The Celebration Continues...

There were two more celebrations to go for Ella's birthday. The main one being at Grandma and Grandpa's house with my family on Sunday. We were so happy to see everyone since we haven't gotten to see them since Christmas. It has been crazy with John living in Columbia.

Ella stuck with the Fancy Nancy theme and enjoyed another party in her honor. It was nice weather for her birthday so we were able to spend some time outside. The kids enjoyed playing soccer and went for a walk with AC. It was a great time.

The last party was at Ella's school. Nothing big but they get to bring in treats and juice. They get a special sticker and everyone sings to them. Ella chose cinnamon rolls as her treat and was excited that everyone wanted her juice instead of the usual water. I think she has really enjoyed all of her special celebrations!

Ella's Gymnastics Soiree

Some more of Ella's birthday celebration occurred on Sunday. She invited eleven of her girlfriends to a party at her gymnastics place. The had a great time trying out the beam, bars, trampolines and rings. They also had fun with an obstacle course but I think the favorite of the day was jumping in the pit (it was also a favorite for John and Sam).

The girls were all so good and sat so well while we passed out cake and ice-cream and Ella opened all her wonderful gifts. What a great group of friends she has made.

They Keep Getting Older!

Saturday was my niece Sarah's birthday. I can't believe she turned fourteen. How can I stop these kids from getting older? This week Ella turns five which I still can not fully grasp. Time really does go quickly.

We celebrated the girls' birthdays with a very filling trip to Lambert's. The food of course was delicious and fattening. Everyone had a good time and then headed back to our house for some ice-cream cake and presents. We had to start with the presents since everyone was so full from dinner. Amazing how there is always room later though for a piece of cake. Everyone stayed for quite a while and enjoyed playing Nertz, Apples to Apples and other games. What a fun way to celebrate two amazing girls!

Be Mine

Sam with his valentine box...Mizzou Arena

Ella in her valentine outfit

So Valentine's Day isn't exactly the same with your sweetheart in a different town but there is always next year to look forward to right? The kids though had a good time on Valentine's Day with their school parties. They got their gifts from us the weekend before when we were up in Columbia.

It was a crafty V-day at the Medley house. I had looked at the store bought valentines and just didn't see any that I really thought my kids would like. So, with the help of Pinterest, we came up with some semi-homemade valentines this year. We also got to make a box for Sam to collect his valentines in so we were busy on February 13th. I think our projects turned out well but you can judge for yourselves.

Friends, Food and Basketball

My roommate from college, Leesa, had asked us at the beginning of basketball season if we wanted to meet sometime in Columbia to go to a basketball game. Of course we did! Ella had never been to Mizzou Arena and Sam has become a huge Tiger basketball fan. Plus Leesa and Brian have kids right around the age of Ella and Sam so we knew they would enjoy themselves. Now when we chose the weekend of the Baylor game we had no idea what a huge game it would turn out to be. The number four ranked team in the nation (US!) versus the sixth ranked team (them).

The game did not disappoint. It was a close first half which kept us on the edge of our seats and we got to see the Tigers play amazingly well in the second half and lead us to a victory. The kids had a great time cheering, dancing and watching everything that was happening.

After the game we took a quick trip to the columns for some photos and then went across the street for some Shakespeare's pizza. We enjoyed catching up with Leesa and Brian and the kids had fun together. Of course the pizza was delicious as always. We may have to start making this a yearly event.

Baby Bites

So we had a little tooth drama at the Medley house last week. While Ella and I were at Sam's school for lunch she slid and fell on the concrete floor. Unfortunately, she didn't really get her hands down and fell on her mouth and her front teeth. This led to a lot of crying, a lot of blood, a fat lip and a trip to the dentist.

What we found out from Dr. Carrie (our wonderful dentist) is that Ella fractured the root of her tooth. This has made her teeth really loose. So, for the next month she either gets to eat soft foods or I get to cut her food up for her like she is a toddler. I had forgot how much work cutting everything into little bites is. I also realized the quantity of food for a four year old is much larger than when she was one.

Ella has been a great sport about it though and hopefully those front teeth will stay in and harden back up until they are really ready to be lost.

Game Day!

Saturday, College Game Day was in town for the Border War game. Sam and I decided to get up early and head to Mizzou Arena to watch the festivities. The closest seats, meaning the people who actually got on camera, were all filled up by the time we arrived but we still had a pretty good location to cheer and observe. The atmosphere was great and it was cool to get the behind the scenes look at Game Day. I would say that about ninety percent of the audience were college students but we had a great time. Of course the day was topped off with a Tiger victory that night so I have no complaints!