Tella party #2

Here's round 2 of Tella's party... we did two so both sides of our family could celebrate (there's enough distance between us all to make having two parties worth it, AND there's SO MANY of us I don't think we could all fit in one place!).

The beautiful cakes, made by Kristi @ Your Sugar Rush:

The promise of a jumpy for Capri was finally delivered on (two months later!). Thankfully Capri understood that the rain meant we couldn't put it up on her birthday, so we put it up for Tella's instead.

All of the jumpers!

Tella's turn...

Tella's new rocking horse, isn't it cute?

Tella's smash cake. If it looks a little distorted that's because it dropped on the floor. She did get a hold of it before it dropped, so there were good pictures... but literally the whole thing dropped and landed upside down. So embarassing! But that Kristi, she makes such good cakes, it totally stayed in tact! (albeit a little distorted)

Tella didn't want to get her hands dirty!

My baby had a party....

Look at my baby all dressed up for her first party~

she's always in motion,

but isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?? (aside from my other two kids of course!)

She had so much fun... walking around, visiting with guests, and eating mommy's special cake pops (visit bakerella.com for recipe)

Daddy whipped up a made-from-scratch red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting for our special valentine baby. Fantastic! And mommy did the decorating....not perfect, but I've never claimed to be a cake decorating genius.... I'll leave that to Kristi at Your Sugar Rush (yoursugarrush.blogspot.com)

Tella enjoyed every minute!

Thanks Grandma's ~ both of you~ for everything you did to make Tell-Tell's party perfect! From the outfit, to the seating, to the location and decorations.... you Grandma's are the best around!

Ready for Round 2 tomorrow?? We are!

I can get my own snack!

Tella accidentally got pantry access....

The look of surprise when she figured out how it opened!

Got the bag out and found the opening!

I just couldn't help but share this hilarious picture of JD from last summer... in his undies at the beach! That boys always in his undies.... or at least he was until we put in a "nudie ban". It's "clothes on" now for this little nudist!

Someone...

... has their first major boo-boo. How cute is that face?

(so sad.. right after this picture, she bonked her head again and opened the cut back up.... and then the next day her brother bumped her into the wall and hurt the other side of her head.)

and someone....

had their first bout with growing pains!

Her legs were hurting so bad they woke her up. I remember this from when I was little, so I took the same action my mom did.... gave her some pain medicine and let her take a warm bath. This was long after she had originally went to bed, and I think she really got a kick out of it!

Hotel Del

Desiree's one request for her visit was a trip to the Hotel Del Coronado. So off we went last Sunday afternoon, here are some of the pictures worth sharing.

This is me, mid-jump. We were laughing so hard..... and there were tons of foreign people around us looking at us.

This is Des' best pose on the rocks...

Here we are laying in the wet sand, with the Hotel Del in the background...

Here is the sea salt caramel that we paid $3.50 for.... and it wasn't even caramel! Still good though. How can chocolate go wrong?

And this is the sign at my local Hollywood Video. I don't know what to make of it. It's been up for days or a week and it doesn't make any sense. The small print below it says "see store for details" twice. Hilarious!

When I become an adult I want to be...

I had other plans for a post.... great pictures of Desiree's visit, a hilarious sign I found and took a picture of, the latest visit of mr. bear (from Capri's class)...... but I can't. I've been waiting for like 15 minutes to load those pictures. And they still aren't up. Obviously I just have to postpone.

So, onto another topic I suppose. I had three career goals when I was younger. Three thoughts on what my job would be when I became an adult.

Career #1 It might be hard to tell by looking at me now, but I really loved to design dresses. I thought for sure I would be a dress designer when I reached adulthood. I regularly sketched in homeroom and study hall. Which, in it's own rite, is amazing since I'm not a very good artist. Also amazing because I don't wear dresses much. But, I designed more wedding/prom/fancy dresses, and I've worn a few of those. I'm reminded of my designing because I'm watching project runway again.... oh the benefits of cable!

Career #2 I just love rocks. and fossils. and all things old. I thought I'd be a scientist/geologist/paleontologist. Corny as it sounds, I used to search for rocks all through recess when I was in grade school. Now before you put me in the nerd category - I did other stuff too. And, I think I was the only girl in our class who had a boyfriend. He was the cutest guy in our grade. So, there, that's what you get for thinking I was a nerd. Ha! Anyway, I loved to search for Cape May "diamonds" and was seriously coveting a rock tumbler. I did end up taking a geology class in college, and the professor was so impressed with me. When I missed a class field trip because of a car accident, I conducted my own field trip, and she praised it big time. Though we did have big issues regarding the ages of things, we got along just fine, and I loved it.

Career #3 Stockbroker, NYC. This is the one I thought I'd really do at the end of high school. Interesting, I think, because I am awful at math! I did, however, end up working in the financial arena.. and have an outstanding job offer to return if I chose to.

There you have it, 3 little known items about me. Do you feel like you know something new?

What were your goals??

Ten on Wednesday, because I clearly missed Tuesday

1. JD helped me make dinner tonight. He requested eggs, and even cracked them. He was so excited to help, he was practically ready to burst.

2. Speaking of eggs, they totally gross me out. I made them every morning for Capri when I was pregnant with JD and then went to throw up. Sometimes I choke them down, but as a general rule, no.

3. Pancake mix goes right along with eggs. It's gross and smells awful. Capri and James eat it raw, disgusting.

4. As I write, there are two kids bouncing on my bed. 1 fairy princess and 1 superhero named "can't". Not kidding, that's what he named himself. It sort of flies in the face of the whole superhero community since they all have "can-do" attitudes to do their saving.... but whatever. And, I heard Capri just say " I want to give you a hug" and JD hugged her, then they went back to playing. So cute.

5. Tella is walking everywhere all the time. She's been going for a while, but she's finally committed to just walking.

6. February is shaping up to be a very expensive month. Bummer. I was hoping for a little reprieve.

7. We've decided to keep JD home next year. I'm glad that's what we decided, I really think he should be home. And he really doesn't need the preschool next year. He's a literal genius.

8. Tella only says mama when she's extra tired and mad. Why is that?

9. Capri's ballet teacher managed to crack a smile today. But it wasn't even a good one.

10. The Union Tribune was at her ballet class taking pictures today too. Hopefully she makes it in the paper tomorrow!