Spokane Cheeseheads

Where to put two more?!?!?!?!?

2010-02-12T23:36:00.001-08:00

Hanging out with all my "kids" watching the Olympic opening ceremony. Aidan is truely asleep. Can you see Stinky's paw up and around my belly? Wow are they all in for a rude awakening when these babies arrive. Notice Aidan's two bears next to her, Chocolate and Ice Cream, they are snuggling with each other awwwww:)))

Sadie's Christmas Treats

2010-02-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

December 25, 2009

Spike Meets Spike Jr.

2010-02-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

December 25, 2009

Spike Jr. is Here!

2010-02-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

December 25, 2009

Christmas 2009 Littlest Pet Shops

2010-02-09T16:21:00.000-08:00

December 25, 2009

Getting Ready for the Nutcracker

2010-02-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

December 20, 2009

Preschool Christmas Party

2010-02-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

December 18, 2009

Santa's Letter to Aidan

2010-02-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

December 14, 2009

Out takes

2010-01-30T21:17:00.001-08:00

Zombie face! Isn't she the sweetest thing you've ever seen?!

Ultrasound Pics

2010-01-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

These are the embryos 5 days old on the day they were implanted. 6-29-09

These are just some of the good pics that we have of the kids. This pic is of the little girl spooning behind her brother. 10-27-09 12-21-09 Baby B- Leo. We have some great 3D pics of him, but Baby C likes to hide her face.

I'd rather bend into a pretzel than let you take my picture!

Capri still doesn't want to show her face so she tucked it under her brother's.

There's a thin membrane in between them. They like to kung fu fight and snuggle, what good siblings already!

Leo snuggled behind his sister.

We don't have another ultrasound until Feb. 15, maybe Capri with show her face to us then?!

Almost there!

2010-01-30T18:08:00.001-08:00

It's finally a baby's room and not just the holiday staging area! I took my first crack at cutting vinyl letters with my Cricut. It was a little labor intensive, but I think it was worth it. It would have cost me a fortune to buy them online. The other vinyl animals are from the Carter's Woodland Animals line. We bought the cribs at Target, they turn into toddler/day beds and full sized headboards. The shelves I scored at a yard sale for $3 each last summer!Aidan told me I spelled their names wrong. She doesn't totally know how to spell, but she knows that "Fred" and "Velma" don't start with a 'L' or 'C'.The glider rocker and changing table were from Aidan's nursery. BethBeth and Teona helped us paint it when they were here in September, they came to help us start the transition.Thank goodness for a huge closet!!!Don't panic we are having twins! Each side is half Newborn, half 0-3 Months (to justify what looks like a massive amount of clothes), oh yeah and I bought it all second hand.Getting ready for the next season on top.A place for our guests to sleep;)The 2-12x12 frames are waiting for pictures. I already had these frames thinking I'd hang something in my scrapbook room (which is no more *sad*), but I never painted them. I found a DCWV stack of scrapbook paper at JoAnn's that matches the color and theme of the room perfectly so I'll be able to make some scrappy projects for the room. This is my favorite piece of the vinyl.

30 Weeks

2010-01-10T16:39:00.000-08:00

30 1/2 weeks and still going strong!!! 36 weeks is average for twins, but my goal is 8 more weeks. The doctors don't think I should have any issues that wouldn't at least get me to 36 weeks. As of 12/21 they weighed 2lbs. 10oz. (girl) and 2lbs. 13oz. (boy). I have another appointment 1/18 and they should have at least gained a pound by then. From then on I will be visiting both my OB and my Perinatologist once a week, ugh!

Our Last Quiet-ish Christmas EVER!!!

2009-12-28T23:32:00.000-08:00

December 25, 2009
We actually had to wake Aidan up this morning. I set the alarm for 7:30 because I was worried that she would repeat last year's incident where she went downstairs alone, opened a movie, then came upstairs to show us. I thought she opened everthing, but luckily she was so innocent that she was genuinly excited about a movie. This year I wasn't going to take the chance and for most parents on Christmas morning 7:30 is sleeping in.
This was a great trick we stumbled upon. We left this Littlest Pet Shop playground unwrapped, she started playing with it right away so we had time to get coffee set and finish preparing breakfast.

This was her first gift open. She asked Santa for Spike JR. the baby of the big remote control Spike she got last year from Santa... Santa got off easy this year!

Cat fight!

It's never truely Christmas until you torture the cats with tape and bows.

Aidan making the dive for the last gift.

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-28T23:12:00.000-08:00

December 24, 2009

Aidan with her new penguin, Fuzz Fuzz, she got from her cousin.We had Christmas Eve dinner with our some of our friends then headed home to set out cookies and pomegranates for Santa. Amy also sent Aidan home with a bag of Reindeer food to sprinkle on the front lawn.

Getting Ready for Christmas

2009-12-28T22:57:00.000-08:00

December 23, 2009
Making the last preparations for Christmas!!!
Brad and Aidan are in charge of the pet's gifts.

Translation: Roxy

Bob

Practicing writing Stinky, Roxy, Bob, and Sadie.

2009-12-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

December 23, 2009
Aidan loves to see the gingerbread houses at the Davenport Hotel. She was so excited to get all dressed up to go to the hotel, see the houses, and have hot chocolate.
"Whokane Ville" I think the Grinch is on the South Hill! I thought this was really creative to make all the monuments of Spokane look like Whoville.
This was the coolest one we thought. Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's Cottage.

Aidan really loved Lady and the Tramp.

Veggie Tales Jonah and the Whale

Decorating the Gingerbread House

2009-12-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

December 13, 2009 Of course there's a turtle living in our gingerbread house!

The current Thompson Family: Beth, Aidan and Brad.

The soon to be Thompson Family: Beth, Aidan, Brad, Leo and Capri.

Peppridge Farm makes these Ginger Family cookies and we were pretty excited to see that the children were a boy and a girl like our twins. Aidan had a hard time at first not being attached to her siblings, then I told her she could be with Mom and the Twins could be with Dad... we may have some hard times ahead of us?!

The Nutcracker Ballet

2009-12-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

December 20, 2009
Our friend Joy organized a block of tickets for the Nutcracker Ballet. We started the day with a beautiful brunch at Joy's house then headed to the theater. Aidan was really intersted up until the end of the second act, then got figgity just before intermission. She was lost in the third act and was ready to get out of there. I think she would have done better at a show with words. At least we somewhat knew what the story was because we watched the Barbie Nutcracker DVD to prepare. We all really enjoyed a day that we could dress up, have brunch with friends, and see a show together. After the ballet we went to dinner at PF Chang's (our favorite). It was a long wait, but so worth it!

Aidan loves her picture taken with the horse outside the restaraunt.

Aidan wanted me to take her picture in this rental stroller while Brad was paying for our parking. Goof Ball!

Aidan's Preschool Christmas Open House

2009-12-28T15:51:00.000-08:00

December 17, 2009
On the last day of school Aidan's preschool hosted an open house to decorate gingerbread houses and the kids sang a few Christmas songs for their parents.
Our good friends and neighbors, Emily and Tristan. Tristan is in Aidan's class.

Aidan sang parts of the first song and by the 3rd song she was ready to get out of there. She made the most of it and put her jingle bells on her foot and played along.

Our One Day of Winter in December

2009-12-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2009

This was the first significant snow of the year. Luckily we just picked up our snowblower from the repair shop! Brad had fun testing it out by being the handy neighbor and snowblowing a few of our neighbor's sidewalks and driveways. He got a 6 pack of beer out of it!

Aidan was just beside herself when she woke up in the morning to see that it was snowing then totally bummed that she had to go to school. By the time we got outside it was already getting dark (3:30) and it was raining by then.

Brad had been to the dentist in the morning and took an Avon sample of this bright lipstick for Aidan that they had on counter. She insisted on wearing it and it really shows up well in pictures!

When our neighbors Mark and Tristan came out we took the sled over to the small hill on the corner of the park to do a little sledding. It was a good thing we did becuase the next day the snow was pretty much melted. The next week Aidan was asking if we could go to Target to get one of the gifts she asked Santa for and I told her that Christmas hadn't come yet. She told me how she thought that the snow came and went and that was our Christmas, Santa didn't come. Oh, how sad! It's a good thing Santa doesn't need snow to land his sled.

Making Christmas Cookies

2009-12-28T12:10:00.000-08:00

December 13, 2009

Aidan just couldn't wait to do cut out cookies. I think everything is her favorite holiday event, but this certainly ranks up there. I love the idea of it then I remember how much work they are!

Christmas Tree Elegance

2009-12-27T22:28:00.000-08:00

December 8, 2009
Christmas Tree Elegance @ The Davenport Hotel
Now a yearly tradition we love to get dressed up to see Santa then head over to the hotel to bid on our favorite trees and have hot cocoa.

Visiting Santa @ River Park Square

2009-12-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

December 8, 2009

After preschool we quickly dressed up and went downtown to the mall to have lunch, visit Santa, and go to the Davenport to see Christmas Tree Elegance. After we had lunch at The Sawtooth Grill we ran to a few stores to find a matching headband (because Aidan won't wear her hair up anymore). We finally found a headband at Claire's on the third floor. Before we got into the elevator we peeked over the railing to check on Santa, he was in his chair. By the time we got down to the first floor he was on lunch break! UGH! Luckily, Mobius Children's Museum is right next to Santa and Aidan was all game for that- crisis averted!

After playing for an hour we were first in line to see Santa! He's not the jolliest old sole we have ever met, but he looks good on paper! Aidan asked for Spike JR. She later came up with a few more things that she wanted from Santa- Bendaroos and a real B&W Kitten. We told her that Santa won't bring anymore real kitties to the house because we are all full (of crazy!) and we can't have anymore.

St. Nick Visits

2009-12-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

December 6, 2009
This is the first year that we remembered to celebrate St. Nick. Brad of course had to run to Safeway at 11p.m. to buy candy and stocking stuffers. Aidan was a little confussed in the morning, but quickly got into it!
Brad got a chocolate football.

One of Aidan's favorite gifts was the Littlest Petshop Go Fish! game. She made us play everyday for a week. She's not totally ready for it, but we play open-faced so we all can help each other.

Aidan called Frosty "Melty the Snowman", but later watched the show and corrected herself... we were hoping she kept the name it was so cute!

24 Weeks

2009-12-09T20:00:00.001-08:00

November 25, 2009
Everything still looks great! They are kicking away in there and all the ultrasounds indicate everybody is healthy. I can really feel the boy (baby A) he's really strong, and the girl (baby B) is on my left and seems much more dainty with her kicks.

The First Snow of the Year

2009-12-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

November 13, 2009
Aidan was so excited to see snow! She wanted to be in her jammies after school, but she also wanted to go outside. This litle dusting was a good reminder to get those snow pants and snow boots purchased.
Aidan threw snowballs at me through the back door.

She can't help but eat it!

If only this photo had sound because this is her "little stinker" laugh.

Halloween Night 2009

2009-12-09T19:33:00.001-08:00

October 31, 2009
Luckily this was a beautiful night in the mid 40's, it's usually super cold or snowing. We went to Brian, Dotti, Zach and Jenna's for chili and Trick or Treating.

Aidan had some left over glitter makeup from last year that she insisted she wear again this year.
Aidan's costume was a little big, but we found it at a 2nd hand store for $8- and I liked how warm it was.

Aidan's favorite part of her costume was the loops on the wings so she could make them fly.

Auntie Deana sent her this glow stick that she was so excited to use for Trick or Treating.

Zombie eyes!

Aidan, a cute butterfly and her dad the "Cereal Killer".

Pumpkin Carving 2009

2009-12-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

October 30, 2009
Because of Brad's back surgery we didn't get up to Green Bluff to pick a pumpkin like we normally do. We stopped at Albertson's after school to pick a pumpkin which was just fine with Aidan.
Aidan was totally into getting the guts out. For some reason she thought that putting her ponies into the gut pile would be fun, it was for her. After she played and got the ponies nice and messy they all got to take a bath.

This year Aidan designed a cat face and I carved it.

While we carved the pumpkins we Skyped with Auntie's LaLa and Nanner. They seemed a little grossed out by the ponies diving into the guts!

Hamblen Park Preschool Halloween Party

2009-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

October 29, 2009
Aidan's preschool had a cute little Halloween party. The parents were invited to stay for the costume parade and sing-a-long. Aidan lead her classroom in with her teacher Miss Connie.

Aidan's class getting ready to sing. Aidan did not sing, she barely made the hand motions. She's more of a behind closed doors, all alone kind of singer.

Back in the classroom the kids had a pinata that they made the previous week and snacks. For a snack they got to decorate their own cookie with frosting and sprinkles.
After the classroom events were over the kids got to play with the parachute.
Miss Connie wanted to help us out after Brad's surgery so she sent us home with a pumpkin pizza from Papa Murphy's and a bottle of soda. What a sweet gesture!

Aidan showed off her goods that she scored from the pinata.

20 Weeks~ So Far So Good!

2009-12-09T19:02:00.001-08:00

October 28, 2009

So far so good! There's 1 boy and 1 girl. Aidan would love for us to name them Fred and Velma... we're still thinking about that:)

The Kalina's Halloween Party 2009

2009-12-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

October 24, 2009
Our friends the Kalina's and the Lundy's (neighbors) have an annual Halloween party. They always go all out, but this is the first year they rented a bouncy slide- now that's going all out! Aidan really loved the thought of getting up there, but she froze coming down, Dina had to climb up to get her for me.
It never seems like that many people when we are inside, but as soon as both houses empty out to do the candy parade it is a small village! I made 30 bags of candy and I think we only had 1 left, that's alot of kids!!!
Aidan the lion and Aidan the butterfly. All the parents line up on the sidewalk and the kids get to Trick or Treat to us.

The Reception

2009-12-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

October 3, 2009
The most entertaining thing was the DJ's bubble machine. It made all the kids want to dance and twirl all night long... or at least until they passed out!

Number 2 on the children's entertainment list was the punch fountain. It really helped keep the momentum going for all the bubble chasing.

"Hit the road shorty!"

Daddy sneaks one dance in with Aidan.

The grand march.

Riley, Monica, Kayla, and Maggie.

Aidan and Ava playing with number 3 on the children's entertainment highlight list- the battery operated candles. The kids learned how to fake blow them out, clever!

Aidan partied until about 9:30 and then she crashed! We got her blankie from the car and she slept on my lap for another hour. I changed her into jammies for the ride home and she was out! She had a great day from start to finish. I can't imagine what she would have done if we didn't let her sleep in the car between the church and the reception, we might have had a very early night... or a really crabby kid- yikes!

The Ceremony

2009-12-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

October 2, 2009
Lona, Brad and their band mate Tim performed all the music for the ceremony.

Brady keeping Halle entertained before the ceremony began.Here come the best ever flower girls: Rita, Ava and Aidan. They were perfect! They knew just what to do and where to go.

The best man and maid of honor.

The Thompson Family: Katie, Lona, Todd, Mary & Ace, Monica, Deana, and Brad.The girls keeping themselves entertained while the wedding party was photographed after the wedding.

Deana & Andy with their children Alex, Brady and Riley.

Preparing for the wedding

2009-12-09T17:15:00.000-08:00

October 3, 2009
The whole wedding party gathered at the salon to get their hair done before heading to the church.
Aidan really loved getting her hair done, I am so glad Katie thought to make this appointment for her.

Rita poses while she waits her turn. She told me that she LOVES to get her picture taken.

Ava sat in the chair like a pro, she was such a good girl to sit there so patiently.

A quick lunch before we head to the church.

At the church all the girls get dressed in their beautiful flower girl dresses.

Maggie gets a little help from Kayla, Monica, and Deana.
Aidan waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin.

Maggie's Wedding Rehersal

2009-12-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

October 2, 2009
The wedding party

The Flower Girls

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-12-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

October 1, 2009
Our last day with Julia and Benji, everybody was so sad. We went out to the Pumpkin Place in Suomico to pick flowers and pumpkins.

The most charming thing about this little pumpkin patch were these two young kitties that followed us everywhere.

Aidan stirring the witches brew.

The kids getting ready to enter the corn maze. Notice the kitty in the first picture loving on Aidan. She followed us into the maze then got bored when we couldn't find our way out.

Pumpkin Bowling was fun!

Aidan really enjoyed meeting so many different kinds of animals. This miniature horse was super sweet!

This kitty thought it was fun to play with Ben in the hay. Ben was piling hay on top of him, but he didn't mind.

Fainting Goat.

Alpaca

Hanging out with my cousin

2009-12-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

One of Aidan's favorite activities was snuggling up on a bed to watch movies with her cousins.

Scuba Steve @ Swim Class

2009-12-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

Benji getting ready for swim class.

Wildlife Sanctuary with Papa

2009-12-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

September 30, 2009
Aidan and Benjamin got to spend some time with Papa Reed at the Green Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Ben inspecting an armadillo shell.

Aidan pretending to be a turtle with a big shell.

They forgot to protect this house from pesky little boys!Papa playing tour guide.Aidan testing Papa's flexability.

This is the best part- feeding all the crazy ducks and geese. Aidan did not appreciate the sassy geese hissing at her.

This is our stalker chipmunk. He followed us around forever hoping the kids would drop some food.

Sunday in the park

2009-12-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

September 27, 2009
Sunday morning we played at the park before the Packers game started. It was a great time for the kids to burn some energy.

Build A Bear

2009-12-09T15:23:00.001-08:00

September 26, 2009
Our trip was highly anticipated by all the cousins for months. We promised them that we would take them to Build A Bear. Aidan and I flew in on Friday night, Cathy and the kids picked us up at the airport then we all went to Red Robin to see Grandma Sues and Papa Reed and Auntie June. Saturday we got up and headed to Appleton to go to BAB first thing (otherwise we would not have heard about it!). We dropped a fortune in less than an hour!
Aidan putting the fluff in her kitty.

Ben groomed his monkey.

Julia was so proud of her pink unicorn.

Aidan was so into grooming her kitty.
Three very excited kids and two poor moms!

Apples and Abelskievers Weekend

2009-12-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

September 10-14, 2009

The 2nd annual Apples and Abelskeivers weekend with Teona, Alex, & BethBeth. BethBeth and Teona came out for a semi-girls weekend (Brad was there too for some of it) to help me paint and get the babies' room ready. I'm so glad we only painted for one day and then got to do some fun things the rest of the weekend.

Alex and Aidan are instant friends. They are so much the same in personality (easy going) and love to do similar things (dress up). They immediately started to play dress up. Alex taught Aidan to stand on her head while they were playing "Lost Princesses" a game they made up and played all weekend. We never had to check on them, they were always busy in the toy room playing sweetly and quietly, it was a great weekend for all of us!!! Saturday morning we walked to Rockwood Bakery for breakfast, then took the girls to Manito Park to play a little. Then we stopped at my neighbor's Artist open house to buy some of her yummy candles. Lunch was downtown at PF Chang's- yum!Then we headed to the nail salon for Pedicures. Even the girls got the royal treatment in little princess chairs and dvds.Sunday we had breakfast at Old European. If you've visited us you'll be hungry just thinking about it! If you haven't visited us yet it would be worth you're trip!!! This is the "Abelskeiver" part of our weekend. Then we headed to Green Bluff to the orchards to pick apples- the "Apple" part of our weekend.

Chasin' chickens.

Feeding goats.

Getting peas in our pants!

Teona and Alex enjoying the Pea Pit. It has the most interesting texture.

Walter's Fruit Ranch.

Aidan has a thing for pumpkins.

Pony rides.

This is the cheese jumping rooster. He will jump up to grab the cheese, it's super funny to see!

In the orchard picking apples for Teona's pie :)

I'm so happy that the girls came out to see us. Fall in Washington is my favorite time of year and it's always so fun to share it with guests. I really appreciate BethBeth coming out on this particular weekend, she was with me here in Spokane on September 11, 2001.

1st Day of Preschool

2009-12-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

September 7, 2009

Aidan's 1st day of preschool at Hamblen Park Preschool was a much anticipated day for all of us. She was so bored at home and was ready to learn. She was so overly excited that morning she could hardly contain it...

We had coffee, hot cocoa and muffins at Rockwood Bakery before school. The first day was only an hour so I felt it was safe to sugar her up! She didn't even notice we weren't there, she found the activities and got right into it.

Her friend and neighbor, Tristan, is also in her class.

Mom, take a picture of me doing this!

2009-12-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

Super model pose on her BFFs Spike and Rexi.

I'm not quite sure what to say about this moment...

Aidan's Pics

2009-12-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

Aidan trying to get Roxy to "smile".

Aidan really loves to take pictures with my camera, it makes me a little nervous. She comes up with some great stuff from time to time and it's fun to see things from her perspective.

17th Avenue Street Party 2009

2009-12-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

August 2009
This year we had the impressive Spokane Police Department's K9 Unit at our street party. They hung around almost the entire afternoon. They answered questions, talked about what they do to keep us safe, how they train, and gave us some demonstrations. The most interesting thing they told us was that they have trained in most of our backyards and we don't even know it! One of our neighbors saw them in her backyard in the middle of the night, but she has a friend on the K9 so she wasn't too alarmed.

Brad in Swat gear looks alot like dress up.

Jenna getting to try on the gear.

One of the dogs showing off his skills. They said it is a treat for him to get to do this sort of exercise.

This dog understands German commands.

Even though he is a family dog out in public he is protected with a muzzle. Even when he is at home the only person that gives him commands is the officer.

This is the biggest hit with the kids, a 2 story water slide!

Our friends we able to hook us up with this bouncer. The younger kids really loved it!

With the K9 unit at one end of the street the Spokane Fire Department came for a visit and parked at the other end. It was so great to have both of them visit us for our street party.

All the kids got to sit with the officers in their cars and they let them turn the sirens on and showed them what all their equipment did.

The 2nd annual street party was a huge success this year. We are fortunate that we have such a great neighborhood and everybody wants to celebrate that!

Manito Park's New Splash Pad

2009-12-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

July 2009

Hot summer day+ water play+ ice cream man= AWESOME DAY!

1st Summer in Swim Class @ The Jacksons'

2009-12-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

July 2009

Aidan really enjoyed going to the Jacksons' for swim lessons. The instructors got Aidan to swim freely in a ring and do things on the first day that I have been trying to get her to do for a year. Yeah!!

Even Vampires Should Floss

2009-07-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

I just got out of the shower when I saw Aidan in the bathroom brushing her teeth. She turned around to show me how she was flossing. I was laughing hysterically. I went running in a towel, dripping wet to the dining room to grab my camera. Of course I needed to capture this moment.

She loves these teeth. She sometimes uses them as her "mad kitty" teeth. Today they are vampire teeth that needed to be flosses.

That's brilliant that she thought vampires need to floss too! She cracks me up!!!

Vampires are known to be sharp dressers. Aidan came up with this outfit all by herself. I love the pinwheel broche and the scarf belted around her waist.

Happy Dog Daze

2009-07-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

When we were packing the car Lynda told me to keep my camera up front with me because you never know what you will see on the drive home... and she was right! I glanced back to look at Sadie and frantically grabbed for my camera. I had to catch this beautiful moment of Sadie staring out the window. I'm sure she was reflecting on the most perfect weekend: swimming in the river, sniffing (and some eating) in the woods, BBQing, boat riding, sunbathing, and hanging with her people. She was so tired, but I'm sure she was sad to leave! We love taking her to places like this because we LOVE to see her so happy :))))

Don't Rock The Boat Baby!

2009-07-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's a great day when your toes are sandy...

and so is your bum!

What a great sand box for a river place.

Add a little water

Some toys and a great view. That makes for a fun afternoon and one HAPPY child!

4th of July @ The Pend Oreille River

2009-07-06T17:57:00.000-07:00

Finally, we got the chance to spend the 4th of July with our friends Lynda & Bruce @ their place on the Pend Oreille River. We only get up there once or twice a summer, so we were so glad that we could make it for the 4th.

Brad was working Saturday in Yakima, so we were late getting up to the river. We finally made it @ 6pm for dinner and a short boat ride before the fireworks started.

Aidan is at the age that I may not get a straight faced picture for awhile.

We brought a few kid friendly firework to shoot off, most of them poppers.

We watched the fireworks from the docked boat. The show was provided by neighbors who spend thousands of dollars on fireworks and shoot them off from their dock.

Neighbors 2 doors down spend 2G alone! That's a quick way to burn some money.

The show was all over the place, our necks got a bit sore. What a beautiful way to spend the night though.

At Least She Looks Cute In The Outfit

2009-07-06T13:18:00.001-07:00

Tennis Camp @ Comstock Park-
Aidan chose to take this 2 week tennis camp through parks & rec. SHE chose it. I was really excited about this choice because I played high school tennis, but haven't played much since. The first week was really fun and she loved it, yeah! The second week was not so fun. I don't know if it was because the second week was much warmer or what, but she was fine to go then would just shut down on the coart. She really just sat down on the coart and wouldn't participate. Oh well, we tried! She looked really adorable in her outfit!

Attack Of The Flying Rats

2009-07-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

We sometimes stop at this wayside, but now I think Brad stops to see these seagulls. Everybody knows how crazy seagulls can be then add Brad and we have chaos! He thinks it's really funny to get them all fired up over food to hear me scream as they swoop over my head to grab the food he's tossing over my head. UGh! I am usually not a squeamish person, but I really don't care for seagulls over my head. Aidan of course is right in there with her dad having a ball- no fear. Brad had them literally eating out of his hand this time which made for a great photo op.

Our Big Little Kid

2009-07-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

Aidan likes us to refer to her as our "big little kid". It's pictures like this that you can see she is getting bigger and more mature everyday. These were taken at the outdoor exhibits at the aqaurium. She was having a giggle as we were trying to talk to the birds.

Oregon Coast Aquarium @ Newport

2009-07-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

The aquarium in Newport, OR may not be large, but it was cool! All the tanks had beautiful blown glass made by local artists. Aidan was really loving all the hands on exhibits. At first she wasn't going near the sharks and sting rays, but after she touched the anemones and sea stars (which she wouldn't do last year) we took her back to try the sand sharks and sting rays and boy was she so proud of herself for touching them!

There were a few large outside exhibits: the sea lions & harbor seals which you could see from the top of the pool or go into these caves to watch them swim at eye level, the puffins and (some other local sea bird I can't remember), Pacific Octopus, Aviary, & the Sea Otters.

Entering the Shark Tunnel!

This is a fun aquarium the we highly recommend! Aidan had so much fun here and talks all the time about it and can't wait to go back.

Bandon Wildlife Game Park

2009-06-30T21:39:00.001-07:00

Pose!
This is the Bandon Game Park that we stopped at a few years ago and couldn't wait to back to visit. All the gentle tame animals are out roaming for us to see and touch. They raise baby animals for different zoos and make their babies available to handle.
The pics are in no particular order because I have so many favorites.

Pose!

Aidan is just amazingly comfortable around animals. She marched right into this feeding barn at lunchtime with no fear.

This llama was hysterical. He was seriously smiling for us to take his picture. Everytime we put the camera up he would peel his lips back.

Aidan walked around the park talking to the animals saying things like, " Hi Buddy! How are you?" It totally reminds us of that SNL skit about Mark Walberg talking to animals, "Say 'Hi' to your motha'"

These are the worlds largest rodents. They are so ugly that they are cute. They have a very sweet personality too! I don't know what's wrong with me!

Bearcat! I have never seen one of these guys before and I am sure he has a great personality, but I don't want to see one in the wild!

Nanner interfering with Mr. Peacock's mating dance. There's no Peacock Blocking Nanner!

This baby racoon is only a few weeks old. They tried to put him in a cat carrier while they brought other animals out and he went berzerk! It sounded like a Tazmanian Devil.

Itchy Ass

Kids at play.

This was my guy, my buddy-ol-pal at the park. He followed me everywhere, when I stopped to look at something he would nudge underneath my arm and lean against me. I would have taken him home with me if I could have. What a sweet animal.

This is a 2 week old leopard cub. What a sweet little kitty, so far.

He was chilly so they had to keep him wrapped in a blanket.

Not too many people would say this, but this is the cuted Possum I've ever seen.

This is a big moment in history... Aidan letting Nanner hold her. Everybody LOVES Nanner, especially children. For some reason Aidan has not shared everybody else's enthusiasm. This trip we really worked on our love for Auntie Nanner. It has been a success! Yeah, her fear or whatever it was is gone, they had a great time together. Finally!

Bonding with Auntie Nanner. Nanner teaching Aidan to do a duck call.

It is the feeding barn! Enter at your own risk!

Aidan appreciates animals big and small. When we asked her what her favorite thing about the animal park was she said caterpillers everywhere.

These were the shy deer. Aidan tried her best to sneak up on them just to get a pet on one. It killed her that they didn't like her.

These nests were everywhere in the park.

Look at the big paws on kitty! This Lynx is a year old. It's starting to get really strong and frisky so we could only pet his hind end.

Play bite!

Chasing Peacocks.

Goodbye guys, say 'Hi' to your mother for me!

Here's Your Sign!

2009-06-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

Wow really?! They needed to post this over the toilet? Animals don't read, so I'm assuming it was posted for humans. Like someone pointed out to me- they obviously had an issue that they would have had to have a sign printed up (not hand printed, but printed up special). Seriously! Here's your sign!

Being Cute Is What I Do!

2009-06-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

Bastendorff Beach

2009-06-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday night:

After we had awesome fish & chips at Captain's Choice in Coos Bay (sorry for the product endorsement) we headed out to the beach for some kite flying. Note to self: Put the kite together in the hotel or car, not in the chilly wind. After we got the kite together Aidan flew it for a total of 10 minutes. Oh well! Great beach by the way and the camp ground was awesome, we'd love to stay sometime.

The Beach, the beach, finally the beach!

2009-06-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

After months of waiting she finally gets to touch the sand! This was our first chance to stop at a beach, Shore Acres State Park. It was a bit chilly to hang out all day, but at least we got to put our feet in the water and make a small sand castle and search for shells.

It was a very layed back day. We stayed for only an hour, stopped at DQ, then went back to the hotel for a long nap (we all needed to catch up on some sleep).

Nest

2009-06-12T22:36:00.001-07:00

Aidan went through a "nesting" phase where she liked to pile up pillows and blankets on the floor next to our bed. It was just a phase, but when we are in hotels she still likes to nest. This time she piled up pillows on top of the bed and was completely cozy and happy with her nest.

This is a REAL hotel!

2009-06-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

Brad has a hook up with a manager that he has known for years at the Phoenix Inn, so when he brings us to Salem he gets us a great deal at the Phoenix Grand downtown. It's a beautiful hotel and we really enjoy staying there. Well, we get into our room and Aidan starts to check out the ammenities. She heads into the bathroom and exclaims, "Wow! This is a REAL hotel!" "Look it has a plug in the tub!" Brad and I chuckled..."ha ha! That's funny... real hotel..."
Well, when we got into our hotel in Coos Bay we learned the difference between a "REAL hotel" and a not so "REAL hotel"... a plug in the tub. Nice hotel- Plug! Not so nice- NO Plug!
We spent one night on the way home in Lincoln City at a hotel WITH A PLUG!

Tiniest Treasure

2009-06-07T00:41:00.000-07:00

6/5/09
Multnomah Falls is a place we always say that we are going to stop, but never have time... we made time finally and it was worth it. The falls were beautiful!

But on the way down from the bridge Aidan spotted her favorite part of the day, this beautiful red snail. She was eye level with the top of this stone wall winding down the trail. She spotted him when everybody else whizzed by. That's the thing about being a kid you aren't thinking about the destination, you are enjoying the journey. I am so thankful that she spotted this snail because Multnomah Falls became a more beloved place because of the wonder of a snail.

We sat for over 20 minutes watching this snail inch along slowly. I felt so bad when we moved it to check out it's underside, because we had disrupted it's progress. It was really cool to watch it feel around, retract and extend it's antenae , and the trail of slime it left behind.

Of course Aidan wanted to keep it and there was a small part of me that wanted to also, but we didn't.

So, she kissed her new friend goodbye.
We also met snail's friend centapede.
Aidan rides in style watching the Scoobie Doo movie and eating her lolli pop.

The great wall of DOG!

2009-05-27T11:30:00.001-07:00

YEAH!!!!! It's finally up! After 2 1/2 years we have successfully fenced Sadie in. This was a tricky space that I didn't want to put up just anything. I knew I wanted privacy, but not a wall. I wanted to be able to see kids playing in the driveway or see who might be coming down the driveway and vice versa. I was getting very frustrated with having nothing there and having to chase Sadie around the neighborhood. I was desperate to find the square type lattice, but couldn't find it. We ended up finding it at the new and bigger Lowe's out in the Valley. I have never been out that far because it requires passing a Walmart... and there's that restaining order and all! I did it, I passes WM and found what I was looking for. We started laying down the base boards in the morning, thinking they needed to dry and would pick up the next weekend. Well, our neighbor Brian stopped by to see if Brad wanted to go play a game at the park and within 15 minutes the saws were out to make one cut... then another... then another... we threw some chicken on the grill for both the families... yadda yadda yadda- by 10:30 the fence was up!

Oh so sad! The last piece of freedom. Boo Hoo, now you can't run the neighborhood stealing children's baseballs and picking chili cans out of recycle bins! I was seriously concerned about her safety with her eyesight so bad now.

The last piece being cut. WaHOO!

12

2009-05-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Sadie May is about 12 this spring. She is really having a hard time seeing in dim lighting. She will try as hard as she can to keep up with everybody because she doesn't want to miss a thing, but she sleeps alot more too now. She's really getting white!

Hose Happens!

2009-05-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

If you don't keep an eye on this kid you could have a huge mess on your hands (face, feet, hair, clothes). She just loves to get wet. When we water the grass at night, she's right in that sprinkler. I don't care too much if we are headed for a bath anyways.
This was Mother's Day and we had been working outside all day on yard projects.

Littlest Pet Shop Party

2009-05-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Littlest Pet Shop stuff was hard to find, so I made my own decor. Each table had a birthday cake centerpiece with LPS images from their website and #4s. There were bowls of gold fish crackers and "bird seed" (sunflower seeds).

We bought our new patio furniture just in time for the party. I found these paper lanterns at the dollar store.

The food was all pet themed: Hot Dogs, "Pup"peroni & "Snausage" Pizza, "Cat Chow" (Cracklin' Oat Bran) served in a pet food bowl, breadsticks knotted like "Rawhides", the "Bunny Buffet" was a veggie tray, Swedish fish in fish bowls, "Fish Food" was gummy worms, "Hamster Chow" was Chex Mix, a bowl of Annie's brand bunny cookies, and of course homemade "Puppy Chow".

Aidan & Tristan our friends and now neighbors. All the kids could stop at the "Puppy & Kitty Transformation Station" for masks, candy collars w/ ID tags, and LPS tatoos.

Aidan was with Tristan and his mom, Emily, before the party. Emily got Aidan ready for the party and made up for having a boy by getting out her curling iron and giving Aidan a head full of curls- it was ADORABLE!!!

One of our games was the "Kitty Litter Scoop". We bought a new litter pan (of course), filled the bottom with candy, then added rice for the litter, and let the kids take turns scooping the litter. For added effect we molded tootsie rolls into faux cat terds.

The kids were a little grossed out, but really intrigued!

Zach and Jenna playing the Bone tossing game.

The beverage table.

Aidan, Tristan and our neighbor/ babysitter Corrin.

All the kids playing chaulk in the driveway.

Mary and Heidi watching the litter scooping game, a little grossed out!

JD took the first scoop and decided to test out a "Kitty Cookie"

Brad trying to make the crown fit. Sorry step sister!

Jonathan already has big, brown, puppy dog eyes, the mask just enhanced them and crossed them a little!

We found this Littlest Pet Shop birthday set and thought it would be perfect as a cake topper.

Aidan loves to go to JD's house to play with his transformers, star wars toys and all the cool toys that she doesn't really know anything about. JD knows she loves Transformers so he picked this one out for her.

"Thanks Tristan!" **Hug** "Your welcome Aidan!" I'm so glad I captured this cute exchange between friends.

All the kids we tired and getting cold while Aidan was opening her gifts V E R R Y S L L L O W W L L Y! JD just couldn't take it, he kept trying to help.

Aidan had an amazing birthday (week)! She got so spoiled and we had fun spoiling her! She's a great kid and she really appreciated all the special things we did. It's a good thing we went through her toy room and got rid of all that "baby stuff" as she put it- she's a big kid now and she doesn't let us forget it! It goes both ways- we like pulling that "you're 4 now, you can____"

Manis & Pedis with Mommy

2009-05-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

I decided Aidan was old enough (finally!) to take her for her first mani & pedi. She LOVED IT! She loved it so much that she was trying to convince me that we need to surprise Daddy for his birthday and take him to the nail salon. She is still trying to think of a reason to go do it again. The chair for the kids has a bunny head on top, then the arms have embroidered paws on them. The kid's chair also has a DVD player on it. I am so excited that she enjoyed this special treat!

Monster Surprises!

2009-05-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

As soon as we pulled into the mall parking lot Aidan knew we were going to see the Monsters VS Aliens. It was really funny and it had great special effects!
When we got out of the movie she asked if we could turn around to see the new Transformers. She was happy to get her picture taken with her favorite one- Bumblebee.

Surprise! Surprise!

2009-05-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

We decided to make the entire day a big surprise for Aidan. We drove out to the new Chuck E Cheese. She had no idea until we pulled into the parking lot where we were going for lunch. When we got there she was screaming "Chuck E Cheeses", then we pulled in next to our friends Nicolle and Addy. Double surprise!!

The girls had a blast playing with the blue screen and watching themselves dancing on the TVs.

There were a few fun little rides.

Of course there was cake!

Aidan was so excited to see the "real" Chuck E Cheese.

Dancing Queens!

Paging Doctor Thompson

2009-05-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

(May 6) Aidan woke up to find that Brad and I decorated the dining room with streamers and Littlest Pet Shop birthday signs.

She opened a few gifts before breakfast. Of course there were a few Pet Shops.

She was really excited about the Vet Kit. I can totally see this as a career for her, no pressure...

Let the Birthday Begin!

2009-05-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! Totally spoiled by Auntie Cathy, Uncle Jeff, Cousins Julia & Benjamin. Julia sent Aidan the cutest colored pictures and things she made with her computer art studio. Julia had even thought to ask what Aidan's favorite candy was. So sweet! It is so much more fun for Aidan to open her gifts as they come in the mail so she really gets to enjoys them.

A new Word Girl book... OMG! I think she tinkled a little!!!! Aidan is a HUGE fan of Word Girl, just like Julia.

This is what we do to Villans! There are also some moves she learned from Kung Fu Panda that go wtih this face.

Julia and Aidan also have a love for Hello Kitty... who doesn't she too cute!
What great gifts- Thank you Cathy, Jeff, Julia, & Benji!!!!

Marmot Marchers

2009-05-09T09:48:00.001-07:00

Part of the Blooms Day weekend in Spokane is the Marmot March. Its a 1.2 mile "run" around the park for kids 2nd grade and under. Imagine 400 little children, their parents, and all their strollers & wagons trying to walk through the park = fun, RIGHT?! Ugh! Aidan wanted to get out of her stroller at the beginning of the race, then decided right as we started to move that she wanted back in...I was trying to get her to walk for a second until we could have some space to get back in. She threw a tantrum and went limp (which is so not like her) and I ended up getting hit with a hundred strollers from behind as we tried pulling off the course. She was crying, I was PO'd and we lost our friends. Oh fun! So we walked the course alone. Finally we both calmed down, so I stopped about 2/3 through and asked her to get out to walk. She started arguing about it! I had to pull out my Love & Logic and told her that she could ride, but that she would have to tell her friends that she couldn't have lunch with them OR she could walk the rest of the way and we could have lunch with them. She walked about 10 feet to the port a potty, used it, then (as if I wouldn't remember) tried to get back in... Oh no ya' didn't! She pouted for another 10 minutes until one of the race volunteers cheered her on and could see she wasn't happy and gave her a pep talk. It was so sweet! Aidan was all excited then to give the volunteers high fives as she walked along, she even ran for a few feet! At the end she was excited to see all the mascots who came out to cheer the kids on. She was slapping hands and hugging at the end. We ended on a good note and then we had a great rest of the day. She was so proud that she finished and got her ribbon.

He's the Greatest Packers Fan

2009-04-23T12:58:00.001-07:00

Aidan just brought me her Littlest Pet Shop duck who she named "Under Two". She showed him to me and said, "See now he's all grown up. He's the greatest Packers fan!" It's the everyday cuteness that prevents me from getting done what I really need to get done during the day. In the end who cares if the house misses a few cleanings because I stopped to record these random acts of cuteness from my daughter!
We also had our daily dance session in the kitchen while we were making lunch to the Keith Urban song "Better Life". We usually dance to "Mahna Mahna" or a Mama Mia song.
Good times!

Who cut the cheese?

2009-04-22T01:21:00.000-07:00

Our friends Mary & Lance had this cake made in honor of our heritage. It was such a fun and yummy surprise when they came over on Sunday for a BBQ. What a fun night :)

Hold that pose... dont' let the cat bite you!

2009-04-22T01:14:00.000-07:00

It was just one of those days...Aidan was bugging me the entire day. Here she turned on the pets, I got a break whoooo! She flipped backward over the back of the couch and landed on top of Stinky. I knew she was in danger of getting bit, but that's what we risk for a photo op.

Rain can't stop these little egg hunters!

2009-04-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

Dennis laying the ground rules for the egg hunt.

Youngest first. I love the excitement!

Aidan and Addison next.

John too with the tongue out. Too much excitement!!

Elizabeth on the hunt in Canyon's room.

Aidan is searching Addison's room with a fine tooth comb.

Addison has hit the jackpot!

Canyon is so tired, but doesn't want to miss out on all those foil covered chocolate.

Aidan gave up to eat.

Dina said she found a large pile of foil under this love seat... that's why the kids were so quiet. They slept well that night that's all that's important!

Egg-stravagant Easter Brunch

2009-04-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Cake Pops

Everybody brought such beautiful and yummy food!

Anne and her kids made these yummy Easter basket cupcakes.

Dina made these beautiful egg cakes.

The carrots are orange napkins wrapped around green plastic utincels and tied with green pipe cleaners. Easter cups with a felt bunny accent.

As usual, an amazing presentation by Dina. I really appreciate all the thought and LOVE she puts into every party she throws. Thank you Dennis and Dina for letting us share this holiday with you, we had a blast. XOXO

The Easter Coconut

2009-04-14T10:40:00.001-07:00

The night before Aidan and Brad went to the grocery store to buy our Easter breakfast stuff and eggs to dye. While in the produce Aidan spotted a coconut and was curious. Brad bought it for her, but it was too late that night to open it. Brad thought it would be funny to hide it with the eggs. After the hunt the girls were curious, so here they are trying to open it.

Brad got to keep all of his fingers- yeah!

Tasting the milk. They both said it was good and didn't make a face, but neither one of them wanted another drink. They experimented and that was huge for these two girls in particular.

The Loot

2009-04-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

First things first, lets check out what's in these eggs.

Daddy said no more, bummer dude.

Beading a necklace with Grandma.

Grandpa is helping Zach figure out this helicopter flyer and Zach is picking his own prize! That's one for the scrapbook Dotti!

Too Much Sugar? Never!!!

2009-04-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

HELP ME!!!!!!!

Egg Hunters

2009-04-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ready to hunt.

Can you spot the Easter Coconut?... I'll explain later.

The hunters.

Aidan found the Easter Coconut right away.

Lots of treasures everywhere.

Jenna is egg-cited!

"Grandma Judi" always spoils the kids :)

Sadie really wanted to give one of those eggs a crunch.

Even though Zach doesn't eat the candy the thrill of the hunt was what he was after.

Never to heavy to carry when there's candy involved.

The huntin' crew.

Breakfast Buddies

2009-04-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

Aidan loves the times she gets to dress up in poofy dresses.

Zach

Aidan and Jenna eating breakfast.

Our neighbor & friend Dotti with the twins Zach & Jenna.

Brad catching up with Brian (Dotti's husband), Judi (Dotti's mom), and John (Judi's husband).

Breakfast was baked praline pecan french toast, eggs, fruit & mimosas.

Rascally Rabbit

2009-04-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

He was here! The Easter Bunny made Aidan hunt all over the living and dining room for the TOO MANY treats that he left for her.

He hid Aidan's basket in the curio cabinet.

How did he know Aidan LOVES Littlest Pet Shop?! She got stickers and undies.

Taste test time!

And a Littlest Pet Shop bunny and dragonfly.

Found it!!!!!

A pink bike horn...

Bolt DVD hidden in the fireplace...hehe!

Bob wishes he could have a bite of that Easter Bunny, the real one.

Spoiled Spoiled Spoiled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rabbit Snack

2009-04-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Aidan chose to leave the Easter Bunny onion, cheese slices, and the "longest and juiciest" carrots in the package.

Sleepy Girl!

Yawn!

Egg-stra Tasty!

2009-04-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Egg Coloring with Egg-stra Flare wink wink

2009-04-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Accessory to Cuteness

2009-04-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Bubble Bearded Lady

2009-04-14T08:57:00.001-07:00

Tiny Plummer

2009-04-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

Cinderelli Do the Dishes and the Washin'

2009-04-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Aidan loves to help with the dishes, great enthusiasm, not always convenient. In this case she washed eggs and her water bottle for a half an hour while I cleaned the house.

Penguin Feet

2009-04-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

Aidan REALLY loves rainboots and these rainboots are SOOOOOOO AIDAN! She has loved penguins since she was probably 1 1/2 years old. We bought her a penguin humidifier for her bedroom, it was love at first sight. She kissed and hugged that humidifier before bed and in the morning when she woke up... then the movies came. She has both Happy Feet and Surf's Up along with the stuffed animals and figurines. So, when I saw these boots on Ebay I knew they were the perfect boots for Aidan :)

She likes it! She finally likes it!

2009-04-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

When we started dance class a few weeks ago we thought that we were totally flushing money down the toilet. At first she was lost, but every week she picked up more and more. Then she started screwing around and not paying attention at all. Her attention and attitude completely changed the day the teacher showed them the We Are Siamese dance. Aidan was so excited that she looked at us with big eyes and mouthed "It's the siamese song!" but the words didn't come out because she was trying to contain herself. I think she tinkled a little though, it was too much! We motioned for her to watch teacher and she started to absorb it.

The days in between classes we would try to get Aidan to practice her moves a little, but she would freak out and refuse. After the first lesson of the siamese dance she now loves to show us her moves. Every week she's getting more out of the entire class because it's clicking for her.

Mr. Egg Head (not about Brad this time!)

2009-03-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

I found this growable egg head at Michael's and thought it would be fun for Aidan. Except it has been 3 weeks of her asking if it's time to cut his hair.

Yeah- she went to town and gave the egg a crew cut. It will grow back, that's what all hair dressers say...

Valentine's Day Tea Party

2009-03-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged for awhile. My laptop has been acting up and now it's just unusable, so I am using Brad's tonight.

I have to go back to February becuase we had a fantastic Valentine's Day and I need to give my friend Dina props for her AMAZING mother & daughter tea party. You'll see by the photos that Dina knows how to party! She is super creative and ambitious. It's very inspiring!

These are the Valentine treats that we made for some of Aidan's friends and the girls who came to the tea party.

There were 3 little tables set with pink satin table clothes, real china, linen napkins w/ a beaded napkin ring, doilies, fresh flowers, and edible place cards. The chairs were all wrapped with a pink tulle bow.

The mommy's tables were set similarly, but all in red with candles and red velvet boxes with our names on them.

The food was delicious and all done in a heart theme: heart scone sandwiches, heart mini quiches, heart cakes, etc...

Valentine's Day Dinner

2009-03-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Let's just talk about Aidan's oooey-gooey over the top Valentine's Day dress and coat. I found this dress for $3.99 at a children's second hand shop, then found the fuzzy heart coat at Goodwill 2 days before for $3.99. What awesome thrift store finds and they were too cute on her too!

After our tea party we visited Brad at the store, then headed home to decorate the house for our special dinner Brad was going to make us.

Brad went all out to make steak & shrimp with twice baked potatoes. Yum!

After dinner Aidan presented me with a trophy that she and Brad found for 'Mother of the Year'. Aidan was so proud and excited for me to get this. She was concerned that I wasn't carrying it with me to do what got me this award- the laundry. I haven't decided where I am going to keep this high honor, the laundry area or the kitchen? I definately didn't earn it with my work in the kitchen...easy mac is deceptively delicious though!

She dances like nobody's watching...

2009-03-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

I still can't tell if we are totally wasting our money. We have signed Aidan up for dance class. It's a combination of tap, jazz, and ballet. It's only been 2 months, but despite her dainty fisique she isn't the most graceful of little girls and she's a total goofball. Last week she was screwing around, not listening to her teacher, and somehow she fell flat on her face. Those little tap shoes are slippery, she went forward on her toes too much and splat! She had quite the bruise and scrape on her chin.

Our teacher does some super cute activities with the girls. They dance with ballerina & princess dolls, act like caterpillers who turn into butterflies, and gallop on stick horses. It is fun to watch how cute the girls are.

This is a classic Aidan pose, doing exactly opposite of what she is supposed to be doing. At first I went all "Stage Mom" on her and tried to get her to practice durning the week, we even took video of one of her classes so we could help her. I went from zero to crazy in 10 seconds when I finally hooked the camera up to tv and got Aidan into her tap shoes. She did a shuffle for me, sat down and took her shoes off. UGH!!!! I freaked out, "Do you not want to go to dance class at all? Should I take your shoes back? Blah blah blah!" To which Aidan basically said, 'fine with me!' Luckily, I recovered quickly to realize that I was talking to a 3 year old.

Maybe someday she'll catch on...

OMG! Where's Aidan?

2009-02-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Aidan had her first friend sleep over last Saturday. Our friends Emily and Mark invited her to stay the night with their son Tristan. We didn't hesitate of course. We dropped her off at dinner time, they took a bath, watched a movie, and played- they even took her to church in the morning. We totally thought about going out for breakfast, but I chose to sleep in which I never get to do and it was AWESOME!

Because we haven't been on a date forever Brad and I went out to dinner at Outback because we used to love the steak, good not great this time! I always think about this episode of Will & Grace where they are out to dinner with the couple they met in college who they have game night with and this couple is complaining about the trendy restaraunt food and the fact that they wanted to go to Olive Garden because the food is always good, so W&G hook up with this sheik couple who are totally trendy and wild. Yeah we're the married couple eating at Outback, we love the Olive Garden too (even though they rip you off on the olives in the salad)! Side note (Cathy's totally going to laugh) I love Olive Garden's "SuperSalad" (long story short: my sister Cathy watched me order "SuperSalad" for a to go order and she just let me go on and on when they asked me "soup or salad" I thought they were asking if I wanted their "SuperSalad" and I would answer "yes". The baby sister torture doesn't end as a kid, it's for life!) OK- back to my story... after dinner we went to see "New in Town" with Renee Zelwiger and Harry Connick Jr.. I think for the average person it was a shmoopie cute chick flick, but for Brad and I it was more hysterical. It's set in small town Minnesota and the women scrapbook- yikes! Brad and I just about peed our pants when this lady was showing RZ's character a scrapbook about her dead dog and cat... I was crying a little inside- that's ME! I have a scrapbook about my dead dog Raleigh and I have shown it to people! And our dead cat BooBoo peed on our couch so then we called him Poppy (from Seinfeld). Oooh Yeah-that's me, don'tcha know!

When we got home though it was weird without Aidan. Brad, the poor sap, got his laptop out to watch her song video!

When Emily dropped Aidan off in the morning she gave us a cd with some cute pics of their evening. Aidan was totally fine, which we expected. She did however do something odd. When Mark and Emily went upstairs to go to bed they 'checked the children' and Aidan wasn't in bed with Tristan anymore. They would have heard her if she came down the stairs, so they started searching upstairs for her. They found her in their closet with her blankie and all her animals she brought from home. I am so glad they got a picture of it before they scooped her up and out her back to bed! It's too cute. Emily thinks it's a girl thing, she wanted to feel safe and secure so she surrounded herself with shoes! It makes sense to me! When the party was over Tristan didn't want her to go, but Aidan just wanted to 'come say hi' to us. I like that she is secure enough to go off with her friends, but after a reasonable time away she wants to check in with us.

Aidan has been talking all week about her sleep over and asks everyday when Tristan is going to sleep over at our house, soon I'm sure. It's such a great thing to have someone to swap with now.

Not another bagel shake down!

2009-02-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

While laying in bed tonight Aidan and I were talking about random stuff...
Aidan-"I need to make a sign."
Me- "What does it need to say?"
Aidan- "No dogs in my toy room."
Me- "Are cats allowed?"
Aidan- "Yes. Stinkers, Bob, and Roxy, but not Sadie."
Me- "Why not Sadie?"
Aidan- "She knocks my toys down and eats my bagel."
This has been a long time coming, she has told me before about her issues with Sadie in her toy room. The one thing that would solve the issues is for Aidan to stop bringing food into her toy room! Sadie only goes in there to see if there is some food lying around and most of the time there is!