party till we drop

it was definitely an ella palooza birthday this year.
she got to share her special "day" with all her friends at school. she was sooo excited, making sure i brought all the things necessary for a school party. she was very specific.
i purposely chose tuesday for the big day knowing that barth could most likely make an appearance.
leave it to the unpredictability of his job, his one case for the day got bumped from 7:30am to 1:45pm.
the situation was looking quite grim, especially for the little girl who was over the moon by the fact that daddy just might come.
he carefully explained to her on tuesday morning that there was another little girl he had to fix and that he probably wouldn't be able to make it.
she took the news like a brand new six year old would, not a tear was shed.

after we left school that day she gave me a hug and said, "that was the best party ever".

the pictures say it all.... 

i don't know who was more excited, ella or this little one....

 another guest of honor...auntie j

this is ella's teacher, miss keen whom i absolutely adore. she is the best.

notice ella standing on the chair. i was informed that this is completely acceptable on birthday's only.

ella chose 6 hugs over 6 noogies from her teacher...

 so, i love this next picture. she was on the playground having the time of her life with her friends and i got a BIG smile out of her, very un-ella like considering the circumstances. typically she is my shy girl and i consider myself very lucky just to get a sheepish "hi" out of her when she is at school. another sign she is growing up i guess..... 

these next two speak for themselves.

guess who popped in just in time .

her day was made completely perfect

thank you daddy for making your little girl so happy. i ♥ u.

to nap..or not to nap

seems to be the big question around here these days.
it's a phase that i suppose most kiddos go through...
the one where you don't really need the extra sleep, but you can't quite make it through the day with out numerous meltdowns without one phase.
often times i find myself allowing chloe to forego the nap only to find her sound asleep in the funniest of places...
under rugs, half-way under beds, amongst a heap of toys, in the midst of a time out.
this is where i found her the other day. oh chloe how i love you.

a happy thanksgiving {november 2011}

life these days seems busier than usual. i think it is just that time of year....and because i am type A i cannot skip over things i should have posted like last week. it's time to play catch up!

i hosted thanksgiving this year.
in past years my mom usually took the lead with my sisters and i ready to assist.
this year we were all spread out. barth and i were home, jasmine and wade were in san diego with my parents, and brian, simone and the girls were in northern california.
i gathered my recipes, got a few pointers from my mama and hoped for the best.
all in all i think it went pretty well. thank you to my hubby and pink gramma, the perfect sous chefs.
the day was extra special for us as we celebrated miss ella's 6th birthday. six, i just can't believe it.

in all the hustle and bustle of the day my camera was not in full service. i did capture a few shots....

{the 20lb turkey i got for $9.83...love}

{the banner made it's second apperance}

{riley had more fun than us checking out the black friday ads}

{the artist and birthday girl}

{she was just a little excited about this}

a walk {fall edition}

poppa and pink gramma paid  a visit to california this past week.

we enjoyed our time together. the girls especially loved the endless hours of art time and wrestling.

the weather was absolutely perfect for them this time.. a nice change from the rain that somehow manages to follow them from washington most of their visits.

a gorgeous fall day calls for a walk on the trail. all the colors were so beautiful.

happy birthday

to our sweet ella....

Happy Birthday!! I still can't believe it was six years ago today that God blessed us with the sweetest little girl.

you have the most sweetest and nurturing spirit.
you love your sisters and act like a mommy to them both.
you are an artist, you could color/paint/draw all day long.
you absolutely love school and are ready to go back before the weekend is done.
you are shy.
you are super sensitive.
your favorite things to eat are peanut butter & jelly, pizza, tacos, anything and everything sweets.
you sleep with the same blanket {yang yang} that you had as a baby.
you are our songbird. you sing all the time.
you are a daddy's girl, but now that you are getting older you love to do girly things with mama...shopping, pedis, cooking...
you are a tv bug, but your favorites are the nature shows on national geographic and discovery channel.
you can name over thirty bones in the body, you say you want to be a surgeon like daddy.
you love looking at all of daddy's pictures from his surgeries, the more blood the better, seriously.
your day can be made complete by a "candy milk" from starbucks.
you kneel beside your bed each night to pray. it makes my heart so happy.

ella bella, you are such an incredible joy to us. we love you so much. happy birthday baby♥

ella PaLoOzA

we did a little pre-birthday celebrating this past weekend in san diego.
it really is turning into birthday week for miss ella. i have a feeling she doesn't mind too much.

her party was polk-a-dot themed. a welcome change.
with three girls the princess thing tends to dominate the house.
the day was filled with one fun activity after another....
a bounce house, a date with grandma to happy feet 2 imax, mani's and pedi's {grandma's treat}, endless cousin playtime, a breakfast themed dinner {courtesy of daddy}, and a chocolate cake to top it all off.

miss ella i really can't believe you are about to turn six. i love you.

♥10 months♥

you are 10 months today!!

you do not like to sit still....this was no easy photo session.
you love to show us what a fishy says, it is the cutest thing ever.
you can wave bye-bye.
you can stand all by yourself, but you have only done it a couple times.
you randomly laugh all the time, all day long usually at nothing. it's pretty funny.
you discovered your teeth and like to feel them with your top lip {see picture}.
you love love love snacks. your current favorite are mum mums.
when you get frustrated you say "dadadada..."
you are still nursing, but are quickly losing interest in it during the day time.
you have made diaper changes nearly impossible by your constant need to roll over every time we put you on your back.
you are a good sleeper. down around 7:30pmish till about 5:30 when you nurse, then back asleep till 7:30am.
you take two solid naps. one around 9am. the next around 1pm.
you only cry when you are tired or hungry. sounds like someone else i know.
you know your sisters so well and get so excited to see them.
you are facinated by other babies.
you love to knock things over...things on shelves, block towers your sisters have spent hours creating....
you can climb the stairs. the baby gate is a must.
i still put you in the bjorn cause it's your favorite place to be when we are out and about.
you are the happiest baby ever. i love this.

riley roo we love you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, and every single roll in between.

the stats {9ish months}

we are back. one more thing to check off my growing list.
miss riley is growing very nicely. she really is our little chunk. i ♥ it.

Length: 28 1/4" (60%)

Weight: 19lb 3.6oz (60%)

Head circumference: 45 3/4 cm (85%)

j'adore♥

i have not been a great blogger lately.
i think it is just that time of year when the schedule always seems full.
i am currently getting ready for ella's birthday party this weekend in san diego, we head down this afternoon. i leave in an hour for riley's "9 month" check-up...nevermind the fact that she is almost 10 months...next week is thanksgiving, i am hosting it at my home and poppa and pink gramma (barth's parents) fly in on monday for the week.
i will have much to post after this weekend, for now check out these two cuties.....

♥