Jennifer's Bridal Shower

We celebrated Jennifer's (my sister-in-law) bridal shower today! Josh and I are so excited for her to get married and call Russ a part of the Little Family. They are just so great for each other. Me and the girls brought some hot wings, courtesy of KFC via Josh. And placed them in a great spread put out by Audrey, Aunt Ginny, et al. They did such a great job. The girls had a lot of fun seeing a bunch of cousins they don't normally get to see. My sister and her little girl were invited too and joined in on the fun. We can't wait for the wedding!

Happy 2nd Birthday Piper Jane!

Yesterday, we celebrated Piper's second birthday! I cannot believe how fast two years have gone by so fast. It was just a moment ago that I was holding her in my arms and bringing her home from the hospital. Well...enough reminiscing. We don't have time for it! Piper decided that she wanted an Ariel themed party and has very much been involved with The Little Mermaid and everything that goes with her. I see some similarities: tint of red hair, spunky attitude, winning disposition, etc., etc. Piper definitely is my little firecracker!

We celebrated very low key at our house and had Ariel balloons, favors (for the kids) and cupcakes. The family came over and we had a great set up of sandwiches, fish (thanks Nana!) and salads/sides. She got some really great gifts from everyone: clothes, toys, Ariel pj's and cover ups, a new pink big wheel bike (thanks Aunt Angie & Uncle Chad)! She had such a good day, she passed out not long after everyone left. Thanks to all that came celebrate her special day with us!

Emaline's Valentine Friendship Party

Today was Emaline's Valentine's party at her school and I got to take part by bringing snack (apple slices and chocolate cupcakes!) and helping out with games and activities. It is always so much fun to see her and the other kids interacting with each other. The parties are always about an hour long and the kids get to make a craft, read a story and play a game before singing a song, or in this case exchanging valentines. She got to decorate a handled bag with stickers and markers to hold her valentines, then one of the other mothers read "How do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?" by Jane Yolen, which is such a cute book! Then she got to play pin the arrow on the heart and that was pretty funny watching all the kids "closing" their eyes (which they really were just squinting so they could see the heart). Finally everyone sat in a circle and each child stood up and put valentines into all the bags. It was pretty cute and the kids had a great time which is all that matters.

First Sledding EVER!

Thanks to a little nudging by my friend Robyn, my sister and I decided to take Emaline and Piper sledding at her Dad's house, which has a supremely awesome hill for sledding. After Pepere and Nana got Em a Penguin sled for Christmas, she was dying to try it out somewhere. So, we picked up Aunt Kayleigh and headed over to the Cooper homestead and suited up for some fun in the snow. I was so excited to see them both out there on the pretty white fluff, but when we got to the house, poor Piper was crashed out!! So, she slept through her first sledding expedition :-) Emaline, however, did not and was ready to conquer that hill! Thankfully, we got to borrow some much needed clothing and a couple sleds. Then afterward, Miss Jan fixed us up some killer hot chocolate! Mmmm, yummy! It was a great day--thanks Coopers!