four {also known as Hello Kitty party planning part 1}

In less than two months, our house will have a four year old in it.  You know what that means, we've got a party to plan!

Miss Almost Four definitely had her hand in planning the Circus that took place in our home last year, and because of that panic attack wonderful event, this year Ellie's party will be held at a local children's exploration center.  It's a win-win, the staff does all of the work and it's one of Ellie's favorite places. 

When Ellie proclaimed sometime last summer that her birthday would have to be a Hello Kitty party, I immediately knew to type http://tinyprints.com/ for the perfect invites.  Here are a few of the front runners so far:

 As low as $0.99, they also have coordinating thank you's.  And while Ellie's 'writing' isn't exactly legible, it's never too soon to learn to be gracious.

Tiny Print's birthday invite selection is not limited to Hello Kitty.  Believe it or not, you can find tasteful Wonder Pets, Dora and more of your children's favorites on stationary perfect for their next party.

More party fun to come, stay tuned....

Christmas 2010 Recap

Santa visited our house.  We know because besides the gifts he left, he also ate his cookies {leaving crumbs behind} and left a note for the girls.  It's a good thing this proof was evident Christmas Morning because Ellie wanted to see it all.

Ellie was thrilled with her new microphone, and shrieked, "OH MY GOSH!  It's America's hottest new dance video game, Just Dance Kids!" when she pulled it out of her stocking.

 After we finally changed into real clothes, we headed to Nonna and Poppa's to open more gifts and have Christmas Dinner.  The Elizabeth Doll made the trip with us, and it's a good thing because Elizabeth {the doll} got an entire wardrobe plus a horse and stables! 

 Madeline was just as excited about opening gifts.  She sat on Poppa's lap and tore off itty bitty bits of paper and handed them to him one by one.

 The next day we hit the road and headed South to spend time with Ryan's family.  When Ellie saw these two Country horses, she ran between them and yelled "CHEESE!"  That's my girl.  ;)

 The lights were beautiful.

 And we were full of holiday cheer.

Hope your Christmas was Merry and Bright! 

Happy New Year!

Hello, 2011!

Our party plans fell through {is everyone sick right now?!} so our little family celebrated by going out to dinner and then counting down to 8:00 pm.

You have to be festive on New Year's Eve, even in a high chair at a restaurant!

Swirls for the grown ups!

Back at home, we got our party started!

And made our New Year's Resolutions.

Ellie {without any prompting!}
-Try more new foods.
- Give more hugs.
- Be better at sharing with her sister.

Ryan
-Start going to the gym again.
- Go to church.

Kristin
- Be on the computer less {I'm thinking 3ish blog posts a week for Ellie-Town in 2011}.
- Get more organized.
- Go to church.
- Lose the last of the 'baby weight.'  Yes, almost 16 months later it's still baby weight!

 2010 was a blast and we look forward to more adventures in Ellie-Town in the year to come.