A Royally Good Time

The kids got to go to a neat outing today. The county hosted a “Royal Ball.” They had a DJ, many games and activities, and many of the staff dressed as the various princesses. I had to work, but Sam and her mom took the kids and they had a blast!

There were plenty of photo opportunities.

Ella as Belle. I love that her face fits that perfectly. All too often those “head holes” are so big that your head looks weird in it.

Sam sent this one to me and it is perfect! I love that he wore his sister’s Elsa shirt!

For Ella, she was ALL about the princesses! When she called me to tell me about the ball, she said, “every one of my favorite princesses was there, Daddy!”

Tiana, Elsa and Sleeping Beauty were happy to see her, too!

I love that our community does things like this for our kids. I hope they will always remember these magical moments.

Another magical moment that Sam observed happened last night. Earlier in the day, the kids got one of those Kiwi Crates. Aunt Margaret got them one every month and it has something to read and projects to make. This month the theme was camping.

They got all the materials to make a Bear backpack and a campfire.

They had worked on the projects during the afternoon. They had turned out the lights when it got dark and were “toasting marshmallows” over the campfire. Sam had taken the dog out to go to the bathroom. As she looked through the big window, she could see them “by the fire.” It was really heartwarming to see them together.

I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with them.

She’s a “Threenager”

Yesterday, Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday. It was a pretty busy day!

She woke up and had a breakfast picnic. Her choice of breakfast food? A grilled cheese sandwich!

After I got home from a dentist appointment (that I should have cancelled), we piled in the car and we took a trip up to the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw. We have a membership there and the kids always have a blast!

They have a water area like the Sloan Museum, but its a bit smaller. The kids still love to play there. They also have slides, a fake doctor and dentist office, a barn, lots of fake cars, and other neat science-type stuff.

The thing behind Ella is a wall of marbles. Both kids love it.

Not sure Andrew knew what this mirror was all about.

One of many cars the kids can play on. One of them sits next to a bank drive thru teller!

These floating balls are always fun to watch.

We went home and Ella got to pick what she wanted for lunch. We got dinosaur chicken nuggets and French fries and again, had a picnic before nap time. I think she was too excited about her birthday to nap, so her and I played out in the living room.

She is all about Disney Princesses, so we decorated in that theme.

She even had a princess cake!

Big brother Dante’ came over to have dinner (Pizza) and cake with us. Dimitri was not feeling well, so he stayed home. We all sang “Happy Birthday” and she made her wish and blew out the candles.

One of her presents was nail polish. Each bottle had a different Disney princess on it. The color of the polish matched the dress color of the princess. Well, we just HAD to have a spa day …

Mommy got her nails painted all one color. Daddy, on the other hand, got a different color for each nail!!

Dante’ left before he had to sit in the chair!

It was certainly a fun day for her and for us!

You may recall that we had some 3rd birthday pictures done. They came out so good! Beth, our photographer, always seems to catch the best pictures, even when the subject (Ella) won’t sit still!

This is the dress that Ella picked out for her pictures. This is one of my favorites!

She wanted a picture in her “Belle” dress, which is the dress that she wore for Halloween when her and Andrew went out as Beauty and the Beast. She also had to have her Tiana stuffy that my brother sent her in the picture.

She LOVES these rain boots, and they really do go well with this dress. I love the look on her face in this picture. Probably our favorite picture from the session is just amazing. Beth asked Ella to jump up and down like she was splashing in puddles with her boots ….

This is PURE Ella! What a capture!!

While I still cannot believe she is three years old, I am glad to have a platform like this blog to write things down so that she can look back at them and read them in the future. She has provided us with three years of amazing memories!!

Happy Birthday, Ella!!!

Hodge Podge of Highlights

The past week has been fairly typical. Nothing too out of the ordinary for me. There have been some nice highlights, however.

Sunday, we got a little snow. Sam promised the kids that we could go out and play in it. So we all bundled up and went outside as the snow fell.

Andrew LOVES being outside in the snow. He is a lot like his sister at that age. He tends to just be in awe of the snow.

Ella wanted to build a snow “castle.” We grabbed one of her sandbox toys thinking we could make bricks, but the results weren’t so good, despite the fact that the snow was a bit wet.

We attempted to build a snowman, but Andrew kept tackling it or picking up the snowballs to throw. Ella was in the middle of the yard and said, “Let’s take a walk, daddy!” So we did.

Andrew held my hand for most of the walk, but occasionally wanted to run up to Ella. She was happy to see her puppy friend, Louie. He was out on the porch (waiting to be let back inside!). She was yelling, “Hello, Louie! Merry Christmas!” It really was a nice little walk.

On Tuesday morning, Ella had her third birthday pictures taken. She won’t be three until the 10th of next month, but we got her in at our photographer friend. Sam and Ella went out looking for a dress and she actually picked out the one she wanted pictures in.

Sam asked her if she wanted to take her Elsa dress that she got for Christmas for an outfit change. She said she wanted to wear the Belle dress that she wore for Halloween. We may have gotten more pictures in that dress. Urgh!

The area got hit with a good snow that started Tuesday Night and continued through the day on Wednesday. Sam had a physical on Wednesday morning. She had to drive in the snow there and I was driving home from work in it. I met her at the doctor and picked up the kids so they weren’t running around during her appointment.

When we got off the expressway, we were passing the row of restaurants and Ella says, “Daddy? I would like chicken nuggets and French fries. I chuckled and said, “Baby, it is 8:30 in the morning. I don’t think they have any made this early.” She paused for a minute and then blurted out, “Are you serious!? Are you kidding me?” It was hilarious.

Having to stay indoors can be boring for the kids. So we took the “nugget” (which you can see on the floor to Ella’s right in the picture above) and built a mountain for them to climb and play on. I tried to get some pictures of them playing on it and I snapped a cool one of Andrew.

I wish it wasn’t so blurry, but I love him jumping up on there!

They have been at each other’s throats all week. The sibling arguments have been plenty. My wife shared a fantastic photo of them, today. Proof that they really do love each other!

I finished The Word is Murder this week. I really enjoyed it. I timed it perfect as the library emailed me to let me know that the author’s Sherlock Holmes story, The House of Silk, was there for me to pick up.

I just started that tonight. I will let you know how it is.

Later today, I have a follow up with my doctor. Blood pressure check/Medication check/Weight check. I’ve tried to be careful, but I know I have gone over my points more than enough times. I know I have put back on some weight since the holidays. I really need to get back on track.

I hope you are having a great week! The weekend is almost here!