Memorial Day weekend was pretty fun. We went to 2 parties. One at our grandpas house and another at grandmas. The food was yummy at both of their parties. I got to play the Wii with some of the family too which was a blast. They all were excited for me as well.

I was sick a few days this week. Nothing too serious but it certainly wasn't fun the morning when I was throwing up. I tried to take a nap later in the day and Kaitlyn was crawling all over me. She is doing really well at climbing over the blocks that we have. She gets so excited to get to the top and then she smiles and laughs. She really likes climbing on top of the couch now which is definitely a bit dangerous and I always make sure to let my mom and dad know.

Oh ya, Kaitlyn has been learning a lot of new words lately. She is picking them up really well. Recently she learned how to say "baby". Each morning now, after we wake up, I like to read to her while we wait for our mom to come get us. It's a nice bit of time for the both of us to bond without all of the running around.

We are beginning to prepare for Kaitlyns birthday and yesterday we headed out to get her a few gifts. I think she will like what my mom picked out for her. Do you know how difficult it is for a little boy to go into the toy store without wanting to buy everything? I like the video games a lot now. I am getting pretty good playing the Wii with mom and dad.

Have a fun weekend.

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The Nintendo Wii has been a hard find since it came out. People have been looking for days, months and years and the stores just can't seem to keep them in stock. We were lucky enough to buy one the day before Thanksgiving. Nintendo has now released Wii Fit which seems to be equally as difficult to get. The $90 package includes a balance board and multiple games to help you exercise with. My wife and I pre-ordered it back in February to make sure we got ourselves a copy and anticipated the release day. That day came last week..

Why did I want to buy this game? Basically, I know I do not get enough exercise in a day. I walk around my office fixing whatever computer problems come up but like most people, I sit at my desk the majority of the day. I try to keep moving but I know that it isn't enough. We figured that the Wii Fit would entertain us while giving us a bit more exercise during the day. The Wii Fit includes yoga positions which I actually was interested, more for a competitive reason. The board monitors your balance while holding a pose or while playing other games. It is clear to see that I have better balance than my wife. How did the game know when it asked if my wife falls a lot? Smart games I tell ya.

Overall, the Wii Fit is fun. The mini games are fun to compare scores and just get your heart beating. The yoga positions are more difficult than I originally thought but I am going to master them. Basic workout techniques like sit ups and push ups are included which I haven't even tapped into yet. For those who know they need a bit more exercise but just can't seem to find the time to leave the house, this may be a good option. They aren't going to promise you the world but they can certainly try to entertain you more than looking at people work out at a gym.

The price of $90 is definitely a bit high but I would still recommend this. Good luck trying to find one though.

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It has been a great week since our Great Grandma has been in town. We have enjoyed spending time with her and the rest of the family. We had so much fun yesterday that we both fell asleep in the car on the way home and barely woke up when we got home. I was so tired that I could barely eat dinner.

We got the Wii Fit game the other day. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet because they typically bring it out after we have gone to bed but I am enjoying playing some of the Wii games like Mario Kart. It's fun trying to drive but it really is difficult and I lose concentration a lot.

We headed to our ribbon wholesale place and this time they had a huge dog there. Kaitlyn was sitting in a cart and the dog was nearly level with her. She was trying to pick his nose I think. At first, I liked her but after she gave me a big slobbery kiss, I was done. That dog scared me from then on. He even chased me when I was running towards my mom. I had to have my dad hold me the rest of the visit. That dog was huge! I don't know what Kaitlyn was thinking.

Kaitlyn is doing a wonderful job at standing. She will be sitting there and next thing you know she is standing. She doesn't even need the couch to help her up any longer. She just pops up all of a sudden. The other day my dad turned his head for a moment and Kaitlyn was on top of our ottoman having as much fun as possible. He doesn't know if I helped her or if she did it on her own though. I'm not going to tell.

This weekend we have Hayden's party to go to. That is going to be fun. I hear they are having cake which is awesome. We have a few gifts for him. One of which I picked out all by myself while at Disneyland. It is a great gift!

Have a fun holiday weekend everyone.

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THE CONTEST IS OVER
Thank you everyone for participating and giving us feedback on the products and what you would like to see. Our new randomly choosen winner is Suzanne B.. Congratulations. We will be contacting you shortly.

We will be keeping the 15% off coupon (GOONIE15) enabled for a few additional weeks.

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My wife and I have been working hard making new products and designing a shopping site that works best for everyone. We feel that it is now ready to be released and in doing so we wanted to give away a nice set of goodies to one lucky winner. The lucky winner will take home..

- Princess Crown Bow Holder
- Lady Bug Bow
- Butterfly Bow
- Pink Boutique Bow
- Pink & Brown Firecracker Bow
- Orange, Pink & Yellow Korker Bow

Yes, that's alot of stuff. This would normally retail for $30 but you, lucky winner, will be having it sent to you for free.

HOW DO I WIN? Well that's an easy question to answer. Head on over to Butterflies and Lollipops, browse around and then let us know here by leaving a comment which product you most liked. If there was a product you liked but think would be nice in a different color or pattern, let us know. We want to hear it all really. By leaving a comment, you have now been entered into the giveaway.

The giveaway will end on Friday May 30th at 11:59pm PST. There will be only one winner, chosen randomly. Please make sure that you leave an email address (kept private) when you comment as that is our only way to get in contact with you.

We have enabled a discount code during this giveaway period that entitles anyone to 15% off. Simply use discount code GOONIE15 during checkout and it will automatically be applied. For those looking for a bit of excitement, let me suggest a Mystery Bag. Have fun.

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I wanted to apologize to those who read this website frequently. As time has gone on, I understand that my writing has slowed down. Having a second child, which should give me endless amounts of new topics to write about, is not making it much easier. Throw in the new business that my wife and I are working on and I am just thinned out and have little creative juices about what to write about these days.

To hopefully make up for the slowness of posts. I want to make the announcement that we will be offering a giveaway this week. For all of the readers with little girls, keep an eye out this week because this giveaway is for you. What is it you ask? Well it's something that we make here at Butterflies and Lollipops but I cannot tell you exactly what it is because I really don't know yet. We will all find out soon. Keep checking back for updates.

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Tomorrow we are heading to another craft show to try and sell bows. My mom told us that there will be a petting zoo there so that should be pretty interesting. I think that there will be a lot of grass to run around on as well. That will keep mom and dad happy because last time I was a menace with the water fountain and vending machine.

Yesterday we headed out to a local pottery place and me and Kaitlyn got to put our handprints on a plate. My mom painted it and then we stuck our hands on it. Kaitlyn sure wasn't in the mood to do it but I had a bit of fun. I got to paint a soccer ball. After we left, we went to the fountains right outside and they let kids run around in them so Kaitlyn and I were having a blast. Dad was running Kaitlyn through the fountains in her stroller and we both got soaked!

Our Great Grandma is coming into town this weekend which should be nice. We do not get to see her very often so it's definitely a treat when she does.

It's been a hectic weeks preparing for the show so we haven't done too many other neat things. We'll wrap it up. Have a good weekend.

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I am always looking out for ways to get Rylan involved in the kitchen. I feel it is definitely important to train him young about cooking and baking so that he doesn't have to rely on anyone when he gets older. When I came across this recipe for super easy peanut butter cookies, It peaked my interest.

No, we haven't had the chance to try it just yet. Our kitchen has been taken over by a small sweat shop mass producing bows for our next show but when it is cleared, this is definitely in the plans. Looking at the recipe, you have to be thinking that it is missing some things but all reviews say they are great and they bake up just like cookies normally would, even without the flour.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of peanut butter
1 egg

Pre-heat oven to 350F
Mix all ingredients together and drop one inch spoonfuls onto a cookie tray (15-18 cookies).
Dip a fork in sugar and press down on the cookie dough to flatten and then repeat on the other side so you have intersecting fork marks. Repeat for each cookie.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Recipe found here.

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When Kaitlyn was born, up until a few months ago, she was a crier. She cried in just about any situation. Some of the cries came from Rylan pushing her over or taking a toy. Others were completely random. Cries took precedence over normal baby talking. It was a bit overwhelming and concerning as well.

Fast forward to the past few months and we have a different situation. She still cries because Rylan plays too rough or takes her toys but now her talking and singing voices are coming out for everyone to hear. It is much easier on the ears. She has been quite a chatter bug lately and really she is all smiles now. Her teething has slowed down which has certainly helped the crying.

She really is a changed baby and she likes to show it off. Her huge smiles are able to brighten anyone's day now and her singing voice is like Snow White. She is making up for lost time and learning a bunch of words in doing so.

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We started off last weekend by going to our first craft show. It was a tiny show with tiny expectations. The traffic was extremely slow, like half a dozen people in 6 hours slow. My dad thinks we did the best though which is great. Despite there being no customers, the other vendors loved my moms bows and she ended up selling a few of them. Me and Kaitlyn stuck around to help mom. It was fun being there for 6 hours, just not for mom and dad who had to chase me around. There was a water fountain and vending machine that I couldn't get enough of. I was attracted to those things like a moth to a light. Kaitlyn did super great though and did a bit of bow modeling as well.

Yesterday, my dad showed a picture of Kaitlyn looking super cute in her new tutu. Those are something new that my mom is working on to sell along with her massive bow assortment. When my mom approached me about wearing a tutu, I went running for the hills. That thing is NOT going on me, happily at least. Those things need to be left for Kaitlyn, not me.

Kaitlyn has been saying a lot of new words lately. Some of her favorites of course are Mama, Dada and Uh Oh. She is also beginning to show really good signs of wanting to stand and soon walk. She can now be left alone standing there all by her tiny little self. I like when she crawls around chasing me but I can't wait for her to be able to run. That is going to be so much fun.

That is going to wrap it up for the week. I need to be on high alert from mom trying to attack me with the tutu again. Maybe I can have my dad make me a fort tonight to protect me. Have a good weekend.

Happy early Mothers Day Mom from both Kaitlyn and I. We love you very much.

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She still hasn't mastered the art of standing/walking but she is our little ballerina never the less. She is also a great model for my wife's products she is making.

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Rylan for months now has been trying to master the art of jumping. This can go from an exaggerated tippy toe action or sometimes he gets one foot off the ground but the other stays planted. In his quest for gravity domination, he learned the other day an important lesson. What goes up, must come down. He made an attempt at jumping while we visited a store the other day and unfortunately has a bruise to show for it now. He made the tiniest jump and then fell to the floor, banging his nose along the way. Tears and blood were on the way.

He immediately sported a tiny bruise on his nose but luckily no apparent breakage. After a bit of mom holding him and a few kisses to the nose he was feeling better. When my wife asked him later in the car how his nose was, he cupped his nose and said broken. Luckily for him it was not but we certainly got a kick out of him saying it was.

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Another great visit to Disneyland. We headed out their this time in celebration of Kaitlyn's upcoming Birthday. We originally planned to go closer to her Birthday but quickly realized that would have been July 4th weekend. Fighting off the heat and the crowds would have been terrible. Unfortunately for us though, California this visit was in the middle of an unusual heat wave. Lucky us.

We headed to the park on Sunday and quickly after walking into the park, Rylan spotted Mickey and from then on, he was in excitement mode. We rode our usual rides including the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion which are always fun. I noticed that on this visit that Rylan, for the first time, really showed a bit of fear when it came to the rides. He white knuckled some of the rides, where he had never done so before. He had a blast riding the cars at Autopia. I push the gas while I let him drive. As expected, we near died with his temporary hands off the wheel driving. He has a bit of learning to do but it made a great video.

We went back on Monday to find a huge amount of people waiting to get in. Monday is typically a quiet day at the park but I think because of the heat, people tried to get their early. The park thinned out as the day went on. Kaitlyn really began showing interest this day as she got to visit a couple of the characters and give them kisses. She commonly was trying to suck on or lick the noses of the characters. Rylan did well with meeting the characters, a bit shy at first but quickly warmed up and posed for a picture. Rylan went on his first actual roller coast in Toon Town. Despite just waking up from a nap and having to wait in the hot sun, he loved the actual ride. Again, he showed a bit of fear but came off the ride loving it.

The kids absolutely loved the tea cup ride. It was my job to get it up to top spinning speed and the kids just tried to hold their lunch down. Kaitlyn and Rylan were both laughing. We ended up going on that ride a few more times.

We made sure to visit California Adventure to see the Electrical Light Parade. I had not seen this parade since I was very young myself and wife had never seen it. It was just like I had remembered and they did a good job at throwing the characters in their as well. The kids seemed to like it as well.

Overall the Disneyland trip was a great one. The heat was rough but we fought through it. We ended the visit by staying as long as we could on Monday just trying to take in the atmosphere. That is one of the big things that Disneyland does exceptionally well. It makes you forget about the rest of the world and makes you never want to leave. It is always hard for me to tell the kids that we need to leave and that it will be a bit before we are able to come back.

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Another great week has come to an end. What an exciting week we had in California. We stopped by the big dinosaurs on our way up to Disneyland. Those dinosaurs are awesome looking and I definitely recommend everyone that's passing by, to stop.They are definitely worth checking out. We are glad that they are adding to it and hopefully that means it will be around for many many years to come. They have a gift shop inside the belly of the brontosaurus!

Knotts Berry Farm as our dad mentioned wasn't that great. I did get to ride on a few big kid rides which was great. The rest of the visit we just walked around looking for something fun. Unfortunately there was nothing. So we headed out quickly..

Disneyland as you can imagine was a blast. Kaitlyn and I had so much fun going on the rides. It took Kaitlyn a bit to warm up but by the second day, she was laughing so much. She loved those teacups. More on this next week..

Last night we checked out a new restaurant. You may have heard about them on the Food Network and other widespread media but we just had never gone until now. It's a hole in the wall place called Chino Bandido. They are a mix of Chinese and Mexican foods served side by side. A very interested concept that is mighty tasty. Dad said his 2 types of chicken with refried beans and chicken fried rice went perfect together. Who would have thought?

We are wrapping the week up by going to our first craft show tomorrow. Mom has been working super hard trying to get as many bows completed as possible. Dad is even trying to help as well but he really isn't up to par. Some things you just have to let mommies do.

Have a good weekend. More vacation coverage to come next week..

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As a kid, my family used to go to theme parks occasionally. One of our frequent stops was Knotts Berry Farm. The entire family loved the Soap Box Derby ride and the Water Rapid ride was always a big hit during the summer heat. My wife also used to go to the park so we both had expectations going in. We headed over to the park after getting situated at our hotel and took advantage of their half off admission prices after 4pm deal. We headed in and were instantly set back. California was experiencing a heat wave which was just our luck. Kids were playing in the fountains like it was common practice. I don't recall seeing one security guard during our entire visit.

We headed over to Camp Snoopy to give Rylan a chance to have some new fun on the rides. He went on his first big kid rides as pictured below. The first ride was a free falling type ride that was more jerky than anything else. Rylan was pretty excited about it and when his mom asked him how the ride was afterwards he agreed that it was a bit scary. My wife took him on the next ride which she said was also more jerky than anything but the pictures I have of Rylan and his big smiles says he didn't care.

We walked around the park looking for our old time favorites and amazingly they were no where to be found. They turned this place into an older kid amusement park. It was filled with carnival style games which confused me why a big company would stoop to such shady games that you pay to lose at.

The best part of the visit was that we got the kids caricature picture done. I will put up a video next week of the entire process. It turned out pretty well.

We cut the theme park trip very short as there was very little to do. We went there looking for specific attractions that they had simply gotten rid of. It was definitely a bummer. I think we will stick to the outside of the park next time where they sell some tasty fried chicken and of course their biscuits and jelly are quite good as well.

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