Storytime Reminiscing

Bad Mommy alert. I recently took Ryen to her FIRST storytime at the library. And she is 2! I remember having Ella in storytime before she was even 1. But with Ella in school three days a week I finally have time to do younger activities with Ryen, that Ella is too big for. I was excited to take her! So off to the library we went.

Ryen was SO shy at first! She sat in my lap and would not move. She wouldn't clap or sing, or play. She just wrapped my arms around her and hugged me tight and sat and watched. And observed... and took it all in.




After a while I got her to warm up enough to do some "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" with me. She loves that song anyhow.



And she did the Itsy Bitsy Spider...



And although she wanted NO part of going up to the front to get her jingle bell out of the box, she let Mommy go up and get one for her and she even jingled it on cue! ;)




and then came the favorite part for most of the kids. The Bubbles!! They walk around and blow enough sticky bubbles to pretty much fill up the whole room. Ryen is a bubble junky so I knew she would love it. And she did!





And watching her smile and giggle and run around and pop bubbles and catch them on her finger, made me smile inside reminiscing that Ella used to do the same thing at these storytimes, that seem so long ago. I was reminded of how fleeting my time at home with these babies is.

And Ella is asking to go to school five days a week, and we are seriously considering this for January. Which means December would be my last month home with her, before she is in school M-F 9-2. I am having a very hard time letting go and dealing with this. But maybe it will be good practice for me since starting at the end of July next year she will be gone for Kindergarten M-F 8:05-3:30. I have to keep telling myself that them getting older may close the door on some things (like storytimes and playdates and park picnics) but that it opens doors to other adventures too that may be just as rewarding...

A Day at the Aquarium

Our Aquarium out here leaves much to be desired. It is a Sea Life one. This is a European company that has set up two aquariums in the States. One at Lego Land in CA and one at Tempe Mills mall in AZ. Go figure... random.




Anyhow it is pretty small and very expensive and you can walk through the entire thing in less than 20 minutes. So needless to say we don't go to it very often. But Ryen loves fishies. So I met some friends there last week for an underwater adventure.






Here we are by the shark and sting ray tank.



We love the sharks and the sting rays always look like they are smiling.







I loved the sea horses and the jelly fish. One of the sea horses was pregnant but it is actually the MALE seahorses that carry the babies :)





We climbed in a few of the bubble tanks






After we went to the food court to ride a carousel, play some games and Ryen practiced for her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star! Ha ha!!





It was a great day with friends! :)

Elefun is FUN! Thanks Uncle Joey and Auntie Samara!!

(Because I see them day to day I often miss the ways in which my kids grow up and change right before my eyes. Until you find some long lost pics on your computer and realize how much they have truly grown.) ~JC 2/18/12

One of Ryen's favorite birthday gifts when she turned 2 was Elefun, that she got from her Uncle Joey and Auntie Samara! She loved chasing those butterflies and big sister Ella loved teaching her how to make it work.









Thanks for the birthday gift Uncle Joey and Auntie Samara!

Ella's Birthday at the Zoo and Peter Piper Pizza!

Ella turned 4 on November 2nd and we celebrated by spending the afternoon at the Zoo with our friends Trish, Leo and Summer. I forgot the memory card in my camera (SO MAD) so I had to resort to my cell phone for photos. ugh! But we did take some photos on the way in. The group photo on the left makes me laugh for so many reasons. I love Summer's pose and Ella's Ballerina tutu she decided to wear buon her special day, but I have NO idea why I am holding Ryen's head like a watermelon in a vice-grip! WTH???



A few kids commented on Ella's ballerina outfit, and we told them it was her birthday and she was a ballerina princess for a day. And she sure was!



And seriously, it is wonderful when one of my friends goes out of her way for me, like agreeing to meet me at the zoo on the spur of the moment to celebrate my baby girl's birthday. But words can not even describe the way your heart bursts with love when this friend goes out of her way to be so loving towards my daughter too. She literally trekked through the parking lot with 4-5 beautiful happy birthday balloons tethered to her stroller. Not only that but she bought Ella a purse and had the BEST idea to put a disposable camera inside that Ella could use to take photos at the zoo to remember her special day! (Genius!) AND she brought cupcakes for all the kids to sing Happy Birthday.

Here is Ella with her camera (which she would not let anyone take from her) and her cupcakes!



Seriously, Trish and her kids, Summer and Leo, are so special to me and her selflessness, thoughtfulness and big heart are just some of the reasons why. I love her and can't thank her enough for making Ella's day so special. xoxoxoxo



I just love these photos of the girls coming down the "rock slide" in the cave



and oh my gosh! These two STRUTTED their stuff like they owned the place. And you know what? For that day, Ella's day... they did own it! And that was just fine by me. Strut your stuff girls.



But the fun didn't stop there! We went home to meet up with Daddy and we took Ella to one of her favorite places for dinner.... Peter Piper Pizza!

We played games:




ate pizza for dinner:




sang Happy Birthday:



And let both girls get a turn to blow out the candle:



She left with a lot of goodies from the ticket counter too!




Then on the 4th we took her for her 4 yr well check. I can't believe she only goes once a year. I used to LOVE well checks when they were babies.




She was so excited to get on the scale and to get measured to see how "big" she had gotten.



and my perfect baby was in perfect symmetry... 43" tall and 43 pounds. :)

Overall my beautiful Bella had a wonderful birthday!



WE LOVE YOU BOO!