I wrote most of this post last year on her birthday. But as I was reading it today, I couldn't think of anything better to say about my beautiful baby girl. My Bells. Ella Bella. Ellsy. Bellsy. Ellie. Ellie Belly. Belly Button. Ella answers to them all. Eight years ago today, I was laying in a hospital room about to get an epidural. I had been there for almost 24 hours and I was OVER labor. We checked in at 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon and were scheduled for an induction the following morning. I wasn't thrilled about being induced on the fifth anniversary of a national tragedy, but I was already five days overdue and couldn't wait one more minute to see her face. We were restless in the hospital that night, not knowing how the day would play out or how our lives were about to change ...
birthday
Ballerina Birthday
It's been thirty days since my Sophie turned four and it's still kind of hard to wrap my mind around. Can you tell that I'm struggling just a bit when it comes to her growing up? She had asked for months to have a ballerina party at her dance studio. This is her first year taking ballet and she has had such a wonderful experience. She loves dressing up, is fascinated by her teachers, and it doesn't hurt that she wants to be just like her big sister. This Ballerina Birthday was perfect! I realized after I ordered tutus for the girls that I was one short. Oh well. The birthday girl deserves a special tutu on her big day, right?! I replicated graphics from her cupcake toppers and liners to make these name tags and we hung them on satin hangers from the ballet barre. I borrowed a picnic ...
BIG girl and BIG school
photo from Sophie's birthday celebration at the big BK This girl. I feel like she's getting the spotlight on the blog a little bit right now, but I have to remind myself it's seasonal. Ella gets in a mood where she doesn't want her picture made or she's too embarrassed by something to share it publicly so we go through a dry spell. Then all of a sudden it's dance season and she's posing all over the place. Since this little nugget had a birthday party last month and is crossing off milestones left and right, she's sort of taken over for a bit. I wish I could bottle her up and share this slice of her life with you all. I feel like part of her spark and spunk is lost in translation and I want you all to know just how sweet and funny she is in real life. Videos don't do her justice -- her ...
Zoo fun!
I just discovered this morning that these never made it to the blog. I almost said that I can't believe I didn't post these pictures last month, but then I remembered what a crazy day it was?! If you remember, we celebrated three birthdays in one day AND managed to squeeze dance pictures in there somewhere. Sophie was pretty excited that Braylen was celebrating her big day at the zoo. The girls managed to stay awake for the entire 45 minute drive into town, but they were a little rough around the edges. I had dreams of a lovely afternoon with smiles all around, but that is not exactly how things happened. At least there were scary animals to pet with our two fingers! See? ^^ These are some real life faces we're making right here. Ella not paying much attention and Sophie making a ...
a weekend recap.
I'm not sure if I told you about our weekend that you would believe we squeezed it all in. I knew by mid-week that it was going to be crazy, but I'm not sure I realized just how little time between events we would have. Because of the rain, Josh & Cory's baseball team had cram in a ton of area games last week to qualify for the state playoffs. We had been looking forward to a date night for weeks, but they ended up playing a doubleheader on Friday night instead. I rushed home from work after running some last minute birthday errands and got the girls dressed and packed for their first birthday slumber party. We have such a great group of friends and it worked out great that they would both be invited to the same party. They were super excited and I was kind of thrilled for a few hours ...
Taz turns FOUR.
FOUR years ago this little whirlwind blew into our lives. I think back on what our life was like before she was here. It was calmer, more quiet and far less work. I guess I always thought Sophie would be a carbon copy of Ella. I thought they would look alike and have the same personalities. I never expected them to be so different and four years later, it's hard to think about what life would be like without this little Taz. Sophie is always happy. Always. Every time someone asks me what she'd like for her birthday, I just smile. It doesn't matter what you get her, she is over the moon excited and loves everything about it. She is quite possibly the easiest child to please. She is overly enthusiastic. Her facial expressions are the best and the inflection in her voice when she asks ...
Party Inspiration
We're only a little over a month away from Sophie's birthday and it's time to start thinking about party planning! Last year, her party was pretty involved. And as fun as it was, I'm looking forward to something a little simpler this year. She started taking tap and ballet at Ella's studio in August and it is her new favorite thing. Since she is so into dance this year, it just seemed natural to throw her a ballet inspired fete. This will be our first official "friends only" party, so we'll be having our family over for cupcakes on her actual birthday. This party will be for a few of her best girl friends and on a much smaller scale than in previous years. Let's start with inspiration... I bought these cupcake liners on a whim. OVER A YEAR AGO. I had seen these exact kits at a local ...
Today is Your Birthday
Josh took this photograph on Sunday morning. We were trying to squeeze in as many snuggles with our sweet daddy as we could before he headed to the airport. He worked in Denver all week and we hope that in a few short hours, (weather permitting) he'll be on an airplane, headed our way. He does such a great job making us feel like the three best girls on the planet, that we wanted to make sure we were the FIRST to wish him a super happy day today. We always miss him like crazy when he travels, but it was hard to be home playing in the snow this week while wishing he was here to enjoy it with us! I can't even count the number of times that Sophie asked when he was coming home. Sweet Daddy, we hope you enjoy this virtual birthday hug and that you arrive safe and sound on our door-step very ...