Jillian's BIG Promotion

"What does my shirt say?"

"Hey guys, look at this..."

"I think my shirt says I'm being promoted to Big Sister!"

"Do you know what that means?"

"I think it means that Mommy and Daddy are going to have another baby!"

"That means I will have a new baby brother or sister to play with!"

"Mommy told me he or she will be here in August!"

"Hooray!  I am looking forward to my BIG promotion to Big Sister!"

Happy Birthday, Jillian!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jillian!  We had a low-key day to celebrate Jillian's actual birthday since she had her party last weekend and since she is sick with a double ear infection.  We tried our best to make her day special and we did anything she wanted to do all day long.  

I asked her if she wanted her birthday tradition happy face pancakes for her birthday...but she insisted on cereal instead (and at this point, I am happy if she eats at all because her appetite is gone).   And of course, she wanted to watch cartoons all morning too!

Birthday girl with sicky eyes

In the early afternoon, Jillian jumped in the jump-o-lene as we waited for Daddy to get home from work.  She asked me if she could go to the park for her birthday "with mommy and daddy...together!"  

Daddy got home just in time to meet us at the park.  Julian played with her and climbed up and down.  It was the biggest smiles I had seen from her in days.  No one can quite make Jillian smile like her Daddy!

Upside down birthday girl

Tickle me Daddy!  Push me Daddy!

Then we had a picnic at the park for lunch!  

Jillian asked to come home and she was surprised to find her birthday presents when we got home!  Though we had given her a majority of her gifts at her party, she got a few more cards and a few more gifts. 

Since Christmas and her party just happened, she is a pro at unwrapping now.  

We got her a chef's dress-up set and a pizza set to compliment all her food and her kitchen.

All that playing wore Jillian out and she gladly took a nap with Mommy.  And I got sweet birthday snuggles with my baby girl!

A snack after nap...look at the flowers and balloon that Daddy got me! 

After dinner (and a little Super Bowl watching), we sang Happy Birthday to Jillian.  

Then it was time for birthday wishes and she blew out her candle...and then we repeated this about 5 more times!

Here is a video of Jillian singing Happy Birthday to herself!

I am sure Jillian's birthday wishes included Bubble Guppies and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on repeat all day, fruit snacks and goldfish for every meal, and for every day to be just like today.  But as she blew out her candle, I wished for much more for her.

I wished for her to stay this sweet, this cute, and this little forever.  I wished for her to always know how much we love her.  I wished for her to have 100 more birthdays that were just as happy as this one!  I wished for us to cherish every minute of every day of the rest of her life because it is all going so fast!  And I also thanked God a lot for blessing the past 2 years of our life so much by bringing us this little slice of heaven in the form of our baby girl, Jillian!

Happy Birthday Jilly Bear!  

Silly Jilly's Night Owl Pajama Party

Look Whoooo's Turning Two!  Silly Jilly had a fun night owl pajama theme party to celebrate her 2nd birthday!

Jillian had so much fun at her party, jumping the night away in this borrowed Jump-o-lene from her best friend, Jackson.  (Jillian doesn't know it yet, but her jump-o-lene is in the mail to be given to her on her actual birthday).  

All that bouncing and running and jumping was hard work!

After all that fun, it was time to eat.  We had a simple menu of breakfast for dinner for all Jilly's party guests.  Everyone got to pick breakfast tacos from Fuego, and we also had Fuego queso, fruit, and donut holes on a stick (thanks for the idea, Katy).  But for the kiddos, I made these cute owl pancakes!

We decided that we should open presents next.  Jillian had been eyeing them since they started piling up and she could not wait to rip into her presents! Since Christmas just happened, she was a seasoned pro at opening everything.   

She loved everything she got from her friends and family, including more food for her kitchen...

"Mexican food that I can cook like Mommy"

"And makeup!"

"And my new Aggies gear!"

"And my Minnie Mouse puzzle and guitar!"

"I love my Princess Sofia book!"

"And look Mami Mari at my Mickey Mouse book with flaps!"

Jillian really did love all her presents.  Every time she would get a present, she would then go and thank the people who gave it to her with a big hug and kiss!

"Thanks Mr. Jake!"

Next it was cake time!  We got Jillian her own smash cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday! This year was a lot different than her first birthday because she understood what was going on, and she didn't get scared.  (And in case you're wondering, I teared up when everyone was singing at the thought of my baby being 2 already!)

She blew out her candle when everyone was done and quickly dug in (another big change from last year when I had to trick her to touch her cake and she ended up not really liking it.)

After everyone got their cupcakes, it was time to burn more energy and Jillian and Jackson got back in the jump-o-lene...but this time they read books in there (Jillian insisted)!

Jillian had such a great time at her 2nd birthday party, surrounded by her family and closest friends!  She was especially thankful for her grandparents traveling from far away to be with her on her special day!

"I love my Papi Papo and Mami Mari!"

"And I love my Grandpa too!"
"Thanks Mommy and Daddy for making my 2nd birthday so special!"

Silly Jilly!  You fill our hearts with so much love and joy.  We hope your heart was filled with love and joy at everyone who came to your party to celebrate your 2nd birthday!  We love you Silly-Jilly-night-owl-pajama-wearin'-party girl!

DIY: Julian's Centerpiece

I know I am a little behind in posting this, but I wanted to share Julian's DIY from the holidays.  After we put up all our decorations, we could not decide what we wanted to do as our table centerpiece.  After searching at all our go-to decorating shops, Julian instead consulted one of his favorite websites (Brit + Co.) and we scanned an article of ways to make your holiday table festive.  When I saw this one, I immediately fell in love with it.  Julian took one look at it and decided that he could make that himself.   

For anyone who cares, I have detailed exactly how we did this (in case someone wants to replicate this project).  And for anyone who doesn't just scroll to the bottom to see the final product.  

First, we would have to get the wood for the centerpiece.  Julian scouted out a few trees and cut one down. I won't really say where that part came from. =)

Next, he cut the tree down to about the size that we needed for our table.  Our table is 6 feet long and so the log is 3.5 feet.  

Measure twice...cut once!

Here is the final log size.  

Then, Julian took a 1.5 " drill bit and drilled 7 holes for tea lights on to the top.  He measured and spaced those 3 inches from the edge of the log and 6 inches apart.   

Here is the log with the tea lights sitting on our table.  

That was enough work for one day.  We spent the next few days looking for the table runner and the greenery that would go around the log.  We settled on a 108" beige/green runner from World Market (around $17 with our coupon) and I found this greenery at Hobby Lobby. It was only 6 feet of garland and it was the only one they had left.  But I bought it anyway thinking we could make it work.  By the time I got this, Hobby Lobby was selling their Christmas decor at 50% off so we only paid $25 for the garland.   

When I brought the garland home, Julian was a little skeptical about if this would work.  But he had a vision in his head and so he took out a pair of pruning shears.  

I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical at this point too.  I could not see how what he as doing would end up in this centerpiece of our dreams.  But he cut the garland up piece by piece and started to arrange it around the log.  

 The more he went along, the more I was totally into his vision.  And the end result...

The exact Pièce de résistance for our dining room table!

All told, we spent around $50 on supplies (not including the tools we already had) and Julian probably put in about 3 hours of labor on it all.  Totally worth the time and money for us to have the centerpiece that all our house guests have ranted and raved about commented on.  Maybe next year, I can get the place mats, napkins, and fancy plates to finish out our table (hint, hint Julian)!

He did such an amazing job with this DIY project and I am so glad that he loves doing these things.  Julian wants me to blog one DIY project a month of his and at this point, I say keep it coming!  My wish for the next DIY...a bookcase for Jillian's room!

A Great End to a Great Season

Finally!  January 4th was finally here...the day we would get to see our Aggies take on the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl!

We planned a Bowl Watching Party with our closest friends, who all came decked out in Aggie gear!

Here a few of the loudest and proudest little Aggies...

Jackson Malnar, Class of 2032

Andrew Malnar, Class of 2035

Jillian Acosta, Class of 2033

Emersyn King, Class of 2032

Landry King, Class of 2034

Radley King, Class of 2030

We ate pizza, and watched the game.  OK, the adults watched the game, the kids entertained themselves with Jillian's toys!

Jack and Jill playing with Jillian's kitchen

In the end, our Aggies won the game 41-13.  It was close in the first half, but we just dominated in the second half.  It was such a great way to end such an amazing season filled with amazing memories of going 11-2, making a splash in the SEC, and Johnny Football winning the Heisman!  

We can't wait to see what next season has in store!