Fairy Princess Tea Party

Sydney got to go to her first friend birthday party this past weekend. It was fairy princess themed and all the little girls were asked to come dressed up. It couldn't have come at a better time because in the past two weeks, Sydney suddenly realized what a tea party is... although at home I was calling it a water party.  She talked about the party all morning before and kept reminding me that we needed to hurry so we wouldn't be late. She liked getting all dressed up and I think she liked it even more when she realized all her other friends were dressed up too.

At the party, the girls got their nails painted, faces painted, got new fairy wings and wands, ate cake, sang happy birthday, and best of all they got to have a real tea party. Carrie, the birthday girl's mom, is apparently quite the birthday party genius. She had a tea party table set up with individual tea cups, saucers, and spoons for each girl. She had tons of yummy food for both the kids and adults alike. I came home having ate way too much food and sugar; Sydney was loving it! I was really proud of Sydney... this having been her first birthday party for her patience in waiting to do things until the hostess was ready, (She wanted to paint her nails and eat as soon as we walked in.) and being content to watch the birthday girl open her presents without getting upset that nothing was for her. We didn't talk much about party etiquette before we went, and she had a really fun time. I couldn't get any really good pictures because she was too absorbed in loving everything around her.

I love watching her grow up and experience new things for the first time. I think I had as much fun as she did... even though I never thought I'd get so much joy from the girliness. I guess she inherited the girly genes from somewhere, so even though it's not my forte, I like to help her be girly when she wants to because she loves it  and is so dang cute :).

Texas

We just got back from a week visiting my family from Texas. It was a really fun trip, and we were all sad to see it end. Its always hard to get back to the monotony of home the first few days. While we were in Texas, our main goal was to attend the temple which we were really grateful to be able to do since my mom watched Sydney for us on Thursday and Friday. We also got to spend time visiting my sister, Emily and her family who live in Dallas as well. Sydney and Brooke became great friends again, and Sydney loved having someone to be crazy, silly and play with. We hadn't seen them in almost a year, and it always feels good to spend time together. Some of our outings throughout the trip included The Living Aquarium, the Dallas Zoo, some water fountains at the mall, decorating pumpkins, swimming, and riding the DART train. Sydney got to ride a horse for the first time at the zoo and this was her first time on a train outside of the airport. Even though while at the zoo, she seemed less excited than I expected her to be, she has talked about it all day since we got back so I know she liked it. It was very hot and I think she wasn't used to the heat and direct sunlight, haha. It was also really great to be at my parent's house for conference so we could stay at home and watch the sessions while Sydney was thoroughly entertained by all the new toys and environment.  I have to admit that by the time we got home late Tuesday night, I was thoroughly exhausted from all our travels and fun, but I am so glad we went and took one last little trip before the little man comes in the next couple of months. At only eight and a half weeks to go, I'm definitely starting to feel the reality and anxieties of what a second child will/might bring :). Sydney keeps asking me when we are going back to Texas and talking about all the fun things we got to do. Luckily, we'll get to see some family again soon.