Madeline's Blessing Day

What a special day. My baby girl was blessed. She looked lovely and lit up the room with her smile. I made cupcake holders for her "signature dessert." Since she is as cute as a cupcake...I thought we'd serve all white ones with white frosting. We also had soups and salads that everyone brought as a pot luck.

Her dress was of particular importance to me...being a first time mom of a girl. I loved it! I even loved the sweet bonnet that went with it. I made her a blessing bracelet that I hope to extend for her baptism eight years from now...and then extend again on her wedding day....30 years from now!

I love you, Madeline. You are my little symbol of hope in the world. XO, Mom

My Luke turns 5

It's finally happened...my Luke grew up. Somehow five is a magic number in the life of a child. There's "wisdom" in five. Five means Kindergarten and besides...it's a whole hand of fingers!

We had a great day. Luke chose a LEGO Star Wars theme this year (not straying too far from his last birthday theme of CLONE WARS Star Wars). I made the invitations on Illustrator (of course) and had them printed at Costco. Love the Costco! We also got the cake there. You just can't go wrong with a $16.99 fantastic birthday cake. We even put LEGO Star Wars guys on it for the finishing touches.

We opened presents and of course, Luke was set with his array of weaponry. His "armory" is getting quite full.

He made sure to thank his friends for all of his "loot." They were all TOO kind.

Then we headed off to the Kangaroo Zoo for a bouncin' good time. Luke had a little to much fun and at one point ran over to me with tears in his eyes and asked me, "Is my head cracking?" Apparently he bonked it and was worried about it staying together. Needless to say, he was just fine. No cracking.

All the boys got a Star Wars Kite and a Ring Pop (one of Luke's favorite candy treats). I wasn't too creative on this one. With an 8 week old baby attached to me 24/7, I needed simple--yet memorable. I think we accomplished that. Happy Birthday, Lukey! You are my sunshine. MAKE A WISH!