Happy 5th Birthday, Emma!

I can not believe Emma is 5 years old today. Where has the time gone? My baby is turning into a little girl who acts likes she is going on 15...sometimes!

Emma had, in her own words, "the best birthday ever!"

Before school she got to open Miss Loni's special present, A book from Rio and Fransceco

It was a school day, which in my world would be a bummer to have to spend my birthday going to school, but not for Emma. The kid loves going to school. I just hope the thought continues for many more years.

But after walking in to her room, I now know why. All the kids were waiting for her and as she turned the corner they began singing "Happy Birthday". The tears came again, for me.

Her chair had a special sign that said Classroom Queen and she got to wear a special sticker. Also, I was able to bring in a special snack for the class, Cupcakes! Now, anyone who knows me would think that I stayed up all night and made homemade cupcakes, but I am

learning the my limitations and ordered purple cupcakes from the Nugget!

After school, as a Birthday surprise ( I am kidding) , Emma had her first CCD class. Again, she was thrilled to go because she was going to be in class with her buddies, Regular Alex and Danny. Lourdes( Danny's Mom) and I have named them the 3 Musketeers!

From there, Party #2 began! This time it was just us 4 with Mimi, Gramps and Aunt Erica via Skype!

Blowing out her unlit candle

Her birthday request list grew daily but here are a few items that she got to open:

Cars Monopoly from The Canovas

My little Pony movie from Gracie, Bonnie, Aunt Erica and Uncle Corey

Shake it Up clothes from Mom and Dad

"Spydeey" the spy plane from Cars 2 compliments of her sister

And a Barbie bath castle.Thanks Nana and Pop Pop!

Quite the eclectic mix but as we found out she now loves the Disney show Shake it Up, and playing with Barbies. So in other words, as she grows so does her tastes and I think that is one thing that I love about her. She will try and has interest in such a mix of things, I think it helps to keep her growing more well rounded.

I think this past year, from 4 to 5 has been one of my favorite years, because Emma has grown so much. She proves to be an independent, loving and free spirited child. She still has to wear only her purple polka-dot bow with everything and gets on her kicks about food and will have the same meal request daily for a while and then change it up slightly. She still sleeps with her snakes, princess blanket and polka-dot blanket. She is starting to ask for things by Brand Name ( thank you commercials on Disney) and also continues to impress us all with her knowledge. She is just like her father, wants to know everything about everything. But like me she has become the social butterfly at school.

Happy Birthday, Emma! We love you and wish you all the joy you deserve for this next year of your life.

Vroom, Vroom...

Losin Raceway had a lot of winners this past Saturday, but none as special as the Birthday Girl herself!

Emma's Cars 2 themed party was a blast and it was my favorite one to plan to date. I am absolutely exhausted, but it was worth it! Everyone had a good time and most of all Emma!

All of Emma's classmates from last year were there as well as some new friends. Dan-the-man, Sofia, Regular Alex, Colin, Ava, Finley, Erica, Melodie, Nica, Kiya and of course Ellison.

Danny and Sofia

Finley

Ava

Regular Alex

Each racer picked up their pit pass and headed straight for the bounce house when they arrived.

After a little bit it was time to strap on the helmets and hit the track. This could be the only time I was thankful for a mulch pit of a back yard ( the house we are renting has no landscaped yard. It is literally a mulch pit, but it was perfect for the party). The kids divided into teams and did a relay of passing the balloon. We had a couple of redoes but they all crossed the finish line and only one clothesline accident from Kiya to Danny.

Next we played charades, or a version there of. They did great and we got to see how creative they can be at making Buzz Lightyear.

Colin jumping like a frog! Check out the height he got!

Then they got to color a race car for themselves to take home.

I thought all of those activities would keep 12 kids happy for a good period of time, but when I looked down and saw we still had another hour, I thought how do teachers do it all day! Thank goodness the pizza girl showed up.

So it was pizza and fruit for the kids, plus a little extra m&m's from the table arrangements, and my mom being in town helped me feed the "Pit Crew". We had pork tenderloin sandwiches, meatballs stuffed with mozarella, toast points with goat cheese and olive tapenade and a green salad.

From there it was time for cake. Emma wanted a race track cake with Holly Shiftwell and Lightning McQueen on top. Voila!

It was a perfect party for our very special Girl! As crazy as it gets for me to plan these parties, I would not have it any other way. It was a memorable day for all and nothing brings me more happiness than to see my girls smile!

Thankfully, I have several more months before planning Ellison's next party!

Ellison At 15 Months

At 15 months, Ellison is still a peanut.

We had her check up today and here are her stats:

Weight: 20lbs 5.4 oz , 12.45 percentile

Height: 2 feet 7 inches, 65th percentile

Head: 42 cm, 23rd percentile

She is dying to turn around in the car, but she is still facing backwards. We are trying to keep her that way as long as we can. They now want toddlers to stay rear facing until they are 2.

She also still loves her Nelda and her pacifier. Good news is, the Dr said he is not concerned about her pacifier being in her bed until about 2, then we need to give it up. This buys me a little more time. I do not know why it is so much harder with her to do the tough love like I did with Emma. She also stopped using the sleep sack tonight.

Her vocabulary grows each day and her latest words are purple, butterfly, Ra Ra ( Miss Kiara) and Ka- Chow! (what Lightening McQueen says).

She loves to watch Mickey and Dora. She is still fascinated with how things work. She is always studying how things open shut and how they fit together. Maybe she will end up an Engineer or on a poster somewhere giving "The Face".

She is still a MaMa's girl. She likes to dance to just about anything. She is definitely my more girlie girl out of the two. She likes to put on all of Emma's Jewels and look at herself in the mirror. She also stills loves to play with baby dolls and brush mine and Emma's hair.

She can use a fork and a spoon. There is a lot of mess involved, but she has to start somewhere.

She still loves to go outside and do just about anything. She would go hiking all day, if she could. She just takes it all in and smiles. Who wouldn't though, if you were getting toted around in a baby bjorn?

We can not wait to see what the next few months have in store.