drum roll please.....

 

 And we are so excited to be welcoming this new little chica into our family.

 I'm so glad that we decided to wait to find out until we were with all of our dear family. It was such a great way to be told we were having a girl! Wahooo!! Rach was the only one who knew the secret and she alone filled the piñata so the rest of us were all in the dark

 And of course the kiddos couldn't be left disappointed... as with any piñata you have to have candy! This also eased the sting that my baby wouldn't not be born at the party. The kids convinced themselves that was the purposed of the party and they would get to be present for this grand event, crazy kids if they only knew:)

A party isn't a party with out food!  

For dinner we had a family favorite: drip beef sandwiches, wedge salad, potato salad, salsa and chips and fruit galore.  

dessert included bee sugar cookies, lemon poppy seed insects, among other little treats.

 Rach made a delicious cake with a fun surprise inside....

 

 

 

The prediction board 

the cousins unwinding

 

And now it is March

It's interesting how blogging has somewhat become a run down thing of the past. As I look at my feed of family and friends... I don't think I am the only one who has gotten tired of them. Maybe tired isn't the right word. I guess it isn't much of a priority anymore. The hypocritical thing is, I still love to see what my family and friends have been up to. I love to read the stories of mishcief my nieces and nephews find themselves in. I love that blogs are a window into our lives (honest lives) that we normally wouldn't share in everyday conversation.

Winter has turned us into shut-ins. We don't get out very much. I miss you world. Even if we only catch up online in silly blogger fashion... I still miss my friends and family.

So here are some photos and recent happenings around our home:

 

My beautiful friend Tiki (Lindsay to all you non-Oakcresters) is having her first baby girl!

We were so excited we had to celebrate with a

Feather Her Nest

baby shower!

(thanks Rach for the use of your beautiful chalkboard sign)

feathers and birds were the decor

dessert: peanut butter m&m and mini peanutbutter cups cookies

feather sugar cookies

(not pictures) strawberry cheesecake bites

Because we had a more personal crowd we decided to do a pretty nice dinner. I love the steak salad from BRIO and so I did a copycat version. It seemed like a hit so I wanted to share the recipe with you.

• spring salad mix (Costco)
• candied pecans
• cherry tomatoes
• gorgonzola cheese (or blue cheese)
• sprinkle with parmesan cheese
• croutons
• Annie's Goddess dressing (Harmons)
• topped with grilled tenderloin (I used flank or skirt steak marinated overnight in this white balsamic citrus basil marinade/dressing (Costco)

To give the salad a little extra something drizzle with balsamic glaze

 

We also had mini margherita pizzas

delicious

Thanks to my beautiful sis-in-law Kristi who taught me how to use pitta bread to make it simple and oh so good

All Tikster wanted was to make hairbows for baby girl. and so we sat around the table with sparkling conversation and made felt hair accessories

 

Our guests left with a sweet treat (made by Liz) peeps in a ricekrispy nest with little malt eggs. I made the mistake of letting my kids eat their peep right before church last week.... NEVER AGAIN!

guests also took home a necklace in honor of baby girl

 

if interested here is a

Feather cookie tutorial

 This is my go to sugar cookie recipe. I love that it uses real vanilla bean vs extract and I think you can taste the difference. You also get these pretty miniscule black specks in the dough, it's the real deal. plus the way she frosts cookies is more of an art. the frosting is more on the crunchy end, therefore your design stays better. (Curtis prefers the creamier stuff, but I love these) 

 

First I just hand cut the cookies with a knife into the shape of a feather. I wasn't making a ton so it wasn't a big deal. Once cooled I frosted in white and let that set for over an hour. When I made the frosting I set aside 3 little containers of frosting to add color to for the next phase and also water down a bit.

You will need paint brushes for the next part. Hobby Lobby sells ones specific to food (this wasa discovery as I wandered the aisles and honestly was the reason I had the idea). I guess so you don't cross contaminate lacquer with your food or something crazy like that. be safe and use new (food) paint brushes

When I tinted the 3 things of frosting I did 3 different shades of pinks 2 bold 1 very light and almost shimmery

I first applied the first 2 darker pinks in their areas and then added the lightest one last and went over all layers of color on the cookie so it would blend and give more of the ombre look.

Painting the cookies was/is the easiest way I have ever decorated a cookie, honest.

 after giving the cookie about 20 min to dry I took a few and created a feather outline. I couldn't decide which way I prefered so I left some alone

 

 

 A perfect final touch for a party for a very special friend. Love you Tik. You are an incredible person and this baby girl is so unbelievably lucky to have you as her momma!

 



Did I tease you enough?

Oh goody... if you just can't handle yourself and want to see some more go HERE

It has happened

We have moved:(
No, our house is not ready yet.
Yes, we have decided to become Lord's of the Land aka land lords
Yes, the Royce's have extended their loving home to us and our kids are running rampant
They have transformed into pigeons.
They hear the blendtec in the morning and drop everything to rush for whatever scraps they can manage
Maybe they are more like vultures
with those giant eyes and soft pleads for "more, more"/"meeee, meeee"
My poor parents don't have a chance

We are still about 3 weeks out from our house, aiming for Thanksgiving and it feels like things are moving so fast.

I am exhausted. packing, cleaning, budgeting, being a mommy and wife has me spent.
But as I have learned, life never slows down for anybody

Jumping 1 last time in his bedroom

 

Gus' first day of preschool school

 

 I'm going to miss this place

 

But so so so excited for our next phase.

I feel like I am in my final weeks of pregnancy. That painful, anxious stage where I am nervous and the anticipation is about to kill me!

 

But in the meantime... the amenities here aren't too shabby:)

Just check out the world's largest remote

boxing day

packing tape... that's all it took. Curtis walked out of Lowes with a giant pack of packing tape and it finally hit me. We are moving. Yes, I am excited. Yes, I can't wait to get into my house that I totally do not deserve. Yes, I am a little overwhelmed right now.
I have loved where we live. I love our house. I love our neighbors. I love our ward.
This house has been all about firsts for us. Curtis lived here when we first were married and so this was the house I became a wife in. Shortly after our moving in, we expanded our family by bringing home Jack. Cars were sold, new cars were purchased. Motorcycles were sold, a new one recently was purchased (Gus is spoiled). Furniture has come and gone, rooms were rearranged. And then we had a big first, we brought home our first child.This became the house I became a mother in. I remember when Jack met Oli for the first time. There are many memories that flooded my mind when I saw that stupid packing tape.
I have been in denial that summer is practically over and although our house will not be done until mid November, we have a fabulous renter who would like to be in by the first. The Brinkerhoff's will be homeless for a few weeks, but we are so fortunate to have incredible family that will open their doors to us.
In the mean time our garage is starting to fill with boxes of our life, and I am a roller coaster. So just ignore me as I put my sunglasses on to disguise my tears (mostly tears of gratitude).

1

The party just isn’t going to stop…. Its Mercedes turn. I can’t believe she is one! I have held on to her being a baby for so long that I am struggling with the realization that she is transitioning into toddlerhood. Mercedes is such a tender spirit. She has such gentle demeanor and so joyful, its infectious. We adore her! I feel like I have just been clinging on to her babyhood and not pushing for her to grow up that now that she is a year I am in a rude awakening realizing just how big she is. Every day she does something new that tells me, “im no baby” She just stares at her big brother and wants to do everything he does. I love that she is a momma’s girl. She snuggles right up into me and pats on my back as I hold her.  I love when her face lights up and she squenches her nose, this is the face she makes when she is so overwhelmingly happy.

She can go up the stairs, but can’t really go down them. She can stack blocks, she finds little details even if you try to hide something she has found she remembers where you hid it. Curtis had a blister on his hand and she was so concerned about it, as much as he tried to distract her she kept finding it and saying “uhoh”

Mercedes loves her bottles, when she is tired she loves to snuggle up with her swaddle blanket and drink her bottle. We know she is ready for bed when she pulls the blanket up to her face and puts her left handed pointer and middle finger in her mouth. She has a wicked grip, she can pinch and scratch so hard, it hurts.  She loves discovering new food and playing and has such a tolerance for pain. When she bonks or gets his by a toy, I expect a cry… but mostly she just carries on. She is brave and sweet as ever.

 

It was so hot at her party we had the kids play in the sprinklers while we ate dinner. The wind was rowdy but we had so much fun with our dear friends and family. Thank you for all who came and celebrated this great milestone

Some photos from her birthday party.

 (strawberry poppyseed salad, chips and dip, pasta salad, dino shaped pb&j, chinese chicken salad and rolls... not pictured here is the most amazing chicken satay that my parents made)

(toy jar, cupcakes, macaroons, sixletts, rock candy suckers, sugar cookies birthday cake oreos)

(my amazing sister-in-law made this beautiful shirt for Little Miss)