The Best Yet

I made the following cake for a girl in my playgroup who is turning 2! I found a few Minnie Mouse pictures on the internet and this is the one her mommy chose. This was the hardest cake I've done..by far. The ears are the chocolate cake that is egg and nut free, and the face is regular cake. I kept them from touching by putting a piece of parchment paper between the ears and face. It took about 3 hours to make the cake itself since I have very limited cake pans. I spent about another 3 and a half hours decorating it.

Here's what it started out as...
pink is on!
her face...
ears are ON!
the finished face...I was so focused on the face that I forgot to take pictures throughout the process. Her mouth is a little crooked, but that's me being picky! I meant to use a toothpick to outline the mouth, but like I said...I was really focused and forgot to. It's ok though...I'm only human!
polka dots on the side...gotta be as girly and pretty as possible!
Minne HAS to have a bow!
I think the bow made her look awesome!

Memorial Weekend

According to Wikipedia, Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May . Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War(it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.

The Airborne and Special Operations Museum puts out an amazing display of flags every year. I'm not sure of the details, but each flag is in remembrance of a fallen solider, veteran, etc. It's an amazing thing to see. We took the boys to let them see the flags and to snap a few pictures. When you stand amongst all of the flags, they almost whisper to you while they blow in the wind. It's a very neat yet somber thing.

More Games

Where's Brandon?????
PEEK A BOO!!!
Hey Daddy!

Twin Game

The boys have started to play their own little games. The cutest part is what they "name" the game. The game in the following video is called "DEE DEE" Not sure why, but it's cute and shows that Brandon is destined to be a wrestler like his daddy. Connor learned a few pieces of information about the American Flag.

First Trip to the Dentist

Today was another example of why I think we have the best kids ever. We took both boys to the dentist for their first regular check up. Brandon has developed a small phobia of doctors, but he surprised us and was the shining star. He sat in the chair all by himself, let my hygienist count, clean, polish, floss and brush his teeth as well as a fluoride treatment. He completed the FULL dental visit. Connor, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive. He ended up laying on me, let Ursula count and clean all of his teeth, and let her polish 3. I still think that's fabulous. He started to get a little tense, so she she decided to stop as to not scare him or force him. All in all, it was a fabulous visit. They have very nice healthy teeth, and Connor has some more molars coming in! Here are some pictures as well as a little video of Brandon.

Connor in the "kids" waiting room.
Brandon in the waiting room
Brandon helping Ursula count her fingers before she counted his teeth. She was amazing!
Brandon with his cool shades being such a brave boy.
Connor getting his teeth cleaned while laying with Mommy.

I just took them to my dentist. I really like him, my hygienist, and felt no need to take them to a Pediatric Dentist. They did so awesome!

Ursula was referring to the polish as "tickle paste" and that's why Brandon kept lifting up his shirt...he thought she was going to tickle him...So sweet! Brandon looks so relaxed in the chair too!!!!

Monkey-ing Around

Here's my latest cake creation. It's for the boys' tumbling coach's little girl. She's turning ONE. The only thing I have left to do it write the Happy Birthday message which will go in the blank spot where there are no palm trees. This was a long cake to do...took me 2 1/2 hours including making buttercream from scratch and doing all the decorating and fondant. I'm officially tired...proud of myself...and tired! The bonus...this was a paying cake order...WOO HOO!!!!


I really like this one! I think it turned out cute. Monkey could have been a little bit smaller, but it's still cute. I can't fit the banana on there...but maybe I'll squeeze it in there later. My brain is officially OFF DUTY for the night.

Pickin' Berries

The boys and I went to see our friends Tara and Reese today. They live about 30 minutes north of us and live very close to a strawberry patch. So...we PICKED! We had a great time...as you can tell by Brandon's strawberry covered face. He was seriously eating them right off the vine...dirt and all. He's such a boy!

The Boys

I know I say it all the time, but I have the best boys ever. They are so much fun, have VERY few meltdowns, and are so smart! Brandon's Speech Therapist has been pushing the "WH" questions with him, so of course we do that at home too. Instead of asking, "what does a cow say" we ask more difficult things like "where does milk come from" or show him pictures of a baby, bottle, and crib and then ask "what does a baby drink from" "where do babies sleep" etc. Sometimes I think the questions are too hard for him and he gets frustrated, but I know he's learning. We like to quiz the boys on what they ate for the day. They ALWAYS say their "treat" first...if they earned one for that particular meal. Brandon had a drs appointment the other day so Eric took Connor out for breakfast while I was with B. They went to IHOP since we can't go there as a family because of B's allergies. Eric said Connor ate SO MUCH FOOD. When I asked him what he ate he told me "pantakes" "tool whip" "chocate" "sausage" "strawberries" and "taters" Of course he had to point out the chocolate chip pancakes with cool whip first. Here's a little video from last night. Eric is in DC on business this week so it's just me and the boys.

Quotes of the Day

The boys say the most hilarious things. Are are a few quotes from today...

Connor was eating lunch, pointed to his bottom front teeth and said, "It's stuck, floss it out Daddy" Only the child of a dentist will ask to be "flossed" Yes, we floss Connor's teeth every night and sometimes through out the day because most of his teeth have contact and can get food stuck in them. He lets us floss without any problems!

I took the boys for a walk after dinner. There was a teenager shooting some hoops at the end of our street. Brandon pointed at him and said, "missed...hahahahahaha." The kid was really nice, laughed at the boys and wished me a Happy Mother's Day. On the way back home, this kid was walking to his house and the boys started pointing at him, saying "missed" and laughed at him.

Connor tells every single car that passes us on our walks to "slow down, please" Hilarious!

Boys Being Boys

Here are some pictures of the boys...being boys!




They love to ride Daddy's back...whichever one isn't riding will crawl on the floor by Daddy. So funny!

Cute Video

Renee's Baby Shower

Today was Renee's baby shower! It was nice to be able to leave the house and have some time with the girls. Congrats Renee and Ray!

Brandon's Latest Quote

The boys are really talking up a storm. It's funny what they remember from certain situations and the silly little things they notice.

I was getting these crazy monkeys dressed on Monday to go meet the pre-school director of the summer camp I enrolled them in. So, of course, they have to look like strapping handsome little boys. Brandon was all dressed down to his shoes. I was dressing Connor when Brandon waltzed into their bedroom and announced the following...and I QUOTE...

"DUMP MOMMY'S COFFEE ON SHIRT"

Cue sweet Brandon smile and look of accomplishment.

First I commended him for his use of words, but then I said OH NO YOU DIDN'T BUDDY.

He grabbed my travel mug that was full of coffee, I guess he tried to take a sip, and proceeded to dump half of the contents all over his clean shirt and shorts. Sigh... Thankfully, I put a good amount of milk in my coffee so it wasn't super hot. Note to self, the boys can officially reach anything on the kitchen table to matter where it's placed.

Gotta love 2 year olds!

Kentucky Visit

We went to Kentucky last week to see my family. Every time I go home, I don't want to come back! Kentucky is such a beautiful state, full of lush green grass, lots of things to do, lots of family, Florence is a very clean beautiful town, and people are just plain NICE! We had a great time seeing both of my sisters and one brother in law, both of my nephews, my best friend, and lots of family friends.

The trips started out with Eric taking the boys to a park in Cincy with my dad and sister and her boys while I went to the Spa and got a Hot Stone Massage. It was SOOOO nice. My other sister went to get her hair done and then we spent the rest of the morning together. Sunday, we all went to church, and after that my sisters and I went to Starbucks to have some "siser" time. Unfortunately, Ann had to leave early because little Benjamin wasn't feeling good at all...poor little guy. Monday, we went to eat lunch with Grandma Karen at work. Come to find out, Wendy's chicken nuggets DO NOT have egg in the batter. WOO HOO...a moment of excitement. The boys each ate an entire kids meal (which is a lot of food) and mom and I noshed on salads. Tuesday, we took the boys to the Cincy Children's Museum. I have to say that it didn't come CLOSE to the Marbles Museum here in NC and it was very expensive. We managed to get started in the museum before the buses of school kids did. That night, Eric and I went out with one of his old dental school classmates. Wednesday, we didn't do much since we were planning to leave that night. All in all, it was a fantastic trip. The boys did really well in the car and had lot of fun with grandma and grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Oh how I miss Kentucky!

The big dinosaur in front of the Cincinnati Museum


Brandon and Mommy playing at the water station
Connor at the water station
Connor sliding down the web

Brandon being silly
Brandon knocked over our Arch
Connor hugged it
We all played piano
Brandon in Mommy's shoes

Connor wearing Daddy's shoes
Brandon laying with cousin Noah...asking for "more tickle please" B LOVES to be tickled
Brandon on his way to help Grandpa Don in the garden
Sisters!!!!
Corn hole is a toddlers slide...duh!

Brandon told Aunt Bridget, "Bubbles on belly please"
Connor loves to kiss things..."Kiss the owl" We finally had to tell him to stop...that poor owl probably felt a little violated.
My belly is bigger than Brandon's...na na na na na na!

Brandon was saying "Push the button"
Cheesing at the park
Connor has suddenly started to HATE the swings...not sure why. He asks to get in one, then screams.
eB loves them!
These pictures are from when Eric took the boys to the park while I was at the spa. Even though I wasn't there, I'm pretty sure Brandon was saying, "Connor MOVE"


My nephew Benjamin playing cornhole the "1 year old way"

Grandpa Don teaching Connor how to play!