A taste of spring...

Yesterday, we got to 55 & it was sunny!  We had a taste of Spring & it was glorious.  Today, is also nice, but then we are supposed to get another snow storm tomorrow & Thursday.  Although, this is horrible news to me, I will be glad for the beauty that we have today.  The girls are loving it, as am I!

See ya later winter….I've got a Barbie jeep to drive!

Jessie's actual birthday

Jessica Marie was very blessed by her family on her birthday.  She awoke to pancakes & whipped cream with fruit.  Daddy had to leave for work early on her birthday, so she & Ella both got up to see him off & Daddy had a special surprise for Jessie.  He had gotten her 2 special necklaces, he gave her the 1st to wear to school that day.  She is not a morning person, but later when it was time for preschool, she was so excited to wear her special necklace from daddy.  She told everyone at school that Daddy had given it to her & that it is "magical".  She was also spoiled by the grandparents & her Aunt, Uncle, & Cousins.  She received many nice gifts, including lots of dress-up pretties from my folks & a new booster car seat from G&G Passineau.  She also enjoyed a number of calls from family on her birthday, which she really got & loved this year.  Nuna & Pawpaw called to sing to her as did Great Aunt Bonnie.  G&G Passineau called to speak with her also & she especially loved getting an individual call from Grandpa in the evening.  At school, she got to wear the special birthday crown & be the line leader.  Ella & I were invited to snack time & the girls & I had prepared a special snack for her birthday.  We made fresh fruit cups with all of Jessie's favs...apple, grapes, & strawberries & we dipped pretzel rods in melt-able vanilla yougart & rolled them in sprinkles...the kids loved these!  The little kids in her class sang to her, which was precious (video below--quality is bad, sorry).  After school, her best friend, Luke came over to bring her a little something.  He brought a handmade card, balloons, & a puzzle for Jessie.  It was so sweet!  Truth be told, Luke's mommy & I are trying to arrange a marriage :)  In the evening, once daddy was home we got pizza for dinner, a favorite of Jessie's & then had cupcakes to celebrate her 4th. 

Loves her new booster...it converts all the way to just a seat booster...so hopefully our last carseat

The birthday girl in her crown & with her pretzel rod

Ella got to sit with Jessie's class & she loved it

New Pirate toys for the bath from Aunt Wendy, Uncle Brett, & Cousins Hannah & Brendan

Here's to a great 4th year...sweetheart, May God continue to bless you!

Jessie is 4

Jessica Marie is 4 years old today.  Wow, how am I old enough to have a 4 year old??  She's so bright & beautiful & brings so much light to our world.  Jessica is a pretty typical 1st born, she's a natural leader in everything she does, be it school, church, or home.  She is always the one who directs the other kids on how they should play.  She can be a little *bossy* from time to time.  She loves fruit, it's the main piece of her diet.  Her favorite food is fruit salad, which she loves to help make.  She also loves to eat "Easter eggs" or hard boiled eggs.  She's a picky little eater.  She's very tall for her age, wearing a 5t in most things currently.  She continues to enjoy the Disney princesses, but she & Ella are also really into Scooby Doo right now.  She is often pretending to be Scooby & Ella is Shaggy.  Pretend is a big deal around our house....you never know from day to day which characters will greet you in the morning, it could be Belle, Cinderella, Scooby Doo, or a baby whale...you just never know & Jessica will correct you if you don't get it right.  Jessie is more & more interested in words & often asks me when we are reading what certain words say....she's getting the hang of it.  I've found this is more effective at teaching her words than flash cards...she gets bored very quickly.  Her poor preschool teacher is ready for Jessica to move to 4 year old preschool.  She is a dear woman & has told me numerous times it is hard to keep Jessica challenged & on task...I totally understand as I struggle everyday with that myself.  Although, Jessica is sweet, she has gotten into a bad habit of backtalk recently, which I am staying on top of daily, but it is tiring.  Despite, her challenging & dominant nature, she is surprisingly sensitive to discipline of any form.  She is a good little helper & always helps with laundry & helps clear she & Ella's plastic dishes.  She is getting better & better with writing.  She can trace her name great, but gets nervous if you ask her to write her name with no letters to trace.  She has done it before, but it's a work in progress.  She continues to love art & absolutely loves water colors, it's her favorite thing!  She also enjoys speaking a little Spanish...thanks Dora!  She loves to say her colors in Spanish & to count in Spanish also.  Jessica has a love of learning, already.  She loves to be challenged & to learn new things.  Jessica has also recently started singing to herself & anyone that will listen.  See video below. 

Singing Twinkle, twinkle little star



Answering a few questions about herself




She is extroverted & greets her little friends at school with a big hug & smile.  She is social with other kids her age & with most adults, although, she has gotten more shy around men as she has gotten older.  Daddy is her hero & everything he does is so much better than anything I could do.  One of my favorite things that she does is she sometimes comes & sits with me on the couch & lays her head on me.  She really isn't into hugging that much anymore, so I will take what I can get.  Sometimes, she will give me a kiss, but mostly that's reserved for daddy.  Her creativity is boundless & she is always making up some kind of "play" for she & Ella to do.  Mostly it comes from their little shows, but she always acts it out & makes sure her sister does as well.  Sometimes, it's from the Bible, which is sweet.  At Christmas, they played nativity quite frequently.  Jessica was Mary, Ella was baby Jesus, I was Joseph, & *wait for it* daddy was the camel.  Lately, it's Jonah & the whale story.  She is the whale & she eats Jonah (played by Ella).  She is most definitely a child who has learned the answer at Chruch or at Christian preschool is most likely God or Jesus.  At Valentine's, I asked her, who loved her & she said "God is my valentine."  I think that's about it for Ms. Jessica at 4.  We are so proud of you baby girl, it's hard to believe how big you are & how proud we are of you.  Happy 4th birthday to our darling daughter!

We snuck outside on Saturday (it was 43 & we had some sun…for us that's good) for some photos in her new Cinderella dress, isn't she cute, she was so proud of her new dress :)

This is so Jessica…talking non-stop :)

Kitchen Aids

I am such a lucky girl as I have 3 "kitchen aids" in my house.  You know, one of those great mixers & 2 little "kitchen aids".  These days are numbered where we bake all morning & then play all afternoon, I will always treasure them & want the girls to have a record that we did fun things together when they were little.  I give you my 3 kitchen aids making cookies…..

Before the girls are married or maybe when they move out, I want to give them a cook book with all of our favorite family recipes in it & pictures of them helping in the kitchen…I think these would be cute in that book.

Hope...

I am back amongst the living as I type this today, so I tried to get the girls outside in the sun for a little.  This flu/sickness has been a rough one for me, joint pain, nausea, & general malaise....thanks girls, you know mommy needed that to round out the winter season :)  Thankfully, the days are becoming less grey & although, not that much warmer, at least it is not negative numbers anymore...it gives me hope that it will again be Spring...sometime soon, hopefully!  Well, even if that blasted groundhog was right & it will be a longer winter....the sun does help to remind me of nicer days ahead.  Hope everyone has a nice day!

Heart Ball 2014

This year Michael was the chair of Fellow's Research Day, which always precedes the American Heart Association's black-tie event---the Heart Ball, so it was a big year for us!  Michael did an amazing job with research day, whereby fellows & trainees in cardiology all converge for a day of research presentations & awards are given to the best of the best.  This years theme for the Heart Ball was Circus.  It was a lovely evening.  They had circus performers, including an aerialist, a couple folks on stilts, & other performers in full make-up/costume.  The event was held at the convention center in the ballroom & although, we've gone to this event before, this year they did an excellent job with the décor & floral design..it was truly gorgeous!  It was not all as perfect as we had hoped, as Michael had some wardrobe issues with his tux pants & I had to sew one side before we could enjoy our evening.  We did enjoy a lovely meal & visiting with his colleagues, but then I began to feel sick.  Ladies, I originally thought it was the tightness of my spanx...b/c let me tell you those things were tight, but it turned out I had contracted the flu from the girls....*sigh* :(  Needless to say I got so sick at the end that we had to leave early.  After Saturday night (the night of the ball), I slept for close to 20 hrs. on Sunday & now I'm weak, but thankfully better today!  Thanks to Michael's mom for watching the girls so we could go to the ball & so that I could recover.  Although, things didn't go as planned I am grateful to have been able to attend.  Here's hoping Spring is just around the corner & we can put sickness behind us!