Quick trip to Florida

We got home this afternoon from a quick Memorial Day weekend trip to Orlando to visit Mee-Maw and Pa-Pa. We had a lovely time and managed to dodge most of the rainstorms that are threatening the Sunshine State's reputation lately. We actually found fun and trouble at several local spots, but my camera only made it out of my bag at the Orlando Science Center. We spent Sunday morning there with Mr. Potato Head and some dinosaurs. The fact that there are so many more photos of Easton than of Ella is testament to my children's personalities. Ella is into any one thing for about 20 seconds before losing interest and moving on to the next object of interest. Easton is my super focused boy, and like his daddy, can sit at one activity for a very long time until he tackles every aspect of it. Ella was just hard to catch sitting still for very long!

Both kids were their charming selves, and even with hot airplanes and a couple of vomiting episodes thrown into the mix, it was a successful weekend! Thanks for everything, Pa-Pa and Mee-Maw!

Ella's Birthday -- Part 2

Monday the 11th was Ella's actual birthday, and we decided to give her our gifts that morning rather than at her party. We got her a water table, a Dora and Princess swimsuit, and Evan picked out "The Lady Bug Game" for her. She loved all her gifts, but I have to highly recommend "The Ladybug Game" for the 3-5 year old set. It is really simple, requires no reading, and Ella loves to play. (The first time Evan played her and won, she got really sad and said, "No, I want to win." This was a good opportunity to talk about being a gracious loser and having fun just playing. Tough lesson, but one of many tough lessons ahead, I guess!)

We continued her special day later by meeting Daddy at McDonald's for lunch and some Playplace time. She then went home to eat the enormous decorated cupcake she chose from Whole Foods earlier that morning.

Evan continued the tradition he began last year of buying her roses to correspond with the number of years old she is. She doesn't quite get this yet, but I think as she gets older she will be grateful for what a sweet daddy she has.

So, Ella is officially 3! Now it's time to start think Easton's birthday in August. Elmo party, anyone?

From my Mother's Day card

This is what Evan wrote in on the left side of my Mother's Day card this year:

10 Things You Never Thought You'd Hear Yourself Say Before you Became a Mother

10. "I need you to eat something healthy first. Would you like a hot dog?"

9. "Honey, your other shoe is in the playpen."

8. "Would you please get off the table?"

7. "Do we stick beans up our nose?"

6. "No, you cannot put a Band Aid on your tongue."

5. "Please finish your ice cream."

4. "Honey, the Target coupon is in the popcorn bag."

3. "Would you like some more ketchup for your green beans?"

2. "No, don't cut your tongue."

1. "You've got a giant booger in your nose; here, let me get that for you."

Ella's Birthday -- Part 1

Ella’s 3rd birthday was a big and drawn out event at our house. Her party was on Friday, but her actual birthday wasn’t until Monday, so it really felt like four days of birthday extravaganza. And, oh yeah … Mother’s Day fell on Sunday in the middle of it all.

The fun started on Friday morning at school. When I initially asked months ago what kind of party she wanted, she said “pink.” That is her answer for many questions, you see. She LOVES pink. It’s not just her favorite color; Ella IS pink. The pink bowl, cup, and plate never make it to the dishwasher in our house because she must use them every meal. So they are either in the sink or the drainer. (That was, of course, before she received a Disney Princess plate, fork, and spoon for her birthday, but I am jumping ahead of myself.)

I began planning a pink party. You will see below in the photos that pink was well represented. As time went on, though, she wanted a Princess and Dora party. (Life lesson: never ask a three year old to decide anything more than about five minutes before execution of said decision.) So, I planned a princess party for school and a Dora incorporated into the already planned pink party at home.

I must interject for those of who do not have a 2-5 year old girl in their lives that “princess” is not a generic term; it refers specifically to the Disney Princesses. In yet another brilliant marketing ploy, Disney has brought the princess heroines (Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Jasmine) from their films together in group form and used them to market anything and everything you can think of. In our modest home alone, we have a nightgown, full place setting, book, bike helmet, bouncy ball, and backpack featuring the princesses. Ella has not seen a single Disney film in its entirety. (She is beginning to watch parts of “The Little Mermaid,” but I am taking issue with the glorification of a snotty teenage mermaid’s defiance and disobedience of her father, that incidentally leads to great wealth, fame, and success. Exact same theme in “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast” … but I digress again.) Yet even though she has never seen the movies, she knows every princess on sight. Jasmine happens to be her current favorite.

So to school we took cookies with pink M & M’s and pink lemonade to be served on Disney Princess plates and in pink cups. Evan picked her up a bit early from school and delivered eight pink helium balloons for her to share with her friends. According to Evan, this was a great hit with the kids. I think the only reason Ella’s teachers are still speaking to me is that we dropped them off at the very end of the day.

After school, lunch, and a quick nap, about nine of Ella’s buddies from church and the neighborhood arrived for the 3:00 pm birthday party at home. Evan was home, and Pops and Nana came to help. We had snacks and a craft and then went outside to play on the swing set and in our brand new very own bounce house. (See explanation below)

We then came back inside to have cupcakes and open gifts. Ella was so sweet while she opened her presents. She hasn’t really been to many “friend parties” in her memory, so the idea that all her friends brought gifts for her was a bit confusing. She kept saying, “Is this for me?” and every time she opened a gift, she would say, “Oh my! Mama look at this!” When everyone left, she was concerned that they had left their gifts behind, so we had to explain to her again that she got to keep all the presents. It does my heart well that she made it all the way to the 3 years old without knowing that she gets lots of stuff on her birthday. (That little moment is now over, and I do not expect a repeat performance at her 4th birthday party. Nonetheless, I am blogging about now so when she emerges as a green eyed monster, I will remember that she was once naïve about the whole concept.)

She received pajamas, a shorts outfit, a few new books, an Ariel doll, a puzzle, the prized Princess place setting (including placemat), and many other wonderful gifts. She loved ALL of them, and they are all being well loved and played with.

All in all, the party was a great success. We had plenty to keep the kids busy without feeling like we were keeping the Army’s schedule. The kids were all sweet, kind, and gracious with one another, and I think the moms actually had a reasonably good time, too. Easton, in true Easton fashion, rolled with the big kids and took it all in. Our house did not look like a warzone when all was said and done thanks to great friends and Pops and Nana vigilantly cleaning up behind us as we went. We spent the rest of the weekend recovering … and gearing up for the actual birthday on Monday …

(Oh, yes … we bought a bounce house. The Michael branch if our family bought one a few years ago, and I just never thought we would follow suit. But after looking into renting one for the party, we realized that buying one of our own would pay for itself in two rentals. So … we now own a bounce house!)

Three years ago today ...

Hard to believe three years has flown by ... yet we can't remember life before her. Happy birthday, baby girl!

(We'll post pictures from the birthday festivities in the next couple of days.)

The verdict is in!

It's a boy!!

Easton's Dedication

The Arkansas trip is still to come. I am waiting on Evan to transfer a few photo files for me ...

On Sunday, April 26th, we joined several other families at our church in dedicating ourselves to raising our children to know and love Jesus above all else. We did this with Ella, and now it was Easton's turn! It is a simple cermenoy in front of the church; it is really just a public way of telling our church family of our intentions as parents and to seek their support as we raise our family. (Our church does not baptize infants, believing that baptism is each person's choice to make after they make a personal decision to follow Jesus. This is not a make or break theology issue for us; this is just how we are choosing to do this.)

Easton did great during his five minutes on stage in front of over 500 people. He got kind of squirmy toward the end, but he held on and kept it together! We didn't get any photos at church, but here are a few before we left home. I would love to have a few of just Easton, but when he sees a camera, he comes running for it, so all my solo shots of him are close ups of his nostrils!

Girls' Trip to NYC

Mid- April, Evan and I each took one of our kids and flew out of the Charlotte airport for separate destinations: the girls went to New York City and the boys headed for JoPop and GloMom’s house in Arkansas. Ella had really been wanting to see her cousin Auden in NYC, but primarily for space reasons, all four of us going to stay with my sister in her East Village home was not a great plan. Further, my mom was up there the same week helping out with childcare, so it was already a bit “snug” in the sleeping quarters. Instead of Evan taking off four days of work just to sit at home with Easton, I suggested they take a trip of their own and visit Evan’s parents. So off we went!

Here is a report on NYC; tomorrow I will post pics and stories from Arkansas!

Ella was great on the plane. She has flown quite a bit for a not even three year old, but as she and I were both recovering from ear infections when we flew, I was a bit nervous about pressure changes in the plane cabin. It turns out we were both well enough to do just fine. Nana and Auden met us at JFK, and we took a cab back to the Mitchell’s apartment. Ella LOVED the cab ride. She knows a song all about riding in a taxi, so we sang … I am sure much to the driver’s great pleasure.

The next few days were spent riding the subway (which she also loved), playing in Central Park, riding the Staten Island Ferry, eating hot dogs and ice cream, and playing with her cousins; we even got to spend one day with our good friends from Albany, Maddy and Miss Angela! They drove all the way down to the city to see us for the day. Maddy and Ella picked up right where they left off the last time they saw each other. They really have a special friendship.

We flew home exhausted and ready to get around town in the Odyssey instead of the subway, but it was a fun time in the big city!