american girl place

for J's 5th birthday grandma and grandpa wanted to take her to chicago and visit the american girl place.  some good friends of ours have a beautiful condo right across from navy pier and were kind enough to let us stay there for our visit. 

it was a quick trip - got there friday eve, spent saturday experiencing american girl, went to rainforest cafe for a late lunch, and then went back to the condo for the evening to play with our new doll and and have yummy chicago style pizza for dinner.  sunday we got up and went to brunch at the american girl place and then headed back to stl.  we had so much fun spending this special time with j and i know j had an incredible time having 3 of her favorite adults all to herself :) 

introducing..."katie haberberger" (named in honor of the teenager who lives across the street :))

j with grandma and grandpa

 j and katie haberberger - they look just like each other, right?!?!

spent hours playing with her new doll.

brunch at american girl.  it was so fun!!

love!!!

a special thanks to my mom and dad for giving j and myself such an amazing weekend.  i have not had her to myself in over 3 years and it was great to spend one-on-one time with my first born :) 

and a special hug and kiss to my amazing husband for taking care of the two little girls for the weekend while we were galavanting around chicago!!  things were a little hectic that weekend, his dad ended up in the hospital for a couple of days, plans were changed and he just rolled with it!!!  love you!!

fancified.

isn't this how every 3 year old comes out of her room after quiet time?!?!?!

the great meltdown.....

we've had a lot of snow and ice this winter.  like crazy lots for st. louis.  a few weeks ago we were supposed to have the "blizzard of the decade"...didn't exactly turn into what they expected but let's just say it was enough...and to top it off, cold enough that nothing melted for what seemed like forever.

and then finally the warm up came.  and we headed outside to enjoy the meltdown!!!!!  love these pics because 1) it shows just how big my "baby" is getting and 2) it reminds me how much fun we can have just hanging out on the driveway!!!!

COME ON WARM WEATHER!!!!  WE ARE READY!!!!!!

V-Day 2011

since it's still officially february i thought i could still post about our valentine shenanigans :)

we decided to have a little party to celebrate valentines this year and invited two little girls that are in J's class (that E is friends with also) to play, do crafts and have a little lunch.  it was great fun and the girls played so nicely together. 

both the big girls exchanged valentines at school this year.  while i'm anti-store bought cards, i just didn't have the energy to really "make" cards this year, so we compromised.  we'll go with semi-homemade :)



let's move on already...

yes, it's almost v-day....but, i have two lasts pictures to post for j before we can move on from the christmas season.  what can i say...it's a busy time of year for us with lots to cover :)

first, just because it's cute.  here's a picure of j's preschool christmas (scratch that, 'winter') party. 

J has had such an awesome year at school.  she has grown and matured so much - is caught up in play dates with friends and loving life as 2nd year student :)  we will be sending E to a different school (same program/curriculum) next year because of kindergarten logistics.  i am excited for her but praying continually for her to have as good an experience as J has had.  those perschool teachers have the kind of patience I could never dream of!!!

the next picture is of j and her dance class.  once again showing her maturity this year.  she loved having her birthday celebrated by the other girls in class, singing happy birthday, getting a balloon....i love that the dance studio recognizes how important it is to make each little girl feel 'special' :)