Happy Birthday Lizzie!!

Happy Birthday Lizzie Lu!!! We had such a great time celebrating Lizzie's birthday! So fun, in fact, that I forgot to pull out the camera! It was a great celebration and I did catch some before and after pics! We had her prepped for the day by telling her all week how it was almost her birthday and that she was going to get lots of presents!

If you ask her how old she is she will proudly exclaim, "TWO!!"
I had a lot of fun making this cake with my friend Erin, who is very talented in the field of cake decorating! This designed this cake to include all of her favorite things: Cats (Marie from the Aristocats in particular), jellybeans, flowers, and her name and age (both of which she recognizes in writing). She was very excited to see all those exciting things thrown into one big yummy cake just for her!

The morning of her big day she came downstairs to find a big surprise waiting for her in our living room- her very own kitchen!! Complete with a variety of foods and a shopping cart! She was ecstatic about it and has been busy making food for everyone in the family (including her stuffed animals) ever since.

After her presents at home we headed to Grammy and Papa's house where we celebrated with the whole family! Family, cake, ice cream, presents, and EVERYONE'S attention- Lizzie was in heaven.

One of her gifts from her Aunt Dianne was a Build-A-Bear Kitty complete with a Halloween outfit and mask. Lately, this has been Lizzie's favorite friend to make food for; especially when it comes to having tea parties with raisins and marshmallows.

Happy Birthday my little 2 year old! You are getting to be such a big girl!

3 Months

Julie is 3 months old! She is such a happy little girl. She is always giving us such good smiles.
Julie likes:
Looking at and batting at toys.
Sitting in the bumbo.
Cuddling.
Blowing bubbles.
Her sister's smiles.
Bath time.

Julie dislikes:
Tummy time.
Her car seat.
Wearing headbands.
Her sister's high pitched squeals.

Pumpkin Patch

Aaaah...the pumpkin patch! Autumn's official rite of passage. The event that ushers in the coming of fall, crisp air, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and woolly sweaters.

In our family, we loooove the season that is Fall and all the celebrations that go along with it! Lizzie really picks up on that attitude and gets sooooo excited by pumpkins!

Every morning, the first thing she says to me AFTER, "Go see the monster please?" (She wants her Halloween decorations tour) is, "Pumpkin hat please!". She has been wearing this hat all day, every day lately!

She had a great time riding around in a wheelbarrow like a little pumpkin princess...

...Lifting, rolling, and poking at every pumpkin that caught her eye.

There was one little pumpkin that seemed to catch EVERYONE'S eyes at the patch this year though..

I can't count the number of people that stopped to tell Lizzie what a cute little pumpkin she was.

We had a fun time sharing the experience with friends as well.

At the end of the trip we left knowing that we had hand picked the best pumpkins in the patch!

Even lil JuJu got her pick of the patch!

Witch Hat

We are so ready for Halloween around here! Our house is covered in halloween decorations and Lizzie is loving it!! Every morning when Lizzie wakes up she asks, "Go see the monster?" She loves to be carried around the house on a Halloween "tour". We stop and look at the monsters, mummies, spiders, skeletons, etc.


Then, she always ends the tour with a "Happy Halloween!" or an "I loooove Halloween!"

We've been gearing this little girl up for the holiday by telling her about all the yummy candy she's going to get...and she seems to be ready for it!!

Double Baptism

This past Sunday we drove an hour south to attend a double baptism! The two siblings are the children of one of Dave's previous coworkers. It was so great to see them again...its been a while! Dave had the great honor of baptizing two awesome kids! It was a special day for Angie and her family and we were so glad to share in this special occasion with them.

The Girls

Lizzie and Julie are such fun girls to have around the house. They always have us laughing. One of Lizzie's favorite things to say right now is, "I'm so happy to see you Mama!" She greets me this way in the morning, after naps, and at least 10 other random times throughout the day. She is full of spontaneous compliments lately like, "Pretty hair!" or "I love you!" I was spying on her talking to Lenny the Lion in her crib and she was saying, "I love you Lenny!" Then she replied , "Lenny says I love you too!" "Good night Lenny!" Even Julie gets some of her, "I'm so happy to see you!" greetings. Well, that is until I start taking pictures of just Julie.. Then Lizzie doesn't seem to be quite SO happy to see Julie anymore.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Congratulations Gibran and Ashley!!! I am so happy for the two of you. You are a gorgeous couple and I wish the best for the both of you! Ashley, I had a great time being your maid of honor- many great memories made. Thanks for letting me step away from my wedding party duties here and there to steal a couple pics- you were all so photogenic I couldn't resist!

Despite our scary moments and suspicions about the driver, I loved riding around with you in the limo all day. (He MUST have been drunk...could someone really be that bad of a driver?)

I think we both know what Elijah is thinking here with that dreamy look on his face...Poor Amy was so tired by the end of the day.This little boy loves you so much it was so funny to see him jealous of his older brother.The reception was perfect. Good food, good music, and good company! The cake was so delicious!

And the bride so beautiful!

THE MORNING OF....

I had a great morning with the girls getting all dolled up while you were out getting ready yourself! They were cute as ever and so much older every time I see them...time sure does fly.

Congratulations again!! I wish you two the best as a new couple, in a new house, and at your new jobs!!