The Party

I must say that having 2 kids has really made me a much worse procrastinator than I already was. I was really up in the air about what to do for Maci Rose's birthday this year. And it was very last minute planning. Since she is in school now and we've been invited to a lot of her friends birthday parties I figured we probably should have a party for her friends too. We usually just do family (which is over 50 people) and close friends of ours.

We decided to have it at the Kids Kingdom to avoid having a million little children in our house. Well the night of her birthday party there was awful thunderstorms and tornados all over the state. We put so much time into party favors and cake, etc. that I didn't want to cancel or have to reschedule. Only about half of the people we invited came, but it made it was nice and it allowed me to be able to actually relax and talk to the people who could come. Which turned out perfect!

Holly, my neighbor, and I made cake pops! I know a lot of people have never heard of them, but they are becoming such a  big hit at birthday parties these days. It is cake on a stick (kind of like a sucker). The theme of her party was Hello Kitty. Here is what they looked like before I painted their faces. Holly made the actual pops and did most of the work. I just painted their faces on them. Thanks again Holly!!

 I used a bucket we had at the house and placed half of a styrofoam ball in there to stick the cake pops in. It made for a cute centerpiece.

 I also bought a small Hello Kitty cake from Sam's so she could have something to blow out the candles....

 She gave out sidewalk chalk as party favors...

Carter had a ball crawling around and banging on all the machines...

AND she enjoyed opening lots of presents....

Everything turned out great! Thanks to everyone who came and for all her presents! She is very blessed and thankful!

T...H...R...E...E

Well Maci Rose I'm really sad about this 3 thing!! You see at 2 year old you were still in diapers, sucking on a paci. You had that "baby look" and thought I hung the moon! Three is a whole different ball game! No more diapers, paci's, you've lost that baby face of yours and you actually think most things I do are either wrong or you can do it better by yourself.  (Yes, I know I'm really gonna have a breakdown at 5).

Now I would like to take a little time to brag about some of your accomplishments. Wow! Where do I begin?
1.) potty trained
2.) gave up your paci completely when Carter came along
3.) You try to do everything on you own...."I do it momma"
4.)You sleep all by yourself in your big girl bed (no it's not a toddler bed, it's a full size bed with no railing)
5.) You know all of your colors including those odd ones like tan, hazel, olive, etc.
6.) You can ride your tricycle for hours (Great Grandma brags about you to all of her friends for being able to ride a bike so well at 2 years old)
7.) You are an incredible artist and have been recognized in an art show already (details below)
8.) You love make believe play and can make up some of the funniest stories
9.) You are incredibly flexible. The teachers at your school call you "monkey" because you hang off the monkey bars and are constantly climbing/hanging/flipping on things your not supposed to.
10.) You have never had a bad report from school and I always hear about how sweet you are to the others.
11.) You have a vocabulary of over 400 words. You have been speaking sentences before you were 2.
12.) You can sing almost any nursery rhyme.
13.)You know your blessing and "I see the moon prayer".
14.) You could count from 1 to 12 at one point but for some reason now when I ask you to count it goes something like this...1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 15, 20, 100. I don't know if you've just learned higher #'s or forgotten what you used to know??

About the whole artist thing... I went to pick you up one day at school and your teacher pulled me aside and asked if I did a lot of art stuff like drawing. Ummm no?!? She showed me a picture that you drew with 4 stick figures (fingers and feet/toes included) and then said look at what the rest of the class drew, which was a bunch of scribble. She said that was very advanced for a 2 year old. The school had an art show on April 7th and your art work was displayed. I have yet to get it back from them but as soon as I do I will put it in your baby book for you to look back at one day. I have seen you draw stick figures for some time now but I had no clue that was advanced!!

You are somewhere around 26 pounds and probably close to 35 inches tall. I will know more exact #'s and %'s when we go for your 3 year old check up.

You could not be a more perfect daughter. You are so cute and sweet and you love your momma (as opposed to what everyone says about Daddy's little girl). Don't get me wrong you have your daddy wrapped around your finger but you prefer me to hold you, tuck you in, etc. these days. I thank God for giving me you every.single.day! You are my first and will always hold a very special place in my heart!! I love you so much Maci Rose!! Happy Birthday big girl!!

10 months

Carter was 10 months old on Friday. He is such a sweet little boy! I just love watching his personality develop more and more each day. He weighs somewhere around 21 pounds and he is around 30 inches long. He is exactly 5.5 pounds lighter and 5.5 inches shorter than Maci Rose.

If you ask Maci Rose who her friends are these days, the first name she says is "baby Tarter"! They play together so well and Maci Rose will hold Carter's hand and he will walk next to her. He loves it! and he thinks he is just as big as she is.

His accomplishments this month include.... standing for a little over 20 seconds by himself. He will stand by himself without even noticing but as soon as he notices he starts to panic. It's funny! It's like he doesn't trust himself or his legs!

He can climb on and off the couch when Maci Rose takes the pillows off. This is one of their favorite things to do. He is also climbing our stairs. And he is really quick too. Usually by the time I get the car unloaded he is already at the top of the stairs.

He can walk and push all of his riding toys around the house.

He cut a new tooth on the bottom left hand side which makes him now have 7 teeth! 4 at the top and 3 on the bottom.

He still will eat ANYTHING! He loves raviolli, mandarin oranges, cheerios, puffs, rice, and corn and peas. He is completely off of baby food.

He can and prefers to drink out of a sippy cup instead of a bottle.

He only has a passie when he is in his crib. He will fuss just to go and get in his crib for a passie. When he is ready to get out he will take it out of his mouth. However, he does know where they are in his diaper bag and a lot of times I find him going through it and putting one in his mouth.

He loves playing peek-a-boo, clapping his hands, and giving a high five. He will also wave bye-bye.

 (Look at that hair sticking up on his head)

We still haven't heard any words out of his mouth yet. Hopefully this will come soon. Only babbles so far. Maci Rose said her first word at 9 months (ki ki for kitty), but a lot of people tell me boys are slower to talk than girls. But we havent heard a dadada, bababa, mamama, etc. sound at all yet??

The more hair he's getting, the more we think he is going to be red headed. Depending on what light he is in his hair looks different colors, but it definitely has a lot of red in it.

He is such a smiley boy and I love him to death!!! Happy 10 months Carter!! I can't believe you will be 1 in less than 2 months!

32!!!

Happy Birthday to my amazing hubby who is turning 32 today!!

 You are such an amazing person and an even more amazing father!! I am who I am because of you. I love you with all of my heart and look forward to at least another 32 years with you old man!!

WE LOVE YOU,

Bonnie, Maci Rose & Carter

Frugal Friday

Smart ways to use your hairdryers!!!

1.) Unstick candle wax! Remove dried-on wax from almost any surface by blowing warm air over it and when it melts wipe it away using a clean cloth!!

2.) Fogged-up bathroom mirror?? Blast warm air from your hairdryer at the mirror to get it clear again.

3.) Travel Tip!! Instead of putting your sopping wet toothbrush into your bag try blowing a little hot air from your hairdryer on the bristles for a few minutes to speed dry it.

4.) Easy dusting! A hairdryer can help you remove dust from those hard to reach places. Just plug it up and use a low and cool setting to blow dust to a spot where it can be swept away.

5.) Removing a band-aid! Take the sting out of removing a band-aid with a little hot air. Warm the band-aid for a few seconds with your hairdryer, which will loosen the adhesive, allowing it to come off easily!

9 months!

Carter has now been out of my stomach for as long as he was in there! I can't believe it!  I said we would do things differently with him like get rid of the passie and bottle at a year old, but I find myself wanting to hold onto those "baby" items a little longer just because I don't want him to grow up!

Carter is 20.3 pounds and 29.5 inches long, which puts him in 50% on weight and 75% on length. He has a very long torso and it's hard to find things that snap in the crotch. He is pretty true to size. He can wear anywhere from 6-12 month clothing and is in size 3 diapers.

 

He is completely off of baby food now! For breakfast he usually eats fruit, blueberry muffins, toast, cheerios, or grits. Throughout the day he eats yogurt bites, gerber puffs and crunchies, fig newtons, crackers, bananas, etc. and for supper he usually has some type of vegetable and a starch like raviolli, rice, or mashed potatoes. He still gets most of his protein from his formula. This has made it so much easier for me too! I can cook for the whole family now. I don't have to fix him a separate meal. Also, he eats everything with his fingers so I don't have to take the time to feed him anymore.

Saying he is into EVERYTHING is an understatement. There is nothing off limits to this little guy. He is pulling up and walking around tables, beds, furniture, toys, etc. He has fallen off of our trampoline and my bed twice. And he recently had his first big bruise on his forhead. He is one tough little guy, and definitely ALL BOY!

The other day Maci Rose went potty and when Jeremy went in the bathroom Carter was chewing on the wet toilet paper he had pulled out of the toilet. GROSS!!! I hope he survives!

Once again, there is nothing off limits and you can't take your eyes off him!

He still thinks his sister is the funniest thing to walk this earth. She can do nothing wrong in his eyes...

He is still my smiley, fun-loving, and sweet little boy!! I never knew I could love another child so much!! Happy 9 months Carter!!

Happy V-day and 4 Years!

Yesterday Jeremy and I celebrated 4 years of marriage! And usually we combine Valentine's Day and our anniversary in one romantic dinner out....But Hey! let's face it.... with 2 kids, 2 and under there isn't much romance around here anymore. And it just doesn't feel right going to a Japanese restaurant without the kids who are so entertained by it! So this year I cooked a nice dinner and we celebrated with a family night!

I am one who is more content with not spending any money and just having a movie night with my hubby and putting the kids in bed early. My perfect way of celebrating!

We had baked potatoes, chicken cor don bleu, broccolli, croissant rolls, salad and homemade strawberry cupcakes that Maci Rose tells everyone, "I made 'dem by mytelf."

Jeremy got me an I Phone 4!! Ok, call me crazy people, but this phone is way too complicated and advanced for me so I'm sending it back. But, I am going to get another nice phone with the same package as the I-phone and I will FINALLY have internet on my phone! I am sooo excited! I'm sure one day I'll look back and wonder how I ever made it without internet on my phone.

 (that is the box with my I-phone in it. It was delivered to my door on V-day. Pretty cool huh?)



After lots and lots of candy and a Valentine's Day party at her school, this little girl was out at 6:45!!

And here's a little video I took of Maci Rose right before she got out of the car for school. I know....I don't have an actress! She never performs right for the camera, but this is all I got! Even if it does have some attitude with it!