Boogie is 9!

9 Years ago this sweet boy made me a mama.

Happy 9th birthday to my Boogie

My sweet Boogie is 9 years old. I can't even believe it. And I'm pretty sure that I didn't post about his last birthday or about his first communion last year. I feel like the last year has been a blur.  And I am really trying to catch life before it just flies right by me.

This year Boogie was invited to celebrate a friend's birthday with a trip to a local museum. The trip just happened to also land on Boogie's birthday. Intrigued with the idea of going to a museum, he excitedly accepted the invitation. However, the closer the date came, the more apprehensive he became. He didn't want his birthday to get lost.  So we made a plan to celebrate with his special birthday breakfast and dinner the day before his birthday so that he could enjoy the outing with his friend. We also planned that Daddy would go with him. More than anything in the world, Boogie wants to hang out with his Daddy. So we were able to give him that, and a day at the museum where he geeked it out with his friend.

We were fortunate that both his and his sister's soccer games were canceled and we were able to have our traditional birthday breakfast with him.  We allowed him to open one of his presents and spent the morning playing "Settlers of Catan" which, by the way, is a game that many of the Green Bay Packers play together.  That night we let him choose the restaurant and my parents joined us for dinner.

The next day we went to church and right after he and Hubby left with their friends to visit the museum.  When they came back exhausted we ordered pizza and Hubby picked up a yummy ice cream cake.  And we topped it off with presents. It was awesome.  He was thrilled to get his very own tablet. He is an avid reader and it made sense to get him his on tablet where all of his books are in one place and not all over our house.  I am happy I can set the timers on it, but he's been pretty compliant on when to give it to us and when to turn it off.  This will make packing for our beach vacation a little easier this year. He'll have all of his books at his fingertips.

Camp Half-Blood versus Camp Jupiter

We celebrated with a birthday party with friends today.  Boogie finally decided on a Camp Half-Blood birthday party.  Anybody who has read Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series will understand the reference.  With the help of Boogie's godmother, I made Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter t-shirts. Hubby organized the games between the two camps. Boogie's godmother came to the rescue to help me clean the house because I realized that having a nursing infant makes it really, really difficult to get anything done in a timely manner. Thank you, A!  We served camp food: hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon, and lemonade.  Almost all of the friends that we were invited were able to come.  It was a lot of fun. Most of all Boogie had a great time. Hubby was pretty amazing getting everything coordinated for the games and I am very grateful he took the day off so he could help out with the birthday party during spring break.

9 years of friendship for these two campers.

Boogie with his best friend since birth on his 8th birthday.

7th birthday

5th Birthday and excited about dragons.

6th Birthday

4 and excited about dinosaurs

3 and still loved trains

2 years old and almost a big brother

1st Birthday and learning to walk

5 is Fabulous!

Buggy turned 5 years old last week. I still can't believe it. She has always seemed grown up that I think she has always seemed older than she is.  Even at ages 3 and 4 she was a big help to me.  Her height also makes me forget that she is younger than I think she is.  But no, she is only 5. Thank you goodness! I don't want her growing up too fast!

Cousins celebrating being 5 years old!

We celebrated my sweet girl with an annual family party with her cousin who is 3 weeks older.  The two of them have celebrated every birthday together.  This year we celebrated the family party much earlier than we usually do and this time we celebrated it at her cousin's house.  It is usually at our house in late October. This time, we celebrated in early October. Poor Buggy thought we were not including her in the birthday celebration because it really wasn't her birthday, yet.  She wondered aloud if her cousins would think to give her presents. I had to assure her that it was a celebration for and for her cousin, and yes, she would receive presents.  She had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect. The cousins spent most of their time playing outside and soaking up the sun.

Buggy and friends cheering for the yellow knight

The weekend before Buggy's birthday I took her and two of her friends to Medieval Times.  She has been wanting to go ever since her big brother went earlier this year.  I wish we could have invited more people and included her friends' families, but tickets are expensive so it was a little party.  The girls had so much fun and I have to admit I did, too.  Buggy's eyes went wide when they announced "Princess" with her name during the royal announcements.  She whispered, "I'm a princess!" Yes, Sweetheart, you are!  The girls cheered for the yellow knight and were most excited to see the jousting.  While the yellow knight did not win, he did throw his last carnation to Buggy just after he kissed. It's still sitting on our dining room table, still a brilliant pink.  We ended the evening with cupcakes and at our friend's house where we were able to include the rest of the families in the celebration.  It was wonderful and fun and Buggy was happy to be with her friends.

The Princess caught the flower from the yellow knight

We ended the month long celebration on her real birthday, October 22nd.  Buggy brought cookies and juice pouches to her preschool for snack.  Her teachers made a big deal about how much they think she's grown.  She felt special the whole day.  We took her out to dinner to our favorite family restaurant. We were joined by my parents and we were waited on by one of my former students. (I'm starting to feel my age when I meet my former elementary and middle school students outside of school and they are waiting on me at a store or restaurant!).

Family photo!

We ended the evening with opening presents on mommy and daddy's bed where they were waiting for her.  Her brothers helped and she "ooooohhhhhed and ahhhhhhhed" over each present.  We took a selfie family picture and I reveled in the miracle that is my daughter.  She amazes me and I feel so blessed to be able to call her mine.  She and her brothers are truly God's gift to me and their father.

I look at my blond haired daughter with her wide blue eyes and I am reminded to find the good in all things and people, to be kind, to be thoughtful, to be grateful, to love, and to be loved.  Buggy came at a time in my life when I was struggling with bullies at work, feeling let down, and feeling frustrated with so many things. She is God's reminder to me that even through great challenges, good things can happen.  She is the sunshine in my life. She has my heart.

Happy 5th birthday, my sweet Buggy!  I love you to the moon and back. Love, Mama

Just Born!

One is Fun!

Two is "tu-tu" perfect

Three is thrilling

"Four" ever Daddy's girl!

5 is fabulous when Daddy is a super hero!

Another Year Older

Happy Birthday to me :)

Earlier this month I turned 35.  I can't believe I am 35, but there it is. However, I think I am the healthiest I have ever been.  Seriously.  How is that possible? I'm in my 30's and now is the time that I have become my healthiest.  It's taken being pregnant, having kids, and staying home with my kids full-time for me to realize that I need to take my health and my weight seriously.  I mention my weight because when my weight goes up my knees hurt, I trudge along, my energy is low, and I am hungry all the time.  When my weight goes down I feel like a rock star because I can move more easily, my energy (for the most part) is up, and I eat much healthier and I don't crave the junk food.

This is a big year for me.  I am at my lowest weight since being pregnant for the first time. Yeah, it's only taken me 7(!) years to finally get rid of the baby weight from all 3 kids.  Not only have I lost the weight I have discovered a passion for running. And, no, I'm not being chased!

Blessed beyond measure

I have run in the past and I have run in a few 5K, a couple of 5 milers, and a 10K over the last 7 years.  But this past October after coming off an injury (I had a wicked case of Plantar Fasciitis) I ran in a running festival with family and I was hooked!  I ran my first ever 7 miles as a member of a 4 part marathon relay team. I started training late for it because I was scared and I was kind of hoping that we weren't going through with it. But once Hubby's cousin took the lead on our team I made a definite commitment and kicked my training into gear.  Everyone else could run longer distances and at a faster pace. But I was happy to be included and I didn't want to let them down.  Oh.My.Goodness! I ran faster than I thought possible, LOVED the vibe from the spectators, and truly enjoyed participating in this event with family. It was a great bonding experience and made me love them even more. One awesome benefit was spending extra time with Hubby's cousin and her husband. I was able to spend the night with them so I didn't have to drive an hour to the race site in the wee hours of the morning.  We looked at old family photographs, talked for hours, and I got to know them better. It was great. But that entire event, the bonding, the vibe, the spectators, the runner's high, and reading Born to Run...it all totally hooked me.

And now at 35,  I am running in my first half-marathon. WHAT?  That's right. You heard me, I'm running in my first half-marathon. This chubby little girl in her 30's has fallen in love with running and ran 13.1 miles last Sunday.  How did I fall into that?  Well, my seat mate on the bus to the first leg of the marathon relay in October told me about this race and told me the registration date. She planted the seed in my head and I talked about it for months. After overcoming a few more injuries (a calf strain and hip pain) that took a couple of months to heal completely, I decided to start training keeping my eye on the registration. Finally last month after a conversation with my husband he told me to go for it. I was already training as if I was registered why not just do it. So I did. And did you see that? You better take a look because that was pigs flying. Never in a million years did I ever believe that I would sign up for that kind of crazy. I will definitely write a later post about that experience, because it was awesome.

So at 35, where am I in my life?

• I am a stay at home mommy to my three children ages 7, 4, and 2.  I have been blessed to be home with my kids for the last 4+ years.  
• I am a wife to my amazing husband and I have been married for almost a dozen years.
•  I am still trying to find my career calling.  I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I was a teacher, my husband thinks I'll be a teacher again. I'm taking classes to keep up my certification, so maybe he's right.
•  I'm still writing, but not as often as I would like. Does that still make me a writer, even if it is done causally? 
•  I am a runner.  Overhearing your daughter tell her friend, "My mommy is a runner" kind of makes it official. 
•  I continue to make baby blankets and full length afghans for family and friends.
•  I volunteer at my son's school and in different ministries at church and I love being a part of each volunteer opportunity.
•  Somewhere in there I try to be a friend to my friends, though I know that I am falling down on the job because I am almost never home and my hours are crazy (I'm up by 4am 4:30am and I collapse by 8pm and try to eek out more time in my day by staying up just a little bit later).
• And finally,  I am imperfect and I am thankful for God's grace and forgiveness. 

Thirty-five isn't looking too shabby.  I will continue to work on myself to be the wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend that God wants me to be. I am blessed beyond measure by family and friends. I feel so good physically and I look forward to tackling yet another half-marathon.  God has been so good and while I am enjoying where I am right now, I look forward to what God has in store for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Buggy's 4th Birthday

The Birthday Kids!

Buggy has been celebrating her birthday for a week. We started with a family celebration a week ago Saturday. We did a joint family birthday party with Buggy's cousin B. They are barely 3 weeks apart in age and have been sharing celebrations since their baptisms.

This year we did a Super Hero themed birthday party. We haven't quite introduced our kids to Super Heroes yet so Buggy wasn't quite sure what to expect. They know of Superman and Batman and but have never seen a movie or cartoon and their only exposure has been from other kids or what we've seen down the aisles in Target.

My sister-in-law was a huge help this year coming up with a game, coming early to help set up, and staying later to clean up. I've been preoccupied with quite a few things recently and I was really grateful for her help.  We each had pinatas for the kids to hit, one for the big kids, one for the littler kids.  This year we decided not to do a craft and all of the cousins entertained themselves very well by running around the backyard, playing on the swing set, playing the game my sister-in-law created, and playing with random toys around the house.

Gifts were a huge hit and I was thrilled to see that B. loved the super hero cape we had gotten for him.  He immediately put it on and ran around the house as we all cheered and laughed. It was neat to see him so excited and watching his cape stream out behind him. It was perfect! The birthday kids looked like they had a good time and so did their 17 other cousins.  My poor niece E. broke her arm earlier in the day.  She was a trooper and I never heard her complain, though she was more subdued and looked like she was in pain. My nephew M. is healing from his brain injury, but looked a little sad not to be able to run around with the other kids. He still has a few weeks to go before he can resume normal activities and that has to be hard for a tween.  We were able to extend the celebration with a sleepover with one of Buggy's cousins. This was a real treat for her and for L.  They are just months apart in age and while we've been able to do a few play dates the girls see each other mostly during family gatherings. I hope to make play dates more often with L's family as the girls get along incredibly well.

Trying to get a picture with the Birthday girl.

Monday, October 22nd was Buggy's actual birthday.  Buggy and I went out for manis and pedis and treated our selves to a girls' day.  We took it easy and opened presents when Daddy came home from work. Buggy called Lolo and Lola and invited them over dinner and we all went to our favorite family restaurant for dinner and dessert.

This year I decided to do a separate friend party for Buggy. Usually our friends come to the big family gathering, but this year we decided to separate it and give Buggy her unicorn/fairy/rainbow party with her friends. While I don't relish having to plan two parties, bake two cakes, plan two menus, decorate the house twice, and make sure it's super duper clean between the parties, it was really nice to relax with our friends.  It was just my best friends and their kids and it's probably the smallest party we have ever hosted for our kids.  With just 9 kids and and 7 adults it was totally manageable. I also gave myself a break with the menu and we did pizza.  For Buggy's hero party I ordered an ice cream cake, but for the rainbow party I made a cake. It all evened out in the end.  I'm usually running around like a mad woman for the parties and this time I was able to sit back and actually have a conversation with my friends. It was like a big play date instead of a party and the kiddos had fun playing together.  Definitely low key and perfect.

Rainbow Cake!

Buggy went for her 4 year old health check up yesterday.  She is one happy and healthy kid. The doctor thinks she will be about 5'7"-5'8" when she's done growing. The doctor said she's tall and thin. (The doctor predicted Boogs will be about 5'9"-5'10" when he's done growing).  Buggy is growing so quickly and I can't believe she's four years old. I did ask the doctor about Buggy's heart and this year she was scheduled for another cardiology check up.

Buggy was born with 3 small holes in her heart. Her last appointment was when she was two years old.  At her two year old cardiology appointment the cardiologist said she doesn't need to be pre-medicated for dentist appointments and she can keep training for the Olympics ;) However, it is always in the back of my mind and it's something I pray about every night when I pray for Buggy. I pray that she continues to be strong and healthy and that her heart stays strong and healthy.

Inside the rainbow cake :)

The pediatric cardiology nurse called me today to see if we could come in for Buggy's 4 year old heart check up. While I was expecting to make the appointment it's still unnerving. I kept up happy chatter with Buggy as I explained each of the procedures during her appointment, but it's still unnerving. I don't want Buggy to think anything is wrong with her, and really there isn't, but to see my baby girl hooked up and to see the various pictures of her heart is just....um, indescribable.  Really.  It's terrifying in the sense that I'm always waiting to hear that her condition has worsened. So far, so good. It doesn't sound like the holes have closed and her pediatrician said that the longer the holes are open, the less likely they will close.  Because of Hurricane Sandy the pediatric cardiologist did not make it to today's appointment, but will call me tomorrow with the results. So I wait.

But my beautiful Buggy is still a healthy happy little girl. She is a devoted little sister and helpful big sister. She is my right hand and I love the way she tells me she is my best friend and will always be my daughter.  I love her heart. I love the way she loves others. I love when she tells me about her "gross spurks" and how things are "ahind" me when I am looking for them. I love how calls our cat "Ebby-ose" because she can't say Berlioz.  I love that she loves to go running with me and how she wants to be the Incredible Hulk for Halloween.  I love the way she sits next to me on our big chair and half and fingers the blankets while I crochet them for others as if she is bestowing a bit of her own love and prayers for whomever the blanket is made.  I love her and I love her heart. We are so blessed to have our sweet Buggy.

Just Born!

Buggy's 1st Birthday

Buggy's 2nd Birthday!

Buggy Turns 3!

My Big Girl is 4!

Boogie Turns 6!

Today I became the mother of a 6 year old. When did that happen?!?  I can't believe that 6 years ago today I gave birth to my first baby.  I still remember the rush of excitement on our drive to the hospital.  The 27 1/2 hours of labor and the 3 hours of pushing. Oh.Yes. THREE hours of pushing.  The result was our first born. Our son. Our Boogie Man.

Boogie has been thinking of this day for weeks!  He has been counting down. He awoke with a smile on his face and told me that he was going to sing, "Happy Birthday to Me" all the way to school. And he did. However, the closer the school became, the more softly he sang to himself, that by the time we reached the school he was barely whispering it, but I could still hear it. He told everyone he encountered that it was his birthday. It was truly a magnificent day.

We started with me telling him the good memories of his birth and how his daddy named him after his grandfathers.  He and his siblings had a special donut birthday breakfast.  I sang "Happy Birthday to You."  I brought cupcakes and juice boxes to his class for a midday snack.  I came back with his siblings and Lola just an hour later to look over his accomplishments for "Literacy Knight" where the kids showed up their reading and writing skills.  He waited very, very patiently to open gifts and I allowed him to play "Angry Birds" on my phone while he waited for Daddy to come home from work.

We opened presents and he received his second "Angry Birds" game. I saw how much loved one that he received as the favor for a friend's party and I thought he would like another. He can and will spend hours building new sets and trying them out.  He also got his first "Beyblade" set.  It came with an arena and two Beyblades to battle. The ultimate gift was his pedal bike! He was so excited. He's been cruising around on his glider for a year now and we thought he was ready for a pedal bike. He jumped and squealed when he saw it. I'm so happy that tomorrow is the first day of Spring Break and that he can spend all weekend and all next week riding his new bike. Pretty awesome.

We had a wonderful dinner at his favorite restaurant. Lola joined us for his birthday dinner. My dear son happy all day long. He felts like I wanted to him feel today and how I want him to feel always:  important and happy.

I love his thirst for knowledge and I am grateful for his eagerness to share God's word.  He makes me a better person and a better Mama every single day.  I love when he is kind to his sister. I love that he still loves to cuddle, be held & hugged, and that he allows Mama to give him kisses. I love that he LOVES to read and to listen to audiobooks. I am so blessed to be his Mama. Happy, happy birthday Boogie. I LOVE YOU! ALWAYS! xoxo

My 6 Year old!

5 Years Old

4 Years Old

3 Years Old

2 Years Old

1 Year old

Just Born!

Mr. Bananas Turns 1!

Trying out gingerbread.

With Hubby being gone, I thought I would be able to get so much done after the kids went to bed. But alas, I was so tired every single night that I was in bed well before 10pm.  When Hubby is home he puts the kids to bed. While he's doing that I clean up the house, extra chores, blog, etc. As you can tell, it's been quite a while since my last post.

Hubby came home from his business trip 10 days earlier than expected!!!! We are so excited and have spent the last few days reveling in his presence.  We have spent our time relaxing, visiting a local museum, and just loving that Daddy is back home.

While Hubby was away he missed Mr. Bananas' 1st birthday. We did our best to celebrate this wonderful milestone despite missing an important member of our family.

Playing with the "Little People" Garage set.

Boogie kept trying to tell me that he shouldn't have to go to school on Bananas' birthday because it should be a holiday. After going around and around on this issue, I found out that he was very concerned that we would be celebrating all day without him. Once I convinced him that we would wait until he came home from school, he was happy to go to school. Boog was also very disappointed when Mr. Bananas woke up and came down in a sleeper and sleep sack. Boogs looked at me very seriously and said, "Are you sure he's 1? He still looks like a baby!" Boogs was so looking forward to Mr. Bananas' first birthday and I didn't realize it was because he thought that Mr. B. would be running and talking like a "big boy."

It was a simple night with brinner (breakfast for dinner).  I made gingerbread, eggs, sausage, and bacon.  We had small cupcakes for dessert.  So tired was our little man that he didn't even open his small gift of Thomas' coaches Annie and Clarabel (from the Thomas the Tank Engine Series) until the next day.  We sang and celebrated the first year for our sweet baby.

Happy, happy 1st birthday, Mr. Bananas!

In the last month our little man is becoming clearer with his words. "Up" with raising his arms is very clear.  He also says, "Bye-Bye, Daddy" while waving goodbye. "Ma, ma, ma, ma" is another of my favorites.

He has a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and he squinches up his nose and eyes when I say, "no" as he turns on the DVD player.  I love kissing his neck right under his left cheek.  He loves to curl up in the crook of our necks when he's sleepy.  I love the way his baby butt wiggles when he crawls quickly to catch up with his siblings. He does not like being left behind and will often crawl or fuss to reach them.  He's climbing the stairs and just the other day I found him at the top of the stairs in a downward dog position with his feet on the top step and his arms a step or two below him. Not the ideal position for learning how to get down the stairs. We're now teaching him to slide down on his belly, feet first.  He loves buttons and loves the remote control, the dvd player, and anything that has a button he can push.  He loves sweets and would rather eat a cupcake or a piece of gingerbread.  His favorite pastime is trying to catch our cats' tails.

His sister loves being with him. Though, as time rolls on, I think that Mr. B. will wish he wasn't his sister's guinea pig for dress ups.  Some of the phrases I have heard recently when she's playing with him are:

Bug: Try this on. You look gorgeous!
Bug:  Let's play dress up!

While he laughs and claps and is a good sport, I think things will change as he becomes older ;)

I love everything about this little man.  Well almost everything. I could do without the high piercing shriek he has developed when he wants attention.  But overall I love this little man! I am in awe!

Happy 1st Birthday Mr. Bananas. You make our world a better place. We love you!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

It's my Hubby's birthday today. Unfortunately, he is traveling again and we won't get to celebrate with him today. But we made the most of this weekend and celebrated all the way through.  Our celebration started on Friday night when my parents graciously offered to watch the kids so that we could have a date night.

Hubby and I did something we haven't done in forever and we went bowling!  Wow, bowling has changed a lot since I was a good. Everything is computerized. The place we went to had waiters with earpieces taking orders and serving our food. No more greasy diner at the back of the alley.  They served more than just beer. Now you can fancy martinis while you bowled.  No more going up and down the alley looking for the ball that was "just right."  Now it's small, medium, and large and everything is color coded and is handed to you when you order your shoes.  I don't know if all bowling alleys are like this now, but the one we went to was definitely fancy.  The groups next to us were enjoying a buffet dinner complete with fruit and cheese platter.  Huh, no kidding.  Oh, and if you use bumpers, you could program the alley to put them up and take them down as needed for each player.  Fancy!

Hubby and I decided to have dinner while we bowled. We indulged and bowled. We're both terrible at bowling, but enjoyed one another's company knowing that the kids were in good hands and we didn't have to worry about them.

We were greeted on Saturday morning with some snow covered in a layer of ice. We had a leisurely morning and decided to have Daddy's birthday breakfast a few days early.  We let Daddy sleep in while I made breakfast and the kids bounced around the house waiting for him to wake up.  We spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends and enjoying a friend's 3 year old birthday party.  

On Sunday, I made Hubby a peanut butter cake. Not sure what I did wrong, but it came out dryer than expected and I should have waited a little longer for the homemade frosting to cool before pouring it over the cake. I'll have to work on this. We had an early dinner, opened presents, and ate cake all before Hubby headed out for another business trip.  

The kids and I are so grateful for Hubby/Daddy. He is the best thing that has happened to us and we miss him when he travels and celebrate when he is home. Happy Birthday, Baby. We love you!

Lola's Birthday

This year Lola's birthday landed on Thanksgiving.  My kids love birthdays and they were really looking forward to celebrating my mom's birthday.  The night before we weren't sure if we would see my mom for her birthday. My mom hadn't decided whether or not she would join us for her birthday breakfast. While my husband and I were discussing the schedule for Thanksgiving day, my daughter very excitedly said, "And we'll celebrate Lola's birthday!" I looked at her and said, "Baby, I don't know if we'll see Lola tomorrow. We'll see."  She very dejectedly put her head on the kitchen table and sighed. She wasn't happy that she might not see her Lola on her birthday.

My mom decided to come over and we did our traditional birthday breakfast in the midst of getting ready to host Thanksgiving dinner. The kids were so excited and I think my mom enjoyed herself. She is a tough lady to shop for because she really does have everything. I crocheted her a scarf and the kids made birthday cards. They were so excited to see her.

Mom's not real big on birthdays for herself or for anyone. She doesn't want anyone to fuss over her, but I think that having grandkids trumps that wish.  They want nothing more than to celebrate her and pour love all over her. I'm glad she let them do that. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Ooh, La, La, Beauty Day

On Saturday, my middle child, turned 3 years old.  She is my only girl and I have enjoyed doing some girly things with her.  On the eve of her birthday, I was reminiscing about her birth. The labor was easier than the boys, and she was my easiest delivery.  Three pushes in 15 minutes and she was out.  So far, in a lot of ways, she's still my easiest child. If she falls, she gets right up. She'll often say she is "tough." But she'll be tough while running around the house in a tutu, carrying a purse, and wearing a string of (fake) pearls.  Gotta love it.

I decided to have a girl pampering day with my sweet Bug.  As one of her presents I bought her a Fancy Nancy book and we read about how Fancy Nancy pampered her mother with an Ooh, la, la, beauty day.  But before our pampering began, we went to church for the monthly church cleaning and cleaned God's house. The other volunteers were awfully sweet with wishing her a happy birthday, setting up a candle in a ring of donuts, and praying over her. She loved the extra attention, but was a little shy.

After church cleaning, we went to get her a haircut. She often complains when her hair falls in her eyes that she needs a haircut. I took her and had 3 inches cut from her long tresses, and yet, it's still long. My beautiful Rapunzelian beauty still has long hair, but still short enough that it won't fall her into her food as easily.  Daddy and Boogie met us at the barber and everyone else got a haircut except for Mr. Bananas and myself. We stood on the sidelines checking everyone else out.

After haircuts, we took the kids to a quick lunch across the street and spent a little time together. Especially important since we were going in different most of the day and boys wouldn't get to see us as we were continuing with our "Ooh, la, la, beauty day." After lunch,  Bug and I took off to get our nails done. She chose a dark purple and asked for white polka dots.  Everyone in the nail salon commented on the little girl getting her nails done.  Every now and again, Bug would say, "oooh, la, la."  It brought a smile to my face.  We even turned on her chair so that she could get a massage while waiting for her nails to dry. So much fun. After getting our nails done (mine are a matching purple with white polka dots), we headed home. My little girl had so much fun that she fell asleep in her car seat on the way home.

The evening ended with dinner at the kids' favorite restaurant, pinkalicious cupcakes & ice cream at home, and the opening of gifts.  You can tell my Bug is a girly girl when she gave a high pitched squeal of delight when she opened one of her gifts and found Princess Tina glove, purse, and a pearl necklace for her play dress up clothes.  We rounded out the play clothes with a few books and a new piggy banks.  My mom gave her a very cute purple polka dot dress, complete with fancy purple boots. She actually flung the clothe out of the bag to get to the purple boots with another squeal of delight. What can I say? She's LOVES shoes, just like her mama.

It was a delightful day and I had so much fun spending time with my best girl.  Ooh, la, la!

Buggy's Birth Day

Buggy's 1st Birthday!

2nd birthday

Buggy's 3rd Pinkalicious birthday