Easter 2012

So I didn't realize an entire month has passed by since my last post... Yikes, no wonder Nana has called several times asking for an update. But I have a very good excuse for not blogging, I've been busy doing this....

I am finally an Aunt! Aunt Jaja to be specific. :-) Chloe Jean Johnson was born March 6th in Indiana. She was a wonderful surprise to all of us, including her parents Kimmy and Charles. On March 8th we loaded the van with Mimi, Poppi, and the girls and headed to Indiana to meet Chloe. We did this because the thought of waiting a week until Chloe (and her parents) returned to Georgia to meet her seemed crazy. Even crazier than driving 13+ hours with two sick children but that's another story that I'll save for later. Needless to say, the past month has gone by in a blur. Between spoiling Chloe and working on the photography business I've neglected this blog.

But I did manage to take a few pictures of Maddy and Kate this past Easter weekend. Now I will go ahead and admit that I did not take a picture of them all dolled up in their Easter dresses and matching accessories. What's the saying...cobbler's children have no shoes? Well that would apply here. I got so wrapped up in preparing food, packing the car, and leaving on time for church that I never took a picture. :-(  So I will just have to "recreate" the moment and take a couple of pictures. I am sure the girls won't mind dressing up again.

Here a couple of pictures that I did take at Maddy's class Easter party and on Easter morning.

Maddy's class Easter party and egg hunt. Kate was eager to help.



I am pretty sure Kate was looking for more candy.

The Easter Bunny came to Craddock Way!

Kate's favorite treat, a Ring Pop!

And what's better for Easter breakfast than a chocolate bunny?

Spring Fever Models

Last Friday the weather screamed "Spring Fever"...so we went and scouted out a new location for Easter pictures...Here are a few pictures of my favorite "models."



Pinterest

I finally took the plunge and joined Pinterest. I was reluctant to join because deep down I knew I really didn't need anything else to distract me during the day. Especially since last week our small group at church had a discussion on time management and priorities. But I joined anyways and promised myself I would use my time wisely and so far I have. In fact I think it has actually helped me cut down on Facebook "stalking" (which is a really good thing). Pinterest makes me happy and really got my creative juices flowing again...but at the same time also makes me feel like a slacker and not very creative at all.

Those of you who are on Pinterest know what I am talking about. I mean who are these people that have soooo much time to sit and think to themselves "Hmm, I should put vinyl decals on my washer and dryer to make it look pretty? (Sorry Tiffany, you know I love you and your polka dotted washer and dryer!)

Anyways, I am grateful for all the inspiring ideas and informative blogs I have found already. In fact this picture below is an idea I got from Pinterest. Now I just have to find time to take new pictures of Maddy and work on her 5 year old one.... Arghh, time management and creativity are a vicious cycle! :-)

Yee Haw Maddy is 5

We had a very busy weekend. Nana and Grandaddy came for a visit to celebrate three special birthdays; mine, Maddy's, and Uncle Thomas'. All of our birthday's are within 2 weeks of each other so while they were in town Maddy had her 5th birthday party. She won't officially turn 5 until this Wednesday, February 1st.

Several months ago Maddy said she wanted to be a cowgirl for Halloween and have a cowgirl birthday party when she turned 5. Having a cowgirl party can be kind of tricky for several reasons. One reason is that a true cowgirl party should probably include some sort of pony ride. I researched renting a pony for the day, petting zoos, and even considered having Uncle Charlie dress up as a horse and "give" pony rides on his back. And the other tricky part of a cowgirl party is the weather. In middle Georgia it's either going to be 65 and sunny or 38 and raining in January/February....

In my research I found Overlook Farm in Gray, Georgia and for a very reasonable cost they host children's birthday parties. Up to 10 children can come for 2 hours and ride horses, feed horses, and have a birthday party in the barn. So we took  a gamble that the weather would hold up and booked the farm for Maddy's 5th birthday party.

Of course I went crazy and had to have decorations, treats, food, and goody bags that all coordinated but that's just what I do. I like throwing birthday parties and I know that eventually (sooner than later) the girls won't want a big party. They'll just want a car and the ability to take their friends out to dinner without Mom and Dad...

But until that day comes we'll continue to throw "themed parties" and share them here on the blog. Here are bunch of pictures from Maddy's cowgirl party. She had a blast. Thanks to all of our friends and family that came to celebrate with us. And thanks to those that helped set up and clean up the barn, I couldn't throw a party without you. :-)

And by the way, the weather was beautiful...65 and sunny!

Cowgirl Maddy in her official cowgirl outfit. The boots, shirt, and jeans
were birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy.

Party snacks

Cowgirl Cupcakes

Nana and Mimi with Maddy's posse...

Maddy and Braxton listening to Ms. Blaine explain the rules for feeding and riding horses.
From the look on their faces I think they missed everything she said except for the part
about the horses potentially "nipping" fingers when being fed.

Here come the horses.

Maddy's reaction to the horses coming down the hill.

Our little cowgirl riding.

Kate's 2nd Birthday

Happy New Year! It's ten days into the New Year and I haven't blogged until today. So you might think one of my resolutions would be to blog more but it's not. In fact one of my resolutions is not to stress about blogging or my lack of blogging.

So let's kick off Bury Cute 2012 with a recap of Kate's 2nd birthday. For those of you that don't know, Kate's birthday is December 28th. I won't bore you with all the details of her birth story and how for years to come I can guilt Kate by reminding her I spent Christmas 2009 in the hospital waiting for her. Instead, I'll just jump into this years celebration. This year we celebrated on Kate's actual birthday with a small dinner party.

Maddy and I prepared Kate's favorite dinner of spaghetti and salad. We decorated the dining room, got her some ba"oons", a cake, and put all of the presents under the "birthday tree". "Birthday tree" is one of the advantages of having your birthday around Christmas, it's the one time you know all of the presents under the tree are for you. That's what Maddy told Kate that night....


Birthday Tree

Kate had a great time at her party. She loved all the attention she received in addition to the cake and presents. Here are a couple of pictures that capture the highlights from her special evening.

"Yea Me!"



Woo hoo, it's my birthday!



I love hanging out in my tree tent.

 

 I love this hot pink chair from Mimi and Poppi.
Notice how I sit like a big girl with my legs crossed.



"Do you think Mommy and Daddy are trying to tell me they are tired of changing diapers"

There are more pictures of Kate's birthday. Just click on this link to see the rest:  https://picasaweb.google.com/109867542586578056397/KateS2ndBirthday?authkey=Gv1sRgCOXLoJT8pZPZNg

Christmas 2011

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of fun and family. I could sit down and write a long post with all the details but now I have to switch gears for Kate's birthday coming up on Wednesday so here are some of the highlights....

1. Christmas Eve morning - the girls and I baked cookies for Santa. Don't worry, no one else but Santa and the girls ate these cookies after I caught them licking the batter spoons and bowls...

2. Christmas Eve night - with everyones different work schedules it's a rare occurrence that the Bury - Johnson crew is all together, so of course we had to take a picture.

 3. Mimi and Poppi got Maddy a "big girl" bike. She was so excited and is already zooming around our house on it.

 4. Christmas morning - an impromptu family photo after all the chaos. Can you tell that Santa and his helper were up until 2am building a dollhouse?

5. Zack and David relaxing after all the chaos.  

6. My latest baking experiment, Vegan Red Velvet cupcakes! I am willing to bet no one could even taste the difference between these and non-vegan red velvet. Keep in mind that just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's sugar free.... Ha!

There you have it, a quick rundown on our family Christmas. Check out the web album below for more pictures.

Christmas Web Album

Character Breakfast 2011

Kate, Maddy, and Braxton with Santa Claus

Last Saturday the girls and I went to the Junior League character breakfast. Character breakfast is a super fun event were all the Disney princesses, superheroes, Santa, etc all come in costume and eat breakfast with the children. 

Last year I didn't know that children could go in costume so Maddy went dressed in "street" clothes. Boy was she upset with me that day and she didn't forget about it either.  This year she laid out her Tinkerbell costume the night before and informed me that she was going dressed up this year. In her words "mommy it's okay that you didn't know to dress me up last year, but this year I am dressing myself."

So both girls went in "costume"... And wouldn't you know that this year most kids wore their cute Christmas clothes. Go figure. Ha. Despite the wardrobe drama the breakfast was a smash hit with both girls. Kate wasn't too sure about the "characters" but she didn't throw a fit and cry. She stuck close to me and just waved. And of course Maddy was in heaven, she had to meet every princess. And for the grand finale the kids met Santa. The picture above might be my favorite Santa picture of all time. :-)

Tinkerbell Twins