Ella turned five?

Well, I guess I should probably post something for Ella’s milestone birthday. I think I was hoping that if I didn’t acknowledge it on here, then it didn’t really happen and she would still be my little girl. I could still fool myself into thinking pre-April 25th.

But, it did happen.

Ella turned 5.

That seems so old for my girl. She seems so big. When I am with her, I really notice the things that make her seem older – her lengthening blond hair, her height (compared to her brother), the phrases she comes out with, the attitude she gives (oh boy!).

But there are a few things that remind me of her actual age – the way she still needs her blankie at bedtime, how she loves to snuggle with us, her sensitive feelings when she feels she’s been wronged. And her speech (we KNOW we’ll have sessions with the speech therapist next year).

So, she’s an enigma. Big and little, all at once.

Her current likes:

Raw veggies
Fruit, fruit and more fruit - especially strawberries & watermelon
Her new scooter
Art class
Digging in the dirt
Drawing
Playing with play-doh
Eating tacos at the mall
Cats
Singing songs and being sung to

Her current dislikes:

Cooked veggies
Meat (at least, she THINKS she doesn’t like it)
Having to wait until September to go to school
Eating a “real” breakfast
Having her hair combed or put into pigtails
When her brother ignores her
When her brother gets in her face (see, an enigma!)

I feel like I could say a lot about her, but I also feel like I can’t put it all into words. I feel like the past 5 years have zipped by with not enough pictures, not enough time. Why can’t I remember more of her as a baby? Like all parents, I wish I could go back to relive every single moment with my kids.

This all makes me so emotional. A teary mess, really.

I guess all I can say about our Ella is that she is a sweet, sensitive, stubborn, creative, funny girl who we absolutely love to pieces. We can’t imagine our family without her in it!

A dry spell!

So, my last post was about Ben's school year finishing, and now we're practically at the start of the next one. I'm a terrible blogger!

I don't know that I have a lot to write about today though...hmm, let me start with a run-down of each kid's favorite things:

Ben:
- loves zucchini bread (which reminds me that we should make some more!), Grandpa's steak, water (good!), cream soda (meh, not so healthy) and coke slurpees (bad!)
- loves watching Pokemon
- can now call up Pokemon episodes on our PVR
- loves to rewind things on the PVR - I swear, if we watch America's Funniest Videos, he will rewind a funny clip 10 times
- he will laugh every single time
- reads like crazy - anything, anywhere
- still likes to give hugs
- loves playing the Wii - specifically Super Mario Galaxy 2, as Gord's "co-star"
- also likes Lego Batman
- kicks butt at "Guess Who"
- has been using his manners so well lately
- loves to boss his little sister around
- can swim like nobody's business
- can ride his two-wheeler really well
- loves the monkey bars, but has yet to master swinging across them

Ella:
- likes to have her hair put in ponytails or pigtails or braids, but only if she gets a candy
- loves to hit her brother when he bugs her
- spends a lot of time in her room, alone, in a time out for hitting her brother
- loves to eat
- asks for a snack as soon as she's done supper
- asks for another snack when she's done the first snack
- requests a song before bed
- knows her letters and is pretty good at counting to 30, with only a few missed numbers, or switched numbers
- knows some letter sounds
- loves Grandpa's steak, berries of any kind, tomatoes, cheese
- loves to watch Ben & Gord play video games
- can swim without water wings, and loves to swim with a snorkel & goggles
- loves to draw and write words and cut paper to make "flags"
- likes purple

OK, that took me like all afternoon to come up with. Maybe I should post a few pics later??

Ella, the horse whisperer

The preamble: One of Ella's favorite things to do right now is play with her horse - actually, it's a unicorn. Ben picked out a purple unicorn as her present from him last Christmas - the unicorn has been named Shiny. She loves to run around the house on the unicorn, wearing her sheriff hat (from Grandma Joan & Grandpa Bill). She whinnies and squeals like a horse; it's very loud and shrill at times! Ben also has a horse (handmade by Grandma Joan!) and Ella carries it around the house too.

I walked into Ben's room last night to put some laundry away, and there, all tucked in snugly under the covers, was Ben's horse. Ella followed me in to his room, and I looked at her and said, "Did you tuck the horsey into bed?" "Yup! Ssshh, he's sleeping!"

Silly girl.

The girl has no imagination!

I have to make a note of something Ella said this morning, so I'm writing it here...

She was busy combing her mini-Barbie's hair, and I said, "Oh Ella, my hair looks so nice!" (obviously I was pretending to be the Barbie). Ella then says, "Mommy, she can't talk, she doesn't have a button!"

Short and sweet

I just don't want to forget these!

- Ben got his first phone call from a friend tonight. A boy named C from his class. He had actually left a message for Ben after school, so Ben called him back. Now, this boy can really talk, so Ben didn't say a whole lot - they talked about Nintendo DS games mostly. During their first conversation, C had to go, but he called Ben back later, while we were finishing supper. They talked for a bit, and then I had Ben tell him that he had to finish eating and that they would see each other tomorrow. It was just so cute, and I can't believe my baby is almost 6.

- I just went in to check on Ella, and she's laid her babies on the floor, sharing a doll bassinet, and covered up, not with a blanket, but her pink fluffy princess skirt. The one she wears all the time - her favorite. How adorable is that????

Munscha Meeya

Today, we took the kids to see "Munscha Meeya" at the Prairie Theatre Exchange. This is becoming an annual treat for us over the winter break - last year was the first year, and I was amazed at how the kids sat so well, intent on the show. Today was no different - Ella's face was so cute, watching the characters act out the stories. Though we were only familiar with one of the stories, they were all very good. Ben & Ella love to read Munsch stories, and we have books on CD as well (read by Robert Munsch himself) that are the most requested in the car.

And as we were leaving the theatre, Gord pointed out a poster for a Robert Munsch reading at the Centennial Concert Hall on June 9th. I bought the tickets when we got home...the kids will be beside themselves to hear him read in person!

Whoosh!

Did you hear that? That was the last month or so, flying by.

School, dance, swimming, music, music practice (which isn’t as often as it should be!), holidays, work, renos, etc. etc. etc. It feels like days pass whenever I blink. Suddenly, it’s the last half of October and Halloween is coming, and you all know what comes after that…

And I’m totally obsessing over Christmas shopping.

I’m having trouble, as usual, thinking of ideas for Ella. Despite being a girl myself, I just can’t come up with new gifts for her! She likes what her brother likes. Which is fine – I mean, she can name lots of different Transformers – but geez, she needs some stuff of her own! She likes to dress up in one of her princess dresses and begs to play “Sleeping Beauty” – she lies on the couch with her eyes closed, and the “prince” (a.k.a. Mommy) comes along and kisses her, and then they go back to his castle and dance; repeat x infinity. She loves coins and marbles and scattering them all over the house. She also likes to play “restaurant” and take your order. And then add her own special things to your order – she told me I needed a toy and a book too, and then said I could have Jazz (a Transformer) and for a book, Scaredy Squirrel.

So I don’t know if I should maybe get her a doll (though she has a few already) or doll accessories (which she also has, so I guess I’m answering my own questions there). Or something to do with imaginary play? We already have a kitchen…and a shopping cart, and a cash register. Sigh.

Ben is easy – Transformers! No, not really. He has quite a few already, for a 5 year old boy! I have several ideas for him – he is just easier to buy for. I don’t know why, but he is.

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep the number of presents and toys down to a minimum this year. Three, maybe four, things is what I’m aiming for. We’ll see!

A visit with GG

Sunday, we took a little road trip to Morden. We owed my parents a visit, and GG (my Grandma Lil) was there. Since we don’t see her very often, we try to jump at the chance to see her whenever it presents itself.

I think it’s really important for the kids to have a relationship with their great-grandparents. I have snippets of memories from visits to my great-grandma’s house. The smell, that of an old person’s home. Her ceramics. Playing in her yard.

Ben is always happy to bestow hugs and kisses on GG, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve last seen her. He is so outgoing and friendly and loving. He was on her lap and they were taking turns blowing into each other’s ears. Ben was giggling, and so was GG. They were so stinkin’ cute together.



Ella, on the other hand, likes to play shy with GG. Part of the reason she does this is to drive us crazy; she’s the second child you know, and she’s three and stubborn and moody – she tests us non-stop. Before we left home that morning, Gord asked Ella if she was going to give GG a hug when we got there, and she said “No. I’m going to be shy with GG.” Seriously people, she’s got attitude. Sure enough, she wouldn’t even look at GG when we got there, but after a while she was fine. I know that GG pushing her on the swing is what cleared it all up – push Ella on the swing and she’s your friend for life. And after supper, when it was time to go, Ella did give GG a hug and a kiss.

Hopefully, next time we see GG, Ella will remember that she pushed her on the swing and will be ready to shower her with hugs and kisses, like Ben does. I know that it means the world to GG. And to me.

Bolt love

Gosh, do the kids love the movie Bolt! They ask to watch it every day, seriously. EVERY DARN DAY. As much as I love John Travolta, I dislike Miley Cyrus - she just grates on every last one of my nerves...

Anyways, this morning, I hear Ella in our room, on our bed (I guess I was really asleep!), talking to Simon (one of our cats):

"Come here, boy! Come here!"
"Such a good boy!"
"You saved me again Bolt!"

She's reenacting the movie, with the cat. Very, very cute (even though I hate Miley Cyrus)!

Utter randomness:

"What tha hett?" - What the heck? She gets this from her big brother (only the beginning, I'm sure!) and will say this when something doesn't go the way she thought it would. At least she's clear on the context!

"Anowa bear" - polar bear, although I think the true translation would be "granola bear"

Ella is doing pretty good on the talking front. She will talk and talk and talk, sometimes you really have to pay attention to understand her, but there isn't much that we don't understand these days.

I'm really craving a Starbucks right now. Bad, bad, bad.

Gord really loves his new tv. Or the gargantuan monster, as I like to call it. We've ordered a shelf thing from IKEA to house all the assorted crap we have to hook up to it, and I ordered a few other things, to make the shipping worthwhile (like I need an excuse!). Hopefully it will get here soon and we can set up the living room/dining room properly! Then we will post pictures of the finished product...

Ben is 5 years old in 6 days. I know it's inevitable, but I just can't help but want time to just stop so that I can catch my breath. Oy.

An Ella story

This morning, we were having a family bathroom session (less Gord) and Ella decided that she needed a kleenex to blow her nose. So she balls it all up and holds it to her nose, and makes a loud, gravelly honking noise with her throat. She looks at me and says, "Mommy, my nose farted!"

Shame on us

We are horrible, horrible bloggers, aren't we? I honestly think, almost every day, that I should blog something. And then I forget about whatever blog-worthy happening it was that made me think about it. I got a journal in my stocking at Christmas for this very reason. But I haven't pulled it out yet. And now we're just so out of practice blogging, it's hard to get into it.



I will try harder.



Our home renovations are coming along, albeit pretty slowly. Our walls are out, and hardwoods are about 3/4 done. But now we're getting to the more tenuous areas - against the walls where we can't use the nailer and therefore everything has to be nailed in by hand, around registers and corners, etc. And then we have the hallway to do, which will also be very manual. But it's looking awesome! And hopefully now that Charlie's nails are cut, it will be that way for a little longer. Lesson learned!



Ben is getting pretty excited about his birthday - MY BABY IS GOING TO BE FIVE! How did I become the mom of a 5 year old? Oy. He asks how long until his birthday (it's 31 sleeps...), he's thinking about who he wants to invite, and what he wants to do (play fun games!). I guess I should send a birthday list to some people...



I registered Ben for skating lessons - it's a parent & child class. So that means that I had to find some skates for myself - Ben got his for Christmas from Grandma Joan and Grandpa Bill. Last week was our first class, and he did alright. They basically practiced standing up on the ice for the whole class! And I was hunched over holding him up. But it was fun, and I didn't even fall once! ;) He's also still taking swimming lessons. He's a bit of a slow learner with this - he doesn't like the water in his eyes, and he doesn't like doing his floats. But, I hope that once he gets it, he really gets it and he'll be a fish!



Ella is...uh...one in a million! She's doing a pretty good job potty-training, about 60% of the time she'll make it. But when she's having a bad day, she really has a bad day. She's stubborn and saucy too...but can be very sweet the next minute! Ella loves to pretend to be a kitty or a puppy or a beaver and her and Ben will play like that for quite a while. Usually there's a mommy and a baby, sometimes a Grandma and a Sid, and when they play beavers it's a daddy beaver and a honey beaver. They also like to play Wordgirl and Captain Huggyface. When Ben and Ella play together, it's very, very cute to experience! She is also taking gymnastics again, which is a great way for her to burn off some energy.



I think that's it, in a nutshell. I should really post some pictures...I'll see if I can do that tonight!

A couple of short stories

Last night, as we were eating supper, Ben asked us if we knew what he wanted to be when he grows up. After we said no, we didn’t, he told us that he wants to be a firefighter. Then he added that he wants to be a doctor too. I told him that they were both very good choices, because he would help people be safe and healthy. I think Gord raised the question of how he would find the time to be both, as they are demanding careers. Ben then described how he would “cut the firefighter half in half and then take the doctor half and cut it in half, and then put them together”. And then he said that he would be a firefighter doctor so that he could fix the firetruck. So I guess he wants to be a firetruck mechanic?!?

We were all watching Dancing with the Stars last night (and yes, the kids were interested!) and Ben and Ella decided that they wanted to dance too. So I got up and boogied with Ella a bit, and then Ben cut in (thankfully – do you know how hard it is to dance with a 2 year old?) and they danced together for a few minutes. Once the music stopped, Ella bent over, very low, with one arm up in the air, and says, “Thank you! Thank you!” At first I thought she was doing some funky yoga pose (like warrier pose), but no, she was bowing and thanking her audience. Methinks we have a performer on our hands!

I know we haven’t been blogging much, but now that we’re out of the habit, it’s hard to get back into it! We’ll keep on trying though…I promise!

Repenting...

Sorry folks, we’ve been crazy busy, it feels like. Working, entertaining company, staining decks/fences, riding trains, eating ice cream (JODI!), etc. Excuses, excuses…you’ve heard ‘em all before. We are truly repentant…

Where did we last leave off? Oh yeah…Marble Slab. Good ice cream, that’s for sure. But I was a little disappointed with the cost of my creation. For a couple reasons I won’t delve into here, $6.38, including taxes, was kinda pricey for the amount of ice cream I got. Again, it was yummy, but it’s no Cold Stone. I’ll go back to treating myself at BDI when I’m in the mood for a really good ice cream. And it’s closer. And you can have a nice walk across the bridge while you enjoy your treats. Why yes, you can have more than one. I would.

I bet you didn’t think I could write a whole paragraph on ice cream. Do you KNOW how much I love ice cream? And my son follows in my footsteps…”Ben, what would you like for breakfast today?” “ICE CREAM!” “Sounds good buddy!”

And no, I do not give my children ice cream for breakfast. That’s probably what Grandpa Bill would do, but it doesn’t happen at our house.

Lookie there, now that’s 3 paragraphs on ice cream! I’m on a roll!

At the end of June, we had some wonderful friends come and stay with us – Hi Liz and Logan! They came down for Gord’s friend Ravi’s wedding, and we had such a great time having them here. The wedding was awesome too. We got some great visiting in with Liz and Logan (who’s 3), Garth and Jill, and some other friends that Liz and Gord have in common too. We all took a trip to the zoo on a nice hot day, and were able to work in some Olive Garden salad and breadsticks for Liz! Poor girl doesn’t get there very often! Ben and Ella loved having Logan here to play with, and they all got along so well for not knowing each other at the beginning of their stay. After they left, Ben walked over to me, climbed into my lap, and said that he was going to miss his best friend Logan. Awwwww.

That same weekend as the weddingpalooza, we went to “A Day Out with Thomas” at the Prairie Dog Central. It was great – the weather was awesome – and the kids had fun. They got tattoos, they colored, we rode on “Annie & Clarabel”, saw Sir Topham Hatt, got their picture taken with the big blue guy himself (Thomas), played with some trains, and ate some mini donuts. Whew. It is the same event that we went to 2 years ago in Stillwater, Minnesota. See here.

Now that Gord is done school, he’s at home with the kids all day every day. I am very envious of them…but I’m taking the last two weeks of July off, so we’ll all hang out then. We don’t have a lot of plans for our vacation…we’re instead thinking of doing some renovations…what a way to spoil a vacation, huh?

The kids were at Grandpa Bill & Grandma Joan’s last weekend, and came home on Tuesday. I know they didn’t miss us at all. They both had such a good time that Ella cried her eyes out when they left. If anything lets us know that she had a good time, that’s it!

I should really give an update on each of the kids now…it’s been so long, it seems. Ben is doing really well. He loves to sound out words and hopefully will be reading before long. He likes to write letters – usually they get bigger as he gets farther along in the word, and then when he runs out of room (which usually happens), he will put the letters above, below, at the beginning. Wherever they’ll fit. But the important thing is that he’s writing them. And my perfectionist personality will just have to live with it. ;) Ben also likes to play on the computer – typing in Word, or playing on the Thomas or Nick Jr. websites. While he was “typing” one day, he asked us to help him spell the word “vegetable”, so we helped him sound it all out. That was fun, and he really only had trouble figuring out the “g” (he thought it should be “j”) and the “le”. It is beyond cool to witness him learning this stuff, and to help him along. We’ve already pulled out the “Dick and Jane Treasury” we bought a while ago, and we’ve read some stuff out of that. Ah, the memories…Dick and Jane helped me learn to read…and now we’ve got some Dr. Seuss books to work on too (“Hop on Pop”). Ben loves his bike, especially the horn and bell we’ve recently added to it. He’ll truck up and down the sidewalk, honking and ringing the whole way down and back. I’m sure the neighbors love it! Soccer came and went, and he did alright. I don’t think he really got it until near the end. He would typically complain, after about a minute out on the field, that his legs were tired and he needed to rest and have a drink. It didn’t help that the coaches got them these cool water bottles. All he wanted to do was drink his water, week after week. That and watch his shadow on the field. But he had fun, so that is what matters. And he and Ella have become buddy-buddy with the two kids across the street – the girl is almost 6 and the boy just turned 4. They are fabulous kids and we all have a lot of fun together.

One thing that we’ve come to realize over the last few months is that Ben is no wallflower. He is so un-shy it’s not even funny. He’ll walk right up to someone now and say, “Hi there. I’m Ben. What’s your name?” … “Nice to meet you ___________!” He’ll invite himself into the neighbor’s yard and house, charming his way in every time. What a character. I don’t know where he gets it from. *coughGordcough* *coughcoughChriscoughcough*

And Ella. What can I say about Ella? She’s two.

No, I’ll say more. Ella is getting better at talking. It’s weird though…she has trouble with seemingly simple words, like “Ben” but can whip out “suitcase” no problem. What’s with that? We’ve recently changed the crib into a toddler bed, and she likes that a whole lot. She stays in her bed and room, so far anyways. I hope I didn’t just jinx it all. She does cry a lot though when we say goodnight, after the stories have been read. It’s been not too bad the last two nights, so I hope we’ve turned a corner on that front. It started way before the switch to a bed, so I think it’s just a phase she’s going through. Ella loves to play puppy and kitty, and loves to be outside, playing in bubble solution or getting chalk from head to toe. And she loves to play “Tag”. Ella loves to eat and would eat all day if we let her. I have never seen a kid inhale berries and grapes like her, although Ben and strawberries come a close second. I don’t think they chew them at all. We may try the potty training process with her this summer, but the kid poops so much I may need a potty in each room. It’s probably ‘cause she eats so much!

I will work on getting some photos posted this weekend…it’s supposed to be rainy tomorrow…maybe then?

They came, they ate, they gave her presents.

We had Ella's birthday party on Saturday - we kept it pretty small - grandparents, a great-grandma, and uncle/aunt/cousin. It was really nice! They all gave Ella such nice things for her 2nd birthday - clothes, toys, books... We all ate and had cake and played a little Rock Band. Good times!

The cake was a garden:


Lots of yummy candies!

Cousin time on the couch:


Uh...the book is upside down...


Sari is just soooooo cute!


Futile candle-blowing attempt # 102:


Time to call in the big guns:


Rabid present opening:



(Not really, it just sounds better than "long, drawn-out, get-distracted-by-shoes present opening.)

Sporting the beautiful pink feather boa from Uncle Chris, Auntie Sheri and Sari:


Who wouldn't love this face?


Sunday, we went to Assiniboine Park to enjoy the sun (but it was kinda cool/windy). We took the soccer ball to give Ben some practice for this coming Friday - his first night of soccer!






Eating strawberries...I loved Ella's fashion statement in this one...monster shirt, cap on backwards...very haute couture in the toddler circle these days...

Happy Birthday Ella!

Ella, you’re 2!

Wow. The time is flying by. It’s been this way since the start of your life – it just feels like it’s moving so much quicker than it did with your big brother. I’m sure that it has to do with the fact that now we’re busy with two crazy kids instead of just one, but still, it’s a little hard to take.

How would I describe your relationship with Ben right now? Love/hate, for sure. With more hate than love. Keep in mind, I don’t really mean “hate”; but you two do drive each other crazy. Ben roars at you, you get upset. Two minutes later, you roar at him and he gets upset. Seriously, you two thrive on making the other mad. I honestly don’t know why your dad and I don’t send you two to live in the wilds of our backyard, so that peace is restored in the house, but you’re both still around, so we must make it through somehow. And then comes bedtime, and you and your brother love to give each other hugs and kisses on the cheek as you say goodnight. All the love/hate stuff aside, you completely idolize your brother and want to do everything he does – from marching around the house to Hap Palmer’s music, to tearing off your bathrobe to be NakedGirl to Ben’s NakedBoy.

These days, your nicknames range from Ella-bee, Beeper and Miss Bee, to Stink-o. I love it when Ben refers to you as “Miss Bee”, or “Ella Beeper”. So cute to hear him say, “Good Morning Miss Bee”, or “What’s wrong Beeper?” Don’t ask me why you’re Ella-Bee…you just are. Have been for a long time, really. You're our Bee and that's that.

In the talking department, you've been a little slower than what we anticipated. Not that it's a bad thing! You are certainly picking up on a lot of words now, which is great. But Daddy just told me that he thinks you're cuter because of your lack of words. I have to agree, but only sometimes. Hearing you say "Hi Daddy" or "Ay Mommy" or "Hi Guys" is just sweet music to our ears! Probably the cutest thing you say is "Warwee" - you love Charlie!

And now here is a list of your current favorite things:
Food: You eat pretty much anything we give you, but a couple things we NEVER have to worry about are cheese, rice, cheese, berries (of any variety), cheese, any other fruit, really. Oh, have I mentioned CHEESE?
TV show: Blues Clues, Curious George or maybe Elmo
Toy: A doll in a stroller or the shopping cart
Book: Blankie (Leslie Patricelli) or Little Pea (Amy Krause Rosenthal)
Song: Wiggy Wiggles Freeze Dance (Hap Palmer)
Activity: Wearing shoes, any shoes (not just yours), sometimes yours and then someone else’s, if they’re big enough to fit over yours. And you also like to color/draw and you usually want us to draw a stick person and you’ll draw the face.
Person: Mommy

You don't like milk nearly as much as Ben does. You're a better eater than he is though! You love to listen to music and dance. We do not mention bathtime until we're about to pour the water - you would bath 10 times a day, I think!

And finally, the last year in pictures:


















You melt our hearts and make us laugh with your funny faces, crazy hair and your love of life. Life wouldn't be as beautiful without you. We love you to the moon and back.

Mommy, Daddy and Ben

A Number 1 and another Number 2!

A pee and another poop. A celebration ensued. The end.

She pooped!

She pooped, people. ON THE TOILET. Wow.

She started doing a little squat/grunt, so I asked her if she would like to go sit on the toilet. She nodded, so I walked her to the bathroom and even had time to get the little seat out of Ben's closet for the toilet. I undressed her, and she hadn't pooped yet, so I put her on there and after about a minute, had pooped! Cool. I don't really think she's too into it yet, but hey, the first time she actually does something on the toilet was a poop! Woot!

Dancing fools!

Look in our windows at around 7:30 most nights, and you will see the dance spectacle of the millenium. Trust me, it is a sight to behold! The kids...they love to dance...and it is the cutest, funniest, most interesting show around. It is great to watch, but at the same time, my heart just hurts because it's so cute.

There's a lot of booty-shakin', spinning, and screaming. Oh, the screaming. But they think it's hilarious, so what are we supposed to do?

The current favorites are:

Pretty much anything Hap Palmer - but Ella's fave is "Open Shut Them" and they both absolutely adore "Wiggy Wiggy Wiggles" - this is the ultimate song for them - the music slows down, stops, and start back up again and this is when they are at their best. (I have some video of it, but I just have to figure out how to get video on the interweb...)
Ben loves "Walkie Talkie Man" by Steriogram. Ella will pretty much dance to anything, although she has a recent love for The Beastie Boys, where she sort of purses her lips and nods her head up and down.

Seriously, it's a riot to see!

Birthday party rundown...

OK folks, I'm finally getting down to posting about Ben's birthday party. We decided to take everyone bowling, and then back to our house for lunch/cake/presents. The bowling alley does glow-bowling so I had given all the kids some glow bracelets to wear, and with all the black lights and glowy stuff, it was pretty cool!

I think everyone had a good time, except for Ella, who decided that no matter what I did, she was going to be grouchy. I wish she'd sent me a memo on that so that I could have stayed home! About 10 minutes before we were all done, she finally fell asleep in my arms. So I guess she was tired.

Ben had a good time, until Grandpa hit him in the mouth with a bowling ball. Don't worry...it was an accident, and it wasn't very hard. Ben was leaning over the ball dispenser (table? Wherever the balls sit waiting to be used.) and Dad grabbed a ball and sorta bonked it into Ben's lips. There was a teeny amount of blood, but Ben survived the physical trauma. The emotional trauma...we're not sure yet.

So we all came back here for lunch and then cake. Check out the birthday cake this year:



Gord thinks the VOLCANO looks like a BOOB. I think he's the BOOB.

Of course, we get around to doing the cake thing, and I realize that we don't have a lot of candles. As in, we only have 1. So Gord, the wonderful husband and dad he is, ran up to the dollar store to buy some. So we're set for, oh, 16 years now.

Presents...holy. It was an experience. Ben wanted to play with whatever he just unwrapped. So we had to talk him into unwrapping the next thing, and it ended up that he then migrated all over the living room. So there was wrapping paper all over the place. I would rather he have sat in one place and made a mess, but no, it was shredded EVERYWHERE. But he had fun and he got some great gifts. We gave him the Leap Frog ClickStart computer, and he loves to work on "his computer". Which is nice, 'cause now he's not bugging us to "do typing" on the laptop.

OK, here are some more pictures!

Ben showing his love for his little sister. You can see that she's enjoying it.


Getting ready to blow out the candles!


Mmmmmm...cake and ice cream!

All the kids, except for one who doesn't like cake and/or ice cream. (I KNOW! What is UP with that?


Opening his computer:


Ella's creation:


We had birthday cupcakes on his actual birthday...nice candle-blowing action shot here!