Lexie's 4th Birthday Soiree

Today we celebrated Lexie's 4th birthday.  (Though, the actual big day isn't unitl half way through December.)  Lexie has been loving the Fancy Nancy books.  The other day she walked into our living room all dressed up and asked Tanner if he thought she looked "POSH". (That's a fancy word for "fancy". As Fancy Nancy would say!)  We did her party up fancy and had a blast doing so. 

Here's the invite I created: (the outside)

(the inside)

I had just finished getting Lexie and I all fancied up, and everything was in place to start the party when Colin came up to me crying.  He's been having a tough time lately (not sleeping, runny nose, etc.), so I knelt down to give him a hug.  He just stayed there for the longest time.  It broke my heart because I knew Derek and I would not be able to give him much attention for the next couple of hours, but he was a trooper and made it through.

Here we are, all fancied up!  Lexie and I made these boa scarfs for each of our party guests.  We wore them around our necks and gave one to each girl as they arrived for the party.  They were fun to make together and fun to give away!

Here is sweet Emma.  Her mom took Tanner for the duration of the party home to play with Emma's older brother Noah (who is also in Tanner's kindergarten class).  Emma was very shy and had a tough time finding her smile, but she eventually did and we were so glad that she came!

Here are all the fancies! Truly the cutest bunch of girls ever!

This is Jenna.  Her eyes just sparkled with her blue Cinderella dress on!

We had two darling Emmas at Lexie's Soiree!  This one jumped right in and joined Dapper Dad for a dance!

Ruthie twirling in the living room.

Becca booping to the music.

Dapper Dad really got into his part!

Next we painted nails.  Purple sparkle nail polish of course!  I kept thinking I was crazy to do this with 7 little girls, but honestly I was quite impressed with how still they stayed until each nail was dry.  They knew exactly how to spread their fingers out on the napkin and were quite patient with me while I painted.  I had to laugh, this is not a posed picture, Ruthie just did this and I happen to have the camera out!

Derek helped a lot by distracting them with a few good Fancy Nancy books! (Thank goodness for daddies and the library!)

Our next activity was "tape-the-accessories-on-Fancy-Nancy".  Derek gets all the credit for the drawing.  I think she turned out awesome!

First we did it blind folded, then we went back and put everything in the right spot.  We had sun glasses, and earing, neclace, crown, shoes, dress and ring.

The cake was one of the fanciest parts of the whole party!  A gal from Church made if for Lexie and she did an AMAZING job!  (Thank you Kelie!) Here are a few pics just for drooling...

These two were one of the main reasons why I did a party this year for Lexie.  This summer Ruthie will be moving so I wanted to capture the fun while she is still here.  I've already decided no more parties for the next couple of years. As fun as they are, I don't think kids need a "friend party" every year and it will be nice to have a break! (That does not exempt me from throwing a little family party of course! The birth and life of a child is such a wonderful celebration!)

For the first time in my marriage, I bought a loaf of white bread!  Yeah, it felt wierd!  But it was perfect for making these cute heart shaped sandwiches.

The table got some fancy accessories too!

Jell-o jigglers were part of the menu.

I did thow in some apples to give at least one healthy part of the whole meal.

Becca reminds me so much of Fancy Nancy's little sister.

Evelynn decied we all needed a story while we were waiting for lunch to be served.  She had quite the audience of little girls all captivated by her make believe story! 

Lexie has some very generous friends who all brought her fancy things in packages to open!  The girls giggled and squealed, then whispered to each other throughout the party because they were so anxious for Lexie to open her gifts. I noticed how grown up they were to make sure and not tell Lexie what was in the packages.  It was so fun watching them!

I was also impressed that several of the girls' older siblings drew cards for Lexie wishing her a happy birthday!

Tonight we sat down to write on our leaves what we are thankful for and what we gave today.  Tanner said, "I know what you are going to put on your 'giving leaf' mom." 
Me: "What?"
Tanner"A birthday party!"
He was right!

Lexie wrote on her "thanks leaf" that she was thankful for birthday parties and on her "giving leaf" she said she gave hugs to all her friends today.

Thanksgiving in Cleveland

This year we hooked up with 3 of Derek's brothers in Cleveland, OH for an early Thanksgiving.  I was dissappointed my hips gave out on me the day I was trying to pack. After hobbling all over town trying to get my errands done, I packed the car. Derek came home from work and we were on the road by 5pm. Our kids were amazing travelers! All three were out cold by 8pm in the car which gave us another 2.5 hours of driving in solitude! We arrived in Indianapolis around 10:30pm. While Derek was parking the car, there was a very nice security guard who took one look at my big belly and insisted on hauling my stuff and my kiddos to our room. I tried to tip him, but he only told me to use it to buy something nice for my kids! Isn't is great there are still people like that in the world today? I was shocked to find we only brought in ONE duffle bag for the 5 of us! Definitely a first for sure!

Colin has been waking up at 5am since daylight savings, so Derek and I said a few extra prayers he would sleep in at the hotel. To our delight, he woke up at 8:30! What a blessing! Here is the gang getting read to get back into the car:

The next day we drove to Dayton, OH where we stopped at the Air Force Museum to see some amazing aircraft. If you ever get the chance, this is a stop worth taking! (Not to mention it is free.) We were anxious to get to Cleveland, so we didn't stop to read signs about each plane, but the kids loved all the airplanes!

I took this picture while driving. I know, I shouldn't be proud of that, but not to shabby for not watching where I was shooting! (Yes, Derek caught me in the act and I did get a scolding!)  Aren't they so cute when they're sleeping!

We had homemade pizza for dinner when we arrived in Cleveland.  I don't think there's a better way to win my kid's hearts than that!  Here's Tanner with some left over toppings!

On Saturday the guys took the kids outside to play while the moms worked inside on the BIG meal.  The weather was a gorgeous 65 degrees!

Meet Cosmo!  He is Clint and Katie's new puppy and the cutest, spunkiest, little guy!  He and Colin really hit it off, it was so much fun to watch him with the kids.  I bet he slept all the way back to Pennsylvania!

Tanner found a corner to dig in. 

Cousin Toby was a dare devil on the slide!

Lexie loved the double swing!  She would sit there and sing and sing and sing!

Here is cousin Toby.  He looks just like his dad when his dad was that age.  He's got a great vocab for being just two years old too.  He's a smart little fella and I just love those Ellingson blues!

We brought our Puerto Rico game.  During nap time, the brothers pulled it out for another round.  I think we played it 4 or 5 times throughout the weekend we were there.

Uncle Spencer flew out from Utah to be with us!  We're pretty sure he'll never wants kids after a weekend with 4 little ones running around.  The kids just loved him and he had a great time playing uncle! He's single, so if you know of anyone....they'll have to pass my inspection first! He's awesome and we love him!

Here's uncle Cliff and his son Toby. Cliff is in his second year of Medical School at Case Western University in Cleveland.

Uncle Clint and Aunt Katie with Cosmo.  Clint is in his third year of Medical School at Penn State in Hershey, PA. 

They are also expecting their first baby due the middle of February!  If only I could look that tiny AFTER I deliver!

Okay, so I TRIED to get a family shot.  Why I try?  I know not!  

But alas, I take what I can get!

Here's our spread!  Our dear friend Jeannie joined us for dinner and brought those beautiful flowers.  They added the perfect finishing touch!  The food was delicious and the company was delightful!

I made some homemade, Lion House Rolls and the pumpkin pie.  The pie was one of the best I have ever eaten!  Don't ask me how I lucked out, or maybe it was just pregnancy tastebuds, but I thought it was good!

Colin decided to adopt a new mommy while we were in Cleveland.  Aunt Stephanie was the perfect fit!  The last night we were there, he just kept climbing up into her lap and cuddling with her.  It was pretty cute.  Of course, I was jealous!  I am glad we got this shot of Steph relaxing on the couch.  She spent the whole weekend in the kitching cooking for us and I am sure it will take her a couple of days to recover from hosting 10 people in her house!  She was a great hostess and I loved spending time with her in the kitchen!

Cleveland does this cool autumn clean up where everyone rakes their leaves onto their parking strip of lawn.  Then the city comes around with a truck that vacuums them all up!  Crazy huh?  The streets looked really neat with all the leaves out near the edges of the street.

In our last few hours in Cleveland, we went to a nearby park to play.  The weather had turned cold, so we had to bundle up a bit, but we had so much fun that Tanner cried when we got in the car to leave.

We drove down to Zanesville, OH to spend Monday night with some very dear Hill Cumorah Pageant friends.  Well, actually, we consider them more family than friends.  Their 8 children are grown now and they have 20 grandchildren. Grandma Harris pulled out her toys for the kids to play while we visited, but Colin went straight for the cupboards instead.

Lexie found some "spoils of war" leftover costumes Grandma Harris had brought home from Pageant one year.  She tinkled as she walked around and my heart throbed a bit for Pageant.

Thank you Uncle Cliff, Aunt Stephanie and cousin Toby for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  Thank you Uncle Spencer for flying all the way to Ohio!  And thank you Uncle Clint and Aunt Katie for bringing Cosmo and driving to be with us! We love you!