Happy 25th Birthday Kayleigh!

The second of the fall birthdays is Kayleigh's and we all went out to dinner for a fantastic Mexican feast at Mi Ranchito in University City. We packed up all the kids and took Kayleigh's friend Tania with us. So we were definitely a full table! Thankfully, everyone behaved and sat to eat a wonderful meal. I had a cheese enchilada and pork tamale and they were great! We all came back to the house to get cake and ice cream and sing Aunt Kayleigh Happy Birthday! It was laid back, but just perfect for this crew.

Hot sauce!! Watch out! :-)

Halloween 2010

It was another low key Halloween at the Little house this year, mainly because Josh always works on Halloween night. Hopefully one of these days he'll be able to stay home and take his girls trick-or-treating! My sister and I have decided to alternate houses on Halloween so that the kids can be all together when out soliciting for sweet treats. So this year was my house and my parents, in-laws, sisters, brother-in-law and friends Robyn & Craig came over to share in some meatball subs and "meat whiz" (as Adham calls it-Velveeta with Rotel and hamburger meat, its delish!) I of course made little ghost cakes for dessert and then CANDY! A whole bunch of it. I was a little disappointed at my turn out in the neighborhood, usually we run out of treats completely, but I guess everyone was in different places this year. We tend to have a lot of kids running up and down our street because one of the neighbors does a full and complete haunted house in their backyard. I mean, people line up for this one and its all free, they do ask for donations to keep it going though. They do a great job and this time it was scary!! We all dressed up some way or another and I think the kids had a wonderful night. Thankfully it wasn't freezing cold either! Here's to next year!!
Josh and I actually got to have a night to ourselves at Six Flags for Fright Fest too with three other couples and it was so much fun! Hopefully we'll get to do it again next year.

Happy 30th Steph!

As much as she hates to admit it, my sister has turned 30. I know it takes a lot of adjustment to realize that we are not 12 anymore (we tend to act that age a lot), but I think she can handle it. When the days got closer to her birthday, she didn't think anyone was going to do anything for it...but she of course was not cognizant of the fact we were throwing her a surprise! I think when she told me, "I'm just going to sit at home by myself and eat an ice cream cake for my birthday", that was when I knew we had to plan stealthy. Hee hee! So, after many phone calls and texts between myself and my brother-in-law, we decided to have it at the Brunswick Zone XL in St. Peters. Where we proceeded to bowl, eat and play some mean laser tag. It was absolutely a fantastic time and we were so glad that everyone could come out to enjoy it with us. I knew by the confused look and tears that she truly had no idea we were planning that fun night for her. :-) Here's to another great 30 years Weeze!! Love you!p.s. sorry for the horrible pics, we were excited!

The Little Girls Fall Photo Shoot!

We got some more pictures of the girls taken this fall by our good friend John Fedele. He always does such a great job! Thanks John for putting up with us ;-)

I can't believe how big they look in these photos. They are just growing up WAY too fast. Does anyone have a contraption that will slow down time? Come on all my scientific nerd friends, you can do it. I believe in you. Oh well...I'll just have to keep documenting their growth into my fine young ladies. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Emaline!

We had a wonderful birthday weekend for Miss Emaline, starting with our usual 'Friday before your birthday lunch' at Chuck E. Cheese. The kids ran around like crazy and enjoyed our newly expanded local CEC. It has become a yearly tradition with the kids and they always love to play new games and eat pizza. Who doesn't?
Then yesterday we had her big Ice Cream Social Penguin party. I know it is a mouthful, but hey, its what she wanted. We held it at Nana & Pepere's house because our backyard was completely torn up! Josh had grand plans to have it all done and ready for Em's birthday, but we hit a supply snag and ended up being no where near done when the date came around. I think everyone had a good time regardless! Thanks to Stephani and Nana for all their help and especially to Steph for making penguin cupcakes with me. I think they turned out awesome! We then had ice cream sundaes and cones, drumsticks and popsicles along with lots of other salty snacks (to go with the sweet!). Emaline had a great time entertaining and playing lots of fun outdoor games like bowling, ring toss and kickball with all her friends and family. The weather was also fantastic and the rain held off until later that night! We couldn't have asked for a better turnout. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with my little girl! I can't believe she is four already. It feels like yesterday when I heard her first cries in this world and now there is no way we can imagine our lives without her and her sister! Now, I better save up and start thinking about next year! :-)
See all the pics from her birthday here.

Sixth Anniversary

This year, Josh and I celebrated our sixth anniversary! I can't believe we have been married for that long already. I mean, its actually nothing compared to the 12 years we have been together. Now, that is a long haul. Probably longer than most marriages last! I am so blessed to have my best friend as my spouse and there isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't make me laugh (or experience other emotions!). For all our faults, we understand each other and make strides to compromise and communicate as much as possible. We love each other and are blessed with two wonderful girls that keep us grounded. Thank you Joshua for these many years of wedded bliss and hopefully many more of laughter and smiles. To quote Tammy Wynette: "I stand by my man". Thanks to everyone who helps us constantly with our crazy life! :-)

Rockwood PTO Night at the Magic House

Last night we had a special "engagement" night at the Magic House with the REACH (PTO) group from Emaline's school. It was so nice to be able to run around the museum with only about 150 people there! No waiting for exhibits, no crowds, etc. I think it was well worth the money, it was only $5/ticket and my sister & her family and my parents got to come with us. I'm hoping they turn this into a semi-annual thing, because the kids love it (and so do I)!

Piper checking on the babies in the Children's Hospital

The kids silhouettes.

Uncle Adham, Emaline, Pepere, Emaline & Piper's Faces in the Pin Art Box

Emaline serving us up some piping hot pizza from the Village Pizza PlaceAunt Stephy playing river pirates with the girls. Lewis & Clark would be proud.
Emaline coming down the three-story slide!

Soccer Shrimps

Emaline had her very first soccer game today! When I first asked her what she wanted to do this year, sports or dance, there was no hesitation: sports. Which actually surprised me because of her obsession at times with pink. Here was our conversation:

"Would you like to play sports or try dance class this year?"
"Yes Mom, I wanna play soccer."
"Okay, we can do that. Are there any other sports you'd like to try? How about baseball?"
"No"
"How about basketball?"
"No. I want to swim. Can I swim in the winter?"
"Sure, we can do that. Anything else?"
"Yes, I'm going to play golf with Pepere"

I gotta hand it to her, the girl knows what she wants. So she was signed up for a six week soccer program where its 4 & 5 yr olds and they practice for 20-30 minutes, then play a game for 30 minutes. It is quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. There are no goalies and all the kids just run around after the ball, usually going the wrong way. Such fun. So far everyone on Emaline's team is really into it and all good sports...well, Little Miss Sunshine had a moment where she was convinced that she would never play soccer again, but I have a feeling after a few days she'll want to get back into that saddle. :-) Here are some pics of the game!
The video is of Em getting into the thick of it! She's the only blond girlie out there, just in case you need to double check.

Visit from CA Cousins!

This time around, we had our visitors from CA come to stay with my Mom & Dad. My niece, Natalie and cousin, Elyse came for a week together to swim, hang out and run around town with us! We also had a zoo trip squeezed in there :-) Apparently, it is really easy to entertain teenagers when there is a pool on the premises! They enjoyed swimming and playing with all the kiddos and of course, Emaline was in heaven getting to play with the older girls.

First Day of School!

I cannot believe this day has come, but my baby is going to school! Granted, it isn't all day, everyday school, but still! She is getting older and older every day. We go to school through the Rockwood School District early childhood program, two days a week, half-day. So, its not like she's already applying for colleges, but still all you mother's out there know it pulls on your heart strings a little to know that your babies have to go out into the world and do something on their own. She has been at school for two days now and is already loving it. There was also no turning back. Me, Josh and Piper all dropped her off and she hit the ground running. I had to remind her that I was leaving and that I needed a kiss goodbye, she turned around, gave me a quick smooch and said, "see you later Mom!" and off with Ms. Linda she went. We all peeked into the classroom for a little bit from the window, but then Josh said we should probably leave before school was over for the day. :-) I can't wait to see what kind of things we will learn together as the school year goes on!