Birthday Week!

You know how some people talk about their birthday week? Well Ella experienced it last week! It's been a week since she turned 5 and the birthday celebrations lasted that long. It started last Tuesday when her grandma picked her up from school. She got her first mani/pedi, enjoyed lunch out & got to pick a couple toys. On Thursday my parents picked her up from school & pretty much did the same thing. She is very loved by her grandparents! Thursday night we got pizza for dinner, Ella's request. We opened gifts & then had cupcakes.

Birthday morning

Ready for school in her birthday skirt :)

We got her a bike this year. It's like a rite of passage!

Greg put it together Friday afternoon. It even has a basket so bunny can ride! 

Saturday was her birthday party. We decided to keep it small and invite a few friends from school. She wanted a "girlie" party! On the invitation I said that parents could drop the girls off, then pick them up later. I had a couple moms stay, but a couple did leave. I've never left Ella at a party before, but I think this is the age when it starts happening. The girls had a good time! I planned the party from 12-3, next time I would shorten it!

Sunday we went to church & then to Qdoba for lunch. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at home.

And finally, yesterday Ella graduated from preschool! They had a safari themed program! All the kids sang songs & even did choreography. Ella has got some moves! Then they each got a diploma :) I was nervous about the morning all week. I knew that this whole preschool experience was coming to an end & it made me a little sad. She is growing up so fast! I was afraid I would bawl like a baby, but I held it together! It helps knowing that I have a few more months before I really have to face sending her off to kindergarten!

So we are officially on summer break! I have some fun ideas to keep us busy this summer. I hope to keep a balance though. Lazy summer days are my favorite! And birthday week continues! I have a big birthday coming my way tomorrow! I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's happening!

Five

Today my daughter turns five. It's hard to believe that 5 years ago we were waiting for her to arrive! Ella has grown up into such an amazing girl! She is smart, funny, sassy & sweet. I was looking through baby pictures & it brought back so many memories. I thought I would share a few :)

Already a week past my due date, she didn't come for another 5 days!

1 month

3 months

1st birthday party!

2 years old with her first barbie movie

Ella & I heading out for a girls day out :)

3 years old on her first day of preschool

I could have picked a dozen more. Ella we love you! Happy Birthday!

Keeping Busy

Greg was out of town for a few days last week, so it was me & the kids. I was a little worried about 5 days by myself. Usually in the evenings when Greg gets home I am ready for him to take control of the kids! But the kids were pretty good most of the time & we found ways to keep busy. 

We played outside

On Saturday morning we made a trip to Target (big surprise right?!) and got supplies to make cupcakes. It was going to be a rainy afternoon & I thought that would be a fun thing to do. We bought this new frosting by Duncan Hines. It is just a plain frosting & you pick a flavor packet to mix in. Ella picked Bubblegum, which I did not like. But they have other flavors that might be good.

Of course we had to lick the beaters! I'm not sure Kenton liked it :)

But he enjoyed his cupcake!

One thing I really enjoyed was having quiet evenings to myself. After the kids went to bed I would come down & watch multiple episodes of Downton Abbey. If you haven't seen that show it's worth checking out! But I would sit up late, have a snack & watch TV until I couldn't keep my eyes open! I just love having time to myself. But we were all happy when Greg came home!

This week a certain little girl is having a very special birthday! More to come :)

Chocolate Milk

Just a little video for your Friday afternoon! This guy is 2 1/2 as of yesterday & he is getting so big! He loves to do things on his own (as you can tell from this video!) He is such a sweet little guy & I love him so much :)

Ella will be getting some love here soon, she will be 5 in 2 weeks! Look out for a special birthday post :)

A Few Photos

I had a few pictures on my phone that I never got around to posting.

Ella & I did our nails :)

I love these trees in our neighborhood!

I took the kids to Dunkin Donuts one morning

Ella going to lunch with her cousin Noah

Our Spring Break

I wish I could say we had a fun spring break, but it did not end on a good note. We started off the week  as we normally do, with a trip to the grocery store. Tuesday, we took advantage of not having to get ready for school and stayed home. We slept in & watched Shrek :)

We always tell the kids they need to be "clean platers" in order to get dessert. So Kenton thought if he took his sandwich off the plate, he would qualify. He even asked so sweetly, "queen pwater?" No buddy :)

Wednesday I wanted to go to Target & a few other places. Around 11:30 we were done with our errands so we stopped for lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger! 

Their lunches came in cars!

Then Thursday morning I woke up & felt awful. My whole body was achy & I had no energy. After breakfast I laid down on the couch & the kids were so good. Ella actually cleaned her room & Kenton played with her while she did it. Then they both came downstairs & said they had a surprise.

They set up a little tea party complete with Goldfish!

Then Ella wanted to play. I was Tinkerbell & she was Rosetta, southern accent and all!

That afternoon the kids napped & I did too. I woke up  & went from my bed to the couch just waiting for Greg to come home. As soon as he did I went to bed & slept for a few hours. I came down around 8  to try & eat something, watched a little TV then headed to bed for the night. The next day Greg came home early with the same thing. We were both pretty pitiful! Although he got it worse than I did. It was  Sunday before I was feeling myself again.

So our weekend was spent in bed or on the couch. Thankfully we are both feeling better! And this week Ella is back to school. But just for another month or so & then it's summer vacation!

Easter Weekend

A few pictures from our Easter. The kids woke up & opened their Easter baskets. I kept it pretty low key this year. But they were pretty happy with what they got! We went to the later service at church, then to Greg's parents house for lunch. Ella & Kenton did an Easter egg hunt & Ella really loaded up! We have a basket that we put all the candy in. We had just finished up all the leftover from Halloween/Christmas & now it is full again! 

Kenton was practicing his downward dog

Cami was just waiting for someone to give her a taste!

Finally, a couple family pictures! Its been a while :)

I love this picture of Ella! Greg took this, way to go hubby :)

Showing Kenton an inchworm. These things are all over the place!

We had a nice weekend. It started out with a date night on Friday. Greg & I had a gift certificate for a couples massage, so we finally used it! After a couple hours of shopping I met Greg for our massages. Then we went to dinner later that night. It was nice to sit & talk & not be in a hurry to get rowdy kids out of the restaurant! Saturday morning Greg met up with some people to do a 50 mile bike ride. So I decided to head back out shopping! Later that afternoon we got the kids back.

This week Ella is on Spring Break. I'm looking forward to relaxing a little & sleeping in :) I have a few things we might do, like go to the library, get frozen yogurt & maybe hit up the park. I'll be back with pictures from our week!