It's rough being beautiful...

Ellie wants her hair to be long.....and now she has added CURLY into the mix. Since I am now in school, I am not able to actually curl her hair in the mornings for her to look "beautiful" as she told me today. That would be crazy. So, tonight, we did the next best thing.......
We went braid crazy after her bath.

We are hoping with some damp hair and sleeping on 14 braids, the "princess" will be happy in the morning. And trust me, when she's happy....so is the rest of the house!

"A" for effort!

I have to give the kid a pat on the back for trying. I found him like this. He snuck into the bathroom while I was cleaning up the dinner dishes. And believe it or not....he made a mess in his pants while he was sitting like this. Hopefully next time....we can get the diaper and shorts off him. At least he had the right idea!!!!!

A little early...

Ellie will be 5 years old the first week of Sept. I can't believe it. Truly, time has flown by. She is such a smart, fun loving, caring, independent, loving, sweet little girl. I am very lucky to be her mom. I decided to allow her to have a "girl" party. She has never had a girlie birthday party, and I wanted it done with before I head back to work. So, this past week, we had Ellie's 5th birthday party with 5 of her closest friends from church and school. It was a great afternoon.
Ellie was so excited. She could not wait for her friends to arrive. You can tell she is just about to burst!

So, while we were waiting, she would say to me, "Mama....one, two, three...take my picture." Every time she was waiting for me with a new face. As I said, she was WOUND up! Pic #1 above.

and #2

#3....she cracks me up.

#4...where does she get this from????

lovely #5. Oh, Ellie.

Thank goodness the girls arrived. I don't think I could have taken pose #6 and beyond. I was laughing too hard! We made crafts and the girls were so good. It was so nice to have them all at our house. (and thanks Becky for staying to help!!!!!!)

Happy 5th birthday, Ellie.

We love you to the moon and back....always.

Family Birthday Party (a tad early)

Ellie lucked out again!!!! Birthday party #2 and it isn't even her big day yet! My parents head to Florida for a couple of months in the fall and won't be here for Ellie's actual birthday. So, we celebrated over the weekend. Ellie loves having an ongoing birthday! She thinks this is how it always should be!
Presents for the big "almost" 5 year old.

A princess clock!!!!! We are working on telling time.

Ballet lessons and a tutu to wear!!!! How fun is that??? Oh, and complete with matching boa, of course

Ellie picked the cake she wanted. It had to be pink....so this is what we came up with. Thank you Dairy Queen!

A princess must get her beatuy rest. So, after a busy weekend and a great time gathered with family.....this little girl called it a night. What a fun day!

Farmer "Ski"

Here he is...on the "mow mow" at our school staff picnic. This "mow mow" took us on a hay ride, and Reid couldn't wait to get in the driver's seat when it was all done. I think he would have sat here all night if we would have let him!

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carol's

We had such a great weekend. Brian, Ellie, and myself drove to Kentucky to visit my brother and his wife. We left Reid with my parents for the first part of the weekend, then they handed him off to my in laws for the second part of the weekend. Everyone had so much fun (Reid was in his glory and was probably NEVER told "no" the entire time we were away) and Ellie loved having Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carol all to herself. It was a much needed trip for us all.
My brother and his wife. Love them so much!

The first night we were there we went to a great Hibachi restaurant and this was our chef. Fun times!

Ellie felt like she was swimming in their big tub! She also was so excited for the Barbie mermaid doll that was awaiting her at Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carol's house. She never put it down the entire weekend.

Ellie with Kev and Carol in the caves we visited. Very fun. And, yes, we did see bats.

Brian, Ellie, and myself in the caves.

Ok, I wish I could seriously show you all how big this spider was in relation to something else. It gives me shivers just thinking about this guy again. Brian found this spider on a tree as we were waiting for the cave tour. Ellie was just amazed by it. Mommy.....not so much.

This is more up my alley. Ellie found this butterfly as we were coming out from the cave.

I love this picture. Ellie holding Uncle Kevin's hand as we were in a park. Ellie loves spending time with family.

Looking at lily pads. They were really big and Ellie was again, loving her one on one time with her uncle.

She spotted a dragonfly in the water and wanted me to take this picture for Grandma Carol who loves them.

Ellie wanted to take this lily pad home with her. So, we made a deal to get ice cream instead of take this from the pond. She was happy with the trade off.

Our time went fast in Kentucky, and we loved every minute of our trip. Thank you Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carol (and the grandparents for taking such good care of Reid). Love you all so much. Back to Ohio it is for now.......but hopefully another trip out will be sooner than later.

The new face

If you ask Reid to show you his mad face, this is what he does. Mad???? Doesn't look so mad. Hilarious??? Always.

Small Group

Our small group from church met over the weekend for a family picnic. We lined up all the kids in birth order and snapped a picture. I am amazed that we got them all looking at the camera, and also that we got them all to SIT in one place for the picture!!! Not too shabby! Ellie is 4th from the left and Reid is 2nd from the right. (age range of all kids is 11 mos. to 6 yrs.) It was a great time!

Just a spoonful of sugar....

Girl's Day out today! "The girls" headed to Cleveland to see Mary Poppins, and it was spectacular! We all had such a nice day! Can't wait until the next Girl's Only Day Out!
Downtown Cleveland

Playhouse Square was where the big show was. So fun!

This was the curtain that I snapped a picture of before the show started. We were all so excited!

Ellie couldn't wait to see Mary Poppins. I think she wanted her to come live with us! I second that!

Ellie with Grandma Karen waiting for the show to begin.

Ellie with Grandma Carol.....still patiently waiting!

And Ellie with me. It was a great time together and Ellie even got some special treats out of the deal! You can't beat a soft pretzel during intermission and a Starbucks cookie afterwards! It was a great day together, and we were all so thankful for it!

Ellie's Dream

If you would ask Ellie what her favorite animal is, she would probably answer horse...or maybe lion...but horse is way up on her list. Today was really a special day. We went to visit a family that I used to spend a lot of time with and babysat all through high school and college. Their kids are now 20 and 16, and it is so neat how time has almost reversed itself. You see, the kids that I used to babysit for were about the same ages when I babysat them as my own two are now. It was really special for me to see them, and it was AMAZING for Ellie to meet them because Rebecca, the daughter, has horses. Ellie's dream came true today!
Ellie meeting one of Rebecca's horses for the first time.

Reid liked the horses, but LOVED the gator! (thank God the key was not in the ignition)

Ellie learning how to brush a horse properly.

Reid checking out this horse. I'm so glad he didn't crawl under the gate. I was waiting for it to happen.

There she is!!!! Rebecca helping Ellie ride all by herself!

Wooooooo Eeeeeeeee, Ellie! Way to go!

Having the time of her life.

Sporting Rebecca's riding helmet. Cute!

The boys....Andrew who is now 16 and Reid. This was taken in about 2 seconds because Reid never sat down the entire time we were there. Too much to see and do on a farm!

Then, after our morning it was almost lunch time. We took a picnic lunch to the park and played a bit. I wanted them real good and tired when we got home!!!!

Summer fun...nothing beats it!

Rebecca and Andrew......Ellie and Reid thank you for an awesome day! We love you guys!