Tiff's Turn

With this week being the last week of school, I have important things to do- such as make a "Summer To-Do" list.  Aria reminded me I had to add various libraries to the list. Let Aria choose a toy or a book and guess which one she goes for? I can't wait for our life to feel like one big weekend this summer. I love my weekends with my family, even though they're always jam-packed! From participating in a 5k with my besties,  to grad party after grad party, I'm glad we got to slow down on Sunday. Church on Sunday also made my day. We're so blessed to have such a talented pastor. Sunday's theme was "So You Think You Can Parent?" Pastor Brandon gave us a key reminder: make sure God hears about your kids every day. Even though no one is a perfect parent, we can be praying parents.  To be sure we talk to God about our kids every day, Pastor Brandon gave us a guide for the week. Here's the plan for ...

Aria's birthday party was a success! We are so blessed to have such great friends and family who love us so much.  Before I baked the cakes Friday, I let her open a present a day early to keep her occupied while I worked in the kitchen. She loves her Minnie Mouse car from her babysitter. My plan was for me to bake the cakes and my mom to ice and decorate them. Mom had a different plan: to teach me how to decorate cakes. Since the cake turned out in good condition from the oven, (These cake pans can be tricky. Be sure to use shortening generously and extra in all corners for it to not stick!) I decided to try decorating them myself, with her by my side of course. Here is the end result, before I put the finishing touches on them the day of the party: Aria's smash cake The guest cake The Minnie Mouse cupcakes The morning of her party, Aria seemed to sense the excitement in the house. She was happy and ready to party. The first thi...

The weather has turned from bad to good, to bad again. It's been days since we've had a walk to the park with our friends. I can't wait to be able to do that again! Until we can get back to swinging, we will do what Aria loves most. We'll read her favorite books, even though the teacher in Brown Bear, Brown Bear  looks very shifty.  We'll play with chopsticks at our favorite restaurants.  We will listen to our favorite music on the toddler music station.  We will shop at our favorite stores for fabulous hats. We will play with our favorite toys, some of which are new, given to us by a friend... and some that have been around a while.  And last, but not least, we will take lots of silly pictures.  Have a great week, friends!

Eight months has been my favorite baby age so far. I love everything about 8-month Aria. Some of the reasons why I love eight months are due to me being more comfortable and not always feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. For starters, we have nap time all figured out. I know her tired cry and when to put her in her crib. Sometimes she will fuss a little bit, but she is usually asleep in a few minutes. Today, she didn't fuss at all. She immediately rolled over and went to sleep. Another reason I love this age is because reading has become a little easier. Aria pays more attention to the books and best of all, she is now turning each page on her own. This makes me so giddy! Each time she turns the page on her own, I praise her. I can just see the pride in her eyes and smile after every page turn. Play time is another reason why I love this age. With her able to sit up, we can do so much more with toys and playing around. ...