Miss A's first birthday - sneak peek!

 This little beauty invited me to her first birthday party!  I can't believe she's a year old already . . . I met her and her parents last year when we did her "just before Christmas" portraits.  She is such a little darling -- I love it when we get to play!

 Her party was at the Splash Park.  She was such a trooper, even with the overcast skies and weather around the 70's.

 After the splash park we went back to have a BBQ.  She helped herself to some cookies and a Dr. Pepper.  (A girl after my own heart, that one!)

 I love that she politely blew "thank you" kisses to all her guests!

 And tried to share her hot dog and berries with me!

 I loved her little birthday crown!

 I think that two hands just weren't enough - she went after the cake with her toes, too!  Then off for a quick dip in the river to rinse off all that frosting!

 Christina and Danier, thanks so much for letting me come and capture this special day for you!  She's such a beautiful little girl -- it's a pleasure to work with you!

Gennie got dunked!

 So, last Sunday we had our church service outside at the park.  The board decided to have our yearly baptism service on a Sunday during regular church time this year.  Gennie was one of the seven people who went thru the class and were ready to be baptized!  We were thrilled! 

 During the service the candidates were asked to give their personal testimony of when they came to know Jesus as their saviour.  Gennie wanted to write hers out so she wouldn't forget anything when she got nervous. 

 The service ended with a prayer over the candidates, then we all went down to the boat ramp for the baptizing!  My dad (the pastor) had some last minute instructions for them:

 Then Kev, being an elder, got to walk her out first.  And it was a good thing he was there, too, because the water was moving pretty fast:

 Dad had all the elders helping walk out the people and keeping himself from floating away.  Our close friend Jerrid Washburn got to be out there for her with Kevin. (thanks Jerrid!)

 "Genesis, because of your faith in Jesus Christ and your decision to follow Him, I now baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!"

 Then her feet slipped off the rock she was standing on:

 And she came up sputtering! 

 She was really surprised at how cold the water was, and slipping off the rock kinda rattled her so she burst into tears.  But honestly, she was happy!

After everyone had their turn, we went back up to the pavillion for a BBQ and hanging out.  The sun came out and it turned into a really beautiful day! 

Josiah's 4th birthday party

So, our little man turned 4! Once I got over the fact that he's been with us for four years already. . . has it REALLY been that long?!?! . . . I got to work planning his party. His favorite movie right now is Gnomeo & Juliet so that's what he wanted for his party. But I don't think the movie did very well overall because there was no merchandise to be found -- no figurines, no plush, no decorations, nothing! -- so we had to make up our own. For the invites I found an image online of one of the official movie posters and added my own text, then printed them as 4x6 photos.
We had the Reds Vs. the Blues just like the movie, complete with Mr. and Mrs. Featherstone (the flamingos):

The cupcakes were red and blue gnomes "hiding" in the grass:

I took sugar cones and coated them with melted Candy Melts, then sunk them into the frosting "grass" on top of chocolate cupcakes.

The Travelocity Roaming Gnome made an appearance (found him at Target along with the fantastic mushrooms which I painted) as well as the stuffed crocheted version I made years ago. He (the crocheted one) lives in the center console of my car and has been photographed all over CA, WY, NM, CO, NV, UT, OR and even went with my parents and aunt & uncle to Hawaii two years ago . . . I have a whole scrapbook devoted to his excursions! The treats on the Red side were strawberries, dark chocolate Hershey candies (3 shades of red), cupcakes with Strawberry Fields ice cream and Coke and red Hawaiian Punch. The treats on the Blue side were blueberries, York peppermint candies (blue & white), cupcakes with Birthday Bash ice cream (confetti ice cream with blue frosting ribbons throughout) and Pepsi and blue Hawaiian Punch.We had our own version of "Nanette the Frog" -- my mom's vintage cookie jar. That thing is older than I am and has been repainted several times but I love it! My dad would happily let it live at my house permanently but Mom wanted it back.He had to eat the frosting first:After the presents . . . the kid made out like a BANDIT, I tell you . . . and the treats, we all went back outside to launch the Gnome Paratroopers!The paratroopers were a huge hit!

And finally, we ended the night with Gnome tattoos. Those little guys were the HARDEST thing to remove -- they said "temporary" but 5 days and that many showers later I finally had to take the nail polish remover to mine and he still didn't budge.

Josiah said he loved his party and had a ton of fun with all his friends and family. I was glad to hear it, because I had a blast! Love that little guy!

Josiah turned 4!

Cutest kid ever turned 4 yesterday! Friends and family, cupcakes and ice cream, tatoos and gnome paratroopers . . . it was a great party! Photos to come . . . .

I love Sock Monkeys!

So, I just finished this little guy and I had to show him off! He's a sock monkey earflap hat and I loved how he turned out so much that I am working on one for me! The rest of the photos are over on my craft blog -- www.spicytuesday.blogspot.com. Come on over and see!

Today

I am

missing: my sister Krista and her hubby Joey. they should live here now.
wearing: jeans and a crazy-bright orange shirt with a scarf and my orange Converse.
working on: end-of-school gifts for teachers/co-workers, baby shower stuff for a close friend
eating: no sugar or starch for the next two weeks. post-diet maintenance phase.
dreaming of: warmer weather which should be starting any minute....
realizing: the fire engine siren which is realistic enough to be right outside my house is in fact just Josiah's fire truck going off in the toy box
impatiently waiting for: school to end so Kev and Gennie are home to play
anticipating: a happy phone call
loving: the generic Walmart version of Crystal Light orange drink
thinking about: how wet G is going to be after the waterfight b/t the teachers and students at her school today.
feeling: kinda chilly in the house...may need to add a sweater
listening to: Josiah and James arguing over a hot wheels car in the hallway (friends, sheesh!)
reading: blogs I like and facebook

"It's the end of the year as we know it......"

So, this school year is almost over and I'll have both of my kidlets home again for 3 whole months! I'd love to think that they'll play together daily and get along famously the entire time . . . but I know these kids, and let's face it -- that's just not gonna happen. They'll do pretty well most days but I'll be holding foreheads at arm's length and dodging swinging fists within a week, I'm almost sure of it.

With all the end-of-the-year tests and activities going on, we got some great news about Gennie. She qualified for the GATE (Gifted and Talented) program starting next year! They tested her over a couple of weeks and her scores came back in the 98th percentile, with an IQ of 132! She moved up through the reading scale this year and will be ending it reading at a 5th grade level, 130 words per minute with 98 percent accuracy and comprehension. Smart little thing! Here's hoping next year will be just as good or better!

Oh, and score one for all those "bottle-fed" babies out there! Her mind obviously functions just fine. :)