Happy Birthday Bootles!

December 1st...the day Andy and I were blessed with our first beautiful daughter.  Today, Ava Lynn celebrated her 6th birthday with all of our family at our house.  Wow...six!  Six just seems so old.  She has truly grown up before our eyes!  When I first held her six years ago...she melted our hearts and has continued to do so each day.  I never thought that time would pass this quickly...I just want to keep her little forever. 

This evening both sides of our family came over for dinner and to celebrate Care Bear style.  I swear she chose this Care Bear theme based on the cake.  When we were picking out Isaiah's cake in August she wanted to look through the catalog too.  She instantly spotted this colorful Care Bear cake and it came with very decent sized stuffed bear on top.  SOLD!  That was it right there.  From that moment she has wanted her party to be based off of these cute little animals.  You'd be surprised how much Care Bear stuff is really out there.  She received so many nice gifts and had a blast.

This morning Ava woke up to open the rest of her birthday presents.  She got to open one the night before...Daddy's idea.  She was up and at 'em early this morning...so excited for her big day!

She's really wanted one of the Leapster games.  Along with this she got the Brave game and the Pixar Nemo, Toy Story, and Walle game.

How cute is the Care Bear cake she ordered?  I loved how it had so many colors.

Our Sweet Pea!

Mommy loves you!

I had Ava take pictures with everyone who came to her party. 

Silly Uncle Darrell and Cousin Kirstin

Great Grandma Richardson

Grandma Richardson

Uncle Alan and Aunt Karen

Grandpa Richardson

Great Grandpa Richardson

Ava and Isaiah...he was exhausted and was in no mood to pose for the camera.  He ate dinner, played a little, and fell asleep on the couch a little after six.  Andy eventually carried him to bed and he's still sound asleep.

Grandma Van Slyke

Aunt Jody and Tim

Daddy loves his princess!

 

Uncle Dave

Uncle Kevin and Cousin Isabelle

Grandpa Van Slyke

Aunt Julie

Miss Ava opening a bean bag...she really wanted one and Aunt Julie, Kevin, and Isabelle got one for her.

The princess on her thrown opening even more gifts.

Love the feathered boa...courtesy of Aunt Jody and Tim.  She also loved her Teacher Barbie.

Isaiah working on a craft on the floor!

Time to blow out the candles!  Happy Birthday Love!

Party's over, everyone left, Isaiah is sound asleep, so Ava and Daddy dug into her new Lego house set.  These Lego Friends are awesome!  A perfect end to a great day!

Ava Lynn,
Thank you for being you...our funny, beautiful, silly, and loving daughter.  We love how artistic you are and how your creativity shines through in everything you do.  You are an amazing big sister to your brother and will be to your little sister.  You're helpful, kind, loving, and have such a strong heart.  I love how you care so much about your friends and family and are always looking out for others.  You have a beautiful voice...your Daddy and I love listening to all the songs you sing...especially the ones that you make up on your own.  Know that we love you more every day and would do anything for you.  God blessed us six years ago with you and since then we've promised to be the best Mommy and Daddy we can.  We love you more than you will ever know and are so proud of you! 
                                                                               Happy Birthday Bootles!
                                                                               Mommy and Daddy

My Three Happy's:
1) Andy put together a slide show of Ava growing up on his i-pad and had it running throughout her party.  I loved seeing how much she's grown.  Those pictures in the hospital just make me want to cry!  Even though it's been six years I remember it like it was yesterday.

2) My baby turned 6!  I love having our families over to celebrate!  It means so much to all of us that we can get together.

3) The kids opened up Day 1 of their Advent Calendar.  In the pocket contained a clue that lead them to The Elf on the Shelf...the real thing.  After reading the story the kids decided to name him Christmas Tree.  They got this name from one of the elves nicknames in Disney's Prep and Landing.  Each day Christmas Tree watches over to make sure the kids are being nice and when they fall asleep at night he travels back to the North Pole to report back to Santa.  The next morning he lands somewhere different in the house to watch the kids again.  They were excited!

My Favorite Thing:
**A clean house...I'm seriously going to try to see how long I can keep it organized and picked up.  I also put in a new Scentsy that smells like Christmas trees.  LOVE that scent too!

Elf on a Shelf

What's the Christmas holiday without the crafts that go along with it.  Have you ever heard of Elf on the Shelf?  You can click on the link below to read more about this special tradition.  Instead of buying the Elf on the Shelf doll we made our own today.  This idea stems off of a craft that I've been doing in my class as a ceiling decoration.  The kids loved this activity and made a boy and girl elf who will be carefully watching us this holiday season.

Elf on the Shelf

 



Isaiah working on Mr. Elf.  He was concentrating so hard to cut on the lines.  He does a great job with scissors.

Ava was gluing the bells on her elf's dress.  She added brown hair to hers so it would look like her.

Isaiah cuddling with his new buddy.

Giving Mr. Elf a little handshake.

A happy Bootles.  I love how she added brown hair to her elf.

There you have it...two elves on the shelf...well the bench.  These two will be watching over us to see if we're all "naughty or nice." 

 

 

My Three Happy's:

1) I love turning on the satellite TV and finding the traditional Christmas music station.  These classics fill out house each night and the kids have grown to love them! 

 

2) Andy got a new coffee maker and it's one of those that takes those individual mini cups and makes single cups of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and cider.  It's ready in 2 minutes and tastes delicious.  I take the occasional tiny sip of coffee and savor the taste.  That's as good as it's going to get for the next 4 months. 

 

3) Tootsie Pop suckers...cherry flavored.  For some odd reason they taste so good right now!

 

My Favorite Thing:

**Christmas Cottage Scentsy fragrance...love it!



A Mouse on Skates

I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day...stuffed your faces with yummy food...and just enjoyed being with your family and the people you love!  We are so fortunate to have both of our parents so close!  It's great around the holidays when we can spend time with everyone. 

Tonight marks the last day of Thanksgiving break...ugh!  I really was getting used to staying in my pajamas late and doing whatever we wanted to do.  Back to reality I guess.  This evening my parents took our family and my sister's family to see Disney on Ice.  This is the second ice show from Disney we've seen and they are by far the best.  The stage is filled with characters and there is so much excitement...not to mention the toys and food they sell there.  It's an understatement to say the kids were spoiled tonight.  I guess if I had grandkids like these two who looked at me with those eyes, I wouldn't be able to say no either.  It was quite a show...enjoy the character pictures!

Isaiah and Ava before we left.  Isaiah wore the Dumbo hat we got at Disney World this summer and Ava was wearing the Mickey Mouse Santa hat we got there a few years ago.

What a cutie!

Someone is excited and ready to go!

Grandma and Ava before the show started.  The kids LOVED the Papa Johns pizza they sold there.  They both ate their entire giant slice!  Amazing!

Daddy and Isaiah eating pizza too.

Smiles with Grandpa and Grandma

Me and my Boo.  He wanted to show off how much pizza he had eaten and kept asking me, "Do you think I'll be able to eat the whole thing?"

Of course you have to have a snowcone in a Squirt cup...what's a show without that!

Isaiah loved his blue snowcone complete with a Mickey Mouse light-up cup.

The Magic Kingdom castle before the show started.

The most famous mouse in the world!

The whole gang

Goofy discovered the secret lantern...and who could be inside?

It's the Genie!

Aladdin

 

When you wish for one Genie...you never know what you'll get!

Nemo that cute clownfish

Marlin and Dory searching for Nemo.

Bruce...the fierce but friendly shark.

Minnie and Mickey's outfits were so cute!

Belle from Beauty and the Beast

Lumiere...

...and finally The Beast!

Gaston...the evil villain...trying to get the Beast.

At last the Beast is transformed and he and Belle live "happily ever after."

Ariel and Eric

Jasmine and Aladdin

Pocahontas and John Smith

Cinderella and Prince Charming

The green army men from Toy Story.

What could be inside this box?

 Not Woody...he's curious too!

Ahh...it's Buzz Lightyear!

Buzz himself!

Hee Yaw!  Woody's sidekick Jessie.

Another dance from Mickey and Minnie.

It's a Small World After All!  This was just like the ride.

How pretty is this?

Showing off a blue tongue at intermission.

Isaiah sporting his new Mickey crown.

And shoving in a little cotton candy.

Ava too...I haven't had that stuff in a while...it was good!

On with the show.  Donald leading the marching band with his drum.

Stitch...causing trouble as aways.

Jiminy Cricket

Tinkerbell flying in.

Pinocchio...his nose even grew!

Geppetto...Pinocchio's father 

The HUGE whale from the fairytale.

Mickey again...just looking at his character makes you want to be at Disney World.

Mulan

Daddy and Isaiah watching the Mulan section of the show.

The Emperor's Army getting ready to fight the Huns to save China.  This really is a good movie...very adventurous!

Mulan and Mushu the dragon.

The Incredible Family

The wise Rafiki...

...and Timon and Pumba.

Simba and Nala joined them and did a beautiful dance.

The finale with all the characters.

Fireworks over the castle...just like it would be every night over the Magic Kingdom.

We'll see you in less than a year Mickey!  Thanks for a great show...and thanks Mom and Dad for the tickets and for spoiling the kids with goodies!

 

 

My Three Happy's:

1)  Are you aware of how cute baby girl clothes are?  I must have forgotten how tiny and adorable they are.  We went to Target the other day and Ava helped me pick out a few...well...lots of new stuff for the baby.  She was all about it!  Our new little girl is kicking every day...her favorite time of day seems to be between 7 and 9 at night.  Probably because that's actually the time I finally sit down for the day.  I can't help but notice her profile in the ultrasound pictures.  She has the same little nose as her big brother and sister.  She's going to be breathtaking!

Here is a picture taken on Thanksgiving Day of Julie and me!  Both due the same time with girls...and not only us...but my cousin Kim is due in January with a girl and my cousin Kayla is due in April with a girl too.  Lots of little beauties will be joining our family!

 

2) Making my first Christmas craft of the season!



What can you make with little brown envelopes, number stickers, scrapbook paper, and mini clothespins? 

An Advent Calendar...a little shout out of thanks goes out to Midwest Living magazine for the idea.

Starting December 1st...the kids will open up one envelope each day and get a little treat or small surprise.  I thought this would be a fun way to countdown the holiday. 

 

3) We finally have our real tree up.  It's full of white lights, a tree topper, and a few decorative spikes...but I can't seem to find the right ornaments to put on it.  I LOVE the smell of fresh pine. 

 

My Favorite Thing:

*While searching for baby colors for the nursery I've stumbled upon many ideas around the yellow/gray combination and have fallen in love with that color scheme.  I found a cute bedding set that my parents are buying for us...thanks Mom and Dad.  How adorable is this?  Love it!



 



 Migi Sweet Sunshine by Bananafish