St. Nick Came Early!

Boy, what a busy past few days! With all the baking, wrapping, Christmas card sending, and last minute shopping, I haven't had time to even think! So, imagine my surprise last night when I came home with my arms full of Sweet Pea and all her gear to find a huge box from Fed Ex at our door! Looks like Sweet Pea's new friend wanted to send her some Christmas cheer!

Thank you, and Merry Christmas to all!!!

Snowball Fight!!!

Mom and Dave vs the Grandkids!!!

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Hey Santa!

This weekend we took Sweet Pea to get her picture taken with Santa. There was a HUGE line that took about an hour to get through. She did great, up until about 10 minutes before her turn, when she bumped her head :( That made her pretty unhappy, and then getting sat on Santa's lap wasn't really what she wanted at the moment. Needless to say, it was an adventure!

Sweet Pea and Her Sweet Baby Doll

This was Sweet Pea on our way home last night. She got this baby doll from her Nana and she really likes it :)

Funny Sleep Deprivation Skit

Sweet Pea's daddy and I often claim that we are the ones who are spoiled because Miss Sweet Pea sleeps from approximately 8pm to 8am!!! However, we've had our taste of sleep deprivation and this is a pretty accurate depiction!

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Jim Breuer - A Well Rested Mother
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The video cuts off before its over, but, at the end she says, "by the way I killed the cats". It is hilarious!!! His special is available on Comedy Central right now, I highly recommend it!!!

Big Hugs!

One of the cutest things Sweet Pea does right now is give BIG HUGS!!! To both her baby dolls and other people. When she gets a baby doll or stuffed animal she likes she will squeeze it realllllly hard and go, "ERRRRRRRRR"!!! It is hilarious! And, when she gives us hugs, she gives us a sweet little pat on the back - adorable!!!

Family Pics!

Below is my all time favorite family picture so far! Sweet Pea was having such a blast!!! We had perfect weather, and the park was beautiful! I'll be using this on our Christmas cards this year!

What THE...

Yesterday we put Sweet Pea down for a nap in her crib. She started crying and we made a decision that we weren't going to run and get her every time she cries so we were letting her fuss. Well, after about 15-20 minutes I checked on her to find her STANDING AT THE DOOR!!! How the heck did she do that? We called the doctor and told them what happened and were told signs to look for if she was injured. She was mad and crying, but the upset didn't last too long till she would smile and play. That girl is going to give her mommy and daddy lots of gray hairs!!!

Mama!

Saturday Sweet Pea made the most beautiful sound in the world! She really, for real, said, "Mama!" and reached for and hugged me! It was soooo sweet!

My Newest Project - Primp Studio!

I wanted to share with you something I've been working on in my spare time. I've recently become obsessed with the timeless silhouette portraits I've been seeing. These are just so cute and fun! I created an etsy store to create and sell these! So, if you have someone on your shopping list this holiday season, check out primpstudio.etsy.com for some great ideas! Custom work welcome!

Happy Halloween!

Although this year is officially Sweet Pea's second Halloween, this was the first year she got to dress up and go trick or treating! She was the cutest little ladybug, and her daddy dressed up as Billy Mays, and I was Thinkin' Arby's!

A New Friend!

Sweet Pea had the opportunity to meet her daddy's daddy! We had dinner and then breakfast the next morning. Unfortunatley, Sweet Pea wasn't too hip on dinner that night, so we tried to make up for it the next morning at breakfast - where she was much more herself! We had a wonderful visit!

Fun at the Arch

This weekend Sweet Pea got to see the St. Louis Arch in all its glory! The weather was absolutely fantastic, and the trees were just starting to change color. I love fall, it is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love the cool, brisk air, the smell of cinnamon and apple spice, and the anticipation of the holidays to come.

The Binky Monster Has Been Identified!!!

So, you may remember my post a while back about a frantic phone-a-friend to get my brother to drop everything and drive to my house with some binkies! Well, guess where all the binkies have been going? This weekend I pulled out Sweet Pea's crib from the wall and found SEVEN, yes, count them, SEVEN binkies!!! Well, now I know where to go when we start running short!

Sweet Pea's First Birthday Party = Success!!!

Sweet Pea's very first ever birthday party was yesterday and it was a huge success! We timed her naps perfectly, she napped right before and right after! She was in a really good mood the whole time, and even got her very own birthday cupcake - red velvet w/ cream cheese filling made with love by MOMMY! AND, for those of you who gave me input on the presents, we ended up doing the presents at the party and she did great, I think she really got into it! We had a great turnout, and we all feel so blessed to have so many people in our lives to celebrate with!

Cake Pops!

So, I did a practice run on Bakerella's cake pops. They are soooo adorable! BUT, and its a big BUT, I have NO desire to ever make these again! They were so time consuming, and I've eaten so much cake and icing in the last few days that I might die if I even see anymore!

Cupcake Practice Run...

Well, I did a practice run last night for making cupcakes for Sweet Pea's party since the last time I made cupcakes I was a little girl! I used dark chocolate cake mix and filled some with Nutella and some with a cream cheese mixture. They turned out pretty good! I wasn't happy with the icing, though. I used store bought butter cream and it looked "melty". I guess I'll have to try making my own - yikes! Anyway, here's some pics:

Get Ready For Some Culinary Wizardry!

OK, OK, perhaps "wizardry" is a big fancy word for experiments! I'm going to be doing the deserts for Sweet Pea's birthday party and I'm going to attempt to make Bakerella's Cake Pops, and I'm also going to make some cupcakes, and attempt to decorate them like the people from the Culinary Institute of America (yes, the CIA) in this YouTube video. Wish me luck!!!

I found my thrill...

We took a stroll through U City this holiday weekend and had lunch at Blueberry Hill :)