Goodbye Fall

Winter is finally here in KS.. to stay.. we think! Its been very cold, but no snow, or at least none that sticks. Zoey sees frost in the mornings and gets excited saying, "Look Mama, SNOW!" Poor girl; she wants it so bad! The holidays have been hectic with us. We had Thanksgiving here at our house with some soldiers and our neighbor and her adorable little ones came for a bit too since her hubby is still away. Erics been working late every night and Ive had shows and events every weekend trying to earn some extra play money :)

Christmas is coming up fast! The shopping is almost done, but we didnt go overboard. The girls dont really need a whole lot. We will wait a bit longer before we post a bunch of photos of the last two months.. Ill need some time to sit down alone and do it.

In Lillia news, she rolled over for the first time on Sunday! Now she wont stop! She has a Well Baby visit next week, so Ill post her measurements in the next blog. Shes around 15lbs.

Zoey loves her sister.. helping all the time. Its really amazing to watch!

We should have some news on our future with the Army by the next time I post too. Also, sad, but we are not taking a vacation for a while now.. just not in the cards for us this year I guess.

Sorry to be short, but the girls are calling!!!

We love and miss you all!

Can You Guess My Title??

Oh Blogger, how I have missed you! I have decided that Im done telling you all Im sorry for not blogging as much as I used to. Why? Well, because instead of sitting on the computer all day, typing about my non existent life, Im out doing and seeing and having a life all the time!! Why haven't I blogged lately? We have been SO busy! I put our memory card in the computer and there are tons of photos of the things we've been doing! We even forgot to take the camera a couple times too. So, Ill upload and describe!

To raise money for the FRG, there was a pie in the face event.. I couldn't let just anyone put that pie in Erics face!!

Kind of overdue, but heres a pic of Lil at one month old..

And her pic from today - 2 months old. Shes changing a lot!

Zs a great big sister :)

Manhattan Zoo.. yes, they had cows. Its a small zoo!

Z will say "Good Girl Baby" and pat her back :)

At the playground

So, they are a bit random, but they are photos none the less. We have been to carnivals and the zoo, military functions, you name it! October is going to be busy too! We have Trunk or Treat and Trick or Treat and pumpkin patches and pumpkin painting!! I have started a Moms Group of my own (the Meetup ones didnt fit us well) and I have playdates and crafts planned up until summer. I have begun selling Tastefully Simple! That will get me some adult interaction and income as well.

www.tastefullysimple.com/web/sbujak

The girls are both growing so much! Zoeys talking nonstop.. no really, nonstop!! Lillia has started talking and smiling now too. Its cute!!

Erics busy with work. He will not be deploying now, but things are up in the air about our future with the Army.

Hopefully we will still take our vacation in December, but the dates may change a bit. We will keep everyone posted.

I have cards in the mail for all of you with Zoeys 2yr photos and Lillias birth announcement. Sorry they are a bit late! Wait, no Im not!! We are living life and enjoying all the time we get to spend as a family!! Kansas has been a blessing in disguise.

We love and miss you all!

Ill post Halloween photos before the month is over..

"Bee" on the look out!!!!

*wink wink*

Lillia Avery Bujak - My Birth Story

Yes, I am all ready here! I know you didnt expect me until September, but plans changed.. and Im going to tell you all about it since everyone has been asking my Mommy! Heres the last photo taken of me in Mommys tummy before I arrived. This is the tp game for her baby shower on August 7th! I measured 12 pieces of tp!On Aug 5th, we had a growth ultrasound taken because my Dr told Mommy that I was looking a bit large. I cooperated and let them take a peek :)
My results were given to the Dr and we received a phone call on Wed, Aug 10th at 9:30am saying that the fluid around me was dangerously low and we had to go to the hospital right away. Mommy and Zoey had a playdate scheduled at the house in 30 minutes so she had to call and have it all cancelled - sorry Zoey! At the hospital, we had another ultrasound and Dr Brown decided I needed to be induced that very day. Mommy was admitted to the hospital at 11am, given an iv of fluids and hooked up to monitors for my movements, heartrate and her blood pressure. After several hours, nothing progressed.

THE REST OF MY STORY CONTAINS LOTS OF DETAILS...
If you do not want them all, please skip ahead to the photos!

The Midwife on duty that day decided to try a foley bulb to get Mommy to dilate. The foley is a tube that goes into the cervix and is filled with a saline solution to form a bulb inside. It puts pressure between my head and the cervix so when there is a contraction, it begins to slide out resulting in Mommy dilating to a 3 or 4. By midnight, the bulb was easily removed with a tiny tug which showed that things were moving along! Then, there was a shift change. The midwife who wanted to do things the natural way left for the night and a new Dr came in. She checked Mommy, which hurt her pretty badly and decided Pitocin was the way to go.. By 7am, Mommy was checked again (more pain) and was only to a 5. The Pitocin was increased all day on Thursday. By evening, we were excited to be a 6! Mommy was in a lot of pain by then though, so she called for the epidural. It took two trys, but they finally got it in place. The shift had changed again, and we were introduced to Dr Sessions. He broke Mommys water and placed a monitor inside to check on me. Mommy had a huge pain in her left hip that would not go away. The nurse was able to help her shift around until the meds finally worked their way in to the area and Mommy got about 15mins of sleep. Then, I put my feet in her ribs and started pushing with my legs. Im sorry Mommy! I know it hurt! We got the nurse to come in and found out it was time to go! The nurse helped us push for a little while and the Dr came back in. I was born in 33mins! Good thing because they had been in the hall talking about a c-section! My apgar was a 9 both times they checked, I was crying, Mommy didnt need any stitches, Daddy cut my cord and got to examine my placenta (he thought it was neat!)..

I was born at 1:03am on August 12th, 2011. I was 7lbs 3 oz and 19in long.

My first hospital bath

Meeting my sister Zoey
She loves to give me kisses and knows my name!

My first home bath
I loved it!

Ive been a good girl for Mommy and Daddy so far. I had one bad night in the hospital and a couple rough ones at home, but Im mostly quiet and like to eat and sleep! Im a breastfed baby and Im doing very well with it! My first Dr visit went well and I have another soon. I lost a little bit of weight, but Im going to gain it back quickly. Mommy has to go back in to have her blood pressure checked soon. She was taken off her meds since she was stable in the hospital! Since I came early, we have a lot to catch up on and do - thank you cards, organizing, shopping.. But it will all happen in time. Right now, we are just enjoying being healthy and together!
We love you all!!!

Lost My Blogging Spirit??

Its been well over a month since my last post.. We have had a lot going on to be honest. I also havent been in the blogging mood lately. Ive been tired. When I turn the computer on, it stays on all day, but I havent been in the spirit to write anything really. Usually I check my email and print coupons.. Im sorry!

We have been spending a lot of family time together which I think Ive said before. It seems easier here in KS since we live right down the road from Erics office. He gets to come home a few times a day for meals and clothing changes. He has had a lot of extra time off for my Dr. visits too. We spend time at the neighborhood pool when we can. Z just loves to swim. Her puddle jumper lets her float all over the pool w/o any help at all. She kicks her feet and "swims her arms" as we tell her. When she wakes up in the morning she always says "beep beep, go, pool." Im glad we found her something to float in. They wont let kids use the water wings here which was a big bummer since she got some for her 1st bday and was used to wearing them. Shes been growing so much these days. She got on the scale at my appointment today and was 28lbs. They say shes thin for her age.. but we are not concerned. She eats well and is very active.

Shes been a big helper and a big trouble maker too. She likes to throw things away that are "kaka", she can get her own snacks and drinks when she wants them and loves to tell me my floors are "dog dog hair, kaka, floor" and will get out the dust buster. (brat!!) Shes right, Stella sheds a lot more here so we vac every day. I wont get into detail about her trouble making - shes two, use your imagination!
Lillia will be here super soon! For those who do not know yet, I have been spending a lot of time at the hospital. I go 3 times a week and sometimes Im there for 5 hours or more. Ive had my regular visits, but also started non-stress tests. During those, they hook a couple monitors to my belly and watch her heartbeat, movements and my contractions. The darn contractions landed me in labor and delivery once all ready. They are constant - 3 to 5 minutes apart for the last few weeks now. Ive had several injections that are supposed to stop them, but they dont work. Im on a set of pills until the end of this week as well. They just want me past 36 weeks, otherwise Ill be air lifted to Topeka (an hour drive away) since they do not have a NICU here. The pills have made me feel very sick and super tired.. almost hungover feeling. They have made the strength of the contractions lessen a bit. Im not currently dilated, but I have not been checked in about a week. Its been a big mess. Ill be 36wks this Thursday (Aug 4th). Hopefully she holds out a bit longer than that, but unless I stay off my feet all the time.. well..
My best friend Juliet is having an online baby shower for me this weekend. I think it will be fun! Im looking forward to the little games and photos. Its on facebook if you want to join in and we did register for a couple things on babiesrus.com
Thats about all Ive got for today everyone. Im losing my energy and need to lay back down. So not fun.. Ill try to get you all updated again sooner than last time, but we have a lot to get ready for Lillia still and she could be here any day now which Im not ready for yet!
We love you and miss you all very much!

Lillia Avery

Guess who got to see Lil' bean today..?? Me! And, now, Im sharing with all of you!This is the best profile photo we could get. Look at those cheeks!!!

Heres a 3D of her. She would not stop putting her hands over her face. Shes got both arms up there. I was ready to see her suck her thumb, but she didnt. Z never did, but she didnt keep her hands up by her face that much either.

Theres her big Bujak feet!

And a profile.. with hands :)

They think shes about 3.5lbs right now. They have moved my due date to Aug 24th. I think it funny because I told Eric this morning that I would love it if she were born on Aug 23rd so that both of our girls were "A" months and both on the 23rd. Shes all ready flipped over and has her feet by my right ribs and her head by and facing my left leg. Z came out facing my left leg too, which was very painful. Tomorrow I will know how my labs went. Ill update again soon!

The Year Is NOT Half Over.. Is It?

I know, I know.. Im a huge slacker! BUT, this time I have photos and information for you.. a big step back in the right direction, ehh?? Okay, to earn your forgiveness back, Ill just begin with a photo!

Zoey

Heres Little Miss Z, messy hair and all, wearing her Daddys boots around the house. She loves to wear anything that belongs to him. She will say "Dada boots, Yoeys boots - mine" (she calls herself Yoey which she finally started doing on the drive here to KS). Shes been.. well, a typical terrible two year old lately. At least, I hope her behavior is typical or worse than typical so that Im prepared for less drama and not more! Shes not listening, repeatedly getting in to things shes been told several times not to touch - seconds after we've told her no.. shes throwing her food on the floor, screaming for no reason... ahhh.. the life! We are trying to be calm with her, but its hard not to yell or laugh some times. Shes been very interested in her books these days. Shes careful not to rip the paper page ones. I find her in her bed after her naps with a book in her lap. She just looks up and says "Hi Mama!" Shes been very talkative since the trip. She likes to explain everything she sees the best she can. Last night in the car, she was running herself through the list of vocabulary words she knew - Eric and I just looked at eachother and laughed. She was randomly naming off words in no order what so ever. Shes happier now that she has all her things back. Im still trying to get her room in order. We are waiting on back pay for our travels so that we can buy her a new bed and put the crib back in the nursery. Once thats in place, I can hang things and decorate. I just dont want to move things too many times.
Here she is being helpful!

She helped herself to some crackers.. guess we need to install cupboard locks here now! I hope housing lets us! And, her first s'more! That was Daddys idea. She loved it! She ate the middle first :)

We had Zs two year photos taken this weekend too! Heres a sneak peek.. I hope it works! Click the link!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.174656925928024.45264.101572196569831

Lillia Avery
(and Mommy)
We have decided on the name Lillia Avery for the new baby. I think most of you have gotten the memo by now :) Shes been a very active little girl these days. We have an ultrasound this week to see how shes growing. The hospital staff that I have seen has been very worried about preeclampsia symptoms that I am showing. They have a plan for me.. Im taking blood pressure meds twice a day now. After being on them for a week, my bp was all ready lowered. Im being seen every two weeks by a Dr now who specializes in high risk pregnancy. I have a bunch of labs and blood work tomorrow and will have the results by Thursday at my visit. Soon, I will begin nonstress testing on Lillia. They will have me come in every two weeks and be hooked to a monitor on my belly to see her activity. The plan is to induce me between 37 and 39 weeks. Ill know more as time gets closer. Im currently 28 weeks. Other than the medical issues, Im okay. Im tired again. Climbing the stairs leaves me breathless, I cant get comfy sleeping, my clothes dont fit (haha!) and the headaches and severe heartburn are worse from the meds.

Me and Lillia, 28 weeks
Everyone has been asking if we need things for Lillia. We saved everything from Zoey, so we dont really need much. We are good on the clothing for sure. Gramma and Grampa Bujak and Aunt Lisa sent us a bunch of very nice hand me downs last week. (Thank you again!) But, we do have a registry at Babies R Us for those who are asking. Its mostly organizational things and decor.. items that we have for Zoey that will stay in her big girl room and not be passed down.

Eric
Well, Erics been working his butt off. He comes home for breakfast and lunch almost every day - and we love that! Hes been out in the sun too many days on his shifts, so his head and neck are a lot darker than the rest of his body. Hes got sunscreen - dont worry!! He has been having more issues with his knees, so theres ANOTHER MRI scheduled at the end of this month. We recently learned that he lost four friends from his unit that just deployed from AK. This has been specially hard on us this time around because he should have been there with these people. Its causing us to rethink his career with the Army. Things are still unclear as to what exactly we are doing, but at this time we are just thankful that we are all together and that he is safe. We are enjoying every minute we have as a family. We do things together all the time now and it just makes me feel so happy. He may have to go away for a few months for a school that he has been selected for. This would happen from the start of Oct until end Nov. He would miss the holidays with us. Then, the unit he is with now, is scheduled to deploy earlier than expected. We do not know what will happen with that.. he may have to go, he may get to stay if we are getting out, he may not be able to go if he needs surgery again, he may go late.. We just really dont know. We will keep you all as updated as we are able.

Hanging out with her Daddy at the AK house before we left.

Home
The house is coming together. We only have a few things left to unpack... you know, the ones you dont really ever need to see again. We plan to get things hung up soon. Its mostly just organizing the last bits and pieces that we have to do. We have our fish tank all set up again and full of new fish and shrimp. The dogs like having the back yard to run in, even though its not very large. Its hot here.. We took Z to the pool once all ready. Next time, Ill take the camera too. (Eric just suggested we take her tomorrow!) Back to the house.. Ill take some photos of it all once things are in place so I only have to do it once.

I think thats all for now! Ill try to keep posting on time from now on! We love and miss you all!

Playing Catch-up..

This has been a crazy couple of months for our family. I'll post some of what has happened thus far, but there are many more things we still need to tackle over the next few weeks to come.
We were finally able to leave the house in Wasilla on Thursday April 28th at about 2:30am. We had so much left to do and that day the Uhaul ran late and the oil change took forever... We were lucky enough to have a great neighbor and an amazing family friend stop by and with both of their help, we eventually closed the door, locked it and drove off into the darkness.
Along the way, we saw tons of animals including moose, wild buffalo or bison, a huge porcupine, a lynx (which was amazing), caribou, antelope, prairie dogs, bald eagles, hawks, many types of deer, ducks, swans, geese, and other game birds, raccoons.. Z knows the difference between cows and horses in the fields.. and probably more. We kept a list as a daily game, but its in the van which Eric has taken to his first day of work.
Luckily, we didnt have any car trouble. The van pulled the trailer nicely. Eric didnt trust it (or maybe me) so he drove the whole way. Most of the roads were really bad and we had to drive pretty slowly. Once in the states, we ran in to some snowy areas still and lots of wind as well. He also said its nice to have something to use against me when he wants to pick on me :)
The dogs are both alive and well. The first two days were pretty bad. Stella got car sick and had an accident in her kennel. Chewy had accidents as well. We were able to find them some herbal meds at Walmart for motion sickness and it seemed to help a lot. Once the bumpy roads stopped, they relaxed a bit more too. They spent most of the trip in the same kennel - imagine that! They dont want to be away from eachother at all now which is a blessing.
Zoey.. Zoey.. Zoey.. She had a hard trip, to be honest. She cut three teeth on the road and is still working on 5 more. She ate well the first couple days but then she didnt want anything at all. Shes still being picky about meals. Each day, she napped in the car for about an hour. She had one day out of 8 where she didnt have a melt down in the van. She threw toys and snacks and would ask for things just to throw them and then want them back. We had a hard time with her. Even now in the hotel, shes bored and crabby and keeps asking to go in the "beep beep" (car). We both think she wants to go home. She is still working on her opposites and each time we go outside she says shes cold. :) We tell her she means hot and she will agree. She did have a few good moments in the car that I can mention. She would randomly break out her Happy Song which made us smile. She loved wearing her sun glasses. She was using Erics Garmen GPS as a pretend cell phone.. she called it Papa and would talk in to it. She let us know when the dogs were barking, since we couldnt hear them hehe! And each time we stopped some where, she would yell IM READY!! We had her dancing in a public restaurant one night - twirling and clapping and waving her hands. I wish I had my video camera for that! She was also floating in the pool all alone with her favorite water wings on. She was doing so well! (Thanks Gma and Gpa Bujak again for those!! She loves them!)
Erics knees are giving him trouble in the heat and after being in the car so long, hes still stiff and also having a hard time sleeping. Im having the same problem sleeping and Im swollen from lack of exercise on the road. Ive had to remove all of my rings since they were digging in to my fingers. I feel like Ive gained a million pounds, but I know I havent. Eric should be getting me a dr appointment this week. We still dont know the results of our ultrasound. Hopefully everythings fine in there. Shes been pretty active these days. We can feel her from the outside now. We have also finally given her a name.. which is still a secret for a bit longer :)
We have driven around post a couple times now. Its pretty.. lots of very old structures, stone buildings, old trees.. its a photographers dream place for sure! I dont think we are able to take photos on post though. I do still plan to try to get some of Z though. She has tested out one of the playgrounds and had fun. Eric was able to negotiate us a bigger and newer house the other day. The first ones offered were 1100-1200sq/ft and very old inside and out. The new place we will live in is 1600sq/ft and has been remodeled inside. The floors, appliances, paint - all new. The outside is not the best, but that doesnt matter. We are sharing one wall with another family. I believe its just the garage and master bed wall. We live on the corner of the lot so we have a bit of side yard and a back yard too. We can get a fence installed for the dogs which they will love. We can not go inside until the 16th, so we are still living in our hotel room. Its not fun, but we make the best of it.
Eric is on his way back from work right now. Zs eating her lunch. Ill let ya's all go back to your lives until I have more info to share! Ill try to get some photos up soon, but the internet in these places isnt the best!
We love and miss you all very much!

Bujak Updates..

Im sorry its been so long since we have updated this! Days here have been full of constant chaos! I'm only going to write a short note and put up a couple pics that I was able to steal off of facebook. I cant upload recent photos from my camera because space on this computer is currently very limited and its been acting up. But, heres whats going on..

-The movers have all of our stuff and we have been hanging out in the house with basic essentials until we drive off. We planned to leave yesterday, but things got behind due to some snow and some parts for the wood stove not being in on time. We are now hoping to leave next week, but again, are waiting on more brick for the stove.

-All of the testing for Baby#2 came back fine.. not sure if I had even mentioned that I was not feeling... right.. and had some extra tests done. We found out on Wednesday that we are expecting another baby girl! Eric and I are not able to agree on her name just yet, but we are working on it. Shes a feisty one though - always kicking!

-Zs going to be 2 in just a few more days! I cant believe it.. but at the same time, I can. I dont feel like its been two years since she arrived. Shes growing so fast! Shes not the same sweet little girl as she was the first 18 months.. she had begun her terrible two's early! She likes to test her Momma and Daddy a lot! A LOT!! But, we take each day at a time and learn more about what shes trying to communicate with each tantrum and meltdown. Shes been loving her Daddy being off work. Momma has been feeling a bit left out and abused (since I get all the drama and Daddy gets all the kisses) but I know its just a phase. Her sentences are getting better and now shes singing more! I love listening to her talk since she can tell me what she needs better. Its just amazing how she is changing and growing up. She saw the Easter Bunny last weekend.. Ill try to get the photo here soon.

Ummm... I cant even think of what else we wanted to tell you all! My mind is, and has been, on overload for about a month now. Well, Ill put up the pics I have and update you all again once we are in Kansas and have internet. Once on the road, we may not have phone service in certain areas. We will try to stay at places with wireless internet so we can update through email if possible. This journey has been a huge test for us all ready.. Heres to hoping we can get through this last couple weeks still smiling!

Love and miss you all!

Since I never get to be the one in the photos.. heres a few shots I was able to take from my photographers facebook page. These are just a couple of my 20wk photos of Baby Girl Bujak #2.

Fabulous February!

Well everyone, February has come and gone all ready! I can not believe how fast this year seems to be going by. Things here are about the same - we have been pretty busy with the every day life activities. We are now awaiting an answer as to where our family will be by the end of this month. Most of our readers are "in the know" about the situation, so Im not going to go in to the details here. Just know that we will keep you all updated as we get more information. Im sorry for not posting more this month, but once you go through all of the photos, Im sure you will see that we really have had LOTS going on! We were finally able to ditch our crappy AT&T internet service for something much faster and more reliable - YAY! Eric hooked up our wireless as well. So, that being said, we are now able to Skype again! I know how hard it can be for some of our family to get it set up correctly, so we would love to set up Skype-dates with you instead if you want to. I may turn ours on when I know we are available as well. Just log on and look for us! Can you believe its almost been a year since we've seen most of you!!??? Wow! Okay, time for some photos! Enjoy!!

The Alaska SeaLife Center

Some friends of ours were kind enough to invite us on a fun weekend trip to Seward Alaska to spend some time at the SeaLife Center! We accepted the offer and drove our families for the weekend. Thank goodness we have the van! We all fit nicely! We stayed the night at a military hotel, had a few meals in some local restaurants and let the girls run wild while they watched fish, sea lions and other creatures. It was fun! We really enjoyed the company of our friends!

Daddy and Z boating!

Heres our little family on the boat!

Zoey and Jenna!

Through the eyes of a sea lion! Look at the screen below the animal!

The touch tanks w/Momma.. Can you see whats stuck to her finger!!!??

I got a bit nervous that it wasnt going to come off!

Looking at the salmon w/Mommy.

We do this at every place we take her if theres an animal hanging from the ceiling!

Looking at some bones with Daddy.

The view of the mountains from inside was beautiful.

The SeaLife Centers largest sea lion!

This guy was over 9ft long and 1500lbs!

His mate was 7ft (I think) and only 500lbs!

Pushing Jenna in her stroller! Weee!!!

Inside the boat one last time.

Baby Bujak #2

Baby is growing well! I dont have much to report right now though. Ive been tired a lot. Ive been probably spending too much time on my feet since they hurt by the end of the day. Its all worth it though! Our next appointment is on March 16th first thing in the morning. Until then, heres a photo of "us"!!

Heres the belly at 13 weeks :)

Zoey Being Zoey!

Other than the trips and parties, Z has been her normal crazy self at home! She finally learned how to say "I love you" on the 8th of Feb, which just melts our hearts. She calls her pj's "MeMes" and asks to put them on. She has been practicing drinking from big girl cups more and more. Shes getting pretty good! Shes a great actress - she can fake coughing or "sick" and she has a fake cry too. She has been reading books out loud.. Most of what she says makes no sense, but its still cute to hear her "read" and watch her holding the book right up to her face. If you go back a few blog entries, you can watch her video about letters. She can read most of the alphabet all by herself. Another fun fact - she loves A1 sauce on her steak. Kaka!! Shes most certainly her Daddys girl!!

She climbs into her chair all by herself.

Helping Daddy feed the dogs..

She took the bowl right to Stella.

Put it inside, and closed the gate!

Someone got a treat... its an M&M!

Playing with her "beep beeps"

She really loves little cars ever since we got her Chuck the Truck for Christmas.

Our little angel

Valentines Day

On Valentines Day, we enjoyed a playdate/lunch! Zoey got dressed up and had fun playing with her friends!

This is Kara. She is the daughter of one of the MatSu Moms. She just loves playing with Z and holds her hand when ever she can. Here, she was holding Zoeys head up since she wouldnt look at me - Haha!! I think Zoey secretly loves being pampered by Kara :)

Her V-Day outfit! The kids kept running around the room, up the stairs and then down this ramp.. One of the Moms commented that it looked like a fashion show! It did!!

Winter Luau

We had a great time at the Winter Luau! We threw this party as a good-bye to Eric and early Happy Birthday to Zoey all in one. At this point, we are still unsure of what will happen to our family as far as the deployment/move/who-knows-what, but it was a nice way to get together with some of our closest friends and spend the day!

Inside the goodie bags...

At the end of the party, Eric gave the extras out to everyone! Even the "kids at heart" enjoyed the silly toys!

The hall sign I made for the guests to find the party room!

The back of Zoeys cake.. Im still having trouble with the fondant and not having pleats in it, but I tried to cover them up with the flowers! Its a bit bumpy too, but its only my second fondant cake!

And heres the front. Everything is fondant.. but the flowers. I did it all by hand! I even painted on edible glitter frosting! Can you tell what it is..?? A sea shell bikini and a grass skirt! The shells, pearls and "2" are all fondant - everything is! Lets just say it took me a while to finish!!

The fun table!

Lei making, photo prop and coloring!

I do think the kids had way more fun popping the balloons though!

The yummy table!!

Subs, potato salads, fruit, chips, punch and cake!

Just a close up.. the goodie bags are behind the punch bowl.

Dancing with Jenna and Teressa to some hula music!

Coloring some beach pages with Jenna!

Heres a few party people!

We had about 50 attend.

I dont like posting pictures of people with out asking first, so thats why you arent seeing more of Zs little friends :)

Lunch time!

The lei making station!

I spent hours punching out flowers and cutting straws and yarn!

I caught Eric with a lei on his head!

Singing Happy Birthday to Zoey

She blew out her candles like a champ! She even closed her eyes.. It was so sweet!

One of the kids broke the pinata string on their hit, so we had a brave Daddy hold it instead! Good job Eric!! Heres Z ready to swing!

She got to break the pinata!!! All of her friends had a turn first, of course!

She wanted to put all the candy back into the pinata! Then, she was taking handfuls of it to the trash can! We finally got her to start putting it into a cup instead :)

There was a little bit of monkey business at the party! I tried to get all the guests to stand in the photo prop. I plan to use the pics for thank you cards :)

We all had a great time, even though it went by too fast. THANK YOU to all who helped with the set up and clean up and to those who brought food and gifts even though we said not to. Every ones attendance meant the world to us. We feel so blessed to have such great friends here.. in fact, you are all more like family to us.

Well, thats all for today. Thanks for reading and catching up with us!

We love and miss you all!