First Day of 2 yr old PreSchool and Ballet Class #2

This past Monday Ella Kate started 2 year old pre-school. She even has a car pool # this year. I know it is only 2 year old preschool but I am honestly not sure if I am ready for her to grow up as fast as she is. Maybe it is b/c I am 8 months pregnant but the two days that I work and only see her for a few hours in the evenings before bedtime have been extra hard for me lately. It is amazing how much you can miss a little girl. I still love my job and I am so thankful to be able to work 2 days a week and be at home with my little angel the others, but boy do I miss her on those 2 days. Tonight Dave picked her up from Papa and LeLe's because I was stuck in traffic and when she got home and saw me she put her arms around my neck and hugged me and said "I love you so much - I missed you so much." It just absolutely makes my day! We are getting really excited about meeting Baby Brother in a little less than 2 months now. Ella Kate always wants to go and play in Baby Brothers room and she tells me that he needs more blankets in his crib :) Sometimes she will put 5-6 burp cloths in his crib and then look at me and ask "Where is Baby Brother."

One funny thing that Ella Kate has started doing lately is saying "Well" alot. For example if you ask her what she wants for dinner she will say "Well" and pretend to ponder before answering in her little southern accent. I think it is so funny.

This is a picture Dave took of Ella Kate on her 1st day of preschool. Dave drops her off at pre-school on the 2 days that I work so I begged him to take a picture. I think her expression in this picture is hilarious b/c she is probably wondering why Daddy made her sit in the parking lot to take it. :) Poor Dave - he tried. He is such a good Daddy but I think he was a little embarrassed to take a camera in the school and snap pics. Ella Kate was so proud of her outfit because it had The Little Mermaid and Nemo (she thinks Flounder is Nemo) smocked on the front of it.

Ella Kate was such a big girl at Ballet Class this week. She even decided that it would be fun to wear her cute little ballet skirt.

Such a precious little ballerina.

Ella Kate's new little friend in her ballet class. Her name is Megan and she is 3 years old and so so sweet to Ella Kate.

Last week I had to stay in the classroom for most of the class b/c Ella Kate wanted Mommy near. However this week she walked in carrying her dance bag with tap shoes behind Megan like a big girl. The class is 45 mins long and she did great in class all by herself for the first half and then I think she got to missing Mommy b/c I heard a "I want my Mommy" and of course I came running in. Once she saw me she calmed down and I participated in the rest of class which seemed to suit Ella Kate and the other kids just fine. However being 8 months pregnant hopping around Mrs. Barbara did tell me at one point not even to think about doing the frog hop :) I just laughed and sat that one out.

Like Mrs. Barbara said Ella Kate is making big progress in class and seems to really enjoy it.

Ballet Pics

In the words of Ella Kate "I Ballet"

Fall is Coming Soon

The next few weeks are big weeks for Miss Priss. She will be starting the 2 year old preschool class at Marietta First Baptist Church and also starting her first year of ballet and tap. I am so excited about both of these firsts for her but it also makes me a little sad b/c it means that she is growing up. Last Thursday Dave and I went to her preschool orientation and met her new teachers. They were both so sweet and I know Ella Kate is just going to love them. Each month in the 2 year old class they focus on a new letter, number, shape, color, etc. This coming Monday Ella Kate gets to have a one on one meeting with her new teachers and I hope this will help make the first few weeks of school a little easier.

I am also so excited that she is starting ballet and tap this year. Today we had her dance orientation and it is such a sweet little school with great teachers. I took her to Center Stage to buy her leotard, skirt, tights, and ballet shoes and it was so much fun! As soon as we got home she wanted to try them on and was not happy when I finally told her it was time to take them off. I will post pictures soon of our sweet little ballerina.

Happy Birthday to Harris and Riley Grace

The past two weekends we have been to some of the cutest little birthday parties for Ella Kate's friends.

These first pictures are from Harris's 2nd birthday party. Ella Kate had so much fun at the party! I just love it when all of the little ones sit around the table together and eat their cake. I just think it is so cute.
The tractor was Harris's birthday gift from his parents and Ella Kate loved to be pulled around on it. They are just so cute together and are such good buddies. Ruth and I are taking them to see Toy Story Disney on Ice in a few weeks and I can't wait to see their reactions. I really hope they love it!!

Having a quick conversation trying to figure out the whole concept of "Reverse."

Ella Kate telling Harris to slow down so that she could hop on. The little top she is wearing is a top my Mom made for me when I was a little girl. I love the fact that Ella Kate can wear some of my old clothes and I can't wait to see Baby Brother wear some of Dave's clothes from when he was a little boy.

They did this alot! :)

Ella Kate liked all of Harris's tools and decided that Casey's house could use a little work - so she went to hammering. :)

This next set of pictures is from Riley Grace's 4th birthday party at Miss Mamie's Cupcake shop on the square. It was so much fun! Ella Kate was the youngest one at the party but she hung with the 4 year olds like a pro. They first got to decorate their own apron and then decorate 2 cupcakes - one chocolate and one vanilla. She had so much fun!

Working on her decorating her Apron.

We tried to get a picture of all the little ones at the party! They were just precious.

Ella Kate was not to sure about waiting to decorate the cupcakes. As soon as the lady put a chocolate cupcake on her plate she started in on it.

Starting to get into the idea of icing and decorating the cupcakes. Notice the glass plates and cups on the table. It was amazing to me how careful all of the kids were and that nothing was dropped or broken.

So much fun to eat cupcakes!!!

Daddy helped her ice one of her cupcakes with lots and lots of gummy worms!

The little table where she sat like such a big girl!

Miss Priss drinking her apple juice out of a little wine glass just like everyone else. She was very careful and told me it was a special cup.

Mommy and Ella Kate being silly after the party. She loves to be turned upside down. Daddy always does this and asks her if she is hiding change in her pockets - then he tries to shake it out :)

Dinner with Good Friends

Friday night we met The Cooper's and The Wood's out for a fun dinner at Pappasitos. Scott, Julie, Tyler, and Becca are such fun friends and it is so cool that all of our kids are so close to the same age. Below are a couple of pictures of the kids at dinner. Ella Kate and Ty are only a few weeks apart and Caroline is only a few months younger than Ella Kate and Ty. Ty's big sister Emi Grace is such a good big sister and is so good with the younger ones.

(Ella Kate, Caroline, Emi Grace, Ty)

Well Mrs. Julie told Ella Kate to smile so she did :)

4th of July Beach Trip

I know I am a little late with this post but here are some pictures from our beach trip on the 4th of July.
Ella Kate helping LeLe making muffins for breakfast one morning. She really enjoys baking. I think here favorite part is adding the eggs. She always wants to add extra eggs.
As you can see she really likes to use the "whisk" too.

Ella Kate and LeLe out for a ride on the boat.

Sweet Ella Kate fell fast asleep on the boat ride.

Time to hop off the boat and go for a swim and look for sea shells at Shell Island.

She is not a big fan of the sand but the beach shoes that LeLe bought her really helped.

Miss Prissy pants.

Ready to search for some sea shells.

Smelling the flowers outside of Papa and LeLe's condo.

Our sweet little girl sporting her Red, White, and Blue.

At dinner on the 4th of July - thrilled that the waitress gave her a lollipop. She loves lollipops and always asks for a blue one.

Being silly with LeLe at dinner.

Ella Kate loves her LeLe, Papa, and Nana and is so very lucky to have them all.

There is no telling what she is planning in this picture :) Her little head is always full of ideas.

A special thanks to Aunt Ann, Wendy, and Wanda for this precious american flag smocked dress. They gave it to her for her 2nd birthday and we just love love love it!!!

We were lucky enough to watch the fireworks at the Boatyard. As you can see we had a close view which everyone loved except Ella Kate thought we were a bit to close.

Ella Kate stayed in my lap and had me cover her little ears with her favorite pink blanket the whole time.

Dave and I took her to play put put golf one night and she had the time of her life. She loved chasing after the balls.

Daddy trying to show Ella Kate the proper golf swing.

Her favorite part - chasing the balls.

After a round of golf we of course had to stop by the arcade - Ella Kate always wants to "Help Daddy Win."

The three of us went on a little fishing excursion and Ella Kate was very serious while fishing on the boat with Daddy. She kept saying, "Let's catch a big fish Daddy." She wanted to sit by him, drive the boat, and copy everything that he was doing. I definitely played second fiddle on this fishing trip.

Very serious about catching her big fish.

Dave was loving every minute of having his little girl enjoying fishing with him so much!

Helping Daddy.

Dave's little shadow. When Dave picked up a net to scoop up some bait fish - Ella Kate picked up a net and started copying him. It was so cute!

I just could not get over how serious she was when fishing with Daddy.

She liked catching the little bait fish the best. They were just her size.

We celebrated my 30th birthday dinner at Angelo's steakhouse. However turning 30 while 6+ months pregnant is not exactly ideal - therefore I will be having a 30.5 birthday party in January :)

We could not leave Panama City Beach with out making a stop by dear old Goofy Golf. My sister and I have pictures of us playing here when we were Ella Kate's age. The sign says it has been on the beach for 50 years.