Four Little Princesses

Ella and Lillian are always good about sharing resources to get something they want.  They often pool their allowance or birthday money to get a bigger/better toy they can share, which I think is pretty resourceful of them.  This year they carried it a step farther and decided on a combined birthday celebration at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique inside Downtown Disney.  We agreed that they could each take one friend and then stepped it up a notch by adding a character brunch beforehand at the Grand Floridian.  We got to see the Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland, Marry Poppins, Pooh and Tigger.  The food spread was AMAZING (I absolutely love breakfast out) and the kids had their own section of the buffet to choose from.  I made the girls goody bags with combs; mirrors; princess stickers, wands, crayons and a coloring book; an autograph notebook and silly pom-pom pen.  The coloring books definitely came in handy when my better half was getting his money's worth at the buffet :)  I think the girls were done eating before we even sat back down at the table with our first serving of food! 

We arrived a couple of hours early at Downtown Disney so we got to walk around and window shop.  The girls were very patient while we waited for our appointment time.  The boutique was over the top, like all Disney-related things are.  It was quite an experience for our girls!  I was so star-struck by it all that I almost forgot how expensive it was (even though we did the cheap package). The neatest part of it all is that the girls can't see anything that is happening while they are getting made over, and after everything is done their "Fairy Godmother in Training" spins them around with their eyes closed facing towards the mirror and then does a big reveal for the girls to see themselves.  Their little faces lit up when they got to see what they looked like, and seeing their smiles made it worth every penny.  





















 Trying to decide (with Scott's help) which of the three makeover styles they wanted













 Ella the Fairytale Princess
 Lillian is our Pop Star Princess
Kenrda also chose the Fairytale Princess, while Janiya picked the Disney Diva.  So fun that each girl picked the one that most fits their personality!




Celebrating A Very Special 7 Year-Old

Ella woke up on her birthday to the wonderful news that she got a new baby cousin for her birthday!  Scott's younger brother and his wife had their 6th baby (but 1st girl) in the wee hours of the morning that day.  I can't think of a more special way to celebrate a birthday and she was giddy with excitement over it!  She got to spend the morning with Scott.  His plan was to take her to breakfast somewhere, but everything was closed since it was Thanksgiving Day so I think they may have ended up at McDonald's.  After that they went to Grandaddy's house to keep him company while he smoked and fried quite possibly the best turkey he has ever made.  We spent the rest of the day Thursday doing TG stuff, and had cake for her the next afternoon.  More pics to come on the real celebration :)

 Lillian made this card for her sister.  She insisted that Ella stay away from the table while she did it and then she put it in a gift bag with tissue paper for Ella to open.


 Our "Happy Birthday" glass that I scored at Dollar Tree - she picked sweet tea to drink!
Silly Uncle Austin and some adult humor :)  Good thing only some of our kids can read.

Happy Thanksgiving


Today and always, I am truly blessed.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Celebrating Our First Little Girl (Posted by Scott)


So, I didn't do the whole daily thankful bit, but I will today. On this very special Thanksgiving, I am so very thankful to God for sending this sweet, special gift into our lives 7 years ago today. Ella Grace, my first daughter, you bring so much joy into my life. You are the best snuggler on the whole planet. Happy birthday, and I love you!

Love, Daddy

Early Feasting

Thursday was Lillian's Thanksgiving Feast at preschool.  She insisted on wearing our Pocahontas costume that day - she was the only one in her class who dressed up.  I would have been embarrassed but it sure didn't seem to bother her!

 The kids decorated tablecloths and made mini teepees for centerpieces.
 Each child escorted their parent into the classroom and served us our food first before they ate.
 School rules - no homemade food, everything has to be store-bought :(

 This one is for Scott - the poster from their mock election!
 After we ate, the kids did a little mini-program complete with drums they had made.

 Lily Bug and her very tired-looking Momma who had been up all night with two sick boys.