Frances is Number one-one AKA Eleven!!

It was 11 years ago that I became a mother! In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday. This past weekend we took the opportunity to celebrate Frances' birthday with family and friends. We had a wonderful time at the KOA campground in Luray (even though it was a bit chilly). I've got a picture dump and then her birthday interview. Enjoy!

1. What is your favorite color? light blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Polly Pockets
3. What is your favorite fruit? mandarin oranges
4. What is your favorite TV show? Wild Kratts
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mommy's lunchables
6. What is your favorite outfit? Easter outfit (orange lace dress with belt)
7. What is your favorite game? Big Fish games(Search and find iPad games of which she has bought a ton!)
8. What is your favorite snack? Chex Mix
9. What is your favorite animal? dolphins, horses, and tigers
10. What is your favorite song? Dark Horse by Katy Perry
11. What is your favorite book? The Amulet series
12. Who is your best friend? Desirae
13. What is your favorite cereal? Mini Wheats
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? archery
15. What is your favorite drink? Root Beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? all of them
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? pink, puppy, bunny, shimmer, and uni
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? scrambled eggs or fried eggs
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? fried chicken, asparagus, mashed potatoes (And Ben picked out raspberries and blackberries at the grocery store for her)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? vet

Eight is great!

Frances turned 8 this week!  She is in second grade, which I think is just the best grade! She is excited to learn new things and see her friends. And she is super excited about her birthday this year. She had her own countdown and informed me every morning how many days left until she turned 8.  He actual birthday was on Wednesday, so she got to wear a special shirt to school that day.

 

She chose to go to the Wood Grill Buffet for dinner because she had heard that they have a chocolate fountain (where she heard that, I have no idea!). We had a great dinner and coated a few things in chocolate before we left; including her shirt and all three kiddo's faces!

We saved her birthday party until Sunday so we could have some time to celebrate. My brothers, sister-in-law, and parents came, as well as Ken's dad.  She loved her cake about as much as I loved making it.

She, of course, requested the ballerina piece for herself.  Everybody said, "Are you really going to give her that whole piece!?!?!" But you only turn 8 once, right?  Plus I knew she would never eat all of it (which she didn't).  And Benjamin just nibbled on scarfed down the rest!
She got some new ballerina sheets for her bed, new clothes, some great horse books, a few toys and a Barbie doll picked out by her favorite elder brother. (Benjamin "picked out" an outfit.)

My parents stayed at a great B&B while in town and when we went to visit we snapped a few family shots.  The outtakes are pretty hilarious, but this one turned out pretty good.

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!

My littlest one turned one!!  What a big boy he is getting to be!  I love this shirt I bought for him, but for the life of me I could not get a full picture of the words on it!

 We had family over to celebrate the big day. Three grandparents, three uncles, two aunts, two godparents, two siblings, one cousin and a few others.  The party was on Saturday morning at 11.  Apparently, 11 must be nap time because despite a large number of people in our house to celebrate, this little guy didn't make it through lunch!

Here is his tractor cake that I decorated.  Cake and I had some issues, but we worked them out and in the end we became friends.

Can you tell we woke Benjamin up for his cake?  He was having NONE.OF.THAT!

He got some frosting, but was too cranky to eat much of anything.  And he wouldn't even stick his fingers in it.  What's the fun of a smash cake if you don't smash it!?!

After removing the gobs of frosting from behind his ears, we got down to the business of opening presents. Big brother helped.

So did his sister and cousin.

And then he played with some of them. The ball popper was definitely a hit!  Fun music, bright lights and plastic balls popping everywhere! What's not to love?

One of the other big hits was a sandbox!  Benjamin LOVES just sitting in it and kicking the sand with his feet.  He also likes to scoop it up with a shovel and dump it behind him.  His brother and sister love playing in the sand as well.  It is nice to have someplace to occupy Benjamin while Frances and Henry play outside now.

Happy birthday big boy!!

Apple Cupcakes

My baby girl turns 6 tomorrow! After our trip to the Apple Orchard yesterday, we decided to make apple cupcakes to share with her class. They have also been learning about apples, so that makes it educational! In order to make the apple cupcakes, we bought a spice cake mix and various accoutrements to go along with it. Here's what you'll need:

• apple spice cake mix
• applesauce
• frosting
• red food coloring
• stick pretzels
• red sugar crystals
• watermelon flavored Air Heads
• gummy worms

First, you mix up the spice cake mix with some added applesauce. (There was a recipe suggestion on the side of the box I bought.) Pour it into your cupcake liners and bake as directed. While they are baking, add red food coloring to your frosting to tint it red. It will still be kinda pink, but that's okay-we'll fix it.

You will also need your green Air Heads. Sprinkle some white sugar on a microwaveable plate and microwave the Air Heads one at a time for about 15 seconds. Turn it to coat it in sugar and use your favorite shot glass to flatten out the candy. (If you don't have a shot glass, I suppose you could use a rolling pin, but that's no fun!) After you have flattened out the candy, use your kitchen scissors to cut out leaf shapes. Set aside. Eat extra pieces of candy.

When the cupcakes are cooled, frost each one with red frosting. Dip the top in a bowl of red sugar crystals-see now they are red instead of pink! Allow your almost-6-year-old to add a pretzel stem (We had long ones and had to break them in half) and a candy leaf. Then poke in a half of a gummy worm using something pokey...possibly a meat thermometer, but I'm not giving away all my secrets!

Viola! You are finished! How ya like dem apples!!

Frances turns 5!!

My little baby has turned 5! I look back on the years and think about how quickly they have flown by. I bought the #5 candle for her cake and commented to myself that seemed like just last week that I bought the #1. (Of course then I remembered that it was just a few months ago that I did buy a #1 for Henry's birthday party!)

We went to church on Sunday morning. As soon as I parked the car Frances said, "Mommy, when you are five do get to have Communion?" She was disappointed that she would have to wait a few more years. ) On a side note: on the way to school Monday morning she wanted to hold a candle I had in the car. I heard her mumbling and asked her what she was doing. "Playing First Communion" was her reply!)

After church we came home and had lunch. Then she and Henry went to take "naps." I use the quotations because he slept, but she didn't. She faked it really well, though, and really, that's fine with me. We got a few last minutes ready for the party and then woke her up for a birthday phone call from her godmother in Honduras. Thanks for calling, Marylee!

The guests arrived and we had presents and cake. She is mostly excited because she can now chew gum! I think it was when she was about 3-1/2, she asked me for some gum. I told her at the time that she couldn't have gum until she was 5. She took that as gospel and told people that when they offered her gum. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago, but it was a year and a half; and now she can have gum! She went through about 10 pieces last night! She is very responsible about it-she knows to keep it in her mouth and throw it in the trash when she is done. We talked about places where you cannot chew gum (bed, car, school, church, etc) and she was fine with that. Ken and I are not regular gum chewers, so I feel certain that this will be a once in a while thing for her-but she sure feels grown up with it!

We had a great time with my parents, Ken's parents, my brother, John, and his wife, Jessica, my brother, Alan, and his pumpkin collection, Ken's brother, Dan, and his wife, Nikki, along with their daughter, Abby, and our friend Julie.

Sneak Preview

In a few short minutes my little baby will turn one year old!! Actually, he was born in the afternoon, but we won't split hairs. I decided to go with a jungle theme for his birthday. I printed his invitations on jungle themed paper and bought plates, cups and wrapping paper. I also baked him a lion cake.



I didn't follow a real pattern-I just kinda made it up. I think it turned out pretty well. I wish I could have made the mane go all the way around his head. I can't wait to get the "after" picture!!