Family Picture!

My good friend Leigh agreed to take our family picture again this year, and of course, she did an AMAZING job.

Here are some of my favs.

Ami is 3 1/2 and Robbie is 6 months old!

I know, I know. My kids are the cutest ever. Thanks Leigh for your amazing photography skills!

Ally's Birthday Cake

I recently decorated this cake for a friend's daughter's birthday. It was super fun and although it didn't turn out like my original sketch it turned out super fun.

Thanksgiving fun

We decorated hand cookies like turkeys. One is for Dad and one is (or was as the case may be) was for Ami. Which one is which?

Big Boy is 5 Months!

He gets cuter and cuter. His eyes are a dark blue with green around the iris. He has the funniest sense of humor and his favorite person is his big sister Ami. He started eating solids and NEVER STOPS. We love him oodles.

Halloween Activities

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Candy, dressing up, candy, candy...

Here is Ami carving her pumpkin. She actually put her hand in the pumpkin instead of dancing around singing "icky icky." Progress.































Ami LOVES preschool. Home is a big disappointment compared to preschool. We have been so impressed by the teachers and their love for the kids. I helped with the Halloween Party (oh I mean Harvest Festival :)) Here is Ami after the craft.

I was in charge of the snack (shocker, my creativity has limits). The preschool had really specific requirements of do's and don'ts for the snack (no peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallows etc). So, we had cake bites (the spiders) and stuffed rolls (the snake). It turned out well and the kids loved it.

After snacks, crafts and games the kids had a parade. It was so fun to watch. Although Ami was a witch for Halloween, the preschool asked that the kids didn't dress up as witches etc. Super. So she was Angelina Ballerina. From the pictures, you can understand that she is kinda a cheese ball. (must get it from Nick).

The actual day of Halloween was really fun. Ami woke up "HAWAWEEENNN DAYYY! TWICK OWE TWEAT!!!" She had an amazing time. As a family, we dressed up in a Wizard of Oz theme. Ami was a witch. Robbie was a flying monkey. I was Dorothy and Nick was the cowardly lion. We took her to a few of our friends homes and then Ami went with one of her friends in our neighborhood. They were so cute. Ami was on a mission. She ran, not walked, ran from house to house. "Trick or treat. Thanks!" She made out like a bandit. "Yeah yeah yeah, lady. I'm cute, sure. I've got 4 more houses on this block. Hurry it up." (From Seinfeld HBO Standup.) If you have never heard Seinfeld's version of Halloween. Here is a link. It is a MUST. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MarBVyZVe9s You will laugh and laugh. I love Halloween.

For my Family

As a tweenager I had a run in with a gigantic slug in Oregon. Slugs of various sizes have hunted me ever since. It is a family joke that the slug clan are sending slug hit men after me. This is what we found on my door step....(just north of Nick's keys).

4 Month Robbie

Our little guy is so funny. He is so quick with a smile or giggle. Amelia is his favorite person and she easily makes him chuckle, which makes her giggle which makes him laugh harder and it is a down hill slope. He is growing so fast. He is now 25 inches long (5 inches growth in 4 months) and 15 pounds (7 pounds weight gain). His hair is staying steady redish and his eyes are dark blue. His little ears poke out like his Grandpa Bodilys and we love this little munchkin to pieces.

National Book Festival

Every year the National Mall hosts the National Book Festival. It is AMAZING. There are tons of freebies and the kids get to meet the PBS characters. I thought our little daughter was going to kill over when she met Princess Pea from the show "Super Why." She met Clifford, the characters from "Super Why," Word Girl, characters from Word World and various other characters. She started shaking every time before she flung her body against theirs in a huge hug. Ha ha. I hope none of them were injured.

Ami has had an extreme interest in the Power Puff Girls. She just trembled and high pitched giggled when Awesome Daddy handed her this icecream.

Cox Farms

One of my favorite places in Virginia is Cox Farms in the fall. It is fun and great for the price. It has a hay ride, slides, animals and everything a kid loves. They also have free samples of the best apple cider I have ever tasted and yummy apples.

Life with a 3 year old

Any mother knows that life with a three year old can be hilariously frustrating. Amelia is going to preschool now and has gotten into the "by myself!" She is also discovering the amazingness of the alphabet. She is recognizing 'A', 'B,' 'W,' and letters that she sees often. The other day we were chatting about the names in our family while playing with fridge magnets (Ami, Mamma, Dad, Sami etc). She said "Robbie!" (or as she says it Wobbie). And I said, "kay we need to look for an R magnet." "No mamma, W." She states emphatically. Ummm.. "No sweetheart Robbie starts with an R." "Wa wa wa Wobbie." Ha ha. I decided to fight another battle for the time being.

She is also becoming very cognitive of her surroundings. She watched Disney's "Tinkerbell" and went into the kitchen and made a bridge. She was "Tinkering..."

She's also become quite the master of posing. She loves playing ballerina.

Robbie at 3 Months

Well, our little man is 3 months old! He is so funny with a quick smile. Ami and he have a special bond and are always talking and making each other laugh! He weighs about 15 pounds and is always hungry! We sure love him!

Candace's Birthday

One of my great friends had a birthday last week. She is so busy working full time, taking care of two kids and supporting her husband while he gets his Masters degree. She needed something fun.

So, I made her a cake. It was fun to do and turned out great.

August was a busy month. Nick finished his internship and had a great experience. The rest of us played and played and played. Here is Ami at a local spray park.

Nick had a few months of vacation before school started so we went to Ocean City, Maryland. We stayed at this great resort named the "Francis Scott Key Family Resort." It was super family friendly and very reasonable. Ami had a scream and Robbie endured it gracefully.

Here is Ami telling her Dad how to "put put golf." I was laughing so hard; tears were rolling down my face. Nick, unfortunately, didn't think it was that amusing.

The whole resort is pirate themed. And it had a splash park in the form of an enormous pirate ship. Here is Amelia in the splash park.

We loved our break and are slowly but surely getting back to a schedule!

Wedding Cake

So, I was commissioned to make my first wedding cake! It turned out pretty well and I learned a lot. So that is great.

Two Months!

Robbie just turned 2 months old! It has gone really fast (probably because of sleep deprivation, but hey what can ya do).

ANYWHO, here are some pictures of the little tyke.

Baby Shower Cake

Some friends and I threw a baby shower for a friend in our ward. I was put in charge of the cake. Here it is. I think, so far, it is my favorite one that I have made.