Birthdays and Boy-craziness

Last weekend we celebrated Sabrina's second birthday. I made a special breakfast (cinnamon rolls & bacon - Ha!) that Brina would be sure to eat, blew up a bunch of balloons that I scattered about the room, and had a couple presents (from us and Lacey) for her to open. The balloons of course (of course!!) were a hit...the rest was just details. By that evening though, when we had some people over for pizza, she had definitely figured out the whole "present" thing. She was tearing through those bags like a tornado. I could hardly keep up with the cards and tissue flying everywhere. :) The best part was the last present which was a (super cute!) collection of clothing from Gymboree. She hadn't opened any clothes yet, just toys. She was in such a frenzy that she ripped the cardboard box open then started chucking the clothes out over her shoulder...shoes, socks, leggings, shirt, sweater...and so on. She chucked everything until she came to the bottom and found tissue paper. She chucked that too. Then she looked around the room like, " What's the deal? Where's my present?". It was both fabulous and a little embarrassing all at the same time. Of course, the present giver (her Nonna) was laughing as hard as I was.
Since we weren't doing anything big for Brina's birthday, just dinner(s) with family and a couple friends, I had decided I'd make a special cake just for her. Sabrina LOVES Dora the Explorer, so I knew I had to do something along those lines. Earlier that day, I found a recipe/template online for a Boots cake (Dora's best buddy), and I went for it. Two hours and a LOT of frosting later, it was complete. And, needless to say, I was rather proud of myself. It actually tasted good too (thank you Betty Crocker)! The next day we went to the Farm and repeated the whole thing, except this time we had burgers & dogs instead of pizza, and I made SURE to save a toy for the last gift. :) All in all, it was a good birthday. Now, I just need to regroup and start getting ready for Lacey's big #5.....
Speaking of my oldest, I'm happy to report that Kindergarten is going very well. She's excited to get up and go each day and has yet to complain. Phew! The latest development though, is her new crush...yes, that's right, after one week of school she's already got a favorite boy. His name is Ashton and he's VERY tall (and pretty cute too if you ask me). Lacey is above average for her height, but this little boy is a whole head taller than she is. Poor guy. Anyway, she came home on Monday, just raving about this boy and about how "handsome" he is and how he looked at her, but then didn't talk to her, and how she wants to play with him, but is too scared to ask....and so on, and so on. She mentioned his name at least 50 times that evening. She even showed me "the look" she gave him, which consisted of looking over her shoulder and batting her eyes. Don't think I'm kidding either, she actually demonstrated it for me. Big *sigh*. The apple DEFINITELY did not fall far from the tree. And of course, I'm the tree. :)
One more thing before I get back to what I'm supposed to be doing...I always like to share the funny things that come out of Lacey's, and eventually Sabrina's, mouths (it helps me remember them!). A couple days ago Lacey was out in the garage playing with our cat Sebastian. She had been going in and out with all kinds of things and then she came and got me because she really wanted me to see what she'd been up to. When I went out, I found poor Sebastian all dressed up in doll clothes and laying in the stroller. Lacey's words to me were "Look Mom! I dressed Bastian up in my doll's clothes and I didn't even break his leg or anything!" Ha! Poor guy, he's so good to her. He actually didn't even look like he minded the outfit all that much. :)

It's official, my baby's growing up

For years now I've wanted to start a blog. I've NEEDED to start a blog. Mostly because the instant I became a mom, my abilitly to remember anything (anything!) went right out the window. Already, there are so many lost stories of Lacey's babyhood. *Sigh* Oh well. I recently vowed that I would do it. I'd start my blog and keep it up. Better late than never right? But I needed an event, something big to get me started (I couldn't just start it up on any random ol' Monday, that would be silly!). So, I picked today, August 16th, 2010, the day my baby started kindergarten. My "baby" is almost 5 years old now. Just 3 1/2 weeks to go. How time does fly....
Last night I went through Lacey's clothes and laid out a bunch of outfits all over her floor. I called her in and had her pick which one was going to be perfect for her first day of school. She picked an outfit with a skirt of course, as she is definitely my girly-girl. :) I tried to fluff the skirt and t-shirt in the dryer to make them more presentable as first day of school attire, but the wrinkles only got worse. So, in unprecedented fashion, I actually pulled out the ironing board and went to work on them (even the tshirt!). Lacey's school is just down the street from our house, an easy 5 minute walk. I helped Lacey get her backpack (with nothing but a teddy bear in it) onto her shoulders and popped Sabrina into the stoller and we set off. On the way I said "Eeeek! I'm so excited! Aren't you excited Lacey?" She replied with "Yeah Mom, but don't get too excited, cause you'll freak out." Ha! She knows me. Lacey's teacher (Mrs. Raymond) met us at the front door with a warm welcome and a nametag. She told us to go find Lacey's cubby and then make ourselves at home. The classroom was so busy and "fun"-looking, we didn't know what to look at first. So much to do! Puzzles, and playdoh, and pictures - Oh My! Lacey picked the playdoh table so I parked Sabrina nearby and watched. Once everyone had filed in, Mrs. Raymond asked all the kids to come join her on the mat at the front of the room. She read them a story about the first day of school as us parents looked on. Then she had the kids wave goodbye as another teacher marched them out the door to check out their playground. Mrs. Raymond talked with us parents a bit and asked if we had questions and then very politely shooed us out the door. It was all fine and dandy except that I didn't really get to say goodbye. All I got was a wave, when what I really needed was a hug. A big one. Plus, I sorta felt like I was sneaking out when Lacey's back was turned. That's the kind of thing that really freaks Lacey out, so it's not something I'm used to doing. Oh well, I know why they do it. I know they are trying to avoid the tears and the scenes. Probably a good thing...I guess. I'm sure Lacey will be fine. She'll be so busy she probably won't even realize I left. And I did make it all the way off the campus before the tears came, so I have that to be proud of. Speaking of tears, I'm blubbering again right now. You'd think the girl was never coming back - sheesh! In fact, I've only got a couple hours to go. At 11:30 sharp Sabrina and I will be in the line of parents waiting patiently for our Lacey to come running. I won't cry, but I will definitely give her a hug, a REALLY big one...maybe lots of them. :)