NYC: Girls Trip

My mom, sisters & I spent a wonderful mother/daughter weekend in NYC. The weather was perfection as we strolled around Central Park, Madison Avenue, & Times Square. We enjoyed the most delicious food and all the designer shopping we could handle. We laughed our tails off at Pretty Woman on Broadway. We cheered with champagne, indulged over dessert, and truly had a magical weekend that we will never forget.

 And we love each other so much that we decided to drive 12 hours back rather than fly home! Impromptu road trip included lightning speeds, throwback jams, and even more laughs. I love my family and will cherish this trip for years to come!

Brighton Kevin: 10 Months

Dearest Brighton,

My sweet boy, you have dominated this last month and have kept right up with your big sister and big brother. If they are somewhere, you want to be there. If you hear them in the next room, you crawl as fast as your little knees will go to get to them. When they are playing in their cars outside, you stand at the backdoor waiting for them to come up the patio stairs. 

You and Aspen are starting to play rough like brothers do. You like to crawl over and get on top of him. You like to play cars next to him. He giggles and says, "no no no bubby" when you try to take his toys.  Adelaide loves to pick you up now and escort you to new areas. She calls it "time for Ariel-ness." She also loves to sing to you in the car. Your face lights up at the sight of them both and it is so amazing to see as your mom.

Speaking of smiles, you smile on cue for the camera every single time. Big ole' grin and just as happy and pleased with yourself as can be. It melts my heart and as a result I have some adorable pictures of you to cherish forever.

We have been spending a lot of time just you and I while the other kids are at camp. We are having some summertime fun as you accompany mommy everywhere. I think you truly enjoy the one-on-one time and attention. 

 

A few weeks ago you stopped taking baby food. Apparently you thought you were too big and table food was just what you needed. You have enjoyed eggs, pancakes, french toast, blueberries, strawberries, apples, bananas, pears, green beans, peas, carrots, corn, avocado, chicken, turkey, hamburger, and more. You are a great little eater!

You are sporting four teeth. Both of your top front teeth popped through and two more are on the rise.  Pretty soon you will have a shiny little grill of baby teeth!

A not so pleasant episode happened a few weeks ago. I took your for your routine blood work. It was your first time and I wasn't sure how you would do. Aspen went first and passed with flying colors thanks to the chocolate cake pop that I came armed with in my bag. You, poor baby, were not so lucky. It took about 45 minutes and 3 attempts to get into your tiny little veins. I had horrible flashbacks from the attempts of when you had pneumonia and where in the hospital. Two nurses and I were sweating bullets and trying everything we could to calm you while also looking and poking and prodding. Finally they were able to get what they needed. 

But...you're white blood cells and platelets were high so they wanted to retest you immediately. With still bruised arms, we went back to get another sample and run more tests. This time it only took one sweating nurse and one teary-eyed mommy to get what was needed. The counts are still in the high range but have lowered compared to the first test. Additional tests showed a high count on a liver function. All other liver functions seem to be fine so we had to retest AGAIN to make sure that the test results went down. 

Keep growing my sweet baby boy! I can't wait to see what is in store for you this month!

I love you!

Love,

Mommy

Manis & Pedis Galore: Adelaide Jane Turns 4

We celebrated Adelaide's 4th birthday a little early this year. Complete with manis and pedis and some of her dearest friends. She was so excited to have a party this year as I really think she is understanding it more. As RSVPs would come in, I would let her know and her little face would fill with excitement!

The morning of her party, we left the house at 8am. She accompanied me on the errands of picking up food, picking up cupcakes, grabbing a Starbucks (of course!), and blowing up balloons. And previously she helped me stuff the goodie bags for her friends. When we pulled up to Belle Visage, she was ecstatic! "Mom, is this my birthday party?!"

She waltzed in as if she owned the place! Ha. As each of her friends arrived, she greeted them with the biggest smile and the sweetest hello. Seven little girls were in 7th Heaven to get spa manicures and spa pedicures. They were treated like royalty! They jammed out to Adelaide's Birthday Playlist, had girl talk, and munched on pink & purple manicure-themed cupcakes (from Susan Lawrence of course!). 

In true Adelaide fashion, as we were handing out the cupcakes, she reminded me that we needed to sing Happy Birthday to her. Then as the girls began singing, she covered her face in shyness. A big thank you to all of her friends for celebrating followed and then they received their goodie bags.

As they said their goodbyes, it was truly the most innocent, loving departures. Big hugs and smiles all around. To be a child again and to relish in the simple things, we could all learn a thing or two!

birthday girl

playing with the photo props

mommy & Adelaide

picking her color

cupcakes!

Adelaide & Caileigh!

Faith, Adelaide, Caileigh & Milania

Milania, Avery, & Rowan

Lucia

I spy 7 sweet little girls!

goodie bags!