Grace is an ARTIST!!!!!!

Grace wants to be an ARTIST

when she grows up!

(and a BUNCH of other things)

So - her Momma got her some canvas

and some brushes and some paint!

And what do you know.

I think Grace is an artist NOW! 

This is her very first painting!

I loved it so much, she gave it to me.

She even painted a similar horse

for her Uncle Andrew,

who is also an artist!

Here is a close up of the painting:

  

I have it sitting on my mantle waiting for

a frame. I just don't know what

kind of frame something this special

should be placed it.

Hopefully, I'll know it when I see it.

Any suggestions? 

A Pretty Little Bride

After our Dolly & Me Tea Party

Grace thought it would be cute to dress

Abby up like a bride.

Or - maybe she's a princess?

Who knows?

But - she's got the patience of a saint.

 

 

Making Cotton Candy

 On our way home from Brilyn's

Chuck E. Cheese Party

Grace remembered that we forgot

to get Cotton Candy.

So - I suggested we go home and

make some.

We haven't made Cotton Candy

in awhile so talking about it made

good conversation for the ride home.

Grace thought it was made out of cotton.

I thought it was made out of sugar.

Grace said it tasted like sugar but

it LOOKED like cotton.

So, we discussed how we could make

SUGAR look like COTTON!

And we made Cotton Candy 

out of plain white SUGAR!

That's some pretty

Sweet Science!

Brilyn's Chuck E Cheese Party

 Brilyn had a birthday party at

Chuck E Cheese the Sunday

before her birthday!

 She loves Frozen, so it

was Frozen themed.

She has seen the Frozen movie

several times and would love

to go again. 

 See how happy she is to get 

another Frozen doll!

 The kids all danced with Chuck E Cheese.

And they sat while he threw tickets!

 They played lots of games.

This is Brilyn's Papa holding her up.

Her Papa is Brandy's Daddy and

I'm grateful that Brilyn has the love

of many grandparents.

 This is Gabriella from next door.

She's a sweetheart

and we love her to pieces.

She's got a gentle and quiet spirit

and is sooooo loving!

 And this is Grace posing for the camera

that is part of this ride.

She sits and smiles the entire time she 

rides it - so she looks nice when

it finally takes a picture.

 Brilyn doing the head and shoulders, knees

and toes dance.

Grace and Brilyn after the party.

We stayed and played awhile because

the girls were having fun

TOGETHER

and that is something they just don't 

get to do often enough.

I love seeing them enjoy each other.

Brilyn had a very happy birthday!

Making Cookies With A Special Little Helper!

 Olivia got me this cookie making stuff

for Christmas! And - she even offered

to help me make cookies.

 She is such a sweet little helper!

I waited until Olivia was here to help

to try out my new gift.

We had fun making cookies

and sharing them at a

Dolly & Me

Tea Party.

Here are the cookies we made.

I'll try to share pictures from our

Tea Party when I get a chance.

Anyway - don't you just love my

Christmas present from Olivia!

I do!

It's just what I needed!

Happy Birthday, Brilyn!

Today is Brilyn's

Birthday!

We've already celebrated it

at my house and then again

at Chuck E Cheese,

but TODAY is her actual Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Brilyn!

You are a very special girl!

 

Dolly & Me Tea Party

 We used Olivia's Special Cookies

for a Dolly & Me tea party!

 All three girls had tea with a special doll.

 It was the cutest thing.

 I don't know who had more fun.

The girls or their dolls?

 It must have been the girls,

Because Grace looks happier than

Isabelle in this picture.

 And Lillian looks as if she 

might rather be someplace else.

Isabella, on the other hand,

seems to love tea time!

(and yes - our girls have an Isabelle and an Isabella.... 

and I have a neighbor named Isabella whom we love

to play with. It's a popular name around here)

And Brilyn is being loving and kind

and doing a great job of serving!

We'll have to bring our dollies to 

tea more often!

A Little Nature

Brilyn wanted to go to the park.

We went. We played on the playgound

and watched the ducks fly off the pond.

And then she discovered these!

 
Cat tails!

She pulled them apart and watched

the seeds fly off into the wind.

And then she wanted more!

She had a lovely time.

I love how the simple things seem

so magical to a child.

 

Weston

 Weston is an amazingly

alert little guy.

He wants to know what's going

on around him all the time,

so he is not much of a sleeper.

So, he did not sleep for our 

photo shoot!

I did happen to get one image

of him where he LOOKS like

he is sleeping, though.

Isn't that sweet?

The trick is to shoot FAST!

Then, take two pictures.

When the lights flash for the first photo

he will close his eyes for a split 

second, giving you a chance

to take a second shot!

And don't worry..... he was perfectly

safe when we took these

photos. His Momma was right there

spotting him for safety. 

Now.... isn't he just about the cutest

little cowboy you've ever seen?

My Gourmet Cookie Recipe

 Do you just love the taste of gourmet cookies?
 

 There is a restaurant here that serves

very delicious cookies, but since

they cost about five dollars a piece,

I rarely get one.

So, after visiting one time I came up with

my own style. And they're really

quite delicious.

To make them you start with this!

One tub of the best chocolate chip 

cookie dough you can find.

And you add whatever your heart desires.

For Brilyn's party, I devided

the dough and added mini-m&m's 

to one half and I added chopped almonds

and hershey bar chunks to the other

half. Then bake!

Both recipes were good, but the almond

and hershey bar cookies were the best,

and they went the quickest.

I used two regular sized hershey

bars and that seemed about right, 

but you can adjust this recipe to suit your taste.

I wonder if that's how they make the

cookies at the Silver Spoon?

(they really are every bit as good)

Brilyn's Birthday Party

We have a monthly birthday party

at my house.... and in January,

there is only one Birthday!

It's BRILYN'S!

And even though there is no one

to share her party with,

I try to make it special!

Brilyn loves a Tea Party,

so I did tea party type decor and served 

special cupcakes and treats.

 We used a very neutral looking

tea set.

 And since Brilyn loves chocolate

I made sure there was plenty of that.

 I cut out little candy cups with my Silhouette.

I also made the little boxes (filled with m&m's), 

the cupcake wraps and the banners

with my Silhouette.

 We had gourmet cookies!

(I'll share my recipe later)

 And delicious hot dogs!

 With chilli and all the toppings!

 And most importantly Brilyn got

a few birthday presents!

She was excited to get these!

She had told me she wanted

"skaters" and had to describe them, 

so I would know what to buy,

and while I wasn't quite sure....

it was pretty obvious when she tore into

that package that "skates" were what

she was talking about!

 She loved them. And she skated pretty

good for a first timer!

I was impressed!

 She also got a new doll and

it joined her and Caelie for a tea party.

 How sweet is that?

 I think her new doll had a really good time.

I know I had a good time.

I love Sunday afternoon's with family!