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We bought toys for the kids friends back home but most of them broke within a couple of days. Oh well…

We did a lot of drawings and paintings while we are in Mexico. Here’re some of them.
Shane’s abstract arts:

Chloe’s art:

and my finished Mexican plate:

Started the day with swimming in the pool,

and it’s a siesta time for the boys

Then we came back to the pool for some arts and craft projects.

Kids are working on their own souvenirs to bring home.

After helping the kids with their plates I started designing my own. I really enjoyed spending a few hours here and there whenever I could to paint. It actually took me away from sitting in front of my laptop after the kids went to bed!

another breathtaking sunset

Today we invited a few of Chloe’s friends from school so we could celebrate her 5th birthday.
My day started at 6 am running to the post office for jewelry orders (thanks to Alyson Hannigan who’s been featured wearing my baby pendants on peoplestylewatch.com.), then to the grocery store for last minute food shopping. Finally then picked up the birthday cake for the party while Andrew was busy entertaining the kids outside of the house so I could surprise the kids when they got back.

Dessert Table is ready, just in time.

This beautiful cake was made by Anna, who’s starting her own business soon. I’ll post her website when it’s up. Thanks Anna for the wonderful job!

I made these cupcakes using my favorite bakery, Magnolia’s recipe. Anyone who knows me well would know that baking is not my thing. But after today, I’m beginning to build my confidence. 🙂

There she is~ my birthday girl in a mermaid outfit.

and my handsome son who’s been eyeing the frosting since he came in.

Now the projects are ready and we patiently wait for the young guests…

Kids really enjoyed coloring the sea creatures.

Shane didn’t mind that he was the only boy at the table.

I experimented with my face painting skills for the first time on our lovely guests. One of the moms approved and said, I’m hired for her next party!

Now they’re decorating their own cupcakes.

Time for the cake!

What a successful party! I was a bit nervous having the girls over in the house for the first time, but now I feel like we should do this more often. The girls had such a blast doing projects, being silly, eating too much frosting and running around and locking themselves in Chloe’s room, shouting “no boys allowed” to Andrew and Shane. I think Shane had a blast as well. He skipped his nap, played with Chloe’s friends chasing after them, and probably over excited himself. When the guest left, I gave them a bath before dinner time and while he was sitting at the dinner table eating, I caught him passing out on his chair. Literally.

I LOVED seeing how Chloe and her friends interact. They were all very silly, all incredibly cute and so lovely… just like Chloe. 🙂 One of them gave me and Andrew a hug when she was leaving thanking us. That totally melted my heart. How sweet…

This year, we decided to keep the birthday party small and invited just a few of Chloe’s girlfriends over for a play-date. Hope they like the projects I prepared for them…

Andrew’s going on a business trip and when Chloe saw him packing, she drew a picture of Shane, herself and me and put it in the suitcase for him.
What a sweetie…

Chloe’s starting to put letters together and beginning to read simple words. Sometimes I look at her and I’m surprised to see how much she’s grown and matured. I can see that she’s forming into her own little person and trying different things to figure herself out… She’s very sweet to Shane and she tries to be a good sister. The other day when Shane was throwing a fit, she sat down with him and started to pray. “Dear God, please help Shane calm down and keep his tongue from evil so he can glorify you. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.”

He drew the whole family…and more.