Funny that I JUST said something about Prest getting more brave in the walking department and probably would be walking full time within the next month. Didn't take long because three DAYS later, at 14 months EXACTLY, off he went!! I guess he was feeling wild and free after his bath and decided today was the day! I'm in big trouble now.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Oh, this boy.......
He's giving me a run for my money!!!! None of my other kids were this "active," I swear!!
He loves to empty the trashcan or place random items inside, fling folded laundry off the couch or empty the silverware from the dishwasher faster than I can load it.
He KNOWS if that gate at the bottom of the stairs or the sliding glass door to the backyard is left open.
A favorite "seat," when he's not tossing diapers all over the floor
or pulling all the baby wipes out of their container.
His most recent word is HAT, illustrated by the picture below. ANYthing can be a hat; a sippy cup, a piece of paper, a plate that used to have his dinner all over it......
....or a nursing pad, which started the whole thing. ;) Yarmulke, anyone??? 
He loves to empty the trashcan or place random items inside, fling folded laundry off the couch or empty the silverware from the dishwasher faster than I can load it.
He KNOWS if that gate at the bottom of the stairs or the sliding glass door to the backyard is left open.
He can now reach the top of the table and counter tops so nothing can be left along the edges.
A favorite "seat," when he's not tossing diapers all over the flooror pulling all the baby wipes out of their container.
His most recent word is HAT, illustrated by the picture below. ANYthing can be a hat; a sippy cup, a piece of paper, a plate that used to have his dinner all over it......
....or a nursing pad, which started the whole thing. ;) Yarmulke, anyone??? 
Preston's most favoritest thing to do when we get back from walking the twins to the bus stop or coming in from the car is to press the button to close the garage door. Love these chubby little fingers!!!! 
He's just a few days shy of 14 months and still isn't walking yet. Following in the footsteps (pun intended!) of his siblings, who walked around 15 months on average. He is standing on his own, unassisted, for good amounts of time and he can push himself to standing in the middle of the room. Just the other day, he actually FINALLY walked behind a push-toy for the very first time!! Before, he'd have nothing to do with them when he found out they moved.
Good thing this little stinker is so darn cute!!!! ;)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Missionary Moments
This story actually begins months and months ago (Dec?) when our neighbor boys invited some non-member friends and their dad on a scout outing to shoot guns in the desert. These boys then attended the overnight teacher/priest snow activity in January.
About a month or so ago, Matt got a phone call from the ward mission leader saying that this family would be attending church this particular Sunday. We sat on the same bench in sacrament meeting, separated by the ward mission leader's family. Their daughter walked the investigator's daughter down the bench in front of us and out the door, when Brooklyn leans over to me and says, "I think that was Katie!!!" I asked, "Who's Katie?" Brooklyn said, "A girl in my school class." When they came back in to the chapel, Brooklyn confirmed that it was INDEED Katie and the two girls proceed to hug when she passes back by us on the bench. After sacrament meeting was over, we encouraged Brooklyn to take Katie with her to Primary and make her feel welcome. They were ecstatic to see each other there!!!!
We took this as a teaching opportunity for Brooklyn to help her understand missionary work a little more fully. We were able to visit Katie in her home as well as have her over to our house a couple times. We reminded Brooklyn that it was so important that she be a good example and just by being a friend, we can be a missionary. :)
Katie's family, including her three older brothers (two of whom had attended the aforementioned YM outings) and mom, began taking the discussions from the missionaries. Today, Katie and two of her brothers were baptized as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They will be confirmed tomorrow in sacrament meeting and Matt will able to perform that ordinance for the oldest brother, Adam, who is "officially" one of his priests now. It was a joyous occasion and we're hoping to see the other brother and mom (and possibly even dad some day) follow suit in the months to come.
Matt and our neighbors Amy, Jordan and Garrett Bowes (on the far right side)
About a month or so ago, Matt got a phone call from the ward mission leader saying that this family would be attending church this particular Sunday. We sat on the same bench in sacrament meeting, separated by the ward mission leader's family. Their daughter walked the investigator's daughter down the bench in front of us and out the door, when Brooklyn leans over to me and says, "I think that was Katie!!!" I asked, "Who's Katie?" Brooklyn said, "A girl in my school class." When they came back in to the chapel, Brooklyn confirmed that it was INDEED Katie and the two girls proceed to hug when she passes back by us on the bench. After sacrament meeting was over, we encouraged Brooklyn to take Katie with her to Primary and make her feel welcome. They were ecstatic to see each other there!!!!
We took this as a teaching opportunity for Brooklyn to help her understand missionary work a little more fully. We were able to visit Katie in her home as well as have her over to our house a couple times. We reminded Brooklyn that it was so important that she be a good example and just by being a friend, we can be a missionary. :)
Katie's family, including her three older brothers (two of whom had attended the aforementioned YM outings) and mom, began taking the discussions from the missionaries. Today, Katie and two of her brothers were baptized as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They will be confirmed tomorrow in sacrament meeting and Matt will able to perform that ordinance for the oldest brother, Adam, who is "officially" one of his priests now. It was a joyous occasion and we're hoping to see the other brother and mom (and possibly even dad some day) follow suit in the months to come.
Brooklyn w/ Katie on her baptism day ~ 2/20/10
Matt and our neighbors Amy, Jordan and Garrett Bowes (on the far right side) with the Kimball family (Adam in middle back, Michael in front and Katie in front)
Brooklyn and Katie are now in separate Primary classes because Katie is older than Brooklyn. But I'm so glad that we were able to help give their family a piece of that foundation for joining the church. I hope they are happy with their decision to be baptized and that they feel welcomed with open arms.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Bring on the CORN & other medical mysteries
Have I mentioned before that I just LOVE our pediatrician???!! We visit her frequently at the beginning of the year with 4 kids' well-checks.
Brooklyn and Blake had their 7 year well check last Monday (the 8th). I made sure to ask her if we could get Blake retested for his corn allergy. The blood draw was not fun or easy. I took all four kids by myself (what was I thinking??) and I had to both threaten AND bribe Blake in order for him to comply. In the end, he STILL had to sit on my lap while I helped hold him down plus another tech holding his arm straight then the lady actually drawing his blood. There was more production leading up to it than the actual event itself. Blake was like, "Oh, that was it?" Haha. Alas, he got his ice cream cone and the Bakugans remained out of time out. (rest of story intermingled with Preston's below....)
Morning of the 11th, Preston had had his breakfast already, but of course when it's my turn to sit down and actually eat in peace, he comes a'moochin'! I gave him a few bites of egg and he went on his merry way. When I went to change him out of his pajamas, I immediately noticed that he had hives on his torso, armpit, upper legs and diaper area.
Obviously he was having an allergic reaction to SOMEthing. We hadn't changed laundry soaps, bath soap, lotion, diaper or wipe brands, no new clothes, nothing. I didn't really worry about it because he wasn't exhibiting any other weird symptoms. Friday morning, before I even changed him, I noticed that there were hives on his neck so I knew it wouldn't be good when I open his jammies. Yep, WAY worse!! 
I called the pediatrician's office to get an appointment since it was a long holiday weekend, hoping they wouldn't just say it was an allergic reaction and send me on my way. Nothing peeves me more than wasting $$ and time having the doc tell me what I already knew and not give me something to fix the problem.
So we trekked on over and waited, waited, waited for the doctor (not our normal pediatrician) to come see us. A knock on the door and our regular ped pops her head in the door and said she just got Blake's lab results back and saw we were in the office so she brought them by. Great news ---- he's OUTGROWN his CORN allergy!!!!! She also {obviously} notices that Preston is having some hives issues, quickly quizzes me on anything new, I mention the eggs and she said to keep him off them until 18 months, the other doctor will advise more.
We wait and wait and wait some more and finally a doc stops in to see Preston. Yep, it's definitely an allergic reaction to something. Or it could be a virus or strep. She checks him over and he sounds good, so she just gave me dosing instructions for Zyrtec and Benadryl and sent us home. $61 later........ plus another $18 for said medicines....... I knew it. Preston is mucho mucho better now, with just a few light hives lingering. I'm tempted to try eggs again this week to see if he'll have a similar reaction so I can know for sure. We'll see. I don't really want to put him through that again.
Back to Blake. Middle of the night Sunday to Monday, I was nursing the baby at 3:30am and I hear a toilet lid slam open in the direction of the boys' room. That's really unusual for any of my kids to be up using the potty in the middle of the night. I put Prest back to bed, peek in the boys' room and whisper, "Blake are you awake?" and he said, "I had to go poop." Ok, again, weird, and I go back to bed. Just as I start to drift off, I hear "THE COUGH." I rip off my covers, sprint down the hallway to find Blake, standing at the toilet, barfing. This kid gets super panicky whilst tossing his cookies, so I rubbed his back, assured him it was ok and to get it all out. I was just uttering a silent prayer of thanks that he made it to the bathroom in time!! He rinsed out his mouth, I tucked him back in bed, asked him if he was alright and he nodded yes. Then he says, "You're the best, mom." Sweetest thing I've EVER heard at 3:45 in the morning!!!!!! Blake proceeded to lay around all day yesterday and even took a lengthy (2hour) AM nap. He picked at his lunch, but gobbled up his dinner and even had seconds. It could have been corn-overload on his system, the bad headache he claimed to have, or leftover sick germs from an uncle. Who knows, but he seems to be back to normal today. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that THAT was IT and no one else gets those germs!
Brooklyn and Blake had their 7 year well check last Monday (the 8th). I made sure to ask her if we could get Blake retested for his corn allergy. The blood draw was not fun or easy. I took all four kids by myself (what was I thinking??) and I had to both threaten AND bribe Blake in order for him to comply. In the end, he STILL had to sit on my lap while I helped hold him down plus another tech holding his arm straight then the lady actually drawing his blood. There was more production leading up to it than the actual event itself. Blake was like, "Oh, that was it?" Haha. Alas, he got his ice cream cone and the Bakugans remained out of time out. (rest of story intermingled with Preston's below....)
Morning of the 11th, Preston had had his breakfast already, but of course when it's my turn to sit down and actually eat in peace, he comes a'moochin'! I gave him a few bites of egg and he went on his merry way. When I went to change him out of his pajamas, I immediately noticed that he had hives on his torso, armpit, upper legs and diaper area.
Obviously he was having an allergic reaction to SOMEthing. We hadn't changed laundry soaps, bath soap, lotion, diaper or wipe brands, no new clothes, nothing. I didn't really worry about it because he wasn't exhibiting any other weird symptoms. Friday morning, before I even changed him, I noticed that there were hives on his neck so I knew it wouldn't be good when I open his jammies. Yep, WAY worse!! 
I called the pediatrician's office to get an appointment since it was a long holiday weekend, hoping they wouldn't just say it was an allergic reaction and send me on my way. Nothing peeves me more than wasting $$ and time having the doc tell me what I already knew and not give me something to fix the problem.So we trekked on over and waited, waited, waited for the doctor (not our normal pediatrician) to come see us. A knock on the door and our regular ped pops her head in the door and said she just got Blake's lab results back and saw we were in the office so she brought them by. Great news ---- he's OUTGROWN his CORN allergy!!!!! She also {obviously} notices that Preston is having some hives issues, quickly quizzes me on anything new, I mention the eggs and she said to keep him off them until 18 months, the other doctor will advise more.
We wait and wait and wait some more and finally a doc stops in to see Preston. Yep, it's definitely an allergic reaction to something. Or it could be a virus or strep. She checks him over and he sounds good, so she just gave me dosing instructions for Zyrtec and Benadryl and sent us home. $61 later........ plus another $18 for said medicines....... I knew it. Preston is mucho mucho better now, with just a few light hives lingering. I'm tempted to try eggs again this week to see if he'll have a similar reaction so I can know for sure. We'll see. I don't really want to put him through that again.
Back to Blake. Middle of the night Sunday to Monday, I was nursing the baby at 3:30am and I hear a toilet lid slam open in the direction of the boys' room. That's really unusual for any of my kids to be up using the potty in the middle of the night. I put Prest back to bed, peek in the boys' room and whisper, "Blake are you awake?" and he said, "I had to go poop." Ok, again, weird, and I go back to bed. Just as I start to drift off, I hear "THE COUGH." I rip off my covers, sprint down the hallway to find Blake, standing at the toilet, barfing. This kid gets super panicky whilst tossing his cookies, so I rubbed his back, assured him it was ok and to get it all out. I was just uttering a silent prayer of thanks that he made it to the bathroom in time!! He rinsed out his mouth, I tucked him back in bed, asked him if he was alright and he nodded yes. Then he says, "You're the best, mom." Sweetest thing I've EVER heard at 3:45 in the morning!!!!!! Blake proceeded to lay around all day yesterday and even took a lengthy (2hour) AM nap. He picked at his lunch, but gobbled up his dinner and even had seconds. It could have been corn-overload on his system, the bad headache he claimed to have, or leftover sick germs from an uncle. Who knows, but he seems to be back to normal today. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that THAT was IT and no one else gets those germs!
Monday, February 15, 2010
The great carseat switcheroo
(Gavin pouty face due to the fact that I wouldn't let him have a snack #2)Brooklyn and Blake moved from 5 point harness car seats to high back belt positioning boosters at 7 years old. Brooklyn had finally hit the height limit on hers (shoulders above the top harness slot) and although Blake still had a way to go before officially outgrowing his, Matt insisted that he be in a booster like his twin sister. Neither of them were close to surpassing the 65 lb weight limit. Blake's still just a mere 42 lbs!!!
Preston finally moved out of his infant car seat into Brooklyn's former car seat, but is still rear-facing. Yes, I know he's over 1 year and he weighs 23 lbs, but the longer you can keep a child rear-facing the safer it is. And he doesn't know any different. Yes, a Nazi, I know.
Gavin just stayed the same. :)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
L♥VE Day
LOVE Old Navy flip flops
LOVE Hot Tamales
LOVE Disneyland
LOVE Disneyland
LOVE sleeping in
LOVE a good shopping spree
LOVE trying new recipes
LOVE Target
LOVE Pampers diapers, but Huggies wipes
LOVE Target
LOVE Pampers diapers, but Huggies wipes
LOVE a good chick flick
LOVE playing softball (although it's been awhile)
LOVE our garden
LOVE taking my kids places like museums, cultural events, theme parks
LOVE a long, hot shower
LOVE tulips
LOVE hearing my kids giggle
LOVE Sonic LeMoN BeRrY slushes
LOVE taking pictures
LOVE kitchen gadgets (ie: my new garlic press)
LOVE kitchen gadgets (ie: my new garlic press)
LOVE Starburst Jellybeans
LOVE a clean house (as rare as it may be)
LOVE listening to music
LOVE cherry ICEEs
LOVE being pampered (doesn't happen often enough!)
LOVE Clorox cleaning wipes
LOVE Clorox cleaning wipes
LOVE clipping fingernails & popping zits
LOVE the rain
LOVE buying children's books and reading to my kids
LOVE Golden Spoon blackberry frozen yogurt
LOVE laying in my backyard on a blanket on a beautiful sunny day
LOVE celeb gossip magazines
LOVE baking (and eating) cookies
LOVE lazy days
LOVE watching the Bachelor, Biggest Loser, Amazing Race, So You Think You Can Dance
But most of all, I LOVE these guys~~
my 4 kiddos
and my honey!!
*Our beautiful V-day flowers*
and my honey!!
*Our beautiful V-day flowers*
Friday, February 12, 2010
Let the WINTER Games begin!!
To get us stoked for the Olympics tonight, we had your classic all-American grilled cheese sandwiches with red, white & blue yogurt parfaits on the side :)
In honor of the host country, for dessert I made Nanaimo bars, a no-bake chocolate bar which originated out of British Columbia, Canada. Yummo!
The kids grabbed their own Olympic torches and we sat down to watch the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics!!! 
I meagerly adorned our {new} entertainment center with the Olympic rings, our American flag and the Canadian flag to help keep us in the spirit this next two weeks.
Oh look, here *I* am!!! We also popped some popcorn and got cozy in our blankets.
In honor of the host country, for dessert I made Nanaimo bars, a no-bake chocolate bar which originated out of British Columbia, Canada. Yummo!
The kids grabbed their own Olympic torches and we sat down to watch the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics!!! 
I meagerly adorned our {new} entertainment center with the Olympic rings, our American flag and the Canadian flag to help keep us in the spirit this next two weeks.
Oh look, here *I* am!!! We also popped some popcorn and got cozy in our blankets.
For whatever reason, I found myself full of emotion as I watched tonight. Who gets choked up during "O Canada" ----- when you're AMERICAN??!?! LOL! I love the buzz in the air, the patriotism and the comraderie between the athletes.
To be truthful, I much prefer the Summer Olympics, but I am looking forward to ice skating, snowboarding and catching glimpses of various other events. So sad to hear of the death of the luge racer from the Republic of Georgia already. :( May God bless and watch over all the other athletes in their events for the duration of these games.
Monday, February 8, 2010
FaVoRiTeS -- Twin Edition
Just for fun, I asked the twinners about some of their "favorites." I swiped this idea and questions from another mom's blog. {blush}
I started with Blake first......
Then Brooklyn......
I started with Blake first......
Me: What's your favorite color?
Blake: Blue
Me: What's your favorite thing about 1st grade?
Blake: Cubes.
Me: What's cubes?
Blake: You can make R2's. [referring to R2D2 from Star Wars]
Me: Oooookay. What's your favorite thing to do after school?
Blake: Homework.
Me: Really? (I think he just answered this way because he knows that's the first thing we *do* after school)
Blake: No, actually play after I read.
Me: What's your favorite dessert?
Blake: ICE CREAM!!!
Me: Who are your friends?
Blake: Cameron, Kelvin, Cayman, Jimmy, Connor.....
Me: What's your favorite thing to do on the playground?
Blake: Play soccer.
Me: Oh, do we need to sign you up to play soccer?
Blake: I dunno, maybe flag football.
Me: What was the coolest thing about being 6?
Blake: Having new friends in first grade.
Me: Why are you excited to be 7?
Blake: Because I'm almost BATH-tized. {lol}
Me: What was your favorite birthday gift?
Blake: MAXUS DRAGONOID!
Me: What's your favorite movie?
Blake: Star Wars III
Me: Why #3?
Blake: Because Anakin turns in to Darth Vaderrrrrrrrrr!
Me: What is your favorite toy?
Blake: Bakugan and Legos
Me: What's your favorite drink?
Blake: Milk
Me: What's your favorite thing to do outside?
Blake: Play on the swing set :)
Blake: Blue
Me: What's your favorite thing about 1st grade?
Blake: Cubes.
Me: What's cubes?
Blake: You can make R2's. [referring to R2D2 from Star Wars]
Me: Oooookay. What's your favorite thing to do after school?
Blake: Homework.
Me: Really? (I think he just answered this way because he knows that's the first thing we *do* after school)
Blake: No, actually play after I read.
Me: What's your favorite dessert?
Blake: ICE CREAM!!!
Me: Who are your friends?
Blake: Cameron, Kelvin, Cayman, Jimmy, Connor.....
Me: What's your favorite thing to do on the playground?
Blake: Play soccer.
Me: Oh, do we need to sign you up to play soccer?
Blake: I dunno, maybe flag football.
Me: What was the coolest thing about being 6?
Blake: Having new friends in first grade.
Me: Why are you excited to be 7?
Blake: Because I'm almost BATH-tized. {lol}
Me: What was your favorite birthday gift?
Blake: MAXUS DRAGONOID!
Me: What's your favorite movie?
Blake: Star Wars III
Me: Why #3?
Blake: Because Anakin turns in to Darth Vaderrrrrrrrrr!
Me: What is your favorite toy?
Blake: Bakugan and Legos
Me: What's your favorite drink?
Blake: Milk
Me: What's your favorite thing to do outside?
Blake: Play on the swing set :)
Then Brooklyn......
Me: What's your favorite color?
Brooklyn: Can I do three cuz I only have three. Blue, pink and purple.
Me: What's your favorite thing about 1st grade?
Brooklyn: Fun Friday
Me: What's your favorite food?
Brooklyn: Spaghetti!
Me: What's your favorite thing to do after school?
Brooklyn: Go on the swing set
Me: What's your favorite dessert?
Brooklyn: Doughnuts
Me: Who are your friends?
Brooklyn: Xerianna, Elizabeth C., Danny, Jacob, Krystal, Madelyn O., Madelynn H........(this girl could go on forEVER!! little social butterfly!)
Me: What's your favorite thing to do in the playground?
Brooklyn: Monkey bars!
Me: What was the coolest thing about being 6?
Brooklyn: Being taller than Blake.
Me: But you've always been taller than Blake.
Brooklyn: I have? Every day? Every second? Every MINUTE???
Me: Why are you excited about being 7?
Brooklyn: Because I'm getting close to being baptized.
Me: What was your favorite birthday gift? (haha, her ONLY gift!)
Brooklyn: LANIE!!!
Me: What is your favorite movie?
Brooklyn: Barbie Fairytopia.
Me: But you just got that for your birthday! How that can be your favorite movie already? Would you watch it every day until you die???
Brooklyn: Ok fine, Ariel. The Little Mermaid II.
Me: What is your favorite toy?
Brooklyn: Littlest Pet Shop
Me: What's your favorite drink?
Brooklyn: Fruit punch
Me: What's your favorite thing to do outside?
Brooklyn: Well I kinda already said this, but swinging on the swing set.
Brooklyn: Can I do three cuz I only have three. Blue, pink and purple.
Me: What's your favorite thing about 1st grade?
Brooklyn: Fun Friday
Me: What's your favorite food?
Brooklyn: Spaghetti!
Me: What's your favorite thing to do after school?
Brooklyn: Go on the swing set
Me: What's your favorite dessert?
Brooklyn: Doughnuts
Me: Who are your friends?
Brooklyn: Xerianna, Elizabeth C., Danny, Jacob, Krystal, Madelyn O., Madelynn H........(this girl could go on forEVER!! little social butterfly!)
Me: What's your favorite thing to do in the playground?
Brooklyn: Monkey bars!
Me: What was the coolest thing about being 6?
Brooklyn: Being taller than Blake.
Me: But you've always been taller than Blake.
Brooklyn: I have? Every day? Every second? Every MINUTE???
Me: Why are you excited about being 7?
Brooklyn: Because I'm getting close to being baptized.
Me: What was your favorite birthday gift? (haha, her ONLY gift!)
Brooklyn: LANIE!!!
Me: What is your favorite movie?
Brooklyn: Barbie Fairytopia.
Me: But you just got that for your birthday! How that can be your favorite movie already? Would you watch it every day until you die???
Brooklyn: Ok fine, Ariel. The Little Mermaid II.
Me: What is your favorite toy?
Brooklyn: Littlest Pet Shop
Me: What's your favorite drink?
Brooklyn: Fruit punch
Me: What's your favorite thing to do outside?
Brooklyn: Well I kinda already said this, but swinging on the swing set.
It was a lot of fun quizzing them and listening to what their answers were. I think I need to make this a yearly birthday tradition with each of the kids! :)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Party times TWO!!
Twice the parties
Twice the work
Twice the fun
Twice the maddness
Twice the exhuastion
Yep, I think that about sums it up!!
This was the first year that we've done a friend birthday party. I was completely puzzled on what to do; A- have separate parties for Brooklyn and Blake on separate days, let them each invite 10-12 friends, or B- have separate parties on the same day (Matt in charge of the boys, me with the girls) and only have 6 friends each. Neither sounded especially easy for me, but we decided on the latter. We held the parties at the same time at the same place (in different rooms of the house) with separate themes. Brooklyn and Blake completely dictated their guest list, with my insistance that they invite at least one cousin, and that was really hard for me. I didn't want to leave their Primary friends out, but I didn't want to cut out their school friends either. I started thinking that Brooklyn and Blake might always get jipped in the birthday party department since they always have to divide their time with each other and I can't handle a zillion kids running around multiplied by two!!
Blake had a LEGO party. I had to let go of my control-freak self and allowed Matt to reign here. I gave him explicit directions on what I wanted accomplished and even though it wasn't done exactly how I would have liked, I think everyone had fun. The boys built Legos out the wazzoo with various different games. I didn't take as many pictures (hardly any) because I was in the other room with the girls. Conclusion = boys like Pizza Rolls and blue jello, not veggies. LOL!
The boys in attendance - three out of six invited + a little bro + the bro of an invited guest. I don't understand this bringing the whole family and acting like you should just join right in on everything?????? Whatevs.
The boys in attendance - three out of six invited + a little bro + the bro of an invited guest. I don't understand this bringing the whole family and acting like you should just join right in on everything?????? Whatevs.
Brooklyn had a Fancy Nancy soiree. That's a fancy word for party. ;) Ooooooh, it was SO fun!!! And SO girly! We started off with me reading the original Fancy Nancy book {a must have for ANY girl} while the girls ate some fancy lunch. 
Then we jumped right into making our own fancy wands.
We put glitter on cheeks and painted fingernails.
Here are the girls, all fancied up!!
Brooklyn and Blake opened their gifts, then we sang Happy Birthday and had cake/cupcakes.
We thanked all our guests for coming and sent them on their way with gift bags full of treats! The boys got a Lego Racer set, an Anakin Skywalker keychain and a little bag of candy bricks.
The girls received a homemade flower clip, a candy necklace, a jewel ring, a feather boa and some Fancy Nancy coloring pages and activity sheets. 
Here are my big, partied-out 7 year olds!!!!!
I made Brooklyn's tutu. Too-too FUN!! I also did the shirt.
Themed and/or character shirts are not my favorite.
But I'll make a special exception for birthday parties. ;)
We thanked all our guests for coming and sent them on their way with gift bags full of treats! The boys got a Lego Racer set, an Anakin Skywalker keychain and a little bag of candy bricks.
The girls received a homemade flower clip, a candy necklace, a jewel ring, a feather boa and some Fancy Nancy coloring pages and activity sheets. 
Here are my big, partied-out 7 year olds!!!!!
I made Brooklyn's tutu. Too-too FUN!! I also did the shirt.
Themed and/or character shirts are not my favorite.But I'll make a special exception for birthday parties. ;)
******
I love hosting things like this, but I usually get so incredibly stressed out that I can't wait for it to be over and done with so I can collapse on the couch for a few hours and do nothing. But seeing the excitement and joy on Brooklyn and Blake's faces made everything worth it! So much fun, let's do it again! Maybe in 3 or 4 years....
Friday, February 5, 2010
Happy 7th Birthday, Brooklyn & Blake!!!
This day, seven years ago, I became a mom for the first time!!
(poor quality scanned pic and I look like a train wreck after giving birth via c-section)
I sent the twins off to school this morning, promising them that I would bring them lunch. I got busy baking cupcakes to take into their classrooms and ended up running a little late. I was completely frazzled as I drove halfway to McDonalds, turned around and went to Burger King instead. I wanted to call the school, but I forgot my cell phone. I race through the drivethru and over to the school, 15 minutes after lunch had started. As I burst into the office, the front desk lady asks me if I was Brooklyn and Blake's mom, tells me that I'd better hurry because they were just giving my babies cheese sandwiches. :( I felt sooooooo bad. Then I could tell that Brooklyn had been crying because she thought I forgot. Worst mommy of the year award right here!! When their teachers came to gather their classes, I explained that I was keeping them for a bit longer until they finished their lunches. Everyone was all smiles now, but I still felt rotten inside. *sigh* 
Quick change into jammies and time for GIFTS!!!!
Blake was excited for his Maxus Dragonoid (Bakugan) and Power Miners lego set along with a few other little things.
Brooklyn fuh-REAKED when she opened her ★AMERICAN GIRL DOLL!!!!! She's been poring over these catalogs for months and months and I always wanted one as a girl. I convinced Matt that Brooklyn neeeeeeded one and she picked which one was her favorite so I could make the purchase. I practically had tears in my eyes watching her spaz out over her new doll! She was so surprised and immediately in love with Lanie. 
Me with my first babies
Brooklyn is 100% girly-girl and I LOVE it!! I'm so glad I have at least one girl of my own. She still wears hairbows and tutus and I'll milk that for as long as I can! She loves wearing jewelry and can't wait to get her ears pierced next year when she turns 8. Brooklyn does well in school and her handwriting is awesome. She likes to read and draw. She's enjoying her ballet class and we're hoping to add another dance class very soon as well as starting piano lessons. Of course, she comes with a little bit of drama too. Brooklyn can throw one mean tantrum!!!!! And she is a very good boss over her brothers. ;) But we love her lots and lots!Blake is a smarty pants. Literally. He was tested for the gifted program at school and scored @ the 97th %ile. He has a hard time focusing on homework because I think he's just plain bored with it, like why should I have to do this when I already know it? He's super good at math in his head. He doesn't get that from ME!!!! I think Blake has found his niche in karate. He remembers the drills and combinations easily. The kid is also good at Legos!!! It doesn't take him long to put together a huge set! He can be a perfectionist and is a bit stubborn at times, but he's our Blakey boy!!
It's fun to look back over the years and see how they've evolved from babies into big kids!! I can't believe next year they will be getting baptized, which makes me feel OLD (even though I'll only be 28)!
few days
1 year
1 year
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years
5 years
6 years
7 years
Brooklyn and Blake are such good kids and we're lucky to have them as our firstborns. ;) We've learned a lot in the last 7 years of being parents and we know we have so much coming up ahead of us! We love you guys so much!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
