Fancy Nancy - Radiant Room

We finally got around to redoing Aubrey and Emma's room.  We chose a Fancy Nancy theme which is so Emma.  For those that don't know who Fancy Nancy is you can check her books out here: http://www.fancynancyworld.com/

We chose two different shades of purple and I found some hot pink curtains.    Fancy Nancy's favorite colors are pink and purple (or fuchsia as FN puts it) just like Emma's.  I also found a pink chandelier at Hobby Lobby that I thought the girls would love.  Heck, I almost wanted to put it in my room!  I even had a 40% off coupon so it was actually pretty reasonable. 

I found a hot pink, sparkly sign to hang up and then some picture frames for the Fancy Nancy calendar pages that someone had given to me.  The picture frames and the bonjour sign were both 50% off at Hobby Lobby which I was pretty excited about.  Fancy Nancy loves all things French.  She even named her dog Frenchie:)

This is the picture that is above Aubrey's crib on the opposite side of the room from Emma's bed.  Fancy Nancy likes to use fancy words like chauffeur instead of driver and parfaits instead of ice cream sundaes.  Emma has started calling all ice cream parfaits instead.

This is the other side of the room.  The pocket quilt that Auntie Emily made for the girls matches perfectly.  It holds all of Emma's Toy Story friends and Aubrey's board books. 

I spent a few days slowly prepping the room and then one day when Dan had a day off from work he painted the whole room.  I think that the room ended up looking spectacular (as Nancy would say) and it fits the girls' personality perfectly.  



It's more than a meal

Another MOPS (Mother of Preschooler) mom brought me by a meal this afternoon.  This is meal number 5 that has been given to our family.  I wish that when I say thank you to those ladies that they could hear what I was thinking at that moment.  That they could truly understand that they are giving me more then just a meal to feed my family.  They have given me the time to bake cupcakes with Dawson and Emma.  I was able to make Aubrey's birthday cake just like I had done for Dawson and Emma years before.  I was able to spend time with my sister, niece and nephew and to take the kids on a picnic to the park.  These are all things that, realistically, I could not have done if I was intending to make something other then sandwiches for dinner.  I only have so much energy/feeling good time in the day and I am beginning to understand that my day is filled with choices.  Do I clean the house or take the kids to the pool?  Do I make a good dinner or do I the laundry?  I used to be able to clean the house, take the kids to the pool, make a yummy dinner and then after the kids were in bed I could fold all the laundry.  I could have done all of that in one day and not batted an eye.  Now, I can only do one of those things.  I am so grateful to have a group of moms who love me and my family enough to take matters into their own hands (knowing how hard it is for me to ask for help) and set up a meal train.  Thank you my friends for giving my family a good meal to eat and thank you for giving me the ability to make some extra choices in a day.  God has been so good to me by bringing such dear people into my life.  I thank my God every time that I think of you.

Aubrey's "bee" day!

Aubrey has turned one and I can't believe how quickly the year went by.  I am so thankful for my loud, snugly girl.  I have been feeling pretty nostalgic as this is our last, first birthday.  Aubrey has been such a joyful addition to our family.  In the last couple of weeks I feel like she has grown so much.  She is walking along the couches, has gotten her first two molars and has switched from a bottle to a sippy cup.  I have  feeling that she is about to give up her morning naps too. 

I really wanted to have a fun last first birthday.  We had a BBQ with friends and family and I decided on a bee theme for her big day.  I tried my hand at making outfits for girls to wear at the party.  I think that they turned out alright for my first time. Although, I wouldn't want anyone to look too close at them but from a distance they look pretty cute.

I also made the girls bee hair clips.

I found this cake idea from a Family Fun magazine.  It was pretty easy to make and I covered it in marshmallow fondant.  I wanted to make Aubrey's cake and so I tried to make something that was cute but wouldn't zap me of all my energy making it. 

Here is Aubrey all dressed and ready for her big party.

Aubrey loved her cake.  She kept saying "Mmmm!"



Aubrey is now officially a toddler.  I am trying to enjoy every minute of her because I know that it will continue to go by too fast for me.  My sweet Aubrey Cate, we love you so very much!

Dawson's Bad Dream

Early this morning Dawson crept into our room and stood next to the bed quietly calling my name.  I think that he might have been standing there for a bit because I don't always wake up easily.  Once I finally wake up and ask him what is wrong he tells me that he has had a bad dream and wants to snuggle in with Dan and I.  Now, Dawson is a super cuddly kid.  He has been every since he was a baby.  So Dan, of course, pipes up and tells Dawson to come around the bed and crawl in next to him before I can move over to let Dawson in by me.

When we all get up and around a few hours later I ask Dawson if he remembered what his bad dream was about.  This is what he said to me.  True story.

"Mom, I was dreaming that I was in the van with Emma and she was driving.  She was driving super fast and all crazy and then we crashed into something.  It was really scary."

There you have it.  Anyone want to do some dream interpreting here?  Ha ha:)  Poor Dawson, his bad dreams are about Emma.

To Branson and Back Again

 For the past year we have planned on going to The Gilbert Family Reunion over the Fourth of July weekend.  We got together with all of my Dad's side of the family.  The Gilbert family consists of Grandma D, her 5 children plus spouses, 12 grandchildren plus spouses and I believe 23 great grandchildren all under the age of 7!  It was an action packed weekend and we had a blast.

We left Friday morning after my brother Bryan and sister in law Emily met us at our house.  We decided to carpool to Branson.  We had the three kids loaded in the back, Emily and I in the middle and Dan and Bryan in the front.  We had the trunk filled in addition to a bag strapped to the top of the van with everything that we would need for the weekend.

The kids are all loaded up and ready to go.

 Bryan and Emily ready for a fun road trip with the Westfall's!

 Emily and I hours into our trip and still smiling:)

The trip to Branson went great.  They kids did awesome and although we had to take some detours due to flooding we got to Branson in pretty good time.  We checked into our condo and once we got the air conditioning working we were good to go.  The weekend was pretty hot so we spent a lot of time swimming at the pool.  There were planned games for all the kids thanks to my cousin Callie and lots of delicious food. 

Dan held Aubrey while she took a morning nap.

 Auntie Emily holding Aubrey while I helped with the kids games.

 Aubrey eating her first Popsicle and loving every bite.

I think that on Sunday was my favorite part of the weekend.  We had been meeting in a conference room and that morning we all had church together. The kids all sat on the floor while the adults were in a big circle around them.  We sang songs lead by my cousins Titus and Roberto and then spent some time just sharing about the awesomeness of God.  There are so many of us and we are spread out all over the country that so often we do not know what is going on in each others world.  It was a joy for me to sit and hear how God had worked amazing miracles in the lives of my family members.  God is a awesome God and I am so thankful for His protection over us!  Later that evening we had family pictures with the help of my sister Sarah and cousin Rhesa.  We were able to get a huge group photo and then photos by families.  My girls and their cousin Abby wore matching dresses that were made by their Auntie Emily.  Then I made Dawson and the boys matching shirts with polka dot ties sewn on them.  They all looked so cute for the pictures!  That evening I went back to put the kids to bed and Dan stayed and joined in a giant Nertz game with all the cousins.

It was a great time and the next morning when we had to start getting ready to go back home Emma was so sad.  She wanted to stay there and play with all her new friends forever:)  The drive back home wasn't as smooth as the trip there.  It wasn't bad though.  We had lots of bathroom stops and I am not going to lie that the last hour or two was a little spicy with the kids.  Emma basically had to sit on her hands for the last hour.  We made it home in one piece though.  I had so much fun with Bryan and Emily and I was so thankful to have their help this weekend with the kids.  I look forward to keeping more up to date with my cousins and hope that we can get together again soon!