Sunshine!

I wish my blog title for this week's post would be referring to the weather, but it is not. We are stuck in the same crap - tastic pattern of snow, cold, snow, cold.  Cabin fever is kicking in, and I honestly cannot wait to see the grass at this point. Sad, huh?

It has been a busy couple of weeks. I wanted to throw my best friend Jenny a sprinkling, which is a small shower. It was such a happy day! I did a cupcake trial a few weeks back and the came out beautiful :

The Actual Sprinkling was really nice... My sister came over and helped me make pretzels that I used as favors. They turned out very pretty :

The Finished Product...I added Pink & White bows

Fondant Flower cut - outs

Working with rolled fondant.....You need to be patient!

So much has went on the past couple weeks  -  and I feel like I probably will forget to share a few things on here, but no worries!

Olivia has added a few more words to her vocabulary:

 "Sock"  Not only does she love saying the word, but she also has a habit of taking any clean clothing from the laundry basket (or anywhere she can find an article of clothing) and scatter them around the house! It is funny to find random articles of clothing here and there . . .

"Wow"   Usually a word she says when she looks outside or sees something she really likes .

 " Bubbles"  I recently purchased tiny tubes of bubbles as a favor for a shower, and a few were leftover. Naturally, we play with them in the house! It has been a brutal winter and we are stick inside. Olivia is so astonished and excited when we get the bubbles out. She very quickly caught on to saying "bubba"! Such an awesome feeling to see such joy and giggles :)

"Sunshine" So, she watches her favorite show Blues Clues on Nick Jr©.  In between shows they have music snippets from all different programs from the station. There is a cute catchy little number called " Sunshine Power", and Olivia goes crazy over it! She twirls around and now sings along too . Sometimes I sing it to her and get the same reaction! She just says "suh.shy" over and over again.

Speaking of TV, Every morning while Mama watches the news, there is a cute little animated Avocado commercial that immediately sends Olivia into dance mode.  It chants Avacado-o-o-o-o-o-ooooh! and she repeats the oh-oh's as she is dancing and laughing!

Sick Mama.....Well, without getting into too many details - I have been placed on heavy antibiotics. If I do not get better in a weeks time - I will have to consult with a surgeon. Not the news I wanted to hear while being pregnant, but nonetheless I am staying positive. I have an amazing and supportive husband and family / friends, so I know no matter what the outcome, I am surrounded by lovely people.


I am 25 weeks pregnant.

Our sweet baby girl is approximately 2 pounds , and 13 inches long.
She is kicking like crazy, especially at night! I have to be careful what I eat because the heart burn is out of control! Doctor said baby is where she should be, and based on the ultrasound due date is projected at May 24, But they will keep it at May 25 because it is a day off. I wouldn't mind meeting our little princess a day early <3


I will end on a fun note, My Makeover! I went in with a ton of light brown hair all the way down my back .... I walked out with 10+ inches of hair gone, feeling like a hot mama :) When I texted a pic of my new look to my husband he replied with Hubba Bubba!  He liked it a lot! It was an amazing pick me up and I was so fortunate to be picked for this . . . .

Before

Hair + Makeup After!

3 different colors + ombre effect!

I Love it!

And MOST importantly . . . . Baby Loves it too!

Goodbye

This is one of those things you truly dread. Losing a family pet.

Firstly, I do not want anyone to discredit the importance of this little guy, he held a very important role in our family.  He was our little ray of sunshine. His name was Baby, and he is a Peach Faced Lovebird.

 

He came into my life long before Brian or Olivia. I was about 21 years old Living with my parents. As soon as they told me that their lovebird pair had laid eggs I told my parents that I simply had to have one of the babies! Of course they said yes. The babies hatched , but the mom was a bit over-motherly and was starting to smother them. So I picked my bird, before he was technically "ready" to leave the nest and had to take care of him day and night. This entailed keeping him warm (he barely had any feathers and was pink and so helpless) and feeding him via syringe multiple times a day. I would come home for lunch just to feed him and hold him. He grew beautiful and strong , and had such a sweet and loving personality.

It is not typical to keep a lovebird single. But he was the only baby that survived. He was special, and I loved him. I moved out and of course he came with me! My Vet had commented on 2 occasions how delightful he was , and "if I ever wanted to find someone to take him in, she was happy to do so". His joy was infectious. Everyone lit up when they saw him. When he was 3 he was introduced to my new kitten ! They were best buddies and kitty would literally sleep next to him most of the day. He never once tried swatting at the bird, it was funny - like they had an understanding of some sort......

I went through a very bad depression, and sudden move, and of course my Bird and Cat came with me . I swear they really felt my pain and got me through those first few months when I felt as if the world was closing in on me.

Fast forward to present time, and Brian and Olivia both love this sweet little bird too.
Every morning our Daughter Olivia has to say good morning and night - night to "Bird" . She would stop by his cage several (yes SEVERAL) times a day and point to him and say either "up, up" or "birrrrrrrrd"

Bird was even one of her very first words!

There are so many things I could say.... My heart and my home feel empty. The sweet sound of his chirping and happiness are now replaced with silence. The morning and night ritual of addressing him are now just a memory.  Our little sunshine is gone. I will never forget losing him. I am sure every February 8th I will look at the calendar, and have a heavy heart. But then again every day I can also reflect on how he truly brought joy , love, happiness and comfort to our home. And that, is irreplaceable.....

Goodbye, our sweet friend, for now you sing in heaven with the Angels!