Big Boy Bed

Did I mention yet that my baby is sleeping in a big boy bed???  It's just a matress on the floor for now - which is good because he's rolled off a few times - but he is staying in bed and sleeping well! 

Gabe and Jack

So Gabe came over the other day and once we got the trains divided up (Jack thought that he needed to have both trains... in turn, Gabe thought that he needed to carry both trains...  we finally got it figured out that they could each carry a train - and if you'll notice, in every single picture, they each have a train!), we decided we'd go for a walk over to the park.

 They were both very excited about the ducks and the bridge and the dead grasshopper on the path and the flowers and the leaves and the dog poop on the path and the river ... I could go on and on.  It is so much fun to go for a walk with people this age.  They see everything.  In turn, I get to see it in a different way than I normally would at my age. :) 

 One question I have:  Have either of these boys ever been in front of a camera?  Who taught them these cheesey grins???

 Another fun thing about going for a walk to the park with people this size is that they still think that they are going to catch the squirrels!  The squirrels in our park are pretty bold.  If you have food, they will join you on your picnic blanket until you share - not kidding!  So, I can see why Gabe and Jack thought that they would be able to catch the furry-tailed rodents because at first, the squirrels walked toward the boys... seeking a snack!  Then the squealing commenced - the boys, not the squirrels... the squirrels ran!

Seriously -- could not get a regular smile out of either of them!  Stinkin' cute.

Ella's Birthday Party

We celebrated Ella's 6th birthday at the paint your own pottery place downtown. We had lots of fun and I don't even think we ruined anything!!!

Miss Ella is way into Hello Kitty this year... we even got her some blingy Hello Kitty earrings.

I think Ella picked two or three different things before she finally settled on a puppy holding a bone in his mouth.

Jack is soooo ready to paint...

But he had to settle for "helping" Ella.

So after a few minutes of painting (pictures below), we took a break and sang to the birthday girl and ate some cake!

Do you see that adorable little blond guy next to Ella? I want you to pay particular attention to that sweet little boy in this sequence of pictures.

He sooo wanted to help Ella blow out the candles...

but his big sister moves in from behind --- you can't even see sweet Olivia back there -- just her hands over sweet Josh's mouth!!!

She's got him now...

Or maybe not...

yes... she's got him...

and then he decides to fight back ---

Omylands! I was watching this all take place - Ella didn't even notice and spit enough 6 year old spit on the cake to put those candles out that she didn't even need Josh's help -- but I just loved to watch the spunk of he and his sister as it all played out!

And speaking of spunk! Who's that little red-headed guy?

I think he's a CHEESEBALL!

(this is his cheesy grin)

And the sweet birthday girl, passing out her fancy napkins to the kids who had to eat their birthday cake on the floor!!!

It seemed to be the best choice... didn't want to get cake all smoooshed into the carpet!

Shoot - they didn't mind!

This is Olivia -- the big sister... I just think she's the cutest little peanut!

I call this shot "Cheesy Grin with Cake"

He enjoyed it.

Did I mention how fun Josh is???? See? SPUNK.

Sweet lil Hanna even joined us for some cake.

And back to finish our painting...

Some of these were actually before the cake... you get the idea...

Alex chose to paint a 4-wheeler and I got to help him paint mud on the tires!!!

These next few shots are Annie - one of Ella's BFFs. She kept running out of brown paint!

Medora is really concentrating! I tried to get her to look up and smile... she wouldn't!!!

Oh and sweet sweet Evan. What an enjoyable little boy. We think he's the best!

I love the ghosty he chose to paint -- and he put a fun jack-o-lantern on the ghost's tummy! CUTE!

Josh and Olivia - very hard at work.

I couldn't get Olivia to look up and smile either!!!

That little elephant is a piggy bank. And again --- CUTE!

I think we all had a great time (and I think that I used the adjective "sweet" WAY too much in this particular post... but it's soo fitting...)

I know one of Ella's favorite parts of the weekend was that her Sweetie and Papa were there for her party. You can see some of Sweetie's pics on her blog:
www.dmb46.blogspot.com/2010/09/seth-ellas-birthdaysheridan-visit.html

The Downtown Aquarium

Oooo this is one of my favorite places to take the kids.

And WHO KNEW??? There are actually mermaids at the aquarium in Denver. Wow. We were surprised! I think they were doing a photo shoot for the holidays.

This grouper cracks me up --- he is HUGE and just swims along, leisurely and slow... checking out the kids on the other side of the glass... like he would eat them for lunch if he could get to them...

And I think I've actually blogged about these before but everytime I see it, it amazes me! These are shark babies --- that one in the middle that you can see through was actually swimming around in his little egg -- It's called a mermaid's purse. Sooo cool!

Jack liked the sharks! He would growl at them as they swam by. :)

My friend Val

Can you see her in there with all of those third graders???

She was once a sixth grader of mine. She is in her first year of teaching and doing an amazing job. Her heart is for the kids and she wants to do the best that she can for them.

I am soooooooo proud of her!!!