Riley's Birthday Party

Riley is excited that she gets to decorate her own cupcakes!


Riley has a wheat free and egg free cupcake. The rest of them are
from a regular cake mix. You can't even tell the difference!



My sweet Riley!

As soon as the grandparents arrived at the party, we immediately let Riley open her gifts and then dug into the chocolate cupcakes and ice cream. It was pure and simple, but we all had a wonderful time watching the kids play with all the new toys. Even Jackson got into it there for a few minutes before he went down for his nap.

After the party, my mom and I got away for a much needed manicure/pedicure and a short trip to the mall. Once we returned we all went out to eat at Smokey Bones BBQ! Yummy!

I just love birthday parties and family time! It's a great excuse to eat cupcakes and ice cream without the guilt!

The Big Day

Riley will officially be turning 3 years old on Monday, but we are having her birthday party tomorrow morning. My parents arrived in town yesterday and we are all getting the party preparations together for the big day.

Every since we moved to Roanoke, it's been our tradition to take the girls to Captain Party before their birthday so they can pick out all the party favors. This year Riley chose "My Little Pony". She loves My Little Pony. Therefore, it was the right choice!

Most people know that Riley is allergic to wheat and eggs. Thankfully, the new Kroger in town has a good selection of wheat and egg free products. Considering, I'm not a baker, it's extremely convenient to be able to purchase a wheat free cake mix from there. I simply substitute an egg replacer for the "real" thing. This was the first year I tried this particular kind of egg replacer in her cupcakes so I was a little worried about how they were going to turn out. Ironically, it looks like a thumb print in the middle of each cupcake, but they taste delicious. I had a nibble of one of the "not so pretty ones" and I was pleasantly surprised how good they are. Once I slap a little icing on top, Riley will not even know the difference!

Today I need to make the regular cupcakes for all the rest of us. I love birthday parties. Pure and simple, I love cake!

Dance Recital

The girls getting ready to perform.


Campbell doing "High Kicks"


Campbell and her friend, Hannah


All the dancers with their teacher, Miss Emily.

• Campbell had a wonderful time at the dance recital. She wasn't looking forward to it in the beginning because she wasn't wearing a tutu like all the other dancers. Considering she was taking Jazz, her teacher wanted her to wear a Jazzy costume. As you can tell, we had to improvise on the costume just a little. She is so long wasted that the outfit was a little low cut for my taste. She didn't seem to mind. I think she liked standing out and being different once she arrived and saw all the different colors and styles.

• Campbell's class was the last class to perform and she did a great job. She is really shy, but when it comes to performing in front of others, she tends to come out of her shell and get the job done. It surprises me at times to see how determined and brave she can be with a crowd of people.

• After her performance, Brent gave her a bouquet of flowers. What a great way to end the day!

• Ironically, she isn't interested in taking dance this go around. She just wants to focus on school and that's OK by me. When she is ready to get involved in other activities, I'm sure she will let me know.
  
  

Well Visit

Jackson's well visit went really well this morning. He weighs 18.8 pounds and is 29 1/2 inches long. He is 70% in height and 25% in everything else. He didn't even cry when the nurse pricked his finger when she checked his iron level. (iron levels were good...by the way) He only cried for literally 2 seconds when he got his Hepatitis B shot.

So far he has two teeth and the doctor could feel where his top teeth were starting to come through. He just found a new love for cheese and yogurt in addition to all the other fruits and veggies that he eats.

I almost went into shock when Dr. Moore recommended that I bring him back in three months for his 12 month visit.

What??? 12 months??? How can it be?

My little man is growing up so fast.