Easter Weekend

Easter weekend started with a special present from the waitresses at a little Italian restaurant that mom and dad take Mia to at least once a week. She knows the entire staff. Even the chef, who takes her into the kitchen, I'm told. They even have a fish in the restaurant named after Mia. The waitresses gave her an easter basket filled with a hot pink apron, bunny slippers (in the picture), crayons and more. Isn't that so sweet? They also have given her presents for Valentine's Day and Christmas.

On Friday, we went to SML with Andrew's parents and Uncle Chris. We took Mia to the arcade where she rode rides with her new friend (who she met there) - they ended up holding hands and walking through the arcade together - ahaha. She also went to an Easter Egg Hunt, which was hosted by Mimi and Papa's friends, The Pfosts. Several of their grandchildren were there and Mia had the best time. Every egg was filled with candy. So, she'd get an egg and take it to someone and say "open" and then would be so interested in the candy, she'd forget about (or lose interest in) finding the rest of the eggs. The weekned ended with a visit from the Easter Bunny this morning, who gave her bubbles, a musical book and sidewalk chalk. And, then a ride on Mimi and Papa's boat. As Uncle Chris put it, "She was so excited, I thought she was going to explode!" She loved going fast - we have a little daredevil on our hands.

Welcome to the World, Baby Colin

Our friends Jeremy and Christina had a baby boy (their first) on Thursday - Colin James O'Hara. 8 lbs. 2 oz. and little blonde peach fuzz on top. We're so excited for them. Mia saw them a few weeks ago and continues to talk about "Tina's baby in tummy." We explained how she was once in Mommy's tummy. Actually, I made the mistake of showing her my c-section scar and now she CONSTANTLY wants to see where Mia came out of Mommy's tummy - not so appropriate in public places :) Here's a message for Jeremy, Tina and Baby Colin from our family. Love you guys!

Cinnamon Toast Gone Bad

One of my favorite breakfasts as a child was Cinnamon toast. I started making it recently for Mia, and she loves it, too. I buy the Cinnamon and Sugar spice (already pre-mixed unlike the "old days" when you had to actually mix the two) and sprinkle it on the bread on top of a little butter before toasting it in the toaster oven. It's so yummy. This morning, Daddy got up with Mia and decided to make her some Cinnamon toast - only he didn't look at the label on the spice and sprinkled CAYENNE PEPPER on the toast instead. You'd think he would've noticed how RED it was. But, no. And, so he toasted it and gave it to Mia to eat. She took a bite and turned to him and said, "This yucky!" He must not have had much Cayenne Pepper on the edges of the bread - thank goodness - because that was the only reaction she gave. And, he quickly recovered from his sleepy state and realized what he'd done. Of course I can "out" him without feeling too guilty because I've written about LOTS of not-so-great parenting moments that I've had (you know, like letting her fall on her head twice in one week). Note to self for parents - read the labels!

Invitations...As Important as the Party Itself

Mia's second birthday is coming soon. Two! Can you believe it? I ordered her birthday invitations last week. We're throwing her a "purple passion" party because, well...purple is her passion. She loves EVERYTHING purple. I just didn't realize how tough it would be to find a purple birthday invitation. Everything for girls is pink! I've searched around town and online for the past three weeks. Yes, three weeks. I love stationary - it's one area where I can't just settle. I found one that I really liked, but it cost $65 for 25 invites - and, this was for blank invites. To print them cost an extra $20! (Another reason I need to get into the stationary business.) I finally found one that was cute and within my price range - purple with white polka dots (which Mia calls bubbles). It was on www.invitingsmiles.com. And, they had an amazingly quick turnaround time. They had my proof to me in 12 hours.

If you're ever looking for invitations, birth announcements or holiday cards, two of my other favorite sites are www.tinyprints.com and www.polkadotdesign.com. Unfortunately, they didn't have purple invites that I liked, but they have LOTS of other cute ones.