Sophia's Birthday

And finally, birthday #3 in March-Sophia turned 2! At this point, I was sick of cake! :) When we lit Sophie's candles, she immediately blew them out-before we got a picture or sang or anything. So then we lit the candles again, but she wouldn't blow them out again. Sorry, I again forgot to rotate the picture.

Caleb, Sophia, and Danny "helping" frost the cake.

We had lots of guests come for cake and ice cream. Our friends Matthew and Spring, our good friends and neighbors Deb and Tess, and our other good friends and neighbors, whose daughter, Gretta, is 6 wks younger than Sophia. They are too cute together! Although for the life of me I couldn't get a picture with BOTH of them looking at the camera. Happy 2nd birthday, Sophia!

Danny's Birthday

And birthday #2 in March-Danny's. Danny had the Arant family over to celebrate, but for some reason, we didn't get a picture of all the kids. Oh well. Danny had a strawberry cake, also had a treasure hunt, and could barely eat the whole day he was so excited. He got a couple of really cool transformers from the Arants. Here's the family on Danny's birthday.

Danny with his loot. Right before we took this picutre, Sophia jumped in and put her arm around Danny.

Danny with his 7 candles and strawberry cake.

Caleb's Birthday

Caleb had a great time celebrating his March birthday with cousins Moses and Johnnie. We went to Hickory Park for supper, had a treasure hunt (in the dark with flashlights), played pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, and Caleb and Moses got to sleep in a tent we set up in their room (it was too cold to sleep outside). Caleb and Danny then convinced us to let them sleep in the tent for the following three nights! :) Thanks to the Each's for driving a couple hours to celebrate with us. Caleb had a blast.

Caleb with his "funfetti" cake and his new Webkinz from Nanny and Baba. We lost the tag for this Webkinz, which is what you need to log it on to the computer, so ended up buying another one. Yeah, I'm a sucker. Nevermind that I spent probably 5 hours or so scouring the house for that tag.
Caleb modeling his new ISU jersey. Go Cyclones! (Sorry, I forgot to rotate the picture.)

The party-ers: Johnnie, Caleb, Danny, Moses.

The kids showing off Caleb's loot. L to R, Sophia, Johnnie, Caleb, Danny, Moses.

The Downside of Being Cheap

Okay, I don't know if I'm necessarily "cheap", but I really like good deals and I almost NEVER pay retail. (Isn't that a life motto?) However, there are those days when it doesn't pay to be cheap. For example, the days in the last month and a half.

About a month and a half ago, I decided that I didn't like my hair. It needed a lift. And I also decided that surely, being the educated person that I am, I could figure out how to dye my hair myself, saving more than $50. One trip to Target, three trips to Sally's Beauty Supply, and two weeks later, I found myself with a yellowy-orangy color that I hated. And Eric said, "It's not my favorite," which means he hated it, too. I dealt with the horrible orangy color for about two weeks before I gave in. (I have this weird idea that I should make myself suffer for a while because of the mistake I made.) Then I talked to my neighbor, who works for a very nice salon, to see if she thought she could fix my hair. She was very optimistic and so yesterday I went in and my hair looks A LOT better. However, all in all, I probably spent almost twice as much as if I had just gotten my hair highlighted professionally in the first place. We'll keep the actual bill a secret between me and my credit card statement. :)

I learned my lesson. It doesn't always pay to be cheap. Next time I'll fork over the dough and get it done right the first time.

The House Search

I love watching HGTV. I especially like the house search shows. However, I think maybe I should stop watching. HGTV makes looking for a house often look oh, so easy. And the people on the show are oh, so picky about the things they want in a house. Looking for a new house should be fun, right? I'm starting to think it isn't so fun.

Right now we live in one side of a duplex that we own. There are only two bedrooms and since kid #4 is coming, there isn't a whole lot of growing space. We need a new place! So, we've already rented out BOTH sides of our duplex starting August 1. This means that we HAVE to find a new place to live before then. Oh, the pressure! But we can't be picky like the people on HGTV. There are some things that we want....things we might even consider "must have's" that we will have to give up. Because a house that has everything we want has one thing we don't want-a price tag that we can't afford. Yeah, I'm not too into the house search right now.

You know that feeling when you walk into a house and you think...this is it! This is the one! It is perfect for our family. I haven't had that feeling. I'm just praying the perfect house-at the perfect price-will come along soon.

On a happy note, Sophia turns 2 today! She is very excited about having cake and ice cream. And she is my first child that is potty trained (well, half way) before turning two! Whoo-hoo!

My famous sister, Marcy

For those of you who don't know, I have a very cool, very talented musician sister, Marcy. (My other sister, Rachel, is also a very cool, very talented musician sister, but hey, this post is about Marcy.) I was just reading Mark Arant's blog (he is one of the pastors at Cornerstone) and he had a tribute to Marcy. Which led me to check out her myspace page for the very first time. I know, what kind of pathetic sister am I? Anyway, it is very cool and you can even buy her newest cd, "The Gravel Road" from her myspace page. Click here to go visit! Enjoy!

I'm Glad I Have a Daughter

I'm really glad I have a daughter. Yes, girls can often be more difficult than boys, but she also does things that the boys never thought of doing. And she mimicks ME instead of Eric. Scary thought, but also very entertaining. :) Sophia "changes" diapers on her babies, LIKES to clear her plate after supper, dusts the living room with a wet wipe, and will mother anyone who lets themselves be mothered. She also LOVES make-up, shoes, purses, and jewelry. Hey, no one will accuse me of not teaching my daughter the value of accessorizing!

Here's Sophia feeding her baby some of her morning oatmeal and milk.

And, since baby #4 is coming, I decided I needed a few months of no diapers, so I'm potty training Sophie. This is week two and she actually is doing pretty well. No accidents for a couple of days, she just holds it FOREVER! It is taking longer than with the boys, but she isn't even two yet, so what can I expect!? I know this summer I'll be glad I took the time to do it. Here she is on her little potty. Notice the two babies on the floor around her. They keep her company when she is sitting.

And finally, a video of Sophia mothering Caleb. The video is kind of dark, but she is laying on the couch with Caleb laying on her shoulder, covered with a blanket. Wait for the end, she gives him an adorable kiss "goodnight". This is the first time I've posted a video, so hopefully it works! Less than a month until I leave for a week's vacation visiting my sister in Florida! Whoo-hoo!