We took some video of the kids the other night. It's almost 5 minutes long and just shows Brynn's latest trick - smiling - and Carter being silly (so it's probably only interesting to our family members!). Just a glimpse into dinner time conversation at our house!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Brynn's Baptism
On Sunday, January 9th, Brynn was baptized at St. Mark Lutheran Church. It was a beautiful, cold morning, the service was really nice, and our little girl was surrounded by many of her family members. My brother, Andy, and his wife, Julie, stood up with us as Brynn's Godparents. After the service, our families joined us for brunch back at our house. It was a very relaxed morning and was really just the perfect day. Here are some pictures from the service...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Blessed
This holiday season, we were able to spend time with each of our five grandparents. We visited all of their homes over the holidays and carried on some of the same Christmas traditions that Cary and I remember as children. As all four grandmas and my grandpa held Brynn and talked with Carter, it made both Cary and I realize just how blessed our kids are. They have two parents that love them to pieces. They have four grandparents that spoil them like crazy, would babysit them in a heartbeat, and give them all of the love (and gifts) that a kid could ever want. And they have the opportunity to know and spend time with five of their great-grandparents. So today's blog post is dedicated to Carter and Brynn's great-grandparents: Grandma Betty and Grandpa Milo, Grandma Phyllis, Grandma Farm, and GG.
Grandma Betty and Grandpa Milo
Carter loves going to Milo and Betty's house because Grandma Betty always has homemade chocolate chip cookies. And sometimes Carter begs for one of Grandpa's candy orange slices too! I especially love watching my grandpa watch Carter as he plays trains on the floor or runs through the house. You can just see the joy in his eyes as he watches his great-grandson. I've been told that Grandpa even stares at the kids' pictures, laughing about the funny things they said or did the last time he saw them. Grandma is always asking about the kids, loves to hold Brynn, and worries about them just like a grandma should. Grandpa Milo and Grandma Betty are very special to all of us and we are lucky they live so close to my parents so we can see them almost every time we're in town.
Grandma Betty and Grandpa Milo
Carter loves going to Milo and Betty's house because Grandma Betty always has homemade chocolate chip cookies. And sometimes Carter begs for one of Grandpa's candy orange slices too! I especially love watching my grandpa watch Carter as he plays trains on the floor or runs through the house. You can just see the joy in his eyes as he watches his great-grandson. I've been told that Grandpa even stares at the kids' pictures, laughing about the funny things they said or did the last time he saw them. Grandma is always asking about the kids, loves to hold Brynn, and worries about them just like a grandma should. Grandpa Milo and Grandma Betty are very special to all of us and we are lucky they live so close to my parents so we can see them almost every time we're in town.
Grandma Phyllis
We get to see my Grandma Phyllis at almost every holiday, but we also spend one whole weekend a year with her during the Priestley Family Vacation. This is a weekend that our family looks forward to and Grandma is at the heart of it. Grandma loves watching all of her great-grandkids as they ride the rides at Adventureland, go fishing in the pond, swim at the pool, or bowl at the bowling alley. You can tell that she finds so much happiness in the happiness of her great-grandchildren. Grandma Phyllis spends much of her free time quilting, and that means that both Carter and Brynn have several hand-made quilts from her. What an amazing gift that we will all cherish for years and years. We sure miss Grandpa Charlie, but I feel so blessed that my kids are able to know their great-grandma Phyllis.
Grandma Farm
Grandma Taylor (aka Grandma Farm) is one active lady and she does a great job keeping up with all of her great-grandchildren. Although she lives in southern Iowa, we get to see her on a fairly regular basis. Grandma makes it a point to see the kids whenever she is in town, and there is always an open invitation for any of us to come stay at her house. She loves reading and is notorious for giving books (and Michigan gear) as presents. Grandma Farm also makes sure that the kids are thought of constantly. She sends them little cards and a $2 bill for Valentine's Day and Halloween. She has toys for the kids at her house and a kids' table at holiday meals. And she often has a book or craft or activity to keep the kids busy. And like Grandma Phyllis, Grandma Farm is a quilter! Our kids get doubly-blessed in the quilt category! We know that Grandpa Taylor would have loved knowing all of his great-grandsons and great-granddaughter; but we feel so blessed that our kids have Grandma Farm in their lives.
GG
Grandma Doris (GG) is an expert at being a great-grandma. She has 30 great-grandchildren, and since she spends time living at each of her childrens' homes, she gets to see all of her great-grandchildren regularly. GG is a "baby hog" and if there is a baby in the room, she's holding it! The kids love to play with her walker, give her hugs, and run around the room and "show off" for her. GG is known for her signature phrase "love you twice as much," which she writes on every card that she sends to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Since Grandpa Coppola has been gone for many years, GG has been the matriarch of the Coppola family. At 94 years old, I think it's her great-grandchildren that keep her spirit young!
Yes...we are blessed.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Happy 3rd Birthday, Carter!
Although Carter's birthday is December 26th, we celebrated with a party at Monkey Joe's on January 6th. The party actually was rescheduled twice due to a stomach bug that infected our household for a week. By the time the 6th rolled around, Carter was more than ready to celebrate with his friends, eat birthday cake, and blow out the candles while everyone sang to him. Luckily, he has no concept of time and really never knew that his party had been post-poned! And, actually it was nice to space out the gift-giving a little bit!
Unfortunately, since we had to reschedule the party, some of our guests weren't able to be there. We were so excited to have the Donnenwerth's there so that Amy and I could snuggle each other's babies and so Macy and Carter could play together once again. But since his party was moved from the holiday weekend, they had to head back home to LaCrosse. Carter's other friend, Ethan, couldn't be there because he wasn't feeling well. And our neighbor boy, Joey, wasn't able to come either. And, of course we missed Davis and Bennett, who were off running on the beach in Florida. So we were a little short on kids...but Carter made the most of it! Luckily, his friends that were there were Katelyn, Joey, Maddox, Riley, and Cassie (and of course, Claire and Brynn too). And boy did they all have a ball!
The kids bounced and raced and ran through Monkey Joe's all night long. Carter had a huge smile on his face the whole time and was a little giddy about the whole thing. I think he understood that the entire night was about him. He didn't eat one bite of his pizza, but devoured a huge piece of birthday cake and drank way too much Hawaiian punch. He stared intently at his Thomas cake as everyone sang to him and he loved sitting in the huge blow-up throne. When Monkey Joe came to wish him happy birthday, he gave him a big high five. He got so many presents that I literally put half of them away for several months from now when the newness of his Christmas presents has worn off. When we left two hours later, he had frosting on his face, bright red stained lips, and tired eyes. "Operation Carter's Birthday Party" was a huge success!!
Happy Birthday, Sweet Little Guy! We love you so much and are so proud to have such a neat little boy! You make us laugh every single day and you say the absolute funniest things. Your smile lights up our whole house, and you impress us with your HUGE love for your baby sister. You are so smart and polite and you make us wonder how we got so lucky to have a son like you. Our home would be so dull and lifeless without your train noises, constant talking, loud singing and continual questions. We love you more than you know!!!! :)
Unfortunately, since we had to reschedule the party, some of our guests weren't able to be there. We were so excited to have the Donnenwerth's there so that Amy and I could snuggle each other's babies and so Macy and Carter could play together once again. But since his party was moved from the holiday weekend, they had to head back home to LaCrosse. Carter's other friend, Ethan, couldn't be there because he wasn't feeling well. And our neighbor boy, Joey, wasn't able to come either. And, of course we missed Davis and Bennett, who were off running on the beach in Florida. So we were a little short on kids...but Carter made the most of it! Luckily, his friends that were there were Katelyn, Joey, Maddox, Riley, and Cassie (and of course, Claire and Brynn too). And boy did they all have a ball!
The kids bounced and raced and ran through Monkey Joe's all night long. Carter had a huge smile on his face the whole time and was a little giddy about the whole thing. I think he understood that the entire night was about him. He didn't eat one bite of his pizza, but devoured a huge piece of birthday cake and drank way too much Hawaiian punch. He stared intently at his Thomas cake as everyone sang to him and he loved sitting in the huge blow-up throne. When Monkey Joe came to wish him happy birthday, he gave him a big high five. He got so many presents that I literally put half of them away for several months from now when the newness of his Christmas presents has worn off. When we left two hours later, he had frosting on his face, bright red stained lips, and tired eyes. "Operation Carter's Birthday Party" was a huge success!!
Happy Birthday, Sweet Little Guy! We love you so much and are so proud to have such a neat little boy! You make us laugh every single day and you say the absolute funniest things. Your smile lights up our whole house, and you impress us with your HUGE love for your baby sister. You are so smart and polite and you make us wonder how we got so lucky to have a son like you. Our home would be so dull and lifeless without your train noises, constant talking, loud singing and continual questions. We love you more than you know!!!! :)
3rd Annual Coppola Bake-Off
A new year brought yet another Coppola bake-off. This year's theme: white wedding cake. This year's participants: Bobbi, Holly, Kyle's girlfriend Emily, and I (Kelly was basking in the sun in Florida again this year). The guidelines: It must be some variation of a white cake, but it can contain extracts and "secret ingredients." The cakes would be judged on appearance, cake flavor, and frosting flavor. We all came prepared with our own secret weapons. Holly's recipe called for almond, lemon and butter flavorings. Emily's used buttermilk in the cake and cream cheese in the frosting. Bobbi planned to make a coconut frosting. And my frosting recipe called for almond liquer.
We spent a good portion of the day measuring, mixing, pouring, baking, timing, frosting, decorating and laughing. And by late-afternoon, we had four very different white cakes ready to be eaten and judged (and an extra cake for the kids). Since our husbands had been in and out of the kitchen all day and knew whose cake was who's, we decided to call in some extra judges. Holly's sister Heather and her husband Guthrey joined us, as well as Cary and I's good friends Sean and Jess. We take this judging thing pretty seriously, numbering the cakes and giving each judge a bottle of water (to cleanse their palettes), a score card, and a plate with 4 numbered pieces of cake on it.
Holly's cake was, in my opinion, the best in both cake and frosting flavor. Unfortunately, she had a little problem frosting the cake because she had cut the sides of the cake to make it uniform. I definitely was a proponant of cutting the cake because that's what they do on Cake Boss...but apparently they do something different because the frosting would not stick. So, Holly lost some points in the appearance category. I think this may have lost her the competition.
Bobbi's cake was really good!!! It was really moist and had a great flavor. Her biggest issue was the coconut frosting. And just as she was about to put in on the cake, she realized that it was German Chocolate cake frosting...not coconut-cream frosting. So she ditched her original plan and ended up making a basic white frosting, to which she poured a bag of coconut on top. She couldn't leave out her secret ingredient!
Emily's cake looked awesome! She even used a ruler to score lines on the cake and a piping bag to put dots of frosting where the lines intersected. Her cake was dense and moist and the cream cheese gave the frosting an extra kick.
Bobbi's cake was really good!!! It was really moist and had a great flavor. Her biggest issue was the coconut frosting. And just as she was about to put in on the cake, she realized that it was German Chocolate cake frosting...not coconut-cream frosting. So she ditched her original plan and ended up making a basic white frosting, to which she poured a bag of coconut on top. She couldn't leave out her secret ingredient!
Emily's cake looked awesome! She even used a ruler to score lines on the cake and a piping bag to put dots of frosting where the lines intersected. Her cake was dense and moist and the cream cheese gave the frosting an extra kick.
As for my cake, I think the decorating turned out pretty well. I put dots of frosting all over the top of the cake. And, my cake actually won! Although, as I said earlier, I definitely do not think it was deserving! The frosting wasn't my favorite...mostly because you could taste the amaretto pretty strongly. The competition was steep and my win was very unexpected. So I don't really have a speech prepared, but...I'd like to thank my manager, all of my friends and family for their continuous support, and the academy. ;)
We're already thinking about next year. Any theme ideas???
We're already thinking about next year. Any theme ideas???
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)