A great Valentine's Day

I spent this Valentine's Day having spinal surgery on my back. It was a diskectomy. They removed the portion of my herniated disk that was pressing on my nerves. I was able to go home that day and the incision is not big. Some of the swelling should go down soon. The pain the following morning was the worst. Recovery would be better if I had not started my period and caught some kind of nasty cold or flu the day after surgery! Shane has been great and takes care of me and the boys well.

Turning 2 with Elmo.

This is not the best cake I have ever done as it was only 3 days after surgery. I had a lot done ahead of time and brought it with me to my Mom's. My sisters did most of the work. It was acutally kind of fun to just get to sit and do the decorating and not do the hard work of making, rolling or mixing icing. I would have liked to do the whole top layer in fondant so the paper tears blended better but I did not have the strength or energy.
The candles are lit! Nate loved the cake! I had to listen to him ask me about his Elmo cake for a month. I did what he wanted - down to the all important "crayons."
Pop-Pop helped blow the candles out.
Nate loved this potty Elmo. He has been watching the Elmo potty movie a lot lately.
Tasting the cake.

Nate and Polly

Nate and Polly playing chase.
Polly pooped out right in the middle of the floor. When Nate saw her sleeping he ran to get her blanket and cover her up and then laid down next to her.

The end of Basketball season

The team cake.
Quincy gets his trophy.
Win with his trophy.
The team pic.

New Cousin

Uncle Joe with Amberly.
The boys and I were excited to see their new cousin Amberly this past weekend. Jeanine had her on Jan 26. She was 9lb 3oz. She is absolutely beautiful.

New Puppy

The boys have been asking us for a new dog that will actually play with them and not run from them. We figured, knowing our boys, that would mean getting a puppy that would grow up in our house. About the time we began our search my Mom realized that the dog she adopted was pregnant. So the boys have been visiting their new "princess" at my Mom's house. She is a mutt. Dolly the mom is maltese/chihuaha and we do not know about the dad.

My Helper at it again.

My little helper is at it again. This time he helped unload the dishwasher.

Basketball

The boys started basketball after Christmas. They both really enjoy it. Quincy is actually quite good. Win tries his hardest but is just too small to get the ball up very high..

Dancing

Nate LOVES to dance and since I was not able to dance with him at the wedding he found a willing partner in his cousin Lexi.

The Wedding Cakes

The Groom's Cake
The Bride's Cake
The Bride's Top.
The cakes together on the cutting table.
I promised Joe and Eva that I would make their wedding cakes long before I hurt my back. An MRI 3 days after the wedding revealed that I had 4 herniated disks in my back. I was not completely happy with the way that the cakes turned out but I guess it was OK considering how I felt. Thank you to my family and Eva's family for helping me carry and transport everything I needed.