Thursday, January 30, 2014

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? 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

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.
 
 

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

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!

Monday, January 27, 2014

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!

Friday, January 24, 2014

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!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

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!

Monday, January 20, 2014

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.
 

Friday, January 17, 2014

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?

Thursday, January 16, 2014

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)

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

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!