Birthday!!

So, let's just not even talk about how long it's been since I blogged last....

Let's just talk about all the fun that's been going on!! Well, and the not so fun, too.

Everyone in my house is sick! Yuck!! A couple weeks ago, Alana had pneumonia. Poor little thing was so sick. I've never seen her so sick before. Alan and I slept in the living room with her on her worst night and it was just scary. I don't think I slept at all that night. I threatened to take her to the hospital several times through the night, but then she would go back to sleep and seem a little better. By the morning she was over the bad hump and on her way to recovery. She is feeling much better, but caught a cold while she was recovering and is still sniffling from that. Brynna had a sinus infection that almost turned to pneumonia. They put her on a stronger antibiotic after the first proved to be too weak. She is still recovering from that and may need to visit the doctor again, on Monday, if she doesn't kick this cough soon. I feel like the doctor's office is probably so annoyed with me by now. I think I called just about everyday for a while....oh well, I'm sure there are crazier people than me.....right?! hehe

But through all the sickies we still managed to celebrate our little Brynna's first birthday! I can't believe it's been a year already. She still seems like such a little baby to me. I think part of it is because she is still nursing. Something I never thought would last a whole year, and still be going strong now. I am so happy it has lasted, though. It has made our bond so strong. I know I was/am connected to Alana, but with Brynna it was instant. She rarely wants anyone but me...and while that can be very annoying at times...a part of me loves that and I never want it to end. I often rock her for a little before I put her in her crib to nap and at bedtime. Lately, those times have become so emotional, for me. I want to bottle it all up and make these times last forever. I want to remember every little thing about her being a baby. Her petite little body (she's only in the 20th percentile for height and weight), her tiny little feet, chubby face, big blue eyes, the little bit of hair that is just reaching past her neck and curls when she is sweaty, her little smile.

 I love the fact that she is her own little person. I think because Alana learned to talk and communicate so early, I totally expected it from Brynna too, but she is showing me she is an individual and will learn at her own, perfect, pace. She is stubborn and pretty much laughs in my face when I try to get her to do the sign language I know she knows how to do. She makes up her own sign language and down right refuses to do the more sign I have been working on with her for several months now. I know she can do it because she has done it on rare occasions....but then refuses to do it. She just likes to tease me! The only sign she does consistently, is "milk"....go figure. She will say, "Mom Mom Mom", "Dadada" and if she doesn't want to do something or doesn't want what you are giving her, she will shake her head and say "Oh Oh Oh" (No). It's the cutest thing I've ever heard. She loves anything silky and will follow her sister around the house, just to touch her silky pajama pants! She is her own, unique, little person....and I just want to squeeze her to death and keep her my baby forever. When she was just born, Alan and i used to joke about building a special box to put her in that would keep her from getting bigger.  ( I know it sounds weird....but we're weird people! lol ) We just wanted her to stay our petite little baby girl, forever. And for the most part, she has stayed our petite little girl. I swear...we didn't put her in a box!

Enough with the mushy stuff....let's talk party!!

We had this perfect outdoors party planned for her birthday. We rented a pavilion at one of our favorite parks and had it all planned out....well, it snowed on the day of her party....  So, we quickly changed plans and moved the party to my parent's house, in Morgantown. It all turned out fine, in the end. But, it's just a bummer when you plan and plan and plan and then have to change all that planning.

Here are some pictures from her fabulous Owl themed party:

The invitation! A huge thanks to my bff, Michelle, for helping me make all of them. I wouldn't have been able to do it without her help!

Owl cupcakes, Alan and I made. And a little owl hanging out beside them. They turned out way cuter than I expected and were surprisingly easy!

Owl sugar cookies. These sugar cookies are pretty much mine and Alan's signature party dessert. They are from a recipe his grandparents gave us. We have tweaked the icing a little, but other than that, it is the same recipe. I love family traditions!

Some of the crafts for the kids. Wooden owls to color, owl coloring pages and a little owl to make out of an Easter egg!

The owl, Easter egg, craft!

The owl favors, I made. All were hand cut, stuffed and sewed together. Turns out the craft glue I used didn't really hold up as well as I thought it would. So, if you went home with one of these guys and their eyes or beak fell off, it can easily be reattached with some hot glue. Hot glue will hold for sure. Wish I would have thought of that before, but oh well. Now I know!

Brynna is a little climber. As soon as she saw the presents she immediately went to them and climbed on top! 

First half of her birthday banner. Right to left.... ultrasound, maternity picture announcing her name, just born picture, one month and 2 month pictures.

Middle of the banner. Right to left...3 months-8 months pictures

End of the banner. Right to left...7 months-1 year pictures!

Some of the owl decor. I found the owl masks at a craft store and painted them to go with the party colors. (Pink, lime green and brown)

Our Birthday Girl! I made her little owl shirt to go along with all the decor. 

So that was her birthday. It came quickly and left just as fast. I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that she is 1.....maybe I'll get used to it by the time she turns 2!!

Here's a little picture of the girls on Halloween. 

Alana was soooo into Halloween this year and loved dressing up in her costume. She had lots of fun....and Brynna slept in the stroller most of Trick-or-Treating! hehe

Our little flower and bumble bee!

(Thanks for letting me use the flower costume, Michelle!)

Wedding Season!

This past weekend we traveled a couple hours north of our home, to attend the wedding of our dear friends, Sarah and Larry Boggs.








 It's really funny how life happens...and how you meet people. Alan and I met Sarah probably close to 8 years ago. At the time, she was going to college in another state, but dating one of Alan's college friends. We became friends and hung out more when Alan and her then boyfriend became roommates. We remained in contact on and off after college and the end of her relationship with Alan's friend. Fast forward a couple years....Alan and I moved to Pittsburgh for his job and Sarah was there to welcome us with open arms. She has always been such a great friend. She helped us move into our new home....I mean that's a great friend!! lol We have continued to hang out over the 3 years we have lived in Pittsburgh. She has been with us on most new years, super bowls, hockey playoff games and any other thing you can use as an excuse to get together and eat. hehe. She has been there to visit both of our little girls shortly after their births.

Here she is with Alana!

And with Brynna!

She has been a big part of our lives and our kids lives! So, when she started dating Larry, we were so happy and excited for her! He is a great guy and they are the perfect couple! Several months ago, they asked us if Alana could be the flower girl in their wedding. We were excited, but nervous. She is, after all, a very moody 2 year old. An example would be....we met Sarah to try on dresses for Alana to wear in the wedding, and Alana refused to try on the dresses....she cried, kicked and screamed. Sarah was calm and patient and even remained calm when I lost it too! lol So, after that little episode at the dress shop we were unsure if Alana should even do it. But Sarah and Larry had faith that Alana could and would do it.....and were ok with it, if she didn't make it down the aisle. 

We committed, the dress was ordered, shoes were bought and last weekend, we were off to the wedding to see how exactly this would all play out.

Alana through a giant fit when it was time to put on the dress, before the wedding. But, she got over it and soon was very excited to Sarah and Larry. Alan and I spent most of our time before the wedding taking her back and forth from a lobby and the room Sarah was getting ready in so she could see Sarah and talk to her. 

It got closer and closer to the wedding time and I got more and more anxious about how exactly she would react to all the people staring at her and having to walk down the aisle. We, of course, talked it up big time. The plan was, Alan would sit close to the front, with Brynna, and I would walk her to the end of the aisle and send her off to meet Daddy and Brynna. But the key was....Daddy would be holding a present for her. Yes, we used bribery....I'm not ashamed. This girl loves parties and presents, so we talked it up big as a big party and if she walked down the aisle she could get the present from Daddy.

Well folks, it worked like a charm!! 

There was absolutely no hesitation when she got to the end of the aisle. She looked for Alan, but didn't see him right aways, so she turned around to ask me where he was and as soon as I pointed him out, off she was to get Daddy and her present!! It was just precious. She even walked back up the aisle with the bridal party and did great for the pictures after the ceremony.

The wedding was just beautiful. Sarah was a gorgeous bride! I wish I had pictures of the actual wedding or Sarah. Alan and I were so busy trying to keep both kids happy that we didn't really have a lot of time to take pictures. 

We did manage to get these few:

She was an adorable flower girl ! ( I'm pretty bias, though)

Alan and I are attending another wedding this coming weekend. This time, we are leaving the kids at home! Can't wait to enjoy a wedding without holding and entertaining two kids. I love my kids, but Momma needs a break!!

Happy Wedding Season!

Preschool....

Today, Friday, I went to sign Alana up for "preschool". I put it off and put it off, and then finally sent an email to see if they had any spots left ( I think I secretly wished they would say no, so I could keep my little lady with me). What do you know, they had one spot left in the Friday morning class! 

I really am excited for her to go. I know she will love it. It's just, as a stay at home mom, I find it hard to let go and let my babies be taken care of by anyone else but me. Even when Alan watches them, I sometimes find myself telling him things I know he already knows....just so I feel a little more at ease. Like, "make sure you hold her hand when she goes up the ladder to the slide".....or "make sure she wears her jacket". Really, I'm a control freak....there, I said it! Because I am the main care provider...and a nervous nelly... it is very hard for me to give up that control and just let them go with whoever. I wish I were more laid back...but this is me! Love it or hate it... this is the way I am, and I don't really see that changing. 

So, we went to the preschool this morning to get paperwork filled out and the deposit placed. They gave us a little mini tour and showed us the classroom she will be in. We walked in the door to the classroom and the other kids were playing, and what does Alana do?? She let go of my hand, pulled out a chair at the table and sat with the other kids to do a craft!! She really didn't care if I was there or not. lol Which surprised me, a little. She is an outgoing little girl and very talkative, so I figured she would be ok, eventually....but she loved it from the very first second!! When they were done with their craft she got up and went to a little table that had play dough out....and took a bite of a star made out of play dough! lol ( I quickly grabbed it out of her mouth!) I think it embarrassed the teacher a little, because they weren't really watching her, and I'm the one that  had my eye on her. But I think that's just because I'm her Mom. It's one of those things that I didn't even realize I was paying attention to her, the teachers were talking to me and explaining things, showing me papers....and I still unknowingly had my eye on her. Anyway, the teacher quickly assured me that it was non-toxic and home made (she didn't swallow any) and said that will be something she will learn at preschool--- We don't eat play dough! She has never played with play dough, so I really think she thought it was a cookie. lol The look on her face was just too funny. 

When we were leaving she kept saying..."that was fun!" I told her I couldn't wait until she could go back and she said , " yeah and tell daddy!" 

I think she is going to have a blast. Which makes me so happy. I love that she will be able to make new friends and play and I will get a little alone time with Brynna. It will only be on Fridays for 2.5 hours. So, it wont be terribly long, but just enough to start out and get her me used to it

Oops....I forgot Easter!

I just realized, I totally forgot to share our Easter festivities with you!! So here are some pictures of how we celebrated.

Alana really enjoyed coloring eggs this year and got right in there and did it by herself! She's such a big girl now.

Cutesie bunny cupcakes I made for Easter dinner at my Mother In-Laws. 

Their Easter baskets. Alana's is the pink one and Brynna's is the white. 

She's excited about the necklaces the Easter Bunny left in the eggs for her egg hunt!

Brynna liked the things she got too!

P.S. Trying to find things to buy your second little girl, when the first girl already has everything, is really hard! lol  She's pretty happy with my Dollar Store finds, though.

So, that was our Easter...more or less. We did make a trip into Morgantown to see both of our families, but I was a horrible mother and didn't take any pictures while we were there. Oh well, maybe my mom took some! hehe.

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While I have you here....let me show you a picture of some cute cupcakes I made when I hosted my Bunco group last week!!

They were super super easy, and looked pretty cute! (It's just upside down chocolate chips!!)

If you don't know, Bunco is a dice game. lol That might be confusing, if you aren't familiar with the game!

Sick Baby/Hungry Baby

So, last week, my little Alana was sick. She was pretty miserable. It started with just a little sniffle the week before, and I thought it was really no big deal because, honestly, it was a tiny tiny sniffle and that was it. But them last Tuesday she just wasn't herself and on a whim I took her temperature. It was 99.9. This is the first time she has ever had a temperature, in her whole 2 years of life! So, I gave her tylenol and called the doctor to see if they would want to see her. To my surprise, they actually did want to see her. Usually when I call they tell me to wait it out. ( I call to get advice a lot, lol) So, off we went. 2 hours after I gave her the tylenol her temperature was 101.3! They diagnosed her with a sinus infection and sent us home with good ol' amoxicillin. She was just down right miserable for the rest of the week. I had to wrestle her to get her to take the medicine, the first couple days. But, now she takes it like a champ!

During the week she did a whole lot of this...

She never ever falls asleep in the living room.....let alone lay down anywhere but her bed! Poor little thing just couldn't take it!!

But, she is feeling 100% better now. She is back to her old crazy self. 

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Brynna tried her first food last night!! She tried sweet potatoes and seemed to really like them. She only ate tiny bit, but I know she'll get the hang of it. 

She was really excited to try it!!

Not really sure what to do with the food in her mouth....

I really really want to not be lazy this time around and make baby food for Brynna. With Alana, I had intentions of making food for her, but then I just never did. I want this time to be different. I really want one of these. But....Alan says he doesn't think we need it. UGH!! lol So, for now, I am going to try to get some silicone ice trays so I can freeze the food I make. I'll try to keep you posted!

Happy Wednesday!

Brynna Fern

I can't believe my little Brynna Fern is already 6 months old. It honestly seems like I just had her last week! She is getting so big.....but she still seems like such a little baby. I think it must be because I have Alana, too. When I had Alana...she was huge and stayed huge....and just seemed to grow and develop so fast, but Brynna is so different. She was big when she was born and is still growing and everything, but just at a more normal pace. lol With Alana, she started eating cereal at around 3 months. Brynna, on the other hand just turned 6 months and has yet to have any kind of cereal or food. I have to admit, I like her taking her time with things. I will keep her my little baby for as long as I can. She has an appointment on the 16th, so after that, I'm sure she will be starting cereal and some veggies. I do have a couple concerns about her being delayed....she can roll from her back to her belly like a pro....but has a little trouble getting off her belly. She can do it, but it's more of a struggle for her. She has good neck control now, but has absolutely no interest in trying to sit up. She either hunches over or leans back to lay down. So, we'll see what the doctor has to say about it. Hopefully she is just taking her time and it's nothing to worry about.

I'll be sure to give an update after her appointment and post some cute first food pictures!

An extremely long Blog because I'm behind and have a gazillion things to tell you about... ;)

Do you like that title?! It kind of sums it up. Today, Thursday, is the first day this week I have had time to sit down when both girls are napping and take a breath. So here it goes....here's what's been going on, that I've really wanted to tell you about, but I am just now getting around to it!

Easter Fun:

This past Saturday was a yucky rainy day, so Alan and I decided to make the most of it. We packed up the girls and went to Simmons Farm for an (indoor) Easter Egg hunt / crafting extravaganza! Here are the pictures to document the experience!

Painting her flower pot...she was so proud!

Getting a little help from Mom.

Now she's a pro, only needs a little help holding it still. 

Moved on to coloring

Planting her flower in her freshly painted flower pot!

This picture just melts my heart! She was so proud of her little flower....she's becoming such a big girl!

The Hunt is on!!

She really loved the Easter Egg Hunt. And Alan and I had fun too.....

Oh and Brynna, too!

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Quick trip to Sonic:

Brynna needed to eat while we were there, too. So she got to get out of her seat and come up front! She loved it....as you can see! lol

French Fries!

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Painting the kitchen:

Alan and I have been talking about re-painting our kitchen for several months now. When we first bought the house it had apple wall paper.....and I HATE wall paper!

So, we took it all down and painted it yellow. But I hated how the yellow turned out. It just was not the yellow I envisioned. So, Alan finally gave into me begging to paint the kitchen and we took the plunge and painted it this past weekend!

Here are some before and after pictures:

Before: Gross yellow.....it's really worse in person....this picture doesn't do it justice.

After: Pretty brown. After looking at them both side by side, I realize the color doesn't look all that different. Trust me, it's a major major difference and improvement! It's now a light, creamy brown color! I love it!! I guess you'll just have to come to my house to see if for yourself, if you want to see the true color! lol

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New Curtains!!

Here is a picture of my gross old kitchen curtains....

The front...

The gross faded back. 

These curtains came with the house when we bought it (3 years ago) and to their credit, I have not once taken them down and washed them.... Pretty gross, now that I think about it! lol 

So, we were well overdue for new curtains. And here they are!

Love them!

Where did i buy them, you ask??!! I made them!! I am so proud of them (can you tell?!) I am just so proud that I actually put my mind to making new curtains and I did it! And I think they look pretty darn cute! What do you think? 

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Graduation Time!

(last topic...I swear)

For the past 2 years, every Wednesday, Alan has gone straight to class after work, to get his MBA.

Well, yesterday, April 20th, was his last class.....ever! (as long as he's married to me, he will not be getting any more degrees! hehe Love you honey!) In celebration for his accomplishment, I made some cupcakes for him to share with his classmates. And, of course, I have pictures of them...duh! hehe

Enjoy!

Chocolate cupcakes !

Vanilla icing!

The beginning of the graduation hat decoration. An upside down mini Reese Cup and a square cut from a Hershey bar. This is where I got my inspiration. That "recipe" called for a square mint to go on top....but I couldn't find anything that would work, so I bought the big pack of Hershey bars and cut it into a square. 

( you can make enough for 24 cupcakes if you buy the big pack)

P.S. I do realize I still have snowman salt and pepper shapers out....it's April, it's Pennsylvania....it could still snow! lol 

Finished the hats! Used a Fruit by the Foot and cut it to make the little tassel and used an M&M and a dab of icing to attach it to the top of the hat! 

The finished product!! They turned out super cute. I love them!! I told Alan, we need some more people we know to graduate so I can make them again! They were really fun to make, and not nearly as time consuming as I thought they would be. 

My little cake tester!

Yes, I let her lick the spoon...go ahead, judge me.

And since you stuck it out through that incredibly long and random blog, I will leave you with this.....