Someone Had a Birthday!

Piper turned 2 the day before Thanksgiving. We had so much fun that day as a family. Piper woke up to pink balloons all in her room. It has become one of our birthday traditions that the kids love. Piper also woke up wanting her Minnie in her arms, which was very fitting since her birthday was a Minnie Mouse party!

Then it was downstairs for presents! We were all excited, but she was still waking up and therefore not all smiles. How could she not know that it was her special day?

These are all for me?

Yay! Toys for my babies!
And tons of princess shoes!Oooh, what is this. . . .Clothes from Grandma Pitta!I love this because Brody would never give clothes the time of day and throw them over his shoulder like they were tissue paper. Clothes are definitely her thing.Have to stop a moment to give Minnie a big hug!As soon as she opened all her clothes gifts, she immediately unzipped her jammies and tried to put on her new dresses. This one is from Auntie Janie and she looked so cute! Then, of course, it was time to try on her new dress up shoes!How do I look? Like a little girl that has grown up way too fast (sigh).
Grandma Pitta also got her play food.Brody enjoyed playing with all the food and showing us his creations. . . hot dog
Hamburger Deluxe with an ice cream cone.All her presents! Brody picked out the princess backpack for her, so she could have her very own. So cute!Piper requested hot chocolate, eggs and toast for breakfast.Oh so good, right Brody?After breakfast and once we all got ready for the day, we were off to the movies to go see. . . . .

Tangled!Here are a few shots of us waiting for the movie to start. We scored free popcorn for using our Regal Rewards card too. BTW, that is the most awesome thing, much like the Best Buy rewards card, we score free things almost every time we go to the movies it seems (which really isn't a lot). It is not a credit card and there is no cost to have one. Way cool!This was Piper's 3rd movie she had been to, so she wasn't as comfortable like Brody was. I guess the first time really doesn't count because she was a little baby and was asleep for most of it.We all LOVED Tangled! It was very cute movie that is great for all ages. I would highly recommend it if you haven't gone already. I thought it would be more for girls, but not so, it had lot of great stuff for the boys too. Piper did really well in the movie and was content up though about 2/3rds of it before falling asleep on my lap. She woke up for the last couple of scenes. Now, if we see any kind of preview or poster about it, the kids still go crazy and Piper always says, "Tangled, for my birthday". She is the cutest! :)

After the movie, we went to see this guy.She really wasn't interested in him and even a bit scared when he came over. This was really what she looked liked most of the time at Chuck E Cheese. I guess she was soaking it all in with it being her first time and all. We took Brody here for his birthday when he turned two, and with it being a rainy day anyway, it was a perfect place to go.We first went for the games. Brody was wanting to play every game he saw.
Skee ball seemed to be the favorite for us all. But Daddy did love shooting hoops.Piper had a great time taking the car out for a spin.and trying to figure out the horn.Our pizza arrived and it was time to take a break. We had to pull unwilling children away from all the fun for a minute.After eating a bit, it was back for more games. Piper loved sitting in the Clifford car.The horse ride was a hit too.

And the merry-go-round for one last ride.
We then headed home for some yummy cupcakes. All Piper wanted for her birthday was pink cupcakes. She had been wanting these all day from the moment she got up. Now that it was time for cupcakes, she was very excited. Note to self: next time you want to make Minnie/Mickey cupcakes, use oreos with little oreos instead, so much easier!
Happy Birthday Piper!

I can't believe she is already two! Time is really flying by way to quick with her, probably because she is such a good little girl. We are so lucky to have this sweet, smart, smiley, sassy at times, snugly and shy Piper in our lives. Happy Birthday pumpkin!

Taking a Break

. . . from parenthood, that is. John's parents took the kids overnight two weekends ago. It was WONDERFUL! I can't believe how much a little break can really rejuvenate and make you a better parent.

A few days before, I was telling Brody that they get to stay at Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house, and his face lit up, but then he got serious and said, "You need to stay too, so Piper won't be really sad." It was so cute, he was so worried about her. I knew she would be fine, though.

We left after Brody's Thanksgiving party and drove up to their house to drop the kids off. We hung around for a little while before leaving. I am not sure Brody liked that too much because he told John, "Daddy, you can leave now." Wow, I guess he no longer needs us anymore. Piper on the other hand burst into tears as we took off. Such a sad sight. Poor girl! She got over it and had lots of fun.

So, we headed home, changed into something nice and were off on our wonderful date. John surprised me with our first stop, the new. . . . . . . Tai Pan Trading store! I had been wanting to go check it out, so it was great that we were able to. I didn't end up getting anything, but it was just fun to look around. We couldn't stay long though because we needed to make our reservation at our favorite steakhouse, Ruth's Chris.
John's partner told him to take me out on an expensive dinner, with really no limit, and he would foot the bill. He was so happy because John scored the highest he could get when his audit was reviewed recently. Way to go John! So, John picked his favorite place to go if someone else was paying. We love this place! The staff are always super nice and call you by name, like "Mr. Brown", the atmosphere is great with its dim lighting and more private tables, and the food is awesome! I first started out with the crab cakes, which I think are the best I have ever had, melt in your mouth. . . . oh, so yum! John started with some onion rings and then I had a winter salad, which was so delicious. Right about here I was already full. Then we got our entrees, I had the filet mignon and John got the ribeye and we got sweat potato casserole, broccoli and potatoes au gratin. After a few bites of each, I was done and happy to take it home for another meal. We did go for the dessert, though, and got a to-die-for chocolate cake with ice cream and caramel. It was a great time and so happy that work offered to take us out. It doesn't happen to much anymore.

After dinner, we stopped at Costco to get some Christmas gifts we saw there for the kids and Piper's birthday. One of our main reasons for this weekend was to shop and get the holidays squared away. I was glad we were able to start that night because the next day was filled with even more shopping. Our last trip of the evening was Target where Santa pretty much finished all the kids gifts.

The next day, we both woke up much earlier than we would have liked especially with no kids around. It was nice though to get an early start to the day. We first stopped at Brueggers Bagels to get some breakfast and went over to the mall. We were there right when it opened and got all of our shopping done before it really got crowded. It was a very successful trip, well for me anyway :). Before going back to pick up the kids, we stopped at In N Out and chatted with our friends Brooke and Kerry and family that we saw there. By the way, I love running into people, it really is one of my favorite things. Weird I'm sure, I know. So, anyway, we made it to the grandparents house and all was well. The kids were happy to see us and tell us their tales and we were so happy to see them. It was a much needed break. Thank you so much Lee and Aneta for taking the kids and for all their new Costco clothes!

Brody's Thanksgiving Feast

Brody's preschool had its Thanksgiving Feast party the Friday before the holiday break. At the end of the day, they sang songs for the parents. Brody was so cute and did a great job knowing the words and actions. He is hard to see in this picture, but he is the 5th in from the right behind the girl dressed in pink.Their class in action.

They made so many fun things that day. He was so excited about his turkey hat and goody bag filled with gold coins, cereal, and animal cookies. Funny story about the coins. Brody thought they were real coins and was very excited about them. I think he realized there was something different about them and when he found the chocolate, it was like the best thing in the world to him. He was so shocked and excited at the same time. It is so fun to see kids have those "a ha" moments. Along with the treats and hat, they made a special turkey plate from their hand print. It is a nice little keepsake from his year in preschool.

A Fun Day With Cousins

My sister Lindsey and her family have recently moved back down here, so they came over for the day two weeks ago. The came bearing gifts for Piper since her birthday was the next week. Piper was pretty excited to see her pretty pink bag, but still a little timid about her cousins being here.

Brody and Brooklyn helped her with opening it since they just couldn't wait.Oh a pretty picture by Brooklyn. Great job writing all those P's and 2's Brookie!Piper got a darling pink outfit that she just had to try on right away. She is showing us her pretty outfit. Can't you tell how excited she is? She is such a girl!
All dressed up ready to pose for pictures. Aunt Lindsey made her adorable headband that she is so obsessed with right now.After present time, they were off to play toys. They were having so much fun we had to pry them away just to go get some lunch.We went over to the kids favorite fast food, McDonalds of course, to eat and play outside. Brody had been asking forever to go and I thought today was the perfect day.

Brooklyn and Brody having too much fun out in the play area. Easton kept wanting to climb the tunnel, but never knew quite how to do it.Piper was surprisingly climbing everywhere and having so much fun.Brody found her climbing height to be unsafe, so he helped her back down many times. I love this picture! It shows me how much he loves and protects her. He is always sticking up for Piper when other kids aren't. It always makes me smile. :) What a good big brother.There is cute Easton again. Ever since he learned how to walk, this kid is everywhere! It is funny to see him like that, since the last time we saw him in Sept. he was just learning.I see Piper!

After wearing these kids out, we went back to my house and sat outside watching them ride bikes while Easton napped. It was a beautiful day to be sitting outside and we enjoyed every minute of it. Then it was back in side for more playing and getting dinner ready before John got home. After dinner, we showed Lindsey all about the Kinect and we got our grove on. It was fun times. They ended up leaving just before bedtime, so they could make their drive home a peaceful one. Thanks for hanging out with us Lindsey and for the adorable outfit for Piper!