A good reminder

Found this lovely reminder on Annabelle's nightstand this morning :)

Seven

Well, my firstborn is 7. She once again talked her parents into letting her have yet again a slumber party! So Annabelle, Katrina, Emma, Starlena and Siera partied it up on Friday the 4th! It was a pretty jam packed 15 hours of fun. The girls started out making their individual pizzas for dinner, then then we opened gifts, had some strawberry shortcake, did a mad lib, made some bracelets, watched a movie and then bed. Bedtime was a bit of a challenge, but that comes with the whole slumber party package. Everyone started out in the sleeping bags in the loft together, then around midnight, everyone moved to a bed, and wala! That was enough to get them to sleep! I made some choc chip waffles, and eggs for breakfast, and then more bracelet making and yet another movie, before parents came at 10. It was so much fun, I think Annabelle just about burst! It is worth it all to see my little 7 yr. old have the time of her life!

The fab 5!

Some delicious pizza

Happy Birthday shortcake :)

Star got Annabelle a matching Tangles doll

concentrating hard on bracelet making!

belle my ballerina!

Annabelle performed in a Christmas, end of the year, ballet performance last Sunday night. It was so much fun to see her out there, perfecting each move. She does everything she attempts so well, and I am incredibly proud to be her mama!

So much to do...

**Note the bottom sentence of Annabelle's to-do list for last weekend: "remind mom and dad to give me a surprise". Yes, she just lost a tooth, and that darn tooth fairy forgot to put money under her pillow 2 nights in a row! This girls parents are just that bad. So bad in fact, that it forces their 6 year old to write a subtle "to-do" list to remind us that we need to get the job done**

Preschool time!

So Summer and I began a Monday morning preschool routine for our little ones last year, and are continuing on into this year. Addy and Ella are loving the "school" time together :)

All about the beer

So Chris' latest and greatest hobby has been beer. Not just because he likes to drink lots of it, but because he enjoys experiencing all the many local and international beer flavors there are out there, and pairing them with the right food, etc. Portland is really the best place to do so, short of moving to Germany, which is NOT going to happen anytime soon. Anyhoo, the Curry family went to the Hood River Brew Fest on Saturday, and had a great time. Until 5:30, kids are allowed in, and they had lots of things for the kids to do, and food vendors, etc.

Beers were tasted, faces were painted, live music listened to, and danced to, and I even found a beer that wasn't fruity, that I enjoyed! The kiddos did great, and it was well worth the trip!

My delicious beer (Belgian style Kriek) and my little Hawaiian Belle!

Ella,who looks like she belongs in Avatar, and Annabelle, ready to head to Hawaii!

Nothing like a cute little girl with a blue face, dancing, to grab your attention! :-)

Chris and the little goof ball

Daddy with his girls

Joy of Dance

God has been gracious, and we were able to enroll Annabelle in ballet 1A with "The Joy of Dance" this Fall. She has had 1 class so far with Miss Tasha Irwin as her teacher! It is really so cool, because Tasha and Danielle Irwin are now running "The Joy of Dance" studio and I got the privlege of seeing The Irwin girls grow in their faith and ballet skills while attending Hinson Church and working with them in the youth group, and they have grown up to be beautiful, talented, God-fearing girls who dance for the Lord, and glorify them in their everyday lives. This is why I chose "The Joy of Dance" for Annabelle. My hope is that as they teach her she will see the benefit of using her talents and gifts for God's glory.

Annabelle's first day

Annabelle had her first day of first grade at Walnut Grove Elementary School yesterday! She was so excited, she was up at 6 am, reading in her room cause she couldn't sleep. This girl lives to learn and be social, two things that going to school provides. Her favorite thing about this year...well two things: she got Mr. Peterson (her favorite teacher), and she gets to eat lunch at school. She was so proud of herself, the first thing she said to me when she got off the bus, was; "Mom! I ate all my carrots!". You give them a little independence and they prove you proud! I am hopeful that this is the first of many good decisions this little beauty of mine will make :)

Daddy's little Lakers fan

Thanks to the brightly colored clothing options at Children's Place, Ella can root for her daddy's basketball team, and look stylish. And yes, Ella picked this outfit all on her own too, that is the beauty of it all :)

rockin the 80s in the 00's

Oh yeah. Annabelle is sportin' the side ponytail today (totally her request), so I put her hair up, and she runs into the bathroom to check it out and comes out struttin' like she is walking the catwalk...then says, "hey Ella come look at my hair". Ella replies: "ooooh". Annabelle says: "is that a good oooh, or a bad oooh?" Ella replies: "a bad oooh."

Toes!

So we painted Ella's toes for the first time the other morning, a sparkly pink! She was so very excited! We are working towards painting the fingernails, but she has to stop chewing them off first! She has incentive now. I'm hoping it works! At least she has stopped chewing off her toenails. :-/

Fashionista?

I just had to post a few pics of Ella's recent fashion. She has been all about picking her outfits lately, and we can't help but smile at the awesome creations she comes out of her room wearing :) There are so many more, but here a few that we actually captured on camera...

Growing.....and cutting

Annabelle couldn't take the excruciating hair brushing I put her through each morning, any longer! She has been asking for short hair for quite some time, and I kept saying , lets wait until summer. Well summer came. We have a neighbor who is a hair stylist, and offered to cut Annabelle's hair. Annabelle is the most excited that she has bangs. I have never done bangs on her before. It also just so happened that we went over and did the hair cut at our neighbors house on the last day of school, so watching that haircut was almost more than my heart could handle. Last day of Kindergarten, and a haircut. Not only all that, but now all she wants to do is run around the neighborhood park, playing with all the neighborhood kids. We have entered a new phase of life. It is bittersweet to say the least. I made a last day of school cake for Annabelle, congratulating her for a job well done. I am so amazed at how academically inclined she is! It is so fun to see her love to learn. She tested off the charts in all things with words/phonics/reading this year, and is in a summer reading program through the library. New beginnings are good. God is good. Amen.

Before

During

After

Ella's Favorites

When asked by her mother...this is how she replied....

What is your favorite thing to do? - play on the computer
What is your favorite movie? - Madeleine
If you could paint your room any color, what would it be? - pink and purple
What do you want to be when you grow up? - a doctor
Who is your favorite person? - Ella Ross and Micah
If you could be called by any name, what would it be? - Danbo
Who's your favorite character in the Bible? - Jesus
If you had $5, what would you buy? - milk
What's your favorite thing to eat? - mac-n-cheese
What's your favorite dessert? - pumpkin pie
Who's your favorite person to play with? - Ella Ross
What's your favorite game to play? - Candyland
What's the best kind of cereal ever? - raisin bran
If you cold go anywhere today, where would you go? - Target
What's your favorite bible verse? - Jesus

Ella's audience

As if she needs more people to laugh at her...... this is what Ella has begun doing on a regular basis. Gathering all the animals/dolls/chairs and setting them up to watch her.

school pic

Annabelle's first picture day experience!

Tilt your head to the left
Now look to the right
and smile!

Ella

What do we do with this 3 year old?! She is making us crazy!! Honestly, I know this age is tough for everyone, but man, we are tired! I am pulling my hair out everyday, and yet, she is the one who continues to keep us laughing and smiling..... and I know many of you know what I am talking about. She has either inflicted pain on one of your children, or worn your shoes around our house, or gotten into your purse while you were visiting. I Love this girl :-)

Bookworm

Well, Annabelle has been in Kindergarten for 3 full weeks now, and I must say I am impressed with Walnut Grove school, and her teachers....and of course my Annabelle! The school has wonderful curriculum, and is very organized and on top of things. The first week into school, they tested Annabelle's reading level and discovered that she is reading at a 2nd grade level! We couldn't be more proud of our bookworm. She continues to wow her parents and her teachers. She gets to do some things in Kindergarten, but spends most of the time reading with the first grade classroom, as Walnut Grove focuses mostly on their reading programs. She is feeling quite special, which I am thankful for. I love how proactive these teachers are! They see the special abilities in my little girl, and it just confirms our decision to put her in this school was the right one! Looking forward to Parent Teacher Conferences to find out more! :-)

Transitions....

Annabelle has lost her first tooth at age 5.5. It is amazing how quickly this baby of mine continues to become a little girl. Man o man, am I ready for this? Tuesday afternoon, Annabelle came to me saying she wanted to get her tooth out, but it was hurting her, so I asked if I could give it one little twist and see what happens...after a few minutes of coaxing, she let me, and one little twist was all it took! Out came one tiny little baby tooth! I am finding these little events to feel bigger than they seem. And I think Annabelle has been a bit overwhelmed by it all as well. She has been over- emotional these last couple weeks, with her new status as Kindergartner, less time at home, and now her first tooth gone, it has been a rough and exciting couple weeks for all of us. I think it all came to a head last night. I went to bed at 9:30 (on good TV night) as I was purely exhausted! After an afternoon of many tantrums or breakdowns...whatever you want to call them...over little things with Annabelle, and then the usual keeping up with Ella's antics, and an emotional Kyle too (the little 4-yr. old boy I watch), I made an appointment at the gym, so that I could go work off some built up tension....I mean I was ready to explode. And like two hours prior to even leaving for the gym, Annabelle had started complaining about not wanting to go to the childwatch at the gym, because it is "boring and has baby toys". I told her, mommy needed it today, and she was gonna go anyway. So after many tears and much arguing, we pull up to the gym and I drag her inside, thinking all the while that once we get there everything will be fine. WRONG! Annabelle screamed and clung to me like I have NEVER seen her do, like an animal was chasing her! The ladies in the childwatch were being so supportive and trying to help, but to no avail. After about 10 minutes, I was drenched with sweat and in tears myself, so I gave up and we went home. Annabelle won this one. I felt defeated, but also felt compassion for my little exhausted girl, who ate some dinner and went to bed early after we had a little conversation. My mothers words were ringing in my head from when Annabelle was a baby...."Amber, you are going to have to be prepared to drop what you want to do and go home at any given moment." This was that kind of moment. I could not control Annabelle's emotions. And I never will be able to. A good lesson for me. We don't always get what we want, as I often tell my children! Thank the Lord for new days and starting over. Annabelle got in my bed with me this morning and the first words out of her mouth were, "I love you mom"....her apology to me. It melted my heart, and gave me what I needed to go forward with this new day! God is so good, and has given me these precious girls. I have a thankful heart today.

Just like the saying goes....

spilled milk.....

cryin' about it...