Easter Bunny

We went to the mall today so Ella could have her picture taken with the Easter bunny...

Texas Wildflowers

My new iMac arrived this week and I am in photo heaven. I am having so much fun playing with all the photo editing software...especially now that it's the beginning of spring and the wildflowers are out!

Happy 60th Grandad!

Last weekend we drove to Atlanta to surprise Ron's dad for his birthday. We stopped in Gulfport on the way through and managed to have a much needed, albeit short, visit with Sara and the boys....Here are some pics of the 60th birthday surprise party:

Birthday Portraits

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

I can't believe that every year comes and goes and I have no idea where it went. Ella is 4 today and it seems amazing that each day, each week, each year gets better and better. For another wonderful year with the love of my life, for all the smiles, laughs and hugs, for all the memories and all the love, I am grateful to be celebrating a great day with my gorgeous, funny, wonderfully loving, energetic and charismatic baby girl.

I love you xoxo.

Ella'a Birthday Bash

Papa and Great-Grandpa flew in for Ella's birthday and on Saturday, we had a Tiana and the Frog birthday BBQ. We finally got the play structure up a couple days before and Ella has been enjoying her backyard playground, as well as some perfect, sunny 75 degree weather. Since it's completion on Thursday, she has not once asked to watch TV, and she's usually dressed before breakfast so she can get outside as soon as possible. It's the best family birthday present from all the grandparents, great-grandparents and us.

Here are some pics from the birthday party last Saturday:Tiana Cake and cupcakes:Because there aren't any gift bags with a Tiana theme, I made all the girls tutus:

March Update

We are having some computer issues and I am back to using my old Dell while Ron tries to fix my laptop... I am hoping to get an iMac out of the deal but we'll have to see. For now, I can barely run 2 programs at the same time, and forget about browsing more than one webpage. This computer is slow and irritating, and I've had little inclination to post with all the hassle of uploading pictures.

Ella and I have made friends with group of girls who do play dates and most have girls around Ella's age. It's been a great and welcome addition to our days and we've been to playgrounds, bounce house gyms, and today a birthday party. Here are some pics...

Ella Funnies

Ella has become such the funny little girl and everyday surprises us into laughter with her random thoughts, expressions and banter.

* In a Walmart parking lot she randomly and aggressively yelled out, "HEY BUDDY!" This was to no one in particular, but there happened to be a pickup truck full of construction workers nearby...

* When we ask her to eat her dinner, if it's something she doesn't want (veggies in particular) she replies, "No thank you. I don't like them. I'll like them when I'm older."

* Yesterday. Everything is yesterday. "I saw it yesterday." "I wore it yesterday." "I went there yesterday."... it could have been last week but in her time frame, if it already happened, it happened...yesterday :)

* She is married to Emmi. Emmi is her husband. She'll talk about how I married Daddy, and when she takes notice of my wedding ring, she understands I am married to her Daddy. One morning, she looked at my ring, looked at her hand and declared with woeful drama, "Oh no! Where's my ring? I lost it? Emmi didn't give me a ring. Mommy, I'm married to Emmi but he doesn't give me a ring yet." (Christina, she misses Emmi sooooo much!)

* Chores. We have introduced chores to Ella, the little mommy. She mimics me in so many ways and I often find her engaging household "chores" that usually involve more cleanup on my part in the end. The other day she took her bath towel, soaked it in the sink and then used it to wipe the bathroom mirror...water everywhere. So now, she is responsible for making her bed in the morning and doing her dishes. I wash her dishes and she dries them and puts them away. We have very little cupboard space so I have some baskets on a shelf which also makes it easy for her to set the table too :)

Three has been a trying year, two has nothing on a 3 year old! But now that we are weeks away from her fourth birthday, I've seen a tremendous change for the better. Her fits are few and far between and in order to keep her in line I threaten to never do things again if she can't "act like a lady." At the playground, she would often throw tantrums (as all toddlers do) when it was time to leave. Now, we have a little talk before about being a big girl and how if she can't act right, we won't be coming back. Now, I give her a 5 minute heads up that it will soon be time to go, and when it is time to leave, she tells her friends, "Bye friends, see you next time!" and skips back to me... it's the best!

Ballet Class Part Deux

We had another ballet trial class this evening, and as adorable as it was, it was very structured and the teacher far more strict than this morning's class. This is the kind of place I would take Ella if she was a little older because of the discipline and the fact that it is quite acclaimed.

The other dance studio this morning was geared more towards her age, the instructor was great with the little girls, and well, let's face it... the costume for the recital is cuter :) I guess it really comes down to this: this morning is where she would learn to love dance, tonight is where she would become a dancer, and at almost 4, I'm looking for something that will teach her to love, not mold her with rigidity.

But, that said, it was another great photo op:)

Ballet Class

Today was Ella's first ballet class. I'm not sure who was more excited, her or me :) She is so grown now and went into class without hesitation and instantly made friends and introduced herself when called on. All the girls are just too cute, it's ridiculously adorable how pink tutus and chubby toddler bellies are!

Today was an awesome day! After ballet class, Ella and I went for lunch at her favorite restaurant, Chilli's. The manager came by and when he found out it was Ella's favorite place, he gave her a free lunch. Then at Party City, shopping for Ella's Tiana and the Frog birthday party, Ella got a free balloon. I tell her it's only because she's being so good for me today :) Her balloon eventually blew away and after only a few seconds of tears, she said, "It's okay,Mommy. I'm not going to cry. We can get another one." Melted my heart for sure!