A Party Fit for Hannah

Last year for Hannah's birthday we were at Disney World. We didn't have a party, per se, but she did have breakfast and birthday cake with the princess's. So this year, it was party time. I gave her ideas when we were planning and when I mentioned having it at the American Girl Store in Chicago at their cafe, that was it and she was excited! It turned out to be a beautiful day and Hannah had a blast! They did such a great job. It was well organized, the food was yummy and it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves.

I can't believe my Hannah is 4 years old already. Time flies, that is for sure. I am one lucky mama to have such a beautiful, sweet, loving little girl as my daughter. Mama loves you more than you will ever know.

The beautiful, and happy, birthday girl

My great friend, Patty, with Julia and Olivia

My other great friend, Sarah, and Maggie

My niece, Emma Mae

My other beauty, Lauren

My niece, Olivia

Julia

Olivia

Marissa and Sarah

*Big thanks to Marissa for joining us on this special day and being such a huge help to me!! Love you!

Hannah had such a great day with all of her friends and family. As we laid in bed last night she said "Thank you for my beautiful party Mama. I loved it." She has mentioned all throughout today how much she loved her party. When Jamie asked her tonight what her favorite part of her party and she said "blowing out her candles and getting Molly." (her new doll)

Wanna Get Away

And get away we did! I usually try to plan a vacation for this time of year. As summer comes to a close and fall arrives I know I am going to be itching for some warm weather come February. I was all ready to start planning our usual Disney vacation when the hubs put a screeching hault on that. He told me I had to pick somewhere else this year. I was bummed but I knew he was right. We ultimately decided on the Florida Keys. I had never been there and he hadn't been back since he was in high school. Surprisingly, both girls were excited about the trip!! I totally thought they'd be bummed about not going to Disney.. again. I was wrong. We ended up having a fabulous time and Lauren told us every single day it was the best vacation she has ever had. That warmed my heart! And I have to say, I agreed with her!

We started off the vacation with a bang. The very first morning was our dolphin encounters. Hannah is not tall enough to swim with the dolphins so we did dockside interaction with the dolphins. We got the chance to feed them, pet them and see some pretty cool dolphin tricks. Hannah loved it so much!
Jamie and Lauren got to swim with the dolphins and I was so jealous!! They both loved it so much!!

The resort we stayed at was on Ducks Key called Hawks Kay. I highly recommend this place, especially if you have kids. There was so much to do at the resort. This is where we swam with the dolphins. There was paddle boards, 4 different pools, a laguna, activities throughout the day at the pool. So fun!

 This was just a few steps outside our villa. The girls loved going out looking for fish.

our villa

Both girls said at the end of the trip that they liked The Keys better than Disney! Music to our ears!!! We have Spring Break 2013 planned!

All too fast

My babies are growing... all too fast. I know, I am supposed to embrace this. I am supposed to feel blessed that I have two healthy growing girls. I am supposed to just cherish every moment and look forward to the future. I get it. For the most part, I do feel like I do all these things but that doesn't stop me from feeling a little tug at my heart when I see or notice things that remind me, time is flying by. One of those times happened today. It was funny at the time and still is but it was still yet another reminder that time is marching on.

This little girl...

Hannah and I were in the living room dancing our hearts out to Madonna's "Like a Prayer" and Lauren walked in. "Oh my gosh I wish I were blind" were the words that came out of her mouth as she took both hands and covered her face in complete embarrassment. Then when I stopped dancing she said "Mom, I mean this in the nicest way possible... when you dance you are a nightmare." I admit, when she said it, I laughed. But then the more I thought about it I got sad. There was a time, not long ago, that she would have run in and joined me, happy to rock out with us. Hannah wasn't embarrassed in the least. She was loving every second. She thinks I am an amazing dancer. Hannah is 3. Lauren is 8. What a difference 5 years makes. Then it occurred to me that I am going to blink and Hannah will be covering her face, running out of the room embarrassed that Mom (not Mama) was attempting to dance. It's so hard to imagine. Growing up and even when I got married and had Lauren I never really thought past this time in my life. I always pictured me married, home with the kids. That was all I ever wanted and I was so content and happy to have that in my life. So when moments like today happen, it forces me to kind of think past this stage. And when I do I feel anxiety, I fight back tears. I'm not ready. And for now, I suppose that is ok. For I still have the times that remind me I haven't even reached the pre teen years yet.

*She still wants me to take her to school every day and pick her up and has no reservation giving me a big smooch right there outside the school where all her friends are.

*If I let her, she would sleep with me every single night.

*She still wants me to tuck her in and read her a book every night before bed.

*She has not yet asked if a friend could join us on any of our vacations. She is perfectly content going as a family of 4. (I so do not take this for granted and appreciate it being the 4 of us because all too soon, that won't be as fun to her)

So I hang on to these and attempt to appreciate every second. These really are the best times of my life!

SNOW!!!... finally

The winter has been crazy! I am by no means a snow bunny and if it weren't for my kids and husband I could go the whole winter without a single flake and be perfectly content. The rest of my family on the other hand, well I was starting to feel bad for them. So the snow finally came and the weekend started off perfect. With a two hour school delay on Friday and then playing out in the snow the rest of the weekend.  Lauren was out in the snow from early morning Saturday, came in for lunch and went back out in it until around 4pm when I made her come in. Hannah on the other hand was good with an hour that morning and that was it. I have a feeling she will be a little more like her mama as she grows up.

Lauren loves when Daddy snow blows. She walks right into the path of the "blown snow" every time. He started snow blowing before she had all her snow gear on and I've never watched her get ready so fast. All while screaming "Wait, wait, tell him to WAIT!!!"

4 wheeler fun! We were in the backyard with our neighbors who have a 4 wheeler and Mike pulled the girls around on an inner tube all morning.

And do you think Hannah even got close to that inner tube? NOPE! Her job was to stand their and look cute. She did a mighty fine job.

Finally in for the day. Snuggled up on the couch with some hot chocolate.