Happy Belated 3rd Birthday, Sarah!

Because of the many computer related issues I've been having and am still having...I'm quite a bit behind in my blogging. Here are some photos from Sarah's 3rd birthday, that we had back at the end of October...when the weather was still warm enough for a halter.

Sarah getting ready for Pin the Tail on the Donkey!Our friend, Little Miss Chelsea gets a turn!


Sarah with her Tinkerbell lantern she got from her friend, Chelsea


Sarah with her new princess book from her Baba

...more and more presents!



A new quilt to play with from Gigi

Sarah and her mountain o' cupcakes!


A new winter coat from Poppa!

Along with a new princess hat!

One of her FAVORITE presents...Snow White Dress from Stacey!

Sarah using her new brush to fix up Tatiana'a hair

It was a fun filled day and Sarah had a wonderful party!

First bit of snow

I took these photos back on 10/21 of my little one playing with the tiny bit of snow we got that was still not melted on Baba's car.

That little stink! She got me with that snow! BRR!

A Happy Birthday Play Date

Well, I'll start off by saying I'm so far behind, it's not even funny. The past couple of months have been nothing but challenging, as Sarah has continued to advance and grow up into toddler world. We transitioned out of the crib, into her toddler bed, and got rid of the bottle all at once. Yeah, we were slow at getting rid of the bottle...I was afraid that she would stop taking naps without it. Although the naps were a fight all of their own with that transition, she's still taking them, they're just not as long as they used to be. I know, I know, MOM...I should feel blessed that she's still sleeping at all and I stopped taking naps long before I was Sarah's age. I do miss all that time she gave me in the afternoons though. Either way, what we've been through-It's a horror I don't wish on anyone and I am more than grateful that all of us survived and are on the "other side" of it now.

At our October play date with our Chinese children, we met 2 new friends and celebrated birthdays for 3 of them! Sarah was 3 on the 27th, Lia turned 2 on the 30th and a new friend, Lily turned 2 on the 30th, as well!

Hope you enjoy our little party. The weather was not good, so we had to move to a McDonald's play area. It still worked. The kids had fun, and so did we.

Lia was opening the card that Sarah gave her.

Sarah was slightly excited to open up her present!
Awww...look Mama! Another pink doggie to add to my collection! That makes 3 now that I just MUST sleep with! Mama, you may want to find me a twin bed now, so I can fit with all my animals!


Lia loved her little purple puppy purse!

Lia has the cutest smile! Don't bother trying to get more than one girl to look at the camera at the same time...I have given up on that one!

Yes, Sarah is smiling here...I know-she looks like she's in pain!
Sarah and Lia getting ready to blow out their candles. Sunny decided to give them a hand!

Blowing out candles!


Introducing Lily! Our new friend and she also shares the exact same birthday as Lia!

We are loving our cake!

Happy Birthday Braden!

Braden turned the big 10 on Oct. 4th. We celebrated his birthday at our church on the 6th and I'm really slow at posting photos, sorry 'bout that.

I found this fun game online...they had to race each other pushing a lemon with a pencil in their mouths. The kids had a blast with it. The birthday boy!
lots of fun presents!


Braden hitting that pinata pretty hard!
Sarah is having a turn
Getting the loot!
Braden and his Spidey cake!
Here are all the kids that were there. Most of them are Braden's siblings, believe it or not! Only 3 of them weren't related!

Introducing...drum roll please!

For those of you that have been waiting here he is, the newest addition to our household! Our pet ball python, named Kaa. Yup, named after the snake in the Jungle Book, Sarah wouldn't have it any other way! He's a cool little guy and when we got him a few weeks ago, he was 6 weeks old. He's supposed to grow to 4 feet long as an adult. We like him, he's very docile and loves to be held.

Fun at the Bouncy Houses!

Our friend, Angie, called today and invited us to join them for a fun hour at the bouncy place! Of course, we couldn't resist.

Can you tell we're having fun? That's really not a belly shirt...cute belly button, though! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
WOW! I love this place! (look how tall my baby looks! Why do they grow so fast?)

Climbing with such determination!

I love what is at the end of that climb!


"Mama...Come here and gimme a kiss!" This is the life!

My pretty little girl

Here's my Sarah last sunday at church...There's just something about a cute little girl in a pink dress.

Exotic Animals & Reptiles!

Last weekend, we took the kids to see the animals and reptiles at this expo show. They loved it. We saw tarantulas, scorpions, snakes of all sizes and types, a gila monster, chameleons, turtles, iguanas, and all kinds of lizards. They were pretty cool. We got a few photos of some of them.

Bailey loved this tiny baby bearded dragon...Can you see him on her thumb?

Braden got to hold this awesome Ball Python! They're very docile snakes...and isn't he beautiful?
Sarah didn't want to hold it, but she did touch him and told me how soft he was.
And of course, Bailey got her turn!


Braden and Sarah checking out the turtles!
Wow, Braden! Check out that snake!!
He's a brave one, that Braden...cool scorpion!

We did bring home a friend from the show...stay tuned for photos of our new pet! I know...you're holding your breath in anticipation! :)