Daisypath Anniversary tickers


Saturday, November 3, 2012

Mia: Age 3

Happy 3rd birthday my dear sweet Mia!

In the world of birthdays, I have to say, this was the first that Mia truly "anticipated."  She remembered her party from last year and all the parties that she's been to since then and was very ready to celebrate her own.

In true fashion, her birthday celebrations started the Friday before her birthday.  Ong and Ba arrived from Houston early enough to help Mommy pick up both Jude and Mia from school.  Mia ran and SQUEALED when she first caught sight of her Ba at school.

We left school and went straight over to Shogun for a special hibachi dinner.  It was Mia's first time at a hibachi restaurant and they did not disappoint.  The cat was let out of the hat when the table behind us kicked off their dinner show about 5 minutes ahead of us.  The little girl at that table was caught a bit off guard when the flames went up.  She jumped out of her chair and hit the ground.  She was so frightened, she was shaking and couldn't even cry.  Her mother laughed and said they'd just learned about "stop, drop and roll" that very day at school  =)

Both Mia and Jude were very enthralled with the dinner show, though they were a little scared.  They enjoyed watching from the safety of an adult's lap.

After dinner, we went next door for frozen yogurt.  There were lots of smiles and laughter over there  =)

The next morning, Mark went off to run and both kids decided they were too excited to sleep in.  They were wide awake by 6AM.  So I changed them and let them use the restroom and then deposited them in their grandparents' room.  They were more than happy to see them.  While they wrestled and played, I crashed out for another hour on the floor.

Breakfast,  present time, more playing outside, including a visit to the "jumpoline" with the grandparents and the kids were starving by lunch time.  And exhausted.  They were asleep within 5 minutes of going upstairs.  Success.






As soon as they crashed out, Nini and Papa arrived.  Just in time to load the cars and head over to set up.  Nini and I worked like little elves setting up while Mark and Papa carried in load after load of red and white polka dotted ribboned items and pink fluff.  We kept on truckin while they went to pick up the kids food and a few bags of ice.  After about an hour of non-stop decorating, we thought it looked just right.

Nini and I headed back to the house to pick up the rest of the crew.  Mia and Jude were both up from their naps by then and getting dressed.  She was very ready to head to her party.  We arrived with 30 minutes to spare.  She spent the time opening presents from her grandparents, exploring her party site and taking pictures with her family.


Her friends arrived right at 4 and the festivities began!  Little fairies fluttered throughout the pavilion in search of their fairy attire... wings, tutus, slippers.  They laughed and squealed as they found each piece with their name on it.  They wiggled and jiggled to get their different costumes on.  It was a silly sight.  The fairies that were fully dressed were happy to help others that hadn't found all their pieces!









After all that running, they needed to freshen up.  They had water and snacked on popcorn and grapes.

Mia and her BFF Jasmine!



Once they were done with that, on to the craft table where they decorated their own fairy princess tiaras with jewels and flowers.  When they put the final costume piece on their heads, they headed over to paint little fairy houses.  This was their most favorite activity.  I think they all sat quietly and made a mess for well over 30 minutes there!


Our sweet princess doing one of her most favoritest activities... painting!

The handsome brother's favorite activity was the water bottle


Their dinner was served around 5 and most were famished!  Chicken, pringles and yogurt parfait bar fit the bill.  The girls loved eating their parfaits from dainty little wine goblets and pink spoons.


Back to jumping in the bounce house after dinner until they heard the announcement that it was CAKE time!  Mia was front and center.  With her full costume + wand + Happy Birthday glasses on.  She was a sight to behold.  Her friends knew their places and quickly filled in all around her.  After a resounding rendition of Happy Birthday was bellowed, all were served cupcakes.  There was a strawberry or chocolate option, but all the fairies opted for strawberry!




I love this photo of her sweet friends



The bounce house entertained the littles until it was time to head out.  I'm so happy we sprung for the miniature bounce house this summer.  After Jude's birthday in August and we borrowed Nana's, we just knew that we needed one.  Expect to get TON of use out of it before the kids outgrow it!


One more picture of Mia with her family before they left


On Sunday, I made breakfast for the house.  Their favorite: pancakes.  Except this was the healthy version of oatmeal and cottage cheese.  Really, they can't tell the difference and all was quickly gobbled up.

Once we cleaned up after breakfast, we all got dressed and headed to the All Abilities Park.  Our all-time favorite park to play at.  Ong and Ba were totally impressed and we had such a ball playing out there until lunch time.



The kids fell asleep in the brief drive home, but were awakened to the sounds and smells of lunch.  Thick steaks, salad and sweet potato fries.

After lunch, Mia opened more presents, including the massive cardboard castle from her cousins.


Then it was time to dig into the cake and that was about all she wrote.


Ong and Ba had to head home right after lunch.  Once they turned that corner on our street, we were back inside and the entire house crashed out... for 3 hours.

We didn't do much that evening as we were all trying to recover from the storm that was Mia's birthday.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Jude's 1st Birthday Party

Was a smashing success!  Although we missed quite a few key people, Jude still managed to celebrate with a big group of family and close friends.  Here are some shots from his big day!

It started the day before.  With Jude and his sister enjoying a few pre-party goodies.  Black forest popsicles here...

Jude loves spending time going up and down and up and down the stairs.  Ong was very willing to play with him.  I think they took about 8 trips one afternoon

Sister Mia worked hard to make her brother Jude's 1st birthday party special.  She is helping with the cake and party hats!

Mommy and Jude gearing up for the party.  Jude chomping on one of the yummy cookies!

There was even a bounce house!  Yes... they LOVED it!

Some of the party details:

Shots from the party:



 Finally, it was time for CAKE!



Jude went to town!

We love you, dear boy!

How every good party ends:

We missed all that couldn't make it... there will be more.  Many, many more!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Jude Turns 1!

Well, it's been almost a year since I last posted.  It's been a wild ride that I'll save for another post.

This one... is dedicated to my sweet baby boy that has taken over our world in every way possible.


In his first year, Jude was suffered from annoying little things such as ear infections and acid reflux which made it difficult for him (and Mommy and Daddy) to get much sleep.  But with love and care, we could always coax that bright smile out of him!

At one year:
  •  Jude is so very close to walking.  He's been wanting to do it for over a month now.  We are patiently waiting for his first steps!
  • He is sleeping so much better through the night now.  In the last week, he's been waking up around 3am for a 4oz bottle and goes right back to sleep (in mom & dad's bed) and sleeps until 6:30am for another 6oz bottle.  Trust me.  This is a vast improvement.
  • Although he does a TON of baby talk, he has only formed a handful of words.  "Dada" is his favorite.  Followed by "NoNoNO" and "Mama."  We think he's also saying "Juju," but this hasn't been confirmed.  Jude is a man of few words.
  • Jude looks like he'll be a righty.  He holds writing utensils in his right hand, when he's not busy eating them. And on the rare occasion when he has an eating utensil, he also holds it in his right hand.
  • Speaking of eating... He's a pretty solid eater.  He likes most things.  But when he's not interested in eating, that's it.  There's no coaxing him.  Even if it's something he usually loves.

The many faces of Jude:

  •  Jude is TROUBLE!  He gets into everything.  He loves to grab and swipe at things.  He loves to climb onto and roll over things.  He's all boy in that respect
  • Jude is a little peanut.  Throughout the last 12 months, he's consistently been in the bottom 5th percentile of his group.  At his 12 month checkup, he bounced up a bit!  Head: 46.5 cm (50%), Weight: 19 lbs 3.5 oz (5%), Height: 28.5 in (10%)
  • He has 6 teeth that are fully in.  The 2 on the bottom were first, followed by the top 2 and then the 2 next to them on top.
  • Jude is super active.  We can't even hold his attention long enough to read short stories
  • But he LOVES to sing and clap.  Any time music comes on TV or someone starts singing, it catches his attention.  He knows to clap when he hears, "If you're happy and you know it"
  • Pro: Jude does not suck his fingers nor does he use a pacifier.  Con: It has been a long rode since he never could figure out how to self soothe.
  • Jude has been going to Montessori since he was 9 months old.  It was tough on everyone for the first month, but he's got a wonderful teacher now and the consistency has been great for him.  She really does love him!

Overall, Jude has been one of the happiest babies, when with/around his mommy.  He has been known to be very trying for everyone else.  He has no difficulty winning people over with this 2-teeth smile.


For a small treat at school, Jude shared fruit-o's with his classmates.  And his sister.  And her classmates.  They were all gone by the end of the day  =)


After school today, we knew he would be pretty tired so we had a small celebration.

First he opened presents

Sister Mia is having a tough time learning that it's not always all about her

Then it was finally time for Jude's first bite of cake!  It was a busy busy Wed. so Daddy stopped by a local cupcakery for birthday treats.  They were great!  The kids loved them.


Happy 1st Birthday sweet baby Jude!
Here's to many more...

*** Photo credit: Many thanks to my sweet and dear friend Kathie Quinn for the beautiful pictures of our baby boy.***

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Easter 2012

It has been a while since I have made an update to the family blog. I don't really have a good excuse, however I am going to try my best to make more updates and make them on a more regular basis. In staying consistent with my creation of an over the top Easter Egg Hunting Video for toddlers. I present the video below. Easter Egg Hunt Highlight Video
The Falcon Pointe Easter party was again a lot of fun.  Mia is still a bit scared of the Easter Bunny.

Maybe next year. In keeping with tradition of my over the top easter egg hunting videos, I present the following.
On Sunday, Mary and I took the kids to Old Settlers Park to take some pictures in the blooming spring flowers.
Mia looking up at me wondering when we are going to take pictures
My two Easter Bunnies
Mary watching Mia hop through the flowers
This little Easter bunny likes to eat flowers
Me trying to hang on to my 2 babies

Mia at a friend's Easter party, not completely sure how to use the periscope