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Obsession.

Sunny would like you to meet her new friend. And let you know that this new friend has a poopy diaper.

Thought.

Is there anything more ridiculous and simultaneously wonderful than a ruffly bottom?

Perhaps a ruffly bottom attached to a head that’s singing the words to “Friday.”

It’s Friday. Fact.

Also fact? That James and I have made an epic parenting fail by exposing our daughter to Rebecca Black’s “Friday.”

She’s hooked. (It’s worth watching until she goes bananas during the rap portion of the song)

And now we are forced to listen to it on repeat or suffer the consequences of one very distraught toddler. We’ve caught a glimpse of what this whole terrible two’s thing means when Sunny is denied her “Friday” fix.

James pointed out that while the music selection may be questionable, at least the video’s content is PG as opposed to all the top 40 pop music videos that have people committing suicide in bathtubs or wearing overly sexualized alien clothing.

Also, we do enjoy mixing it up with the “Glee” version of the song. And let me just say that James’ experience in a collegiate a capella group has well-prepared him for the ridiculous impersonations that happen when said video is playing in the house.

So how did we spend Sunny’s 2nd birthday. Napping until 5pm. Dancing to “Friday” at least 25 times on repeat. Consuming a celebratory birthday mud pie that had Sunny proclaiming, “Hmmm, yummy. Pa-pa-cake yummy. Hmmmm.” She was literally moaning in delight as she dribbled coffee ice cream all down her front. And yes, she called the pie “Pa-pa-cake” (her word for pancake) because she assumed that they were one and the same.

Hey, she’s only two. We’ll get to nuance and distinction soon enough.

And let me state for the record that one should never, ever let her toddler nap so horrifically late in the afternoon and then feed her coffee ice cream at 9pm. So much for bedtime! Until 10pm last night, James and I bore witness to a twitching, fidgeting Tasmanian Devil that wrecked havoc on our home until she literally crashed into slumber on her bed.

Happy parenting to us! We’re good at this, no?

Monkey Cake Balls

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, SUNNY!

Yes, it’s Sunny’s birthday, and as promised, we’re monkeying around to celebrate.

To kick off the celebrations, we spent yesterday evening constructing Monkey Cake Balls. I had never heard of a cake ball until a friend turned me on to the magic. What a brilliant idea. Cake, in a ball, on a stick. Perfection!

Cake balls themselves are quite easy to make, so we took it one step further and pulled together monkey faces using sugary treats for the facial features. More fun, and certainly delicious, than a barrel of monkeys!

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix
1 tub frosting
1 bag of chocolate chips
Hershey’s drops candy (We used the Cookies n’Creme version)
Red decorating gel
Chocolate covered pretzel circles (We used Nabisco 100 cal MisterSalty Milk Chocolate Pretzels)
Baking dots or pearls
Lollipop sticks or skewers
Styrofoam block

Directions:

1. Bake the cake per the box’s instructions.

2. While the cake is still warm, crumble it up in a bowl and dump the tub of frosting in. Mix well. Create 1-2″ balls of the cake/frosting mix and refrigerate on wax paper until cool.

3. Insert lollipop sticks into the balls, and suspend the sticks upright in a block of styrofoam. Lucky for us, we’d just finished an epic kitchen assembly project for Sunny’s birthday surprise and had plenty of styrofoam packaging lying around. Chill the balls again for another hour.

4. While the balls are chilling, prepare the monkey facial features. Cut the circular chocolate covered pretzels in half for ears.

5. Use the red food gel to draw a mouth on the Hershey’s melts.

6. Once all of the facial features are prepared, carefully melt the chocolate chips in a glass bowl. Remember, chocolate burns easily! Dip a chilled cake ball in the melted chocolate and use a spatula to evenly cover the ball in chocolate.

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7. Since the ball is chilled, the chocolate will harden quickly, thus you’ll need to apply the facial features ASAP. Apply the chocolate covered pretzel ears to either side of the ball. Then attach the face. And use baking dots or pearls for the eyes.

8. And look at that! A monkey cake ball you have. Now repeat until you have a troop of monkeys (yes, the proper word for a group of monkeys is TROOP!). Refrigerate until serving.

9. Let your little monkey enjoy! (Obviously, watch her/him closely with the sticks).

Photo: Ashley Weeks Cart

My 2 Year Old.

We have some work to do in showing the world that we are two fingers old. We’ll get there.

24 Months.

Dearest Addison Weeks,

Today you are two full fingers.

I have to pause a moment when I write that. How can you possibly be so grown up? How can I have possibly had the honor of being your mommy for a full two years? I’m filled with nostalgia looking at pictures of you on your birth day 24 months ago, and yet simultaneously taken and filled with pride by the incredible toddler you’ve become.

Regardless of my conflicted feelings on your age, the fact remains that you are a growing and brilliant little girl. One who daily amazes her parents with her laughter and story-telling, her kisses and make believe. This past month, the house has been transformed by your burgeoning imagination. Daddy and I watch in awe as you make up fantastical tales stacking your blocks, or pushing your stuffed animals in your rocking horse, or sitting contentedly with your books, page after page relaying stories based on the images you see within. It is truly remarkable that you are capable of such dreams, and word on the street is that these fantasies will only become more fantastic and awe-inspiring as you get older.

I can’t wait.

Just don’t get there too quickly. It makes my heart ache.

Ever since your transition to your big girl bed, we’ve established a routine of Mommy and Daddy sandwiching you each evening in its covers and reading you your bed time stories. While it’s apparent that you enjoy this new ritual, I think it is your Daddy and I that love it most. We are cherishing this time when it is just the three of us. Clinging to it. While we are so excited to welcome your baby sister into the world, we know that we will never again have the opportunity to direct all of our attention and love to just one child. The past two years have been remarkable. And irreplaceable. You’ve taught us how to be parents. You started our family. And we are squeezing out the final drops of this time before we begin another amazing stage in our lives.

Just yesterday afternoon, the three of us sat in a circle on the floor orchestrating choreographed dance moves to your music class CD. We giggled. And danced. And smothered you in snuggles and kisses. You kept demanding, “Mommy Daddy kiss Sunny” which is your command for the two of us to sandwich your cheeks in our kisses. Needless to say, we always comply.

I’m sorry that you won’t remember this time, little one, because your Mommy and Daddy will treasure it forever.

Earlier this year, your Momar told me that the best year’s of your life are the one’s that you’ll spend raising your children.

I don’t think she’s ever been more right. And that’s saying a lot coming from one first born to another. You’re sure to understand that sentiment when you’re older, my fellow first born.

Thank you for helping this family find true love.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sunny.

143 Mama

Sunshine.

Someone is practicing to be a big sister. And making some interesting clothing decisions.

Note: She demanded to be pants-less and wearing said attire. Apparently we need to all agree to disagree about fashion in this household.

Obsession.

There is a small airport right next to our grocery store. We always drive by the runway en route home from a shopping expedition so that Sunny can stare at the planes and James can get his aviation fix.

You see, James has his private pilot license, and lord, if we had the money, he’d spend everyday airborne.

Addison is quite taken with airplanes like her Daddy. Today, as we drove away from the runway, she waved from the backseat, and we heard her say:

Bye bye, airplanes. I love you, airplanes.

James’ heart shattered into a million pieces of happy. Which might explain why he has spent the past six hours assembling a wooden kitchen to surprise her with on her birthday morning.

Sunny, you have your Daddy wrapped around your little finger. Don’t waste this power, ya hear.

Thought.

It looks like someone is preparing for her monkey of a birthday party.

It’ll be bananas – and filled with similarly cheesy puns.

Annoyance.

Sunny goes to an in home daycare twice a week. This allows James to work on his many freelance projects without the distraction of a kid demanding “Daddy play blocks” every 5 minutes. On these days, James tends to go the extra mile and shower and wear “dressy” clothes.

Thus, whenever he puts on a collared shirt, Sunny assumes that it is a daycare day. Even it’s a Saturday afternoon.

This results in much weeping and hysterics.

Which means James chooses to dress in cargo khakis, old collegiate beer shirts, and Crocs or “Sports Sandals” with socks 5 out of 7 days of the week, “for the good of our daughter’s emotional health.”

Awesome.

And might I add, where is Sunny’s critical eye on this fashion decision? Well, ADDISON?