb, switching between the right and the left, whichever one was most available at the time, while the other one played with her belly button.

But, a week and a half ago we painted her fingernails. She told me, without any prompting from me, that she can't suck her thumb when there is nail polish on it because that would be yucky. And, she hasn't. I'm amazed and I'm almost sad to see the thumb sucking go. It was such a constant thing in her life, but I don't know if I even have a good picture of her doing it. My little girl is growing up!

I love you my sweet girl! You help me so much with you baby brother and patiently wait your turn for my attention. You are imaginative, beautiful, sweet and your precious smile lights up a room. Please don't grow up too fast.

Eric's birthday

Eric's birthday was this past weekend. He turned the big 33. I finally waded through the hundreds of pictures I've taken and got to his birthday pics. Here's my birthday boy!


Happy birthday, Eric! I hope you had a good one. We love you so much!! I couldn't imagine a better husband and father.

Birthday boy and his cupcake

For a child that doesn't like food all that much (though I have to say he really is improving in that arena), Gustin sure did tear into his birthday cupcake! I think I have a chocolate lover on my hands.

At first he wasn't so sure about this.
Then he took a little taste.
Then he got after it. Using two hands gets more cake in the mouth faster.
This eating stuff is fun when you give me chocolate cake!Starting to get a little tired.
Done.

P.S. These pictures were taken on my brother's fancy shmancy new digital SLR camera. Can I say that I'm in love? This camera was amazing and I'm so completely hooked! But, those suckers are a bit pricey. Maybe I can convince all my family to pool together all the money that they will spend on me for Christmas and birthdays for the next five years and get me one. Or maybe not. But, it sure is fun to dream.

Happy Birthday Baby!

My how things have changed in the last year. One year ago today, we went from anticipation... To reality.
We have been so greatly blessed! I love you my little angel.
Happy birthday Augustine Luke!

Happy Birthday Rascal!

My first born is six years old today!
We have affectionately called Jonathan "Rascal" since he was a baby. Eric has always told me that all little boys are rascals, but there are good rascals and bad rascals. A bad rascal pulls up his mama's flowers in her flower beds and makes a big mess just because it's something to do. A good rascal pulls up his mama's flowers in her flower beds and makes a big mess but only because he wanted his mama to have some pretty flowers because he loves her so much. Jonathan is a very good rascal all the way! I love you sweet boy!