Fabulous Birthday Weekend

On Friday, I celebrated my 25th birthday . . . again! ;-)

The morning started out less than steller as the meds to stop my contractions do not make me feel great.  When Alli woke up, she rushed down to tell me "happy birthday!" and beat her Daddy to the punch by saying it first ~ she was VERY proud of herself!

Fortunately, I started feeling better and it was a great day as G took the day off and the kiddos were excited to have Mommy & Daddy home.

After a semi-relaxing morning, which included Alli making me a birthday breakfast (from her kitchen),

complete with birthday cake, ice cream, tea and an orange, we headed over to my parents to drop off the kiddos for the weekend so we could head to Cannon Beach.

Before leaving, we attempted to get a family picture . . .

We were less than successful but the pictures of the Fisher Fam of four and a half make me chuckle! 

Eli gave me the BEST present by starting to cry the second he realized we were leaving, I felt so loved, and he was instantly fine realizing that he was going to have a very fun weekend with Papa & Ducky Gramma.

The trip down to Oregon was uneventful and when we arrived,

we were greeted with warm weather and lots of sunshine ~ pure Heaven!!! 

This handsome man made sure I was staying put and comfortable

for the weekend but did allow a couple short walks on the beach ;-)

Friday evening, we had dinner at the Stephanie Inn and it was delicious!

As always, the staff there goes out of it's way to make guest feel special so there were loads of

Happy Birthday wishes, including on our dessert plate.

On Saturday, after enjoying a very yummy breakfast, we relaxed by sitting outside and reading before our couples massage that afternoon.  Mine wasn't as great as last time but still worth it.  I just know to request someone specific the next time we go.  Saturday evening, we decided to grab a pizza in town and brought it back to our room to enjoy while we watched a movie ~ a perfect evening!

We had hoped to do a bon fire on the beach that night but it was way too windy ~ next time.

Sunday morning, we awoke to gray skies and huge waves.

It was beautiful!

After another yummy breakfast, it was time to head home to get the kiddos.

We could not have asked for a better weekend together!

The kiddos were very excited to see us and the weather back home was a perfect Fall day,

which meant lots of playing outside.  As much fun as it was in Cannon Beach,

nothing beats having our family back together. 

Though we will definitely be heading back to the Stephanie Inn in the future for more adult-only time ;-)

the Ballerina is back!

And very excited about it!!! :-)

Alli started up at Just For Kicks again on September 15th.

She has Ms. Tanya for ballet/tap combo for the third year in a row and while she is bummed that her pal Ainsley isn't in the class, she is very happy to have buddies Taylor, Lizzy and Amelia with her.

Of course, despite being super excited and showing off all her ballet moves before class,

the little turkey sat during the ballet portion (but did tap!)

Being the mean Mommy I am, I informed her that if she chose to do that the next week,

dance was over for the year as we would not pay for her to sit.

I'm happy to report that the next week the little ballerina danced beautifully!

She got home and said:

"Mommy, I dance so you can pay for October"

Such a goofy little gal ;-) 

Can't wait to see our ballerina blossom this year!

Wow!

Today was the first day of dropping off both kiddos at preschool and completely leaving the building.

It could NOT have gone better!!!!!

First, Eli was so excited to get in the car to go when I reminded him of the "choo choo trains."

Alli pretended to be scared but was all smiles.

We dropped off Eli first so Alli could see his classroom.

He had no trouble walking right in after chatting with his teacher at the door.

He loved washing his hands and then immediately went to the train table.

He paused long enough to give me a kiss but didn't seem to care two hoots about my leaving!

Then it was on to Alli's class, where she walked right in, hung up her backpack
and got in line to wash hands.

She gave a kiss and said bye ~ easy as that!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE Chapel Hill Preschool!

***UPDATE***
Miss Kaitlyn was in charge of pick up today and it went well for the most part.
Eli apparently had a rough start after realizing Mommy was gone (keep in mind, I did say goodbye) but his teachers assured Miss Kaitlyn that it didn't last too long and he then did great.  She said he was all smiles when she picked him up.  Alli had a great day but was none too happy that Miss Kaitlyn came in the building to get her ;-)  Chapel Hill allows you to use curbside pick up (which I did yesterday) and apparently she really liked feeling like a big girl and walking outside with her teacher.  We've agreed that Miss Kaitlyn will do curbside pick up next week and Alli was happy ~ silly girl!  Shoot, that's way easier on the driver.

Back to School for 2011-2012

September 12, 2011 officially marked the end of Summer Vacation in Casa de Fisher

as Alli started her last year of preschool at Chapel Hill.

She was very excited and nervous!

She wanted to wear all pink and have her hair down, so that's what we did ;-)

The biggest excitement this year was getting to take a back pack!

Monday was a staggered start so there were only five students there, including Alli's buddy Amelia.

Plus, Mommy stayed the whole time so it wasn't too scary.

She got to decorate her snack place mat (she decorated with stickers of Jesus's birth),

play with new toys, and participate in circle time, where Mrs. Liberty read The Kissing Hand,

which we read the night before ~ Alli turned to me with a big smile and whispered "we have that book!"

After class, we went on a scavenger hunt to check out her new school and then she got a prize . . .

a very snazzy Chapel Hill Preschool tee shirt and a piece of taffy.

A GREAT first day!!!

Thankfully, today went well too.

September 13, 2011 marked Eli's first day of preschool.

He didn't know quite what to think but was very excited to use his "pack pack" ;-)

He was excited to be going with Alli, who did a great job at trying to get him excited!

When we got to preschool, Eli was excited to see Alli's classroom when we dropped her off for the morning.

Alli did amazingly well ~ no tears, gave me a kiss and we left

(when I picked her up, her teacher said "she had a great day!")

Eli's staggered start time was supposed to be 9:50 a.m. but his teacher said he could come at 9 a.m

when we dropped off Alli so we ran out to grab his back pack and headed to class. 

He LOVES his "pack pack"!

I had no idea how he would act but he walked right in and started playing!

He was happy to talk to both his teachers and the other kiddos.

He spent most of his time playing with cars and trains (or "choo choos" as he calls them).

Eli did NOT want to leave (neither did a few other boys) so we were there for longer than I thought!!!

He finally agreed to paint his snack place mat and loved doing it so much he painted two :-)

Even more exciting was washing hands after painting.  He liked that so much he did it 3 times!

Finally, we had to go do our scavenger hunt and he was so excited to get his new tee shirt.

I think he is going to do quite well.

When we picked up Alli, she was all smiles so I'm hoping the transition continues to go smoothly.

Though I doubt she will admit it, based on her comments, she loves having Eli in the building ;-)

In addition to preschool, both kiddos started swim lessons at the YMCA yesterday afternoon.

There were no tears but lots of smiles and giggles ~ thank goodness!

The new schedule (which includes ballet on Thursday) will take a bit of getting used to but everyone seems very excited about the new school year.  Of course, this Mommy is exhausted!

Ouch! Ouch! OUCH!!!!!

Last night, while enjoying a perfectly lovely evening at my parents celebrating Jenee's birthday,

a very angry wasp decided to sting me

not once, twice or even three times

nope, that angry little bugger stung me FOUR times on the side of my calf above my ankle.

I had no idea what hit me as I screamed out in pain mid sentence

Okay, I admit that I was a bit of wimp but it HURT!!!

It immediately turned red and swelled with red lines going up and down my leg,

which worried both my mom and Jenee (a nurse).

All I cared about was how much it hurt.

I've only been stung twice before and both were by bees ~ I would take one of those stings any day.

Last night was rough but I learned once again what a great hubby I have

as he was willing to get up in the middle of the night to get me more ice when the pain was too much.

Last night, I assumed I was stung only once, it wasn't until this morning, when some of the swelling and redness had subsided that I noticed the FOUR stings ~ I have a "Y" on my leg, which Alli promptly pointed out this morning as she thought that was very cool ;-)  So glad my pain brought someone some enjoyment!

Flowers for a girl . . .

Eli picked and gave his first "flower" to a girl . . .

and as you can see, it wasn't his Mommy (sniff, sniff)

He was so proud and after giving her the "flower"

(not sure if you can call a dandilion a flower!),

he followed it up with a smooch and a hug.  BFF Ava looks pretty charmed by our handsome little man!

Guess Mommy really isn't his main squeeze anymore ;-)

Oh well, he couldn't have picked a cuter or sweeter little lady than Miss Ava!

Worn out kiddos

Eli has been doing fabulously in his big boy bed.  Night 2, he woke up twice, still in his bed but wanting a quick snuggle.  Night 3, no wake ups at all!  Naps are also going fairly well though he has to be reminded to stay in bed for the first 5 or 10 minutes ;-)  On Saturday, we took the kids to Harbor Park in Bremerton and let them splash in the various pools/fountains ~ they had a great time and apparently it completely wore them out as we had to wake both of them from naps at 5 p.m.

Of course, first we had to take some pictures of the cuties zonked in their beds . . .

Love that he sleeps the "wrong" direction ;-)

When we first checked on Alli, she was on her back with her legs hanging out of the bed, must have rolled over when I went to grab the camera but still cute with her little swimsuit still on ;-)

She insisted she was NOT tired!

Fortunately, they woke up happy and we drove out to the beach for dinner and s'mores.

It was such a treat as we found a company that makes marshmallows Alli can have ~ YEAH!!!

Fun for all and Eli even had a good time walking on the beach looking for shells.

Today we enjoyed more family time and finally decided to join the YMCA.

The kiddos had the BEST time in the pool this afternoon and that wore them out too,

they actually raced upstairs when we said it was time for bed :-)

A FABULOUS weekend!

Night 1 of the Big Boy Bed . . .

. . . was a SMASHING SUCCESS!!!

He went down at his usual time after insisting that we read stories in his new bed rather than the rocker.

He opened his door once, about 5 minutes later.

I had put the gate up and was standing there so I said back to bed and he went!

He woke up around 12:45 a.m. on the floor, must have fallen but quickly went back to sleep

and slept until 8 a.m. this morning!

Woo hoo!!!

Eli is becoming such a Big Boy!!!

This week has really made Eli seem like a Big Boy rather than my baby boy . . .

First, on Tuesday, I broke down and took him in for another hair cut.

Clearly it was not the first, or even second time we've done this but it seemed harder this time!

We let his hair grow out this summer, calling him our little surfer dude and it had gotten LONG.

Seriously, Long John cut off a good two inches . . . check out the before & after shots

BEFORE

AFTER 

He looks so grown up now!

He was adorable during the cut too.  John asked if he wanted to sit in the chair by himself to which Eli very quickly said "uh uh, Mama"  Once again, he sat on my lap ;-)  There were no tears but he sat with a little scowl on his face for much of the cut, that is until John pulled out the clippers and let Eli hold them while they vibrated ~ that got a smirk.  When John used the clippers on Eli's neck, Eli couldn't help himself and started giggling big time.  By the time we were done, he was smiling and said "bye bye" as we left!

Then, yesterday, his new "big boy" car seat arrived.

Okay, so it's not too exciting to most but it is just like Alli's new car seat and he was quite impressed!

He can even get it buckled (fortunately NOT unbuckled!) by himself ;-) 

Finally, the biggest news of the week for our "Big Boy"

Eli is no longer in a crib but now has a big boy bed!!!!

That's right, this morning we took down the crib and with Uncle Danny's help moved in the toddler bed.

This bed is AWESOME and incredibly special as it was made by Barbie Pop Pop.

Daddy stained it to match the rest of Eli's furniture and it looks like it is a set!

Eli is so excited by his new bed with "ball" bedding and spent most of the morning playing in it.

He was so excited to go down for his nap and even wanted his story read in bed ~ too cute!

Not sure how long it will take him to fall asleep but I don't hear anything yet . . . 

Eli is growing up so quickly!

I cannot believe my baby boy is 2, talking, running, in a big boy bed and soon to start preschool.

Where has the time gone?????

Up, Sit, Jesus

Last night, this sweet (somewhat grumpy at times!) little guy, did the cutest thing . . .

In the middle of the night, I heard him calling "Mommy", as soon as I went in his room,

those little arms went up and he said "up", so I picked him up,

then he demanded "sit", while pointing at his rocker, so being the dutiful Mommy, I sat. 

Then he said, in the sweetest (slightly pathetic) little voice "Jesus". 

I sang "Jesus Loves Me" (his night night song) and back to bed he went.

Too sweet and precious!!!