Well I have been MIA for quite some time now, so this post will be epic in order to catch up on all of our happenings (for the two, maybe three people that are still interested). :)
April - my baby girl Ellis turned 4 on April 11 and to celebrate we had a fantastic tea party at this gorgeous Tea House in West Seattle called The Tuscan Tea Room. All the little girls and boys got dressed up in their finest and I provided boas, pearls and bracelets for the girlies and fake moustaches for the boys. It was adorable. I think she had a great time - she even got her own little cake to eat.
A little about Ellis at 4:
*She is very curious - she asks questions about everything and will make up an answer for herself if I tune her out too long
*She is very, very caring to her little sister, but also can be a little pill when she doesn't want to share
*She is a great arguer for what she wants - she will bargain with me to make deals, but often times she will bargain in the opposite direction of what she really wants (ie: I ask her to eat the rest of her food and she says "okay mommy, I will eat 11 more bites of my food [when there are really only 3 more bites left]
*She L.O.V.E.S the boat - she is constantly wanting to go out on it, play on it, talk about it - anything.
*She loves to read. We now go to the library and get books about every two weeks and each night we read one (or two) books before bed. She loves it.
*Each night she asks me to sing her a song before bed time and she will dance around in her pajamas (usually consisting of an old T-shirt of Loni's, a tank top of mine, or an old dress of mine) on her bed while I sing her a song (usually Tinkerbell or the Teddy Bear picnic or a church song)
*She loves running and playing outside. Everyday when I get them from daycare the first question out of her mouth is "can stella and i play outside while you make dinner?"
*She listens really well when she wants but seems to have an aversion to picking up her toys by herself (she says she constantly needs help)
*She loves writing and spelling things. She can write every letter in the alphabet (and it is getting straighter and straighter each time) both upper and lower case. She is starting to sound out words and is going to be picking up on things very quickly.
*She starts a real preK class at SouthShore Elementary in September. She will be going to school from 8:30-2:30 every day - I am getting a little anxiety right now.
*She is a great kid, a wonderful big sister and an all around amazing little girl. Loni and I love her very much. <3!
May - Loni and I started another round of HCG and just completed the Phase 2. We have had such great success on this and Loni looks really great. I just had to post this pic of him (doesn't he look SO good) and the girls on the boat. All three of them love being on the water - his girls are just like him.
Memorial Day this year we went and visited the Fortney side of the graves. We missed having Lanae there this year, but I am happy we continued the tradition of visiting the graves. Traditions are amazing for families - I am glad my girls will grow up doing this.
Ellis and Stella at Loni's Grandparents graves
The Weaver Generations: [Back row L-R: Pasha, Staci, O'Reilly nephew, Joe, Sefa, Marie]
[Front Row L-R: Loni, Stella, Donni, Malia, Ellis, O'Reilly niece, Feki]
June: For Loni's birthday this year (the big 3-0!) we went to my friends wedding over at the Alderbrook Resort for a much need R&R session together. The wedding was beautiful and Loni and I were able to relax and have an enjoyable time together. On his birthday (June 5), we checked out and went for a drive on the Peninsula. We stumbled upon this quaint little town called Port Gamble and they were having a Renaissance Festival! We went to that and walk through this town (which i would visit again for a day trip) and then took the ferry back home, and had a family dinner to celebrate his birthday. It was a great weekend.
(us on the sidewalk in Port Gamble)
Birthday Round II: As a second part of his birthday celebrations, I had arranged a big surprise dinner for him and some of his good friends and family. He even had two REALLY good friends come into town and surprise him (thanks again Ben and Aaron). It was a great weekend with friends we hadn't seen in a while and family together. I am glad we were able to celebrate Loni together - he really is an amazing person.
(Ben Candland, Loni, Jershon, Marie, Amanda and Chantelle at our house bonfire Friday night)
(one of the two tables full of people to help celebrate his birthday. His treat was a deep fried banana - it was totally worth cheating on the diet for. We were all singing happy birthday - I think its funny how uncomfortable Loni looks with all this attention on him!)
As I stated before, both girls LOVE the water and they love standing on the back of the boat and putting their legs in. Thank goodness for the handle strap on Stella's life jacket or else she would have fallen in a couple of times. She just has to do EVERYTHING that Ellis is doing - she is going to be very driven and opinionated.
June 21 - I have always wanted to have a summer solstice party and this year we did. To celebrate, we had a play date with a good friend (kylie), played in the pool and lake, decorated sun rocks, learned about the solstice and what it was, decorated sun cookies, went out on the boat and danced around the maypole. It was a lot of fun!
To end June, I just have to say - We sold the boat. :( We are moving out of here this month (and hopefully into our new house), so we put it up for sale Saturday, had a call on Sat night and the guy bought it yesterday {sunday}. Kind of crazy, but it is the first step in moving on with our lives and growing up. haha.
Hall to garage door (left), downstairs bath (straight ahead) and living room/kitchen
