Friday, October 19, 2007

Pic Parade









Ella gets a magazine once a month and they always include a recipe for a snack. This is her "stoplight" snack. We had a lot of fun making it and she had even more fun eating it.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Why I love the Windy City...











Because my Auntie Jill and Uncle Joren live there! We took a trip this summer to visit them and what a trip it was! My Mom and Dad were ready to pull their hair out...wow, was that fun to see! It was a long drive home from Chicago with me and my little brother in the van. We slept for a little while and then hollered and screamed until they finally stopped to let us out. I heard Mom and Dad talking about getting to stop in the Wisconsin Dells if the drive home didn't take a turn for the better. Well, I figured that was my call to action. I started saying "Let me out of here, I want out of this carseat, I'm sick of being in here" as many times as I could muster. I'm pretty sure I said it at least a million times...at least that's what I overheard Mom say. It worked! We got to stay at a hotel with a fun waterpark and I went zooming down the kiddie one all by myself. What a blast.

Even though the waterpark was fun, it was nothing compared to seeing my Auntie Jill. I love her and she is so much fun! Her and Uncle Joren have a tiny (and I mean TINY) apartment. When we first arrived I thought it was way too clean and I was going to need to take care of that. I proceeded to pull out anything and everything that I could to give it a more "lived-in" feeling. My brother and I can whip up a tornado in 3 seconds flat! It's awesome.

We got to see lots of the windy city in 98 degree weather. The first day we went downtown. Joren and Jill took us on the train!! It was so cool. I've never been on a train before and I even taught Ben how to sign "train". We got to stop at Millenium Park. They had a spot where water was pouring down and make a little wading pool. Ben and I had sooo much fun. Even Auntie Jill got into the action. She was chasing me and splashing in the water too. How fun is she?!? I got so soaked that I had to take off my shorts and shirt to dry out. Luckily Mom had an extra shirt that I got to wear around while the sun dried my clothes. After that we went for a long walk and I figured it was high time for a nap. The stroller was just so comfy that I just decided to lay back and relax. I guess Ben thought it was a good idea because he zonked out too.

We went to see Lake Michigan...well, my mom and dad did. I was still sleeping so I missed that part. I heard it was awesome and the water was warm and beautiful. I wish I could have dug my hands into that soft, white sand. Oh well, next year. The next stop was Navy Pier. Wow, what a place. So many people and so much food. We didn't get to stay long because we had to try and make it back to the train station to catch our ride home. Before leaving downtown, we got to have some authentic chicago style pizza. Yum, it was good.

On Sunday we went to the zoo. It was fun to see all the animals, but wow, it was another hot day. When we left, we went to a fun restaurant that had chicago dogs. They were pretty tasty too. I think this city has got it all together. Awesome pizza, awesome hotdogs...what's not to love?

I had a great time hangin' with my auntie and uncle. I sure wish they lived closer because I miss them a lot. Auntie Jill is one of my very favorite people.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Happy Birthday Ella!!








Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl. I can't believe that she is 3!! How the times flies! People always told me when she was a little baby to enjoy every minute because they grow up too fast. Well, I am starting to understand what they mean...I can't believe that she has gotten so big. It's a bittersweet day...happy of course because of the celebration of my daughter...and a little sad on a mother's heart because she is growing older and more independent every day.

I'm so proud of Ella! She is a sweet and loving little girl with so many woderful things about her. She is funny, smart as a whip, and busy soaking up every ounce of information she can get her hands on. She loves reading books (and I stress the word really), enjoys playing outside, can change diapers on her babies a million times in one day, and loves to play with her kitchen. She has quite the vivid imagination and can come up with such amazing stories. Ella loves her brother fiercely and is such a good big sister to him. She is compasionate and wears her heart on her sleeve. And although she wants to do a lot by herself these days, she is still my #1 snuggler and would chose her mama's lap over anywhere else.

I'm so thankful that God has allowed me to parent this amazing girl. God gave me treasures beyond measure when He gave Ella to me. I couldn't love her more and it is so amazing to me that it is only a fraction of how much God loves us.

Happy Birthday, Ella-bug. Mommy and Daddy love you so very much.

Monday, October 1, 2007

William Tell Overture for Moms



This is toooooo funny! I had to pick myself up off the floor after listening to her song. It's no wonder why we are "supermoms!" No one else could go through this many things in one day only to get up the next morning and start repeating it all. Enjoy!!