Stuffed Animal Parade

Apparently we have more stuffed animals than I realized!
AND THESE AREN'T EVEN ALL OF THEM!

Please do not buy us any more stuffed toys!
We love the ones we have!

The Dentist from the Black Lagoon

Okay, so I'm remembering a kids book we have that talks about how most kids freak out when they have to go to the Dentist! The Dentist is going to pull out all their teeth, give them root canals, and give them gas! In actuality it's pretty fun and painless.
Eliza had her first trip to the Dentist last week! She did pretty well. She did fuss and cry most of the time the Dentist was cleaning her teeth. I figured out later that it tickled her and she hates that! She acts the same way when we try and clip or paint her toenails! She freaks out!
The dentist we go to is amazing. It's a pediatric dentist and they are great with kids. They let them pick out a toothbrush first and the flavor they want for the cleaning. They only do as much as the child allow so that the experience is positive. Eliza loves the prize basket and token tower!

Pumpkins and Costumes

I thought I would be prepared ahead of time for our annual pumpkin carving by having the pumpkin, the tools, and the camera charged. Nope...didn't get the camera charged! So I have 1 picture of the actual night and just the memories in my head!
It actually was good because at most of our family events, I really want to document it with pictures so we will always have that memory. Because of that, I forget to look, listen, and enjoy what is actually happening. I miss the faces, the smiles of glee when the girls are doing something fun because I'm too busy behind the lens. So this year, I got to experience first hand the looks of disgust at the pumpkin goop and the looks of glee when we found all the seeds! It was a fun night!

Notice the pencil, nail polish bottle, and pack of pencils shoved into our poor pumpkins facial features! The girls thought this was a hoot!






Super baby! Yes, I had to dress my little boy in Superman this year!










This year the girls wanted to be fairies. That is fine with me because Eliza got her costume for her birthday and I found Adrianna's for $10!

Peanuts

Eliza has been talking a lot about skunks lately. Probably because we have seen and smelled a lot of them along side the road as we have been driving places.
Here is the dialog we had this morning:

Eliza: Skunks have tongues.
Adrianna: Yes they do, but everyone has a butt. But not everyone has a "gina" (vagina).
Only girls have a "gina". Boys have something else.
Eliza: Boy have peanuts.

Birthday #32

13 Reasons I had a GREAT Birthday:
1. Shawn took the day off to celebrate!
2. He made me breakfast.
3. Amber took the 2 younger kids for the morning so Shawn and I could have some time together to do some shopping.
4. Amber made us a yummy soup lunch.
5. Enjoyed some quiet time in the car with no extra stimulation:) (like yelling, singing, talking loudly, crying, or fighting)
6. Was given some money to go out for coffee and a movie with one of my dearest friends.
7. I was able to get a few new shirts since I only had one!
8. I didn't have to cook ANY meals!
9. I had a break from the mundane, routine things.
10. I received lots of verbal birthday wishes and felt very special!
11. Had a great time celebrating with my family.
12. Had pumpkin cookies-(even though I only got 1!)
13. Realized how great our God is and that I am ABUNDANTLY blessed!

Thanks for a great day and for helping another year of getting older be FABULOUS!

Caleb under the bed!

This is where I found Caleb the other day!
Apparently he can slide backwards on our wood floors!







He found his own entertainment!

Apple Picking

Every year on Eliza's birthday weekend we go apple picking. We have actually had this tradition even before she was born but it just works out to do both things on the same weekend.
I just love the smell of fall, the smell of apples, the smell of donuts, and the cool, brisk air. It was FREEZING this year! I forgot coats for Eliza and Adrianna so they were not so warm. At least I remember mud boots and a hat and mittens for Caleb! I think we were done in about 40 minutes! I can never plan the right attire! I should just bring shorts and winter stuff just in case. When we went 2 years ago it was about 90 degrees and we needed lemonade! Such fun times!













Caleb worked on this apple for about 30 minutes and then cried when I took it away!

We're goin on a trip in our favorite Rocketship...

Eliza is 3! We had a "Little Einsteins" theme this year. Of course we went back and forth a few times between that and Ariel! We finally convinced her to do Einsteins. Basically we just said over and over "We are doing Little Einsteins"! If you have never seen it, it is so great! It is very educational and teaches kids about music. They usually feature a composer and an artist on each episode. They also pick one famous tune from that composer and sing little songs to it.

In this picture she is holding up her "3" angel. My grandparents started this tradition when all of us girl cousins were little. They got us one each year up until we turned 21. I am passing mine down to Adrianna so Eliza needs her own! My mom is continuing the tradition.

I think we had 24 people crammed into our house! We went to Pietro's for dinner beforehand and then everyone came back to our house for dessert and gifts.






My friend Sandra made the rocket cake. She did a FABULOUS job! Less stress and time for me! I just easily added the other stuff to it! One of the best $20 I ever spent!


















It always seems like these events go by so fast. I thoroughly enjoy these birthday parties, not only because it is my child's birthday, but also because everyone is together! I just have to try not to be such a "Martha" when we have everyone over! It is one of the things I look forward to the most each year. Planning the parties and having everyone come. I just have to cherish these moments and lock them away to remember later!

My sweet little renewal!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY SWEET LIZA LOU!

She has been such pure joy to me since the moment she was born! She is the renewal of God's promises of life again after heartache. She is such a lovey and just seems to enjoy life. A great reminder to me! At 3 years old she loves books, dolls, and singing. She is always humming or dancing to some tune she is singing! She really wants to do things herself and copies her big sister in a lot of ways. She is still attached to her silky and pretty much anything else silky!
We have recently started doing a few books that teach letters, shapes, colors, and numbers and she loves it! I am celebrating God's faithfulness today as I look at my sweet daughter!


The many faces of Eliza:
(btw.....she definitely has her own look!)