Ella's 1st day of Preschool

Today was Ella's 1st day of Preschool at Holy Family Preschool. She is in the afternoon class with 5 other kids in her class. I was so nervous for Ella to start Preschool, thinking that she would cry and miss me the whole time. Well, it was just the opposite. I cried dropping her off and picking her up, she never cried at all. I was so proud of her. Ella said she had a great time and is ready to go back on Thursday. Since today was the first day, her teacher handed out gift bags and Starbucks cards to all the parents. I thought that was pretty nice. Salted Caramel Mocha here I come!

First day of Ballet

Ella had her first day back at Ballet today. Last Spring we signed up for Ballet/ Tap/ Gymastics and she didn't do all that well. She didn't like the part when I had to leave the room for Ballet. Then we took some classes this summer and she did amazing. Which means me and Bridgette got to watch from the window and bleachers. Today, Ella was so grown up and went into class all by herself. The teacher let all the parents back in for part of the class so I got a couple shots of her in action. I was so proud of her that I shed a few tears. Tomorrow the tissues really come out because it's her first day of preschool.

Cute as a Button

Over this past weekend I helped throw a baby shower for my friend Joanna who is having a baby girl in 3 weeks. When I first was asked to help with the shower I was thinking I could make some cute cookies or cupcakes but then I wanted to challenge myself. At first I was going to tackle the cake making myself but then I decided to look into taking some fondant cake classes. The classes didn't work with my schedule so I actually ended up paying the teacher who teaches the classes at Michael's craft stores to come to my house for a private lesson. I had the lady come on Friday night at 8pm. The cake was cooked and and the frosting for the middle was made before she came. I had never done a fondant cake before so it was so nice having professional help. Below are some pictures of the shower and cake and cupcakes I made.

Friends from Olympia.

The Hosts

The beginning part of decorating.

Pregnant Joanna and the cake/cupcakes

Yes, I made the bow myself!!! It was really fun.

The final presentation of my creation.

Bridgette's 15mos

Here are B's stats from her last doc. visit last Friday.

Weight: 25.13lbs 75-90%

Height: 32in 90%

Lately, she is quite a pill due to her molars still trying to fully erupt. When she is happy we have fun together. She is talking a ton mostly mimicking words I say. She is really into books and looking at pictures of family. She loves being silly and copying what Ella does. Which is great because if I want Bridgette to try something Ella is the person to get her to do it. She definitely loves her sister.

Notice her rash on her chin from teething. Poor thing.

Crazy hair!

Summer Days

The summer days are going by so fast. A typical afternoon after Bridgette takes a nap is either a walk to a park to play on the playground and to swing or we go outside and play with the neighborhood girls that are Ella's age. It's so fun watching Ella run around with other little girls. She is by far the girlyest of them all. It really has been great for Ella socially to have these girlfriends. I hope this and ballet make it a easy transition to preschool next Tues.

Ella turns 3

Ella is officially 3! We had a nice little evening to celebrate Ella turning three this past Tues. Since we didn't have a party for her I let her pick out any cake she wanted at the store and get some special Cinderella plates, cups and party horns. I picked up the cake on Tues. afternoon, paid for her $41.00 cake and took it home. Yes, I too just about died when I heard the cost of the cake. Once you see it you will understand why. It was huge and very elaborate. That night we had a nice dinner and were preparing to put the candles in Ella's cake. Jake took it out of the huge box and the writing was on the side. Jake started reading the cake and instead of it saying, " Happy 3rd Birthday Ella," it said, "Happy 2nd Birthday Ella." I just about fell over, I was just slightly upset. Jake was able to drag some of the extra frosting from the 2 to make it a 3. The next morning I drove to the store which we bought the cake from and showed them the picture on my cell phone of the huge mistake they made. They gave a full refund plus a $20.00 gift card to the store. I'd say they made it right. Despite the major mistake on the cake Ella had a great birthday and received some wonderful presents. Thanks to everyone who made her 3rd birthday special!


Ella's new special talent: rolling her tongue.

Hello Belle!

Blowing out the candles! She got all but one.

This is the cake after fixing the 3.

Birthday girl eating her lunch wearing a Minnie Crown.

Forgot to add Ella's 3yr old check up stats:

Height- 34.5 inches tall 5-10%

Weight- 27.6lbs 5-10%

Basically she is small for her age!

The nurse and doctor were amazed at how well Ella could talk. She can speak in full paragraphs and can carry on huge conversation. She loves imaginary play and will play up in her room for hours with all her little toys and doll house. The only she needs to learn now is how to pedal her own bike. Just today she started pumping her legs the correct way when swinging. It was very exciting. Oh yea, and Ella had to have one shot during her doctor visit and she just laid there and didn't even shed a tear. She is was so brave,

Cannon Beach 2011

Our yearly trip to Cannon Beach was last weekend. We sort of turned it into a birthday weekend for Ella as well. The weather was decent sunshine the first day and clouds the second and third day. Every year we walk down to Haystack Rock but this was the first year that we actually planned the tides right and were able to see all the marine life in the tide pools at low tide. It was very COOL! Next we picked up two kites to fly. Luckily it was a little windy so we had no trouble flying the ones we got bought. One night we went out for Ella's birthday dinner and let her pick any desert she wanted. It was delicious. That night after dinner we promised Ella we could go roast marshmallow's over a campfire. It was getting late so we asked another family who had a campfire already going it we could use a flame to make some smores. We felt kinda funny bumming off another persons fire but we did offer for them to make smores too. While we were there we also went swimming in the pool our hotel had. Bridgette did great in the water and Ella was like a little fish. Jumping off the side into our arms and getting her face in the water. Overall, another wonderful trip to the Oregon Ocean. We are already making plans for next year.

Birthday desert! Ella is eating a white chocolate starfish.


Bridgette was not a happy camper that day, her teeth were really bothering her.

Playing in the sand.

Flying kites is easy!

Ella is flying two kites at once!

Getting our kites ready for flight.

Some of the starfish we got to see and touch at Haystack Rock.

My girls!