Happy {white} Christmas!!

The Train Christmas song is so good. Love those guys!
Christmas Eve, we had a fun evening with some friends over and then made Courtney and Justin stay to "help" put Arden's trampoline together. Justin pretty much did it all. Aren't we so nice?!


I woke up really early to make Cinnamon rolls and then my mom and sister came over. Arden woke up late, since she was up so late Christmas eve playing. When she came downstairs, the first thing she went for were her new crocs. She insisted on wearing them all day (even with her Christmas dress).
Around lunch, we went to my dad's and Arden got a load over there!

Applying her new lipstick-
She wanted to join in on the picture taking action
When we got back home, she made a beeline to her trampoline. Seriously. We couldn't even get her coat off.


Christmas night, it started snowing and by morning, everything was covered so we went out to play. Arden kept saying "white no(snow)!!!! no mommy! ooh no!!!"
Arden LOVED it and especially loved eating it after daddy gave her a taste.
She would not wear her mittens because she couldn't shovel snow into her bucket with them and it took a long time until she couldn't handle it anymore. She finally gave in and went back inside and she opened her last present!
We had a wonderful Christmas and the snow just made it that much better.

Look Who's TWO!!

Arden turned 2 on Dec 13th and we had a little party the Saturday before. Derek's parents flew down to celebrate with us and my dad, grandmother, sister and nephew came over.

Brigham loved the balloons, but didn't enjoy getting tangled in them.


The cake could have a post of its own, but lets just say fondant was tried and failed so we went with cream cheese frosting and gum paste for the decorations. I didn't have much time and was making the cut outs Saturday morning and gum paste hardens pretty quick when left out. I wanted the butterflies wings to be sticking out and not stuck on the cake. When I put it all together, it looked great (butterflies had been sitting out for a while and were hard, but I covered the cake, and the wings fell flat) To stay hard, the gum paste needs to be out for days. Hey, I'm learning each year. At least it taste good. I used a pound cake recipe that is absolutely yummy-and dense so perfect for decorating with fondant or doing layers.

In the middle of the 'party,' Arden got sick, so we had to disappear for a little bit. Poor baby. She really enjoyed unwrapping presents though.


On her actual birthday (and her grandpa's!) we went out to eat at Lonestar and then to the mall to see santa.



Helping Grandpa open his present-

On a side note, Arden has suddenly taken to her pacifiers. She has never really been into them, but they've always been around, and for some reason, one has stayed in her crib. Actually she did like to chew on them when she was teething, but suddenly she always wants one when she goes to bed or when she's tired or first wakes up. It started around the time she got a cold that turned into a sinus infection a few weeks ago, so I'm hoping this attachment goes away soon. Maybe she's getting her 2 year molars.

Arden is such a doll (minus those glimpses I've seen of terrible twos the past couple of months) She loves to help. Yesterday, I was wrapping some gifts and she sat beside and said 'I help! I help!' and put tape all over packages.
A lot of times when I tell her I have to do something- like put my shoes on and I pick them up, she will take one away from me and hand it right back and say 'good girl!' Same thing if she sees me wash my hands, she'll grab the towel first or take it away from me so she can give it me. It makes her day.
Recently I was eating a pomegranate and she asked for some and said, "MMMM dat's GOOD mommy!" She ate a ton that night, but has refused to eat them since. When she eats something she likes, she usually says 'MMM good!' and rubs her belly.
Her favorite color is white, she loves butterflies, babies, purses and shopping carts with steering wheels. She pitches a fit when it's time to go. She loves to sing and dance and jump. When she sings, sometimes she finds a toy that resembles a microphone (where did she learn that?!) other times, she goes a capella ;)
She tests her food before eating to see if it's hot. She likes to tell me I'm a 'good girl' when I do certain things. She 'I love you' two nights ago for the first time (that I could actually understand) and it was the sweetest thing. She is very good about cleaning up her toys when I ask her. She loves to draw. She's not really into coloring. She is typically slow and careful when she draws. She says 'thank you mommy/daddy' a lot and says, 'Oh! I sorry' more than she needs to!
She still loves shoes, and has to be the one to pick them out.


I love this little munchkin so much and know that she will be a great big sister!
Happy Birthday, Arden Brielle!!

You're how old?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing, sweet, talented sister.





(I was paid to say that)

Not Just Another Anniversary

...Well maybe it was. On Friday (Dec 3rd) Derek and I 'celebrated' (let's use that term lightly) our wedding anniversary. Pretty typical morning except I had to wake Arden up about an hour early, so that I could get her down for nap early in order to make it to my doctor's appointment. Derek got home a little early and we all headed out to the doctor to find out that it's a BOY. Shock. Totally exciting because it takes the stress and pressure off of #3. Hey, maybe for #3 I'll keep it a surprise like a friend of mine is doing. Hmm....oh who am I kidding?! I don't see that happening. I'm still shocked though because I just KNEW it was a girl. I have felt the same (totally crappy) except I haven't gained nearly as much weight and my skin is horrible this time. With Arden it was crystal clear, so I guess that was my clue.
After my extremely long appointment (one hour of waiting for a five minute chat with the doctor), we didn't have much time to eat like we planned, so we ate dinner at Souper Salad. I was totally craving their cranberry dressing. It really is the best. Then we had to rush home and grab our cookies for a Cookie Exchange Party, which was a ton of fun. So that is how we spent our anniversary.

On another note, I took Arden to the doctor this morning because yesterday she woke up from her nap with discharge coming out of one eye. She woke up 2.5hrs early this morning sounding horrible and breathing heavy. She has a sinus infection and she is just so pitiful. Tonight the discharge was coming from both eyes and they are so red, it's so sad.