Happy Birthday Party Little Girls!

our little girls turned 2 on May 4th, and we had a sweet little party for them to celebrate on saturday. thankfully, everyone was well by the time the party rolled around. now a week later, they are both sick again: fevers, strep and hand foot and mouth. sure am glad we had this party last weekend! of course the theme: cats and dogs, fit right in to what they love! puppy dogs and kitty cats! we found perfect fabric for their birthday outfits. fun designs incorporating cats and dogs with purples and greens! i smocked their dresses and my mom made them along with darling bloomers: one with cats and the other with dogs! i made a banner (which will now hang backwards in their room as a sweet little bunting) but served as a fun happy birthday for the party! my sweet little helper posing for a picture:

after addie's party in march, we planned this one to be a laid back-go with the flow-free play party complete with bubbles... pink lemonade... and juice boxes. play sets...
sand tables...
slides...

and swings!

the big girls had just as much fun playing as the little ones did. what wild imaginations these little girls have!

and since dinner would be served, the food centered around that canine/feline theme as well! strawberry, chocolate or plain milk for the kitty cats... goldfish and puppy chow... and hot dogs! of course what's a party without cake?!? i had grand plans for decorating this cake with tiny fish and bones and paw prints along with the darling cats and dogs i ordered from an etsy store, but after having a week of sick little ones, i was quite satisfied with cakes from a box, icing from a tub, and plain smooth fondant layers!

and individual extra large cupcakes for each of our little birthday girls! they were pretty serious when it came to their cupcakes... but then those sweet smiles to start appearing!

they blew (or attempted to blow) out their candles, some with a little help... so proud of themselves! love their smiles!

and they were surrounded by so many of our friends! 

even Finn stayed around for the party! we loved having kira and john here. and baby davis came to his first of many wamsted girl's parties!

audrey kate loved her snuggle time with gramma

and anne perry thought it was her job to entertain baby john! super cute! but one of the things i loved the most was watching our little girls play together. before everyone left, they got a doggy bag with a tennis ball, fetchin' (pretzel) stick, and felt kitty cat complete with pixie stick whiskers!

and a mask! happy birthday to our amazing little miracle twins. we love you anne perry and audrey kate!

"Poh-tah-gruh-per"

addie informed us a few weeks ago that she wanted to be a "poh-tah-gruh-per" like mommy.

well, first of all. melt.my.heart. how sweet that she wants to be like mommy. second of all, how sweet that she thinks i'm a "poh-tah-gruh-per" because i'm so not! and third of all, this is the kid who use to say DON'T take my PICture mommy! 

so...the fisher price camera just wasnt cutting it, but i'd recently found my old (think almost 7 years old) point and shoot and have been letting her play around with it. the 2G card fills up fast and the old battery dies quickly, but she loves it!

she's constantly telling her baby sisters to say cheese. so we had a discussion today about real smiles and cheese smile...which is why we always do silly things to make her and her sisters smile or laugh when we're taking pictures. this was a say cheese picture from my perspective.

and here it is from hers! see the cheeeeeeeese!

of course she then turned the camera to take a few self portraits of her own! can we say hilarious?!?! all of this was to see how she'd treat the super old camera to determine if i would let her use my much newer point and shoot. it hasn't been a complete fail because i found her camera carefully placed near where i keep mine; but she didn't actually know it was there.

today she asked if she could take pictures. of course we said, where is your new camera? she replied: I don't know; but your "big black camera" is right up there (pointing at the mantle which happens to currently be the only safe place from oh so curious 2 year olds in our house), and i'd be SUPER careful with it. 

um...no. because you're 4. because you've already (temporarily) misplaced the old point and shoot. and because that would be my NEW "big black camera" that you're referring to!

maybe in a few years dear. just maybe.

Our Littles

I'm not sure where these past two years have gone but here we are! Anne Perry and Audrey Kate are TWO! What amazing blessings these little balls of energy are! They are smiles and laughter and love experiencing life to it's fullest!

And here's a little glimpse of their past two years:

(this is a combined shortened version so people who don't want to see 10 minutes of pictures of our twins can see a shorter version. below are the full individual version.)

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3

Anne Perry
Audrey Kate
 

Happy Birthday Day

last week was a long week for our little girls. they started with fevers, we discovered ear infections midweek, and thankfully got rid of fevers just in time to party on saturday.

but their actual birthday was on friday. no one was feeling (or eating!) particularly well yet. but we got shrimp (a favorite) from a local restaurant and made cupcakes just for them!

Anne Perry was ready for cake the minute she heard about it...
but once we lit the candles, audrey kate attempted to climb out of her seat and just fell apart in tears! 
Anne Perry on the other hand was just a little too interested in the fire!

She LOVED her cupcake (and icing) right away! and thoroughly enjoyed it as soon as she got hold of it! Audrey Kate was a tad more reserved, even after those candles had been put out!  but she took charge of things and enjoyed it thoroughly as well!  Happy Birthday Day little girls!

Playing Outside...in February and March

these random pictures got put on the back burner with birthdays and other events.

so they are just that...random in nature and random in time! but they are fun memories.

the first set is from february and the second set is from march.

this cutie pie was hamming it up in her rainboots!  her expressions are as unique as her little personality! shhhhhhhhh! love this baby girl! addie had a blast playing around too! i'm pretty sure she begged me to take her picture a few times too! and anne perry was not to be left out. she was just a little busy eating dirt though!  around a month later, i drug the camera back outside while the girls played. and this has to be one of my favorites of audrey kate.  she can be SO serious!

and yet so playful!

of course finn was all up in the middle of it too! he's such a sweet, patient boy!

this sweet big girl has the wildest imagination of anyone i know. i love to watch her wheels turn and her mind work.  

and she's learning how to play with and be kind(er) to her sisters too. what joy it brings me to see them play together!  

anne perry might be accused of being on the more serious (pouty) side when she's around others...

but oh my this little girl knows how to soak up life to it's fullest!

i love to see her smile!  AND be a tad on the more serious! but this one has to be a one of my favorites of addie. when, oh when, did she grow up?

wonderful memories of fun times and prayers for many more to come!

For the Birds!

this last week was for the birds! fevers. tears. doctor's visit. ear infections. antibiotics.

trying to plan a 2nd birthday for the twins all the while wondering if they would come down with a highly contagious virus they'd been exposed to last week was not my idea of fun!

we had the party-that-almost-wasn't yesterday! I am so thankful for that, but it almost wiped me out in the meantime! more on that when i recuperate!

early in the week, addie and i ran for some birthday party supplies. everyone was feeling fine at that point. Addie found these birdhouses and thought it'd be great fun to paint one! so we bought a big one and two smaller ones, came home to change into some it's-ok-to-get-paint-on-clothes, and hit the deck with paint and bird houses!
the little girls have painted with q-tips, but i don't think they'd ever painted with brushes before and did quite well!
they were all 3 some super serious artists too!
anne perry had so much fun! and audrey kate was super serious (check out that lip!), but i finally got a smile out of her! addie had a lot more to paint and wandering paint brushes from her little sisters to avoid, so she wasn't up for pictures, but she had so much fun choosing colors and painting each section carefully! And the finished products... making sweet, fun summer memories already!