And Last, but Not Least, the Presents!

Such a lot of beautiful presents! Pretty clothes, toys, jewelry, books, singing skirts and purses, a ride on pony. Thank you to all, Ellie loved everything!

Make a Wish!

She blew out all three of those candles by herself. Hope it was a good wish!

Yeah, Cake!!

Ellie's one request for her birthday was a pink Barbie cake just like the ones on display at Kroger for $35 a piece. So here is my version of it for much less than $35. I think she likes it! (I haven't mentioned to her yet that it isn't a complete doll on the top, just a torso/head on a pick stuck into the cake. I'm not sure if that will be traumatic or not?!)

What a Great Day at School!

Everyone loved the cookies, and Ellie got to wear a beautiful pink birthday crown to boot! Her teacher Mrs. Lovely (perfectly named teacher for the little princess) gave her a lovely card too. What a great day!! I did get a little teary eyed at 10:22 (12:22 Michigan time) thinking about how she was born three years ago that very minute, and now my little baby is off at school!

The Birthday Girl is Off to School

Our big three year old is off to her second day of school, complete with birthday treats! Ellie is soooo excited to pass out the hot pink frosted cookies to her new friends today.

Just had to post this shot of our little cutie!
(P.S.- Thanks for the t-shirt Jake and Luke!)

Post Haircut Photo

And here he is looking like a boy at last. William didn't mind having his hair cut, unlike his big brother! (Afterwards, I was running about like a madwoman trying to collect the pieces of blonde hair flying all over the deck for his baby book. At least the kids were entertained, and probably the neighbors too)

William's First Haircut

These are the "before" shots of William with his shaggy, long blonde hair.

Our Little Girl Goes to School!!

Ellie was up bright and early this morning to get ready for her first day of school. She was very excited to wear her new sparkly pink tennis shoes and use her Dora backpack. Drop off went perfectly. I wanted her to stop for photos but Elle had no time for that nonsense (hence the goofy pictures). It was time for school Mom!! She remembered which room was hers and where to hang up her backpack. Ellie said "Hi" to her teacher, gave me a quick hug and kiss, and marched off to play with the kids. I refrained from crying until I hit the car. Sigh, two babies at school I can't believe it! I'm off to hug my little William now...

Done at last!

At last the back yard is done. A play area for the kids; green, pretty grass; and a privacy (or as I like to call it "containment") fence. The play structure is a bit of a tease at this point since the grass has to grow for a week or so before we let the dog and kids out on it. Ellie just gazes longingly at her "park" from the kitchen window. And bonus, we can no longer see the wreck of a backyard in the empty house next to us! It has been enjoyable to sit on the deck and listen to the people walking by on the path commenting on how great the yard looks this week. I'm really glad I didn't hear any of the comments from passers by over the last year though, I can only imagine what they were saying about our dirt farm.

Look, it's grass!

The Landscapers are here at last!

The "before" shot. This is what my children have been playing in for a year now. Depressing.

Nick's First Day of Kindergarten!!

Nick started Kindergarten today, I'm in shock!! He was very excited to go back to school thankfully. These are the post-first day photos. I missed a "before" photo because, on our way out the long lost landscapers finally arrived to put in our back lawn. Surprise!! Talk about chaos on the first day of school! We both survived the drop off without tears, although I dearly wanted to cry. Ellie burst into tears when we hit the car, crying "I want my Nicky"! I almost joined in then. He seemed a little shell-shocked when we went back to pick him up and it was a couple of hours before he was ready to talk about his first day. Nick was stunned to discover that there was no snack time at kindergarten, you "can't go to recess until the little hand is on the six", his friend Brady from Pre-K is not in his class this year, and there are way too many girls in his class! Hopefully the rest of the week will go better for him....

William at 4 Months

Our sweet little guy has been an unhappy camper for the last couple of weeks. He is being treated for reflux now and the meds seem to be finally working today. His first attempts at rice cereal resulted in more gastric distress, so that's on hold for now. He is working on the two bottom front teeth, making for some absolutely miserable days. And to top it all off, he just got 4 shots this week. Thank God for Tylenol! When he isn't uncomfortable and in pain he is still a very laid back and happy little baby. Rolls like a pro both directions, reaches for and grabs anything, and then shoves everything into his mouth. To our amazement he seems to enjoy ramming his entire fist into his mouth to the point of gagging. Still can't understand why babies do that... Hard to say what his sleep pattern is at the present, once we get the teething and reflux under control I'll let you know! His hair is getting really long and has pretty curls at the ends. People keep telling me what a beautiful baby girl I have, despite the fact that he is wearing blue clothes with trucks or dinosaurs on them. Maybe I should cut his hair?! (I haven't mentioned the mix up to Paul or he would probably be really upset.) I figure there is only a very small window of time where it is acceptable to be a "pretty boy" and this is it!

Our Crazy Kids

William was hanging out in his very cool Bumbo seat this morning when the big kids in various states of undress decided to pose with him.

Our Playdate in the Mountains

We met our friends at their new house in Evergreen for a playdate today. Sam and Nick are best of friends from preschool and we are trying to get them together once a month. Evergreen is quite a drive from our house, it took us about an hour and 10 minutes to get there. But the kids did great in the car (and so did Mom even though she had no idea where she was going and is nervous driving the winding mountain roads). A fine time was had by all, the big kids played pirates on their 2 acres of mountain land, while the Moms sat with the babies and had some much needed adult conversation!

First Food

With William officially 16 weeks, we decided to see if he was ready for rice cereal. He wasn't too sure with the first mouthful, but after that he loved it! Unfortunately it was a short lived experiment as it made him very gassy the next day. We'll try again next month.

Wild Baby "Bill"

Thanks to our friends at CCCS, William has been properly outfitted in western gear. From the Wrangler t-shirt and diaper cover to John Deere cowboy boots. Now if we can just teach him how to rope and ride this summer he'll be ready for the next Stock Show! Thank you to all!

We love the Bumbo Seat!

At last, William has something to call his own. Something that wasn't a hand-me-down from his siblings. He loves the new Bumbo seat as he can sit upright all by himself and play with toys. What a great invention! I wish they had made these when Nick and Ellie were babies...

Fraulein, Part 2

When we first tried my childhood dirndl in May, Ellie was too inconsolable for photos as she didn't feel "pretty". But this morning she came downstairs with the dirndl, and wanted to wear it all day?! Apparently she now thinks it looks like Snow White's costume. So here she is, Fraulein Eleanor, aka Snow White.