She's gonna be a balla

Chamae found Brad's silly sweatbands and wanted to try them on.

 Once again, I love Pinterest.  I found this idea a while ago and decided to go for it.  It wasn't much more than cheap little Valentines and they are way cuter.  Kirsta designed them as cards for me after I sent her Donovan's picture.  I think they turned out pretty darn cute!  It's such a cool idea, I wish I had thought of it!!

 Donovan celebrated his half birthday at school the week before Valentines Day and asked me to make Angry Birds cupcakes.  He is obsessed.  He hasn't played the game in months (on Brad's Ipad, I don't know about Lenna's) and he still loves it!  I found a design on Pinterest (I'm pretty good at copying other people's ideas).  Donovan loved them and that is all that mattered:)

My adorable little crazies

Some of the things Chamae says.

We often have silly dance parties in the evening before getting ready for bed.

Donovan's silly dances are my favorite.

A Real Snow Day!

We had a real live snow day on Saturday.  I think it ended up being close to 10 inches.  Donovan couldn't wait to get out and play in it!  Chamae was pretty excited too and got upset when I made her go in to take her morning nap. 

Sledding for the first time with Daddy.  She LOVED it!

Of course, a snowman had to be built.  There are snowmen everywhere in CB now.  It was good packing snow.

Within 20 minutes, his face was covered in another few inches of snow.  Even now that some of it has melted, his face is still hidden.

This was Monday morning.  It was gorgeous.  The trees were covered in snow and frost.  It all melted by the afternoon, but it was so pretty.  I went running that morning and we all had frosty eyelashes and ponytail tips at the end.

Frosty was...leaning.  He was leaning even more by the end of yesterday, so Brad went out and pushed him upright again...and now he's leaning again today. 

I attempted to get some cute pictures of the kids together to send to my sister in law, Kirsta so she could make some Valentines to send to people...these were a couple of the many failures. They wouldn't cooperate very well, but they are still pretty cute.

Please enjoy this video of Chamae being adorable.  She was getting really excited watching the deer outside.

Chamae's official 1st birthday post

And it's only a month late!  I know, I'm an awesome mother.

Chamae has opened up some pretty extreme emotions in her mother.  Up until about 8 months, she was a HORRIBLE sleeper.  I had a lot of sleepless nights and had my share of frustrated tears.  Once we figured it out, her whole demeanor changed.  She has become a sassy, sweet, fun, cuddly, crazy little girl and we're loving every minute of it!  She does everything in her own time!  From learning to sleep to walking, she did it when she was ready.  I'm sure that's how her life will go, we just have to teach her some balance so she stays sweet and isn't  100% diva.  She is already a true girl, jabbering all day long and pretending everything is a phone.  I'm pretty sure she thinks we understand every word she's saying.  She sounds so matter of fact when she's talking to us, like it's something we really need to know.  She is starting to fight me when it's time to do her hair and I haven't been able to paint her toes for a few months now.  She is quick to give kisses and hugs and loves to chase her brother, and he plays along...occasionally.  I can't believe how feisty she can be!  Unlike Donovan, she takes a few minutes to warm up to most people, but she's still very curious and will walk up to perfect strangers and stare for a little while before she is lifting her little arms to get in their lap.  She is pretty good about going for both parents, but she has a special place in her little heart for her daddy.  After he got back from a 3 day trip, she wouldn't share him with me.  When I tried to get my hug, she pushed me away.  He's hers!!  We can't get enough of her toothy grin and silly laugh.  She didn't really start laughing until a couple months ago.  She was a pretty somber baby, but now that she gets sleep, she is crazier than her brother and giggles about everything!  She loves pasta, cheese, grapes, bananas, most cooked veggies, and water to drink.  She hates milk.  I'm lucky if I get her to drink 8 ounces a day.  Like mother like daughter I guess.  She is pretty good at melting our hearts.  When it's bedtime and we catch her in the right mood, she'll snuggle up to our shoulders and pat our necks.  She can be so sweet but so feisty at the same time!  I guess it's good, we want a little girl that can stick up for herself, but still be kind to people.  We love our little Chamae Rose.  She has turned our little family upside down, and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Chamae's first year:

Family Fun

While Brad was out of town for a week and a half or so, Donovan and I decided to make cookies.  He has been bugging me to make cookies he can decorate for a while, so I conceded.  Can you tell which ones he shaped?  He said it was the Eiffel Tower, but when it came out of the oven he was disappointed to see that it wasn't as tall anymore. 

Gotta love this cute little stinker.  She is so funny and cute.

I told Donovan we could go bowling the Saturday after Daddy got home, so we did.  He loves bowling and asks me to go almost every time we pass the bowling alley.

He's a pro.  I love his style of bowling.  So cute and entertaining.

Yesterday, when I picked Donovan up from school, he asked if we could go to the cupcake shop after lunch.  I told him he could use his own money to get a cupcake, so he did!  They have couches with fun soft pillows there that Chamae had to play with.  She was carrying them all over the shop until I set her on the couch with them.

Donovan enjoying his lemon cupcake. 

After the cupcake shop, we decided to go to the library for a bit before Chamae's nap.

My little snuggle bug.  She likes to lift her shirt and play with her belly button when she is laying down.