Birthday Parties

Jenna's party was full of squirrelly, excited, screeching little girls and family and friends. They all had a blast and it was so good to see the girls together from preschool last year. Jenna hadn't seen Maddie since July and they picked up right where they left of jumping up and down at just the sight of each other. Jenna got so many wonderful gifts so we are sorting out some of her older toys to make room because moving to a bigger house just isn't in the cards right now. The party was a hit and Jenna had so much fun. She loves to tell everyone that she is 5 years old now! The girls had fun all crowded around opening presents together and it was fun to watch all of their excitement. Jenna asked before opening presents if her friends could help her and after her present opening fiasco at Maddie's party:)

5 years

It's funny sometimes 5 years feels so long ago or so far away, and then there is my little girl who turned 5 today and I think how fast that time flew by. She is getting so grown up and I often think she went from baby to 5 in just a blink. We are preparing for her Birthday party this weekend with friends and family at Riverbend Bounce. We have attended many parties there, it's always a blast! She is so excited she can hardly stand it. She is excited to play with her friends and stretch out her birthday through the week. She woke up bright and early today and opened some presents before Daddy left and when he got home she had another gift to open. We also have indulged in extra treats today too and baked a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting complete with candles! It is a joy to be Jenna's parents and we look forward to the next 5 birthdays and many more we get to celebrate with her! Happy Birthday, Jenna!

They finally posted the video of my little TV star!

A Day at the Zoo

Even though a typical day at home feels like the zoo we actually visited the St. Louis Zoo on Monday. It was a gorgeous day so the girls and I met Christina and baby boy for a fun day out. Worried that after we spent an hour or so there they may want to keep Ava I belted her in the stroller tight, so no worries she did come home with me! It was a perfect day to walk and enjoy the day outdoors. All of the kids were amazingly good and behaved so well. We got to see most of the animals, Ava's favorite were the Sea Lions. They were getting fed whem we were there so they were barking loudly and frequently. Ava had to chime in as she was bobbing her head up and down barking along with them. Jenna loved the Penguins. I actually had to restrain her from trying to jump in the water. The new area is really neat, they are literally right there swimming next to you that as they come to the surface you get splashed with water. Jenna is already planning our next trip for the Spring!

My Weather Reporter

Saturday after Halloween Eric was too sick for our travel plans so I took the girls to St. Louis Galleria (one of my favorite malls) for a day of Sprouts. Sprouts, for those of you that don't know, is a wonderful preschool channel. It has a lot of great learning shows and great activities to do at home. I received an email that Sprouts was Live at the Galleria so as a surprise I took the girls and let Daddy rest. Barney was there and taking pictures, Kelly and Chica were there allowing kids to get a video of them doing the weather report. By doing the weather report this is also an audition to win a trip to the Sprout Studio in Philadelphia, PA. We stood in line for 1 hour and 40 mins for Barney alone! We made lots of friends in line and actually my girls were very well behaved...yes, even Ava! Once we got close enough to see Ava just stared and waved at Barney non-stop. So we got our picture taken, and the best part the entire even picture, video and all was FREE! So after Barney we were off to the other side to stand another hour in line for Kelly and Chica (part of the Sunny Side up Show) for Jenna to do the weather report. Girls are still behaving fairly well. Jenna is asking every 5 mins. if it is our turn next and Ava bit me so hard and for so long on the shoulder I thought I was going to fall over. Nonetheless, we finally made it to our turn. Jenna ran up to Kelly and said "Look Kelly, I have pigtails just like you!" Kelly then asked if she could do Jenna's audition with just her because she was fantastic and wanted to give her a shot. She was ready to stand in line to do it again when it was over. The long lines were well worth the wait! I headed to Starbucks quickly after for a re-boost!
Still waiting for access to the video they took of Jenna but here are some still shots.