Kari's 21st Birthday

The baby turns 21 next week, and she finally made it home to see us.  When Mom asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday (and the sky was the limit) she said that she wanted to have a nice dinner at home with a select group of family.

Her wish was our command.  We put together an intimate gathering small on stress and high in fun and flavor.







We were all really excited to celebrate with her.











All these silly girls wanted to take some photos!









Of course we couldn't let the occasion pass without some presents for the princess.







And no party would be complete without a little cake.  Mom outdid herself with her warm chocolate melting cake topped with a dollop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.





Some of us enjoyed the cake a little more than others did.







Some of us were extra handsome for the party.

Happy 21st Birthday Kari!!

Spring Break Projects!

SPRING BREAK!  Let the shouts from the WooHoo girls begin!

Oh wait, it isn't 2008, so my spring break went just a little differently this year.  I knew that this was my last extended break to get anything big done before the baby got here.  With that in mind, I made it my mission to get his room ready.

I needed Bradley's help for the biggest project: hanging the pegboard.  It's not that I didn't think that I could follow the instructions online, but I did think the chances of that thing falling off the wall or something were much higher if I hung it myself.  And 'm pregnant so I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous right??

We measured out where our brace boards needed to go and got everything leveled out.  Apparently some of the studs in his room are not the standard distance apart, so we had to try a couple of times.



This little cutie pie held down the fort in her room and babysat Minnie Mouse.







After an hour or so, we had finished phase one of that project!  Success!!



I also purchased a photo ledge at Ikea that I wanted to hang above the pegboard for extra decoration.  If I had purchased it before I got the pegboard cut, I would love this project a little more.  As it hangs now, there is a difference of a couple of inches between the two mediums.



My second project was washing, folding and organizing all of the clothes we have for our little man for his first six months.  I bought a bunch of these drawer organizers at Ikea to help get the job done.  This set is going to sit on top of the dresser for easy access to high use items.



These are a few of the smaller ones that went in the drawers.  I chose to roll up the onesies for extra storage.



I didn't get all of the decorating completed that I wanted to over the break, but I got a lot of the tedious little projects that needed energy, time, and focus...things that will probably be in short supply the further into this pregnancy we get!

Happy Pi Day!

My school had a contest for Pi Day this year.  Since the only "pie" that I can make is cheesecake, I knew that I would have to think outside of the box. 

I turned to my friend Pinterest, and I saw a few cool ideas, but I knew they were outside of realm of expertise.  Instead, I tried to think of something funny. Prizes were being given for yummiest, most creative, best name, and best overall.  My biggest chance of success lied in most creative or best name. 

Finally I came up with the idea of making a pi shaped cookie crust and decorating it like an American flag.  I have made a similar dessert for July 4th, and I knew it would be semi-easy.  In the end, it wasn't that hard--especially since I had such a good sous chef helping me out.



I took photos of the different steps, but it's really self-explanatory so I'm not going to include them.  The finished product wasn't beautiful, but it tasted okay.



And BAM! Most creative.  I'm definitely holding on to this one; it's probably the only baking award I'll ever see.




HAPPY PI DAY!

Let's Meet Brinley

When we finally got to meet Ms. Brinley, she was already almost two weeks old.  She was still the most tiny little bundle I have ever held--or maybe it just felt that way.  She was so sweet, and she slept peacefully while we held her. 



Brittany was smitten as well.



There was a certain little boy that warmed up to us after his nap.  He is such a little trickster, and we had the best time playing with him while he "scared" us.





The whole family.  Seems crazy to think that I will have a family of four soon too!



I finally caught Ms. Brinley with her eyes open.  Such a doll!





So glad to have gotten to spend the afternoon meeting this precious little girl.  Her mom and I have been friends forever, and I hope that our kids will get to know each other as well.

Lincoln's 3D Ultrasound

We visited the same 3D/4D ultrasound place in Sugarland that we went to with Emmy.  This time we scheduled it for a weekend and we invited more people to go with us.  We were especially excited for Emmy to get to see her little brother, and we knew she would enjoy the experience.  We weren't disappointed!

Although it took our little man a while to warm up for the camera, we ended up getting some really great shots of his little features.  For the first while, I was skeptical that we would ever see more than his ear and hand over his face.  We poked and prodded him enough though that he finally graced us with a full frontal (of his face perv!).

We played around in the waiting room while the ultrasound tech readied our room.











My little big sister was so excited to be there to see her brother.









After the photos, we went out to lunch at Red Lobster to celebrate.  It was fantastic!



After we ate, we went to Barnes and Noble.  The fact that we missed naptime caught up with a little someone we all know and love.  There may have been a small meltdown because she didn't get to play with the train in the children's area because "ALL THOSE KIDS ARE TAKING ALL THE ROOM!"




She was over it by the time we reached Babies R Us.  She was way into learning about breast pump supplies much to Bradley's chagrin. 



Here is a side to side comparison of our two little people.  I think he may end up favoring his sister!



We are at 32 weeks now Lincoln, and we cannot wait to meet you!  We can wait though.  Keep on cooking in there so you don't look like a tiny alien.  :)