Braydens first day of 4yr Preschool

Our little man started 4yr old preschool this week and boy did it go WAY better than last year!! I am so proud of this little guy!

Of course we had to start the morning off with a photo shoot, as you can see neither kid was too pleased, especially Ella.

The first day of school, a parent or parents stays with their child and it's a shortened day, so of course I jumped on the opportunity to take him!

A selfie before walking in :)

Here I was telling Brayden to pose for some pics in front of the school, his idea of posing was to do super hero moves.

Inside the teachers walked the kids through each station of the classroom and explained where everything was.

Brayden and his buddy James :) It's because of James that this first day went so smooth!

I can't say it enough, but I really am so so proud of my little boy! He is growing up so fast right before my very eyes.  He keeps asking when he will go to Kindergarten, please my little man, stop growing so fast! 

Here's to a great school year!

Happy 2nd Birthday Ella Bella!!

Ella Bella, Little Miss, Peewee, Happy Happy 2nd Birthday to you!! I cannot even believe how fast these past 2 years have gone, literally I feel like I blinked from your 1st birthday to now your 2nd. I'm sure part of that reason is because I was pregnant for 10 of those months in between and things were a little chaotic :)

My sweet girl, you have grown so much over the past months.  You are now your own little person who walks, talks and can give off some serious attitude! :) Don't believe me??

Your favorite tv show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, that is the only show you will watch.  If anything else is on the tv, you throw a royal fit. You know all of the characters names and you have started talking back to the show (when they ask questions) and you get so excited when they sing and dance.

Right now you are OBSESSED with coloring.  It is the cutest thing ever to watch you color, you are so intense. You like to come up to me when I'm nursing Avery and give me a crayon and say "Mom, Mom, Mom" which means you want me to color, but I tell you I can't at the moment but you don't give up, you go over to the chair you want me to sit in and pat it with your hand and say "sit, sit, sit!!" You get so mad when I can't sit with you but oh so happy when I can! I should add that the only coloring book you will color is a Mickey or Minnie one, I've bought others and you just throw them on the ground and say "No!"

Speaking of you getting mad....girlfriend, you sure know how to throw a tantrum!!! You've always been an amazing tantrum thrower, but lately it is surpassing anything I've ever seen before! Most of your tantrums are because I leave the playroom to go to the kitchen, or I have to leave to go somewhere.  You are attached to my hip as of late, and when I'm not right by your side you completely freak out.  Full on throw yourself on the floor kind of freak out.  I do feel bad for you when you do this but I'm not going to lie, sometimes it drives me a little crazy! Everyone says this is a phase, and it's surely one I'm hope is ending soon! I don't like when my little Ella Bella is so sad!!

You really are one smart cookie! Although you aren't a girl of many words (yet) you still know so much, it really does amaze your Daddy and me.  You can count to 10 (which we weren't even aware of until one day when you just started counting) you know some colors, mostly blue, orange and red. You know how to draw a pretty mean circle and also know what a square and triangle are. You do puzzles like it's your job, again, we've never even had to show you where pieces go, it's like you just know! Of course you don't get it right the first try but you work at it and figure it out.  I love that about you, you don't give up or throw a fit when something doesn't work or go right (this only applies to toys and play time, because as you can see from the above, you do know how to throw a fit!)

You love to mess with your brother, and actually the feeling is mutual!! You two chase eachother around the house all day screaming/laughing, it is hysterical to watch! On rare occasions you two actually sit and play nice together, but mostly it's just fighting *sigh*  One thing you two are good at is ganging up on me! Which I must say, is pretty darn funny although at times it drives me nuts.

You are so so sweet to little Avery.  At first I don't think you were too sure about her but now you love her so much. Everytime you see her you go up to her and give her a kiss and the biggest smile. If she is laying on the floor you lay down right next to her.  It's so sweet to watch and I truly wish that you two form a real bond over the years and become best friends. You are so very lucky to have a sister in this world.

You are one fearless chick - this makes me happy and scares the crap out of me at the same time! I love that you are a little risk taker but I also worry so much about you getting hurt! You are just a little peewee! At the park, you go on the "big" side and go down all of the slides, climb everything you see (of course we are right there under you or we don't even let you attempt some things) If there's something you want and it's out of your reach, you find a way to climb and get to it, or you just like to give us mini heart attacks by standing on top of tables or whatever you can find!


You are a really good eater, something that I really hope continues! You don't care for most fruits or veggies, but give you a tamale, and the thing is gone in seconds.  You remind me so much of myself with the foods you like! This week I was eating summer sausage and you wanted some so you made me sit down and you sat on my lap and I fed it to you - you almost bit my hand off that's how much you liked it! Now when I ask Brayden to try it, he says ewwwwww yuck! I look forward to taking you out for girls only dinners in the future :)

Baby girl, you have been such a joy to watch grow these last 2 years.  I am amazed every day with your beauty and personality.  Your Daddy and I love you so so much. There are not enough words to describe how much we love you.  Although each birthday makes me a little sad because you are growing so fast, I cherish this time we have had together.  I look forward to many many more birthdays with you, my sweet Ella Bella! I love you and Happy 2nd Birthday!!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is one of my favorite long weekends.  Our town has it's annual carnival/fest followed with a parade on Labor Day Monday.


Saturday morning we headed to the fest with my Mom and met my in laws and BIL & SIL and nieces.  All the kiddos were so excited for the rides and games!

I love this pic, Ella Bella is part of the little kid crew now and she just idolizes her older cousins!

My FIL won the basketball game, which is like impossible to win!

These kids just make my heart happy seeing them have so much fun! I think this was one of Brayden's favorite rides, he was all smiles the entire time

Ella won herself a Dora :)

How cute is she!?!?!?

Brayden is seriously so good at the dart throwing game, it amazes us every time!

Poor Ella couldn't go on most of the rides because she was too short so Daddy had to zoom her through the air to make up for it :)

She did get to go on the carousel and despite her face, she loved it.  

I snapped this pic right before the ride started - I took them on the Tilt A Whil - all I can say is O.M.G. - it's basically a saucer cup that spins around and around, but it spins so damn fast that you literally feel like you're going to fly off the little track it's on.  My niece was so scared throughout and Ella just sat there motionless, ha.  I was screaming my little head off.  I don't do rides so well anymore!

Later Saturday the hubs and I got our first date night since having Avery - we went to a new place called the Beer Market and sampled some beers and ate some yummy apps.  It was a quick one, but still a fun date night.

My handsome guy :)

This was Sunday morning - "Mom can I eat cheese its and watch Lilo & Stitch?" Sure, why not kid.

Sunday morning on our way to the parade!! Can I just say again how much I love living within walking distance to this parade?! It makes my whole year (well, almost)

Little Miss is finally big enough to enjoy the parade and she had a ball!

Avery's first parade! It was raining for most of the parade, but thankfully it was just a drizzle and no lighting or thunder :)

The best part of the parade, collecting all the candy they throw at you!!

This was Ella when it was time to go - standard Ella :)

Later we headed to a friends house for a BBQ and when the hubs put Ella in the car she immediately ran to the front and "started" to drive - she's so silly!

Another successful Labor Day weekend in the books!