Still Celebrating

Yes, my birthday was 8 days ago and I'm still celebrating! It's been the best birthday. We had our yearly joint bday party for Heather and me and it was a blast as usual. We all went to Heather and Ross's house and pigged out on Rib Crib and Coldstone Creamery cakes. These cakes were to DIE for. Our picks were Cookies and Creamery and Chocolate Chippery.



Yummm. We got mounds of gifts that we didn't need but were oh so happy to indulge in. Ross pulled off two huge surprises for Heather with a voucher to zipline and an iPad!!!!

Apparently Ingrid wants me to get one too...

I got lots of new sewing books! Amelia informed me they were from Barnes and Noble and there are several specific things she wants me to make her.

I also got some spending money for our upcoming shopping trip in Branson!! And look at these cute cards Jenn made for us.

Ingrid had so much fun playing with Amelia's toys and prancing around the house.

Amelia was so proud of Ingrid's walking skills! She had to show her just how proud she was:

(Does this remind you of a certain picture from yesterday's post...?)

Elise and Amelia were too cute in their matching pink, green, and white dresses. I can't wait for these to hand down to us! Yahoo.

And Derek's prize winning gift of the night:

I got to celebrate yet again at Glenda and Daniel's. Ingrid had a blast playing ball and getting chased around.


I had another wonderful meal--Grand Fortuna--my favorite Chinese Restaurant and a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. I also treated myself to a hair appointment. Got my locks all ready for a new school year!

And the celebrating continued with dinner at HuHot with friends! Shopping at T.J. Maxx in between dinner and dessert. A monster cookie at Cheddars finished the night. Yummmola.




Am I spoiled? Yes!

My Sister

She's 30 today. The big three zero. Sometimes it still feels like she's ten and I'm seven. Or sixteen and thirteen. Mostly twenty-one and twenty-four. Time is flying by all around us. But we never change. We will always be best friends. The perfect match to the other. She will be Sharina Koki and I will be Munchikikkimo. Sometimes I still whisper, "Night, love you, see you in the morning." Even though her bedroom is not right beside mine, I'm sure she hears me. She will always be the crazy to my calm. The fun to my serious. The outspoken to my quiet. The passion to my reserve. The hero in my heart. She will be my everything. Forever.

3.5 and 10 months

4 and 1

6 and 3

Twenty years later...
25 and 22

27 and 24

28 and 25

29 and 26

30 and 27

Happy Birthday Heather!

Branson Fun Spot

Mom and Dad let Amelia spend the night with them at a hotel in Branson for her potty training reward---I know---what an AWESOME prize! The best news is--she invited Ingrid and I to come up and spend the day with them. The first stop was McDonald's for some "chicken nuggets and french fries." Delicious. Then we headed to the Fun Spot. It was Ingrid's first time to go. We headed over to the ballocity to play as soon as we arrived. Ingrid was a little scared of the loud noises and crowds of people. She held onto me for dear life. Amelia was a pro running up and down and all around. She climbed up the risers and gathered balls and shot them from the tower over and over.

Ingrid got used to the noise after a while and slowly ventured out on her own. But she never got too far from me.



I think her favorite thing was walking around OUTSIDE of the ball cage.

I have to pause for a minute to talk about Ingrid's outfit. This top is one of my all-time favorites. This was the last time Ingrid will get to wear it because it's getting too tight across the shoulders. Luckily I have another little lady coming along who will get to wear it. I bought this vintage jewel from Hart and Sew just 2.5 weeks after Ingrid was born. I loved it the moment I saw it. And it's so versatile. On this day I paired it with jegging shorts from Wal-Mart and Tiny Red Toms. So cute. But back to the Branson trip. After Fun Spot we went back to the hotel to swim in the indoor pool. Ingrid and Amelia had so much fun and did NOT want to get out for naps. I don't blame them. It looked like a blast. I forgot my suit at home and had to hang out on the sidelines. But I did get some cute pictures of these cousins swimming like fish.

Pizza Party

My mom and dad hosted a pizza night before the Hatches hit the road so we could have one last evening together. We had so much fun watching the girls play. Of course, Alex, Danny, D, and Dad all hit the pingpong table for much of the night. But us girls had such good conversation and fun. And I have the pics to prove it. Maelea and Ingrid stared at each other much of the night. Just trying to figure out how the other had gotten so much bigger since the last visit!



Ingrid drove the duo to town for a little Sonic drink.


We had pizza and a delicious homemade ice cream cake (thanks mom!) and we were all so stuffed. The girls wanted to go outside for a little late-night swing. It was Maelea's first time. And I think she liked it. But I'll let you decide.


Getting the girls in rhythm together.

Besties times two.

Spoon and Fork

I'm so thankful Ingrid is a good eater. I hope she continues her eating trends. Lately she's started eating the Gerber Graduates toddler meals and she loves them.

They are pretty hearty and thick so I've been letting her try out feeding herself with her spoon and fork. It's still messy but not as messy as baby food. She's actually doing a really good job. I've been impressed with my little piglet.



This chicken, mashed potato, and carrot meal seemed like a lot of food so I was expecting her to eat about half, but she polished off the whole thing pretty much.

And still had room for a few puffs of course.

In other news--Ingrid is officially walking. Almost 100% of the time. And walking everywhere. She just takes off now. She's so steady and balanced. And she seems like such a big girl! I've taken a couple little videos I wanted to share, but I don't know how. So maybe I'll figure it out sooner or later. Or maybe D will do one for me! ;)

Maelea's Ladybug Extravaganza

I was so happy when I found out Mary Beth and Alex were going to celebrate Maelea's first birthday here in Arkansas. It's really been such a blessing to have our girls so close in age--3 days apart!! Her party was the night before Ingrid's and it was all done up in red, black, and white! MB didn't skimp on the decor even though she had to pack it all up for an 8 hour drive!

Maelea wore an adorable ladybug tutu made by Alana. It was precious. I wanted Ingrid to match the party but I couldn't ever find anything ladybug for her. Either what I found was in the wrong size, or wrong season, or something! So I found this little black and white polka-dot dress at Wal-Mart and sewed little ladybug buttons on it! Simple, cute, and cheap. Yahoo.

Our teething twins.

Ingrid was enamored with all the balloons. She even let Alana hold her and look around at all the decorations! Seriously--a non-family member holding her without tears?? Write it down. Oh wait--- I just did. hahaha.

MB looked so cute in her red, white, and black dress! She did such a good job. Here she is presenting Maelea with her smash cake.

And she knew just what to do with it!

Ingrid was very curious about Maelea's gifts.

At the end of the night, Ingrid was feeling very brave and decided to go with Danny to see the balloons one last time.

But quickly realize it was just too scary for her! Whew--rescued by dad.

Happy Birthday Maelea! We love you so much.