Happy birthday to you...

...I can't believe that you're two...

happy birthday to you!

Our dear, sweet, little miss schmutz actually isn't two until next week, but we decided to celebrate a little bit early with all of our friends.

First, I made these invitations and handed them out to all of Ashlyn's little nursery buddies at church. Some of the invitees were so excited that they talked about it all week. Its so sweet to see such little children get so excited about going to a party.

And, the party was perfect! There were so many things that could, and almost, went wrong - but in the end everything worked out wonderfully!

The one thing I have to mention, that very well could have gone wrong, was the weather. We, unknowingly, planned to have little miss schmutz' birthday party on the only clear sunny day we have had for weeks! Many of my friends at the party commented that I must have "prayed" the sun into shinning.. and I think they might have been right.

Having a two-year-old's birthday party in the morning, at a park, was a wonderful and relaxing way to do it. The tire swing was a huge hit, I do not think it was empty for a minute. And even though there were a lot of other kids at the park, we were still able to have our space since it is quite a large park.

Gathering for cupcakes, cookies, juice and grapes under the shade of a beautiful tree was a perfect setting for a song... the happy birthday song that is.

I don't think Ashlyn quite realized what was going on, or that the whole party was for her, but she did enjoy the company, treats, and playing at the park.

The best part of the treats was finally being able to pick the sprinkles off the cookies. Ashlyn had been wanted to take those cookies apart all morning while I was making them. She finally got her wish.

We were so happy that almost all of our friends were able to join us for our little celebration! It isn't every day that you turn two... So we were very glad that all of our friends helped make it such a special day!

The whole morning was more fun than I ever thought!

happy birthday dear!

baby love.

Little miss schmutz loves her baby. This little baby still usually finds itself to Ashlyn's bed every nighttime. It is very sweet to see her play with her toys in such a motherly fashion.

Little miss schmutz loves to give her baby big hugs.

And sweet soft kisses.

won't she make a great older sibling someday?

We said hello...

...and goodbye to summer as it briefly came for a visit. But while it was here, we were able to spend a good amount of time outdoors.

Little miss schmutz will hardly ever sit very long in a stroller anymore. Usually, she wants to be the one pushing the stroller. So this is our solution. I just wish she was tall enough to push the big stroller, because I would be perfectly happy having her push me around all day.

Ashlyn is becoming more and more independent every day. We have almost gotten to the point where she will not let me help her put her shoes on. So, they always end up on the wrong feet. You would think that she has a 50% chance every time? nope.. she has never put them on the right feet when doing it by herself. And her flip flops usually cozy themselves in-between her 2nd and 3rd toe.. sometimes her 3rd and 4th.

Well we are definitely hoping that utah has a little more sunshine than what we've seen so far this year. If not, we will be popping vitamin D like there is no tomorrow.

this is what happens....

...in washington during the summer time...

..this is what happens when you are waiting for dinner...

...this is what happens after dinner when you have dying coals...

..this is what happens when you can't decide if you should look at the camera or the really really cool smoke coming from the dying coals...

...this is what happens when you cook a huge marshmallow the "traditional" way...

...this is what happens when you are impatient and cook your smore as a tin-foil-dinner-smore...

...this is what happens when you have cousins you love to play with...

...and this is what happens when you get too close to me when I have a camera...




..the end.

just thought I'd share...

...a few pictures. Little miss schmutz and I decided that it was time that Jake got a haircut. We also decided that we would be the ones doing the cutting.

I don't have any "after" shots, just these "before, but after a little trim on the sides" picture. But I just thought Ashlyn was being too cute not to share. She loves to help out in every way possible!

Sing... sing a song...

So, its late.. but I have to write this down...

June 4th, 2010 - We had a play date/brunch over at our little home. It was just a small group, two other moms, each with two children. We had a lot of fun, with three little girls all within the 2-3 year range. The girls.. Ashlyn, Alaina, & Molly, all were getting along very well.

It was a nice opportunity for us adults to chat in the family room, while the kids played in Ashlyn's room. Then, out of the semi-silent child play, I hear my sweet little daughter break out in song. Oh she melts my heart! I love to see the random, and adorable places that she will just start singing at.. in the car, at church, in the grocery store, or playing with friends.

She loves to sing and dance! Music affects her in such a tender way. It is so sweet to see how deeply she is touched with tender, soft, happy music.

Oh I love her so much! And I can't wait to start singing duets with her in a few years!

let us eat.. salad.

Pictures of our dear little miss schmutz trying to smile for the camera without cracking up.

So here is our Memorial Day 2010 adventure. It was very exciting. Our day started out with a bang ... Jake - studing (check) ... Sara - cleaning and laundry (oops.. never got finished) ... Ashlyn - bugging mom while chores (double check).

We have come to the understanding that our holidays will not live up to other's expectations for the next (lifetime) couple years. We do have a lot of fun, but we just usually squeeze it into random times.

But the highlight of this holiday had to have been dinner prep. We didn't have anything fancy, just fun...

While our dinner was cooking, I decided to make the salads. So out came our three plates, as well as all of the salad stuff - lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, etc...

...that is when the fun began. My dear daughter decided to help. She grabbed (pushed) her step stool over to the counter and climbed up to make "daddy's" salad.

She was, surprisingly, a great help! She broke the lettuce, carefully picked out the best (or make that... ALL) of the tomatoes, put on a good amount of cucumbers, & carrots. What a dear.

The best part was standing there together, talking, laughing at nothing, and just spending some time together that wasn't on the floor next to toys.

The picture above shows how crazy her hair was that day (it is never not crazy.. gotta love the curls!) but I kept on teasing her about the nursery rhyme..

There was a little girl,
who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,
she was very very good,
But when she was bad,
she was horrid.

Oh my! Before my little miss schmutz came along, I never would've guess that nursery rhymes had any truth to them. I am finding out that they are very accurate sometimes. I love my daughter, but we are starting to see those "bad" phases more and more.. and it is horrid!

Once we were done with the salads, and teasing, Ashlyn had a little dance she started doing. Not sure what music she was dancing to (it must've been in her head) but she was moving.

someone...

...in our household likes to draw. This special someone was also very excited to show her mommy her latest piece of artwork. It was all very silly, or so thought the little someone.