Mother's Day 2016

The kids and Eric worked hard to make me feel special on Mother's Day this year! They woke me up with breakfast in bed and gifts! Here are a few pictures from our day. 

 I really wanted just an easy day at home on Sunday, so we started out celebrating by going out to dinner the night before. And Cole sat in a booster in the booth instead of a high chair for the first time. He looked so cute and big, I just had to take a picture of him. He did pretty good in it too! And he loved sitting next to his brother for a change.

On Mother's Day, we took the kids to see a movie at Studio Movie Grill... Zootopia.

We hoped that the food aspect would help keep Cole still and interested, and it definitely did for about the first half of the movie.

The second half though, Eric spent following him around out in the lobby area, while I got to enjoy the movie wit the big kids.

The weather was so nice, and we ended up spending the whole afternoon and evening out in the back. I worked on catching up on pictures, videos, and blog posts while the kids played and Eric grilled fajitas. Simple, but perfect!

The boys played lots of basketball. We've raised the hoop all the way up now for Carter, and he's doing great with it!

I loved the relaxed day spent mostly at home.... perfect way to spend my day! And Eric was kind enough to give me a pass again the next weekend to go shopping with my own Mom one night. So that was a special treat that we both enjoyed!

Ella's Spring Sing

Ella's class had their annual 'Spring Sing' performance a few weeks ago. If you recall, her Christmas performance didn't really go as planned, because she boycotted the performance altogether and stood there not singing, and even walked off the stage at some point. Well, she's been saying for weeks that she is going to sing her heart out at Spring Sing..... so we couldn't wait to see what we'd actually get ;)

And she definitely did not disappoint! Here are some videos of her going for it. We were so proud of her, her bravery, and her improvement from last time. It's a scary thing to stand up there with everyone watching, but she nailed it!

This is my favorite. Who even knows what this song is about..... but it is soooo funny to watch them do it!

And a few cute pictures.....

Dressed up and looking pretty!

 Looking a little somber when they first came out.... this had us worried!

 But then she spotted us and all was well!

 Getting started and going for it!

 So happy!

 Great job baby girl! So happy and proud!

Preschool performances are the cutest.... you never know what you're going to get, and this time was a winner!!

Ella's First Gymnastics Event

 Ella's been in gymnastics since before she turned 2. She is going to have her 3 year anniversary at our gym this September! That's crazy to me! Anyway, last weekend she participated in her first event at the gym. No competition, purely for fun and to show off their skills, but it really showed us where Ella is at compared to her peers. (Above and beyond, truly!)

They started off with a warmup and stretching. Ella is in the middle of the pictures, in the coral colored leotard. Notice her flexibility and form with the straight legs and pointed toes! 

Check out that flat table top! She's got a strong core!

With her group getting ready to head to their first event. They put them in groups based on their age.

First event, balance beam.

Great form throughout

Love the finish!

Beam video

Next up, floor. Mostly consists of handstands, cartwheels and flips.  

Great start! 

 Floor excersize 1

Next was trampoline. No still shots because it was just too far away. She's a pro at this because she does it all evening long in our backyard! She's even started teaching Carter some tramp skills! Handstands to walkovers, etc!

Then onto bars, her favorite!! 

Awesome form!

Holding herself up on the rings. Serious core and upper body strength!

All done!

Video of full bar exercise

And last, floor exercise #2

And finally, receiving her trophy! Love that sweet, proud grin.

Yay Ella! Great work!!

She really is doing amazing for her age.... at just 4 1/2, she's been doing this basically 2/3 of her life!! And most importantly, she adores it! I can't wait to see how far her love for it and her natural ability take her in the sport! 

It was fun for us to watch all the kids perform their skills, an their excitement when receiving their trophies was probably the best part! Cute as ever!

Proud of my girl!

That's a proud big brother smile! He wanted to be in a pic, too.

And of course, can't forget Daddy. Cole was around somewhere, just didn't stop him for 5 seconds to be in a pic. Nana & Grandad also came out to watch Ella!

 

It was a great experience for her... hopefully the first of many!  Way to go, Ella!

Spring Carnival at the School

Carter's school hosted their 2nd annual spring carnival last Friday night. What a fun time we had! So much for everyone to do, we didn't even have time to do it all! Several bounce houses, a rock climbing wall, trapeze bungee jumper, a firetruck, cake walk, snow cone truck, face painting, silent auction with some truly amazing baskets put together by each classroom, and plenty of games, food, and treats! 

Here are some pictures of the fun. We love our school and it's great families!!

 Cole was a little unsure, but seemed to mostly like it.... he didn't want anywhere near the hose that was shooting water out though! Smart boy.

Our sweet friends own this firetruck and run it as a party business. I can see Cole enjoying this theme in a couple of years!

 Cuties!

 Time for a snow cone break in the shade....

 Some games....

 And the rock climbing wall! The kids favorite part! Cole wanted to do it sooooo bad! Poor baby!

They each did it a couple of times. Carter went higher on each try, but never quite made it all the way up. Ella went about halfway up each time, with a little bit of help. The knobs were just a little far apart for her to comfortably do it herself.... but even so, she still did awesome!

 They had fun on these little scooters.....

 Some sibling rivalry

 all smiles!

 And some ice cream to finish the night off, before walking home. What a great event.... we'll be looking forward to next year's!

Some videos of the fun