"5"

My little girl is turning 5 tomorrow. I'm excited and sad with mixed emotions. Sad that she is turning 5, no longer a toddler. Sad that these bath days will soon be gone, "privacy" already a word in her vocabulary. Often found going in her room, alone, shutting the door, just to have some time to herself. Sad that I have to share this beautiful girl with the rest of the world, no longer just my baby I get to have to myself...but excited in that same emotion...ready to show the world just how beautiful and wonderful she truly is.

Happy for all of the new adventures that "5" brings. It's been such fun to watch her knowledge of the calendar grow and expand, counting down the days to her "real birthday", and the days to her "birthday party" with friends and family. Excited for her to start school, begin to make childhood friends that will hopefully last a long time. Excited for her to learn more about the world, and all the wonders and excitement it brings. "5" is big, and she is getting to be just that. I love what we had together, baby and mommy. But also excited to share what we will have together, mother and daughter. New adventures, a world to explore, Bailey and me, and I can't wait!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

I love my holidays! Just ask my husband who has to deal with my decorations around the house and floating things hanging from our canned lights. They just put me in a happy mood. I love the decorations, the stores looking festive, and the excitement that it brings for kids counting down the days until the actual day. Valentine's day for Colby and me happened the day before, with a fun lunch at Shenandoah's and a light hearted movie, "Just Go With It," a fun date movie.

Bailey woke up on Valentine's Day with a huge grin on her face, raced over to me, and gave me a huge hug saying, "Happy Valentine's Day, Mommy!" Her love for holidays was passed down, hooray!!! The kids opened up their small gifts, Bailey the clothes horse and Raif got to eat his Pez in the morning. We spent the afternoon over at the Irelands, something we don't get to do as often since Bailey and Reagan are on different preschool days. We ended the day with spaghetti and meatballs, as requested by Colby. It was such a pleasant day, one that just makes you happy.

Bailey and Raif in the morning
Bailey made homemade Valentine's for her class

She had to sign each one of them, 30 in all...she was one busy little girl!

Bailey's Valentine gift for us, she made it at preschool and they sent it to us in the mail.

Our gift from Bailey last year, I love their homemade preschool gifts!

Some of the art projects from preschool

I love decorating with Bailey's art work, it makes her feel special and it looks cute in the house!


Happy Valentine's Day!

Cheer at Home

My sister sent over a pair of Jaymee's old pom poms. Bailey gave Raif her old ones and they had to recreate her Cheer Clinic routine. Raif is going to hate us for this when he hits about 13! In case you didn't get a good enough laugh with the first video, I included the second one ☺ Near the end I think the pom poms turned more into weapons than cheerleading tools!

Cheer Clinic #2

Millikan Cheer hosted another fundraiser cheer clinic. Bailey was excited, again, to join in on the fun. I could go on and on about the day, but here's the best thing I came out of the clinic with. Cheerleader Parents are awesome! There were tons of volunteer parents there, helping out in anyway they could. All of them gave up their early Saturday morning/afternoon to help raise money for their kids. But, the best part about them is, they are involved with their teenage girls lives! These girls truly know what their parents are doing for them, and are grateful. There was no whining that their moms and dads were there. They have a wonderful cheer director who is no nonsense with these girls and if they whine/complain about their parents or anything for that matter, then they don't make the team! The game night was senior night and all the senior girls were escorted by their parents/family, and they weren't embarrassed that their parents were there, but proud! It was such a great event hosted by a wonderful group of girls and their families!

Bailey with her cheerleader favorite, Malia
Lexy is always camera shy, so I snapped a picture from behind

Bailey was helping Paige out with the shirt

Bailey doing her cheer pose

Lexy is at the base of her team she brought!

Game night, again with Malia!

Bailey doing her stunt

After her routine

Video of Bailey practicing her routine, game day video came out too blurry.

Lexy at practice, I can't figure out how to rotate the picture.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 2011

14 of us headed down to Cabo San Lucas for a fun 4 days! The Irelands, Jacobs, Keranens, Wards, Woolsey/Mondos, Foxs, and us all took some time off from work and kids to enjoy a little relaxation. The Wards were celebrating one year of marriage and the Irelands were celebrating 6 years of marriage. It was a fun time and be sure to check out the Ireland's, Jacob's, and Keranen's blogs for more pictures on their cameras. Here are a few pictures I got.

Dinner at Capella's the first night
Curtis and Yvette at Capella's

That is some serious lobster!

Since there was a pirate ship at the hotel, Colby and Curtis decided to dress appropriately!

Yvette and me by the beach

Time for a little wave runner fun!

Colby and me waiting for our turn to be pushed down to the water

Brian and Rachel on the wave runner

Curtis and Yvette by the arches

Aaron and Sarah having some fun!

Can you believe the camera survived the wave runner experience?

Date night for Colby and me at Golondrina Restaurant

Mexican coffee after a fabulous dinner

It was a fun night for Colby and me

Breakfast at The Office

Curtis and Yvette on our walk after breakfast

Cabo has such beautiful beaches

Colby and Curtis dressed as pirates and even took two kids on a pirate treasure hunt. An experience those kids will never forget. They kept asking them if they were real pirates so they had to take them on a "real pirate treasure hunt."

A little fanciness to our hotel room

Sarah and Aaron on thier anniversary night

Dinner at Golondrina's

Colby and me

Curtis and Yvette

Curtis and Yvette's dinner for two, it was amazing

Banana dessert-fabulous!

Yvette at Cabo Wabo's-we think those are her underwear from 10 years ago...who knows?

Christmas with the Irelands, finally!

Each year we do a Christmas present exchange with the Irelands, and due to busy schedules, sicknesses, etc. we hadn't been able to do it until yesterday. A bit late, but still fun. We met up with the Irelands at Glory Days (Snazzy, I know) after Bailey's ballet class and exchanged our gifts. Paige wasn't in the mood for pictures, but here's a couple of Bailey Raif and Reagan.

Coordinating tiaras
Raif got in on the picture taking

Disney on Ice

Despite the abundance of merchandise, vendors salesman, etc. bombarding you with things for sale, Disney on Ice was fabulous. The skating and story line were so much fun and kept the kids entertained the whole time.

Waiting for the show.
One of my favorite segments, Valentine's Day.