Birthday Girl

Ella was so excited for her birthday this year. She initially wanted a princess party, but she changed her mind (she may have had a little prodding) and settled on a rainbow/bug party.

She was ready to go an hour early and waited for her "guests" to arrive.

Rainbow and bug cupcakes

Crafts

Presents

Sidewalk Chalk

I now see why some families have the every other year friend's party. Wrangling 7 little girls and 1 boy (don't worry--it was a bug party too, so it was okay that he was there) takes it out of you. But Ella had a great time and it was a good day. And now she's 4. She told my mom tonight as they were leaving for their Thursday night sleepover--"You've never had a 4 year old at your house for a sleepover before!" It happens in a blink, doesn't it. Love you, Ella bug.

Dranpa Paul

Last week Kimmy was in Jackson Hole doing a wedding, and at the last minute my mom decided she wanted to drive up and visit her for the weekend. I was working, and my mom had planned on having the girls that day. Never fear, Grandpa Paul saves the day! He took off work and watched both girls. They played and played and played. They even went shopping and bought matching "golf" outfits. Both girls had a great time. Thanks Dad!

Sisters

Challenger

Ella started preschool today (well, she started one of her preschools. I can't decide what to do with her and her August 29th birthday, so I'm putting her in two different schools and seeing how things go.)

I saw this idea on Pinterest made this cute sign. But before you get impressed by how pulled together I am...look a little closer. Her teachers are Miss Kristen and Miss Kim. Oops. And check out Anna at 12:45 pm. Yes, those are her jammies and she has peanut butter and honey in her hair. And those marks on Ella's face--digs from Anna. Awesome. But Ella rocked her uniform and her preschool. Love you, Ells!

Anna

Anna is 18 months! And documenting her development has been seriously neglected on this blog. Not because we don't love her :) Some things I want to remember--

• She is a fun loving little girl. She loves to laugh and smile and play and play. 
• She loves a thrill, and has no fear.  She loves to slide, climb, jump and splash. This picture is after being squirted in the face with a water bottle--over and over again

• She is a talker. She will repeat almost anything, and is putting two to three words together. "Anna. Sit. Down." Her favorite word is still "Ella." She loves to call for her sister. Her language skills are about 6 months ahead. When she was a baby I worried that she was "slow"--she is proving me wrong. 
• She responds to every question. Most often with a drawn out "yah"said sweet and soft
• Favorite thing to do: "bu-uhl" (buckle). She loves trying to buckle anything and everything. Carseats, strollers, backpacks. Over and over and over.
• She loves her Grandmas and Grandpas. "Papa" was her go to word for both, but over the past few days she has started to say "Drama." 

• She is a busy busy body. Into everything. She is so noisy and busy at church--I've been counting down the days until she was old enough for nursery.
• She has decided she wants to start potty training. She will go on the toilet when asked and once or twice a day she will tell me she needs to go (usually right when she wakes up or is getting in the bath). The problem is that now she does not want to wear a diaper, but if she doesn't accidents are guaranteed. I predict one of two things will happen: she will figure it out and be potty trained by 20 months, or she will get over it and wear a diaper until she's almost 4. 
• She sleeps well. All night long and 1-2 naps a day. Dreamy.

Love this little bug!

Featured

My good friend put a little plug in for me over on her blog Hope Smiling Brightly, which if you don't already read, you should. She's great. Totally honest and fun. And...now I've got my 15 minutes of fame. Thanks Molly!

Croissants

One of the things Ryan really wanted to do in Minnesota was to make homemade croissants. I was a little dubious, worried that at the end of the 19+ hour process we would be disappointed with the results. I am happy to report that I was wrong. Not only did we enjoy the process, but they were delicious. (Of course they were. Anything with that much butter has got to be good!)

Lark Toys

Ella has a thing for carousels, so we made the trek to Lark Toys in Kellog, Minnesota. Such a cool little shop. Rated one of the top 10 toy stores in the country. They have a woodshop you can peek in on to see them making toys...and where they hand carved and painted the carousel.  At the end of the afternoon Grandma Janet bought both girls a toy. After much debate, Ella settled on a little toy tractor. Who knew--she's a farm girl at heart.

Minnesota

We took a quick trip to Rochester last week. And as always, the girls were in heaven with 2 doting grandparents to cater to their every whim. We had a great time, and for such a relaxing trip we sure did a lot!

homemade playdough "treats"

jolly rancher suckers

puppet show

slip 'n slide

We went to the Zollman Zoo, a small little zoo with Minnesota native animals. It was great--we saw otters, a bear, a cougar, a bobcat, eagles, owls, badgers, wolves, farm animals. It was here that I once again experienced "Minnesota Nice." We had forgotten our stroller, and almost turned around to get it, but decided we didn't want to make the trip. When we got there we saw a stroller sitting near the doorway. We asked one of the zookeepers if we could borrow it. Oh, sure, he said, but wait--I think there's one with a canopy around here somewhere to keep the sun off her eyes...All like it was nothing.

Love these people.