The Big Day!!

Here's sweet Layne's special birthday outfit....complete with the ladybug boots that sister got her!!

How could you not love this face!?!?

This year we did not do a meal, instead we did lots and lots of sweets!

Flower sugar cookies with little ladybugs....

Chocolate ladybug pretzels....

Ladybug cake pops (of course chocolate chocolate chip cake!)......

The absolute highlight to the party for Layne was the ladybug release. I purchased 2500 ladybugs from Ebay of all places! They arrived on Thursday and I was instructed to put them in the fridge until I needed them. When it was time, I got them out and we put bunches on ladybugs in individual bug jars for each child. They then walked through the garden to find "the perfect home" for their ladybugs.

Here's Connor making sure that he gets all of his little bugs out of the jar.

I am very surprised that Layne said this was her favorite part of the party. She was fine with the ladybugs in the jar until they started peeking their heads through the air holes trying to get out. She was just plain terrified about it. She wouldn't even hold her bug jar! I had to release her ladybugs....yet that was her favorite part!? So basically she was terrified of the entire theme of her 3rd birthday....awesome!

Abby and Hayden just loved letting the ladybugs crawl all over them.

The girls hanging with Pappy.

Pappy and Melody bought the girls grow frogs!! There are two in the container. Hayden named hers Froggy and Layne wanted to name her Hayden, but we talked her into naming it Ladybug instead!!

The sand and water table that Pappy bought the girls a few years ago was a huge hit! Carlee loved mixing the sand and water together!!

At the after party Hayden got a special gift of her own. Pappy and Melody bought Hayden some sand art stuff. They sat there for at least and hour and poured colored sand in little plastic bottles. Abby and Hayden were very precise about their layers and designs. Layne on the other hand would just get a few colors in, put the cap on and shake away!! Lots of fun.

Once EVERYONE left Pappy took his shirt off because he was hot. Of course the girls just had to do the same thing. I thought it was just the cutest thing.

What a great day. I just adore our two precious girls and I love love love celebrating them!! Happy Birthday Sweet Layne-y Bug!!

Layne-y Bug's Cake!

I had the best time working on this cake. Mostly because it's for my baby, but also because I have not done a cake in a while!

The bottom tier is chocolate chocolate chip with peanut butter buttercream. The middle is white almond chocolate chip with chocolate buttercream. And the top tier is white almond with lemon curd. There are lots of other sweets to eat too....ladybug cookies, ladybug pretzels, and ladybug cake pops! We are all looking forward to Layner's birthday tomorrow!!!!

Ladybug Nail!

This morning the girls got a very special mani and pedi. We just had to have ladybug nails for the big party tomorrow!

Hayden gave Layne the present that you got for her early. Ladybug rain boots! Layne is just absolutely in love with them! She said that she had to wear them out to dinner just in case it rained!

Here are daddy and Hayden being silly at Steak and Shake.

Not so silly...

The waitress brought Layne a special ice cream treat since we were out celebrating her birthday!

Cute Ladybug Hair Clips

The girlies are going to get these cute little hair clips in their "bug jar" party favors. They were so easy to make and they are super cute! All the kids will also get ladybug bubbles, gummy bugs, ladybug tattoos, some crayons, and a bug jar.

Ladybug Layne

Here's a little look at a few of the little details that are in place for Layner's party on Saturday. She is so excited!!

Getting Ready for 3...

(getting ready to turn 3 years old that is...)

Layner is going to be three one week from today! We went with a ladybug theme this year. I like to have the house decorated for the entire week before the party. It's one less thing that I have to do the weekend of the party and it helps us all get excited about the party! It's fun to celebrate the girls for an entire week....if you ask me! Here's Layne's special birthday hat that I found at Michael's. She has to wear it her own special way!

Yes, yesterday we dressed like cows and ate for free at Chick-fil-a! The costumes were plastic bags and hand made cow masks. The lady almost didn't give us "full credit" for the costumes. When I asked if each of us really got a free meal she looked me up and down and said under her breath, "It IS supposed to be a cow costume from head to toe but I'll give it to ya."

Girl cow masks for mommy, Hayden, and Layne.

SnoBall Cookies

September and Morgan had a VERY busy long weekend at the shop. This week isn't slowing down much for them either. So, I wanted to make them a little pick me up treat. We are all so proud of them and the amazing way that they are running the SnoBalls shop every day!!

10 for 10

We stopped at Kroger on the way to Test Kitchen tonight in order to get some juice. It was 10 for $10 so Layne and I grabbed 3. She really waned to help carry one.

The Journey Back Home

We left Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning and drove about 7 hours (it actually took me 9 hours with ALL the stops). I had to stop for breakfast, multiple potty stops, throw up stops....just to name a few!

We stopped overnight at a hotel in Huntersville NC. Jeremy booked it! Do you think the name of the city is a coincidence?! I don't think so. We had a huge king bed that I thought would be plenty big enough....until I looked over at how the girls were sleeping!

We went for a late night (8:30pm) swim in the pool.

We stopped at a Bob Evan's for lunch on the way to North Carolina. The girls just thought the smiles were the coolest thing.

These were taken on my phone (before the battery died) at Kennywood Park.

Ready for a big 4th of July day!!

Weekend in Pittsburgh!

The girls and I headed to the burgh this weekend for the 4th of July. Actually, my mom flew in on Friday night just so that she could drive up to Pittsburgh with me! Isn't she awesome!!??

The absolute hi-light of the trip was our visit to Kennywood. It was another one of those unforgettable yet indescribable feelings that I had when we walked into the park. This is a park that I grew up going to all the time. It was so amazing to be able to watch my girls enjoy the same exact rides that I did as a little girl. Watching them have the time of their lives made it totally worth the long drive. When I asked Layne what she thought of Kennywood at the end of the day she looked at me and said, "That was the best day ever!" The thing is, I knew that it was their best day ever without even hearing those words. You could see it written all over their faces the entire day. Thank you SO VERY much Grandma and Pap for your wonderful hospitality and for showing us such a great time while we were in for the weekend.

Here are a lot of pictures from........

The Best Day Ever.....