Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend!

I love my little Cinderella and baby monkey!

Hallie's Birthday

Sorry in advance, this is a no-picture post. I've been terrible with blogging and our computer crashed, so I don't have pictures readily available (fortunately, most of the pictures were saved! yay!).

Hallie's birthday was on September 4, and it was so fun to spend the day doing fun things for her. We went to the zoo (she loved the carousel!), gattitown for dinner, then home for cake & presents! She loved all her gifts and the balloons/sign in her room when she woke up in the morning.

3 years has passed by so quickly. Babies change so much in 3 years, sniff! She's such a sweet little girl, smart, and likes to comment about everything, applying it to herself (or Cinderella). I guess we survived the terrible twos, but what about the sassy threes? It will be an adventure, I'm sure!

Froot Loops

I recently saw a new Froot Loops commercial and had to pinch myself. Is Kellogg's really trying to push Froot Loops with fiber??! I was kinda disgusted after seeing it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marion-nestle/kelloggs-asks-for-a-froot_b_278206.html

Apparently, Froot Loops has been reformulated to contain 3 grams of fiber per serving instead of " less than 1"

NeWays, I like what Marion Nestle, a well-known nutrition expert and author, says about it:

"If I read the Nutrition Facts and ingredient list correctly, Froot Loops cereal contains:
• No fruit
• Sugar as the first ingredient (meaning the highest in weight-41%)
• Sugar as 44% of the calories
• Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and, therefore, trans fat (although less than half a gram per serving so the label can read zero)
But with an implied endorsement from the American Society of Nutrition, which is managing the Smart Choices program, I guess none of that matters. Or maybe the added fiber cancels all that out?"

It seems like there are so many processed foods out there that are being fortified with nutrients like vitamins, minerals, & fiber--and of course, NOW they are HEALTHY! ! ! Ta da!

Brielle's Room

Ok, so I've been working on Brie's room for several months now, and I still haven't finished. I thought I'd show you the progress thus far: Yes, I dangerously put my baby on top of a dresser and walked away to take a picture.

But look at her. She's so happy!

IKEA frame spraypainted a flat white, then a custom mirror put in ($25)

Sorry for the dark photos, I should have taken them later in the afternoon.
So John & I (mostly John) painted below the chair rail in a color called CHESNUT (Valspar from Lowe's) on the bottom & SUGARCANE PINK on the top. We had some guys do the chair rail and crown molding. WELL WORTH THE MONEY.

Window sheers from JCP, lovely lumbar pillow handmade by my MOM!! LOVE the fabric!

This is the Migi Blossom crib bedding set, sold several places.

I'm not done with her bird mobile, but I was inspired a long time ago by Martha Stewart's birdie mobile but I'm not really a papercrafts gal, so I opted for the fake flowers instead of a billion paper ones. I did make the birds with craft paper from, where else? Good ol' Hobby Lobby.
Or Hobby Yabi as Hallie would say.
Flowers from Pier One. Props to John for figuring out how to attach the branches, making it structurally sound so I'm not worried about branches falling on my baby at night!

Girls

Brielle has been rolling both ways now for a few weeks. She's a little roly-poly!! Couches are no longer safe. She likes to see what's going on, so she likes hanging out on her belly. It's funny, cuz Hallie was 6 months before she ever was rolling like this, so I'm a little nervous! And she is the SMILIEST baby you'll ever see! Sweet little thing.
Brielle's 1st experience playing 'Princess'.

Hallie is a great big sister--retrieving paci's and getting cloths to clean up spit-up. She's been making progress in the potty-training arena, but not fast enough it seems. She's doing a great job with please & thank-you, thanks to the manners jar (pennies in the jar, then out to icecream)!

Brielle's Blessing

We had Brielle's baby blessing last month when family came into town.

Thanks to everyone for coming! It was such a special day,

and a sweet blessing.

Thanks to Carly and Tay for the picture-taking!

Cheesecake, fudge sauce, whipped cream and berries.

Plus chocolate chip cookies.

Yum!

Lovely Aunt Debbie

Lovely Aunt Sue

Thanks for all your help ladies!

I think she likes Uncle Tay!

Wreath

Well, I finally finished my Easter wreath, a couple weeks after Easter. The ironic thing is that I had most of the materials well before I had Brielle in March--I really should have finished it before then. I guess I'll be ready for next year!