The Passineau Family: Pittsburgh Edition

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

More party

Here's a few more pics from the party for those of you interested. Jessica wasn't so much about us singing Happy Birthday to her, it kind of scared her....so she cried when we gave her the cupcake...sad, but true! She did enjoy the bounce house & was not afraid to get in the mix with the bigger kids. We (Michael & Shannon) had a great time visiting with friends....the final guest count was 31, we are so fortunate to have so many friends! Anyway, enjoy a few more pics of Jessie's big day!

The expression says it all

Bouncing with the big girls--yep, in order to take these I had to get in the bounce house, I took advantage of my role as "photographer" to test the bounce house, you know for safety & all ;)

Cousins having fun

Papa & Jessie...sorry Papa...caught you mid-sentence

Auntie Wendy & cousin Brendan

Isn't she beautiful???

Daddy's little girl

A game of dinosaurs & dinosaur hunter broke out inside the bounce house

My big girl

Gaga & Jessie....yep, Grandma is now Gaga

Our beautiful friend & fellow small group member Jen & Michael's colleague Dr. Kathju

Michael & our friend Luxmi

Tim & that little cutie Logan

Keith & Gerry

The beautiful ladies of our small group minus me & Jen...so thankful for these sweet ladies!

Some other little friends

Some of the cuties that were at the party

Not so sure about the cupcake & the happy birthday song

All about opening presents this year

Gaga & Nan-tie Wendy with the kiddos ;)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The party...the details

So I know many of you probably don't care about the details of the party, but I wanted to do a post on them just so I remember what everything looked like for Jessie's party. Everything turned out well & we had nice weather for the bounce house, which was great considering we ended up having a great turn out of kids & parents for the party. Our theme was based on Jessie's little "friends" MiMi & Momo, her stuffed monkeys. I had blow up monkeys for the party and the paper plates/party stuff was a tropical theme because MiMi has a flower in her hair like a monkey from Hawaii might have. Monkeys are tropical creatures (right??) and also I guess I just really want it to be warm, so that was the theme. I had gotten a 42 inch tall Monkey balloon that we tried to play tape the belly button on the monkey (kind of like pin the tail on the donkey), but that didn't go over very well. The Limbo was a huge hit & almost all the kids got in on the fun. I also made swinging monkey sugar cookies for treats for the kids to take with them as they departed....details, details ;) The little cupcake flags I found at party city were not what I wanted so I went on Pinterest & sure enough found some little girly looking monkey cupcake flags that I copied. I just used card stock & little flower stickers to make Mimis for the cupcakes. The menu was very kid-friendly. I made mini meatball subs, 2 large trays of homemade mac & cheese--a big hit & I'm enjoying the leftovers as I type this entry, fruit, pita chips with hummus, gold fish crackers, juice boxes, sodas for the adults, & cupcakes. I kept the food pretty simple & very family friendly as we all know how picky kids can be. I think that's about all as far as details go. I'll have probably one more post to fully cover everything, but hope you enjoy a look at the party for our little monkey. A huge thank you to family & friends that attended and made Jessie's party so much fun. We had a blast & it means a lot to us that you all came to celebrate our Jessie's 2nd Birthday. We love you all!

Front door hanger

Entry way chandelier

One of Jessie's MoMos

Some of the pics I took of her for her 2nd birthday & notice MiMi on the mantle

Getting ready

Tropical themed plates...really wish it was spring

What's a party without a giant monkey

I had one of her pics blown up for everyone to see--she had wanted to wear her tutu, but got too excited so we forgot

The swinging monkey sugar cookies

Cupcakes, I was pretty proud of my cupcake flags ;)

Our little monkey

The littlest monkey getting in the mix

Bounce House

Part of the spread

Look at the goldfish & juice boxes...I am such a mom

Happy Birthday baby girl

Cupcake time

The good Dr. on cupcake duty

L-I-M-B-O

It got pretty competitve

The pic I had blown up for her with MoMo

Watching the bounce house go up...thank you Dada for such a wonderful birthday!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Happy 2nd Birthday

Jessica turned 2 on March 4th. Can't believe I have a 2 year old child! Whew, what a whirlwind this last year has been for me & for our family. Jessica has changed so much since her 1st birthday & it's hard to believe the developmental progress she has made in just 1 year and especially since we brought home our sweet little bundle. What I love so far about having a 2 year old is the funny little 2 or 3 word sentences she says & how she is a little mocking bird. Her latest 3 word sentence is "more milk please", which sounds like--mo milk peas. What I don't love so much is the tantrums & whining.....uggh, there are days where I feel like she's in time out more than she is downstairs with me & Ella. Our life has changed so much since we brought Jessie home from the hospital in 2010, we didn't even know how much it would change, but I can honestly say that our life is also so much richer because of Jessie (& Ella, of course, too). Another thing I really enjoy so much about this phase with Jessica is getting to see her learn new things about her world & I also truly enjoy teaching her things. The simple things in life really do make her happy--a balloon, a cookie, or a stuffed kitty are all just great in her opinion. A surprise or reward for good behavior is always a great way to get a smile out of her. MoMo, as you all probably know, is still her best friend & she must have him in order to sleep. We are still working on her pacifier habit (I know, of all people, I should have already gotten rid of the paci, but it's hard & we do limit it to only naps/bedtime). Potty training is coming along, as are her table manners. She does consistently say please, but thank you is harder for her. She would live on fruit if I let her. Just in the last week or so she has started to be able to peddle her little tricycle...so very big! She loves, loves books & will sit for hours on end (if we hold out) listening to stories or being quizzed on words that she has learned. Her favorite color is red & loves to wear tutus, even with pants or a footed sleeper on underneath. Jessica has taught me that parenting truly is the hardest job, but also the most rewarding. Before her, I had no idea how much life & my perspective would change, but after her I have a different set of goals & desires. She has taught me that my home doesn't have to be perfect (neither does my makeup), that mac & cheese is a delicious lunch, dinner, or even breakfast option, and that slowing down to have fun isn't a bad thing. I am incredibly grateful to have Jessica as my daughter, I'm sure she will continue to teach me more as we figure out this parenting thing along the way. Enjoy a look back at some of my favorite pics from the last 2 years.