New Badges!

Chloe's Wednesday night church group, The Rainbows, recently had an awards ceremony for badges earned over the previous six months. The badges are earned for successful memorization of a bible verse each month.
 
The Rainbows!
 

 
Chloe is always so funny to me during these awards ceremonies! She does what can best be described as a "potty dance" and can't stand still. I know that she loves the attention, but she must get nervous:)
 

 
Look at that vest! It's getting full and only serves as a reminder of how fast she is growing up:(

Chloe receiving her awards

 
Congratulations, Chloe, for a job well done!

Tiny Dancer!

I love these days, full of the littles' firsts! These new experiences are exciting for all of us. This time it was Chloe's first dance recital!

Since the fam was dressed up for the recital, we decided to take a few photos before the show.
 
Evan ran into this shot at the last minute, so our positioning was a little awkward. I was actually surprised that he wanted to take pictures, but was happy that he did.
 

 
A few solo shots of my tiny dancer:)
 

 
I loved how ballerina-esque (That's a word, right?!) Chloe looked in this shot.
 

 
Nana showed up a few minutes early.
 

 
Then it was time for the big performance! She did so well!! We weren't allowed to watch the girls during practice, but I was pleasantly surprised by what they've learned in just a few months.
 
First position, ladies.
 

 

She looked so serious. It was absolutely precious!

 



 
Afterwards, Chloe was greeted by all the family that had come out to support her. She was truly blessed.
 

 
Chloe and Aunt Sara
 

 
Chloe and Lola
 

 
Chloe, Aunt Dana, and Uncle Tommy
 

 
Evan was really funny. He was a little put off by all the excitement. I wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't expecting our family members to be at the show, or, if he was a little jealous of all the attention that Chloe was receiving! This was his reaction to most of it.
 

 
Poor Bubba. He eventually warmed up and took a few pictures.
 
The Littles with Nana and Granddaddy....warmer...
 

 
The Littles with Aunt Sara and Nana...warmest...

It was so good to see everyone and we are so thankful to everyone that made it out to the recital.

Bravo, Chloe!

A Trip to the Donut Shop!

It's probably horrible that I'm following my last post about the littles' first trip to the dentist with this post. However, I figured that it was share worthy and a day that I want to remember for years to come:)

Chris has been hard at work on a research paper and the littles have been getting a little "stir-crazy." I have to throw this in, Chris got a letter stating that he had made the Chancellor's List!!! We couldn't be prouder of our college boy! Okay, now back to the stir-crazy littles...I decided that maybe the littles and I needed a day out. Of course any fun-filled day (for me) consists of a little shopping, even if it's mostly window shopping. We went by a few of my favorite stores (My Kids Attic, Hobby Lobby, and The Dollar Tree:))! The littles were able to pick out a small toy each and Chloe was allowed to spend a couple of dollars at the Dollar Tree! They absolutely loved that!

Aunt Dana was sweet enough to drop off a few Valentine's coupons for free Krispy Kreme donuts. We put those to good use on our day out!

 
I picked an Oreo Cookies and Creme donut! Yum!!!

The littles have a new appreciation for the "HOT FRESH DONUTS" flashing sign that I was so fond of growing up!

It was nice to have a relaxing day out for no other reason than "just because" with my favorite little people and I'm sure that Daddy enjoyed a quiet day at home!

First Dental Appointment

Chloe and Evan had their first dental appointment a few weeks back. We've been total slackers on scheduling Chloe's first dental appointment. I've read differing opinions online on when a child should have his or her first dental appointment, but amongst my mommy friends, 3 years old seemed to be the optimum age.

Although we chose the same dental practice where Chris went as a child, the littles did not have the same childhood dentist as Chris. This probably worked out better for Evan, since we believe that he did better with a female dentist:)

This particular dental practice is known for its train caboose waiting area. Here are the littles waiting for their first cleanings!

The littles did so well! Evan sat in Chris' lap during his cleaning and didn't cry at all. Chloe was a big girl and went back for her cleaning all by herself!

We're happy to report that Evan was cavity free!!:) However, Chloe didn't fair so well. She has some cavities that we will be filling next week:(

All in all, the littles enjoyed their first visit to the dentist. They came back with a few goodies that they couldn't wait to show off.

As a mother, I'm glad that we checked the first dental visit off of our check list. However, as far as oral care, I guess I learned an important lessen the hard way...It's definitely just as important to floss daily as it is to brush! (Chloe's cavities were all between her teeth.) Remember to brush and floss!:)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

For some reason, I always seem to plan special breakfast meals with the littles to celebrate holidays or special events. It's ironic because breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day! Hand me a coffee and I'm good to go until noon!

However, there is the convenience factor. It just seems to the be the easier meal to plan, especially for this working Momma.

To celebrate Valentine's Day with my sweets, I planned a festive breakfast!

The night before I set out valentine's treats for my sweeties!

(This was the second monkey balloon that I bought for Evan. The first one flew away to a better place;))

Chloe's stash

Evan's stash

I guess great minds think alike because Chris woke up early too. He had planned to cook me an omelet for breakfast before I headed to work!:) Here was our combination breakfast. An awesome omelet and cinnamon rolls and bacon in the shape of hearts. I got the heart-shaped ideas from Pinterest. I shaped the {cinnamon rolls} into hearts and baked as directed. The {bacon} I shaped on a baking sheet and baked in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes.

I didn't mean for the cinnamon rolls to turn out so gruesome. I meant to tint the frosting pink, but may have added just a little too much food coloring...oops! 

The littles enjoyed themselves!

Evan's reaction was priceless! He had the biggest smile on his face. When I asked him if he saw the monkey balloon, he clasped his hands together, put them under his chin, and said "ohh, ohh, ahh, ahh!" All I heard was " I love it, Momma!" because that's what his sweet monkey sounds translated to in English. Right!?!!:)

I was able to get all my valentines in one pic, bed-head and all!

 
And a quick shot of Momma and her littles. Chloe looks like she just smelled something stinky! Ha!

The littles are so blessed to be loved by so many. From their visit with Aunt Dana who brought candy to their Valentine's package from Nana filled with activity books and candy to a quick visit by Lola and Uncle Jose who brought candy and balloons, the littles definitely got an abundance of Valentine's Day love!


We truly are blessed to have so much love in our lives!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!  

Rainbows Valentine's Day Party

Chloe's Rainbows group had its annual Valentine's Day celebration!

Chloe was so excited when she found out and we had to figure out the number of times she would have to wake up before the party. (That's how she counts her days:))

It was also our night to bring snack, so I was excited, and, my little fingers went to work searching through my Pinterest Valentines board for cute snack ideas!

I had Chloe take a few pictures before the meeting. She kept making an awkward pose, but I ended finding a cute one!

You can't see the applique on her top, but I absolutely fell in love with the outfit when I found it on the Gymboree website. It's part of the Loveable Giraffe Collection. The girl reminded me so much of my Chloe and I knew that we must have it for Valentine's! Finally, a good sale hit and it was ours:)

I found the cutest little printable for a Rainbow themed valentine on etsy.com via Pinterest {here}! It seemed so appropriate! In case you're wondering where I found button candies, you can find them at Cracker Barrel.

I helped set up the party while the Rainbows were decorating bags and passing out valentines in the next room, but I couldn't help myself and had to sneak over to get a few pictures!

Passing out her valentines!

Checking out her loot!

After passing out valentines, the Rainbows had their party.

I settled on bringing peanut butter & jam sandwiches and apple juice boxes with a "Valentine's flair!"

**The link and instructions to the the pb&j printables can be found {here}.

**The link and instructions to the apple printables can be found {here}.

How cute were all the snacks?!

Chloe showing off my feeble attempt to make a heart out of the Uncrustables pb&j's.

I was able to get a shot of all the "party animals" and their group leader, Ms. Dodi!

Chloe and I got a picture together before the party ended:)

Chloe and I get so much enjoyment out of these sorts of things! Thank you, Ms. Dodi, for really knowing how to throw a party! Happy Valentine's Day!!!