Monday, December 19, 2016

Henley is TWO!

How in the world is my sweet girl two? These past two years have gone by way too fast, but I must say, I am enjoying every single minute. I love this growing up thing! I definitely miss her being a baby, but she gets more fun every day. I am constantly telling Ben, "this stage is my favorite!" It seems like every stage is my favorite so far, so I'm just assuming it will keep getting better! 

Her real birthday was on Thursday, and I fully enjoyed the entire day with her. We started off the day with balloons in her crib. I so wish I had a video! She was so excited! I had a hard time getting her out of the crib, so that we could get dressed and start the day. It was definitely a hit! 


Check out that hair!!

Once we got out of the house, we headed to grab a donut on the way to her doctor's appointment. Thankfully, two years means no shots, but this mama opted for the flu shot, so we still ended up with one. Henley handled it like a champ! She cried for about two seconds, said "owie," and then proceeded to tell her doctor and all the nurses "Merry Christmas" on the way out the door. It totally helped that she got a candy cane on the way out! 



After the doctor's office, we were on our way to the trampoline park. She is obsessed and could not stop talking about it all morning before we got there. We had so much fun jumping on the trampolines, chasing each other up and down, dunking the basketball and jumping in the pit. She was sufficiently warn out by the time we left. 




I planned to tutor at 12:30, so we ran through Chick-fil-a and headed out to our friend's house to tutor. She totally fell asleep with a chicken nugget in her hand on the way there! She adores the family that I tutor for, so she had a blast there too! They got her some of the cutest birthday presents and she got to play with their little dog, so she was in birthday heaven. 

The rest of the day consisted of nap time and a spaghetti dinner before opening up her presents from Ben and I. She was way more excited than I would have ever predicted to get a Christmas book and then she was beyond thrilled to see a trampoline in the back of Ben's truck. We ended the day with some cake, mostly icing, and fun pictures! 
Best Day Ever!! 










On Friday, she got to celebrate her birthday at school, so it was another good day. Then, Saturday was her BIG DAY! She was so excited to have all of our family over for her Minnie Mouse birthday party! I even ordered her a Minnie costume off Amazon and she loved it! 


We didn't do anything too big. We invited my family, Ben's family and then a couple close friends over to help celebrate sweet Henley. The party was from 9:30 to 11:30, so I served breakfast. I took zero pictures of the set-up, but the food was delicious. I made homemade pigs in a blanket, grabbed some cinnamon rolls and scones from Sam's and then got yogurt, lots of fruit and granola for the meal. It was super easy and yummy! 

I bought 200 of these balls on Amazon and put them in part of the trampoline box. They have definitely kept her busy! 


I printed off a ton of Minnie and Mickey Mouse coloring sheets and put them on our kitchen table with a table cloth and lots and lots of crayons. The kids went straight to them when they got to our house and got to work! 


After the kids "ate," aka pretended to eat just so they could play, they all made their way to the trampoline. Ben was such a trooper and set it up in the dark the night before. It was the hit of the party! All of the kids literally spent the entire party out on the trampoline! My little sister got in there with them for a little while and then my dad did too. They all had so much fun! 






There was a quick break from the trampoline for present opening. Henley had so many little helpers to open her presents. It was a little chaotic, but I expect nothing less! She mostly just wanted to play with her presents, so I ended up opening the majority of them and just showing them to her. She got some awesome toys that we enjoyed playing with for the rest of the afternoon. She is definitely loved! 




I made funfetti cupcakes with pink icing and placed them in what was supposed to be the shape of Minnie Mouse for dessert. My sister also made her beyond amazing cookies that I, of course, got no pictures of, and I put those in the kid's party favors. Henley was a pro at blowing out her candles, and then got in just a few licks of her cupcake before making her way back out to the trampoline. 







I would say it was definitely a party success!! The kids were all beyond exhausted when they left, and the grown-ups were able to get in adult conversations and have fun too! 

I found Henley alone at her kiddie table eating a cupcake once the party was winding down. She was so cute and I think just needed a minute to herself. Totally her mama's girl! 


More pics from the day/picture overload! 

Henley and her Tia (Ben's sister)

Henley and one of her best friend's, Olivia

My adorable nephew Owen was more into the kid's vacuum cleaner, our storage unit and the balls in the yard than the trampoline. He is so curious! 

Two of my very best friends

Dee and my newest nephew, Will

My sweet Papaw came to the party and Henley could not have been happier! 




My parents and all their grand babies! 










Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Stranded: Christmas Movies


It's the last Stranded of the year and what a fun one to end on...Christmas movies! 

What three Christmas movies would you bring with you if you were stranded a deserted island?

I just LOVE this time of the year, but this topic was a bit harder for me than the others. Growing up, we watched Christmas movies like it was our job while we wrapped presents, decorated the house, etc. These days, I don't really get a chance to sit down and watch a movie the whole way through (without falling asleep), and I can't say that Ben is super into it. I'm working on pulling out his festiveness! I was able come up with three Christmas movies that I adore and for now, those would be the ones I would take with me and watch over and over and over again! 


This movie just never gets old. I can watch it over and over again when it is not the Christmas season and be just fine with it! I love all of the characters in The Holiday. I love the music. I love the love stories! I love everything about this movie! They need to make more movies like this! 


Elf just makes me happy! It is just one of those movies you HAVE to watch, and you could quote lines from it for forever. Henley isn't old enough yet to appreciate Elf, but I cannot wait until she is, because I know she will love it! 


I haven't watched It' a Wonderful Life all the way through in forever, but this movie will always be a favorite of mine. It is my dad's favorite Christmas movie, so we watched it all the time growing up. I can't remember a time when we would go into their room while they were wrapping presents and either this or Miracle on 34th St. wasn't playing in the background. I love this movie! Ben has never seen it, and I vow every year to make him watch it! Maybe this is the year! 


I would love to hear your favorite Christmas movies and what three you would take with you on a deserted island. I am always in need of more festivities to keep me busy while I do my most favorite thing in the world...wrap Christmas presents!!