Cake Decorating Class

During the month of June I took a cake decorating class at Michaels. I was inspired by a friend of mine who took a class with her mom when she was a teenager. Since I've known her I've admired her cake decorating skills.

Rather than waiting until one of my girls is a teenager, I decided to go ahead and take the class now. I realized I'd be able to put it to great use immediately! It was so much fun, and I'm amazed at how quickly I learned how to make beautiful things. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in making fun cakes.

The first week we learned how to make yummy icing, use the decorating tools, and do a basic star.

The second week we learned a few more tricks, including how to transfer any design printed out on paper onto a cake. This is wonderful for someone like me who can't draw worth a lick!

The third week was cupcakes and all the different flowers and designs that go on top.

And the fourth week was roses and handwriting, to be used on our final project. This was the cake that Laine picked out of the decorating book. Such fun!

Thank you, Penny, for watching the kids each week as I went out to my class. Hopefully we'll all reap the benefits for years to come!

8 months

Cole is 8 months old today. He seems so big compared to the newborn babies I see around. In fact, he is big: 23 pounds at the moment!

Cole has gotten two teeth this month - both without much fuss, thankfully. He rolls a lot and scoots backwards on his tummy. I'm sure he'll figure out the forward motion soon enough!

And he's a great eater (obviously, by his size). We're almost at the point where I can mash up whatever we're eating and let him join us. That stage is so nice! In the meantime he's content with pureed fruits, veggies, and meats. And he's almost able to feed himself Cheerios.

He's such a happy guy. We love you, Cole!

Sisters

I just got a frame for the girls' room that says "sisters." So I've been trying to get a good photo of Laine and Mead together to put in it. I've had a couple photo shoots with moderate success. Thankfully I've gotten some wonderful shots of them individually along the way. Take a peek...

This one is okay - captures their personalities.

I think this is the one that'll go in the frame. Such fun!

Sweet Mead.

Beautiful Laine.

Summer time

I was a little nervous about what this summer was going to be like. What were we going to do with all our free time?! So far the kids have loved being together. They have their moments of harassing one another (Cole is only on the receiving end of that at the moment), but all in all they have really enjoyed spending their days together.

This picture captures the kids' personalities precisely. Laine is intensely affectionate. Mead is often serious and subdued, and Cole is all smiles (excuse the drool in this photo).


I am continually amazed at how much Cole loves his sisters. He just lights up when he sees them. The smiles are endless! Laine especially can get him to laugh like no one else. I'm excited to see how they continue to love on one another as they get bigger.

So big

Sometimes I look at Laine and am amazed at how big she's getting. She's almost five - next month!

Her hair is getting longer - she regularly talks about wanting to grow it out like Rapunzel. We've invested in a new colorful brush and comb as a result. I had to get something to motivate Laine to get the tangles out of her hair!


And I'm continuing to work on French braiding - slowly getting better.

Laine loves to notice things in nature, "Mom! Look at this beautiful flower!" She did some nature journaling at school this year, and she's continued to nature journal about things we see around the house. Laine wanted to pose with this flower when it bloomed the other day. We're so blessed by Laine.

Sharing a Room

It's been two weeks since Mead moved both into a big girl bed and into Laine's room. I think all of us are a little sleep deprived as a result, but the girls are slowly getting used to it. Mead is such a follower that whenever Laine gets out of bed, Mead is sure to come soon after. We hear lots of laughter and some occasional tears.

Hopefully they'll learn quickly to stay in their own beds and just whisper to each other. Almost immediately we noticed they seem to be better friends - I think some sweet bonding is definitely occurring.

They don't actually sleep in the same bed, though I have heard that tends to happen after a while. I'm not sure our girls would ever leave each other alone long enough to fall asleep!

Meanwhile Cole has gotten promoted to the big crib. He is loving it! And he is enjoying his new lovie too - he is a hippo, and I think we're going to call him Blue.

Strawberries!

We got some strawberries from our garden this year (they take two years to grow). They were petite in size, but big in flavor. So sweet!

We also got to go strawberry picking at Lakeview Farms, where we've been several times before. I'm not sure that Mead actually put a single berry in the basket - they all went straight in her mouth! (Note the strawberry juice running down her chin.) But I picked several pounds for us to bring home. Afterward the girls played with the "gems" at the strawberry stand.

First Class of Fellows

Last week we said goodbye to our first class of Fellows. It was a good year, and each of the Fellows grew and developed as a result of the program.

Several of them decided to stay in St. Louis and continue working at their jobs. A couple of them moved out of town with friends and family to pursue new opportunities.

We are very thankful for the 9 months that brought us together, and we look forward to seeing how God will use the Fellows in the future.

Cardinals game

Penny was generously given some tickets to the Cardinals game this week, so we brought the whole family for the first time.

The kids did pretty well - enjoyed peanuts, pretzels, sights, and sounds. We didn't stay the whole time, but it was a good experience.

We're pretty sure Mead doesn't like the heat, thus the sad faces. At least she didn't cry or complain about it though! What a trooper.