Play date with Piper

Paige and Piper came over for a play date with me & Reese! It was too cute watching them play together! It was so good to catch up with Paige & finally meet her precious Piper in person! (We have skyped but never actually met!) Too much fun! Little blessings! Thanks for coming to see us in Plano! Love you girls! See ya next time! 

Arts & Crafts for Toddlers

If you are a mom you probably have a mile long list of things to do with your kids! If you are babysitting or have a niece or nephew and run out of ideas for fun things to do, here are some easy fun crafts and games for playtime fun with a toddler (ages 2-3) other than turning on Yo Gabba Gabba! (I am babysitting my niece this week and these are some of the things we have done so far!) 

• Make a fairy-princess wand! 
• Play Dress Up! 
• Make a paper bag puppet 
• Bake something together that is quick and easy! (blueberry muffins) 
• Create a "Time Capsule" using a shoe box then decorate it with colored paper, stickers and any materials you find around the house to glue on the box! Fill it with art from the day, photos, anything fun!  
• Q & A Art: Ask the toddler to fill in the blanks..."My favorite food is..."  or My Favorite game to play with my Aunt is..." and fill in the blanks with their answer, some answers can be funny! 
• Glue stuff: A glue stick isn't too messy just supervise! Cut out magazine pictures, wrapping paper, coloring book pages -- just about anything a toddler can sort through and pick out her favorites to glue on paper. Reese loved this craft! 
•  Dance party! I bought "Countdown Kids" on itunes which has 30 popular toddler songs for less than 5 bucks for my niece and I to sing along with while we played! 
• Hide and Seek (great way to practice counting to 20!) 
• Build a Tent  
• Finger Paint/Draw with Markers and Colors

    

Tiny Dancer

I love you Reese Jane Perkins! Congrats on your first (official) dance recital! My tiny 2 year old dancer! Love you always! Love, Aunt T

Dance Recital

It's going to be a fun night! Tonight is my niece Reese's first (official) dance recital! I wouldn't have missed it for the world, so naturally I flew to Dallas to visit and make sure to be there to see her and be a part of making memories! She is dancing ballet to "somewhere out there"...I'm sure I will post a few pics after my week with her this week! Uncle Bryan had to stay in LA to work but I'm sure he would have loved to be here for her too! Hopefully one day we won't live so far from Texas (eh hem) but for now, stocking up on sky miles and flying back and forth will have to do! (by the way, thanks for letting me always jetset from LA to Texas Bryan!) When you are close to your family, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! I'm so blessed, and a day never goes by where I don't thank God for my family and friends! Okay, off to play with my niece and get ready for her big night! So proud of you Reesie!

Guess Who's Coming To California!

It's going to be a fun weekend! My big sister Pam, her husband Kevin and my precious niece Reese are flying to California tomorrow! Uncle Bryan and I are going to pick them up from LAX Friday morning & then we  are going on a road trip to San Francisco, where Kevin's brother & his family lives!  

I love my family, miss them everyday and am looking forward to quality family time! 

My little Valentine

I live in Los Angeles and my niece lives in Dallas, and it is hard for me to see Reese as often as I would like...So in the meantime while we are apart, Pam, Reese and I skype for about an hour at least 3 times a week..more if I'm lucky! It has become one of my favorite things to do with Reese..

She made valentines for the first time this year, and can pronounce every holiday saying

(as you can see from the previous videos such as "Happy Birthday!" and "Merry Christmas!") so here is the latest holiday video from my little Valentine!

P.S. This last skype was especially cute because Aunt Taz had been sick with no voice for the past 7 days which meant...no skyping with Reese. So when I finally got well, I gave her a call and when they answered, Reese screamed for about 10 minutes because she was SO excited to see me! She says to me, "T...you're funny!"  I love that, and will do whatever it takes to always make her giggle! 

           we made sure to do lots of goofing off together the last time I saw her! 

                   

Location:From LA to Dallas via skype!

Honky Tonk Reesie

I can't believe I forgot to share this video with you guys! My niece had her very first dance recital this past December. So here is her debut, all the way from Plano Texas, miss Reese Jane Perkins, dancing queen! (and the YOUNGEST in her class!)



p.s. I was a psycho aunt and made sure to get to the recial an hour before the doors open and yes, I was second in line (some old lady who was knitting & saving spots for her family beat me to be first in line) However, when the doors opened I ran and got to the front row so I was right in front of Reesie! haha, stage aunt perhaps?

Merry Christmas

I could watch this video over and over! This is my adorable niece, Reese Perkins (2 years old) and she is excited about Christmas this year! She loves to drive around with mommy & daddy (and Aunt T when I flew to Dallas over the holidays!) She knows who Santa is and asked him for a "red tinkerbell" (the red headed tinkerbell) She knows all the words to Christmas songs, and especially loves singing "Santa Clause is coming to town."

Little Miss Plano

I am a proud Aunt, what can I say? Now introducing little miss sunshine, Reese Jane Perkins, turning two years old this August! 

Can't wait to fly to Houston in a couple week for Reese's Elmo & Zoe themed birthday party! See ya then! 

Dallas, Diapers and Divas

I just got back from spending a week in Dallas visiting my family in Plano; Pam, Kevin and my niece Reese as well as visiting my good friend Paige Kelly at her baby shower held at her home in Southlake.

It was such a wonderful week and I thank God for blessing me with such wonderful family and friends.

He is so good isn't he?

I adore my niece, as you probably know if you have ever met me or read this blog, so it was awesome to spend time with Reese when I made Pam have some "me time" at the salon while Reesie and I just hung out in downtown Dallas coloring at starbucks over a cup of milk for her, and a latte for me. Then we walked around outside watching the "choo choo train" (it was really a trolly) and shared a slice of pizza and colored some more until mommy came out of the salon beautiful and blonde again. I think that was my favorite day because i got some "Aunt T and Me Time" and it was awesome.

I got to go with Pam to take Reese to school at Grace Presbyterian in Plano. She colored a brown boot picture, rode a train, played with some other 2 year olds and then we picked her back up a couple hours later to play some more when "school" was out! 

Another favorite part of the trip was hearing the ice cream truck outside of Pam and Kevin's home. I quickly asked if Reese had ever experienced chasing after the ice cream man and as soon as they responded no, I grabbed the baby and sprinted out the door chasing the ice cream truck as she laughed in excitement, hair blowing in the wind while her parents were running after us with, anxiously watching crazy aunt T with their precious child's head bobbing as I ran down the street in excitement. She picked a dora the explorer ice cream once we finally made it to the ice cream man. I hope she remembers that moment when she grows up...it was so much fun!

                                              

Every trip to Texas is always a blast, my family means the world to me. It was bittersweet leaving sweet Reese and my best friend Pam, but at the same time, my amazing husband was there to pick me up when I arrived back in Los Angeles. Life is good, God is good and has amazed me day by day with his grace and blessings. Every time I think of my family, friends, and husband, I thank my God for them.

Reese enjoying her icecream, double fisting it! 

I think she likes it! 

        i adore my niece

playing dress up, one of our favorite games 

My good friend Paige is expecting a sweet little girl named Piper, and she had her baby shower this weekend! It was so much fun, so girlie, pink and perfect. My sister and I went and it was so wonderful to see the mommy-to-be in such good health, happy as she is expecting her first little blessing this September. Here are a few snapshots of the decor at the party! 

              Congrats Paigie girl, we can't wait to meet Piper! The baby shower was so cute!

My Niece Reese

Click on the video icon to see the cutest little girl in my world, Reese Perkins

Aunt T and Uncle B's Trip To Dallas

Bryan and I flew to Dallas for a weekend visit with the Perkins Family! It was a quick trip but so much fun! We love being Aunt T and Uncle B to Reese! My family means the world to me, so it is very important that I spend time with them any chance I can! We had such a great time playing with Reese, who is almost 2 now! 

She ADORES her uncle B, and all weekend she would point to him and say, "B!" When we first got to Dallas, Pam and Kevin took us to the Children's museum where we got to play with boxes, color, and see all kinds of cool stuff! It was so much fun to see her so grown up, walking around the museum so curious about everything, coloring on her own, and just watching her grow into a smart little independent cookie! 

 

   

                   

Reese walked around all weekend and would point to Bryan and say, "B!" 

That weekend it was my brother in law's birthday so Bryan got hooked up with tickets to take them to the House of Blues Gospel Brunch show. Kevin He had to go on stage and dance when we made sure to point out it was his birthday! Even Reese even got to go up on stage with her daddy! She had so much fun, and I'm telling you, this baby can praise the Lord! She LOVED the gospel music! Her hands were held up high in the air as she swayed back and forth to the good ole' Southern gospel songs! Her jaw dropped when a singer came up to her and Kevin to lead him to the stage for his "birthday moment" She was SO excited to be picked! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen! I think we have a little missionary on our hands! 

We also went to the park one day and had a picnic and played on the playground. I was NOT used to the Texas heat! I think California weather has spoiled me! Despite being hot and sweaty all weekend, I didn't let it stop me from playing on the playground!

     

          

     

          

Uncle B bought Reese her very first swimming pool to play in on Memorial Day, also our last day in Dallas. She was SO excited to see what her Uncle B got her! She stood and watched Bryan (who was sweating and working so hard to blow this thing up!) She just kept saying, "B! Pool! B!...Pool! 

Once it was all set up and ready to go, she had the time of her life in her very own elephant pool! Thanks uncle B! After an amazing weekend in Dallas, we flew back to LA with tons of memories to cherish forever. God is so good and has blessed me with an amazing family! I've decided I can't go longer than a couple months without seeing my niece, so I've already booked a flight back to Dallas to hang out with Reese next month in July! You think THIS Aunt is going to get life get in the way of visiting her family? Love, "Aunt Tazzy"

                                                    

                                                      

                                         
                                       

Reese

I'm so excited! In a few days Bryan and I are flying to Dallas for a quick weekend trip to visit my sister Pam, her husband Kevin and of course my adorable niece REESE! She is almost 2 and is so smart, fun and just a little ball of cuteness! (Can you tell I'm a proud aunt?) Love you Reesie! Love, Aunt Tazzy