merit's 2nd birthday party!

When thinking about a theme for Merit's party this year, I wanted to choose something that I knew would make her completely giddy. I thought about her favorite characters, Elmo or Yo Gabba Gabba, but then I had the idea of a candy theme. Since candy is something she doesn't get on a regular basis, I knew that she would absolutely love everything about her party. I had SO MUCH FUN planning and creating and decorating, and it was all worth it because I truly do think she loved her party. She even told me, "Thank you, Mama!" several times. :) My mom came in town early to help me with everything from keeping Merit occupied to cleaning the bathroom, and I couldn't have gotten everything done without her help, so a huge THANK YOU to my Mama, too!!!! Actually, thank you to all 4 of our parents. They were all a huge help in so many ways!

Here are (oh, you know, just a few) pictures from the party. I'll upload all of them (yes, there are more) to my Facebook in a bit.

the invite - love her sweet silhouette

the indoor decorations - Merit's Candy Shoppe/cake table

the outdoor decorations/food table

(THANK YOU to Popsie for smoking the amazing BBQ!!)

party pics!

Popsie and Papa

Merit loved having her friends Cali, baby Levi, Ava, Audrey, Jake, and Liam at her party! I am so thankful for these little people.

"Happy Birthday to Meriiiiiit" and candles!

presents!

After the party, Merit posed for us in her Lollipop garden!

my fave - showing some two-year-old sass

And once it was all over...

Thank you again and again to all of our friends and family who were able to come celebrate Merit with us. We love her more than we could ever explain, and we are so blessed to have people in our lives who love her like we do. I CANNOT believe I have a two-year-old.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, MERIT FEY!!!

baby albright #2 is a...

Today we found out a little more about baby Albright #2. I'll give you some hints.

Can you tell boy or girl from this cute profile?

What about from this cute arm?

What about from this cute cuddly pose? Can you tell?

 This might help.

Still don't know? Another hint - we bought these after our appointment.

Really? I need to spell it out for you? Okay.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!! 

Merit will get to have something that neither Kevan nor I ever did - a SISTER. And we couldn't be more excited about that or more excited to meet her. I love you sweet, tiny baby girl - our second DAUGHTER.

TWO YEARS OLD!

Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 10:57am

Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 10:57am

Happy Birthday, Merit Fey! We love you more than you'll ever know, sweet girl.

More second birthday posts to come...as well as news about baby brother or sister!

birthdays are fun!

March is the month for birthdays in my family. On March 3rd, my sweet niece Macy turned six. SIX! I can't believe it. She is growing up into such a fun, smart, caring, and BEAUTIFUL girl. I am so proud to be her aunt. Merit ADORES her "May-May", and I am so thankful that Merit has such a sweet older cousin to look up to. Happy Birthday, Macy! I love you to the moon.

March 8th was my brother Matt's birthday. And, oh, what a great brother he is. I love the first picture of us when we were little. It captures what I have always felt from Matt - that he watches out for me and always wants what is best for me. I couldn't be more proud of the awesome man he has become. Happy Birthday, brother! I love you more than Paul does. :)

In between these two, I turned 28. It was a fun birthday! Kev had the day off and he took me to get donuts, Mexican food, AND ice cream, he let me do things that aren't quite his favorite, like walk around Forever 21 and Hobby Lobby, and he got me some very fun presents. It was fabulous. I also had a fun dinner with some dear friends the day after (Mexican again, of course). I don't have pictures to prove it, but while eating with my friends, about 5 waiters came to our table singing LOUDLY, slammed a sombrero on my head, and then one of them proceeded to spoon whipped cream all over my face. We were all in shock...me especially. Overall, it was a good birthday!

Up next is Miss Merit Fey. She'll be TWO on the 22nd, and I might still be in a bit of denial. I can't believe that my little baby has become my little girl. Here she is at this time last year, just learning to walk.

Now she runs, talks, creates, dances, sings, plays her "tee-tar" (guitar), loves us more than we deserve, and puts a smile on the face of everyone she meets. I can't wait to celebrate her in the next couple of weeks.

Speaking of the 22nd, that is the day we will (hopefully) find out if baby #2 is a boy or a girl! According to the ole poll in my sidebar, it is about even. What's your guess?

redbud giveaway

 

I am hosting a GIVEAWAY over at Redbud for a free blog makeover OR a $50 Redbud gift certificate for you or a friend of yours. You can enter until Monday night, midnight central time. Check it out!

12 weeks

I guess it is apparent by now that I am not the greatest blogger ever. I haven't even posted pictures from our fun Thanksgiving and Christmas yet, and as much as that bugs me, it will have to wait for another day.

Because today we got to see this.

And this. Look at those cute little arms by his or her cute little face. And those cute little crossed legs.

 And we got to hear a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" that was music to my ears. This little brother or sister has a due date of August 21st.

12 weeks

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments on the last post. We are blessed to have so many who already love and are praying for our second baby just like they do for the rest of us Albrights.

And, lastly, to keep things fair and because she is cute, here is Merit on Sunday at the fun Super Bowl party we attended.

Merit has always been a girly girl. Even when she was a tiny baby, simply the sounds and squeals she made were so girly. She has always loved to "ooohhh" and "aahhh", and these days a lot of things are "awww, sweet" or "ohhh, cute".

Like any good girly girl does, she loves all kinds of jewelry...necklaces are a favorite.

 

And she especially loves her babies.

 She gives them advice for living in this crazy world.

And she takes care of them so sweetly.

 

Sometimes, she just can't get enough baby love. She is such a good little mama.

She did so well when she got to hold her first real baby during Christmas...her little cousin Grant. She loved him so much.

Which is why I know that come August, she is going to be the best big sister ever.

 

Wouldn't you agree?

happy birthday to my mama!

We love you!

~Kev, Sharon, & MerMer

merry christmas!

going to see santa, a.k.a. "ho ho"

This Christmas Merit has been obsessed with "Ho Ho". She loves finding him wherever we may be and looking for him from the car. She always gasps and says, "Is a Ho Ho!" Sometimes she'll even lower her voice a bit and throw in a "Ho Ho HOOOOO!" It's pretty cute. Speaking of cute, here is Merit's Santa pic outfit for this year. I let her help me pick out her dress at Target. When I held this one up, she said, "Ooohhhh cute!" It was my fave as well, so I was pleased with her choice! :)

 

checking it out

liking what she sees

thanks, Grammie, for the fun shoes!

Last year, Merit and Santa fell in love with each other. This Santa in particular is such a sweet man...I think he is about as close to the real thing as you can get. So, I was excited to see that he was back this year.

 

Ho Ho is awesome, but Elmo AND Ho Ho is like heaven!

 

The final product - not her biggest smile, but it is very similar to last year's picture, which I loved.

2009

2008

See ya next year, Ho Ho!