Starve Rock

At the end of February we went on a little family vacation to Starve Rock with my family. My Aunt Susie was so kind to let us use her cabin up there, which is on hotel grounds. It was so much fun swimming in an indoor water park and going on rides at the indoor amusement park while snow accumulated on the ground outside. The cabin had three levels made up of a bunch of rooms and a full kitchen. Between my Mom and I we cooked all of the meals, which was nice so we didn't have to eat out. We stayed up late playing board games and snacking on goodies. It was the perfect getaway to get us out of the winter cold.

Uncle Denton & Brooklyn @ the indoor water park,

which had a lazy river, wave pool, and a variety of different water slides.

Olivia went on every ride she was tall enough to go on!

Brooklyn was only big enough to go on the carousel, which she loved.

This picture isn't the best quality because I only had my small camera,

but Olivia looks so little on the ride. She had no fear! She just wanted to go on everything as many times as she could.

We had such a great time and it was fun to getaway for a couple nights and just relax.

Valentine's Day

On Valentine's day we stayed in and enjoyed a whole day of heart treats!! I made heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, heart-shaped sandwiches for lunch, and Valentine's cookies for dessert. We watched Charlie Brown Valentine and enjoyed hanging out. Aunt Kate & Uncle Denton also slept over the night before Valentine's day so they could celebrate with us. Olivia especially loves Valentine's day, because of all the treats she gets to eat:)

The girls opening a few little Valentine's Day surprises....

Toy Story 3 On Ice

At the end of January, my Mom took all of us to see Toy Story 3 on Ice! When we were kids my parents took us to see all kinds of ice shows, plays, and musicals. I have always enjoyed going to them and I look forward to taking my girls to many more in the future. Olivia has been crazy about Toy Story 3 ever since she saw the movie in theatres when it first came out-so we couldn't wait to take her! It was nice that my sister Taylor came home for the weekend from college so she could attend the show with us. As an added bonus, we only live 1o minutes away from one of venues in Chicago where they had the show. It was a lot of fun being there with my family and it brought back many happy childhood memories. Both of the girls really enjoyed the show:-) I think that Olivia's favorite part was getting her first very own snow cone!!

Getting ready for the show to start....

(sorry Denton I didn't get you in a picture)

....Intermission....

And for old times sake....lol!

A little bit of this & a little bit that

In the middle of January Brian surprised me with a trip to Miami for just the two of us!! We never had a honeymoon so we (or at least I) decided this would be it! It was our first time leaving the girls, but it was time. The girls stayed with both my in-laws and my mom. We were gone for 4 days and it was just right, because after 4 days away from our girls we were anxious to get home and see their little smiling faces. Miami was a blast!! We had so much fun just relaxing and not having an agenda. We stayed in a hotel on the beach in North Beach and we rented a new Camaro, which was the car that Brian drove when we first started dating. While in Miami we enjoyed romantic dinners, went shopping, and even got to go see a movie (which we couldn't remember the last time we had done). It was so sweet of Brian to put the whole trip together without me even knowing it! He absolutely loves surprising me:)

Okay so I know I am a dork but I had to post a picture of Brian on his 1st day of school, because it is sort of a family tradition that my mother started when we first went to preschool! Since becoming a mom I have definitely followed in my mom and my grandmother's foot steps of taking a lot of pictures and capturing every special moment I can on film. Brian had to wear his uniform in order to check in at school so that made the picture even cuter!

(He literally leaves everyday with this many bags between school and the NROTC program! lol)

Brooklyn's 1st Birthday party

On January 9th we celebrated Brooklyn's 1st Birthday by throwing her a bumble bee party!! The theme was bumble bees & letter B's along with polka dots. Most people probably think I carry out the whole "theme" concept a little much, but I have so much fun putting together all of the decorations and little details that I challenge myself to be creative (and its so much more cost affective). We were super excited, because it was the first party where we could invite all of our family & friends in Illinois! We had the party at our house and served S&T home-aide pizzas for lunch along with some delicious dips my mother-in law made. With good company, The Bee Movie playing on DVD, and our house packed tight we had an absolute blast.

The invitations for the party I ordered online and then stamped with bumble bee stamps. The thank you cards I bought and stamped the envelope with a bumble bee.

The Birthday banner I made out of this cute polka dot wrapping paper.

Tissue paper pom poms and hanging letter B's that I painted black to match the party hung as a centerpiece.

I also made flower centerpieces to put on the tables by covering toilet paper rolls in the wrapping paper and cutting petals out of craft foam and topping them with a hard boiled egg (an idea I got from Family Fun magazine). And of course, I always love to put out recent pictures of the Birthday girl!! This one is a favorite of mine....

I bought this little bumble bee outfit almost 6 months before her Birthday, because I just couldn't resist!! It is a Gymboree bee outfit that even has little wings that stick out on the back. It is so cute and made for the perfect party theme attire;) The polka dot headband topped it off!

I have to laugh at this picture, because Brooklyn

and I are making the same face! lol!

The dessert table consisted of a bee hive cake that I made, cupcakes

topped with frosting flowers & lemon drops, lemonade, hot tea served with honey, black licorice bites, bumble bee cookies, & letter B cookies.

These little bee cookies were a hit! Thanks to my friend & professional baker Taylor:) Her cookies are not only adorable but delicious too! You can check her out @ www.taylors-temptations.com

Unlike her big sister (at her first Birthday), Brooklyn couldn't wait to dig into the cupcake!!

Olivia enjoying her cupcake:)

Considering the fact that first Birthday parties are primarily attended by adults, I had two games for everyone to play. The first one was a game I put together by placing some of Brooklyn's favorite things in sealed paper bags each starting with a letter from her name for people to guess. Some of the items included a picture of Olivia, a kiss, and even a nap (the girl loves her sleep). The other game was a bumble bee trivia game.

And the prizes for the games were gift cards & Burt's bees chap stick wrapped in these cute little boxes I decorated with wrapping paper & ribbon.

Party pictures....

Time for presents!

One of my favorite things about the party (which I also did

for Olivia's 1st Birthday) was that I asked everyone to bring a book for Brooklyn and write something inside. I also had everyone sign a photo mat to hang in her room with one of her Birthday pictures in it. And like Olivia's first Birthday, I had everyone write a little piece of wisdom or sweet message on slips of paper which I put in a tin to give to her when she is older.

Favors were little bags of black licorice tied with ribbon and tags stamped with "Thank you." For some reason I always enjoy giving editable favors, because they can be enjoyed at any age.

Brooklyn's First Birthday

We celebrated Brooklyn's 1st Birthday on December 26th!! I can't believe she is already one!! With her Birthday being the day after Christmas there was so much going on and it was one celebration after the next. It was so much fun!! On her Birthday we decided to stay home and let the girls open up all of their new toys they had gotten for Christmas, because with going from one party to the next they didn't get to play with any of their presents. They had a blast playing with all of their new toys. My brother & sisters came over during the day to hang out with us and help with the toy assembling. My Mom came out later in the day and all of us went out to dinner to celebrate Brooklyn turning one.

Family photo

Olivia helping Brooklyn open her present from her:)

Singing "Happy Birthday"....

....and Brooklyn's first taste of chocolate :-)

My whole family @ dinner

Aunt Kate & Liv