She Said What? When?!?!

I hosted a baby shower for my dear friend, Becky, this past weekend. If anyone deserves a fun celebration of pregnancy and all things baby, it's her. You'll have to go see her blog to read her story of love and loss and trust and faith.

She's expecting a son...a SON(!)...in just a couple of weeks. Isn't she a beautiful pregnant woman?

Normally, I'd throw an absolute tizzy over trying to plan a party. And okay, I admit, I did do some tizzy-ing a couple of days before the party. But then I started praying and just thinking about Becky and how much I love her and how much I wanted to do something special for her. When I stopped focusing so much on me...my house...my food...my fears...It became a lot more fun to plan!

I was going to use my china for the party, but didn't have enough to go around (don't have a setting for 16!). But I did have plenty to use it just for coffee. It was so fun digging it out of the hutch. I just love the delicate look, feel, and sound of nice china.

Remember this project I told you about? We did it at this party. She got some really cute shirts :)

I think Becky thought I was being a little stand-offish the week before the party. Because I was! I was busy trying to make this quilt for her:

It's a rag quilt made of all flannel material...very cozy!

I had fun with these flowers. They're just simple carnations...but I thought they looked so pretty in these little canning jars tied with "It's a boy!" ribbon.

AND THE BEST PART OF THE ENTIRE PARTY?

Oh man, were we ever splitting a rib!

While Becky opened her gifts, I had a friend writing down what Becky said (think "Oh, I love this!" and "Oh, WOW! Thank you!!" and "Look, it's so soft and cute!"). Becky, of course, had no idea what what going on.

And then before we moved on to decorating t-shirts, I stood and said something like,

"There's an old wives tale that says that the expressions an expectant mom utters while she opens her shower gifts are the same expressions that she exclaimed while the baby was being conceived! Becky, would you please read this list?"

Like I said...very (VERY) funny! I gave her a disk with the video...go see her blog to see if she posted it yet :) Tell her I sent ya!

Our Cowgirl Turns 5!

Look at our beautiful 5 year old cowgirl!

We had a great party yesterday! There were 13 little cowpokes here to celebrate with us (including our bunch), and we had such a fun time. We all got decked out in our best western duds. I even got to wear my boots that I haven't worn since my line-dancin' college days:

Clara and her Daddy

Pioneer Woman has nothin' on me! I'm pretty sure I got the best lookin' cowboy around!

"Stick 'em up!"

"Howdy ma'm"

Here's me sneaking some cow-girl Sammy snuggles.

We did a scavenger hunt, pin the tail on the pony, and musical "saddles". We also had "horsie" cake with ice cream, and hit a horsie pinata which was stuffed with candy, tiny plastic horses, and barnyard animal stickers. I think everyone's favorite part was the bandanas. I found them in various colors at our local party store at a very reasonable price. They all got to play cowboys/girls and bank robber. It was a hoot!

Daddy was even kind enough to hold the ladies' hats for them while they tried to pin the tail on the pony!

I was pretty proud of the cake I made for her. I can't take credit for finding this beauty though. My friend Becky make this for her daughter's party last year, and it was so cute! Here's where you can find instructions to make it (it's super easy!).

OK - here's the scoop on the "carrot cakes" I made: you have to cut big sections of the cake off to turn it ito a horse shape. I hated to waste that cake! So I turned them into carrots, since we all know that a horse's favorite food is a carrot, right?!? Let me tell ya...it's tough to make tiny carrot cakes! To make up for how ugly they were, I just added tons of frosting...which later slid right off the sides (see carrot 2nd from the right). As you can see, Clara's real impressed too:

Martha Stewart, I am not!


But they served their purpose. The kids were arguing over who got carrots in no time!



We have such wonderful friends and family. And so generous! I can hardly believe the gifts that she opened! She even got a REAL cowgirl hat in pink from my sister! I was sure thankful...Clara's been after me for a hat for ages! This party was extra special with grandparents in town to help her celebrate. Grandma's sweet-talkin' Thomas...but I'm pretty sure he's only interested in her cake!




Here's Clara and her cousin, Taylor. Best of buds now...just wait 'till they're fighting over boys though! Oh, wait...that's right...Clara won't be interested in boys until she's 27 years old and is ready for the nice Christian young man her mommy chooses for her!

Here are all the little cowpokes who celebrated with us

And here's Sammy trying on Daddy's boots before bed last night

Well, that's it! That's all the Birthday Party conversation I have in me today. I'm signing off now to watch the Super Bowl. The Packers aren't playing (booo)...but the game is a good excuse to eat lots of chips, candy, chili, and cobbler! Go whatever-team go!

Ahhh, To Be Five Years Old...

We're celebrating Clara's 5th birthday tomorrow, complete with a "horsie" cake, bandanas for all the little cowpokes, and a big brown horse pinata that we'll beat the stuffin' out of! It's going to be a blast...I mean a hoot...I mean YEEHAW! What is cowgirl-speak for "a great time", anyway?

Whatever it is...we're gonna have it!

Clara was watching me decorate her cake tonight and was so sweet.

She said, "Mommy, I sure do wish it could be my birthday every day."

"Yeah, that would be somethin' alright!" (Read: "your mommy would most certainly go crazy alright!")

"I'd have cake and presents every single day then!"

"Yup...where on earth would we put them all?" (see what you've done to me, Org Junkie?!)

"I dunno"

(pause for deep, contemplative 5 year old little girl thoughts)

"Mommy?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"I wish it could be my birthday every day AND that I never had to get a shot. Ever. If I didn't want to. That's what I wish."

(pause for mommy to contemplate what in the world makes a 5 year old little girl tick)

"Yeah baby girl...that would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Mommy?"

"Mmmm?"

"I gotta booger. I'm gonna go blow my nose."

*End special moment shared between 5 year old and her mommy*

I'll be sure to update with party pictures tomorrow. I need all sorts of pats on the back for the cake I made anyway. But you have to promise me something...you can't hold the carrots against me forever! You'll know what I mean when I post pictures.

My, my. I'm just all sorts of mysterious tonight, eh?!

Hugs to the Birthday Papa!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I hope you're in bed already...if you're checking this Tuesday night, then NO peeking! This video is to be played on December 19th!

We love you lots and lots. Can't wait to see you in about a week. Have a GREAT day!

My Baby Boy Turns 6!!

It's hard to believe that just 6 years ago, the picture looked like this:

We had NO idea what we were in for! That the little babe I couldn't stop kissing would so quickly evolve into a wild, smart, considerate, thoughtful little boy...whose favorite thing in the whole world is the noises created by the human body!

We threw him a great "jungle" party today - complete with a safari, monkey cake, zebra pinata, and "pin the banana on the gorilla". It was a blast. I am so proud of our little man. Enjoy the pictures...