Four Already!

Hey, not-so-little-man! I am amazed that you have reached your fourth birthday already! It seems like just yesterday that I found out I was going to have a boy. We chose the name David because it means "beloved" and because we wanted a strong name for our first boy. I can't imagine calling you anything else - the name David fits you so well.

Happy Birthday! The fourth year of your life has been filled with many wonderful events and surprises. It was also shortly after your third birthday that we got the official diagnosis of high-functioning autism for you. I have watched my three-year-old make incredible leaps and bounds through ESD preschool and therapy. Daily we find new ways to connect and bond with you, and I am so proud and happy that God blessed us with a little superman! Only you would prefer Spiderman, I know.

So here's to a very Spiderman-filled day! I hope you liked seeing your big bunch of balloons and your special Spiderman outfit for the day. I knew you would love the water sword from the dollar store that you've had your eye on for months now. I'll bet you thought your momma would never cave and get you that, did you??

And it's not a birthday in our house unless we get cupcakes for breakfast. I love the way you carefully peeled the wrapper off yours and oohed and aahed over the surprise blue cake! It will be fun to take some of these to share with your classmates at preschool. And later, we will have a big Spiderman cake and open lots of presents at your favorite restaurant.

I hope it all makes you feel super special - because that's exactly the way I felt when the nurse gently laid you in my arms just seconds after you were born. Special.

Happy Birthday, Beast!

Wordless Wednesday - Joyful Colors

my little girl turned 4 1/2 yesterday and we celebrated with tie-dye cupcakes with extra sprinkles! Happy Half-Birthday, Baby Girl!

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom...

Wanna link up here? I would love to see your picturesque posts!

Found It Friday - Daisies

It's time again for a breath of fresh inspiration. Welcome to Found It Friday, where I (and other awesome bloggers) share how we were inspired by the simple yet beautiful flower called a daisy. In case you're joining us for the first time, each week I post a theme for inspiration. All participating bloggers come up with five things inspired by the theme. You can read more about how you can join in on the fun with this new meme here.

He loves me, he loves me not. . . let's explore this field of daisies together.

1. I love the cheerful effect that giant Gerber daisies have. I couldn't think of a more appropriate place for my daisies than my big sunny kitchen window. I bought adorable hourglass vases at IKEA, filled the bottoms with white rice, and then inserted the Gerber daisies (which I cut down to the height I wanted.) Instant happiness!

2. Perhaps if you love flowers but have trouble keeping them alive (I have no green thumb whatsoever!), this steel daisy chain may work perfectly in your garden. It is made entirely out of recycled propane tanks by Shining Sun Garden Works. Gorgeous!

3. The Drama Queen and I were so inspired by the shape of daisies that we made our own monogrammed daisy hair clippies. (tutorial)

4. Daisies are just lovely at weddings! Here is a very chic and easy way to make your wedding favors memorable - just add a sweet daisy to the top of a standard wedding bubbles container. (daisy wedding ideas)

5. And speaking of sweet, make edible daisies like these charming beauties to decorate cupcakes for your next garden party or bridal shower. (Puffed-Up Petal Cupcakes by Wilton)

And finally, as a little bonus this week, I made a daisy-inspired treasury at Etsy, highlighting items featuring fresh yellows and clean whites. It's easy (and addicting!) to make your own treasuries at Etsy.com. It's strangely exhilarating to organize a group of your favorite things and make it look beautiful. You can see my entire treasury here.

So, show me your daisy love! Link up with your Found It Friday daisy post below, and be sure to visit everyone else's posts to kick up the creativity this weekend!

Next week's inspiration is: Sand and Surf . Start gathering your wonderful finds now and wow us with a beautiful post next week!

(and if you came visiting through Follow Me, Chickadee Fridays, welcome! I am so glad you dropped by!)

Wordless Wednesday - my little cupcake

taste-testing the frosting -yep, it's good!

proudly displaying her handiwork while wearing her new birthday apron from Grammy and Pop...