Birthday overload

I don't know what it is about the end of August, but we sure know a lot of people born at the end of May. We got to go to a number of parties this weekend in addition to celebrating Daddy's birthday with him. In fact, the girls turned down cake after a while because it was just too much.

Above: Madeleine finds herself some shade at White Oak Park during Abby's party.

Madeleine and Lily do the cupcakes at Jocelyn's fifth birthday at Walnut St. park on Sunday.

Madeleine and Lily also enjoy pizza at Abby's party on Saturday.

We also went to Caleigh's birthday at Kenney's Gymnastics Saturday afternoon and had a birthday lunch with Daddy outside at the Bavarian Brathaus. We got him a new reading lamp and a quilt made out of his old brewery t-shirts.

How we made strawberry pops

Note: This is not your typical mommy blogger, how-to post. The pictures are done with my point-and-shoot, and my countertops are not going to pass a health inspection any time soon.
Step One: Gather fresh strawberries.

Step Two: Wash strawberries.
Aren't they pretty?Step Three: Place in food processor. Add 1 cup sugar.

Step Four: Clean popsicle makers and ready for strawberries.

Step Five: Puree strawberries and let girls spoon into molds.

Step Six: FreezeLastly, enjoy.

Magic Time

The girls love magic. Last year we went to Peakfest in Apex, and they were mesmerized by Raleigh magician Happy Dan the Magic Man. They followed him around all day and attended all three shows. So this year, I was happy to bring them back again.

This year he had a new trick that involved a GIANT wand.

Madeleine and Lily were lucky enough to help him out with one of his tricks.

We also stuck around to see Hubba Bubba the clown, and Lily got to help there as well.

Mother's Day Art

If you're like me, sometimes you may struggle at gift giving time to find something who really doesn't need anything. Lily and Madeleine are very into creating their own art projects, so I thought for this Mother's Day we'd try something new for the grandmas. We went to Paint Your Pot and they got to select and paint their own ceramic pieces.

Madeleine chose keepsake boxes.

Lily picked a plate.

And a bowl-type thing.

Here are the pieces ready for the kiln.

Madeleine remembered all week when they would be done and couldn't wait to go pick them up.

March for Babies

We participated in our fifth March of Dimes walk this past weekend. In a huge milestone, the girls walked with us the entire 3.2 miles. We didn't even bring a stroller or wagon because we wanted them to give it a shot.

Lily started dragging around 1 mile, but we kept talking to her, singing songs, and pointing out how we were almost halfway, only one more hill to go, etc. Madeleine never really complained.

Of course the girls were being super-cute the entire time - from the pre-race dance warm-up to talking the ENTIRE walk.

At the finish line we ran hand-in-hand to the end, and then I gave everyone a big hug.

Post race we enjoyed hot dogs, popcorn, and Rita's ice treats. The girls played on the bounce house, colored, and got princess tattoos (I need to remember to remove mine before work tomorrow).

I love seeing all the family teams and reading their stories on their shirts. So many moms I don't even know, but I just wanted to walk up to them and give them a big hug. Miracles do happen.