Snow Day

Our one true snow day of the season this year. We had to hurry up and play outside in the morning before it melted. The kids had a blast sledding down our hill in the yard with their friends, eating snow, and collecting it in buckets. I think we're going to have to get a slip-n-slide this summer.

February 23, 2011

Vacation Week

We are so excited Dad's home this week!!!

Greg had a much needed vacation week in March, where our vacation consisted of staying home. We did all our normal activities with the kids, plus a couple ski days for Greg, a Day Off for me, three nights out sans kids, and a couple extra fun activities for the kids. The days went by way to quickly.

Pump It Up Slide

Last day of the session=Water slide day

Valentines

Ella and I did some serious Valentine crafting this year in a attempt to stave off the winter time boredom of being locked indoors. I think we made 33 in total. We were sweeping up glitter for weeks on end, but i think it was worth it.









Quinn was always napping while we did this project, but doesn't she look cute in her Valentine-colored dress?

Bunny's Birthday

We had a birthday party for Bunny a couple months ago. Complete with bunny cake and three candles, for her third birthday. Ella did the frosting and sprinkles mostly on her own. She was very excited about this, insisting that we wait for Susie to come over for the celebration.

Sister Love

Sleep Victory

We struggled with sleep with Ella for a couple months in late fall last year. She wouldn't go to sleep at bedtime, and wouldn't go back to sleep during night wakings. It was painful, like having a newborn painful. I usually ended up playing musical beds having that where-am-I feeling every time I woke up. Finally we told her, "Mommy and Daddy are not coming in your room at night, no matter what. We will only come in if you throw up or are bleeding so badly you need to go to the hospital." She had two terrible nights involving up to two hours of screaming at our door, knocking, stomping around and throwing things. And then it was over, and she would go back to sleep on her own. Then we tackled her going to sleep without me laying in her bed with a sticker chart (which previously had not worked). She only earned a sticker if she went the whole night without even a whimper. And she finally did it, and got a trip to the carousel. Thankfully we all survived yet another trying phase.

Fast and Furious

In a futile attempt to snap Quinn out of a whining marathon, I ask her if she wants to feed Hailey. "Yeeeaaaahhhh" she replies. I hand her the cup full of food, she quickly turns it upside down, the food scatters all over the kitchen floor, she exclaims, "Taaaa-daaaa!!!"

Exploring potty training goes something like this: Elmo potty! Diaper auck! Go potty! Toilet paper! *drops toilet paper in toilet. Wipes with bare hand* All done! Me: let's sing a song, read a book, etc. All done!!! *slithers off toilet and runs off* All in ten seconds. Yet to have a success.

Somebody turned Four!

This was a big year for our family, taking a leap we can never go back on...the Birthday Party. Initially I wanted to start a tradition of having as many friends as years. So, four this year. But, really? It just didn't seem to work that way for us. We invited 11, and had 9 plus 9 moms, a handful of Dads, a sibling, and a cousin. Thank god for Susie, or Quinn could have run away and i wouldn't have even noticed. We had a loosely themed Strawberry Shortcake party, per Ella's request, complete with a Lemon Merangue cake for grown ups to snack on, raspberry lemonade, a strawberry cake, fruit skewers, a game of Rotten Orange (with orange scented play dough as a prize), a fruit hunt in the berry patch, face painting and balloon hats. Surprisingly our small house fit everybody in. Ella had a ball, and the rest of us survived. Now we get a year to recover!


Ella and a few of her buddies blowing out the candles.


She wasted no time in tearing into her presents once the last guests left. Can you say overstimulated? She even fell asleep in the car on our way to dinner that afternoon. Hasn't happened since a beach trip last summer.


On her real birthday we had to buy a Fred Meyer cake for singing and candle blowing. Only one tiny piece remained of the giant cake I made for her party. Greg was on call that day and sadly missed seeing his birthday girl turn four. :(. We three girls, plus Grandma and Papa had a nice morning at the Japanese Garden and lunch at Elephant's Deli, before coming home to rest (and me to finish sewing up her birthday present, typical). I'm pretty sure she had a great day and felt special.



Waking up to find her almost complete bean bag chair.



Sister love

Pin the Nose on the Snowman

Christmas 2010, The Main Event

People, this is so disenchanting to be posting Christmas photos in mid-February. But, as you know there is a pretty big day coming up, and I really want to be caught up in time to post the photos immediately. So, here it is, the Christmas 2010 finale. Presents!


The kids, minus Quinn who was already in bed (still holding on to the 6 o'clock bedtime), all got to open a few presents on Christmas Eve. Here Ella is opening her dragon and zebra that she put on her Christmas list. She was very concerned that Santa didn't get them for her since the list was to him.


We nearly forgot to put out the milk and cookies for Santa before Ella went to sleep. Hence the reason she isn't wearing any pants in this picture. Although, she usually doesn't wear any pants so this could have been taken anytime...


Christmas morning, upon seeing her stocking with Unicorn on top. The prized Christmas present of the year. Which she came home and vomited on two weeks later. Poor girl was distraught. But, unicorn came through the was cycle good as new.


Quinn got up to see her stocking too. Holding her new baby Santq got for her, waiting for everyone to get up before opening.


Who-hoo! Opening...


Checking out Katie's goodies.