February Update

I'm starting to think a monthly blogging goal is more reasonable than the near-weekly posting I was capable of a few months ago. Anything more will be a bonus! Not that I've ever had anything too inspiring to share...just the goings-on of our family! But I do want to continue updating for family and friends that don't leave near us! So here we are....mid-February. How did THAT happen? The past few weeks have been a blur for several reasons.

1. I've been sick. Again. But who hasn't? Seems like we've all been sick multiple times this winter! It sure always makes me thankful for my normally healthy state.
2. My niece Annie turned one and I was lucky enough to contribute to the buffet of sweets....very fun...but a little time consuming. :)
3. My mom had a birthday and we had her over for a special birthday lunch. A 30-minute Rachael Ray recipe took two hours with two kids to take care of simultaneously! It was delicious, though, and worth it for Mom!
4. James is 'dabbling' in potty training. Yay! He's a loooong way off from being totally trained, but at least he's willing to try now!

And now a few pictures....(don't worry, none of the potty training efforts :)

Our little heart-breaker James....all spiffed up for some Valentine pictures I took....Mark thought this pose was really strange and too senior-picture-esque. I thought it was cute. Thoughts?

Clara with my mom at Annie's birthday party. Clara is 16 weeks today. Notice Clara's wrist rolls....yep, she's 'filling out' nicely. Sidenote: my mom's grandma's name was Clara!

Love the cousin-love! We'll have years of goofy pictures, I'm sure. None of them are ever looking at the camera, it seems.

Everything we know about royal icing I learned here. It's ultra-time consuming but has a really snazzy result. Mom and I had fun working on these last week for Annie's party...can you tell it was 'cupcake' themed?

And cupcake bites, of course! These were the extras, leftover from the party 'favors'. Of course, everybody was sent home with plates of leftover cupcakes, too, because...............

there were FOUR types of GOURMET home-made cupcakes, made by Mimi, my brother's mother-in-law. See how they shimmer? Gorgeous. The chocolate one on the right has purple fairy dust on it and was to. die. for.

the birthday girl, Annie, enjoying her pink lemonade cupcake

I love this family. This is Joel, Elizabeth, and Annie. Notice the cupcake dress and the fact that she can show you how old she is...she's SO smart!

These are incredibly life-like, aren't they? Hand-made (not kidding) by a friend of ours, Sally. They are literally chicken ottomans. They're so fun! If you're interested, here's her site!

Mark took James on an outing yesterday. A reward-for-going-on-the-potty-chair outing to get ice cream. They came home with this Valentine balloon, from James to Mommy. I love it.

And this morning I insisted on doing something little for V-day. So I whipped up a paper-heart 'garland' of sorts to hang from the light fixture (hole-punched and strung with curling ribbon) and threw on a pink table cloth. Here's James opening a card from his grandparents (Mark's parents). He took the entire process very seriously. There was some cash inside and he excitedly shouted, "I have MONEY!" He spent five minutes 'reading' his card and his money. (note: gorgeous roses from Mark!)

Although it appears that I fed James sugar cookies for breakfast, these are actually pancakes, stamped out with a cookie cutter and garnished with whipped cream and sprinkles, of course. SO much healthier than sugar cookies for breakfast. :) I really think that sprinkles are a great investment for the toddler years.

And that's all for now. It's a modern-day miracle that I've been able to blog this long today, so I'll post again another time...maybe in a month?