Happy Birthday Ella!!

I really cant believe my little girl is 5! 5 always seems so big to me. At night I tell her that this is it... no more growing, 5 is all I can do! She never agrees with me :) But what a great 5 year old she is! SOOOO incredibly sweet, but has some sass to her! Plays great by herself, in fact, sometimes she will tell me she is going in her room and doesn't want Claire in there so she can do her "stories". She also is just a social butterfly and loves loves loves to play with her friends! She has a total sweet tooth-chocolate and frosting... wonder where she got that from; loves to color and paint; glitter, sparkle, and dress up. Loves play make and putting on nail polish. Loves watching a movie for quiet time; sleep overs with Mason; playing with her polys, dressing up her American Girl Doll; a great big sister! She lets Claire play with her all the time! She is starting to get into the WII; kind, generous, tender heart, happy, snugly; loves to go to dance; loves to ride horses; my best little friend; brings peace to her daddy; fancy... in every part of her! In fact when she cleans her room, she "decorates" it... which means all toys come out and are strategically placed into fancy spots; loves to play outside; frilly, all girl; likes school, although the academic part isn't her favorite... she loves the social part, singing, and art; loves music and singing. She is often blasting something in her room even if its the primary songs; would live at the beach...I often joke that when she turns 18 she is running way to California to be a beach bum and live on love; loves to play in the sand box; flowers and all beautiful outside things; daddy dates... and the list goes on and on! She is such a joy! I am humbled to be her mom! Her little spirit fills this house with a pure joy and kindness that is unmatched! Happy Birthday to my Isabella!!!!
So on to the party... in honor of her love for Fancy... we had a Fancy Nancy party! She loves reading all those books and often pretend that she is Fancy Nancy, so we thought this would be perfect. All the girls came dressed in their fanciest clothes ready to play... we decorated flip flops, made bracelets, the boys decorated top hats, painted fingers and toes, and read Fancy Nancy books! Of course there were cupcakes (her favorite) and she was spoiled with presents! The smile didn't leave her face all day! It was absolutely "divine". And I think everyone had a great time!

Proud to be Cheeseheads

Superbowl BABY!!! and this year it was even better because our Packers were playing! Packers vs Steelers! We knew that we were in for a great game. Packers won 31-25 and it came down to the last 2 minutes with the Steelers trying to make one last chance comeback and they fell short! We love us some Aaron Rodgers, Woodson, Driver, Mathews, Jordy Nelson, and the list goes on and on! Great night! We went to Ryan's parents house and of course had lots of yummy food... all the usual of course but this time I made a couple of new recipes that I LOVED.. Bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers with a Bronco Berry sauce, queso, and caramel popcorn! Really so yummy! We love us some SUPERBOWL! Go Pack!!!

Big Girl

Not quite sure how I feel about this... my Claire Bear is just getting too big too fast for me. She already skipped being 2 and went straight to her 3's and now she thinks she is done with the crib and wanting to go potty in the toilet "like Ella". So one thing at a time for me... and since I didn't want her to break her arm while climbing out of the crib I thought we better take care of that one first! So the crib got taken down, not without a tear or two on my behalf, and a big girl bed put up. And guess what... no surprise here, she loves it! When she first saw it she jumped and jumped on it for at least 20 minutes and then had to show Mason and Ella! She hasn't gotten out of it yet (fingers crossed that will continue) at night and has still taken a nap in it without any unusual drama that accompanies the nap. So big steps! And yes they are exciting ones but at the same time... she is too big too fast! Might need to take a bit of a breather before we dive into potty training!

Quote of the week: Ella is too funny... this last fall and winter I ended up buying her a few pairs of skinny jeans and pants because... MY GOSH she just looks so dang cute in them! Her little toosh is just pinchable :) anyways... not always her favorite to wear for comfort and upon getting ready for school the other day she asked, "Mom why do I always have to wear my squeezy pants?" to which I replied, "Well you just look so darn cute in them... better get used to fashion being uncomfortable:)"

PS... Ryan and I went on a date this last Saturday that really was so fun. He took me to the gun range! Yes I went to a gun range. He has been worried for just about forever of my intense fear of guns and then the intense fear and not knowing of what to do with one. So I asked him to plan a date and that where we went and had a great time. By no means was I in my comfort zone and looked like a total spazz but I really enjoyed myself. Ryan is awesome and never missed his target. I sometimes got it :) The 45 about knocked me over, but I liked shooting Ryan's gun (and I cant remember the name of it even though he has told me about 100 times... sorry) Anyways... we followed that up with Cheesecake Factory, my favorite! Yummy yummy food and dessert! A calorie fest of course! It was just a really fun time that pushed me some and got me outta my comfort zone and was a great memory! Thanks Ry!

My Wish-Rascal Flats

This song has been on my mind a bunch lately... love the lyrics and love letter it is! In honor of the upcoming lOvE day... this is my wish to my family and friends! I love you all...

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go
And if you're faced with the choice and you have to choose
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you

And if one door opens to another door closed
I hope you keep on walkin' ?til you find the window
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile
But more than anything, more than anything

My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold

And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to
I hope you know somebody loves you
And wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish

I hope you never look back but you never forget
All the ones who love you and the place you left
I hope you always forgive and you never regret
And you help somebody every chance you get

Oh, you'd find God's grace in every mistake
And always give more than you take
But more than anything, yeah more than anything

My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold

And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to
I hope you know somebody loves you
And wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish, yeah yeah

(My wish for you)
This is my wish
(My wish for you)
I hope you know somebody loves you
(My wish for you)
May all your dreams stay big
(My wish for you)

Pierced

So my Ella for a while now, like 6 months at least, every time I would pull her hair back in a pony tail she would stress out about her ears being ugly! Absolutely no idea where she would've gotten that from! They are just about the cutest, tiniest, against her head ears that I have seen! But she would push them against her head and tell me that they were ugly! My heart broke and I didn't know what to do to convince her of just how cute they are!! So a couple of weeks ago I had the idea to ask her if she would want her ears pierced and if that would help her like her ears better! She is always obsessed with putting my earrings in and out so I told her we could do it on her upcoming 5th birthday, the 25th! She said she had to think about it, and was nervous it would hurt too bad. So yesterday her and I went to the mall to run and errand and I asked her if she wanted to see what the earrings would look like and talk to a girl about it and she did... after we walked out she asked if she could do it today! So, of course I jumped on it and said YES!!! My brave little girl chose the pink flowers, of course, and sat there tall and brave and did not shed one tear! Just a tiny little flinch and she was done! hOoRAy!! She couldn't wait to show all her friends! And today while getting ready for school she asked if she could wear her hair back to show all her friends her new earrings! Too adorable! Happy early 5th birthday baby!!!!! much love to you! You are beautiful inside and out!

Ryans SECOND arm surgery

So back in November 2010 RY had his carpal tunnel wrist surgery and had some lumps removed all within a week or so... OUCH!! Recovery not fun at all. Unfortunately that carpel tunnel surgery did not fix the problem he had with his arm and elbow so now he went back under the knife for an even bigger surgery to fix the problem. This time it was to fix the ulnar nerve in his hand and wrist, release (or cut) a bound up tendon in his hand, and move the nerve in his elbow (the one that causes your funny bone to go crazy when hit). YUCK. But he did great, recovery was a bit longer and tougher but he is so glad he did it and has felt so much better!!! Thank goodness for modern medicine!