LAST NIGHT

All is well now and it seems as soon as we got home, the swelling finally started going down. It was our first trip to the E.R. with one of the girls and thankfully we were at my parents' house when it happened, so we were able to leave the other girls with them and take Brave. It was one long day, but we are glad we got to spend a little alone time with our Bravey, even if it was one late night waiting around in the emergency room.

So Monday is starting off kinda slowly and sleepily for us...

MEET STRAWBERRY

Today, I had a nice little brunch with Danni and Lillian sans the girls (Ben was the lucky guy who did homeschooling with them today). When I came home, Brave immediately introduced me to her new pet Strawberry. She had gathered this tiny sprig of flowers from the garden yesterday, requested a teeny vase, and now she had put a pet on top of it. It was quite a heart melting little sentiment despite the fact that bugs kinda creep me out.

Brave carries this teeny vase around keeping her flowers and Strawberry near, but she won't ever touch Strawberry herself and Ben has to do it all the touching. Strawberry did get moved from her sight a bit during lunch because Strawberry started moving, which freaked out Soul causing her to go ballistic, so we had to move Strawberry away. It seems that Strawberry just likes to chill out on top a sprig of chives, which is the herb these flowers came from.

Nice to meet you Strawberry...

Brave's Camp Out

Once Ben came home from work, everyone got their camp gear on, we set up the tent (one that Ben's mom and dad used to use), lit up the grill and put out the tree trunks and logs (all brought over by my BFF), pulled out the hotdogs and buns, laid out the blankets, grabbed some sleeping bags, and was ready to celebrate our Bravey turning 4 with a backyard "Camp Out"!

We all just had fun relaxing outside (okay, I did stress a little as I was getting things ready and may have been a bit short with Ben). Ben got some bubbles and flashlights for the girls to play with, we roasted hot dogs, made smores, sang "Happy Birthday", gave Brave some presents, and everything was fine and dandy. I think it was just what our four year old wanted!

Since we were camping out, I wanted a smores-ish cake and came across a recipe for this Chocolate-Graham Cracker Refrigerator Cake. It was pretty yummilicious and so easy to make! It doesn't really taste like smores, but it did its job nonetheless and as long as the birthday girl loves it, well that is good enough for me.

I must disclose that I had no intention of camping outside at all. This giant belly of mine makes me use the restroom so often, that I wasn't going to sleep outside. No siree. I need easy access to the bathroom. Soul wasn't going to sleep outside either because she doesn't know how to sleep with us and only knows how to sleep in her crib. We were the wimps and slept inside.

Ben and the big girls really did go to sleep outside. I bid them goodnight around 10:30, but True and Brave were already zonked in the tent when Ben went to bed. They started the night outside, but they came in the house around 2 in the morning because Ben had a crick in has neck (which took a week to resolve) and our neighbor's dog's barking kept them from sleeping anyway, so in the house they went! Oh well... we tried.

Our Brave is a special girl and we wanted to make sure to give her a special fourth birthday! We thank God for giving her to us and are so blessed by her constant sweet and loving spirit. We love you Bravey!!!

makings for the camp out

Brave's birthday request was for a "Camp Out". Where she got that idea is beyond us, but that is what promised to deliver. In preparation to the days leading up, we did a few projects to get ready for the "Camp Out."

First, there must be camp shirts.

Ben designed them and I think if he weren't a dietitian, he could have been a graphic designer. He has a thing for good design and fonts. Oh... how he loves fonts! He used a little character from his fave illustration artist Simon Oxley. We then printed the image onto iron-on paper, bought little boy ribbed tank packs from target, then ironed them on. It was perfection!

Second, we had to have some type of camp bandana or headdress.

Thus, with strips of jersey and cotton fabric I worked with the girls to braid it together to make something special for each of them to wear.

Lastly, we had to make camp flags to designate our camp area.

True and I worked on these together to keep some things a surprise for Brave. We used this tutorial for flag sculptures via Jordan Ferney.

We these things (and a few others) we were ready to celebrate Brave's fourth birthday with her special "Camp Out"!

true's ideas

All last week, True kept talking about how she wanted to make a dress and bow for Brave's birthday present, so on an afternoon we set out to do just that. I needed something quick and simple, so kimono style was the way to go (just two pieces). True picked out the fabric and she added all the finishing touches.

On white fabric and with some fabric marker, True made the details that really made the dress so special. Then, we free motioned embroidered some parts of it after I sewed on her little handmade pieces. She was super proud of her creation and to have something made for her little sister. She worked hard wrapping it and keeping a little surprise for her sister. It really made my heart melt to see the loving big sister come out. These girls are the best of friends, but can also be the best of enemies!

She was so excited to finally give it to Brave at the "Camp Out" (post to come) and Brave really loved it so much. The very next day we made sure Brave wore it out on one of our weekend adventures.

We had so much going on this weekend that I don't even know where to start. Expect a picture overload soon...

brave's breakfast in bed

Our Brave turned four yesterday. And with every birthday, the celebrant gets breakfast in bed!

I made (thanks to Trader Joe's buttermilk pancake box mix) her some churro pancakes (thanks to a tip my friend Aimee gave me, just add some cinnamon to the batter and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and sugar to the top). She was happy as a clam the minute she woke up because she has been waiting for this day to come for awhile now. She was our little birthday princess indeed...

All day long, every time she entered a room, she would say, "I am the birthday girl!"

What was the birthday girl's big request? She wanted a "camp out", so that's what Mom and Papi gave her. That is for a whole other post...

a mouk birthday

Brave's favorite book of late has been Mouk, thus I decided a little Mouk birthday was in order for our newly three year old girl. It was all a bit of a surprise and good thing she doesn't question what I make too much while I am sewing. True knew all about it and was very excited to surprise her little sister.

I sewed my first kinda-quilt ever! It is a blanket of the world because Mouk travels all throughout the world. Of course it is not made to scale (and a few islands may be missing) as something very exact would have made me go bonkers. We hung it up for the celebration, but now it can be used as any type of blanket from picnics to play to learning or even sleeping. Ben put some steel poles in the ground for our little party and I just strung up some left over bunting from Linda's wedding.

Here is my special little Bravey wearing her new, but vintage birthday dress. The birthday girl was happy as she recognized everything right away!

Naturally, a little softie Mouk had to be made to go along with the celebration.

Something from every country Mouk travelled to was represented at the celebration. There were Papas Fritas from Peru, sushi from Japan, snow (the shaved ice in the coconuts) from Finland, fruits from Madagascar (topped the snow in the coconuts), macarons from Paris, watermelon rind masks from Greece, turkish delight from Libya, hibiscus tea from West Africa, licorice from Australia (not sure if it is particularly Australian, but this particular one was made there). Brave also got some special presents which included a golden fish kite from China and a New York stamp set. Lastly, we made painted elephants just like did in the book in India. Thus as we read the book, we indulged in the special delights represented from each country. The girls were most anxious and excited about painting the elephants, and of course devouring all the little sweet treats!

A Mouky (as they like to call him) party was the perfect celebration for our wonderful little Brave... small, simple, and sweet just like our birthday girl!