Brooke's Fancy Nancy Soiree

Happy 6th Birthday Brooke!!

Brooke's birthday fell on President's Day this year, so she had the day off from school. We kind of just laid low around the house for the day and I gave her all of her new outfits. She had talked about wanting an IPod, but when we took her to Target that evening, she chose a bright pink Nintendo DSi. We felt it could do so much more than an IPod and would entertain her for hours(the one thing we didn't bank on was her brother and sister wanting one too!) So, if you are reading this...we are taking up a collection for Austin's birthday ;o) After Target we went to Chili's for dinner and then stopped by my Mom & Dad's so they could see her. The funniest thing about that night when we talk about it is Brooke will say "Mommy, I was FREAKING out the whole time they were singing to me at the restaurant! I just don't like people singing to me and everyone looking at me." I laugh when she tells me that because it is exactly how I feel too!!

Today was Brooke's big party. I put the most thought and effort into this birthday party than I have any other for any of the kids. I got it in my head that I wanted her to have a true girl's party and a true girl's party is what she got. We based the entire party around a Fancy Nancy Tea Party theme centered on a pink, purple, and orange color scheme. Brooke invited 5 of her best friends from school, although 1 couldn't make it. Her other guests included her cousins(Lyce couldn't make it) and a few of her other long-time friends. I also surprised her by inviting her friend, Lena, who she went to school with last year and has been longing to play with again. She didn't know I invited her until she was standing at the door, party dress on, and present in hand.

For the party I bought China for all of the girls to eat on and decorated the table for a sophisticated and glamorous lunch. The girls all came in their party dresses and my sister, Monique, adorned them all with bright eye makeup. For their favors, I made them all Fancy Nancy necklaces and matching bracelets.

IT made me smile so big to see these little girls all sitting at the table and acting like they were 36 instead of 6. Their mannerisms were spot-on and at the end of the meal I think there was only 2 cake crumbs on the floor. I truly could not believe how grown up these little girls acted!

This party will definitely be one of my favorites for a long time to come!!

My Mom & I made the bunting for the party






I made the bunting for the cake. I LOVED how perfect Sam's decorated it!

Meet Gizmo

In January, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to give Albert back to the Rescue and allow another family to adopt him. After spending 5 months getting to know him and loving him, we realized he just wasn't the right fit for our family and small children. It was a heart wrenching decision to make because we had grown to love him so much, but we knew it was the best decision for both him and us. I myself had a very difficult time dealing with giving him back, especially when Addi would cry and ask "Albert go bye-bye? Why??" I miss him, but am happy to report that a week later he was adopted by another family with teenage children :)
We had spoken to the kids in depth about getting another dog that would be the perfect match for us, and were lucky enough that one of my sister's friends had bread her Shih tzu and had a litter of puppies available. We picked out the fattest, most personable puppy of the bunch and on Tuesday afternoon we brought adorable little Gizmo home! The kids are absolutely in love with him to the point the keep count of how many times each one of them has held him and then fight over it. He accompanies us in the morning for the ride to school and sleeps on Brooke's lap the whole way there. So far he has been such a wonderful little puppy and we are so happy that we made him a part of our family!

His new favorite sleeping spot

His Furr-Real kitty girlfriend