Happy "Bee"-day!

Bee,

A year ago I was hesitant about having another girl.  Now, I made you a matching bee dress to go with your bee cake.  We all love you so much.  You care such a bright spot in our lives and your signature Gerber-baby smile is contagious.  May I never forget your chubby legs... and that you are walking already -- big girl!  You are also very proud to clap for yourself when you climb up on things and you love to say:  bye-bye, momma, dadadada, and Yia-Yia (which sounds alot like "ra-ra" but you definitely do it consistently).  You still spit up, especially after your morning bottle.  However, it's not near as bad as it used to be.  You are a somewhat picky eater and you still really like your bottles.  You are not much of a snuggler at all.  I don't think you have fallen asleep in my arms since you were an infant... always preferring to be put in your crib rather than let me hold you while we rock in the chair together.  You can stay awake as long as you want to, but when you decide you are tired, there is nothing stopping you.  You are a bit of a bully - sorry sweetheart -- and can tackle and take down your brother.  Wresting is one of your favorite activities... as well as climbing up on things and clapping as we all run to catch you before you fall.   

It's been a wonderful year baby-bee.  Happy Birthday! 

Mommy

Did someone say Easter?

We colored eggs, as usual.  Bro used the traditional dipping method...

... and Lulu tie-dyed hers.  Tie-dyeing eggs involves wrapping the egg in a damp, white cloth and putting it in a plastic holder that has holes in it.  Then, you apply the colors with a small syringe thingy. 

When you unwrap your egg, you get something that looks like this.  Cool, huh?

She tried it with paper towels, instead of the white cloth, and that was cool too.

Baby Bee sat in her chair with some extremely healthy snacks cheetos... and was totally content the whole time we were outside. 

Did you see my nice Easter grass growing on the table?  It was a gorgeous day so I sat them outside for some sun and fresh air.  {{ahem.. the grass is real... the flowers are fake -- just sayin'}}  Need a better look?  {{We'll talk about the Easter grass later.}}

Later, the Easter bunny dropped off some baskets at the house.

Note:  I am not at all offended if you skip the descriptions of these baskets.  My grandma wants to hear all about them though -- don't you Grandma?. 

From left to right: 

Lulu's basket:  complete with Justin Bieber stickers and a triangle bunny hop game.

Bee's basket:  including "My First Easter" bib and a set of bubbles for three people to use (in yellow container).

Bro's basket:  with gardening tools and Cars-theme gardening gloves. 

Traditions:  Dear Husband insists that everyone gets a chocolate bunny and I insist that each basket has Peeps and jelly beans. Also, somewhere along the line, I got the idea that an Easter basket includes small gifts as well.  Maybe this is because I was an only child and so I got gifts in my basket.  Judging from some of the baskets that were posted on facebook Saturday night (what a busy little bunny) gifts are not necessary.  I am hoping to discontinue Easter bunny gifts in the near future. 

In case you are wondering, the Easter bunny did not leave Easter grass for the kids, but Dear Husband thought it would look cute in the picture.  I think that Easter grass will be a tradition -- it's so festive, easy, and fun.

The next morning, the bunny hid those eggs all over our yard.  I'm glad it was a nice morning... what would we have done if it was raining?  Maybe the bunny waits and comes back another day.  I'm sure that's what happens.

 I'm wondering...
does your Easter bunny hide real eggs or plastic ones?



Busy as "bee"

My horrible busy time at work is over.  I am now back to working part-time: leaving every day at 3:00.  This is so great for our schedule.  It gives me the free time to run an errand after work if I need to and then get the kids and have plenty of time to make a healthy dinner... and... still have time to play before going to bed.

Last night Bro and I watered our vegetable garden and then I pushed him on the swing that Dear Husband made.  Boys are so fun.  You just never know what is going to pop out of their mouths.  Last night it was, "Mommy.  Do you know what?  Girls are stinky."  So cute!


Girls are Stinky!

 After Bro went to bed (Bri was already in bed) I started on Bri's birthday dress... you know... the one that fits the "bee" theme. 

Ahem... instead of making it all yellow on one side and all black on the other, I decided to make a border for the bottom of each side.  I thought about it and thought about it... and thought some more... and decided that I could do it.  So, I cut the dress and then snipped off the bottom as a border.  I ended up with something that will go together like this.

{{My apologies for the camera phone pictures.}}

Cute, right? 

Well, then I flipped them with the 'right sides together' to sew them and ended up with something like this.

See... when you flip the border up it bends the wrong way.

Oh... so... NOT having ANY extra fabric to work with... this is when I started to panic.

I flipped the piece back and forth several times... wondering why the heck it wasn't working and... more importantly... now what was I going to do?

So, I scrunched it together like this.

And, then I started sewing... as carefully and precisely as possible.

I ended up with this.  This is the back of the dress, for illustrative purposes.  But, do you see the little bit of black fabric hanging off of the end?  Why is it there? Why doesn't this match up exactly? 

No worries.  I finished all of my borders and I can cut the ends off {{shhhhh... don't tell anyone.}}  The dress will go together perfectly -- I just know it!

p.s.  Let's just make a deal right now.  If you don't see the dress in her birthday pictures then you will know that this was a total disaster and we won't ever mention this again, mkay???

Have you heard the "buzz"?

Ah... and now that Spring break is behind me, I am back to blogging!

I'll write more about spring break later.  In the meantime, I am planning a very important party!

Someone we all know and love is turning 1!

I took these pictures of her legs with my cell phone camera.  I never want to forget how chubby they are.

We all call her Bee and Baby Bee... and even sometimes Bee-elle (instead of Brielle)... which totally drives my mom crazy!

I know a bee cake will be perfect for her 1st birthday.

First, I am going to make a lemon or carrot cake in this honeycomb pan for her friends and teachers at school.  Each section cuts nicely into a little muffin -- according to the reviews.  This will be the perfect snack for the little ones in her class... and it totally fits Bee's bright personality.

I haven't decided exactly which bee cake to make for home, but I did some research online and found some cute and easy options.

Oh... I almost forgot the craziest best part.  Do you remember the reversible dress that I made Bri for Easter?  No?  Ok - well, I did.  And we can talk more about the dress later.  I took a picture of it with me cell camera.  {{I have better pictures - be patient.}}

Anyway, I am going to make another one.  Same pattern... using these fabrics:

Fabulous right?  No?  Maybe I've lost my mind.  Well, we'll pretend that I am completely sane.  So, bees on one side and black-and-white checks on the other side... of a dress... that I am making her... to match her 1st birthday party theme.  You are right - I AM crazy!

Oh, and I promise that better pictures are coming!

No Excuses

My KinderGARDEN post is here.  Whoops!  I linked to the wrong post in the linky tool.  I'll get better -- I promise!





I'm not going to make any excuses for my absence.  Just busy - aren't we all?

Just to catch you all up to speed... most recently... we discovered that Lulu has 86 pictures of Justin Bieber in her room.  All four walls have pictures as well as the ceiling.

I grew some wheat grass for Easter.  This was a practice run to make sure that it would work.  Now that Easter is really almost here... we are doing it again!

I made Bri's Easter dress.  It is reversible. 

Bri started pushing the "mail cart."  A history of the mail cart in our family can be seen here and here.

We Dear Husband tilled the garden.

We tilled the garden this past weekend.  Then, Bro spent the past two days reminding us to plant vegetables.  I promised him that we will are going to buy the vegetable plants in a few days and plant them with him.  Precious little fella!

See?  You hardly missed a thing!

I found some garden planning software online.  You can use it for 30 days for free.  It's so super easy to use and totally maps out your garden for you.

Here is what I put together for our family.  Look... the program already maps out how much space everything will need.

Obviously we want tomato plants.  Lulu wants peas.  Bro wants carrots because he is reading The Carrot Seed every night before bed.  I'm not sure how the edamames will work out.  Watermelon is something the kids will like for sure!  I have heard that even kids will eat fresh brussel sprouts... maybe???  Of course I have to have basil.  I don't know what I am going to do with the lavender, but I want some.  :-)

Based on the harvest schedule for these fruits and veggies... August, September, and October will be fun, busy, healthy months for us!

 

Are there any experienced gardeners reading? 

Give suggestions.  Help!