Strawberry Shortcake Party!

This year, we decided to have a Strawberry Shortcake party for the girls since they absolutely love the show and books! I saw a photo online of a strawberry shortcake hat cake and just knew I had to make it!!!

I think this cake weighed 50 lbs!!!

Ready to blow out the candles!

Aubrey LOVED the slip-n-slide! Too bad she was still wearing her pretty party dress!

I LOVE THIS SHOT!!!
I am so thankful to April for taking such gorgeous photos!

Mason and Elsie

My little angels!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Aubrey and Alexis!!

Yesterday, April 14th, my little angels turned 2! I cannot believe two years has passed in the blink of an eye. It seems like just yesterday, we were visiting them in NICU. They have come SO far in two years! They are true miracles and we are so blessed. I thank God each and every day for his blessings and for the beautiful children he has given to us. They amaze me with the things they do and with the knowledge they have already accumulated. They make me laugh at the drop of a hat and make my heart overflow with love. Being a mother is the best job I have ever had and I cherish every moment of it!

Of the 1000 photos I take each day, 990 look like this:

We do manage to get a few cute ones too though!

When I set this up on the table, Wayne said "what's the 'Z' for?" At first, I didn't know what the heck he was talking about...then I realized that the "2" I had so carefully laid out in cupcakes on the platter, did in fact resemble a "Z". ~I tried!

The girls liked eating it, no matter what it looked like!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Aubrey and Alexis! Mommy and Daddy love you so very much!

Happy Easter!

Today, the kids and I went over to nana and pop pops house to celebrate Easter. Unfortunately, daddy was on shift and couldn't come with us.

Of course, before we left the house, I took the annual "basket" photo! Mason was born one week before Easter. So, for his first Easter, I laid him in this basket and had him surrounded by stuffed bunnies. I thought it would be cute to put him in the same basket every Easter to show how he has grown over the years. The tradition carried over to the girls as well!

Mason James

Alexis Helene ~she wanted to sit on Mason's lap for her basket photo!
hey, I will take it however I can get a shot!

Aubrey Elizabeth

Our Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs! I wrote their names on their eggs....of course Mason insisted that we had one with his AND Sophia's name on it! Aaah, puppy love!

Mason's first snake!

The other day, I put my feet in the pool to see if the water was warm enough to bring the kids in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the water "ripple" a little bit. I then realized...I was not alone!! There was a little snake swimming right next to me. Little, yes...but it still scary enough to make me scream like a baby and go running inside to get Wayne!

Mason, being a total boy, thought this was just the coolest thing!! He cried when Wayne let it go in the bushes. Oddly enough, not one hour later, that same snake was back in the pool!!! Guess he couldn't stand to see a little boy cry!

Easter Eggs Everywhere!

This year, the kids had 4 Easter Egg Hunts...so far. We, of course, will have one of our own on Easter morning. They were SO cute running around with their baskets picking up eggs.

Easter Egg Hunt at Christina's house

Easter Egg Hunt at David and April's house

Busted!!

Wayne's Birthday!

On April 1st, (April Fool's Day!) Wayne celebrated his 41st birthday! We spent the day with our friends David and April and their children and had a fun filled night with his birthday present from Chris and Brittany!

Aubrey and Lexi fighting over the drum sticks!

Big brother Chris helping Lexi on the drums.

Aubrey's turn!

How beautiful is he? He is just too cute! .....and what a voice! ;)

Ace of Cakes!

Ok, so I never said I was Betty Crocker, but I would like to think that I have some sort of artistic ability!

After Mason's birthday party, and looking at the AMAZING cake that my friend Jennifer made, I thought to myself "Holly, you can do this!" I started doing research on cake decorating and was amazed at what I saw! Who knew there were SO many different techniques! I found an adorable photo of a strawberry shortcake hat that someone made out of cake. (this is going to be the theme for the girls' 2nd birthday party). So, I went to Michael's, bought the stuff I needed, and got to work....practicing.

First and foremost, I should tell you that I MADE my own fondant...from scratch!! It is a marshmallow fondant and tastes quite yummy, but VERY hard to work with.

With that said, here are some photos of not only my first cake (other than the traditional square or round!), but this is also my first attempt at working with fondant and I must say, though I see some flaws, it came out really cute!!!

The best part of all is that I really had fun doing it!!! I may just have to take a cake decorating class!! Watch out Duff...there's a new Ace of Cakes in town!!!




Obviously, there will be more done to the actual cake that I make for the girls' party, (strawberry's put on the hat, the ribbon will look much better (and thinner) piping around the bottom, etc...), but I am quite pleased with my first practice cake!