Jill's Baby Shower

We have been very excited for Jill & Geoff that they are expecting a little baby boy on June 25th of this year (Jill's birthday!). In fact, Mandee and I decided to throw a shower for Jill along with a couple of other friends, Bailey & Tracy. So, on March 21st, we showered Jill at Mandee's house in Orange Grove. It was pouring rain, but with the valet service that Mandee's dad provided, everyone made it in dry and we had 45 people or so in attendance. We played Daddy Knows Best where we asked Geoff questions prior to the shower for Jill to also answer. We also had everyone complete some baby wishes and advice cards. Jill got tons of lovely presents and everyone was very happy for her. I still need to send these pictures to Jill, but here are a few from the fun day!

 

 

Weekend in Austin

The day after Grace's birthday, we met the Powell's in Austin at the Huey's House for a long friend and kid weekend. We arrived Friday night. The Huey's live in a large, beautiful home in the Steiner Neighborhood in Austin. They have a fabulous backyard where we spend the majority of the weekend. The weather was gorgeous and the kids had a blast! There were 7 kids total ages 22 months thru 5 years. We cooked out, went to the Austin Zoo, celebrated Grace and Becks' birthdays with a St. Patrick's Day theme, and had a bit of "find the leprechaun" game going on all weekend for the little ones. Most of you have seen it on my Instagram, but I created 6 different notes that the kids would find throughout the weekend starting with a book about the leprechaun and instruction to look for him so they could get his pot of gold. We used shamrock confetti to show the leprechaun had been around. They got green jellybeans and had to search for his hat and wear green all day on Saturday. They made magic pudding (pistachio) when they mixed milk with the magic powder. They had to hunt for gold coins (chocolate) and just had a really good time, although they did not find the leprechaun! I got the ideas from my expert Kindergarten teacher, GG! On top of that, we just had a really good weekend with our friends and got enough visiting in without any major kid accidents. At this time in our lives, that is a win! Here's a few quick pics:

 

 

Grace's 2nd Birthday Party

So, as Grace's 2nd birthday approached, I went back and forth deciding whether to throw a birthday party or not or just have a little family party with us at home. While Atticus loves being the center of attention for events like birthdays or Christmas, Grace hasn't been like that. In fact, at Christmas, while all of us opened gifts, she went back and forth between the living room and GG's room to watch some Paw Patrol and back to eat a cupcake and then maybe to open a gift and so on. She was happier doing her own thing and if we tried to force her, she wasn't happy. So, I didn't know if giving her a birthday party would be fun for her or not. At the last minute, about a week before her birthday, I decided I would do a small one anyways. So, on her actual birthday, March 12th, a Thursday, we threw a party. I decided on a Minnie Mouse theme. We ate lasagna, cold veggies, and pizza. We had cupcakes and cake. We opened presents and let the kids play all night. We had a few friends over including Chris, Katherine and Olivia; Kirsten, Jonathan, Katie, Katerina; Russell, Sarah, Austin and Aubrey; and Travis, Rachel and Lillie. It was a great group of people and even though it was a Thursday night and I was afraid this would throw a knot into people's normal weeknight schedules, they all came and we had a really good time! And the best part of all? Grace was in her element! Only once did she cry and that was when I was holding Olivia. But, as soon as Katherine picked up Grace, she was happy. She just thought she needed attention too. I'll tell more through the pictures below...

First, we took some porch pictures in her little outfit. I happened to give her a fruit roll-up right before. I made her t shirt.

Then, I have some pictures of my decorations and cake and cupcakes. I saw the cake on pinterest and decided to try it. I had to bake 4 9 inch round cakes to make a double layer face with ears. And then I piped stars all over it in icing. I was super proud that it looked like Minnie. The hardest part was mixing the colors and using way too much food gel coloring! Also, the bad thing about black icing? When you eat it, it turns your teeth and lips and mouth a shade of purplish black. Oops!

We opened presents and Grace was gifted some really thoughtful things.

 

 

 

 We sang happy birthday which she ended up loving! She liked to be sung to and liked being the center of attention; I was so surprised!

It was a really fun evening and Grace played and had a good time and was never unhappy on her birthday! I was so glad! By the end of the evening, she was a disheveled little Minnie Mouse mess, but she was also officially a 2 year old.

Happy 2nd Birthday Grace Caroline Seidel!!