sugar cookies 101.

We've made it an annual tradition to make and decorate homemade sugar cookies every year on Christmas Eve.  I thought I'd share our formula for creating the perfect cookie for Santa. 

1. Find a good recipe.  Write it down.  Then forget which recipe is the "right" one and compare the 4 you have until you create a new "right" receipt this year and are convinced it's the best yet.

2. Buy 28 pounds of flour and powdered sugar.

 3. Gather an assortment of cookie cutters, most of which are too difficult for any child to use by themselves.

 4. Get as many germs hands involved in touching the dough.

 5. Dump half of the flour on the counter, 1/4 in the dough and 1/4 on the floor. 

 6. Spread the flour all over the counter, walls, cabinets and clothes.

 7. Spend 90 minutes cleaning up the kitchen while the kids happily watch a movie. The next day prepare the house for round 2.

 8. Buy 8 cartons of sprinkles: 2 for decorating, 2 for eating and 4 for dumping on the floor.

 9. Lick every finger each time you touch the frosting or sprinkles.  Just to taste test it every.single.time.

 
 10. Smile for a picture to attempt to create a pinterest worthy Christmas moment.

 11. Spend 2.75 hours on day two cleaning up sprinkles out of the carpet and chairs, after it clogs your vacuum cleaner.

 12.  Eat and enjoy!  All that hard work is worth every bite of one delicious sugar cookie.

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two for tea party!

For Lucy's birthday this year we had decided early on not to have a party, since we planned to take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge as their big birthday gift and wanted to spend more money on the trip.  Carter was content because he had his movie day.  But, then I felt bad for Lucy since her 1st birthday party went down the drain when she got sick.  And, because she will totally remember everything about turning two (ha!) I convinced Matt to let me throw her a super simple, very cheap, not-a-big-deal tea party.  :)  And, somehow he said yes.  

I ordered some fun invitations off Etsy (love Etsy!) and decided some cucumber tea sandwiches, PB&J triangle sandwiches, fruit and mini-cupcakes would be the perfect tea party food.

 Dress up clothes were a must (and of course went pretty much untouched).  And of course, tea party crowns and tea cups had to be there too!

I had to have Matt get the kids out of the house early in the morning so I could decorate. Lucy loves to have tea parties all the time so she was pretty excited when she saw the decor once she got back home. 

 My best friend from college came with her sweet daughter, Ava.  She really did have a lot of fun, even without a smile!

 Katy and I lived together for 4 years in college.  I am so happy to be living closer to her now so we can get together more often.  Plus, our girls are only 7 weeks apart!  Love you Katy!

 The most serious tea party ever.  :)

 Our favorite neighbors came too but the boys spent most of the time in the playroom with Carter having a battle to fight off bad guys.  Once they saw the cupcakes they ventured upstairs again though.

 Lucy loved dressing up!

 
 It was such a fun party and I was so glad family and friends were able to celebrate with us!

On her actual birthday Matt took the day off to spend with the kids and we had a surprise snow day!  We are always talking about how we can continue to make Lucy's birthday special every year since it's only 5 days before Christmas.  This year we didn't have to worry.  A snow day on your birthday is the best gift ever!
As soon as it was light enough to go outside the kids raced downstairs with their snow pants on and rushed outside. Our poor neighbors were probably awoken to the sounds of giggling children making snow angels in the backyard.

 She got to wear Carter's hand-me-down snow pants.  Glad we could squeeze one more year out of them!

 To say Carter loved his first snowball fight would be an understatement.  I've never seen so much joy on a child's face.  Priceless.

 She was determined to cut the grass that day.  It didn't work out so well, sorry Lucy.

 To be sure every.single.neighbor knew we were enjoying the snow we took a walk through the neighborhood.

 Later that night we went out for pizza to celebrate her birthday.  The kids loved playing with the dough balls while we waited for our food.

 And finally back home we celebrated with a sprinkle cake…the birthday girls special request.

 It was the most perfect day celebrating our special girl. Happy 2nd birthday Lucy!

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two.

Posting this a day early, but I couldn't wait.

She's 2!  My sweet, little, quiet baby is now two.  Gosh that went fast. I find myself reliving her "birth" day in my head all the time because it was just the perfect day.  2 years ago this little lady came out fast and instantly wrapped her hand around my finger.  And we've been stuck like glue ever since.

At 2 she is still the most cuddly child I know.  Every morning and afternoon she needs/craves/has to cuddle at least 10 minutes after waking up.  Sucking her thumb, twirling her hair and just relaxing in the warm, quiet moment.  And I'll never, ever get tired of it. She's cautious and quiet.  She likes to study the scene and take it all in before participating.  She loves to be social, but only when she's ready. She's beautiful. And not just the adorable face, long, soft hair and skinny little legs, but such a tender, beautiful heart on the inside.  She adores her brother and wants to be just like him. She adores her Daddy even more.  But deep down she's always been a mama's girl….I love it.

Lucy, you are the perfect piece to our family's puzzle.  You are silly and smiley and love to dance like a ballerina.  You might not have many words yet but you always know how to be heard. You have this sweet look in your eyes when you see someone you love and it just melts their heart. You like to climb, slide, have tea parties, play with your babies, cuddle and dance. You aren't so fond of your car seat, scary monsters (can't blame you!), loud noises or strangers.  You would choose to eat carbs and fruit all day every day if you could. You aren't a great sleeper…just like your mama you are a morning person and always have been.  It's quite annoying at times but I've learned to accept it and appreciate the smiles, even at 5am.  And you are soooo two!  You are learning your voice, your independence, your choices and your wants. You have discovered how to test limits.  You are smart.  You understand much more than we give you credit for sometimes.  I love how you can sit and color.  Your brother never did that and it's amazing how well you focus. And most importantly, you are becoming the greatest little Lucy I could have ever dreamed of. 

Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet girl.  I love you to pieces!

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