Mommy's Sprinkle: February 26, 2012

Mommy wanted to write a post about my sprinkle so that I could show you and Lawrence how Mommy's friends (Allison, Lora, Roni, Gina, Mary, and Melissa) helped me to celebrate my pregnancy with Lawrence and you soon becoming a big sister!

Allison hosted the sprinkle and did such an amazing job of decorating and planning the perfect activities for Mommy! The theme of the sprinkle was "Sprinkled with Love" and everything was color coordinated, which Mommy loved!

There was an awesome assortment of Mommy's favorite foods: Mozzarella, Tomato, & Avocado Salad, Chips, Heart Shaped Tuna Salad and Egg Salad Sandwiches, Vanilla Cupcakes with blue buttercream frosting and sprinkles, and Chocolate and Vanilla Ice cream with lots of topping choices (chocolate syrup, crushed oreos, coconut, nuts, and sprinkles), and my favorite drink, Strawberry Lemonade, served in glasses with sprinkles around the rims.

There were so many thoughtful touches:

There was a special book for Lawrence called "Little Boy" and a special book for Briana called "What Baby Needs". Everyone was asked to write a special message to each of them:

Allison created a "Wishing Tree" on 2 scrapbook pages with cut out leaves in a bowl.  Everyone was asked to write a special message for Mommy on a leaf and attach it to the tree:

Allison also had several choices of cute boy scrapbook paper and embellishments, and everyone was asked to create a special scrapbook page for Lawrence:

Lora planned the cutest activity to create something special for Briana to receive after Lawrence is born to celebrate her becoming a big sister...everyone was asked to create a sock puppet for Briana!

Everyone working hard to create a sock puppet for Briana

Of course Mommy wanted pictures of everyone posing with their puppets:)

Mommy also wanted a picture with each of my friends:

Thank you so much to each of you for coming and making my day very special!!!!

Friend School (February 24, 2012): Owls

Today we went to Friend School at Kate & George's house to learn about owls!!

You were the first one there and immediately made yourself at home and had fun coloring with George at his table and reading his "boy" books:

Kate did a great job teaching you all about owls and you really enjoyed the owl finger puppet book that  she read:

The first owl activity was coloring in the "O is for Owl" coloring page and putting butterfly stickers all over it:

You loved playing outside in George's backyard!!

The second owl activity was collecting sticks and leaves to make an owl's nest:

You also enjoyed playing in the sand box and you LOVED using the watering can to water the grass and plants!!

Lora also showed you what a roly-poly bug was; you had never seen one before:

Everyone sat nicely to eat their snack: "owl food" and string cheese:

You had so much fun during craft time making your really cute owl paper bag:

The finished project...you were so excited to go home and show Daddy what you made!

Here is a group picture of all of us!

From L to R: Beth & Max, Mommy & Briana, Lora & Lillian,  and Kate & George

First Time Playing and Splashing in the Rain

Mommy bought you a raincoat and rain boots recently and was waiting for the opportunity for you to use them.  You've loved putting the rain boots on in the house (you can take those on and off by yourself) and running around, but hadn't had the chance yet to use them in the rain. Finally, it rained and you were so excited to put on your raincoat and boots and go play! You had such a great time jumping and splashing and putting your hands into puddles and putting your hands up to feel the raindrops. Mommy was so happy that I was able to watch you experience that for the first time...such excitement and joy!

Valentine's Day Celebrations

This year Mommy wanted to start a new Valentine's tradition of a Valentine's countdown called the "14 Days of Love".

Mommy thought of 14 ideas that Daddy and Mommy could do together or we could do for you. Here is a picture of 3 of the cards Mommy made.

The other 11 ideas are:

Tonight, exchange homemade valentine's cards.
We will each share a memory that stands out from our dating days.
By the end of the day, go out of your way to do something nice for your spouse.
Play a game together...winner gets a 2 minute massage.
We will plan a family outing that our children will really enjoy.
This evening, share a long kiss before going to bed.
We will make a heart shaped meal together for our children.
By the end of the day, have a small gift for your spouse of one of their favorite things.
Tonight, give each other a five minute massage before going to bed.
We will stay up and watch a romantic movie together after our children are in bed.
Look through our wedding album together and talk about our favorite parts of that day.


Mommy and Daddy really enjoyed doing this together and next year we will make other cards so that you can do something special each day too.

We also bought you a little mailbox this year to hang on the back of your chair to collect your letters and cards.

When we first gave it to you, we told you it was to put your letters or cards in, and as soon as it was on the chair, you ran to the kitchen and got some of your magnetic letters and put them in the mailbox. Mommy was confused at first and asked what you were doing, and you said "letters in
mailbox mommy".  It was sooo cute! You loved your mailbox and were so excited to put all your Valentine cards in it.

Allison hosted a Valentine's party for our Monday playgroup at her park on Feb 13, 2012, and so many of your friends came to the party!

When you first got to the park, you had fun running around and swinging and going on the slide:

Soon it was time for a snack, and you drank some juice and ate goldfish and fruity snacks with your friends:

We made Valentine cards for all your friends and taped a little bag of pink and red and white M&Ms to each card.  At the party, before you and your friends exchanged cards, everyone decorated a paper bag to collect their cards in:

You loved making cards for everyone and were so excited when you got to give everyone their card. (Mommy didn't get any pictures of that). After you received all your cards, you sat down and examined each one:

You are so affectionate, and love holding hands and hugging and kissing your friends. Today you showed Keira a lot of love:

On the morning of Valentine's Day, you had Preschool! The theme for the morning was "Cottonballs".

Feeling Cotton Balls and sorting them onto the circles on the paper

Making a Cotton Ball Collage

Painting with Cotton Balls

After preschool, your friends Lillian & Keira came over to your house for a Valentine's Day lunch. Mommy served heart shaped pizzas, pink milk, and heart shaped sugar cookies.

You were so excited as you waited for your friends to arrive and wanted to give Lillian and Keira each a heart balloon that they could take home.

You had so much fun with your friends!

Happy Valentine's Day Briana!! We love you so much and are so blessed with all the love that you bring to our lives every day!!!!!