and now it's marion's turn

Grace's birthday was celebrated throughout last week and now it's little Marion's turn. My baby turned one today. I had several people ask me this week if I was sad. I'm just the tiniest bit sad that the time is gone, but really I'm more happy. I'm a worrier and there's just so much to worry about when they are so tiny... I'm simply happy that we made it safe and healthy :) I have been weaning Marion this week and I'm so proud that we made it through nursing. We had an awfully rough start, but we made it, and we both became total pros at it!

On Wednesday we celebrated with Marion's Mommy and Me class...

I brought a butterfly made out of cupcakes. Grace asked me as we were leaving that morning if I would please be sure to save her a purple cupcake. I told her that I couldn't tell people which color to take, but that hopefully there would be one left. She sighed and asked me to please let Marion's friends know that purple was her favorite color ;)

The part of this story that really cracks me up is that purple really isn't her favorite (PINK is!!). Purple was just the best color when the only choices were purple, green and gold. Yes, it was a mardi gras butterfly... I guess the bakery is getting in the spirit!

As you see in the photo, Marion was mesmerized by the fire. About 10 seconds after it was taken, she yanked the napkin in an attempt to pull the cupcake into her reach. Well, the whole thing toppled over and the combination of flying fire and babies made the whole room gasp a little. A friend of mine was video taping the whole thing and I still haven't brought myself to watch it... kinda scared of seeing the awful faces I make as the cupcake and lit candle went flying!

Anyway, if you're still worried about Grace, yes, there were plenty of purple cupcakes left over. We've celebrated Marion's birthday over and over with the leftovers! If you're wondering about Marion's party, yes, she will have one... Mommy's just running a bit behind.

birthday girl

My sweet Grace on the morning of her birthday, ready for preschool.

She was the birthday girl at school and brought this yummy snack!

The next day was her party. She had it at Kids in My Kitchen, a local cooking school just for little ones! Check out the favors, mix to make "Grace's Polka-Dot Cookies!"

My little birthday chef :)

They made pizza... from scratch!

The pizza came out really yum!

The end, my sweet girl is four. Time continues to fly by. It seems as if she was just born yesterday, but somehow I can barely remember life without Grace. I love you sweet girl and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

little masterpiece

If you know Grace well, you know that she LOVES art. Drawing, painting, cutting, pasting, decorating... it's her thing! Yesterday she took an art class at Bristles, a local art school that's just for kids. She went with a little friend her age, and they were the youngest in the class. They both did awesome! In fact, when I walked in to get her and looked at the paintings lined up on the wall, I couldn't place which ones were theirs. They looked just as good as those done by the older kids.

After she went to bed last night, I framed it and hung it. I was so excited thinking about how excited Grace would be when she saw it on the wall this morning. She was excited, although not quite as excited as I thought she should be (isn't that always the case as a parent though??). She told me that she wasn't surprised because she already knew I was going to hang it. At least she knows I think she's fabulous!!

"Petunia, A Girl Owl"

2010

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Two thousand nine was filled with many memories, both happy and sad, and most of them I was able to share with you all through this blog. The highlight of the year was definitely the birth of our sweet Marion last January. I now have the two sweetest little girls ever and feel like my family is complete. I have much to look forward to in the new year!

BIG THANKS to all of you who check in on my family by reading this blog! It's been about a year and a half since I started it and many of the memories I have recorded would surely have been lost otherwise. This site has an average of about 35 "hits" a day. That seems like a lot of people to me, and it truly makes me feel connected and keeps me company to know you are all following along on my journey.

I hope 2010 brings many happy times for all of you!

Much love to all,
Julia