Ella's 6th birthday

What do I say about my sweet but hard playing rough Ella. She loves all things sports and that love is becoming stronger everyday. We spend our nights and weekends taking her to all the games and practices. She loves to play her DS and watch TV, but she is not one to sit on the couch if you give her the option. She would prefer to be outside riding her scooter, hitting a baseball, or playing field hockey. She is all about her friends. She has made some great friendships. I love to watch them play and talk when she will let me. She has friends that are rough like her and love to wrestle. She has friends that are more quiet and love to have tea parties and dress up and she has friends that love all things sports. I love how well she can adapt to them all. She is extroverted but sometimes you have to give her a minute to warm up. She is very outspoken and sassy. Sometimes I think that is good because I know she is confident other times I think I may kill her. She is also very sweet and loves to cuddle with me. She is sometimes anxious about things and that worries me, but too I think it is because she wants to do right and do a good job so that part I like.

Saturday she had her first slumber party for her birthday and she had so much fun. She had 4 friends over and they stayed up til 1AM. This momma was exhausted. We painted finger nails, danced, made pillow cases, played twister, watched movies, and of course had cake and pizza. I enjoyed myself about as much as the girls did. I was forced to play twister and it was a lot of fun. At 8am all of the girls were still sleeping. We got had chocolate chip pancakes and all the girls headed home. Ella was so sad when it was over. She loved every minute of it. Although I was exhausted I think it was one of the easiest parties so far.

Beach Week

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What a fantastic week we had at the beach with Nana and Mamaw Rose. The weather was beautiful all week. Parker enjoyed playing in the sand, but was not fond of the ocean. Ella loved being in the ocean, but was not a fan of the sand. Luckily, with 4 of us we could accommodate all of their needs. Nana spent a lot of time building sandcastles with Parker and some with Ella. She was not going to be left out. Toward the end of the week Parker would finally get in the water if he was on Brad's shoulders. Hopefully when we go in July he will just run in. The pool was by far their favorite part. Ella is turned into a fish and has mastered swimming so that is all she wants to do. Parker loves to float in his doughnut float. Luckily, Brad and I got a little alone beach time since mom did not mind entertaining the kids at the pool. Brad and I were able to getaway for a fantastic dinner at Georges too. If you have never been I highly recommend it.

We also went to the outside concert at Seaside which is always so much fun. The kids love throwing down a blanket and having a picnic while listening to a great outdoor band. There are kids running around everywhere. It is probably one of my favorite things we do every year when we go. We were all so sad to leave, but no one more sad than Ella. It is so hard for Ella to leave Nana. Especially after being with her a week straight. We are already counting down the days til we go next year.

Memorial Day Weekend

Pops and Susu came down for their annual Memorial Day Weekend visit. We always look forward to this visit. It is the weekend that kicks off the summer. We especially enjoyed this year because a lot of Susu's side of the family went to ride the steamboat. Huge treat for Ella and we thought for Parker too. However, he was scared of the noise the boat made so he stayed close us the entire time. Ella loved every minute. It was great to see all of the cousins and spend the day on the boat with Pops and Susu. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We hope they always make this visit an annual tradition.

School Year Ends

Kids had a great school year this year. Both of them loved their teachers and so did I. When Parker started school he still felt like a baby to me. Now he is for sure a little boy. He learned his primary colors, basic shapes, how to count to 10, and how to share. He loved everyday he went to school and tells me now how much he misses his friends. His favorite part of school was music time for sure. HE even liked it more than playground time. During his end of the year program he sang and danced making sure not to miss a work or a step. The whole time smiling ear to ear.

WOW, I can not even believe how much Ella has changed since the beginning of the school year both academically and socially. She started school when she was barely 5. One of the youngest in her class. At first it was evident that she was the youngest. She struggled just walking into school and the first few weeks there were a lot of tears and anxiety. She also struggled with the site words. We studied and studied, but it would just not click. Her first test she only made 30%. She was so upset. In December is finally started to click and we were getting closer to 70%. Finally at the end of the yr comprehensive exam she made 100% and 97% on math. I am not sure who was more proud me or her. Hard to believe my little girl will be in first grade.

Its's Spring

We are finally seeing beautiful warm weather and we have taken advantage of it by spending a lot of time at the park. Ella got really upset after she realized Parker had been going to the splash park while she was at school so I have been trying to take her some after school. It is just so hard because we have girl scouts and swim for both kids twice a week. That leaves us maybe a day of freedom which we spend doing home work. I am not overly excited about having both kids home all day during the summer, but I am looking forward to the first few weeks so we can just enjoy each other and have a little more time to spend with friends and playing instead of all these organized sports etc... I am especially thrilled to not have to deal with Ella and homework. She does pretty good most of the time, but now that it is nice outside the first thing she wants to do is go play when she is home and I do not blame her. Just 2 more weeks and we are FREE...

Parker will start tee ball in a few weeks or so and he is so excited. He is ready now that he has his glove, ball hat, and a practice tee for the backyard. He spends a lot of time practicing. He is really starting to show interest in organized sports as well. I think 3 is a little young, but if he enjoys it and asked to play I will sign him up. Ella just completed flag foot ball. She had her first touchdown this Sunday. What a way to go out with a bang. I am pretty sure that we will be playing flag football next season as well. She is getting ready to try out field hockey soon.

This past weekend my mom came into town and we were busy busy. Friday Ella had her family fun night at her school. There was a live band, face painting, and a ice cream truck. Ella did not want to leave my moms side much which is unusual for her, but she still had a great time being able to show Nana her school. Saturday we all went to Church Hill Downs. My mom had never been to the horse track. It was a lot of fun. The kids love every minute of it. Brad was able to get Ella in the paddock to pet a horse. That was the highlight for her. Parker stood back a little and just watched. He is not so sure about animals. Mom got on the road after brunch and we were sad to see her go. Parker lets it roll off of him for the most part when she leaves as long as he knows he will see Nana soon. Ella does not. At bed tonight she started crying for Nana and it breaks my heart. It is very sweet to see how much she loves her Nana. Luckily, we will be at the beach in just a few weeks. So I kept telling her that and it brightened her spirits and she forgot how sad she was.

Monthly update

Wow, we have been busy with sports, birthday parties, and school the past few weeks. Ella has at least 40mins of homework most evenings and when you mix that with girl scouts and flag football we do not have a lot of time for much anything else. Parker has also been doing soccer and loving it. He had his last soccer game last Saturday. He wants to play tee ball so we will start that in a few weeks. He only has a few more weeks of school left. He is going to be so sad when it is over. He looks forward to school and playing with all of his friends. Luckily, most of his friends will move to the next class with him and I am sure we will see them throughout the summer for play dates.

Ella is doing great in school. She took a standardized test a few weeks ago and the results were great. She was above average in most areas. We are working on all of the site words now because she will have a comprehensive exam in the next few weeks of all the words she had learned through out the year. She is a little worried about it, but as long as she puts the time into it and tries we will be happy. I am pretty sure she will do ok anyway. She is wrapping up flag football. She has really enjoyed playing with all those boys. However, last Sunday is the first time I have ever had to run on the field because I knew she was hurt pretty bad. She got nailed under the chin and it jammed her jaw. Luckily, they do wear head gear and mouth pieces so it prevented her from biting her tongue or chipping her teeth. She had a huge bruise under her chin. Thank goodness I do not have to worry about tackle. I HOPE!

This past Friday was the daddy daughter dance. I am not sure who was more excited. Ella or Brad. It was like prom. Brad got flowers for each of them to wear. I painted her finger nails, and had her hair fixed perfectly. They were the cutest daddy daughter couple there. They both even matched in purple. Before the dance they went to PF Changs per Ella's request. Brad was pretty happy with her choice. Parker requested pizza on his night with me.

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend was pretty low key for us. It consisted of watching of basketball. Brad headed to Indy to watch the cards win Friday. They also won on Sunday so great for him that he will be in Atl where the game will be played.

Saturday afternoon we had a lot of projects to work on around the house and the kids had a lot of things planned for us to do outside. Basketball, baseball, jogging, soccer, and riding bikes. It was a nice day so we took advantage of it for sure.

Sunday was the perfect day. We went to church and then had a fabulous brunch at the cardinal club. I am pretty sure they should have charged our kids for adult meals for as much as they ate. We came home and all crashed on the couch. Ella then convinced me to jog around the neighborhood with her. No better way to burn those calories I guess.