Funny Valentines

I thought I'd jot down a few funny things that have happened lately.

Henry - he received a valentine from his buddy, Sean, and he asked me to open/read it. It was from Toy Story (one of his favorites) and it was the aliens saying: Valentine - you have been chosen. I tried to read it in my best Toy Story alien voice and he responded with a quick breath and "I have been chosen?!?!" He was so excited. He actually just came up to me again last weekend and said "Mom, I have been chosen, I really have!!!" Holding the same valentine as his reminder. Seriously, ridiculously cute!

Ella - She told me the night before Valentine's day that she had a surprise for me. I jokingly asked what it was, she reminded me it was a surprise, and then, because she was so excited and she couldn't hold it in a moment longer... she told me that she was going to be super, duper nice on Valentine's Day to me. Which was cute... THEN she told me that she was afraid that she would forget so she asked me to write it down. So I came downstairs and scribbled it on a notepad. Honestly, I did have to remind her about that a couple of times and show her the note. I thought it was so funny when she asked, but that girl is smart! She knew she'd need a reminder!

Betty - She does this new growling/panting thing. When she's in a good mood, she crawls all over panting and growling with her mouth open. If she hears Ella or Henry scream, she'll let out a super cute girly squeal and then continue on her way. Can't wait until she can actually say real words beyond "Ma Ma," "Da-Da," and chant "Ni-Ni-Ni-No" when she's ready for bed. Like - I can't take it anymore... you hear that N sound and you know, she's done. She's letting her voice be heard... no third child syndrome of being quiet and voiceless!

On the move...

This girl gets some crazy hair throughout the day!


That's right, Betty is really moving now. She is full on crawling and cruising around tables/furniture. She has such a great personality with a happy disposition and loves to wave and squeal. Ella can really get her laughing lately and Henry is more and more interested in doing the same. Betty just lights up when either Henry (Bubba) or Ella (Sissy) enter the room. She is getting so big. Two teeth on the bottom and the top two are breaking through. She grunts, growls and pants while she crawls. It won't be long now until I'm chasing her around the house. A few videos are below. The first one has a quick cameo at the end... pay attention!

She brings such joy and is really so sweet. Little Betty Jane...

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Phil escorted Miss Ella to her first official 'dance' this past week. The two of them together could NOT have been cuter. It was a Princess/Rapunzel theme and the two were dressed up and ready for a wonderful evening. They double dated with Steve & Sarah Noto with dinner at Tippecanoe Place, followed by a magical evening at the dance. The dance had snacks, balloon arches, a huge dance floor and a picture spot where the King and Princess could have their photos taken. I took a bunch of pictures before the dance of my beautiful princess and her amazing Daddy. The best part was that after I took photos of them together and Ella alone, Ella said: "Now take some pictures of just Daddy!" It was the cutest thing ever. Phil got Ella a corsage and the two danced the night away at the Century Center. This was the first of many and I couldn't help but flash forward (only for a moment) of the proms and other dances to come in the future. My baby girl is growing up before my eyes and we could not be more proud.

Can he get any cuter?

It is 'ridiculous' (as Henry says all the time) how cute that boy is! His vocabulary and language skills are exploding and he says the funniest and cutest things all the time. Lately, he's been telling me (completely unprovoked) that I am the best Mom in the whole world. I try to not argue with him - Ha ha!

He's no longer wearing a Pull-Up at night and he plays so well with Ella. His imagination is fantastic especially when playing with his favorite toys which are 1 of 3 possibilities: Dinosaurs (see dinosaur pjs on a giant dinosaur puzzle in the picture below,) Toy Story paraphernalia, or cars. He is all BOY and we love it. He just started his own soccer class and is relishing the opportunity of having us watch him do something (versus watching whatever Ella is enrolled in at the moment.) He's pretty competitive so we look forward to lots of sporting events in the future. My little man... love that kid!

Happy Birthday Ella!

***I wrote this post on 11/18 and never posted it! So here it is... a little late!***

I can't even believe it but Ella turned 5 this week. Time has really just flown by and she is really growing up and becoming such a mature big girl. She is reading a bit and can count to 100. It's like we blinked and now she's just such a good helper, so sweet to her siblings and such a loving girl. We are still crazy about our first born and we are truly trying to just enjoy this last year before Kindergarten. She loves to sing, dance and perform yet has a competitive side to her. Always a good big sister sharing with Henry and caring for Betty. It's so hard to imagine what our life was before her and although we relaxed more back then, we are so happy with our lives now. Ella is truly a beautiful gentle soul, always trying to do the right thing. We are so proud and love her so much. Happy 5th Birthday, Ella!

Here are some pictures from her Rainbow/Colorful themed birthday party.

Best Day for a Snowman

We've had snow on the ground basically since the beginning of December. It all melted on NYE, just in time for the next snow storm to come into town that first week of January. Today, it got up to 42 degrees... which quite honestly, felt like summer. It was windy, but warmer. A great day to take that melting snow and pack it into a fantastic snowman. What fun!