Ellie's Birthday Party

We had Ellie's birthday last Friday. It was really simple and she loved it! She had definite ideas of what she wanted at her party . . . some worked, some not so much. We started off with bubbles, which were a big hit - even for the older boys.
Then the girls got their tutus and wands for dancing.

Ellie LOVES to dance. She loves to twirl and prance and all sorts of girly things. However, at her party, she would not dance at all. I even put on her favorite Wiggles song - the Shimmy Shake. But we had no shimmying and no shaking. We had catatonic stares from Ellie and Chole, and crying from Reagan. Thankfully Riley busted a move and made the dancing worthwhile.
Then we had cupcakes and fruit and cookies -- all per Ellie's request. We even had a princess tablecloth that she picked out. The boys were disgusted by the tablecloth and complained about it every time they walked past the table. What do they know?
After cupcakes came presents. Little girl toys are so much fun! She got a little Belle dress-up doll, a my little pony with a movie and stickers, a pink bubble machine, and a pony with its own purse. She was in HEAVEN!
Ellie's last request for her party was stories, but as soon as the presents came out, the stories were forgotten.

{The only picture I was able to get with all four of them in it. Two year olds do NOT hold still for anything!}

It was a fun little party. She loved it! And I'm glad we got to have it before her little friend Reagan moves away. (although there's still time for Reagan's mom and dad to change their minds and realize that Waco is WAY better than Vegas. . .)

{Reagan and Ellie, after Regan had some of my famous drugged cupcakes}

{The only time Reagan wasn't crying . . . I think she's still mad at me because I tricked her into going to nursery at church and then left her to fend for herself}

Thanks for coming girls!

An Almost Birthday

We've always had a party for the kids when they turn two. I'm not exactly sure why because at two, they could really care less about having friends over. And they only kind of get the present idea. Or maybe that's just boys . . .

Eliana's birthday is a few weeks away. We're having a party early because one of her little friends is moving. When I asked Eliana if she wanted a party, she got really excited. Really excited. She said, "I want cookies and cupcakes and juice and fruit." And every time we go to the store, she asks if we're buying things for her party. She is constantly talking about the party - currently, she's added bubbles and dancing to her list of party ideas.

I decided to make tutus for all her guests instead of a goody bag. I started on them when Eliana was napping, to lessen the amount of helping hands. When she woke up and saw the tutu, she was overjoyed. She ran to it and said, "Oh! It's for my party! I'm going to be a princess!" She had to have it on immediately. And then she begain dancing around on her tip toes (it's the honest truth!)

But the best part came after the dancing stopped. She twirled around for the last time and said, "I look so pretty. I'm a princess! I love my party!"

I can only imagine how excited she's going to be at the real party. Who knew girls could be so fun?

Vacation Slide Show

About five hours south of Waco is a tiny little beach town called Port Aransas. Last week, we went there for the first time. It was wonderful! We went to the beach as soon as we got into town - and the kids loved it! Every morning, as soon as they woke up, they would ask when we were going to the beach. Eliana would practically jump out of her carseat as soon as she could see the ocean. It was a fabulous vacation! We're already planning our next trip to the beach.

All of the kids tried body surfing. Some were more successful than others, but here are some highlights.












We were also able to visit the Texas State Aquarium. They have a small dolphin pool where they show you how they train dolphins.