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Molly's class gave a show for the parents during their Halloween party, including a costume parade.

Grams made the girls these Halloween dresses. Leah wasn't sure about hers, but Molly wore hers 4 days in a row after receiving it.

This is what happens when Molly gives Daddy bunny ears behind the camera.

On Halloween, our first stop was to trick-or-treat at Grams and Pop's house.

Molly is dressed as a princess (Cinderella to be precise) and Leah is a pea. So, we had The Princess and the Pea.

I made Leah's costume. Unfortunately, Leah repeated "I don't yike it" over and over while crying when we tried to put it on. Eventually, we talked her into donning it by emphasizing that it would lead to candy.

Grams and Pop are known for giving out full-size candy bars, and Leah picked a Kit Kat bar. She loved getting it, and kept carrying it around exclaiming "It's my Kit Kat" to us. After starting in a bad mood, the Kit Kat was what turned her mood around.

We then headed to Keira and Maya's house to do some trick-or-treating with them and Simon and Matilda. Here are all the kids ready to go.

Molly's now an expert trick-or-treater, so she managed pretty much on her own.

Leah needed a little help, but did great and lasted the whole time (though she did dump her candy in Daddy's backpack half way through to lighten the load).

Lined up and waiting.

Despite usually saying I don't do it, Mommy is capable of carrying on shoulders. Leah is clearly enjoying the ride and her animal crackers snack.

The pea costume was stuffed well, which meant Leah sometimes lost the bottom part of her face in it.

After we got back, Matilda played calmly with a tea cup.

I'm sure that's what all the kids are doing, right…

maybe not. The older kids were pretty wound up (as you might expect).

Leah didn't want to be left out of the singing, so she joined in the fun.

A told B, and B told C
“I'll meet you at the house
for Leah's party!”

“Whee!” said D to E F G
“Are you coming to see
the coconut tree?”

Chicka chicka boom boom!
Will there be enough room?
We'll find out when you RSVP!

When Leah consistently started choosing Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for a bedtime story, I knew it would be the perfect theme for her 2nd birthday. The party started with making Boom Boom shakers. It takes a lot of concentration to fill a shaker with beads.

The kids then sat for a reading of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and used their shakers to go boom boom!

To the surprise of many, I did not make the cake this time. Chad convinced me to focus on the rest of the party prep and have it made by Oh What a Cake. It was great decision and a great cake.

The basic story of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is about the alphabet climbing to the top of the coconut tree. So, naturally we had to have one present.

Thanks for inspiring silly ways to play with balloons, Uncle J!

Leah was so excited for the birthday song that she even sang it to herself!

To fully appreciate the taste of the cake, Leah thought it necessary to close her eyes. Though, when you do that you must open your mouth as wide as you can to make sure it gets in.

Who needs a fork? Icing, finger, tongue.

Then it was present time and the kids were definitely present.

Leah's very into baby dolls right now. This one came with a bottle, which was a big hit.

She also enjoyed reading a fun, new book.

And as a party favor, guests left with colorful alphabet cookies.

Skit skat skoodle doot.
Flip flop flee.
Thanks for coming
To Leah’s party!

Leah turned 2 on the 16th, so we celebrated with cupcakes from the new Kupcakes & Co.

Two candles can be tough. It helps to call in some reinforcements.

She had singing birthday calls,

practiced tearing open gifts, a skill necessary for her party,

then played with some of her new toys.

Happy birthday big girl!

Chad requested a cake for his birthday, so I made my first double layer, decorated cake. Molly insisted that it be a yellow cake with yellow frosting, and have his age on top. She's even wearing a yellow apron and yellow shirt to match.

Leah's ready for some cake!

And what do you do with leftover birthday cake? Make cake balls! Yum!

On Monday night, I made cupcakes for a combined early birthday/Mother's Day celebration for my sister and mom.

There was a yummy surprise inside these cupcakes - chocolate chip cookie dough! My BIL said they were possibly the best cupcakes he'd ever had!

Michelle was excited to finally get some homemade vanilla extract after waiting months for it to ferment.

And by special request, I made these kitchen owl towels for her birthday.

For my mom, I embroidered all the granddaughters' handprints as a Mother's Day gift.

You can see a lot more pictures from our trip on Flickr starting here.

We traveled down to Birmingham (in "Alabana" as Molly likes to say) to spend Easter with my family.

It didn't take long for the girls to get started on some cousin play. We spent lots of time playing on the back porch.

On Saturday morning, we all went to a nearby playground for some fun.

Making oatmeal cookies was a must-do for Saturday evening.

And the Easter Bunny did manage to find us in Alabama.

After church, Uncle J organized an Easter Egg hunt in the backyard.

It was busy day, but Leah found a great spot to relax and listen to Uncle J's music.

Five of my friends and I competed in our own friendly Biggest Loser competition. We started January 2nd and competed for 12 weeks. We reported in to each other every 2 weeks with our percentage of weight lost, which was a great way to stay motivated. There was talk of sabotage since I was often baking treats for playdates and passing them on to my friends...I mean their kids! But several of them would fully admit to the occasional self sabotage too!

It was a nail-biter to the end, but after all the results were in, I was the big winner! I lost 15 pounds (or 10.2%, and reached my goal weight!) and was treated to a Girls Night Out at the restaurant of my choice - eating tapas at Ranazul. It was a fun evening and we've decided to continue on for another 12 weeks. So stay tuned...

More fun pictures from Molly's party...

Even Leah got in on the fishing action.

But Aunt Caroline, isn't this supposed to be a Mickey slipper, not a chef's hat?!

Or maybe it's a hair net? Pop thinks so.

To minimize the gift opening chaos, I delayed opening family gifts until after the party. Do you think she's excited?

Leah had a fun time at the party too.

Our family, plus a few mouse friends, at the end of a great party.

We celebrated Molly's 4th birthday yesterday with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party. I made the cupcakes to resemble the man of the day - Mickey Mouse!

As each child arrived, they received Mickey ears, and were instructed about four stations to visit.

Bean Bag Toss: I got creative with cardboard and made a Mickey-shaped bean bag toss.

Quacky Hoopla: tossing rings around pictures of Mickey's best bud, Donald.

Fishing for Mickey: I made a magnetic fishing game using Disney paint samples from Home Depot.

And it wouldn't be a "Jen" party without a craft! The kids all created their own Mickey goodie bag.

After finishing all four game stations, the kids were awarded with kazoos.

Aunt EA had fun playing tickle monster with several of the girls, who taunted her by playing their kazoos.

We ate lunch, then sang to the birthday girl. Watch the video too.

It can be a bit difficult to convince 3 and 4 year olds to sit when opening gifts, but at least they're now old enough to all pay attention.

And as a party favor, everyone left with a Mickey-shaped cookie.