Oh Christmas Tree

Thanksgiving weekend we had a wonderful time with family. Grey and Ella love spending time with their cousins. Billy and I were able to get almost all of our Christmas shopping done AND wrapped on black Friday! I feel so ahead of the game! :)

So after we (I) wrapped our packages with care they needed a place to rest the next few weeks.



Grey is really into Christmas this year. He helped with the tree from the beginning to the end. Ella was not so interested! The kids each picked out a special ornament this year. Grey got a Tron motorcycle and Ella picked a ballerina that plays The Nutcracker. We had a great time getting in the Christmas spirit!

Thankful Thursdays

For the month of November, each week we had a little special meal on Thursday nights. We spent extra time at the dinner table and discussed Thanksgiving, what it means, the pilgrims, our blessings, etc. I tried to incorporate some type of authentic food item at our meals. One Thursday we made home made bread and home made butter. But one Thursday we were thankful for Chinese delivery! Lol! We all enjoyed learning a little more and being more mindful of our abundant blessings!



Kids making home made bread.










Making butter. Shake shake shake.





Finished project.

Ella Turns 2!

I can't believe my baby turned 2!! How did this happen so fast? We celebrated on her birthday with a fun evening at Chuck E Cheese. This was Ellas first time to go and really enjoy all they had to offer.

















A few things about Ella at two. She is extremely and fiercely independent. I think we hear "I do it!" more than any other phrase. She is a daddies girl. He can get her to cooperate better than anyone else. It makes my heart melt to watch their bond grow. She loves shoes! This girl absolutely adores shoes! What's funny is that both Grey and I are barefoot people around the house and this drives Ella nuts. She wants us to all wear shoes all the time.



See what I mean! Lol! Also she is a dancer. She loves pop music and tends to be quite demanding to hear certain songs. And any time she hears a song with a beat she just can't hold still!

I hope the video works. It's really too cute for words!

So the next day, we celebrated Ella at home with our dear friends. My BFF made this amazing cake for Els.






Ella loved being the center of attention! We are so blessed to have Ella in our family. Her sweet personality really just brings us so much joy. Two years has gone so fast but at the same time it feels as if she has always been with us! We love our Ella Bella!

1st Grade

Grey is doing great in first grade! He loves his teacher, Mrs Palmer. His favorite part of the day is recess! He has spelling tests every Friday and has gotten 100% on every test except one. He really works hard for that sticker Mrs Palmer puts on his tests!!! He is very social and has a lot of friends. He seems to really enjoy school, except that he has to wake up so early! Grey is not a happy morning boy!!! So far it has been a great year and we look forward to watching Grey grow in his education.