dress up and fun with family

What could be more fun than dressing up like a princess and playing with Uncle Z and Great Pop?

birthday celebrations

So while I don't love getting older, I had a great birthday this year with plenty of celebrations!

G was in MN the week of my birthday so the Friday before, for Friday Family Fun Night,

I got to pick dinner ~ salmon, salad and yummy mashed potatoes. 

Everyone was a really good sport about it and enjoyed the dinner :)

How can you not have fun looking at those cute faces???

 The week of my birthday, when I was feeling sorry for myself, a lovely gift arrived from my dear friend Heather.  What a nice pick me up!

 The day before my birthday, my folks let me open one of my presents . . . rain boots.

Alli was a huge help and got a kick out of Mommy's new boots :)

 I was so excited because I cannot remember the last time I had rain boots!

Fortunately, I've had lots of opportunity to wear them already and they came in very handy on my birthday.

 Gosh I look tall standing next to Eli!!!

 On my birthday, my brother Danny and I went to the Puyallup Fair to see Jeremy Camp and Mercy Me in  concert (tickets G had given me for my birthday).

It was an amazing concert and I had the BEST time with my big brother!!!

Me and Eli being silly before I left for the concert.

Great birthday!

25 years old . . . again ;-)

Today I turned 25 (again!).  Just ask Alli, who will happily tell everyone that Mommy is now 25 ;-)  Thank you all for the birthday wishes I have received, they've brought lots of smiles to my face.  My best presents so far were the gigantic hugs and smooches I received this morning from two very cute little ones.  Another plus today was realizing that one of my kids really does look like me!!!  My mom posted a picture of me on my 1st birthday and even though it is only a profile shot, I think it looks a little like Eli.  Big WOO HOO since I hear ALL.THE.TIME that Alli looks "just like Garrett" ~ yeah, I get it already :) 

It's just nice to know I have one that bears some resemblance to me :)

So there you have it, me about 25 (or so) years ago ;-)

Funny that I had way more hair than either of my kids had/have at 1!

yummy chili

G is in Minnesota this week so Ducky Gramma has been kind enough to give us some yummy meals including her homemade chili, which all of us LOVE!!!  The kids devoured it.  As you can see, one is a little neater than the other ;-)

Eli isn't using spoons quite yet but he had no trouble eating every last bite with his hands, then tried to share some with me.  He couldn't understand why Mommy didn't want a hug right then! 

We took a bath right after dinner :)

Then, there was sweet little Alli who likes to eat her chili with tortilla chips, making sure to wipe with her napkin after each bite ~ we went through lots of napkins ;-) 

What a sweetie pie!



relaxing

The kiddos enjoyed some downtime this evening,

just relaxing on the couch together watching some Praise Baby



alli's first day as a Teddy Bear

On September 15, 2010, Alli returned to Noah's Ark Preschool

A Bunny last year, she has moved up to the Teddy Bear class with Mrs. Weaver as her teacher.

This is great because Mrs. Weaver is my parents' neighbor (I've known her since I was 3!) and Alli knows her.  Of course, Alli sometimes refers to her as the duck lady because she has a waterfall and pond with rubber ducks that Alli visits when she's at my parents' house ;-)

I was in Boston so G took the day off to take our little Teddy Bear for her first day

She started getting a little silly as she was so excited

Ready to go!

How cute is this little smile???

We love this little girl so much and are so excited as she starts the 3 year old preschool class.  So much has changed in a year and she is really starting to come out of her shell.  Alli is definitely still slow to warm up to new situations but they do not seem to terrify her anymore and she now LOVES to play with kids her age ~ WOO HOO!!!

With the sign, almost time to go into class . . .

Getting her name tag

Playtime ~ bring on the teddybears

G tells me that Alli was a little nervous at the thought of Daddy leaving because, as she said, "I don't know these kids"  Fortunately, her teacher from last year, Mrs. Spellman, was helping in the class and helped Alli find a fun activity.  She wound up having a lot of fun with her new friends and classmates.

Circle time at the end of class

Mrs. Weaver helps take off the teddybear nametag

Alli's favorite part of the day (after snack time of course, which today consisted of Teddygrams!)
getting a sticker!

What a GREAT first day!

Alli truly enjoyed her first day in the 3 year old Teddybear class.

I talked to her on the phone as soon as she got home and she told me she had lots of fun and really liked the teddybear snack ;-)

random cuteness from Mr. E.Z.

Eli is getting more fun every day and his personality is shining through.

He is such a joy and so happy ~ especially when he's eating, which he does A LOT

The first week in September, we were having pasta for dinner and he kept trying to grab my fork so I gave him his own and he LOVED it!

He tried so hard to get the food on it himself but required a little help with that part ;-)

He did manage to get it in his mouth quite well and when anything started to fall out, he used his fingers

Of course, when his food was gone, he tried very hard to get some of Alli's

Have I mentioned she may be the world's slowest eater ;-)

Needless to say, Alli was happy to share her food making her that much closer to dessert in her mind!

You've gotta love this guy!  Such a sweetheart with a smile that could melt anyone.

More cuteness that week included him WALKING across the room and climbing into a chair with the remote!

He's such a little flirt!

Who loves to eat the remote ~ I promise, I really do feed him food :)

He managed to get in the chair but took a bit to find a comfy position ~ such a boy!

Finally, remote in hand, sitting back to watch some Praise Baby ~ yep, this is the life of Mr. E.Z.

our ballerina is back!

Alli was so excited to start dance classes again last Friday!

Stretching before class

Too cute dancing in front of the mirror

No problems holding hands in the circle this year!

Probably helps that there were only three students and one was her buddy A ;-)

She keeps asking when she can do the recital again.  I had to tell her that it's not until the end of the year and we have to learn the dance and practice lots ~ little miss impatient ;-)

alli starts sunday school

Our baby girl is growing up!

On Sunday, Alli finally got to participate in Blast Off Sunday ~ the beginning of Adventures in God's Kingdom Sunday School at First Lutheran.

It began with the children's sermon where Pastor Joe gave all of the kids balloons.  Our little sweetie tried so hard but needed Mommy's help in blowing her balloon.  I wish I'd had a picture of her trying to blow the balloon, her little cheeks were working hard ;-)  The kids let the balloons go then raced downstairs for the new year of Sunday School.  Alli was a little apprehensive but did great! 

She loved making crafts and eating pancakes ~ who doesn't??? 

Eli also had a big day as this was his first time going to the Church nursery without his big sister!

Not only that, many of the little ones were in Sunday school with Alli so he was the big man of the room and Miss Kaitlyn let us know that he seemed pretty proud of that :)

He was very happy to come get his big sister and had fun checking out her room

I love that she's looking at him with a "what are you doing?" face :)

Notice Eli's foot, the little man is always on the move now!!!

All in all, Sunday school is off to a great start!

we're alive!

The lack of posts have been a result of our darling little Eli breaking our computer ~ what is it with our children and expensive electronics???  Fortunately, unlike the camera, our computer was actually covered under our homeowner's inurance so not nearly as expensive of an oops ;-)  The new one is due to arrive today ~ YEAH!  We've been taking lots of pictures and have lots to share so once we're up and running again, watch out . . . there will be tons to share.  Until then, let me assure you that we are all doing quite well and enjoyed the long weekend.