Pretty Princess

Anyone who knows my youngest sister knows that she is a princess and if it is pink and glitters she is all for it. Well it was her 10th birthday last week and I promised her a cake. All she said is that she wanted it pink and purple and no fondant. So this is what I came up with. Everything on the cake is edible except for the crown and the sticks holding up the lid. I was pretty impressed with myself. And it even made the trip home to Illinois without falling apart!

Here is the front, I hope that you can tell it is a jewelry box. The candy goes inside but I didn't want to put it on because I didn't want the icing to smear or the candy to get soggy so just imagine it all in the box instead.

The cake was chocolate with chocolate ganache filling. I iced it in buttercream and used melting chocolate for the lid and dividers.

Helping Mom

Here is Peter's idea of helping me with the laundry.

Doesn't he look so pleased with himself!

And here he is helping put the dishes away...or something like that!

First Steps

So Peter took his first step today-I of course did not get it on film-but I was so excited for him nonetheless. He was playing in the kitchen with me while I was doing the dishes and he was a little farther from the cabinets than he expected and he took a step towards it instead of just free falling towards it-which is what he usually does. I was actually right there so I got to see it and I just stood there for a few seconds as my brain registered what he had just done! So I am sure he will be walking soon-I am still debating as to whether or not this is a good thing...

Look at Me!

So the month of June has been a very big one in terms of Peter's mobility and developing sense of humor. He is in the 97th percentile he measured in at 30" and almost 24 pounds at his 9 month visit! Who needs to work out when I have to lug that around!

Due to his long length Peter has now graduated to a forward facing seat-yay! He loves it, he is so much happier than when he had to face the back seat.

Peter has also started standing on his own and it is so cute because he looks so pleased with himself. The other day it was a total game, he would stand and then laugh or yell to get our attention and then then when he had it he would wave his arms and laugh even more, and then sit down and do it all over again. I tried to download a video of this but it is not working so you will just have to imagine it-sorry!

Peter also has a new tooth on top, he started pushing that one out right at the tail end of a 3 day 103 degree fever battle we had last week. There will be pics once it is big enough to see on camera.

Part II of the 4th of July

Well, I guess it is really part I-but anyway...prior to the 4th of July festivities Alan and Jake went to a Cardinals game while Maren and I stayed at home and put kiddos to bed and spent the evening chatting-our favorite thing to do. It was so good to have her here, nothing beats face to face communication!

Here they are at the stadium They had a great view!As I mentioned, Peter spent most of the time following Cole around. I don't know what it is but he loves older kids-he is just enamored with them. It's like he is trying to copy their every move. It was cute though because Cole was the master of the army crawl and he was so much faster than our stout little man that he never quite caught him! The morning of the 4th we went to the Zoo, and no trip to the Zoo is complete without a stop at teh butterfly house. You might notice on my visor that I have a stowaway. The zoo was fun as always even if it was a little warm! I think one of my new favorite exhibits is the hippo tank-pretty cool!

Thanks McBride's for braving the 10 hour drive with 2 kiddos, we will have to try to make it to Texas when the weather cools off!

Happy Father's Day

I wanted to do something special for Alan for his first Father's Day and luckily I was listening to the radio one day and heard that Wicked was coming to St Louis in June. Perfect I thought, I know he has wanted to see it for a long time so I thought I would surprise him. It was playing at the historical FOX Theater in St Louis and I splurged and got us seats in the Orchestra. (small hint: you can get way cheaper and much better seating if you go directly to the box office and do not order over the phone or online.)

Needless to say Alan was super excited-I had heard mixed reviews so I was trying to go into it with an open mind. I loved it, I've heard the book is pretty bad but the musical was AMAZING! I even shed a few tears at the end! I now understand why people go and see this so many times! And the theatre was just beautiful as well, what an interesting piece of architectural history.

http://www.thefabulousfox.com/

Since we couldn't go see this on Father's Day and made Alan a treat on the actual day-not to be outdone by his chocolate lava cake! It was a lime-berry tart and it was tasty!

Good Friends, Good Times

At the beginning of June my very good friend Melissa got married so Peter and I of course had to make the trek cross country to the joyous occasion! Alan unfortunately had to stay home and study and work in the OR. So I braved the flight with overlay to Cali with a very active 9 month old armed with snacks and my trusty Born carrier. He did surprisingly well especially since the day before the trip he decided that he was done nursing! I definitely had a slight panic attach since he has never had formula and hadn't been a huge fan of the bottle. But like a champ he had no problems with the adjustment, I think I on the other hand had more separation anxiety than he did!

It was a fun trip and I am so excited for Melissa she and her new husband seem so perfect for each other. We also got to visit with some other good friends that were close by-I wish I would have had time to visit everyone but that would have taken a month and once all the wedding festivities were over there was not that much time. I did realize how much a a little social butterfly my son is. I don't think he met one stranger the whole trip!

Peter and I waiting with some of my girlfriends for the happy couple to make their exit from the temple. The happy couple!We snuck in a shot with the happy bride! Isn't that bouquet beautiful!My good friend Gretchen was so kind as to watch Peter during the sealing and then she and I had lunch and spent the afternoon picking red raspberries in her backyard-YUM!Visiting with Mark and Liz-I am so glad we had a chance to stop in and say hi. I am a firm believer that you can adopt "family" anywhere you go and they are one of those families that I will forever be grateful for their love and support.

Peter especially loved the Harley-notice his shirt!

We were lucky enough to stay at a friends house during our visit and I unfortunately did not get any pictures of our stay there-but it was so fun to stay with them and renew those bonds of friendship and love. I am so blessed to have such good friends!

As much fun as it was I was so glad to be home and to see Alan, I am not sure who missed who the most!

Backtracking

Ok, so the next few posts might not be in order but at least they are done-I never want to have to do that much catching up again!

Happy 4th of July

So I know that I am WAY behind on posting but I figured it would be better to do a current post and then backtrack! I hope everyone had a good 4th we had a great weekend ourselves! Our good friends the McBrides came into town so we spent the weekend playing with them! Peter especially loved following Cole all over our house...but I will tell more on the visit later.

On Saturday we went to the Arch to watch thre fireworks that they shoot off from the Mississippi River. It was quite crowded but worth it to me, it was a great show! Even though we were up late and it was warm...the kiddos did great!

Here is Tessa cute as ever!Cole with Maren, giving us the serious face!

And Peter, who really liked his flag-he alternated between waving and trying to eat it!

The gang, minus Alan who was taking the picture but you have lots of shots of his legs while he is holding Peter....

I wasn't sure how Peter would do with the loud fireworks especially since they were so close but he loved them, he was totally mesmorized. I was actually holding him first and halfway through transfered him to Alan and I don't think he even realized it. He only cried when it was over!