birthdays

Ella Grace Broach...minutes old

Daddy gets to know Ella

Eden and her buddies collecting pinata candy

Blowing out the candles for the third time.
(Pete decorated that mermaid cake!)

on october 19th eden a. dockery turned three. i would have preferred her to stay 2...but I suppose I really don't have a say in matters of time and aging. we were flying home from Hawaii on her actual birthday, so we had chick-fil-a that night and celebrated with ice cream and playing on the slide. we had a big el paso style party last saturday with a bunch of friends and family. my parents were able to fly out for the occasion, and we had tons o' fun. we grilled some hot dogs and hamburgers, crock potted homemade charro beans, and pete wowed the crowd with his cake decorating abilities. the kiddies jumped in a bounce house (jumping balloon, whatever you want to call it), and then hit a princess pinata until candy filled the grass. it was a crazy, wonderful night. eden was overwhelmed with gifts and love and we were incredibly grateful.

among the guests were our friends brandon and emily broach. sweet emmi had to sit down most of the time because she was so very pregnant with little ella grace. ella was due a week and a half from then. I was thinking she'd be late. little did we know that two days later she'd be perfect and beautiful in her mother's arms. in the early hours of october 26th emily's water broke. she texted me...but my phone was on vibrate. I got the message around 7am, talked to emily and brandon...figured I'd have awhile to find someone to watch my girls and the little boy that I keep every morning. first babies, they usually come slowly. around 9am emily was dilated to 7cm! whoa baby. I threw on clothing, said goodbye to my parents, strapped children into their carseats, dropped them off with sweet friends...and broke all speed limits getting to the hospital. emily was already pushing when I got into the room (YES they let me witness the birth of their firstborn child!). A few pushes later, at 10:54 a.m., a gorgeous baby girl was screaming and bringing air into her lungs. It was a moment I will never forget as long as I live. It gives me chills just typing it all out. I was snapping pictures like a crazy woman...watching this new family of three.

throughout ella's birth and first minutes of life I thought about the birth of my own beautiful daughters. the warmth of a baby freshly born. the excitement and shock of becoming a parent. the incredible love that instantly invades your soul, and keeps growing and growing and growing. how beautiful the gift of children truly is. how I will never be able to thank God enough for letting me birth and mother Eden and Charlotte.

So. happy birthday to Eden Adeline. my spectacular firstborn. you are such joy. I cherish you.

and happy birthday to Ella Grace. I am so honored that I was able to be present the moment you came into God's great earth. I will love you forever.

10 things I love about Maui...in random order

1. laying charlotte in the sand...nudey.

2. going on a real date with this guy

3. listening to charlotte talk to papa. our sweeties live 1500 miles from any grandparent.

4. the view outside our condo. seriously?

5. watching my family play in the sand

6. how the air smelled like these white flowers

7. going to a real luau! hula girls... singing...dancing...fire throwers...buffet!

8. the way eden's hair curled up in ringlets

9. hula pie. one of the most delicious desserts of my life.

macadamia nut ice cream piled high on a chocolate cookie crust, topped with fudge, whipped cream, and more macadamia nuts. as big as my head.

10. macadamia nut and pineapple everything. coffee, smoothies, syrup, pancakes, you name it. heavenly.

i am so grateful we were given the gift of this trip. it has been refreshing, relaxing, and too beautiful to describe.

the BEST playdoh

I got this homemade playdoh recipe from my sister a few months ago. I must must must share the recipe because it is indeed the BEST playdoh EVER. I made some weeks...months ago, and it is still soft and moist and wonderful! way better than store bought...and it's just fun to make it with your kids. so here's the recipe:

1 cup flour
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp. oil

  Food coloring

just mix all that together and then add the food coloring when it looks and feels like playdoh. 
I just keep ours in ziplock freezer baggies. 
have fun.