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!

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

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!

And here’s some of the cake details…

My attempt at a Snow White birthday cake.

When she turned 5, I was away in Ethiopia so I didn’t have the chance to take her out for her 5-year photos like I do every year.  Things got busy when I returned and it just slipped my mind.  So, tonight I had the opportunity to spend some Mommy-Emma time with her in Downtown Annapolis & just play “model.”  I treated her just like one of my clients, let her choose where she wanted to have her picture taken, asked her opinion on what she thought looked good, and so on.  She loved it!  My girl is getting so big!  I can’t believe she is already five & will be in kindergarten in the fall.

I love you Emma Rose!  Thanks for being Mommy’s first (& best) model!

We had a little Easter get together with both families this past weekend, and Bert & Laura asked me snap a few photos of her for this momentous occasion.  Here they are!