Stephanie is probably one of my oldest & closest friends from my childhood.  We met as middle & high schoolers & have stayed close ever since.  I am so grateful for her friendship, her advice, her love & her family’s presence in my life.  She is truly a blessing.

Stephanie recently showed me her talent for making cakes & cookies when she planned her daughter’s first birthday.  When I saw the phenomenal job she did with Madi’s party, I asked her if she’d be willing to make a creation for Brooke’s birthday, too.  I gave her an idea & she wowed me with the rest!  This girl has some amazing talent…take a look.

By the way, these treats not only looked good, they tasted good too!  I had to make myself stop eating those darling monkey cookies…Yum!

Go on out & get your free Slurpee, cuz it’s 7-Eleven, baby!  And while you’re drinking it, wish a happy birthday to my big four-year-old, Brooke!  Four years ago today, at 12:34 pm she rushed in to our lives & hearts & changed us forever.

When you get married you wonder how you’ll ever be able to love that person enough.  Then when you have a child, you have the same fears again.  And as you add more children, you’re given the grace & love you need to pour in to each person God blesses your family with.   We couldn’t have loved Emma more, and then we were blessed with Brooke as well.

She’s our miracle, our fighter, our feisty princess.  She has the most unique voice, imagination, expressions, wardrobe.  She’s been a blessing we never expected & would never change.

Thanks for being you Brookie!  Love Daddy, Mommy, Emma, and Ruby-doobie-do

This weekend I got a surprise invite to my new friend Cortney’s birthday…um…party? It wasn’t really a party. More of a “It’s Cortney’s birthday so let’s go to Charthouse for drinks & appetizers.” It’s so sweet to be invited to a birthday, and even sweeter when those inviting you barely even know you! Thanks Cortney & girls for having me. The conversation was great, the hummus & plaintain chips were tasty, the chocolate lava cake was amazing, and you all were lovely!

For the past four years I have been photographing my nieces annually for their birthdays.  I started doing this with my daughters as a way to officially document their growth.  Now granted, I take photos of them almost weekly, but these once a year photos are a great idea for any parent to look back on and reminisce – and cry (*sniff sniff*).

Yesterday, in between the trickles of rain, I got to play in Downtown Annapolis with my youngest niece, Delaney.  She has recently reached the incredibly fun & energetic age of two!  I can not believe it’s passed so quickly!  She can run, jump, sing, dance, babble about everything, name colors she sees, & do just so many things!

When she wasn’t jumping like a crazy girl, I managed to get her to give me a few quick glances.

And I also talked her mommy into popping in to Nostalgia Cupcakes on Main Street for a celebratory birthday cupcake!  It looked yummy – I say “looked” because Delaney liked it so much that she would NOT share!

Since her mommy put her in the same outfit that her sister wore during her two year pics, I couldn’t resist putting together this little collage of the two of them.  Don’t cry too much, Laura, because I know I want to!

Today we celebrated Brooke’s 3rd birthday with our friends & family.  This little lovely is Maddie, our neighbor.  I was cracking up at how much she loved this cupcake – especially the icing!