the cake!

last post---i promise! 

just wanted to show you guys the cake pics. i've always made the cake for my kids guys, this time i wanted to keep it super simple and focus my energy not on the cake...i think it came out pretty dang good too! 

i had left over cake for a week after the party (please don't ask who ate it), so it's safe to say that there was plenty for everyone even though it was only a two-layer 8-in round cake. 

but first....

simple french vanilla with some cream cheese frosting. no recipe, all from box--just how i like it. and some delicious strawberries to top it off. 

but whooops! look who couldn't reach to blow out her candle?

so since i didn't make her a little smash cake, we encountered a little Witty problem: the dreadful vertical challenge. i really didn't know how the whole thing was supposed to happen - i am a master of winging it - so we basically stood her up, sang Happy Birthday to her, she blew out her candle and then sat her down with a slice from her cake.

she did actually learn how to blow candles prior to her birthday...it was the cutest thing ever--even with some spit on the cake.

and then she went to town gobbling up that big slice of her cake!

my little mess maker was so sleepy, you can see it in her eyes....but the sugar helped her keep her going for the presents and the piñata! 

 and of course, we had to give her a little baby doll. it was adorable how she holds it close.

she also received duplo lego blocks, a rain rush, a little kitchen (eeek! my favorite!), and My Little Pony towel and blanket, and some books. all were loved and are cherished. 

and so is this little girl. 

i love that little girl. i had so much fun prepping and making her birthday so special, i really loved how it turned out even if Gary was completely turned off by all the pink. but i was in heaven. 

never really knew how much i wanted a girl, 'til i had a girl. 

have a blessed hump day, guys! 

Elena's first year Photos

are you sick of pink and gold yet? haha! well, these are the pictures i took to celebrate her first year one sunny january day. check out the rest of the pictures in the previous post here. we basically made it a family outing. 

you know what? i am totally in love with the pictures! i never got a chance to take the boys portraits when they were little (i took them to those places like jcp and sears) and while they are good quality pictures, i wish i could have done the same for them. 

you remember that little white rocking chair? it was such a fun prop to go along with those crepe paper flowers i made. 

she was so uninterested in that number. it was such a challenge to have it showing forward. it was definitely a family effort with jonah being a goof behind me trying to make her smile and daddy grabbing and putting her back into her position. it was so laborious capturing that little girl--but totally worth it! 

and she definitely made it known how much she disliked dried leaves and pine needles....love that face!

thinking about it, i know she had no clue as to what was happening or why...i can only imagine how crazy it might have looked like if you reversed roles with her. hilarious, i bet. but in the coming years she'll come to learn that when mom has her camera, it's time to take pictures. 

i can't wait to fix up her baby book with these gems! 

i only have one more post to do about her birthday...i promise it'll all be done soon.

we've been trying to get over the stomach bug for the past 2.5 weeks, so it hasn't been all rosey around here (specially with puke). and also, what the heck is a person to do with birthday decorations once the party is over? do you keep the stuff? sell it? throw it away? 

have a great week you guys! 

at the park

I wanted to post a few lot of pictures we took a few weeks back, in fact, before E's birthday party. These are actually when I took her 1 year pictures at the local nature center here in north houston. The weather was fair, there was a playground nearby for the boys, and little girl got her first taste of mulch and a slide. It was the perfect time to take pictures of all three of my babies.

 she was the best dressed baby in all the land---even with mulch up her skirt. 

 with no clue as to what would happen next, she braved her first slide with a little help from big bro, Jo.

poor baby girl was a trooper with that hard-to-walk-on mulch...and that concrete boulder never stopped her! 

"see mom? I can do it!"

awww mom, i just wanna swing! whined andrew...but he's such a ham, he couldn't help but smile at my camera. 

then came taking pictures with big brothers, and that was just silly. 

 

with jonah, being the silliest of them all...

hope you enjoyed!