Bella's Birthday

Happy Birthday Bella! Today our little baby turns 8! Wowzers...that's 56 years old in dog years. Aaron told the girls today that she is about as old as Grammy and Poppy! Ha! : )

For her gift, we took her to PetSmart to pick out a new toy and get a treat. Aaron thought she really would "pick out" a new toy, so he unloaded the toy aisle onto the floor so she could choose. Needless to say, she didn't give a rats behind about a single one of them, so the girls picked out a cute little duck for her. We bought this toy knowing full well it probably wouldn't last the night, as her favorite thing to do is to rip out the seams and pull out all the stuffing and get to the squeaker and bite through it too. It was mission accomplished around 6:00 tonight. : )

Maya was inisitent on having a birthday party for her. We thought about inviting over the neighbor dogs, but Bella hates them and we didn't think we should torture her on her birthday, so we settled for giving her a couple of leftover tortellini's from dinner complete with a candle. We sang her Happy Birthday and she wolfed down the tortellini's without chewing. Typical.

What would we do without her though? She drives us bonkers, but she is our baby. I tell Aaron that if I didn't have my Bella baby, I might just have to have another real baby. He says she can stay. Happy Birthday Bella babe!

Cousins come to visit

Meet our newest cousin, Evie Arleene. We finally got to meet her last week and the girls were ga-ga for her. She's cute as a button of course and looks like her big brother. We had a super duper time hanging out with them, along with my sister Callie and her hubby Devin.

Jacob is a very good little boy, but I totally forgot how much of little destructors they are when they're that little. I mean seriously, I think I almost had an anxiety attack just looking at the state of our house while they were here. Jakey liked to pull everything off the shelf, but of couse, being only 14 mo. old, never put anything back. It was seriously (and I'm not exaggerating) like a Toys R Us truck exlploded, then a tornado came through and stirred it all up. Yikes! We survived though and miss them tons already.

Another good thing about having visitors...we get someone to take a family picture of us! Cheese!!

Happy Birthday Maya!

Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to Maya...Happy Birthday to you!

She opened lots of presents from lots of people. She got a new game, sticker book, princess make up, books, a new bike helmet, and lots more. Yeah!

For the first time, Maya got to have a "friends" party. She invited the neighborhood 3's and 4's, Lily, Finley and Emma (Emma wasn't able to make it). They played, ate cake and opened presents. It was the easiest party ever. : )

Happy Birthday big 4 year old!

Halloween

First off, we had a Halloween miracle. Maggie lost her 2nd tooth. I finally had to go in and give it the final yank, but it came right out and she is thrilled. The Tooth Fairy is coming tonight. : )

Halloween basically started on Friday, with Maggie's party at school. I volunteered to help and spent the morning with her class. They had several different game/craft/snack centers and then later got to watch Monsters Inc. and eat a couple of their prizes from the morning. At the end of the day as is tradition at Lake Elmo Elementary, there was a Kindergarten parade around the school. The kids were of course super cute. Mrs. Sycks was the Gingerbread Girl from the book she is holding and had earlier read to the kids.

Maggie's class all dressed up.

Saturday we had the Cove party. We decided to have the party at a neutral location this year due to the sheer volume of people we now have. We held the party at a Davanni's, a local pizza joint that had a party room. We ate pizza, the kids did crafts, the men watched football...and no one had to clean up their house afterwards. It was lots of fun.

And that brings us to actual Halloween day...today. The girls were ready ALL day to get into their costumes, paint their faces and get trick-or-treating. Bella however was not as excited to get into her pumpkin costume. The hat didn't last long. : )

Daddy and the girls worked the neighborhood to the best of their ability and came back with full buckets. Maggie wasted no time and went right to work devouring as much candy as she could before we had to cut her off. Seriously...that girl has a sweet tooth. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree huh?

We got on Skype with grandma, grandpa, Auntie Callie, Auntie Sidney, Jakey and baby Evie so they could see the girls in their costumes. Pretty much it was me talking though as they were too busy stuffing their faces to speak.

Then it was time for bed, and time to attempt to remove all the face paint. : ) All are in bed now, including Bella who is exhausted from an evening of barking at all the kids who came to the door. Until next year...

Crazy hair

Whoa!!!! I guess it was crazy hair day. She got the memo the rest of us didn't. : )

Uh-oh

Several days ago I came home from work to this.

Those poor, poor barbies...

Oh...and that long lock of blond hair?...

Oh...and who's that kid that suddenly now has bangs? Yeah.

Best Friends

Maya and Lily are best friends. They go together like peas and carrots, like a ball and glove. They can fight like sisters, but always make up and are two of a kind again. Our girls are so lucky to have found such good friends.

The Gift of Friendship

Friendship is a precious gift

That cannot be bought or sold,

But its value is far greater

Than a mountain made of gold -

For gold is cold and lifeless,

It can neither see nor hear,

And in the time of trouble,

It is tireless to cheer -

It has no ears to listen,

No heart to understand,

It cannot bring you comfort

Or reach out a helping hand -

So when you ask God for Gifts,

Be thankful if He sends

Not diamonds, pearls or riches,

But the love of real true friends.

Helen Steiner Rice