Family Vacation

This week we took our first-ever, official family vacation.  We have had several visits to see family, but I consider this our first official vacation because: 

                        1) We stayed in a hotel. 

                        2) We ate out (or in the hotel dining area) for every meal. 

                        3) We did fun things every day. 

                        4) It was just the 4 of us!

We left Wednesday morning, July 4th.  The girls "helped" me pack my bag: 

Our destination was Grand Rapids, Michigan.  My husband and I both lived there for a time before we were married, and it had been over 5 years since we had seen a lot of the places we used to frequent.  Our first vacation destination was....Cornerstone University/Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.  Boo refered to this as "Daddy's Pastor School".  :)

It was HOT!  Baby Cakes relaxed in her stroller with Diggity Dog.

We took a family picture.

Daddy was showing his mad pole-climbing skill as two little girls screamed in terror.  :)  They did NOT like him doing this.  He came back down just after this picture was taken.  No bell-ringing that day!

Boo got over her terror and tried to climb the pole herself.

They're just so cute.

We had some time to kill before hotel check-in time, so we headed to the mall for awhile.  Boo rode her favorite ride...

And even let Baby Cakes join her for awhile.

Boo enjoyed staying in a hotel for the first time (that she can remember).  She loved having this big bed to herself, and she did pretty well staying quiet so that others could sleep.  She told us she wanted to live there.

The girls loved sitting in this chair and being spun round and round.

On Thursday, we went to the zoo.  We saw monkeys...

Baby Cakes liked the penguins.

The favorite for both of the girls seemed to be the bears though.  I loved hearing Baby Cakes growl at them .  Soooo cute!

Boo named one of the bears Cabela Bear (after her beloved stuffed bear), and Daddy named the other Mike.

With Cabela Bear:

The girls banged on the drums...

And Baby Cakes LOVED that.

Boo showed off her balancing skills.

And we visited the children's area.

Did I mention how HOT it was this week?!  Baby Cakes would not let this cup out of her hands.

Friday we went to Rockford.  This is the Rockford Dam.  This place will always be special to me, as this is where my husband proposed - 6 years ago, July 30th.

We sat on "our bench" (which has since been relocated a few feet) and Boo took our picture.  Pretty good for a 3 year-old.

6 years ago, I never would have guessed that the next time I would be back in Rockford, I would be with my husband and 2 little beauties.  So blessed.  And how cute is this?!

 We went to a second mall on Friday.  Boo got to ride on a frog.

 And more fun rides.

The girls enjoyed Taco Bell.  Boo had her first-ever taco, and Baby Cakes enjoyed a cheese roll-up.  Mmmmm...Mommy is so excited to share my love of Taco Bell with another generation!

 We had a lot of fun just relaxing and enjoying the places in and around Grand Rapids.  We swam in the pool.  We ate lots of good food.  We took naps and even slept well at night.  (This is quite an accomplishment with two little ones in one hotel room!)  It was a nice change of pace.

Mostly, we just enjoyed having Daddy with us all day for 3 days and spending time as a family.

Hair Bow Organizer

I joined Pinterest a few months ago and am in love with it.  I have found so many fun crafts and ideas since joining.  Now the only problem is...I need time to complete these projects!
I love hair bows for my girls.  I have made a few that were inspired by Pinterest.  But I needed somewhere to store these bows, so I found an idea on Pinterest (of course). 

This idea originally came from The Frugal Girls.com.  I liked their idea of using a picture frame and ribbon, but their bow organizer seemed a little small to me.

I searched in my attic for old frames, and I remembered a frame I had from an old mirror in my first apartment.  The mirror broke in a move, but I liked the frame so much that I kept it.  It was perfect for this project.

Then I started thinking about what scrapbook paper to use as the background.  The mirror frame was a little too big to use scrapbook paper, so I started thinking about fabric I had "for later".  I remembered an old scrub top I had been given a few years ago.  I liked the pattern on the top, but I never actually wore it.  I wasn't a big fan of the bow in the front.  Again, perfect for this project.

I found some ribbon I liked at Walmart, and I set to work.  All I had to do was cut the front off the scrub top, position it on the back of the frame, and tack the back corners down with some hot glue.  The back of the frame is not pretty, but nobody will ever see it, so it doesn't matter.  Then I tacked the ribbon on the back with some hot glue, clipped the bows in place, and hung it on Boo's wall.  Ta-da!  A beautiful bow organizer, ready for some more bows:

Happy Birthday Boo!

Our little Boo turned 3 today.  How is she 3 already?!  I think I tell her everyday, "You're getting so big". 

This birthday was so much fun.  She actually knew what having a birthday was all about.  She knew she was going to have "Happy Birthday" sung to her, eat birthday cake, and open presents.  She was excited, and that made it really exciting to watch as a parent.

She was allowed to open a gift yesterday - some play food from someone at church.

 I asked her what her favorite was, and she held up this chocolate.  :)

I spent naptime yesterday baking a cake.  I was so excited to use a train cake mould that someone from church had given me.  Unfortunately, my train did not turn out like the pictures.  But it was presentable, and Boo would have been happy with anything that remotely resembled a train.  :)

Last night, I decorated the cake.  I felt like I was making a gingerbread house with all the candy decorations.  It was fun!

 Our dinner tonight consisted of Boo's favorite food.  She has often requested hotdogs and french fries, and I believe tonight was the first time she ever actually got to eat that combination!  She was a happy girl.

 And she loved her cake!!!

 It took several tries and much coaching on how to blow out that candle...

 In true Boo fashion, she only ate the decorations off her piece of cake.

 Daddy with his Boo

 Mommy with her Boo.  (Babycakes was in bed by this point.  We didn't get any pictures of her with Boo.)

 Time for presents!  She was the typical kid, totally unimpressed with the clothes I got her.  :)

 But the toys were a different story!

 See that little pice of black on this box?  When she saw that she said "it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse".  How did she know?!

 Boo's fun presents

 Of course we had to play with the toys.  Mommy and Boo played the Mouse-ke-tag game together, and then we had Family Play-Doh Night. 

 She enjoyed creating.

I love that girl!!!

Boo...And Her Big Girl Bed Too

I was getting Boo ready for bed several weeks ago, and she told me she wanted to sleep on the floor.  I was skeptical, but I had the time...so I said okay.  I set her up on the floor and expected to come back in about 20 minutes and put her in her crib.  (Boo will be 3 next week, but she has never tried to climb out of her crib.  I don't think the thought has ever occured to her.)

I was surprised when she fell asleep quickly and slept most of the night on the floor.  Daddy did have to go in and put a blanket under her during the night because she got cold. 

Here she is with all her stuff.

After that, Boo went back and forth about where she wanted to sleep.  Sometimes she was in her crib.  Sometimes she was on the floor.  We started putting her mattress on the floor for her so she would be more comfortable.  She still slept with all her junk.

We talked about taking the front of Boo's crib off and making in into a toddler bed...but we really need the crib for poor Babycakes who is still in a Pack and Play.  Plus, sleeping in a fun bed would provide incentive to stay in her bed.  So we started watching Craigslist.  In mid December, I found what we were looking for.  The price was great, so we brought it home...and stored it in the basement.  We needed plywood to go under the mattress.  My in-laws came to visit this weekend and brought the plywood we needed.

Yesterday, we presented Boo with her very own Big Girl Bed.  She was sooooo excited to see the race car in her room!!!

 She played in her room most of the night and made her Pawpaw stay in to keep her company.

After dinner at 5:45, she was saying it was time to go to bed.  Then when it really was bedtime, she played and played.  (She did stay in her bed the entire time.)  Finally, around 9:30 or so, she got quiet.  My husband snuck in before heading to bed and snapped a few pictures.

I love how since she's in a racecar bed, she slept with her racecars.  Usually she chooses her trains.

 This morning, she was still excited and smiley!

I hope this excitement about going to sleep lasts awhile.  :)