Happy Birthday Sweetheart and Love Bug!!!

Madison and Brianna celebrated their birthdays in July! Back in December, Maddie said she didn't want a birthday party and wanted a vacation instead. So I planned a surprise trip to Disneyland for a few days. I presented her with a print out of her ticket on her actual birthday and a few days later we were off to the happiest place on earth. She was beyond excited. At the very last minute, I decided to leave Bree with my mom, sister and brothers. I felt like such a horrible mommy for even thinking about it and Maddie was missing her too. But as the day went on and it was about 95 degrees and I seen screaming, unhappy, red-faced babies drenched in sweat, I knew I made the right decision. She would've been so unhappy and not to mention, exhausted. I felt relieved knowing that she was cool and comfortable. I think she had a better time swimming, being spoiled and going on 2 play dates. We met every princess and a huge majority of characters. Maddie's all-time favorite princess is Ariel and when she met her, she was beyond words. Then, she was asked to participate in a dance at the princess program and to her surprise, my baby girl got to dance next to Ariel. I will NEVER forget Maddie's expression on her face. I thought her eyes were going to bulge out of their sockets or she was going to need a brown paper bag. Ha,ha,ha! I really liked how the characters are very friendly to the kids and take the time to speak to them. The princesses and Mad Hatter kept complimenting her on her clothes and bows, which she thought was funny. When I was a kid, we barely had a chance to wave hi without them running away. She was definitely treated like a true princess on her very special day.

Madison got on every ride except Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. I was more afraid of her going on Splash Mountain because of the huge drop but she rode it like a champ. Her favorite ride was the Haunted Mansion and we went on it about 6 times. Throughout the day, she kept thanking me for an "AWESOME" birthday trip. I'm glad she had a very memorable time and we are definitely going again.

A True Princess

The tea cups were a hit. We rode them about 4 times.

Maddie received a phone call from Goofy and he sang her Happy Birthday. Cute!

My All-Time favorite princess- Cinderella. Maddie made sure to mention that to her as she was signing her autograph book.

One of my favorite pictures.

The above pictures were taken at California Adventure. We really didn't spend too much time there. We rode a few rides and Maddie was ready to head back to Disneyland. I was with her on that one.

Pixie Hollow is a really cute area. We also met Tinker Bell's fairy friend, Silvermist.

I love this picture. Just knowing she went to sleep after having a wonderful time made my day.
I can't believe my little bug is a year old. She is such a doll and a smarty too! Brianna had a lady bug themed birthday party. Although she didn't want to open all her presents, she really did enjoy them all. Thank you to everyone who celebrated this special day. She didn't even terrorize her cake. She just ran her finger in the corner of it.
She really didn't know what to make of her pinata. But every time she touched it, she laughed.

Bree and her godmother/ my BFF, Jeanette. I really miss her! My friend Karly, gave her this ladybug tutu and made her that cute bow for her birthday. Karly makes her and Maddie the cutest bows ever- she's the greatest!

Auntie Maxine took the girls to ride the horses. We had a super fun time. Overall, we had such an awesome summer. It's nice to be able to spend time with my little girls and our families.

Lake Tahoe

Back in August, the girls and I went to Tahoe for a family reunion. It's so beautiful and peaceful. Brianna woke up sick the very next day after we arrived so she and I stayed in the house most of the time. Maddie on the other hand, hung out with Auntie Angela, Uncle Jeffie, Sarah and all her cousins. They went miniature golfing, shopping and just had a good time. Above is the view we had from our deck.

Bree and Maddie hanging out on the deck. It rained that day but it was still beautiful.

We were able to hang out at the lake for the day. We got to ride on uncle Greg's boat and Maddie played in the water. Brianna and I stayed on dry land because she had a double ear infection. Although I was content with not going anywhere near the water, Brianna was not having it. She is such a little fish and it was torture for her not being able to get in.

Maddie and her buddy, Grandpa, paddling across the lake.

Bree and Uncle Jeff. She looks unhappy but she really did like playing with him. This was the day she woke up with fever.

Bree and her cousin/ my niece, Audrey. They are 5 days apart and they played very well together. One baby would babble and the other would sit there and make gestures and point. It was so funny and I wished I knew what they were saying. But they obviously did.

Overall, we had an awesome time and I hope to return there some day.

SeaWorld

During Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to Sea World. We had such an awesome time. We spent 2 days there, which was nice because we didn't have to rush and got to do a few things more than once. Maddie even talked grandma and grandpa into sitting in the soak zone at the Shamu show. All 3 of them sat in the 6th row while Brianna and I sat in the 20s. I got pretty good video footage of Shamu's big wave soaking them from head to toe. It was funny!

Maddie and Bree riding the flying Elmo.

Brianna watching the flamingos. I don't think she found them too interesting because she kept pointing while saying: Go.

The girls got to meet Big Bird, Elmo and Grover at the 'Bay of Play'. I thought Bree would be scared but she just laughed and even gave Elmo a hug. Big Bird bend down and touched her nose with his beak and she laughed so hard- It was hilarious!!!Brianna watching the Beluga Whale.

Rockin' Out

Brianna is quite the dancer nowadays. She dances while eating in her highchair, in the bath tub, in her sleep- you name it. She dances to anything such as commercials and even my horrible singing. But for some reason, she goes hysterical when she hears Selena Gomez and any song from the Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam CD. She absolutely ADORABLE! She does funny hand gestures and moves her fingers like she's snapping them and then she moves her body down to the ground and makes her way back up again. Not to mention, she shakes her bottom like no other. On the other hand, Madison likes to dance but is more of a singer. Last month, the Camp Rock CD came out and she had asked me to buy it. I was kind of sad because I realized that my little girl is getting older and is already asking me for music CDs. It was really cute at the same time. So it was a done deal and can you guess what Grandma and I had to hear all the way to and from Lake Tahoe. :0) Madison's new celebrity interests are Demi Lovato, Selena GOmez and of course, the Jonas Brothers. She still likes Hannah Montana but she's not super crazy about her like she was last year. I tried to get a good clip of the girls doing their thing but of course when the camera comes out, Brianna tends to do otherwise. I kind of got her dancing until she walked away. Sorry about my messy living room. Enjoy.

Go Sharks!!!

In case you didn't know, Madison started soccer a few weeks ago. She plays for the Sharks and is #6. She is such an awesome player and has come close to making several goals. I have so many "Proud Mommy" moments and I'm very proud of her. She hustles her little tail out there and plays hard. She really didn't pay much attention when she played basketball and maybe because she was only 3 1/2 and it was her first time playing a sport or she really didn't care for it. When it came time to play t-ball a few months after that, she had her moments. I have to say that the fundamentals came quite easy for her. She has a good throw, hits when being pitched to (I think she hit better off the pitch than she did the tee) and not to bad of a catcher. But some days she wanted to play and other days, she wanted to go home. She has always wanted to play soccer. Since she was about a year and half old when she would kick the ball around and use my laundry baskets as goals. We missed sign ups last year because we had a new baby and our lives were very busy. I'm just glad she was able to play this season. She has a buddy named Luke and when they team up, it's hard for the other players to have any contact with the ball or make goals. They're a good team. And like any sport with a bunch of 4 years olds, it's really funny to watch. I'll try to put a video clip of her in action in my next post. Below are a few pictures of her looking flippin' cute in her uniform and I love to add cute bows and ribbons as the finishing touch.






Bree and Uncle Michael (my brother) at Maddie's 1st soccer game. I'm glad my family was able to see her play.