Baylee's Last Day of Preschool

Today was Baylee's last day of preschool for this year.  :(  She loves going to Miss Rosie's, & I'm going to miss my mornings semi-off.  She's come a long way since the beginning of the school year.  Next year, B will go three days a week with maybe one extended day.  The kids showed off their art work & gave us a mini performance.  Baylee participated more this time around than at Christmas.  Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch.  Livy was very fired up about the big kid swing in the backyard.

May Update

Where has time gone?  Sorry I have been MIA in updating the blog, but we've had a busy late spring.  In late April, my SUV's service engine light popped up.  I thought maybe it was because I was overdue for a oil change, but it turned out the O2 sensor was going.  On top of that, my struts & ball joints were shot.  It was going to cost us $3K+ to fix everything that was wrong, so we decided to bite the bullet & get a "newer" car.  After almost 2 weeks of car hunting, we got this:

It's about the same size as Mike's car, but it only has 32,000 miles on it & has never seen a winter!  It's been in Texas up until now.  Hopefully, I can drive it for a few years & then we can get an SUV with a third row for when we will do some serious carpooling.

The girls are doing well.  Well, I should say individually, they are doing well.  Together, they are like oil & water these days.  Livy has decided she's tired of being the beta child.  She's resorted to hair pulling (Baylee, not me) to get what she wants.  Half the time, I'm playing referee to these two!  Hopefully they get their aggression out when they are little & will be best buds when they are older.  I can dream right?

The fishing opener was 2 weekends ago, so Mike has been trying out his inflatable pontoon & scoping out some area lakes.  He's excited to be outdoors again now that the weather is at least warmer.  We've had some crazy storms & tornado watches the past 2 weekends.  We're just keeping our fingers crossed the weather is on the up & up.

Now that I'm done car hunting, I've been keeping busy with the girls doing lots of playdates with their friends.  I've had some bow orders to fill, so in my spare time I'm trying to catch up.  :)  I have Hayden's baptism headband to finish, some sports bows to make, & a tutu & matching headbands to make.  The girls have some summer birthday parties to attend, so I will be making some dresses & headbands as presents.

Here are some recent pictures of the girls:

 

 

 

 

Spring, where did you go?

The weather in MN has taken a turn again.  We got snow this past weekend & supposed to get another light dusting this week.  Grrr...  All I want to do is pack away our winter clothes for good!

This past week has been busy for us.  I got rid of some baby stuff at the Just Between Friends (JBF) Sale in Maple Grove this past week.  It's a huge consignment sale where you can buy & sell children stuff.  Since I'm not sure when Stephy or Katie are having kids, I decided to just unload some big toys & gear (exersaucer, cradle swing, ride on toys, walker, baby gate, etc.).  I made almost $150, & I'll have more stuff to sell for fall & winter.  I volunteered 8 hours so I was able to go to the presales, which was great.  I got one of my friends a Burley double bike trailer for $150 & another a Peg Perego Aria double stroller for $115.  It was kind of fun to bargain hunt & spend other people's money.  :P  I picked up a couple of new swimsuits for the girls & a paint with water activity book that Baylee is obsessed with.

Livy was so fussy this weekend & randomly spiked a fever on & off Saturday & Sunday.  I took her to open clinic this morning & it turns out she has an ear infection!  Poor girl.  I had no clue (no ear pulling), but it explains the fever.  She is miserable.  She's now on antibiotics, so hopefully they kick in quickly.

One of my friends thinks that Baylee is going to be the next Vera Wang or Vivianne Westwood.  Check out her latest fashion trends.

Hot pink birdie shirt, pink leopard print skirt with red tights.

5 different shades of pink between her hoodie, pettiskirt, & legwarmers!

Hot pink New Zealand tee shirt with fuschia tiered skirt, hot pink leggings, & green socks pulled all the way up.

Not sure where B is picking up her fashion sense from, but you can see, she has an affinity for tiered skirts.  Particularly in shades of pink.  Can you tell what her favorite color is?  :P

Back to Reality

I had a wonderful time at Grand View Lodge this past weekend.  Our room was phenomenal.  You can check it out here.  Mike let me off the hook early Saturday, so I went with my friend Kriss to get some pastries at a new French bakery.  We got into Nisswa around 1:30, grabbed some lunch at a cute diner in "downtown" Nisswa, & checked into our room, then headed in for our massages.  I knew our room was going to be nice, but I was blown away by the size.  We had a kitchen upstairs & a game area with a pool area downstairs.  It was nice to not have one of the girls need my attention & to be able to think!  We all slept in & enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.  Hopefully we can getaway for 2 nights in the fall!

Mike did well with the girls, or at least from his report, it seems like the girls were good for him.  They are starting to play more with one another, which is nice.  Mike took them out to the park both mornings, did some walks, & just marched them around.  Livy was worn out, so she took some nice long naps.  They had a grill out with Elizabeth & her dad, Erik, since Emily was with me in Nisswa.  I'm sure it helped pass the afternoon/evening.

Livy did a funny thing this morning.  We were all in Baylee's bedroom.  I was changing Baylee's diaper on the floor & getting her into an outfit.  Livy was off to the side watching us.  I set aside Baylee's dirty diaper & Livy came over, scooped it up, & ran out the door with it.  I was in the middle of helping B get into a pair of tights, so I listened intently.  Livy took the diaper into the bathroom (I could hear her little feet on the tile), climbed up on the stool next to the toilet, & threw the diaper away!  To make sure that's what she did, I changed Livy's diaper, gave her the wrapped up diaper, & lo & behold, she threw it away in the garbage can.  Baylee & I gave her a big round of applause & she had the biggest smile on her face.    I think I have another little helper on my hands!

Week of April 4th, 2011

SPRING HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!  It's been so nice these past few days that almost all the snow has melted away.  We even took the girls to the park this past weekend.  Livy was super fired up.  She LOVES the swing & giggles like crazy.  She hasn't been on a swing since last fall.

Livy woke up Monday morning sounding like she had croup.  She also had a super runny nose so we used our pediatrician's open clinic hours to have her checked out.  Her lungs were clear, so the ped. seems to think it's just a cold.  However, it seems like there's only been 1 week since winter that her nose hasn't been runny.  The ped. made a note in her chart that Livy may have allergies since I have them really badly.  Allergies would seem to make more sense since Baylee hasn't had a single cold all winter.  Another mom's boy has similar symptoms as Livy, so we're keeping tabs on one another.  Her boy is 3, so he's going in for allergy testing.

Baylee headed back to Miss Rosie's this week.  It was a rough transition for the kids, but they were excited to play outside.  Baylee & her friend, Makayla, from preschool are signed up to take a summer dance class together.  I hope they have fun!  Makayla has taken dance classes all school year & loved it, so I hope Baylee does okay with it.

Baylee's outfit choice post-nap.

Livy has been talking a LOT lately!  Her newest words are read, bubble, up, here, there, & night night.  Of course, you have to listen really carefully, but she's definitely saying words.  The poor girl is still teething I think.  She has a big bulge on the right side of her mouth that's been there for a few weeks now.  She's also started sticking her fingers in the back of her mouth & chomping again, so I think she might be getting her 2-year molars?  Seems a bit early, but it feels like she just keeps getting teeth in slowly.  Livy's also now running!  She moves so quickly & she loves to throw the ball at us.  She's also starting to tantrum when she doesn't get her way.  I think she'll get over that quickly when she learns words to tell us what she wants.

Mike's been working really long hours with the budget & forecast due at ev3.  He's been itching to fish & I think he'll finally be able to do so soon.  The lakes are finally starting to melt, so at least he'll be able to fish from shore.

This upcoming weekend is my spa getaway!  I'm really excited.  I'm heading back to Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, but this time, I convinced 3 other friends to come up with me.  It's only for one night, but we'll leave early Saturday & come home late Sunday.  We're all scheduled for massages.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in & enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning.  One of my friends moved to Nisswa last spring, so we'll meet up with her & just hang out.

Grandma Sue Visits & Spring Break

We were lucky & had back-to-back visits from the grandparents.  Grandma Sue came down for a quick visit the last week of March.  Baylee was all prepped for her visit & super excited to see her.  Grandma thoroughly entertained her, & B has a new favorite book, "Splat the Cat."  The girls are also excited about their new basketball hoop as is daddy.  Livy loves to retrieve the ball & Baylee can shoot the ball & make a basket.

The Monday after Sue returned back to Iowa, we made our first trip to the Minnesota Zoo with our friends.  It's about a 35 minute drive from our house, but the girls were good in the car & enjoyed looking at all the animals.  It was a little tricky keeping them in the double stroller; they both wanted to run around.  I don't think I would ever attempt a solo trip to the zoo.  Most of our friends have zoo memberships, so we'll have to think about getting one.

While Baylee was on spring break, we had a "Llama Llama Red Pajama" Playdate at our house.  We invited our friends over & I read them the girls' favorite book.  After the reading, the kids made llama brown paper bag puppets.  It was fun for everyone.

Here are some of the latest pics of the girls at Miss Margaret's daycare.  They seem to be having fun, & some days they luck out & have their friends there too.

Livy "reading" a book.

Happy girl with her lovie

St. Patrick's Day at Miss Margaret's.  Baylee showing off her shamrock tree & standing next to her boyfriend, Jackson

Livy giving her friend P a kiss.

Great big smile from Baylee

Livy playing in the playhouse

Fun with Po-po & Ye-ye

The week of my birthday, Mike had to travel to Boston.  I fully took advantage of all the birthday freebies out there & avoided cooking all week.  :)  Po-po & Ye-ye came up so Mike & I could go out to celebrate one night before Mike went back to Iowa.  I went out with some of my girlfriends & we went karaoking.

Amazing Stephanie & Catherine made it out.  They have newborns!

Stop--in the name of love!

Since we have a family membership to the Children's Museum, we took Po-po & Ye-ye there on Friday.  The girls had a BLAST in the water area.  Livy couldn't get enough of splashing while Baylee had fun with bubbles & boats.  Baylee also decorated the castle there & helped build a Lego castle.

The girls got spoiled with lots of cute outfits & presents.  They were very sad to see Po-po & Ye-ye go.  Baylee asked the morning after "Where's Po-po & Ye-ye?"  She was loving all the attention.

Livy loved eating all the yummy food Po-po made.  Here's some pics of her devouring a drumstick.

March Update

I can't believe it's March already!  You would never know by looking out the window here.  We're still covered in snow & anxiously waiting for spring so we can go outside.  We had a rough last week of February.  Livy had what the pediatrician thinks was croup & a sinus infection.  She woke up last Tuesday making a wheezing sound like she was gasping for air.  No other symptoms though--no fever or tell-tale seal bark cough.  They gave her an epinephrine nebulizer treatment & steroids for the croup & amoxycillin for the sinus infection.  I think Livy just gave me her cold though.  Livy LOVES to give open mouth kisses to her mommy!

We've been doing our usual routine of getting out of the house in the mornings for playdates with our friends &/or preschool.  Livy is doing okay at Miss Margaret's.  She's starting to get into another phase of separation anxiety, so she clings to me a lot more.  Baylee is having super days at Miss Rosie's & has started to branch out & play with other kids there.

Livy is starting to say some more words.  Her latest are: mama, da, ball, nana (for banana), & I think she has said jump too.  She makes other "b" sounds, but I can't figure out what they're in reference too.  It might be book & Baylee.  She does LOVE to read with Mommy.  Her two favorite books are "Chicka Chicka ABC" & "Llama Llama Red Pajama."  She brings those two books over to me all the time & sits in my lap.  Oftentimes, she'll just flip through books on her own.  So different from Baylee!  Baylee still runs around like a lunatic when we're "reading" & chimes out random phrases.  On the other hand, I know Baylee enjoys reading.  Most mornings & after nap/quiet time I find her in bed "reading" a book.

Mike has been working lots of long hours.  He's off to Boston/New Haven next week for another business trip.  As you can imagine, Mike's counting down the days until it's open water so he can fish!

I joined a book club a month ago & I'm really enjoying it.  It forces me (or at least gives me some motivation) to read a book a month.  Our February book was "The Reliable Wife" & March is "Shanghai Girls."  Both books were worth reading, but I was disappointed in the endings in both.  For April, we're reading "Water For Elephants," which I have heard great things.

Here are some pics of the girls.

This is a pic of Baylee & E at the Nature Center.  E is one month older than Baylee.  We're starting to swap babysitting with E's parents so we can both get out on occasion without having to pay for a babysitter.

E's mom is a fabulous photographer & she captured this picture of B which I love.  Baylee has a great expression on her face.

I've been doing more sewing & this is a ruffled knot dress I made for Livy.  I got a few patterns from this woman who lays out directions with pictures that even a novice sewer like myself can create this!  Baylee saw it & now wants one too.  And yes, Livy has a huge mouthful of food.  :P

One of a Kind Treasures

Mike's Monday morning flight to Orange County got cancelled yesterday due to the weather, so he is taking off this afternoon for California.  He's coming back on Thursday, so it will be a short trip for him.  Hopefully he doesn't have too much travel in the future.  We got pounded with snow & wind yesterday.  I think Mike used the snowblower 3x yesterday to clear off all the snow!

Baylee is healthy again.  I'm not sure what she caught, but she was the only one sick.  She was fine yesterday & eating ravenously, so I'm sure she's back to normal.

Unfortunately, Miss Rosie's daughter was sick this morning.  Miss Rosie said we could attend (her daughters just stay in their bedrooms if they are sick), but since everyone else was staying at home, we opted to do the same.  Instead, I ended up dropping both girls off at Miss Margaret's drop-in daycare, One of a Kind Treasures.  It was only supposed to be Livy, but it was probably a blessing in disguise that I was able to drop Baylee off too so Livy had someone there.  I completely expected to get called back, but to my surprise, both girls did really well there!  Baylee came in, took her shoes off, & started to play despite never having been to Miss Margaret's before.  Livy didn't fuss at all when I left & was playing when I came back.  Miss Margaret said Livy cried for maybe 5 minutes, but was fine after that.  Livy did keep running up to Baylee to give B hugs.  Hopefully, Livy will do well by herself.  I was glad that Baylee was able to stay too today & I was able to get some errands done by MYSELF!

More Snow?!

MN is going to get hit with 6-10" of snow today, just when we thought we were turning the corner to spring!  The week was nice, warm, & sunny, so a lot of our 60+ inches of accumulation has melted.  Hopefully this doesn't make our ice dams worse.  We've been very lucky in that we haven't had any flooding, but this has been a bad winter.  We were looking forward to hopefully playing in the parks or at least outdoors soon!

We've been a sickly bunch this week.  Livy's been the only healthy one!  I had a weird virus earlier in the week--low-grade fever, aches, & nausea.  Mike caught it this weekend.  Baylee started vomiting Friday night.  She was fine all day Saturday, but woke up this morning throwing up again.  Sigh...  I was hoping to get through this winter without the stomach bug.

We got Livy a "big girl" car seat this week, which means she is now forward facing.  The City of Plymouth installed the seat for me & double-checked Baylee's seat for me too.  It was nice not having to do it myself & to have the piece of mind knowing it's in right.  Having her face forward has not been fun though.  She's been even WORSE in the car!  I don't know if it's because she can see me & wants me to hold her, but I've had to crank the car stereo to the maximum volume & she still screams above that.  It's very frustrating.  Nothing we try works--snacks, the dvd player, toys.  She just does not like being in the car.

This week, I learned that Baylee knows her ABC's.  She's a little bit addicted to a PBS show called "Super Why."  It's very educational, so I think she learned her ABC's from there.  I also have an app on my iPod that's related to the show & there's a Letter Hunt game that she loves.  It asks her to spell words & she has yet to miss a letter.  I thought maybe she knew the more common letters since she sees them the most, but she spelled queen & zebra correctly, so I'm pretty sure she knows all her letters.

Here comes the sun...

Today, we broke 40 degrees!  It's giving us some hope for spring, & the snow is beginning to melt a little.  At the rate it's going, it may be all gone by May.  Mike took Baylee out sledding this morning & the two of them had a blast.  Baylee was going a bit stir crazy being cooped up inside.  She was in a much better mood after her outing.

Livy is picking up some new tricks.  She loves to run around & play fetch with the ball.  She's already drinking out of a cup.  Baylee learned this at ECFE, so she was much older.  I think it's because Livy has an incentive to learn everything.  At this age, Baylee was a bit of a hoarder with her toys whereas Livy will grab something & hand it over.  Her personality seems to really different than Baylee's, as you would expect.  There's a little bit of feistiness & impatience, but she is also very affectionate.  She's always running up & giving hugs & kisses.  At least once a day she'll snuggle with me.

We are hosting a Valentine's Day Playdate with our friends tomorrow.  The kids will be exchanging valentines & making a container to hold all their valentines.  Hopefully the girls will have fun!  I will post pictures tomorrow.  Thankfully, I got all the cleaning done today, but I still have to make an Amish Breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls, & heart-shaped rice krispie treats.  Baylee's preschool Valentine's Day party is Tuesday, so I'm sure she'll have lots of Valentines then too.

Counting down until spring

I can't believe it's already February!  We have been doing our usual routine of playdates & preschool.  Mike has been traveling a lot this month.  He'll have been away more than he'll have been home for February.  Livy has two new girl friends.  C's mom (C goes to preschool with Baylee & C's dad works with Mike) had a little girl, Ellie on February 1st & J's mom had Hayden on February 9th.  We're excited to meet them both.

Baylee is doing very well.  She's learning so much these days including recognizing different letters & trying to write her name.  Oddly enough, she's going through a "Mommy help me" phase.  Before it was Baylee do & now it's mommy do.  She does get herself ready in the mornings by putting on her boots & coat herself.  I have to zip it, but at least she can do that, which helps a lot.  We're working on Valentine's to give to Baylee's classmates.

Livy is still cutting teeth.  It doesn't seem like it will ever end!  She is definitely starting to show some personality these days.  She loves to run around like a little maniac & listens to us very well.  If I ask her for a kiss, she automatically leans in with her mouth wide open.  As far as I can tell, she's going to be pretty laidback.  Right now, she likes to bring over toys & hand them to me.  She doesn't hoard toys like most kids her age.  However, if it is something she wants, she will let you know.  Livy is still a champion eater.  Foods she has tried & enjoys include: chicken & black bean enchiladas; chicken coconut curry; chili; Asian noodles; lasagna; & scrambled eggs.  She loves all forms of protein--chicken, beef, beans.  I haven't tried pork, but I'm sure she will like it.  I was afraid to give her spicy food, but she LOVES it!  She doesn't like green beans, but will eat broccoli, carrots, & other pureed baby food veggies.  Oddly enough, she's not a huge carb fan.  She doesn't devour bread & waffles like Baylee.  However, Livy does like rice & noodles, which Baylee won't eat.  Also, Livy throws chicken nuggets & macaroni & cheese.  It's the funniest thing!  I won't complain though.  It's nice to know that I can just give her whatever we're having.

Mike has been traveling a lot for work.  First to Zurich & this past week to Boston.  He's here for a week & then he's off to Orange County, CA.  Hopefully March will be a quiet month for him.  The weekdays aren't that bad when he's not here, but the weekends are difficult.  Plus, the girls get tired of me.

Poor Livy :(

Livy's been going through a rough phase.  She's been teething for over a month now.  She has gotten half her molars, but I just noticed that her eye teeth (incisors, the super sharp ones) have cut through the gum.  Poor baby girl.  Hopefully this means she'll have a nice long break before her 2-year molars pop through!  Baylee was never fussy about her teeth, but Livy seems to be a much more sensitive little soul.

Another big difference between B & Livy at this age is that Livy LOVES to eat whatever we're having.  I think her favorite cuisine so far is Mexican.  She loves it when I make chicken & black bean enchiladas & last night she surprised me by eating my beef & three bean chili!  I accidentally made it more spicy than usual, but she devoured mouthful after mouthful.  Today, she had some Japanese udon noodles with me.  What's funny is that she doesn't seem to like bread.  It's very exciting to have her try everything.  Nice change of pace compared to super picky B!

Livy got her second hair cut this morning.  She was looking a bit shaggy, so we just cleaned her up.  She now has a nice even bob.  She wasn't too happy about getting her hair cut.  She thrashed & cried through the entire ordeal.  I had to keep feeding her Annie's pretzel bunnies to keep her from moving her head too much!

Baylee had a good day at preschool today.  It's been super cold in MN the past week, but today it was in the teens, so the kids were able to play outside for a little while.  They were all excited about that!  This month they are learning about community helpers.  Last week, they talked about firefighters & this week, it's postmen.  Baylee is getting MUCH better about using "please" & "thank you," & has even thrown in "you're welcome" on occasion.  It's really cute.

Mike has been working long hours.  The integration with the parent company is very time consuming.  He's also preparing for his business trip to Switzerland next week.  Mike will leave Saturday & come back the following week.  He'll be home for a few days & then have to go to the Boston area for another business trip.  Hopefully I don't go crazy that week!  The week isn't bad, but the weekends are a bit painful.

I've been keeping busy crafting.  I just found some tutorials on how to make crib sheets, so I may try my hand at that.  Baylee LOVES to draw/color, so I found another tutorial for a crayon/marker roll.  It will be nice to have a container that keeps her drawing utensils in one spot & something I can throw into my purse.

The girls are growing up too fast

It's been a quick & busy January for us.  We've had lots of children's birthday parties & baby showers to attend.  I'm glad January has flown by because it means we're that much closer to spring.  It has been bitterly cold here & the snow keeps piling up.

Baylee is back in the swing of preschool.  Miss Rosie is always on her "friend" list when we sing the "Choo choo" song, but for some reason, Baylee always protests going in to Miss Rosie's house.  As soon as we go downstairs, she stops fussing & demands a hug & a kiss & sends me on my way.  Every day I discover something new that Baylee knows.  She recognizes all the letters in her name!  She can't sing the alphabet song, or doesn't want to, but she can tell me all the letters.  Also, I think she can count to 20.  For sure, up to 14 & she knows 17.  :P  At night when we read, she will recite her books to me.  Tonight, she did "Goodnight Moon."  She's been doing "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" & "Where's My Cat" for a while.  I'm sure she'll be doing "Llama Llama Red Pajama" soon.  It's her current fave!  It's so amazing to see them grow up & absorb everything.

Livy has been absolutely miserable the past few weeks.  She has been teething & all she wants to do is nurse.  She's been drooling a ton, which also means she has a runny nose.  Her molars on the left side of her mouth finally popped through, but her right ones are still dormant.  It looks like she might be getting her eye teeth (the incisors) too.  She's also becoming incredibly independent.  She insists on feeding herself & wants to walk around.  In fact, this past weekend, Baylee had a meltdown at the kid play area in the mall & wanted to be carried out, so Livy took my finger & marched along right next to me.  I fear her being more strongwilled than Baylee, which is frightening.

Mike has been busy with work.  He went back to Iowa this past weekend & got caught up in an freezing rain so he didn't get home until Tuesday.  With his long hours at work, the girls have barely seen him, & boy do they miss him!  They get so tired of being with just mom.  I'm boring!  :P

I've been busy crafting, mostly making baby shower presents.  I just finished up some burp cloths, bows, & a flag banner with the baby's name on it.  Super cute!  I'm definitely going to make one for Baylee & Livy's rooms.  My next sewing project is going to be making Livy her first blanket.  I got some super soft minky material from JoAnn's.  A blanket made from this material typically costs $60+!  I bought the fabric on sale for $6!  Baylee LOVES her soft pastel animal blanket & still sleeps with it, so I figured I should make Livy something super soft.  Her giraffe lovey is made from the same material, so I know she'll love the blanket.  Last note, I also got my first sales on Etsy with my bows.  It was a custom order to make some flowers for flower girls.  Right after that sale, one of my flower bows got picked to be featured in a St. Patrick's Day Treasury, "Luck O' the Irish."

Long December

It's been a while since I've posted anything.  Sorry about that!  We've had a crazy December with the girls' birthdays, Christmas, & Mike's birthday.  Baylee had a two week break from preschool & we're getting her readjusted to going back to school.

We spent Christmas Day with the Satorius family.  The girls had a lot of fun playing with their cousin N.  Baylee & N are now at the point where they can play together instead of just parallel play.  Livy was entertained watching everyone.  We'll have to get together with them again when they come back in January.

Mike had a quiet birthday.  We had saved some crappie & I made him pan friend crappie with a spicy Asian sauce.  He got a new inflatable pontoon so he can go fishing.  We've figured out that having an actual boat isn't ideal for us right now.  Mike can't maneuver the boat on his own & it's hard finding people to go fishing with.

Our January is shaping up to be pretty busy.  We have back-to-back kids' birthday parties this weekend & then I have a baby shower the following weekend.  Poor Livy has a cold & might be teething (I think it's her 1-year molars), so she had to miss out on the fun.  Mike is planning a weekend trip back to Iowa soon, & he may have to travel to the Boston area in the coming weeks.

I'm working on new bow designs.  My latest creation, a vintage flower headband complete with marabou & French netting, is generating a lot of buzz, which is good!  I'm hoping when people look at that particular bow they will check out my other stuff.

Okay...I'll resolve to blog more frequently this year!

Snow, snow, & more snow

We are getting pounded with snow this weekend.  The weather has been calling for 10-15 inches today with 20-25 mph winds.  It's crazy!  Mike snowplowed this morning, but the driveway is covered again.  I was supposed to go to a craft fair, but thankfully, it shut down because of the crazy weather.  Glad we did the girls' birthday last weekend.

The Girls' Birthday Party

The girls celebrated their birthday this past weekend with their friends & Mike's aunt L & uncle J.  Mike's parents were supposed to come up Saturday, but their plans got derailed by the crazy snow storm we got the day before.  To make matters worse, they got freezing rain the morning of the party.  Despite the bad luck with weather, the girls did get to see their grandparents on Sunday.

All of the girls' friends were able to come to their party, so that was nice for them.  We rented a Tumble Fun Bus to come right up to the house to entertain the kids.  It's this really cool school bus that has been completely gutted, padded, & equipped with some gymnastic equipment.  There's a zipline, ball pit, rings, bars, climbing mountain, & so forth.  The kids LOVED it!  It's such a great idea, especially for winter birthdays.

Tumble Fun Bus on our driveway!

After the Tumble Bus Fun, we had pizza for dinner, did Baylee's princess castle pinata, did the girls' birthday cakes, & open presents.  We got Grandma & Grandpa on Skype so they could watch the girls' blow out their candles.  The girls' made out with some really great presents!  Some of our friends chipped in & got us a family membership to the Children's Museum.  We'll look forward to using it, especially since it looks like a really long cold winter!

The two cakes--Baylee's princess cake & Livy's free 1 year cake from Lunds!

Daddy helping B blow out her candles.  It took them a little while...

Livy sampling her first piece of cake.

Baylee with her best girl friend from preschool, M.  M is just 8 days younger than B!

Baylee's princess wand

We did Christmas with Mike's family while they were up here.  Given that we've already had 20" of snow dumped on us & the girls' behavior in the car, it's highly unlikely we'd make it anywhere for the holidays.  I hope the girls don't think the entire month of December is a present fest!