Memorial Day Weekend

Its the 3-day weekend that officially kicks off summer and what better way to spend it than in the pool? From Friday afternoon until a little while ago, we have been in and out of the water. 

The Pfeiffer's had a pool party Saturday afternoon and I made some fun summery cupcakes for the occasion. I put Kennedy in her new swimmies, lathered her up no less than 8 times with at least SPF 50 and we headed outside to play. She had so much fun splashing in the water with her friends. Greg had to do a little watching from the sidelines because he fractured his foot in a soccer game Thursday night. He has to wear this boot for the majority of the summer and had to miss out on diving board games with the boys. Since he couldn't help me with Kennedy in the water, we took turns switching off having her in the pool and playing soccer with Greg. She loved kicking the ball in the goal and passing to Emily and Mason just as much as she loved splashing. 

Greg and I took Kennedy swimming Sunday and this afternoon, which resulted in a seriously worn out little lady. He got to get in the water today and played water games with Kennedy. She went under a few times and didn't seem to mind at all. She slept so well last night and I am hoping tonight she sleeps just as soundly. Now I am really glad we are doing late afternoon swim lessons! I have a feeling it will be the perfect thing to burn off a little extra energy at the end of the day. 

I'm really glad summer is here and can't wait for all the fun we are going to have. 

Patriotic Snow Cone Cupcakes. 

Kennedy. Emily and Mason in the kiddie pool. 

Summer Hunters

Having fun at the pool party. 

The Ladies and our delicious summer cocktails. 

The Husbands

Making mommy a tad nervous (daddy was on standby while I took the picture, just in case). 

She's dying to jump in. 

Soccer with daddy. Note his boot. 

Splashies with Mason

Ice Cream With Friends

As I mentioned before, we have been making a lot of our frozen banana ice cream around here. We had some friends over this week for a little ice cream party and the kids all loved it. I found these cute little cups and spoons at Hobby Lobby - perfect size for little hands and set out lots of fun sprinkles. The kids all ate their lunches (for the most part) and were so excited for their ice cream treats. 

We had some special visitors in town from Houston, Ashley and Alex. All the moms got to get out for some margaritas with Ashley earlier in the week, and she was able to bring Alex over to play with her Dallas friends. Ice cream, friends and good weather made for a fun afternoon. Kennedy, Emily and Mason made their way to the playhouse out back and were all playing pretty cute together. Mason disappeared for a little while and returned with a flower he'd put in a pot for the ladies. It doesn't get much sweeter than that.

Once everyone left it looked like a tornado had come through our house. Seven toddlers can do quite a bit of damage! Kennedy likes to sing this clean up song from Gymboree and was happy to help me straighten up before her afternoon rest.

Catching up over margaritas. 

 Lunch bunch. 

Alex and Kennedy with their ice cream treats.  

Group shot attempt.

Laighton, Alex, Kennedy, Molly, Mason, Emily and Jeff 

Mason bringing a housewarming flower to the ladies.  

Ashley & Alex, Caroline & Emily, Amanda & Kennedy

Kitchen Helper

We have a little step ladder in the kitchen. Originally it was for me to be able to reach my cupcake supplies and less frequently used plates/serving pieces. I got it out one time for Kennedy to stand on and now this is where she insists on eating, cooking, coloring and hanging out. At least it isn't in front of the TV.

I also noticed that when I say "cook" she goes straight to the microwave. I guess it has been a while since I made a proper dinner. Anyway, I decided to show her we can do a little cooking together. Real cooking/baking. Not pushing buttons on a microwave.

We baked some peanut butter oatmeal bars (recipe below) and made homemade play dough. She absolutely loved it. She loved measuring the ingredients, pouring them in and licking the batter. (The "batter" was a different spatula I dipped in peanut butter). Once we finished preparing, baking and cleaning up our mess, it was time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

She is so proud of the oatmeal bars she made. I think that's the majority of the reason she polished off two right off the bat. She just kept saying, "Kennedy cooked." She couldn't wait for Greg to get home to cut him one of her bars. And of course, who doesn't love hot pink play dough?!

Mixing 

More cinnamon.  

Someday I'll let her try real batter...one of my all-time favorite things.  

Putting all my mini cookie cutters and cupcake decorations to good use.  

 Roll, cut, repeat. 

Mommy's Kennedy's Ladder

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats,

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar,

1 teaspoon baking powder,

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt,

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,

1 teaspoon vanilla extract,

1/2 cup milk,

1 large egg, lightly beaten,

1 large mashed banana,

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Mix together the quick cooking oats, light brown sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and ground cinnamon.

Add in the vanilla extract, milk and egg. Mix the ingredients together.

Then add in the mashed banana and peanut butter. Combine all of the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 8 by 8 inch metal baking pan. Bake at 350 F degrees for 20 minutes.

Cut into squares and enjoy!

School's Out For Summer

Tuesday was our last day of Mother's Day Out (until the summer session starts in June) so Caroline and I wanted to do something fun with the girls to celebrate. When we picked them up, we brought their teacher gifts and they had so much fun handing them out. We gathered our stuff, said 'see ya in the fall' and headed over to Kidville to play.

The girls pretty much went nuts at Kidville. I think they may have spent 30 straight minutes singing No More Monkeys and jumping their hearts out on the trampoline.

After nearly an hour of running, jumping and sliding, we surprised them with a walk to the ice cream shop for a treat. They sat in a booth and colored until it was time to share a single scoop of vanilla Blue Bell. I could not believe how well they shared! To say they loved it would be an understatement.

We had such a great first year in "school." Everyone at the school is so sweet, nice and caring and I know Kennedy really bonded with one of her teachers. She talks about Ms. Jackie quite often. I loved getting the art projects and report cards each week. Its crazy to think of the first day we dropped them off, they were such babies. Now they are Big Girls in the 2 year old class, and I am excited to see what the year has in store for us!

Look at how grown up they are! And how much hair they have now! 

Jump! 

"...no more monkeys jumping on the bed!" 

Taking 5 on the "bench" 

Ice Cream Time

Frozen Treat & A New Swing

This was one of those perfect weekends where we had just enough to do to keep us busy, but not so much that we were constantly running around. We had dinner with friends, went to a petting-zoo birthday party, had a date night and did stuff around the house. Sunday afternoon seemed like the perfect time to hang the new swing in the front yard. Kennedy couldn't resist the opportunity to help Greg. She picked out her own shoes and hat and we headed outside. I also made her a little bowl of "ice cream" to enjoy in the shade.

The "ice cream" is a new treat we have been making a lot of. I found it on another friend's blog and Kennedy can't get enough of it. Its not really ice cream, its actually made from frozen bananas, so its a really great afternoon snack. Just slice a couple bananas in the morning and freeze them. Toss the frozen bananas in the blender with a little milk and vanilla extract and blend, blend, blend. It eventually takes on the consistency of soft serve ice cream. If you like bananas you will love it. It freezes well and you can definitely add mix-ins like cut up fruit, a little peanut butter, mini chocolate chips, etc. Or in our case, top with pink sprinkles.

How's that ice cream?

 Yum!

 Gathering supplies. 

Measuring the chain. 

Daddy's little helper.

Big Girl Bed

Kennedy made it known that she was over the crib. She wanted a bed and not a crib. So we decided to just go for it and covert her bed to a toddler bed. Since I believe this is somewhat Elmo's doing (the book) I decided to do things in the same order Elmo's mommy did. So off to Pottery Barn Kids we went to let her pick out her new linens. While we were there she saw a floor model of a toddler bed and immediately ran to it. She kept saying "aww, Mommy's bed" and I asked her if she wanted a bed like that. She said "ok" which is as close to yes as she gets. So she picked out some cute sheets and a pillowcase. I did give her choices, but was seriously hoping she would pick the set she did. We came home and played while Greg did the crib conversion.

When she came in the room she thought it was pretty cool. She loves getting in and out of it. She loves reading books in it. She loves putting every stuffed animal she owns in it. She sort of likes sleeping in it. Sigh. 

I've talked to a few other parents that made the switch around this age and they all said about the same thing. They all had about a week where they had to constantly put the little one back in bed before they started staying in on their own. It is definitely getting easier and we are hoping within a few more days we will get less late night wake up calls.

It sounds like she's saying Olives at the end. But I've figured out recently she calls her bed a house. 

The point Greg realized he needed to make an emergency run to Home Depot. 

 Big Girl Bed

She thinks this is her new reading nook. 

Winning Recipe

For the second year in a row, the Hunters have brought home a victory for my Pink Flamingo margarita punch. See below for recipe.

Its a punch I came up with last year and it won first place at the Pfeiffer's annual margarita party and contest. I made a few tweaks which resulted in a little more potent punch. This year we were beat out for first place by Evan and Sally, but its ok because the winners are real margarita professionals. I mean, Evan works in the liquor business and he brought a frozen margarita machine. Not like the one you get at Bed Bath and Beyond that looks like a blender, but a real one like restaurants have. How can we compete with that?

The weather could not have been more perfect so all fun was had on the patio. We had a great time with friends and enjoyed sampling the different varieties. Everyone got really creative this year: strawberry basil, blueberry and even a Skittles infused margarita.

Can't wait for the party next year! I hope we can keep up this winning streak.

 I don't actually have flowers in my hair. 

Ellen, Lizzy, me, Caroline 

 Senor Mark, Tran, Greg and Evan

Somewhat friendly competition. 

The Batts, Tran, The Pfeiffers, The Hunters

• 
  
• The Pink Flamingo

• 1 Can of Frozen Limeade
• 1 Bottle of Champagne
• 1 Can of Silver Tequila
• 1/3 Can of Strawberry Liqueur (I used Leroux)
• 1/2 Can of Water
• Strawberries
• Limes

Pour thawed limeade into pitcher with ice. Fill limeade can with tequila and pour into pitcher. Then fill limeade can  1/3 with Strawberry Liqueur and pour in. Add in champagne to taste (I like it a little on the bubbly side). Finally add water, stir and serve over ice. Garnish with fresh strawberries and lime wedges (optional). 

*Editor's note: Turns out, strawberry liqueur is not stocked everywhere and you want liqueur and not schnaps (Puckers). I had to go to a few places to find it. And you don't need a schmancy champagne for this since it's mixed with juice and other liquor. 

Mother's Day

We had a nice little family day on Sunday to celebrate my second Mother's Day. We thought about going to brunch, but after a very fun margarita party at the Pfeiffer's the night before, neither of us were really feeling well. More on that later, but we did bring home a second place win for our margarita entry.

Anyway, after Greg went and picked up breakfast we walked over the the neighborhood park to play. We spent the rest of the day painting our nails (just the girls), relaxing and hanging around the house. We went up to Plano for dinner at Coal Vines, a pizza and wine bistro, where we had a prime people watching spot on the patio. Some of us colored, some of us sipped wine. We walked over to Pacuigo for a gelatto treat before strolling around the Shops at Legacy. It was a relaxing day (not counting a few toddler meltdowns) and I loved getting to spend it with Greg and Kennedy.

 Getting ready for dinner. 

Kennedy picked an orange polish for her mani. 

Nuzzle nuzzle. 

Toddler in Heels

We had a busy and awesome weekend and I am spending this afternoon trying to put the house back together! Oh, and I still haven't unpacked from San Antonio from a week ago. This afternoon Kennedy is "helping" me unpack, put up and straighten the house. And by "help" I mean walk behind me and undo everything I have just done. Sigh. 

She has taken quite a liking to playing in my closet and found herself a handbag and heels this afternoon. I love that she immediately started digging through her bag. Presumably mimicking what mommy does every day looking for her iPhone/lip gloss/check card/etc.

                         

Polished piggies.