RAOK #15

My little firecracker, her friend and me went on a  mission to dress up the neighborhood in patriotic fashion.  After flying Old Glory outside our front door, we donated 50 flags to various friends and neighbors.  It was a fun, quick adventure and we had fun doing it!

Her Soccer Debut

Elle is officially a soccer player. She has a gift...well comparatively speaking to some other children I've seen. Her team is The Renegades. Her coach knows what he's doing but most importantly, he makes if fun for the girls.

The Renegades lost a little to a lot but rallied during the second half. Elle played well and I'm proud of my little kicker! She is going to have to work on keeping her tongue in her mouth while she runs though.

It Takes Two

Does anyone remember my entry years ago about teaching Dakota to ride a bike? It appears that he and Elle are on different ends of the spectrum...as if anyone hadn't figured that out already. You see, Dakota can do anything but often chooses not too. He's intelligent and charming, coy and crafty (to get what he wants). He requires a push and then excels beyond belief. For her on the other hand, not everything comes easily. But damn, she has some gusto.

And this, my friends, is why she is riding a bike after only her second time on wheels! I'm so proud of my fighter. She was extremely frustrated on Sunday when I made her get outside and ride. She even kicked the bike a time or two and frankly, I had to stifle a snicker. Today...she asked to go practice. She didn't cry. She overcame.

She too can do anything and I have no doubt that she will. She will have to climb a mountain or two, but her view at the top will be beautiful.

Elle's Winter Recital

Here is Elle in her fall studio recital. It went pretty well despite her shy moments. Her lips are chapped from all the tongue action though! I must admit, I'm impressed with her attentativeness. She definitely wants to get it right. We're so proud of our little dancer.

Elle's First Day of Kindergarten

Her first day of Kindergarten was August 12th and I almost cannot believe that both my children are school aged now. I must say, she was more ready to make this transition in life than most five year old kids that I know. She's quite the social butterfly.

She was fortunate enough to be assigned to Mrs. Grant's class. Mrs. Grant was Dakota's Kindergarten teacher also and we love her. Elle is enjoying school and her new social setting very much. Her only complaint is the cafeteria food so we've been packing a lunch most days.

We couldn't be more proud of our strong little girl.

Elle's Winter Dance Recital

This year's winter recital was ballet and I couldn't have been more excited. We were instructed to wear plain clothes and Miss Kristy added the headband and skirt to each girls' attire. Elle was precious and very happy to have had a cookie party afterwards.

She was concentrating very hard on the task at hand.

Such a beautiful ballerina! To see all the pics, visit her online by clicking here.

Winter 2008 Studio Recital

One Less Monkey Jumping On the Bed

Exhibit A



Remember that song you used to sing as a kid? And perhaps you sang it while you jumped on the bed. Well my little monkey was jumping OFF of the bed onto a pile of pillows and blankets and had a bit of a rough landing. Her foot was immediately swollen, bruised and she didn't bare weight on it at all. It was so sad to see her crawling towards me.




So after 48 hours and still no walking on the foot, off we went to the emergency room. Please note that the ER is not a fun or expeditious experience on a holiday weekend. 4.5 hours later the doctor saw us.




The good news is that they say it's just a severe strain and that no bones are showing breakage. The bad news is that they also said that little ones have a lot of cartilage that sometimes makes it difficult for hairline fractures to be seen on an x-ray. So if she's not walking by next week, back we go for another foot photo session.



She's obviously very excited that all she got was an ACE bandage. And after listening to the male patient behind curtain #2 moan, yell "Oh my god", and talk about how his gauze was dripping with blood, she was very pleased that no blood was involved.

Childhood Memories

Quick Sand

We went to the Boomershine's house last night to celebrate Chigger's 1.5 year old birthday (the 1 year party was delayed because they were moving, etc.). The big kids went outside to play in the sand pile and someone had the brilliant idea of getting the water hose and making the sand more

like quick sand. We made the kids strip down on the porch and hosed them off before making a dash for the bath tub.

The kids had a blast and I couldn't help but think how playtime like this turns into lasting childhood memories.

Elle is 4 Years Old!

Elle's 4th birthday celebration with her friends from daycare.

The older she gets, the harder it is to choose which pictures to share and it's even more difficult to remember which memories to document. She is such a big, mature, beautiful little girl and I cannot believe how fast she's grown. She's always doing her best to hang with the big kids and she does a pretty good job doing so. She's highly animated, LOUD, and humorous. Elle is a cross between a princess and a tom-boy. She prefers to wear shorts and t-shirts (and sometimes no shirt at all) over dresses but she loves to put on make-up and wear the occasional dress up gown. She is bossy and considerate depending on the circumstance. She is beginning to show her intelligence and unlike her brother who is great at academics but despised practicing his letters, phonics, etc., she is the one to bring me the flash cards and ask to practice them. She weighs about 40 pounds and had her first dentist appointment a couple of weeks ago (no cavities!).

Elle is a gift from God and I hope that you all enjoy sharing in her life.

Wyatt, Elle & Dakota, in the country, eating popsicles after catching fireflies.

She's electric!

Tired from our vacation to San Antonio.

Easter 2008.

Spring Soccer 2008

Christmas 2007, the much adored Barbie Jeep.

Halloween 2007 as Ariel.

Elle's 1st OU football game.

Elle & Garrett's Combo Birthday Party

Today was a great day. We had a combo birthday party for Elle and another friend, Garrett. It was hosted at Garrett's house so we could utilize the pool and although it was only 70 degrees today, the rain mostly held off and we were able to have some time outside. Elle's birthday isn't for another couple days and I'll do a full update then but wanted to share these photos with anyone intersted.

Elle's 4th Birthday

Elle's Dance Pics

Miss Kristy's School of Dance recital was last Saturday night and it was a success. Baby girl was terribly cute in her outfit and while I didn't get any shots from that evening worth sharing (lighting was terrible), here are a few that the photographer took in the studio. Amazing...

Recital Practice

We're preparing for recital in a couple of weeks and today was picture day at the studio. I can't wait to see the proofs and in the meantime, I thought I'd share her smiling face from when she did a little twirl.

Cool Chica

I love this picture. She normally takes my glasses and wears them upside down but this time she got it right...even if they're a little lop sided.

Let it be.

Do you ever feel that there are some things not worth fighting over? Take this for example.

To school today, Elle wore cute pink stripped tights under a cute sweater dress to match. At the end of my work day, I stopped by Drysdales to pick up a western shirt for a kid's birthday because he's REALLY into western shirts. While I was at the store, I discovered a cute red t-shirt imprinted with sparkling text that reads "Untamed". Given Elle's demeanor, I found it to be an appropriate buy for my little girl. Untamed like a wild horse, and as beautiful and strong as one.

So, we get home and she insists on wearing the new shirt. And unfortunately, she also insists on wearing the tights instead of some other pants. And then she finds her dress up shoes (which she calls her clap-clap shoes because of the noise they make). And THEN, she finds her Disney princesses fanny pack. And she wore the whole ensemble parading around the house.

I won't say what Jason said, it's not appropriate. All I have to say is...at least she's wearing panties.

Elle's First Day of Dance Lessons

Today was her debut on the dance floor. Well, at least a traditional dance floor. Elle started tap and ballet and as you can see on her face above, she couldn't wait to get started. While I anticipated a bit of shyness and timid movements, she was quite comfortable and seemed to fit in nicely.

This photo was taken at home after class. She just can't seem to rid herself of the attire.

During class and working on her tap. Notice the flex in her foot! Not bad for a first day.

And here is our ballerina. She did quite well and made us proud. Her sweet brother walked up and gave her a hug afterwards.

Craft Project

My friend Krystal started a monthly eNewsletter centered around craft projects you can do with your kids. I am really excited about it because it's rare that I have time to research ideas myself. Her first eNewsletter featured a Crayola project using old discarded broken crayons.

I tasked Elle with going up to the playroom to pick up all the broken crayons she could find.

Mind you, there were plenty because she like to test her physical strength by breaking them in half any time she can get her hands on them. The next step is to unwrap all of the paper from the crayons. While this sounds simple enough, it was actually a long and tedious project. Elle's patience quickly wained while Dakota remained my trooper and helped until the very end.

After peeling the paper, we loaded the naked crayons into muffin tins.

Then bake them on 250 degrees for about 15 minutes and the end result is these really cool multicolored funky shaped "crayons" you can use when coloring. The final product was so cool, Dakota ended up taking three of them to school as his "show and tell".

Thanks Krystal for sharing your talents with us. And if anyone else wants to sign up for her eNewsletter, you can email her.