Category: Family

Today is Isabel’s birthday party with friends and family. We invited 13 kids and 9 actually came! We had a total of 22 people with parents and kids. Afterward, Isabel said she had to many people in her house. We had a great time celebrating Isabel’s special day! Thank you everyone for celebrating our little Ladybugs big day!

Jeannie made ladybugs for the cupcakes. So adorable, I love them! Thanks Jeannie!

The party room looking south, before the party began.

Looking north, with our Diego and Dora banner!

While everyone was arriving we let the kids play in the front room (no one was allowed upstairs!) with toys from Isabel’s room. After everyone arrived, we had Subway sandwiches, chips and dip, and lemonade. After all the kids ate and the adults were still eating, the kids went back to playing in the front room. After eating, I decided to call the kids into the kitchen to play our 1 game. Pin the banana on Boots (Dora’s friend).

Each of the kids took a turn (except Shi and Aaron) and I told them there were no winners, we all were! Our prizes would be given out when it was time to go home. Everyone had fun playing. At first Isabel didn’t want to even do it but when she saw that all her friends were doing it and having fun she decided that she would. She was the second closest to getting the banana in Boots’ hand. Great job!

All the friends before cupcakes and presents.
Left to right (standing): Ezzra, Jaden, Shi, Aaron, Rebecca, Lilliana, Isabel, and Presley. Left to right (sitting): Kenton and Jimmy.

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you, Isabel.
Happy Birthday to you! I love you, Ladybug!

Blowing out those candles… blow hard!

New crayons and a Lalaloopys™ mini doll. Thank you!

A Dora book and Dora Swim and Splash doll. Thank you!

A Rapunzel doll. Thank you!

Butterfly stencils, stickers, origami dinosaurs, and wooden beads for jewelry. Thank you!

A necklace, a Strawberry Shortcake mini doll, and a Whac-a-mole game. Thank you!

My Little Pony mermaid pony castle. Thank you!

Super-girl Snuggie®, Disney wand, Fur-Real Panda pet…
and all the help with the cupcakes and food. Thank you!!!!

After the party, each friend got to take home a balloon of their choice and a goodie bag filled with Dora and Diego things from a paddle ball, to stickers, a pencil, and candy. What a special day we had celebrating with friends and family. Isabel has such a great memory, she’ll remember this one for years to come! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Everyone! God bless.

Today is Isabel’s Birthday! For the special occasion we have decided to have a Dora and Diego themed birthday party with family and friends from school tomorrow. Jeannie, Aaron, and Shianne (Shi) drove over this afternoon from Eastern Washington to help us celebrate tonight and tomorrow as well. To get her party started for today, we went out to dinner tonight with everyone. We went over to our favorite Italian restaurant the Flying Tomato. We shared a pizza with Jeannie, Aaron, Isabel and myself. While Gino had a chicken dish with pasta and Shi had mac and cheese. Yum! Afterward we headed home and opened our gifts to Isabel.

Since we had guests, Jeannie was so nice to get a family birthday photo before Isabel opened her gifts.

Since Makayla wasn’t able to attend Isabel’s party tomorrow, her mother brought her gift to school today. So we decided to let her open it with the gifts that we had gotten her.

Quick photo with Shi and Aaron…silly kiddo!

Littlest Pet Shop Dancing Dog. This little gal is so cute! She is a speaker, a flashing light dancer, and a dog (barks, growls, whines, and sneezes). She can be linked to any musical portable device (MP3) and she dances and flashes lights to the music. She also has prerecorded music as well. Just touch her nose and get ready to dance! Isabel loves it!

A few new clothes.

A new microphone… since the one from Christmas was returned for not working properly and it works well with our birthday party theme tomorrow! (Aaron loved this toy, the whole weekend he and Isabel would dance and dance and dance… Shi got in some dancing too!)

A new soccer ball for all that soccer playing that will be happening!

Makayla’s gifts to Isabel. The books were a huge hit, she (we) loves the Berenstain Bears (we have videos and now lots more books!). Thank you so very much Makayla for the special gifts. BTW… Isabel named her new doll Makayla!

Now it’s off to bed… tomorrow is going to be an even BIGGER day and we have got to get some sleep otherwise we’ll be grumpy!

:. Merry Christmas! :: Happy Birthday Jesus! :: Merry Christmas! .:

Hope your Christmas was wonderful with all those you love. I have been sick since Tuesday the 21st, it actually started on Sunday the 19th with a sore throat that lasted 2 days and by Tuesday, I was coughing (very nasty) and had a stuffed up nose. I spent the week in bed sleeping Tuesday through Thursday, only getting up to eat and then back to bed to sleep. Friday, I woke up and decided I would at least stay awake, so spent the day in bed with Isabel by my side watching the Fox and the Hound and Pollyanna. Hopefully I’ll be back to my normal self soon.

We spent our Christmas at home, with being sick it was better that way. Isabel was more excited for Christmas this year then any year in the past. I’m not sure what time exactly she finally went to sleep. But from the moment, the first gift was placed under the tree, she kept telling me, we needed to fill up the back because there was still room back there!

She started with her stocking or as she likes to call it… “a socket!”

This years ornament is the “Play Family School” in honor of her starting school this year.

New hair accessories!

Gino’s ornament this year is “Angling for Fun“.

Daisy opening her gift.

Peanut butter Woofers = 1 happy dog!

My ornament this year is “Two-Gun Mickey“.

It’s time to sing with her new microphone… maybe we’ll get to post some videos!

Mommy got Cricket cartridges for Christmas scrap-booking pages!

Tag books to get Isabel reading on her own.

Doris Day movies!… I see a Doris Day marathon in the near future! Woot! Woo!

One new (matching) outfit for her and Darla.

Last gift of the day was a surprise blanket and matching scarf from the neighbors.

Daddy giving Isabel a big hug for her gift to him, an ornament, she purchased herself from the schools Santa Workshop at school.

Isabel has been afraid of water getting on her head and in her ears since last year when she had an ear infection. At times it’s been a struggle to wash her hair! Even in the pool this summer with my parents and family she wouldn’t go under the water. So I’ve been working with her to let me get them wet in the tub and was just about giving up when she surprised me and floated in the tub!

Floating in the tub…so proud of her!
“I’m floating, Momma!” she says.

That night I found her asleep like this…does that look comfortable to you?
I remember finding myself upside down sometimes when I was a kid.