Toast 2 Mom

Pop Stars!

Cheeks had a Pop-Star birthday party over the weekend! It was totally radical!! :)

Star Struck

A little story I want to share about Cheekers that I don't want to forget....   One thing about this girl that I hope she never loses is her confidence in herself. Whether it's school work or sports or dancing or especially singing - Cheekers believes in her skills, owns it and thinks others have much to learn from her. :) 

Natty just loves to sing. While working around the house or tinkering in her room, she's often in song mode - creating her originals. She's bounced around with her favorite singing idols - Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Katie Perry. 

Well her latest idol comes from her new favorite show, The Voice.  Natty is a big fan of Gwen Stefani! I think it's Gwen's singing, style, dance moves AND red lipstick that seals the deal.

So the other night, Miss Cheeks comes to me out of the blue with a story to share. Many of the things this girl shares, I think, where did that come from? This was definitely no exception.

Natty says to me, "you know Mommy - you know how people wish on falling stars sometimes about things they dream about?"  I said, "sure, Honey."  She said, "well Mommy, more than anything I want to wish on a falling star that someday Gwen Stefani will come to my house to sing with me."

Oh my goodness....I mean, come on?!!  Can this girl get any cuter?? 

Since A Long Time Ago….

So many events have happened since my last post. It's been bonkers-ville. We had company, lots of cookie orders, teacher appreciation week, my blog 6 year anniversary, girls in a play, wedding anniversary, mother's day and fun, warm weather social events with friends. It's just been hard to keep up with all types of tasks. But I never want to not have these memories. So here is my much-abbreviated version of the past couple weeks. 

Grammy, Papa and Grandma Iva came for a visit. We went to a fun burger place downtown and to view the bats. This photo of Sydney was taken at Guadalajara for breakfast - one of our fav spots.

Cinco de Mayo weekend. Miss Cheeks got her face painted at a festival we went to downtown.

The girls were in a play - Peter Pan. Sydney played the role of Peter Pan and Natalie was Wendy. It was FANTASTIC!

 

 

 

Happy 12th Anniversary celebration dinner with the Hubby. 

 

The girls had Field Day at school - lots of fun activities. So glad I could be a part of it. 

 

 

 

Happy Mother's Day (and anniversary too) to me. The girls brought my presents in this morning by wearing them when they woke me up. I got a cute new shirt and a pair of earrings (Tiffany's nonetheless). I went for a nice long run today. The girls and I went to lunch and then to a movie. A perfect way to spend a day. Cheers!

Making Memories - NY Style

We just returned from New York City. Hubby and I often talk about the priviliges our girls have already been given in life at just the ages of five and seven. They've been coast to coast and a lot in between. Sometimes we worry and hope that they fully appreciate the blessings we have by sharing these experiences together. And then we are simply grateful to be able to show them what life is all about - new places, new faces, new experiences, opportunities, life lessons. 

We've been on several trips as a family. I have to say this trip ranks very high, if not the highest, as one of my favorite experiences with our girls. I am already a huge fan of New York. So there is no surprise that I enjoyed myself. However I'm also a very high anxiety traveler with my girls. I used to travel solo very carefree. Throwing kids into the mix, just has that way of adding extra panic button moments to the days. And in New York, there's always something to be on guard with - people, crowds, traffic, and all of those things at once. But despite all that, I found myself fairly calm....and embraced all the things we saw and did....and there were many!

The Hubby and I have been to NY several times. We are champion NY travelers. We get up early and hit the pavement. With kiddos in tow, we set our expectations low for adding daily mileage, but like always, our girls are champion travelers, and they did awesome. We saw SO much. 

Saturday was FAO Schwarz, Central Park, carousel, Times Square, pizza for dinner. Sunday was bagels in the morning, subways rides, walking around - Grand Central Terminal, Empire State, NY Library, Cinderella on Broadway (SUCH a great show!!), Chelsea Market, and The Highline. Monday I had brunch with a dear friend from college, then we went to the Museum of Natural Science. That night we went to a garden party. We stayed with a friend of Hubby's who is an editor for a magazine. Some friends of his had a party in Grammercy Park (how New York City are we?!! :) And Monday we made it to the Statue of Liberty to round out the trip. Several neighborhoods, several blocks of walking, several subway rides and lots and lots of fantastic memories! I can't wait until we go again!

My Final Graduate - Preschool Anyway...

We said goodbye to preschool today - though we will be back for camp. It was a very bittersweet goodbye (more bitter than sweet for this Mommy). We have loved every minute of the last four years at the girls' preschool. I'm extremely overwhelmed at the idea that four years has already come and gone. It really leaves me a bit speechless. 

I surprised our graduate today by pulling her big sister out of school to watch the program. Nice move on this mom's part - the graduate was elated to share the moment with her sister. 

Here are some moments from the program. The songs they sang and the final photos will forever be cherished! 

A Fast Five!

It's hard to say this and believe it...but see this picture below, I think when that was taken life was actually less busy? I don't know, it's hard to imagine that with a three month old and a two year old, things were easier than today. I do know one fact for sure, the days these days feel like they fly by WAY faster than they did back then. For it seems that all the time time now I miss a milestone here and a milestone there simply due to the fact that the days just race by and I lose track of time. 

There is another reason I have chosen this picture to post today. It represents the very first photo I had on this blog five years ago. Yes, three days ago marked my five year anniversary to starting this blog!! Very exciting! I thought about it about a week ago. And like most weekends, our past weekend was a whirlwind. So come time to celebrate my blogging milestone - well I missed it. 

A LOT has changed in five years. Look at these babies I used to have. Then it was diapers, nursing, ABC's, stroller walks, and daycare. Now it's grade school, swim team, math homework, reading and sleep-overs. 

When I began this blog five years ago, I was late to the blogging world. I saw it as an opportunity to keep my writing juices flowing. I wanted to network with others like myself. I hoped it would become a reading favorite to many - and perhaps be successful in some way. Though as it turns out, while my creative ideas were big, the best part to this blog has been my opportunity to snapshot and capture, as best as I can, how fast this little life we have goes by. I've been able to cherish each precious moment with my precious babes. 

I still wish I had more time to get more information down. But this will have to do. 

So to anyone who continues to read about our little life, thank you for your interest! We are grateful. And I am thankful to have had this platform over the last five years. 

Cheers!

The Dinostar!

Tonight was Sydney's big choir concert she's been working on all year. They put on a wonderful show - and our girl gave a stunning performance! :) So proud of our little singer!